Throughout this week, the art of coaching is being celebrated across the country as part of this week’s #CoachingWeek, and we’re highlighting the story of one particular coach whose passion towards his trade is making a huge impact on the participants of our community programmes.
Inclusion Coach Jordan Catterall has been with the Preston North End Community and Education Trust just shy of two years, and comes into contact with participants of all abilities.
From nurturing players on our development centres into Academies, to increasing sports participation through Premier League Kicks and disability programmes that the Trust run, Jordan’s job is as varied as it is rewarding as he explains:
“I’ve always played football from a young age and I kind of just fell into coaching. I first started coaching around seven years ago and it was a way for me to stay involved in football.
“I love allowing kids to have fun whilst playing football. The main thing for me is enjoyment and mass participation in the game, whether that be boys, girls or whoever. It's important to give people the opportunity to play football, to get involved and to not discriminate against ability levels or anything like that.
“The best thing about coaching is seeing that light bulb moment with a player that you’re working with. It might be a case of working with a player over a long period of time and then suddenly seeing it finally click and they get what you’re trying to teach them.
“I love seeing progress in players too; helping them develop those players and helping them to become better people as well as players, because life doesn’t just revolve around just football. It’s about developing the person as well as the player.”
Watch the video to find out more about what motivates Jordan above as we filmed his disability session with Sir Tom Finney High School.
To find out more about the Preston North End Community and Education Trust, click here.