Every day is a school day

By IAIN KING, Toronto, February 20, 2018

THE wry smile on the face of Scottish football legend Alex Smith as he stood on the touchline was enough.

Deep down, on a sweltering day in the stunning surroundings of St Andrews University, I walked off the field knowing I was now a UEFA A Licence coach.

Former Aberdeen boss Alex, one of our game's most knowledgeable figures, had often mentored me throughout my journey on the Scottish FA coaching pathway.

He knew the peaks and troughs I'd come through having to constantly prove myself as the journalist who had dared to do something different.

That summer's afternoon in June 2016 initially seemed like the end of a quest to educate myself to the level I knew I could aspire to. In truth it has only been the BEGINNING.

I was lucky that day on the Fife coast, I landed Progressive Possession - playing through the thirds - as my assessment topic.

It's my favourite session, I have a folder full of functions, it's a go to subject.

And here I had the luxury of delivering it with brilliant classmates and accomplished footballers like former Hibs defender Chris Hogg and ex-Airdrieonians favourite Marc Smyth.

The session popped, the players loved my trusted 6 v 6 + 3 game which had been honed on so many windswept, rain-lashed Lowland League training nights at East Kilbride and BSC Glasgow with my mucker Craig Young at my side.

I knew I had passed and that night over a pint I reflected on never forgotten days like having FC Porto Champions League winners Costinha and Maniche as my coaching partners.

I'd set myself a target of that A Licence because I was realistic enough to know the UEFA Pro Licence was out of my reach in Scotland.

So, yes, after 10 years of studying and learning, of watching sessions fly and seeing them crumble before my eyes it felt like the culmination of so much hard work. Wrong.

ANY PORTO IN A STORM...with Costinha and Maniche and the famous BSC Glasgow SFA Challenge Cup winning colours as I gained my B Licence at Largs in the summer of 2014

At that point in my life I was the Chief Executive Officer of Scottish League One side Airdrieonians and, working alongside the shrewd Eddie Wolecki Black and then ex-Hibs and Falkirk midfielder Kevin McBride, had coached the gifted Under-20s Academy side that season.

It had been an education. Watching first team boss Eddie layer sessions and bring a detail to the work on the training field that at first the Diamonds players baulked at then embraced.

I'd seen the influence superb professionals like veteran striker Bryan Prunty could have with their attitude and encouragement when they dropped down to play with the youngsters in the Development League West on the way back from injury. It was a privilege.

Off the field, though, it was a rocky season learning a new job. I had left the newspaper world after 30 years at the coalface of truth as we jokingly called it in the sports department.

I have spoken in previous blogs of the after-effects of the horrific stroke Eddie suffered as he teetered on the brink of death that fateful day at Cowdenbeath.

Nothing can ever be the same when you have gone so close to losing one of your best friends through the stresses and strains of this beautiful but often cruel game.

My perspective changed and after the initial shock of losing a job I loved at the Diamonds a steely resolve grew inside me to chase this dream of coaching full-time in Canada.

And in the weeks after that session that earned me my A Licence I realised this wasn't the final chapter of my learning as a coach. There was a pile of books out there I hadn't even discovered yet.

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH...the Airdrieonians Under-20s squad were a privilege to work with and to learn from - it has been great to watch so many progress in their careers

The dawn of 2018 has been hectic, these last six weeks have seen me travel to my first United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia thanks to the support of my club North Toronto Nitros.

Over four hectic days I crammed in watching five superb on-field sessions and took part in a panel discussion on coaching youth players through Small-Sided Games to earn a diploma in that area. The knowledge gained in guiding the players I work with at Nitros was priceless.

It was a pleasure there to be asked to speak on the panel of the North American Scottish Coaches Association (NASCA) alongside SFA coaching chief Jim Fleeting, former Sheffield Wednesday and USA midfielder John Harkes, New York Red Bulls Academy Director David Longwell and ex-Scottish womens player Vicky Hall who is now a top coach in the States.

It was fascinating to hear the stories of so many fellow Scots who have forged careers and new lives for themselves in North America.

Away from the convention centre there were beers with Vancouver Whitecaps no2 Gordon Forrest and their goalkeeper coach Stewart Kerr who made his name at Celtic. The banter and the wind-ups flew and super-agent Dave Baldwin - a big contact from my writing days - was there to give me an insight into all the big deals in Major League Soccer and beyond.

There was no time to catch breath, on our return from Philly I took in a one-day seminar with Dutch guru Raymond Verheijen at University of Toronto as part of Canada's seventh annual National Soccer Coaching Conference (NSCC).

Verheijen's approach is to kick you out of your comfort zone, to make you think about how and why you coach the way you do. The process is challenging and uncomfortable but it works.

That day in a room of 50 coaches with Dr Verheijen confirmed my growing feeling that even as my 51st birthday approaches I have so much more to achieve and learn as a coach.

In Year One here in Canada I have adapted to new session models, had to mould my approach through the indoor and outdoor seasons, worked in the domes in a country where ice hockey remains king.

Today it feels like spring is beckoning, we are deep in planning for tournaments is Oshawa and Ottawa here before crossing the border to test our players in Rochester and then Virginia or Delaware later this year.

That day two years ago when I felt I was coming to the end of a coaching journey was just the precursor to the next phase. For any younger coaches reading this I'd only say that the humility to recognise you don't know everything can become a key component in your toolkit.

There is always so much more to learn in this game. Every day is a school day.