“Really unusual”: Town players sacrifice their free time to develop their coaching abilities

“Our environment is really one of learning and development, and we’ve put a large emphasis from the beginning on trying to improve each other every day, trying to learn every day – of course, trying to win matches is our major business, but trying to make every day a day that we come in and progress.

We want to create a passion of football, encourage the players’ curiosity, and encourage them to occasionally reflect on their actions and gain a better understanding. (Kieran McKenna)

Anyone who has watched Ipswich Town during the Kieran McKenna period should not be surprised that he has encouraged a culture of development, self-improvement, and learning among his players.

We frequently discuss how McKenna and his team have helped players on the field, but their work goes far beyond the boundaries of the field.

Ten members of the Town first squad are currently devoting their free time to a specially designed UEFA B coaching course that the PFA is offering as an illustration of that.

As they engage with academy students, Skipper Sam Morsy, along with Massimo Luongo, Dominic Ball, Conor Chaplin, Lee Evans, Cameron Burgess, George Edmundson, Sone Aluko, Kayden Jackson, and Vaclav Hladky, are all adding another string to their individual bows.

McKenna is undoubtedly pleased with their work. “The PFA’s support and the course’s accessibility are coming together to provide an unusually large cohort, but it’s something that the players and we as a club should be proud of,” he said.

“It can only be good for us as a team and for us as a club, and it can only be good for those players as individuals to be already developing other aspects of their personalities and careers which might help them in the future.”

David Bridges of the PFA is assisting the group and has created a customized course to enable everyone to participate.

“It’s really unusual to get so many players at one club interested and engaged in coaching – it highlights the environment which has been created here,” he exclaimed.

“Kieran is a tremendously likeable and sympathetic guy, and the way he engages his players shows in both their standing in the league and their desire to improve.

“That is reflected in the fact that they wish to enroll in the course.

“I’ve nearly got to change the way it’s given so that I can see everyone on the field, but also so they have lots of coaching opportunities.

They are all paired up and assigned to age groups inside the academy, and we have a WhatsApp group where they can post about the sessions they’ve attended. They are recorded on video and equipped with microphones so we have proof that this is how we did it.

Defender Burgess claims that the course has given him new perspective on the game.

As ridiculous as that sounds, he said, “I guess when you’re playing sometimes you just play the game and it’s just like being a little boy in the playground.”

“But in this case, you’re trying to communicate with the players, and that may be challenging at times.

We are attempting to gain experience because it is definitely a new experience.

We all want to stay in the game, and doing this provides us a decent idea of what it will be like if we can advance and become coaches, he continued.

Just considering what we might want to do once we stop playing is quite cool.

It’s a habit we’ve all developed.
The finest part of the experience, according to midfielder Ball, has been watching the young players grow.

“The opportunity to take this course was given, and I think it’s a reflection of the kind of people we have here – everyone wants to learn, everyone wants to improve, and actually you hope it helps your own football,” he said.

David has been wonderful to work with. The finest feeling is definitely when you start to get to know the guys and see how they develop.

As a fellow midfielder who has stated his desire to become a coach in the future, Luongo seized the opportunity.

“What we already know, we probably take for granted a little bit – you just expect them to know things that they probably don’t,” he said.

“So you’ve probably got to get back to the fundamentals and coach really from the grassroots up – and that’s the bit I didn’t plan on, I just thought ‘first team, first team’ but there are so many different levels of coaching,” said the speaker.

“I truly want to be a coach, but if I didn’t start now, I probably never would have.

“We have a good group here that wants to get better and is looking to the future.”

And Chaplin claimed that everyone wants to improve because of the environment McKenna has fostered.

“There’s a culture here that encourages and makes you want to improve as a person, first and foremost,” he said. “We have guys here doing coaching badges, university degrees, bits on the side that aren’t to do with football.”

“There is unquestionably a culture here that supports personal growth, and people are motivated to do so. The manager and the coaching staff are responsible for that.

“We come in on a Thursday and conduct the theory classes in addition to conducting the coaching sessions independently; we record, mic, and other necessary equipment.

It was a pretty positive experience.