More than 150 Chinese coaches enjoyed learning the West Ham way at a Premier League Youth Development Conference.
Lead U16 coach Gerard Prenderville, assistant U16 coach Carlton Cole gave presentations sharing best practice at the Academy of Football at the day-long event in Nanjing.
Held as part of the Premier League Asia Trophy, the conference was attended by youth coaches from the Chinese Super League, Chinese Football Association and local schools.
The conference was a great experience and opportunity to deliver the West Ham way to Chinese Super League coaches and spread the word on the Academy of Football
Lead U16 coach Gerard Prenderville
“Our main focus was to express the importance of the Academy and explain how many players have come through the West Ham United Academy over the years,” Prenderville explained.
“I shared with the coaches the importance of Academy culture and our training model and an insight into our games programme. We also spoke a lot on the importance of playing with different styles between phases and age groups.
“The four groups of coaches we made our presentation to were very receptive and asked some interesting questions. Overall, the conference was a great experience and opportunity to deliver the West Ham way to Chinese Super League coaches and spread the word on the Academy of Football.”
The all-day event also featured a Q&A session featuring Cole and Wolverhampton Wanderers legend and ambassador Steve Bull, who both explained the benefits of the Academy system to clubs, wherever they are in the world.
“I’ve just taken up a new role with Gerard working with the U16s and I also do mentoring with the young players,” Cole told the coaches, when asked about his new role. “I have got children of my own and it’s just like looking after your own kids. Young footballers are always full of life, so you just have to know how to teach them life skills and impart your knowledge about football.
“As a coach, you need a lot of patience and to want to learn from the right people, as I am doing from Gerard, who I think is a good mentor for me as he knows a lot about how to coach players and about youth football.
“For me, the most important attributes for a youth coach are being able to relate to the players and also to listen to them, because it’s not just about putting your knowledge across, as you’ve got to be able to put sessions on that they going to engage with. You’ve got to make every day interesting for them so they can enjoy learning.
“Your approach to coaching young players differs depending on your club’s philosophy. Obviously winning is a massive part of football at first-team level but for me, at a young age, you have to make sure players enjoy their football first and foremost, because if you don’t enjoy it you won’t get to where you want to get to.”