Bohemians midfielder Ian Morris has been a vital member of the Bohemians side this season, a side that has survived for another season in the Premier Division for 2018 after gaining a vital point against Champions Cork City last weekend.
Morris 30, has a real passion for coaching, having first got involved on the coaching side of things during his time at league 2 side Northampton Town, and he puts all that passion into his role as Youth Development Officer at Bohemians Football Club.
We recently caught up with the midfielder and asked him to tell us what the Youth Development Officer actually entails.
“As Youth Development Officer (YDO) my role covers a lot of areas. I oversee our Junior Academy, our Girls Academy and all our NDSL (North Dublin Schoolboy/Gild Leagues) teams from U8-U16 and the League of Ireland U-15 team. I would also be linked in with our U-17/U-19/ first team managers on a daily basis.”
“From ordering kit, organising training, running club coaching workshops or speaking with players/parents, they would be some of the things I would do. There is always something to do,” he says.
How did the role come about? “I seen the role advertised and done a couple of interviews. It's been non stop since I started.”
Playing in the League of Ireland for a club in the Premier Division is a challenge in itself and it can’t be easy to do the role, but Morris says that while it is a challenge he manages it quite well, “Juggling training and coaching has been extremely hard. I'm usually stopping what I'm doing as YDO to train, then continuing where I left when I finish training. This season has probably been the most intense with the pressure of 3 teams going down.”
He explains his reasons for wanting to get involved with the coaching side of the game, “I was coaching at Northampton Town’s academy before I came back to Ireland. I absolutely love coaching. It’s something that has always interested me.”
“The goal for me when I finish playing is to go straight into full-time coaching. I think with the new League of Ireland underage structures this is going to allow the LOI to really kick on. The standard of coaches now in Ireland is excellent. Hopefully there will be a lot more coaches employed by clubs in the near future.”
As part of his role he interacts with all of the coaching staff at the club on a daily basis, “Yeah I would speak to the managers daily about players, training or opposition. There is always something to work on or improve. I find myself very lucky to be learning off them. Dave Henderson our Head of recruitment has been excellent with player ID and getting players in at all ages. The dynamic we have now within the coaches at the club works really well.”
“Keith is the gaffer so everything is fed to him one way of another. He's excellent to deal with. Listens to ideas and is great to bounce things off.”
The clubs results at underage level have been superb this season. The U-19’s and U-17’s have qualified for their respective league finals, while the U-15’s sit second in their group with a game remaining.
Along with results, many of the clubs youngsters have broken into the Senior team under manager Keith Long. It’s a real testament to the work being done that the likes of Fuad Sule, Dan Casey, Warren O’Hora, Steven Nolan and Jamie Hamilton have all become vital members of the first-team squad.
“Having 8 players from our 17s & 19s make debuts says it all. The work being done by Graham Lawlor, Craig Sexton, Paul Murphy, Paul Flynn, Jimmy Mowlds, Hughie and Paul McGrath, has been incredible. This is being followed up with JJ Glynn, Conor Murphy, Glen Byrne, and Jamie Wilson with the u-15’s. The coaches we have at the club now are top class from the top down.”
“We also have 9 youth Internationals at the club this year with 4 of our U-15’s in the assessments. The most the club has ever had.”
Bohemians are certainly showing that the pathway to a football career for any young player is there, and it’s up to the players to take advantage of that.
Photo Credit: Stephen Burke (Bohemians FC)
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