Coaches Academy recruiting for new season

Aspiring coaches are being given the opportunity to gain the qualifications and skills needed to pursue a career in the sports industry. Foundation of Light, the registered charity of Sunderland AFC, is recruiting for a new cohort of trainees for its September 2018 of Coaches Academy – widely regarded as the perfect 'first step' for future sports professionals. Students work alongside the Foundation's fully-qualified coaches and deliver sessions alongside mentors within the local community, while studying towards a Cambridge Technical Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity (equivalent to two A Levels), FA Coaching Level 2 and afPE Level 3.

With the Coaches Academy I'm developing a lot more as a person, I've got a lot more confidence and I'm delivering my own sessions. It gives you get the qualifications you need if you want to become as coach and it's a new experience.

Andrew Dales, current Coaches Academy trainee

At the end of the two-year programme graduates will be GUARANTEED an interview with Foundation of Light as well as receiving career guidance with job opportunities and pathways available to them. Coaches Academy has an excellent track record for progression with many trainees going on to higher and further education or straight into employment. Nathan Kew, who joined the programme after leaving school and has coached across Europe with the Foundation as well as with Sunderland AFC’s Academy, said: "Coaches Academy gave me the platform to develop further and hopefully it will continue. "You’re working within a real-life environment whilst doing the course alongside people who have been in the industry for years so you get to learn from them both in and out of the office. "[Working alongside the Foundation coaches] is the biggest pull for the programme compared to a college course because the people around you can only help you develop."