Jobs4Football meets Gérard Jones
Meet the entrepreneurial elite coach educator who is looking to challenge traditional coaching methods and make big strides in the world of football by being a student of the game.
Gérard Jones is a former elite coach educator for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation with over 14 years’ experience in professional and grassroots football around the world, and his own award-winning website that helps coaches ‘operate in their own excellence’.
Jones has been studying the beautiful game since he can remember, but the English and French dual national is never satisfied and constantly watches football to enhance his knowledge even further on the sport. He said: “When I watch a game I find it hard to do so from a spectators perspective, of course I enjoy watching football at all levels and different leagues, but I’ll typically be watching it and looking at player actions, principles, how players are posing certain questions to other players in the way they are moving or setting traps like a game of cat and mouse.”
“I have always been curious, even now I’ve set up my own online platform and that’s a big world in terms of curiosity and helping people discover their own solutions, so I have always been thinking about that and the micro details.”
Jones is a UEFA A licensed coach and also holds a master’s in performance coaching and he is currently doing a PhD in skill adaptation which focusses on the thought process of elite footballers and how coaches can become more effective in their feedback.
“Normally the way national body courses work is set around completing these set prescribed modules and teaching the session as this tick box exercise that you have to achieve in each session. I knew that I had to get these qualifications to help me get a role but I was also thinking what other strings I can add to my bow because I don’t necessarily think this is the right way.”
“You can find new ways to do things better and that only comes from asking more questions and then you’ll get better answers which will then lead to more questions and the cycle repeats, so you should always be looking for better ways to do things. For example, you might look at how Liverpool press, how United press, how Atletico Madrid press, then move on to let’s look at other sports like basketball, so you might be asking questions but then there might be other questions that follow on from that, so you are always searching for new and improved information.”
Jones has been involved in football his entire life and played for Halifax Town youth team before he quit playing to go to university in 2008. He admits that when he was brought up management focussed on a more coach centred environment rather than a player centred one and in today’s game that may not be the most effective method.
He went on to say: “Coaches often say they are all about guiding players, but then they actually prescribe to players by telling them where to look and how to move, or will say you can make a decision but it must be one of these decisions, so you’re taking away choice. Interestingly, when the players are on the pitch, making decisions and they get it wrong it’s a blame culture and the player’s fault but if they make good decisions, it’s all down to the coach which isn’t fair.”
“For me that’s where I became curious and said look, I’ve got to have something else. I have got to look for other answers and I don’t know if there is definite black and white answers, but I want to go on a journey with this player because if we know the game is random, chaotic and requires adaptability, this means that the coaching needs to reflect this and develop player’s who are adaptable. At the end of the day it’s the players going out there and solving the problems.”
“There will be different reasons for what motivates them and why they are here, so if you can understand that you can be more effective in how you stretch and help that individual to help the collective group. Don’t think too much about the past, learn from it but don’t let it dictate the future.”
During his career, the 32-year-old has experience of coaching in the UK, USA and Morocco and in this time he has worked a various number of roles including academy coach at Rochdale and Bristol Rovers, first team manager at non-league Eccleshill United, assistant coach of Bradford City’s U21s and director of coaching at Arsenal soccer schools and Eastside FC in Michigan.
“I’ve gone to different countries, I’ve worked in different roles and I’ve tried to gain as many different experiences as I can across different positions, and this is good because if I was to go be a part time coach under somebody I have actually been in their position before. This means I have some sort of perspective on everyone’s role and understanding of what everyone is looking for and this can only be an advantage.”
“I never played professionally, so there might be those that think does he know what he’s doing and there might be questions and doubts because of this. If you haven’t made it professionally it’s harder to achieve a career in football, so I thought if I haven’t got that I have got to have something else that gives me an edge over those who have played professionally.”
As well as his career in football and running his own website, Jones is also a qualified teacher, an ambassador for a coaching platform called “Coaches Voice” and a published author in communication psychology, all of this despite only being 32-years-old but the York born believes he is nowhere near the finished product yet.
“I’m incredibly proud because effectively I started from zero and I have had to really work hard to gain some strides to overcome challenges and setbacks and I’m fortunate that I have earnt a career out of the game. However, I think I’m only working at 5% of my career potential so I think there is a lot more to come.”
Jones has big ambitions for where he would like to be in the future but admits it’s not set in stone the role he will pursue as his journey into football continues. He said: “I want to work as a head coach at the top level, but we will see because I may gravitate to other roles. I never aspired to be a coach developer or work at some of the levels I did but I did because of the people I met and obviously impressed. I have got my targets that I want to try and achieve but I’m also incredibly open.”
“I may well be in the premier league before I’m 40 as a head coach or I may find that I have done that and I’m better with the younger players or I might be head of methodology and try and improve the way we coach, so it could be number of things or avenues I take but we will see how it manifests.”
Jones has already attained an enormous amount of knowledge and success in the sport despite being so young, but his ambition and passion for wanting to continuously learn new and improved ways to do things mean he looks set for a long career at the top level, whatever the role may be.