Bears and Blues agree coaching collaboration

Warwickshire has established a partnership with footballing neighbours Birmingham City which will see the two clubs share coaching best practice.

The alliance between the Second City’s sporting institutions will focus on coach development and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the pursuit of success.

First Team Coach Mark Robinson, High Performance Manager Paul Greetham and members of our Academy coaching staff visited Blues’ Wast Hills Training Ground last week (1 December).

They took in medical meetings and observed training before undertaking discussions with First Team and Academy staff to better understand the high-performance football environment.

It’s part of the initial stages of a two-way knowledge transfer that will see Birmingham City visit Edgbaston in the New Year.

BCFC Head Coach, John Eustace, said: “Although operating in different sporting arenas, there is a huge amount of crossover when it comes to the dynamics of elite sport, whether that be teamwork, player management or rest and recovery – just to name a few.

“We are firm in our belief that whilst football provides great scope for learning, there is room for innovation by looking at other sports and fostering best practice from a range of fields.

“Just from our initial interactions, there were a range of discussion points and I look forward to furthering this conversation and learning more when we meet again.

“We want our Club to become the focal point of the City and in doing so, create associations with elite level institutions from across a multitude of disciplines. This partnership is an important part of a wider vision for Birmingham City Football Club.”

Robinson, added: “We’re always striving to improve our coaching, training and conditioning techniques – and to see first-hand how other high performance teams operate is all part of that development.

“It was a superb day with the team at Birmingham City. Everyone was welcoming and there is a real culture of openness and sharing best practice. There are certainly some things I’ll be taking away to tweak the way we work.

“This is a partnership both sides are keen to maintain and develop and I look forward to welcoming Birmingham’s coaching staff to Edgbaston in the near future.”