On Saturday 7th September 2024, Cheshire FA hosted a very special Coaches Conference at St George’s Park, the home of English football.

We were joined by grassroots football coaches from across the County, with the aim and theme of the day ‘Connecting’. 

It was a great occasion with special guest speakers including FA Director of Education, Lucy Pearson; a session on reflection led by Dr Laura Swettenham; coaching sessions delivered by a range of UEFA and FA Coach Developers including Butch Fazal, Lewis Grabban, Estelle Handy, Alan Murray and our very own, Laura Holmes. 

Throughout the day, the coaches learned about various ways of Connecting; with the ball, with learning, with each other, with reflection. It was a great opportunity to learn and grow as a grassroots coach.

Steve Smithies (CEO), spoke of his pride at the event: “It was a special day as we welcomed our wonderful grassroots football coaches to the home of English football. We value greatly the immense contribution they make to football in Cheshire, so being able to reward their commitment with a development day in such a prestigious venue was a real honour. A huge thanks goes to all of our Coach Developers, special guests and the team for bringing this event to life.”

Chris Barrow (Football Development Manager) added: “It is hugely important to us that we are able to develop our grassroots football coaches; this was an ideal opportunity to provide them with high quality CPD in a special surrounding like St George’s Park. We hope that everyone who attended was able to enjoy and value this event and it provided them with some useful hints and tips that they can take back to their grassroots clubs across Cheshire.”

We look forward to welcoming coaches across Cheshire to future Coach Development events. Keep an eye on our social media pages for all the latest opportunities!

#Connecting