Coach student exchange continues with seminars

The innovative UEFA coach education exchange programme for UEFA Pro licence students continues its first official season this spring with two seminars at the House of European Football in Nyon.

Participants on each course come from three or four European national associations and are led by their respective coach education directors. UEFA also appoints experienced tutors/coach educators to work with UEFA's technical director and UEFA's football education services at each event, with members of the UEFA Jira Panel also actively involved alongside guest presenters.

From 22 to 25 April, students from Azerbaijan, Estonia, Russia and Wales will come to Nyon, and they will be followed from 7 to 10 May by delegations from Belgium, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland. Group discussions, forum sessions, analysis of UEFA Champions League matches and talks with professional coaches are all on the agenda.

These will be the third and fourth such events of the first season after two pilot events last summer, and two further seminars are planned for the autumn. Associations have welcomed the chance to trade ideas with their foreign counterparts and to examine trends in an international context. "The aim is provide Pro licence students with an international exchange," said UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh. "Our objective is to offer help to the associations in the vital area of coach education."

The coaches are given a wealth of advice at the seminars. "The most important thing is never to stop asking questions," said Roxburgh. "You get information, it develops relationships, it helps you and others to improve, to motivate people, stimulate people's thinking, and it builds trust."

Discussions take place, for example, on how a coach deals with crisis situations, the mental strength required to cope with the pressures of the job, and the human skills such as honesty, good communication, passion and a positive attitude that are needed. A media session also puts coaches in the flash interview situation seen on television after a UEFA Champions League game.