“It’s all about your experience and volunteering is key to that, especially as a young coach.”

Sports clubs and organisations across the country are celebrating Coaching Week, an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work completed by coaches.

Jordan Bond recently joined Reds in the Community (RitC) as a Community Coach, becoming the latest student at the charity to progress into paid work at Oakwell.

Interested in a sports career from an early age, Jordan took the first step in coaching aged 15, putting himself through an FA Level One course.

After finishing school, he began studying at RitC on the Level Three Extended Diploma whilst volunteering at the Charity as well as at other organisations around the Barnsley Borough.

Following the course, Jordan worked and picked up more voluntary coaching hours whilst using his initiative further by completing his FA Level Two.

He returned to Reds in the Community in September 2018 to study on the inaugural year of the Foundation Degree programme, which is run in partnership with the University of South Wales.

His commitment both inside and outside of the classroom has enabled him to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities at Oakwell, as well as being one of 26 students who took part in a two-week coaching experience in Malta earlier this year.

Now a paid Community Coach at Reds in the Community despite having another year left on his Foundation Degree, Jordan gave an insight into his development at Oakwell.

He said: “Being on the degree, it’s enabled me to go to Malta and do coaching out there which was a new experience. The kids can’t speak English so you have got to do a lot of demonstrations. I’ve gone out to primary schools and worked on soccer camps.

“Being involved with the Shadow Scholarship, that’s going to help me develop because I also coach an U15’s team. I’ve developed massively. My confidence has improved. I’ve got more experience and I just want to go as far as I can with coaching and hopefully go abroad next year.”

Education Officer Mark Crossfield has overseen Jordan’s journey from student to Community Coach.

Mark was full of praise for Jordan, who has become the latest youngster to progress from studying at Reds in the Community to working for the Charity.

He said: “Jordan was a perfect student. He applied himself in all units, had a great attitude towards his education and achieved some top grades. Along with all other students, Jordan was given opportunities to get involved in coaching and he took advantage of those opportunities.

“Going to Malta this year, Jordan was one of the senior students and acted as a role model to those that were a little bit younger. Aside from his studying, he’s got himself involved in refereeing and worked with other coaching organisations around Barnsley to further his coaching expertise.

“It’s all about your experience and volunteering is key to that, especially as a young coach. That’s something that Jordan has taken advantage of. As a person, he’s matured. He’s now got that independence, he can lead sessions and can take criticism on board.

“He’s still at the starting point of his journey in terms of becoming an experienced coach but he’s making excellent progress. If he continues doing what he’s doing, he’s going to be really successful as a sports coach as a career.”

Reds in the Community are currently recruiting for two Community Coaches, with the deadline for applications being Friday 7th June.

For more information and to apply, click HERE.