Nepean’s James Rankine enjoying FFA B-Licence course

Nepean District Soccer Football Association Football Manager James Rankine expressed his delight upon completing the first stage of the FFA B-Licence that was recently held at Valentine Sports Park under the watchful eye of FFA’s Advanced Coaching Manager Rob Sherman.
The Welshman alongside Football NSW State Technical Director Alex Tobin and Football NSW Coach Education Manager Oscar Gonzalez put together the seminar that had 28 candidates in total which featured the likes of former Leeds United and current Newcastle Jets star Michael Bridges and former Socceroos skipper Paul Wade to name a few.
“The first half of the course was fantastic.
“We’ve got another six days to complete in August as well as a number of assignments to do before we go back.
“The information builds on the C-Licence and adds some depth and layers to what we already have.
“A number of quality coaches participated in the course while some really good training drills and sessions were put on for everyone.”
Asked what he thought of Rob Sherman’s expertise and being taught under him, Rankine stated to Football NSW.
“Rob is a fantastic communicator and his passion and drive for Coach Education is obvious.
“For me it’s been great to have him as our presenter – he brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.
“Overall I was really pleased to have been a part of this with someone like Rob involved.”
Apart from Sherman, FFA National Technical Director Han Berger and FFA National Coach Education Manager Kelly Cross also made appearances during the week long camp.
“It’s always great to see both Han and Kelly again.
“I’ve been fortunate enough over the years to have worked with both of them on different projects and programs and it was great talking to those that have written the new curriculum.
“They’re both supportive of anyone wanting to get more information and wanting to improve their coaching experience.”
Rankine also stated his praise on the fact that the likes of fellow candidates Michael Bridges and Paul Wade did add more to the B-Licence experience.
“The experience that Michael and Paul as well as the many others that were present was invaluable to those of us that haven’t had that insight at that level just yet – I have to say though it was tough chasing these two guys around for the 2 practical sessions a day which was a bit challenging for us older guys.
“Overall, the course had a good mix of coaches but most importantly, all were football people.
“The best part of this was that everyone was doing this course to improve their coaching experience which we all took in our strides.”
Lamenting on what was put forward during the course, Rankine is now focused on bringing this new found knowledge to his very own association at Nepean further educating and up-skilling future coaches.
“One of the great things about my role is that I get to present the FFA’s Community Coach Education Courses and so in the past three years, I have done around 100 courses.
“This B-Licence is invaluable, not just in the information and coaching portion, but also in group management and how to keep a wide range of candidates motivated and working together over a period of time.
“I am hoping that I can continue to learn these lessons as well as the football ones so that I can continue to provide high quality coach education courses to the coaches within the Nepean region.
“If we continue to do this, then as the FFA vision states, “we get better coaches which means better players” and we also have the chance of keeping players involved in the game if they’re enjoying it.”
-By Mark Stavroulakis