Football Apprentices, and 5 Ways to Use Football if You Are Cut

There is no doubt that football is a dream job and, for those that succeed, there is a golden pot at the end of the rainbow. However, the dream does not always come true; and many football apprentices have felt the pain of not making the cut (according to The Guardian over 60% of apprentices don’t even get through the cut at 18). These unfortunates have had to make some serious decisions: Should they use their knowledge of the beautiful game to help them in a future career, or forget about football in their search for a new future. Luckily, if you are one of that 60%, there are ways that your knowledge and skills can be utilized, and here are some of the options available to you.

Coaching

If you have played football at the level of a professional club, you will see how great coaching is as a job. Having played at a higher level, you will understand a lot of the basics that a coach has to know; but you will still need training. Eventually you will learn everything about football, from spotting injuries to developing a defensive strategy. There are 3 levels of certification you will need to go through, but once you do, you can start coaching straight away.

Football Management

Football managers are hitting the top flight at younger ages every year, and many of them are ex-players (in fact most). Apprentices are cut for many reasons, and just because a club believes you are too small or you have suffered an injury, it does not mean that you cannot go on to be a great manager. If you succeed with your coaching qualifications, then all you need is experience. Becoming a manager requires that you start at a low level and working your way up, but if you start at 21 then by the time you are 30 you will have 9 years of valuable experience.

Sports Science

If you take a sports science degree, not only will you already have knowledge of many things like exercise and injury problems, you will be taking a degree that could send you straight back into football. A sports science degree holder has the opportunity to become a sports therapist or an exercise physiologist), and is perfectly suited to the role of a coach. All of these are a foot in the door to most clubs; but remember, competition will be tough.

Scholarship

Sports scholarships are a way for a talented sports person to receive an excellent education that is paid for by others. They are available in the UK, but a footballer could use his skills and a scholarship agency like Athletes-USA.com to study abroad while playing the game he loves. Obviously, there will be a degree at the end of the scholarship too, which can only help open doors for you in a future career.

Referee

The referee may not be the most popular person on a football pitch, but if you qualify as one, at least you can set foot on the pitch. This is another career where you will need to work your way up the ladder, but the F.A.’s referee development programme will show you the stages you need to go through and the courses you need to take. Only the elite few get to referee the big games, but with patience and hard work there is no reason that you can’t be one of those elite few.

As you can see, not all is lost if you are cut from an apprentice program, and it is a real possibility to be back working in football in only a few years. You may not be scoring a winning goal at Wembley Stadium, but you could be celebrating on the sidelines or blowing the whistle.