Coaches from across the women’s game have graduated from our Coaching Excellence Initiative.
This year’s Coaching Excellence Initiative cohort has graduated from the 18-month programme, with celebrations culminating at Wembley Stadium, where the group watched the Lionesses secure victory over Spain in their FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier.
The CEI alumni now includes Remi Allen (Crystal Palace), Carly Davies (Nottingham Forest), Sinead Hogan-Belcher (London City Lionesses), Stephen Kirby (West Ham), Becky Langley (London City Lionesses), Rebecca Sawiuk (Wrexham), Joe Sheehan (Ipswich Town), Kim Stenning (Portsmouth), Jenny Sugarman (Wrexham), and Ash Thompson (unattached).
Throughout the 18-month programme, the cohort came together across numerous education modules to engage in a wide range of learning experiences. These included one-to-one mentoring sessions with FA coach developers matched to each participant, peer mentoring meetings, practical on-pitch workshops, as well as regular opportunities to observe and learn from other high-performance sporting environments.
In their final module, the group took part in a series of classroom-based sessions focused on reflecting on their learning journeys, consolidating key themes, and applying their learnings within their respective club roles. The group also heard from a range of guest speakers, including Head Coach of England Netball, Anna Stembridge, who shared her insights into what it takes to coach in an elite sporting environment, as well as Gemma Morgan, a former British Army officer and Fellow of The Institute of Leadership, who spoke about leading within high-pressure situations.
Becky Langley, assistant coach at London City Lionesses, said: “The CEI has been amazing, it’s been fantastic to learn from other like-minded coaches and delve into some deeper topics with the tutors around our individual areas of focus. Across the 18 months, the cohort has been amazing; they’ve become allies in the game, bouncing off each other and being a sounding board to share ideas. I think one of the most unique parts of the course has been diving into different environments, like the study visit to GB Taekwondo, which was really beneficial in seeing how other spots work with elite athletes.”
Remi Allen, assistant coach at Crystal Palace, added: “Initiatives like this are hugely important, I think, when you’re in the game, or at club, you’re always focusing on the next game, the next win, so you can sometimes get lost in that. This has given me the opportunity to stop, reflect and continue to learn. I know I wouldn’t be where I am in terms of my development if it weren’t for this opportunity, and I think the more we can do things like this, the better the women’s game is going to be for it”
Dan Clements, Head of Coach Development at The FA, said: “It was a real privilege to celebrate the fourth cohort graduating from the Coaching Excellence Initiative, and recognise the coaches’ hard work. Over the past 18 months, they have fully embraced every aspect of the programme, supporting and challenging each other, and you can see the impact that has had on their development as coaches, but also the network that it has helped foster.
“Initiatives like the CEI are important in creating meaningful opportunities for coaches in the women’s game to grow, and we hope that the learnings from this programme have helped to equip these coaches with the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to perform at the highest level.”
The CEI is one of several programmes designed to support the development of female coaches, a key priority outlined in The FA’s Reaching Higher strategy.
