How LLS Gave Me the Independence to Coach in the USA
After graduating from the LLS sixth form course, Harvey Smith got the opportunity to coach football in the USA with Beestera Soccer. Having never been to the US, working in New York as a football coach was something that had never crossed his mind before joining LLS. He told us how he thinks about joining LLS as “a sliding doors moment,” a point in his life where this one decision changed the course of his future completely. He never would have realised he could be a coach, he wouldn’t be on his way to a career in sports, and he wouldn’t be in New York for the first time in his life.
From LLS to NYC
How are you finding New York?
“It’s class mate, honestly. It’s better than I thought.”
“All the kids want to learn, and they’re all obsessed because you’re from the UK, which is class.”
Harvey had always been competitive, and had always loved sport, but he’d never had one particular career path in mind. It was only after he joined LLS and started sports coaching that he thought “yeah, this is where I want to go. It was a bit of a sliding doors moment.”
“If I didn’t join LLS I wouldn’t have gone back to my school to start coaching and then I wouldn’t have gotten a job coaching football at an Academy. So it’s like I said it’s proper sliding doors.”
So did LLS help you as a person?
“ Yeah, I learned to be so much more independent.”
“I feel like in school, especially year 10 and 11, I got to a point where I was getting fed up because we were getting treated like a kid. I hated that. I came to LLS and it’s just, it’s well better.”
“If I went to a different college, I don’t think I’d come out here [to New York] and coach football. Well, you wouldn’t get the opportunity anyway. But I don’t think I could do it because I wouldn’t have the independence.”
Promoting independence is key for our students, and this model helps coaches like Harvey massively. He’s a likable lad, and you can see why the players he’s coaching would listen and look up to him. All he needed was some guidance and the right sixth form course to let him achieve his potential. Now he’s coaching football in the USA, and is on his way to a career in sports.
As he said, these opportunities aren’t available in every sixth form. LLS students finish the course with over 500 hours of independent coaching experience, leaving them well equipped to find a career in the sports industry. Experiences like coaching abroad builds character as well as coaching ability, making it easier to earn a placement in university or gain employment in the industry. As Harry said, the independence he gained through LLS meant that he was confident enough to take advantage of this opportunity.
Sixth Form Trips to Coaching in the USA
Do you have a favourite memory from LLS?
“Finland. That two weeks was class.”
“We did all sorts. I did water sports on the lake, did the sauna, and on the day trip to Estonia, went to the local footy match.”
“We went to Helsinki, I experienced a lot of culture, which was really good.”
The Finland excursion was a rewards trip for students across all our centres who’d performed well. Unlike the trip to Alicante in first year which is available to all students, Finland’s a prize for 2 years of hard work. Trips to Europe, and now 2 months in New York. These are the experiences that build the skills and self-belief that push students to go out and do big things. These are the experiences that come with joining the LLS sixth form course.
Harvey never pictured himself coaching football abroad, and now there’s nothing he’d rather do. He’d never thought about working abroad. It was never a possibility, whether it was lack of opportunity or simply not believing he could. Now look at him. Thriving in New York, earning a living doing something he loves.
Harvey told us that before LLS, coaching had never crossed his mind. Now, two years later, he’s set out on his own to coach football in the USA. He told us that he wouldn’t be coaching abroad if he hadn’t joined the LLS sixth form course. Not because he wouldn’t have the opportunity, but because the support provided by his tutors at LLS gave him the confidence and independence to achieve it. Harvey will be coaching football in New York for the remainder of the summer. Afterwards, he’ll go on with the knowledge that he’s already achieved things he’d never imagined before.
