Garston Ladies FC report that their Ellie Fitzgibbons is probably Britain’s youngest qualified coach, earning her badge aged just 16 years and 4 days.
Garston Ladies FC continue to enjoy record-breaking success both on and off the field. Ellie Fitzgibbons, part of the U-12 Leopards coaching team, is probably Britain’s youngest qualified coach, earning her badge aged just 16 years and 4 days. As the minimum age is 16, this will be hard to beat. Ellie also plays centre midfield for Gaston Ladies U-16 Jaguars.
Ellie has always enjoyed playing football, whether on the school playground or with her team out on pitch. She said that a main attraction is being part of a team who all encourage one another, win or lose.
Ellie said ‘As I am a young player, I thought I could contribute to the girls’ development because coaching is a primarily male community, so a girl’s point of view will change the teaching of football.’
In Ellie’s blog, she noted, ‘I had always been shy and thought coaching a sport I love to play would be a great way for me to break the uncomfortableness of talking to people. Garston Ladies gave me the opportunity to joint coach a team at age just 14; this was quite a scary prospect for me but one I was excited to become involved in. From the start, I enjoyed coaching the girls. However, the support and encouragement I received benefited me greatly and I would not have had the confidence to carry on without them.’
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Despite claiming to be shy outside of football, Ellie is no shrinking violet when it comes to the sport she loves. Talking about the coaching course, she said, ‘I was the only girl and the only young person within a group of men. However, I did not let this faze me for too long. I soon got into the swing of things with delivering my drills and participating in other peoples. This concluded in me receiving my very own dirtiest player award, for standing my ground and embarrassing the men when they got taken down by a girl!’
She went on to describe the benefits of the course, saying, ‘It was good learning how different people coach and then being able to take the best bits and adapt it to suit myself. It was a great experience and, after passing, I feel a true sense of achievement. Now I have completed my Level 1 it has made coaching even more appealing to me and I would love to continue learning, I hope to complete more courses in the coming years.’
Danielle Quelch, of Hertfordshire FA noted, ‘It’s great that young female players, such as Ellie, are showing an interest and dedication to coaching football in addition to playing. We’re excited to have young coaches who are keen to develop their knowledge and help deliver the key messages of the England DNA.’
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
