Hi Liam, can you tell us a bit about your research focus and industry experience?

Over the last 15 years I have become increasingly curious about how sport coaches and those who support them (often called coach educators or coach developers) learn and become more effective within their roles. Specifically, I am interested in how they (as practitioners) and their practice are both influenced by professional development programmes. As a result, my research and knowledge exchange work typically focuses on designing, facilitating, and evaluating such programmes with professional sport teams, national and international governing bodies, and national and international agencies.

How did your partnership with the Premier League begin, and what have been some of the milestone achievements of the partnership so far?

My work with the Premier League dates back to 2019, at the point where I had generated some exciting insights through my PhD work with the English Football Association (FA). As part of the Premier League's ambition to build a world-leading coach development system, they were seeking to improve pathways for coaches in football academies and provide them with best-in-class development opportunities.

I was commissioned to design an innovative two-year inquiry-/project-based programme for former professional players with Black heritage, all coaches from underrepresented populations - including all coaches that are men with non-White heritage, and all women. The programme is now validated by Leeds Beckett University (DipHE Professional Football Coaching) and the work has been published in International Sport Coaching Journal and spoken about in a research brief for the FIFA Training Centre.

Have any further knowledge exchange collaborations grown out of the Premier League work? If so, what have they involved?

Yes, this work really stimulated further collaboration both inside and outside of football and increasingly with those who support coaches as much as coaches themselves. Specifically, these collaborations include the United States Soccer Federation (US Soccer), Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), United States Tennis Association (USTA), and Swim England. This coincided with the publication of my edited book focused on the role and function of assessment in development programmes, which appears to be a current interest area for international and national governing bodies.

What have been some of the challenges of working with such large, and international, organisations?

I will reframe challenges as 'opportunities' and stress the importance of taking the time to learn about the history and traditions of the organisation, current context and goals, and cultural idiosyncrasies. I have learned a vast amount about each of the organisations and countries that I've been fortunate to work in and that has enabled me to achieve some influence and impact.

And what have been some of the personal highlights from your collaborative work so far?

I am so proud to have developed, and contributed to the delivery of, the DipHE Professional Football Coaching with the Premier League. At the time of writing, 129 academy football coaches have engaged with the two-year learning opportunity, each positively impacting the playing experiences of young footballers across the country.

Of course, publishing the edited book has been a highlight too. Convening 38 authors from eight countries around a scarcely explored but important subject (assessment) was a huge achievement. My hope is that the book serves as a practical guide to fellow practitioners as we collectively seek to continuously improve how we support coaches and coach educators/developers.

How have the partnerships brought benefits to our students and the LBU research community?

It is really important that our sport coaching undergraduate students are exposed to the realities of industry early and often. Through our partnership and programme with the Premier League, these students can see that full-time professional football coaches (as they might aspire to be) are not only still engaged in study, but also at the same university as them. We have been able to invite these coaches to deliver guest lectures and facilitate practical workshops. Aside from this, the work that I do with the organisations listed above, and others, helps me to shape modules and curricula to expose students at all levels to very current ideas and issues that are at the forefront of industry minds.

Are there any networks, strategies or tips that have helped you build and maintain strong relationships with influential partners?

Prior to working in academia, I spent five years as the head of coaching for a national governing body, and I still currently occupy the practitioner space. For these reasons (and others), I fully appreciate the challenging nature of the type of work that my peers/collaborators are trying to do.

There are no silver bullets or easy answers to the practical problems that are encountered in the field; therefore, my general approach is to tread carefully, work with humility, and recognise how fortunate I am to be invited into these environments. We mustn't take ourselves too seriously!

What advice can you share with researchers interested in taking part in knowledge exchange activity for the first time?

Don't be afraid to be very clear that you are learning and growing as much, or more, than they might be. For me, this type of work is a shared endeavour where we all muddle through together. Be curious and patient.