Fear and trepidation - the military path to leadership skills
The rising sun illuminates the rolling hillsides of Herefordshire, casting a warm glow as birds chirp softly and sheep graze peacefully in the fields. This serene rural scene is abruptly disrupted by the sound of explosions, followed by rising smoke and piercing screams.
Six men dressed in camouflage rush toward the source of the commotion to find a soldier crying out for assistance, clutching his leg, which appears severely injured and partially blown off. Fortunately, the blood is fake, and the injured individual is an actor—a former soldier and amputee. The first responders are football coaches pursuing their Uefa Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification in the sport.
Among them, former Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey applies a tourniquet, while ex-Chelsea and Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero tends to the casualty. Also participating are Peterborough United manager Luke Williams and Michael Wilde, manager of Colwyn Bay in the Cymru Premier. They are engaged in an intensive two-day exercise alongside military-trained personnel.
The Football Association of Wales' (FAW) pro licence course, often referred to as the "Harvard of football coaching," counts Arsenal's Premier League-winning manager Mikel Arteta among its alumni. Its global reputation is reflected in the diverse and accomplished group of candidates attending the current session.
"The FAW have earned themselves an incredible reputation in the world of coach education," says Michael Bradley, former United States and Roma midfielder and current New York Red Bulls coach. "I've had great experiences with the FAW. I did my B Licence, my A Licence here, and now to have the opportunity to complete my Pro Licence, it's a big honour."
Bradley recently participated in an ambush exercise where he and his team were tasked with rescuing a hostage in a forest and escorting her to safety while defending against armed adversaries. His team included Champions League-winning ex-Chelsea and France midfielder Florent Malouda and Wales international Will Vaulks, all wielding paintball guns.
The candidates come from varied backgrounds. Notably, former US international Ella Masar is undertaking the course while 36 weeks pregnant.
"I was giving the guys flak when they were carrying a 10-kilo bag on their backs. I'm like, 'Just switch it around to the front, and then you have a little bit of a day in the life,'" she remarks with a laugh. "These guys have been so incredible, accepting and being so helpful. They all have wives and kids, and they've just really put a hand out. That respect, especially with the status of some of these, has been so rewarding for me. It's been incredible."
While certain elements of the course are not fully accessible to Masar due to health considerations, she participates fully in all she can. Early mornings find her alongside Malouda, Bradley, and Wales assistant coach Piet Cremers in a dimly lit war room, strategizing invasion plans and responses to hostile environments within the virtual world of 'Breconia'.
Having been awakened at dawn and removed from their tents, the participants face exhaustion before their tasks begin.
"They're in an environment that's really unfamiliar to them, and we're applying pressure in a number of different ways," explains Matt Johns, founder of Fieri, the company that runs the course. "We've got them tired, they don't know what's going to happen next, they've got a little bit of fear, trepidation. We find different ways of stressing them and then we get to perform, so they learn a lot about themselves."
This year's pro licence candidates also include former Leeds United and Newcastle United midfielder Lee Bowyer and former Wales international Joe Morrell.
You might wonder how this military-style training relates to football coaching. The expressions of fatigue on the participants' faces suggest they have considered this question themselves.
"There are generic parts of leading and leading under pressure, regardless of your level or your industry," Johns, a former military commander, states. "The thing that's really different about people from that sports background, they've got drive, they want to win, they want to be the best. We show them something, and then the next step is, 'How do I become the best of it?' So that's a really nice environment to be working in. When you listen to their reflections at the end, the things they come up with are profound. They'll make the leap between how they had to deal with a really pressurised situation with us to how they're going to adapt their approach in their environment."
Football management is demanding, exhausting, and often all-consuming. While it does not present life-or-death situations like military service, training of this nature equips coaches to handle any challenge they may face in the dugout.
