As the UAE professional football league looks to improve the standard of the local game, coaching at grassroots levels is going to become more and more important. Abu Dhabi Week meets up with David McCloy, head coach for the International Football Academy, to find out more
David came to the capital from Scotland two years ago and after a couple of months working part-time for Professional Sports Group, a chance meeting with Steven Whittaker, general manager of the IFA, at Al Yasmina School finally saw him offered a full-time coaching job.
His passion for football is clearly evident as we sit in on a coaching session at British School Al Khubairat. His infectious enthusiasm is soon transferred to the kids, as they smile and laugh their way through a number of exercises.
“We’re a football academy, but we like to see ourselves as inclusive rather than exclusive. We’re all about taking in boys and girls of different abilities – from kids who have never kicked a ball before to those who have been playing for a much longer time,” says David as he takes a break to let his class have a drink of water.
“The IFA is the largest football academy in the UAE with over 1,500 children registered in schools around Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
“We offer mainly extracurricular activities in schools, all our coaches are educated to at least UEFA B standard and we basically come in and offer specialised football courses to kids from that school in addition to their regular PE classes.
“We currently run coaching sessions at Al Yasmina School in Khalifa City, Al Muna Primary School, Pearl Primary School and the British School Al Khubairat, and we’re looking at going into three more schools after the summer.
“But we don’t just do schools, we’ve started compounds now as well. We coach in Sas Al Nakheel and also in Golf Gardens. It’s increasing day by day – what we’re really looking to do is to get Abu Dhabi up to the same level as Dubai and we’re getting there.”
But that’s just touching the surface. The IFA also run youth leagues, adult seven-a-side leagues and a veteran’s league in addition to spring and summer camps.
With all of this going on, what does a day in the life of a football coach in Abu Dhabi actually involve?
8.00 am: After a spot of breakfast, the first thing David does is get online.
“This is where the office work kicks in. Every day, I need to check all our registrations online – basically we have a file for every kid we look after containing all their contact details, parent’s details or if they have any medical conditions we should be aware of.
“Obviously we are hired primarily as football coaches and we have our coaching commitments but we’re very hands-on. Being one of the head coaches, I’ve got to create relationships with local schools, with families, with the kids, and I’ve got to maintain those relationships, improve on them day by day and create new relationships with other schools. We have to build a trust with the schools so they know their kids are in safe hands and they know what we’re about.”
11.00 am: On days when he’s not coaching, typically about three days out of the week, David heads to the IFA office to get together with the rest of the team.
“We meet up regularly to talk about our experiences as coaches – any challenges we’ve had with certain kids or anything that’s worked particularly well. We constantly need to bounce off each other, to learn from each other’s experiences and talk about how we can improve our sessions.”
2.00 pm: When he does have coaching sessions, David likes to make sure he’s there nice and early.
“We turn up an hour to 45 minutes before the session. We make sure the pitches are ready, that they’re safe, there’s no sharp objects on the pitch or things that the kids could trip over and hurt themselves on – although that’s not really a problem here as the schools are so well maintained.
“After getting the pitch set up, we sit down as a team to discuss the forthcoming session. I’m a head coach and I’ll normally have one or two part-time coaches with me depending on the size of the session. We’ve prepared manuals for all our part-time coaches so every week they come they know exactly what session they’re doing.
“Then we’ll warm up, stretch, loosen up and get on the ball a little bit. If we’re showing the kids things like how to shoot, we need to make sure the ball goes into the back of the net or else the parents will be asking questions,” he laughs.
6.00 pm: Finished for the day, there’s nothing David likes better than hitting one of the capital’s beaches or relaxing with friends.
“I love my watersports, particularly jetskiing. Maybe also a little bit of sailing, taking boat trips round the islands – just enjoying living in Abu Dhabi, doing things that you can’t do back home.”
Jon Muller
For more information on sessions, parties and the IFA please visit www.ifasport.com
