Graeme Murty believes graduating from the Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme (ECAS) has helped make him a better parent.
The former Reading full-back, who now works at Norwich City as the Under-18s academy coach, believes ECAS, a two-year learning programme for coaches that started in 2014, is the best coaching programme he has experienced.
And while he is convinced the increased teamwork and powers of self-reflection are making the graduates better coaches, there is also a significant benefit closer to home.
"It's enhanced our practice but also our reflective skills of what we do, how we do it but more importantly why we do it," said the 41-year-old, who made more than 300 appearances for the Royals, at his graduation ceremony at Ashridge Business School.
"My wife thinks I'm a much better father than I used to be. I'm much more likely to listen to my nine-year-old daughter who thinks she's 21. Now, because I’m trying to understand her, understand where she’s coming from, I'm much calmer, I’m less authoritarian and I'm more used to devolving authority down to her and actually asking her to make choices.
"Although it might take longer for me to get to the crux of the problem, it’s been a far better experience for me as a parent, just actually understanding myself and then applying that to my little girl."
Murty identifies the trip to British Cycling at the Manchester Velodrome, to witness the detail and resources invested into the top two per cent of our international cyclists, and the three-day military exercise in the Brecon Beacons as highlights of a life-changing two years.
"It’s given me as much satisfaction having to grind and fight my way through this as many of my actual achievements when I kicked a football for a living," he said. "It's been labour intensive but immensely gratifying.
"[The main gain has been] in improving my perception of myself. Becoming more self-aware, the tools that ECAS gives you allows you to step outside yourself and look at where your strengths and weaknesses are, but then not to get hung up on them but to accept them and then put a plan in place to improve or enhance what's already there.
"I think that's the most fundamental coach-improvement programme I've ever heard of."
He appreciated the critical friends that his group of mentors became: "They always take it back to the rowing analogy: 'Is it making the boat go faster'? Is my session actually enhancing what we're doing? If it's not, put your ego to one side; make it better.
"Have we got good emotional control, which is what we're working towards, are we giving different communication styles, pertinent tactical information, how are we empowering our young players, are we getting better? Because if we can do that and make our players more comfortable and make them more self-reliant – almost coach ourselves into redundancy – if we’re confident enough to do that, pass on the baton of responsibility to the players, which is what this course is about, then ECAS will have done its job."
Peter Lansley, a lecturer in football journalism at the University of Derby, is an FA Coach Mentor who coaches for Derby County Community Trust while reporting for the Guardian and the Daily Mail.
