Coaches from Paola Hibernians Football Nursery in Scotland

A group of football coaches from Paola Hibernians Football Nursery visited Scotland for an intensive football training programme. The scope behind the visit was to enhace the knowledge of coaches specifically in the youth football sector.

During the visit the coaches visited two of the top ranked football clubs in Scotland: Celtic FC where they met ex-Hibernians FC player Robert Docherty, and Hibernian FC. They also participated in a thorough training programme which included a series of theoretical and practical sessions all focusing on the elements of youth football coaching. Some of these sessions were delivered by Todd Lumsden and Sandy Clark both from Cumbernauld College.

The coaches also attended a certification session by Andy Smith at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility which has the support of the Scottish F.A and is recognised as a training camp facility for both the London Olympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. Participants exchanged their ideas and practices with the hosts.

The climax of this lifelong learning experience was the attendance to the Premier League match which saw Celtic and Hibernian come at a draw. Participants had time for cultural activities around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

On behalf of the participating coaches the nursery would like to thank Cumbernauld College for their continuous support in the organisation of this programme particularly Mr Davie Hay – the legend of Scottish and English football. This initiative was fully supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme as part of the Lifelong Learning programme – funded by the European Commission.