Studying for a Pro-Licence: What it takes to become a top football coach

Manchester United women’s coach Casey Stoney is part of the 2021 group, as is former Wimbledon defender Chris Perry and Aston Villa assistant manager John Terry, although the latter was not present for the media day due to club commitments.

“It is an 18-month journey that started in January 2020,” said Whittingham.

Topics include leadership, decision making, high performance teams and environments. Communication and influencing skills are covered in ‘strategy and tactics’ tasks.

In non-Covid times, study trips to major tournaments would happen. Speakers would be booked for sessions at St George’s Park. Increasingly, football is also starting to look outside the game for ideas and transferable skills.

“It is not all about us as tutors,” said Whittingham.

And Lowe, at the sharp end as he stabilises Plymouth in League One after last season’s promotion, has a clear example of how modern-day coaching has evolved.

“I’m on a course with the RNLI [Royal National Lifeboat Institute] centre at Liew down in Plymouth and have actually been out on a lifeboat already,” he said

“In terms of decision making and leadership skills, it takes them six minutes from getting a shout (emergency call) to being ready at the venue – and that includes putting all the big gear on.

“That’s the route I’m going down. If I’ve got two strikers who can’t hit a barn door or two centre halves who are struggling, I’ve got six minutes to decide whether to change them.”

Given only 14 managers out of 92 in the top four leagues of the English game have spent more than three years at their respective clubs, only time will tell if the commitment and cost of a Pro-Licence will give Lowe and his classmates the edge they need as they progress on their coaching careers.