THE PROFESSIONAL COACH
Planning, executing and supporting
Working as the head coach of a professional club's first team or, in some cases, as a member of the coaching staff at professional level
Working closely with and leading the coaching and multidisciplinary staff
Being involved in developing and applying a club's technical policy and philosophy
Ensuring the right balance between the players' professional and private lives
Working with professional players from different cultural backgrounds, of different ages and experience, eg, young talented players, experienced players, star players
Dealing with all factors affecting the team's performance: media, players' agents, fans, scouts, sports ethics, etc
Being accountable to the club's management: club owner, club board, technical director, etc
Contributing to the club's overall policy
THE PLAYER & TEAM
Planning, executing and supporting individual player development, including players' own objectives, and complying with the club's technical policy
Giving direction and supporting players, enabling them to take responsibility for their individual development and involving them in the process (stimulating self-regulation)
Working on the team's development in cooperation with all support staff, ie technical, medical and performance
Managing all aspects of the team’s performance
Creating a winning mentality and a high- performance culture in a positive environment at professional level
TRAINING ENVIRONMENT
Preparing and conducting individual and team training sessions at professional level
Working with individual players and the team and understanding how the training session design can affect performance at professional level
Designing game-oriented (team tactical) training sessions in terms of opponents, pressure and intensity
Planning, delivering and reviewing training sessions in accordance with the club’s coaching philosophy
Designing a season team-tactical and physical plan in accordance with the competition schedule and the club's objectives
Embracing and adopting an interdisciplinary approach to physical preparation and development, wherever possible in cooperation with other members of the multidisciplinary team, e.g. performance analysts, fitness coaches, sports scientists, medical and other performance staff
THE MATCH
Preparing a team for and coaching them during matches at professional level
Using the game to develop each player and the team, but also to create a winning team and a high-performance culture
Preparing the match plan (with the staff) in accordance with the club’s playing philosophy, taking the opponent team into account
Analysing the matches (with the staff) as an evaluation and learning tool for individual players and the team as a whole
The UEFA Pro Licence will build on the competencies gained by the coach through the completion of the UEFA A Licence.
Entrance to the UEFA Pro Licence course will therefore require completion of the following:
Children’s Wellbeing in Scottish Football (e-learning)
Mental Health in Scottish Football (e-learning)
UEFA A Licence
Notes:
No other qualifications will be accepted as a prerequisite for the UEFA Pro Licence course. Every successful applicant will:
Hold a valid UEFA A Licence
Have completed at least one year’s experience, after graduating with the UEFA A licence, as a coach in 11-a-side football.
Have completed the Scottish FA e-learning courses listed above
All applicants must be working at the highest level of the game possible; working at elite youth and/ or top amateur level as an absolute minimum. To properly implement learning from the course, working with elite youth players at U16 as a minimum is recommended. UEFA Pro Licence coaching practice, assignments and assessments will be based on the 11 v 11 game.
In addition to the above, candidates whose UEFA A Licence was achieved through another National Association must include the following documents:
Evidence of valid UEFA A Licence certification (as well as evidence of appropriate CPD accreditation, if applicable)
Coaching & Playing / Football CV
Letter of support (normally from the club/ team that will be worked with for the duration of the course)
Letter outlining why you wish to undertake the UEFA Pro Licence with the Scottish FA
UEFA Cross Border forms will only be required if your application has been successful. This will be requested separately
In all of the cases outlined above it is expected that prior to application, each applicant has a Scottish FA Live account and has successfully completed both the Children’s Wellbeing in Scottish Football (e-learning) and Mental Health in Scottish Football (e-learning) courses within the past three years.