Last month our year 2 Football Coaching students travelled to Bilbao in Spain for a week of coaching.

All of the students completed 17.5 hours of coaching during the week with a local football club. The age groups ranged from U10s all the way up to U16s. For the final two sessions they had the opportunity to take part in the U18s and Senior team training session that was delivered by the host team’s coaches.

As well as coaching, the students and staff had the chance to watch Athletic Bilbao play a La Liga fixture versus Real Betis at their impressive 55,000 seater stadium. They also had an exclusive tour of the training facilities and the opportunity to get signatures from the first team, a group picture and plenty of selfies.

A day was spent travelling to San Sebastian which allowed the students to spend some time on the beach playing games and to explore the city.

Nicole Bell, Level 3 Football Coaching student, said, “Being able to coach players at such a high standard of football and observing the way they play was incredible. During this week I learned about the philosophy they follow and gained a lot of coaching experience. Overall it was a great experience and very beneficial.”

Jamie Laird, Level 3 Course Leader, said, “This was the first time we travelled to Bilbao and the trip couldn’t have gone any better. The students performed extremely well and had to overcome the language barrier whilst coaching, which was a fantastic experience for them. To have the chance to watch a top Spanish team train is something that you wouldn’t be able to do here in England. I am very much looking forward to next year’s trip.”

You can find more information about our Sports Coaching courses here or by calling the Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234.