Becoming a Sports Coach: 18 and Living in New York
Recently, LLS Graduate Harri Knight sat down with us to give us some insight into how his time at LLS has helped him go on to do something he loves. Currently, he’s in New York coaching football at a Beestera soccer camp, where he’ll be for the next ten weeks.
Like many kids, Harry loved sports and playing with his friends. He was eight when he realised he could have a career in the sports industry, and by 15 he was coaching a local grassroots team. His interest in sports and his drive pushed him to a local careers event, and that’s where he found LLS.
“It completely hooked me in, and since joining the course it’s just made me want to become a coach even further.”
Harri Knight after taking part in a curling class during the LLS Finland trip
We asked Harri how he found the LLS application process.
His answer came quickly: “It was very easy.”
Our taster events ease students into this new experience and make sure they understand the standards we expect from them as LLS students. Starting in a new sports sixth form can be daunting, so we want to make sure that all our students feel prepared and ready for their new beginning. Harri went on to describe his “first event with LLS.”
“I remember I walked in and I met this one lad and he ended up being my best friend for the whole two years, so I think that made it more comfortable because when it came to the first day [of college], I already had a friend there ready.”
LLS puts on a range of tasters, workshops and team building events that give potential students an idea of what they’re in store for. Harri’s a prime example of why these events are important, as it gave him a platform to feel comfortable starting his new experience.
How did you get on with your classmates?
“I was friends with most people, everyone in the class really.
Because you coach all the time with each other, you just kind of create a better relationship because everyone’s out of their comfort zone.”
Harri’s experience here isn’t unique, most LLS students spend a lot of time together during the sports coaching trips and activities we put on throughout the year.
For instance, Harri was one of many students to go to both Alicante and Finland in order to elevate their coaching skills. He told us,
“in Alicante and Finland we had all these experiences I didn’t expect. We tried different sports like Pesäpallo which I’d never heard of before.
“There was one day [in Alicante] where I was coaching rugby all day to students who couldn’t speak English. Again in Finland, coaching students there who couldn’t speak English.”
The Finland trip was a reward for the top students who’d excelled in sports coaching at each of the LLS centres, whereas our Alicante trip is an annual excursion available to all LLS students. While abroad, Harri and his classmates undertook multi-sport sessions in local schools, running their own PE lessons.
These trips promote exposure to new challenges, where students like Harri have to adapt and solve problems they’ve never faced before. Breaking down language barriers in unfamiliar environments meant engaging his coaching skills in ways he’d never done before. These are the opportunities that push LLS students to become the best coaches they can possibly be.
Do you have a standout moment from your time at LLS?
“Yeah, so many. Coaching students who couldn’t speak English, the Global Coaching Conference and speaking to employees there. That’s a standout moment, it’s fuel that I’ll [use] for the rest of my life.
So I think it’s not really a stand out moment for me, it’s more like overall LLS was standout, to be honest.”
Harri was lucky. He always knew he wanted a career in sports, and he found LLS fit him perfectly. Sports coaching is daunting, but a career in the sports industry is full of opportunities. Harri’s one of many LLS graduates who are currently coaching around the world, in New York, California, Hawaii, and even Qatar.
Whether you’ve always known like Harri, or you’re just thinking about it now, a career in the sports industry could be for you. Sports coaching abroad, going to university, becoming a physiotherapist, a nutritionist or any other career in sports, LLS is the place to start. If you want to coach abroad like Harri, come to an LLS taster event and hear for yourself if we’re right for you.
