Cheung Chuk Shan College

21/02/2019

“Unlicensed” CCSC coach proves that paper qualifications aren’t everything（21/02/2019）

Coach turns professional and broadens international horizons (Updated on 09/05/2019)

New coach certificate holder vows to keep working hard (Updated on 14/06/2019)

“Unlicensed” CCSC coach proves that paper qualifications aren’t everything（21/02/2019）

Cheung Chuk Shan College (CCSC) on Hong Kong Island is known for its high academic performance; yet in recent years, it has begun to develop its sports disciplines. Established in mid-2016, the school’s football team scooped its first award in 2017 at an inter-school competition. Gavin Leung, head coach of the team, is actually the school’s administrator with no professional football coaching experience. However, fearless Gavin managed to lead CCSC to a breakthrough in the inter-school competition, and later made up his mind to join the JC School Football Development Scheme, hoping to become a responsible and professional football coach to guide the school team forward.

Gavin has worked at CCSC for 20 years, handling the administration matters of sports activities. His insoluble bond with football began in secondary school when he was substituted for a friend in a football game. Two-and-a-half years ago, after the school’s football team had been established, Gavin took the lead but was perplexed: “I had no coaching foundation in football. I could only get football teaching demonstrations on the internet for reference, which I digested and internalised before teaching to the students.” However, Gavin realised that the approach was not effective, as spending one hour watching the videos could only help him to prepare a few minutes’ training for students.

This year, the boys’ football team A was eliminated during the inter-school competition. This hit Gavin hard, and he decided to strive to become a qualified coach: “The players were fully devoted in the game, and I was very thankful for their trust, even though I do not have any coaching qualifications. It made me determined to work even harder.”

Gavin thinks that traditional football training is more aggressive and hastily conducted. After joining a few workshops, he became inspired by the MUSS approach: “I usually suggest that my team play more prudently to avoid making mistakes, for they have different standards. Now I would encourage them to go freestyle, to be confident to dribble and try. I have learnt to observe the weaknesses of every player and then try to improve their skills for their long-term development.”

Whilst still a novice, Gavin firmly believes that with his passion and the professional skillset taught by the Scheme, he and his students will have a wider perspective and will eventually build up to a breakthrough.

Coach turns professional and broadens international horizons (Updated on 09/05/2019)

The elimination of CCSC at the inter-school football competition was Gavin’s turning point. His students, including Anson Chan, a member of JC Youth Football Leadership Scheme who played in the competition, think that the result of the competition has made Gavin – the "unlicensed" coach – more determined than ever to pursue his professional goals. Since the two school visits, the team has noticed that Gavin is increasingly well-versed in respect of training arrangements, technical demonstrations, and even tactical guidance: "Coach Gavin is becoming more like a professional coach".

Gavin's progress has been obvious to all. Chan Kam-keung and Tai Wang-kin, Form 1 and Form 2 students respectively, agree with Anson’s view. Although the two have not known Gavin for long, they have gradually gained a better understanding of his character. Kam-keung, who has only played football for one year, appreciates Gavin's enthusiasm: "Even though he is not a professional coach, he often devotes time to studying teaching programmes, equipping himself with knowledge before passing it on to us.”

Within just a few months of participating in the Scheme, the two teenagers were able to notice an obvious change in Gavin, especially in terms of his knowledge of football concepts and tactics. Wang-kin said: "In the past, our trainings mainly focused on defense and were relatively boring, with less emphasis on tactics. Now he adopts the Manchester United Soccer Schools’ approach by making use of training equipment and introducing new activities such as team attack and dribbling skills training to encourage the team to play freestyle and to strive to score goals. The team has now become well-rounded in terms of tactics.”

Nowadays, for excellent coaches to deliver brilliant results, besides having expertise in tactics, they also need to be charismatic leaders and cultivate good relations with players. The two youngsters think his friendly personality and good relations with students are Gavin’s strengths. In addition, they believe that by applying what he has learnt, together with his teaching experience, he can make a breakthrough in his personal teaching career and for the CCSC football team. "A coach’s license is just a piece of paper – it is not what makes a good coach. With enthusiasm and the right attitude of continuing to improve himself, Gavin can also become a professional coach and team manager, helping us to improve and win matches. I believe he can do it!” said Kam-keung.

As the end of the school year approaches, Gavin will be receiving his first football coach training certificate. However, the novice coach believes that the coaching experience he has gained over the last year matters far more than the certificate. During the third school visit, Gavin will reveal the changes in himself and in the team.

New coach certificate holder vows to keep working hard (Updated on 14/06/2019)

Coaches and students from Cheung Chuk Shan College football team have all benefited a great deal from the Scheme this year. Coach Gavin has shown improvements in his tactical explanations and coaching skills, while students have also demonstrated better skills during training sessions. Both parties have become more mature after joining the Scheme. Meanwhile, the school has achieved great results at the inter-school competitions in all A, B and C grades, which has made Gavin very happy. The results have also proved that the Scheme has taught teachers and students more than just football skills.

It is said that a good player will become a good coach, and Gavin tends to agree: “The Scheme has offered me a chance to become a student again and learn from Christopher O’Brien how to teach football. My football skills have also improved, allowing me to demonstrate more skillfully in front of the students.” Looking back at the days when he learnt about football from online videos, Gavin thinks the Scheme has done more by offering him basic teaching plans that he can further explore and choose the ones that are suitable for the team, such as short pass, dribbling and goal-shooting. By executing these plans, Gavin believes that the students will be able to enjoy diversity in their regular training and eventually improve: “At the beginning of the school year, I asked the students to focus on defense if they do not want to lose any points. Now I choose to let the team go forward and attack, to unleash their potential.”

Seeing the positive results of his students, Gavin has set a short-term goal: to get an award at the Inter-School Football Competition. By doing so, he hopes to enhance students’ sense of belonging to the school, and to establish a long-lasting football culture: “I hope playing football can become a habit for them and be the means of drawing the teammates closer together and forging their spirits into one, so that one day, even after they graduate from school, they will meet up and have fun together because of football.” A long-serving administrative staff member at Cheung Chuk Shan College, Gavin is very popular amongst teachers and students. He firmly believes that the foundation of a good football team is not just skills, but the spirit of unity and teamwork. Therefore, he wants to build the team and strengthen their bonds through football.

This year’s Scheme concluded with a celebration at the School Football Development Day. There, Gavin received his first football coach certificate from Christopher O’Brien. He is no longer an ‘unlicensed’ football coach and has committed to ‘doing his job well’ – not only as a teacher at the school but also as a football coach. He continuously reminds himself not to forget his original intention of joining the Scheme, which was to become a better coach and lead the students to the next level and to accomplishing their goals.