Name: Paul Gardiner

Date of birth:  October 22nd 1971

Birthplace: Stroud, Gloucestershire

Schools:  Rosary Primary School Stroud, St Peter’s High School, Gloucester.

Where you live: Stroud.

Your sport: Football

Your involvement: West Bromwich Albion Academy Youth Development Phase Coach and Gloucestershire Academy Development Manager

Clubs: Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion

Best Achievement so far: Working full time in the sport I love. Winning the Premier League U13 Truce tournament. This is a tournament that every Cat 1 and Cat 2 team takes part in. Our style of play is 4-3-3. Playing out from the back and through the thirds and being clever and creative in attacking third.

Best teams played against and why: Very difficult to choose as I have met many in the academy games programme. The teams I always look forward to playing are both the Manchester clubs, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and of course both of the Liverpool clubs. All of these clubs have brilliant individual players who can change a game easily with some fantastic skills.

That said, coaching at West Bromwich Albion you also get to pit your wits against some of the best teams in Europe, the most recent of which were Benfica and Rapid Vienna.

The most difficult team I have played against was a Feyenoord youth team. They adapted their system of play three times during the game. It meant that, us as coaches and the players, had to adapt quickly. Tactically it was a very good experience.

Throughout my coaching journey, I have had the pleasure of watching many coaches at work. Of course, I have our own first-team coaches that are willing to share ideas and their experiences that helps me develop as a coach and person.

Currently I am on the Premier League Elite Coaches Apprenticeship Scheme. It is a two-year programme that allows me to meet with other elite coaches from football and other sports. We discuss a range of coaching ideas and methods. Through this programme, I have met and observed Judy Murray coaching an elite tennis session, Gary and Phil Neville coach the Valencia 1st team and Tom Daley being coached at the Olympic Park in London.

I have to say the programme is first class, it’s all about my development as a coach through my own reflections and some acute observations by world class elite coach mentors. For me coaching is all about self-development and a growth mindset. You need to want to get better and of course keep an open mind.

The best thing in my specific area of football and Youth Development is opportunity. The opportunity to improve and get better at what you enjoy doing. I do know about the pressure placed on young elite athletes. The demands on them to represent school, academy and even grassroot teams are a difficult balance to achieve.

Having joined the academy as an education officer a couple of years ago, I am currently the U13 Lead Coach at West Bromwich Albion Youth Academy and work within the Youth phase coaching the rest of the age groups. I also have a focus on the safeguarding and welfare of the players in our school’s programme. In Gloucestershire, I manage our academy development centre. Its whole purpose is to find, coach and develop players that we can look to sign at our main academy base in Sandwell, Birmingham. Here is the opportunity to improve locally without the need to travel for the ages from U7 through to U16. They train twice weekly with development games on weekends. For me the centre is a prime example of what professional clubs can offer. All players that come into us will leave a technically better player be that back into grassroots or after a successful period with our main academy or another professional club. As a centre, we have had well over 60 players signed with at least half of them to our main West Bromwich Albion Academy.

Looking forward, I would like to one day be an Academy Manager or Head of Youth Recruitment. Whilst this is my north star and main goals, I intend to work hard and learn to help me achieve this.