Sports Coaching Graduate, Lewis Childs, talks about his journey from UCLan to the UAE, where he heads up a football talent development programme for City Football Group.
BA (Hons) Sports Coaching
University of Central Lancashire Sports Coaching graduate, Lewis Childs, has his dream career working for City Football Group, who also own his hometown football team and Premier League giants, Manchester City F.C., as Head Coach of the Talented Player Programme at the Club’s base in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis was Drawn to UCLan because of the excellent reputation in Sports Coaching as well as close links to the city of Manchester. The course modules gave Lewis a real understanding of coaching methodologies, focusing on a range of sports from elite to grass roots level including a module which involved travelling to Spain for a high-performance training camp.
Whilst coaching at the college, Lewis was approached by staff from Manchester City F.C. about working with their academy. Casual hours led to part-time work and on the very same week he graduated Lewis was offered a full-time contract with Manchester City F.C. as a Junior Academy Coach.
Within a few years, Lewis had worked his way up the club’s coaching ladder to land the role of Football Delivery Manager, which was based in the UAE and managed and developed a football programme which is the largest of its kind in the Middle East. From this role, Lewis was promoted to Head Coach of the Talented Player Programme in the UAE.