BURTON Albion Academy Head of Coaching Hannah Dingley has graduated from the FA Level 5 (UEFA Pro) in Coaching Football qualification.
Hannah joins an exclusive club of under 400 FA Level 5 alumni including - Graham Potter, Sean Dyche, Emma Hayes, Scott Parker, Brendan Rodgers and Gareth Southgate.
The graduation ceremony took place on Thursday evening at the National Football Centre at St George's Park in Tatenhill. The graduates are also made up of coaching staff from Chelsea, Leicester, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Derby County and Rangers.
The FA Level 5 (UEFA Pro) in Coaching Football course is The FA’s highest football coaching qualification and prepares coaches for the pressure and challenges of modern football management. Everyone on the course is trained to manage media relations, introduced to working with Technical Directors and guided on how to create high-performance club cultures and environments.
This preparation for life in management gives every graduate the on and off-the-pitch skills necessary to succeed and adapt to life at the very top of the professional game.
The female game was well represented in this year's graduates. Lydia Bedford, England Women’s U16’s coach graduated and will be putting her skills into action with the young Lionesses, as did Hannah.
"The Academy and the club as a whole have been great," said Hannah. "Dan (Robinson, Head of Academy) has been great in allowing me the time to complete my licence while we've been travelling all over the country.
"We have a real developmental environment within the Academy.
"The nice thing was that the group I was completing the Pro Licence with was so diverse. You had people like Steven Gerrard and Peter Schmeichel but also a lot of people who have been managers for a long time, and some managers and assistant managers within the EFL set-up and some from the England set-up too."
"Obtaining the Pro Licence is a great achievement and we look forward to Hannah using these skills within her role in the Academy," said Academy Manager Dan Robinson.
"We have a lot of highly qualified coaches within the Academy. We encourage all our staff to develop themselves, which in turn helps us continue to be a progressive club."
Everyone at Burton Albion would like to congratulate Hannah on graduating!
Les Reed, The FA Technical Director, said: “A huge congratulations to each and every one of our graduates.
This is just the beginning for this group. There will always be more to learn, different goals to reach and new things to discover - and The FA will always be here to help guide these coaches through football’s ever changing landscape.
Lucy Pearson, Head of FA Education, said: “The FA Level 5 (UEFA Pro) in Coaching Football course is the highest qualification that The FA provides. The success of our graduates in this course is a testament to who they are as coaches, and people.
During this course, we’ve focused on the challenges in modern football coaching and management - whether that’s dealing with the media, working with the board or managing the day-to-day pressure that surrounds working in football. Now it’s time for these graduates to put that learning into practice and make their mark on the game.
They’re at the end of an 18-month journey with The FA, but at the beginning of a much bigger journey in their career. We wish them all the luck in the world.
The FA Level 5 (UEFA Pro) in Coaching Football graduates are:
Aaron Danks (The FA), Adam Barrett (Millwall), Adam Lawrence (Charlton Athletic), Andrew Dawson (Scunthorpe United), Andrew Myers (Chelsea), Benjamin Petty (Leicester City), Christoph Bühler (Schalke), Daniel Searle (Braintree Town), Darren Wassall (Derby County), Hannah Dingley (Burton Albion), James Gilligan (Nottingham Forest), Jonathan De Souza (Colchester United), Justin Cochrane (The FA), Kevin O'Connor (Brentford), Lydia Bedford (The FA), Matthew Hamshaw (Rotherham United), Matthew Taylor (Swindon Town), Michael Harris (Brighton & Hove Albion), Neil Banfield (Rangers), Pat Lyons (Derby County), Paul McGuinness (The FA), Paul Tait (Everton), Peter Schmeichel (Unattached), Scott Rogers (Blackburn Rovers), Simon Hollyhead (Unattached), Steven Gerrard (Rangers), Steven Greaves (Southampton).