From all of us at Nottinghamshire FA we firstly want to thank our tutors for the great work they are doing throughout the county! They are often the hidden faces of the county until you turn up to one of our courses so we want to introduce you to our County FA affiliate tutor team:

Chris Dowhan (Nottinghamshire FA County Coach Developer):

Why did you get into coaching?

I first got into coaching when I completed the prelim coaching award back in 1992 in Nottingham. Since then I have had an exciting and varied career within coaching with highlights including:

• Norwich City FC centre of excellence
• Nottingham Forest in their youth development club
• South Notts College
• Bradford City FC as youth team coach, which lead to first team coach within 4 months
• Nottinghamshire County FA Under 18 manager
• FA Skills Coach

From there I gained the role as regional coach development manager and moved to Nottinghamshire County FA when the role of County Coach Developers was introcuded, and have been here ever since!

What is your biggest achievement as a coach?

Throughout my career there have been a couple of personal highlights which will always stick with me. Whilst at South Notts College, I was instrumental in the development of Wes Morgan and Simon Francis and helped them get back into the game. At the time Wes had stopped playing football, I managed to get him playing again and watched him achieve stardom when he captained Leicester City win the Premier League title. I also took Simon Francis to Bradford with me and saw him reach the first team within 3 months of signing as a young 17 year old. This is something I am very proud of and will always remember!

Another personal achievement for me was being the first tutor to ever deliver the UEFA B qualification, back in 1994.

What do you enjoy about being a tutor for Nottinghamshire FA?

It’s great to see coaches on a pathway and see them develop throughout their journey. You get to meet a lot of interesting people and change lives in many ways that even now still surprises me. Untowardly you are effecting lives, there’s no sport like it!

Courses these days have made huge advancements and are made for more informative coaches, it is now about playing the game to learn the game. Long gone are the days of treading through a few feet of mud attempting to do ball mastery, the facilities throughout Nottinghamshire are much more effective to deliver courses on.

I currently work alongside Fiona and Tim who have been a massive part of the development programme with their planning and desire to be the best, they constantly keep me on my toes!

Rich Allen (Nottinghamshire County FA Affiliate Tutor):

Why did you get into coaching?

I’ve been coaching for over 10 years and probably more seriously for the last 5. I wanted to help as many people as possible fall in love with the game and it became quite enjoyable so I saw it as a career path! I’ve always been immensely passionate about the effect that football has on people’s lives and to be a small part of that every day is massively inspiring.

What do you enjoy about tutoring courses for Nottinghamshire FA?

I really enjoy meeting new people and seeing what goes off in their world! I think no matter who you meet you can always learn something from them, and the courses are such a vibrant, positive and energising atmosphere where you can be challenged and pushed out your comfort zone. I also like the fact that bringing people together allows for so many opportunities between coaches to happen that wouldn't come about otherwise.

Interesting fact about yourself:

I think on a professional level working with Nottingham Forest 1st team when I was just 20 was pretty special, and on a personal level being on TV celebrating with Abou Diaby for his goal away at Aston Villa was pretty good! 

Dave Long (Nottinghamshire County FA Affiliate Tutor):

Why did you get into coaching?

On a professional level I started coaching with Notts County FITC in 1996. A former team mate was working there and suggested me for a coaching vacancy. My involvement in grassroots coaching started like many other grassroots coaches when, aged 6 my daughter developed an interest in playing football. I then coached/managed her team from U8's - U18's.

What do you enjoy about tutoring courses for Nottinghamshire FA?

Tutoring the courses I enjoy being around like-minded people who all share a love of the game and have a desire to make the experience of playing football enjoyable, challenging and rewarding for their players. It's also great to be around people who want to learn, I include myself in that category and take something away from every course that helps me to develop as a coach and tutor. I find shared experiences are a vital part of the learning process on the courses.

Interesting fact about yourself:

As a devoted West Bromwich Albion supporter, I was delighted to be on a course at St Georges Park a few years ago with a former player who was also my footballing hero. Unfortunately the old saying of "never meet your heroes" has never been more appropriate, I was bitterly disappointed to the point that I spent the rest of the course actively trying to avoid him - I'm not naming names though!!

Tom Measham (Nottinghamshire County FA Affiliate Tutor):

Why did you get into coaching?

I got into coaching after watching my Dad’s attempt at coaching a Sunday League team and thinking that I could do a better job! That inspired me to do my level 1 & 2 and the passion grew from there through to completing my UEFA B licence and FA youth award. 

What do you enjoy about tutoring courses for Nottinghamshire FA?

I enjoy watching the individual journey that every learner goes through, no individual is the same and no two courses ever look the same! 

Interesting fact about yourself:

The team I coach won the Derbyshire Female Senior Cup without conceding a single goal in 2017! 

Dan Corlett (Nottinghamshire County FA Affiliate Tutor):

Why did you get into coaching?

Whilst at University I played for the Men's Football team and ended up helping to coach one of the lower teams. I enjoyed doing it so took my Level 2 as soon as I finished my degree in 2005 and have been involved in coaching ever since.

I got my UEFA B Licence in 2010 and have also completed my Youth Award and Futsal Level. I am currently coaching the Women's Football team at Nottingham Trent University (I also work there full time in the Sport Department running their internal football programme) and also coach at Leicester City's Girls Regional Talent Centre.

What do you enjoy about tutoring courses for Nottinghamshire FA?

I really enjoy being able to pass on my experiences to candidates on the course and learning from them as well, each course is different so you always come away feeling like you’ve learnt something new.

Interesting fact about yourself:

I've had a book published. It was my dissertation for my History degree on analysing how successful armed forces are created and sustained.

Chris Freestone (Nottinghamshire County FA Affiliate Tutor):

Why did you get into coaching?

I got into coaching at an early age working in the FITC with Notts County and found I really enjoyed it, but stopped to embark on a professional playing career. I planned to complete my badges whilst still playing but ended up doing them after I finished playing full time in 2002. This is where I decided I wanted to stay in the game and give something back to up and coming young footballers.

What do you enjoy about tutoring courses for Nottinghamshire FA?

The thing I enjoy most about delivering courses is I like to see the development of coaches, having taken them through those early stages of learning and supporting them through it watching them flourish.

Interesting fact about yourself:

I scored and assisted on my premiership debut in a 3-1 home win against Sheffield Wednesday!