Retired Jamaican Striker Relishing Role As Stoke City Coach
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He is on a 23-month programme as a coach at Stoke City’s Category One Academy
Retired Jamaican striker Ricardo Fuller is enjoying his time as a coach in Stoke City football club. The club decided to hire him after he established himself as one of their legendary players.
Fuller told journalists that he has developed a passion for nurturing the upcoming talents. He has thrown his heart and soul into professional coaching. He is on a 23-month programme as a coach at Stoke City’s Category One Academy. The programme is run by the Professional Player to Coach Scheme (PPCS).
This programme is delivered by the EFL, the Professional Footballer’s Association and the Premier League. The project is meant to add the number of players that transition into full-time professional coaching.
Fuller believes that the Professional Player to Coach Scheme has helped him in his personal development. He believes that the knowledge he is gaining will help in future. This knowledge is useful whether he become a first-team head coach or he stay in the Academy system.
Stoke reached out to Fuller after he got outstanding feedback in his UEFA B license presentation.
Fuller had an incredible playing career that lasted an incredible 20 years. He created a legendary status by scoring 134 goals while playing for 14 different clubs.
The Jamaican national team capped him with 72 appearances. however, he is best-known for his time under coach Tony Pulis in Stoke city. He was a key player when the team won promotion to the Premier League in 2007/08. He also helped stoke establish itself as a top-flight team.
Fuller retired three times but he returned twice as a player-coach in Hanley Town and Nantwich Town football clubs. These experiences helped him acquire the “coaching hours” required to earn his UEFA B license.
The 44-year-old was forced to take an 18-month break during the pandemic. He is now focused on accomplishing his dream of being a top-flight coach.
Fuller told journalists that he has spent the last six weeks learning different skills from the under-9s to the under-21s level. He started by observing before he moved on to passive coaching. He revealed that he has been leading, planning and reviewing sessions in the last five months. He has also been gaining insights into sports science, analysis and recruitment.
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