Ben Dawson: why coaches must do the ‘hours and miles’ to learn their craft and prepare for future opportunities

Coach | Journey | Peter Glynn | 17.03.2022

Coaches must be willing to be put in the ‘hours and miles’ in order to learn their trade and prepare for future opportunities, says former Newcastle United first-team development coach Ben Dawson (pictured above). Image: Newcastle United FC/Getty Images

Learning:

-   The importance of learning coaching craft by putting in the ‘hours and miles’ in different coaching roles

- How working with a variety of groups can help you develop reference points to return to in future roles

- The importance of detailed session planning and subject knowledge

Coaches must be willing to be put in the ‘hours and miles’ in order to learn their trade and prepare for future opportunities, says former Newcastle United first-team development coach Ben Dawson.

“Looking back to when I first started coaching, the most important thing was the number of hours and miles that I put in,” says Dawson, whose coaching journey started nearly two decades ago in Newcastle’s community scheme, where he combined a full-time role coaching in schools and local clubs with part-time work in the club’s academy.

“I was doing 20 hours of coaching in a week, with all different ages and abilities, and there's no better grounding and no better place to learn your trade.”