Coaching is a labour of love
Becky Moore intends to make a difference after landing her dream job in football.
Moore, 24, is the Kent FA’s new football development officer for women and girls.
It’s a role she’s hugely passionate about and determined to make a success of by increasing opportunities for players, coaches, referees and volunteers.
“If I could describe my dream job, it probably isn’t far off this,” said Moore, who is studying for her UEFA B coaching licence.
“The admin side of things and the setting up and the provisions is all the stuff you’ve wanted the platform to be able to do but never had before.
“Football comes under so many platforms, so how do we support the next generation if we’re not prepared to give up our time to invest in things ourselves?”
Moore grew up playing football with the boys in the cul-de-sac where she lived.
She was very much in the minority, however, and soon realised more needed to be done to get girls playing football.
It was the start of her path into coaching at a young age and, ultimately, led to the position she finds herself in today.
Moore said: “I wasn’t bothered about playing with the boys but as you grow up and realise I’m the only one doing this, none of my mates play football, none of the girls play football, how many are actually missing out on an opportunity because they don’t have the confidence to step into that environment?
“That’s where my love of coaching started, the fact there were girls who wanted to play but there were no provisions, no coach, no support, so I jumped in there and my playing days started to filter out and coaching took over.
“Someone had to do it, you can’t sit back and watch there be no opportunities.
“I started coaching when I was quite young. I went into secondary school and the deal I made with my primary school was you don’t get rid of the girls’ football team.
“They said they didn’t have anyone to coach it because the teacher was leaving, but I said I’ll come back and coach it if you keep it going. So I started when I was about 12 and filtered into the grassroots side when I was 13 or 14, helping my mate’s brother’s team.”
Moore is looking to build on the good work of her predecessor at the Kent FA, Natalie Curtis, and what a time to be starting out in the role, with the Women’s
Euros further raising the profile of the sport.
“Because of the scope with the Euros, there’s so much potential there for new opportunities and I think that really is going to inspire a generation,” said Moore.
“I think we’re going to see a lot of changes coming from the Euros, for the better, but obviously there’s a lot of preexisting stuff that works amazingly, and that stuff is going to continue.
“I think the biggest thing for me is looking at female volunteers within the game, how we can support coaches and take them on a journey, similar to what I went through?
“There’s a lot of potential in and around the area and it’s the same with playing opportunities.
“Can we grow those in different capacities? Who aren’t we currently offering provisions for and how can we increase that so that everyone has access to football, whether you’re three or 103?
“In what way can you come and play football? I think those are the main issues.
“What do we not have? What do we need? How can we make sure, the same as the men’s game, we have equal access, equal provisions, equal opportunities?
“The uptake and the interest is probably the highest it’s ever been and hopefully in the next year to three years, we’re going to see even more steps forward.
“All provisions are important. We can’t neglect the fact we want female referees, female volunteers, female coaches, female players.
“We turn the TV on and see males in all these different roles, but it’s not just for them, we have our own side of the game, we have a lot we can offer.”
‘We can’t neglect the fact we want female referees, female volunteers, female coaches, female players’