Gary is entering the 12th year of his football coaching career, 9 of which have been as a professional coach and seen him work at some of the biggest football clubs in the country. He is currently the holder of the coveted UEFA Diploma in Football Coaching and UEFA B Certificate in Coaching Football, which he completed at the tender age of just 22 years old.
Starting his career at 17, the past decade has seen Gary work in a number of areas, from grassroots football, prisons, disability football, youth work, social inclusion and also coach in one of the most respected academies in England. During his time within the professional game, Steve Coppell, Brendan Rodgers, Brian McDermott and Nigel Adkins have all had strong influences on the coaching methods and philsophies implemented by Gary.
Gary's coaching career has taken him to countries such as America, Belgium, Ireland, France and Italy where he worked alongside some of the best youth football coaches in the world. He also had the pleasure of working in Uganda for the BBC alongside the Premier League's all time top goal scorer Alan Shearer.
Gary has a passion for helping disadvantaged children/young people and whilst managing the
Social Inclusion Department of a Premier League Football club, thousands of young people benefitted from the programmes delivered. An incredible 7 national awards followed in just 3 years, with the
department being recognised as a model of best practice for other Premier League clubs to follow. A number of young people were mentored personally by Gary with many gaining qualifications and
accessing volunteering opportunities, whilst a staggering 19 young people gained employment with their local professional football team after previously being unemployed.
Whilst personal accolades have never been a motivating factor, Gary has been recognised for his work with a number of accolades such as Community Champion at the Pride of Reading Awards, Inspiring
Person Award (twice) and Innovative Project of the Year 2012 for his work with Young Offenders. Gary's work in prison was also featured on the iconic BBC football programme "Match of the Day"
which can be seen in the gallery section of the website.
"I think it is vital for the communities we live in to have access to sports provision, I have seen the impact it can have and the differences it can make. It does not matter whether you are a beginner or top performer, your background, your gender; your ability or your religion, sport can help you grow as person. Being part of something, having fun and being accepted is very powerful for people. Add into this gains in confidence, working with positive role models and meeting new people, then all of a sudden you an incredibly powerful programme" added Gary when asked about the power of sport at a recent football coaching conference.
Gary is constantly seeking to improve as an individual, with a full list of his qualifications are below:
FA Qualifications
Teaching
Tutoring