At Houghton Athletic, our philosophy is based around giving the best quality coaching possible. By
doing this, we can grow not just players, but coaching staff and referees.
As a Charter Standard Development club, all our coaches must be qualified (or working towards) a minimum of F.A. Level 1 Certification.
In addition to this, we also like our senior coaches (F.A. Level 2/3) to spend time with all teams within the club (and their coaching staff).
This speeds up development of coaches and players.
We have a wide range of training equipment which is shared by teams across the club. This not only makes training more varied and fun, but also assists player development.
Our senior players are actively encouraged to follow coaching and refereeing pathways to help develop an understanding of the game from different perspectives.
Houghton Athletic Youth F.C. are a Partnership Club with Luton Town F.C. This provides links for talented players into Professional Football.
Coaches from the club regularly attend Luton Town coaching sessions delivered by A License coaches at the centre of excellence. This helps
us to deliver better coaching to our players.
Over the last few years, several of our players have been identified by Luton Town and are now part of their "Performance Centre" programme. One of our coaches is also a full-time coach at Luton Town.
Like all good charter standard clubs, our managers and coaches must be CRB checked and hold and F.A. Level 1 certification.
Unlike other clubs, all teams within our club receive regular coaching from at least level 2 coaches.
Over half our teams also receive regular coaching from F.A. Level 3 (Uefa B Licenced) coaches.
Coaches within the club are regulary offered coaching help/advice from other Coach Mentors within the club.
The younger teams also enjoy regular visits from the F.A. / Tesco Skills Coaches who are Level 3 qualified Youth Coaches.
When you decide to take the step into Coaching or Management of teams, you are not on your own.
Many of our coaches are Level 2 qualified (or above) and have many years experience in dealing with on and off pitch issues.
If you need help, or or just ideas for a training session, we have coach mentors that are their to help and develop you as a coach.