Sunshine Coast FC Managing Director Noel Woodall is pleased to announce the appointment of Melvyn Wilkes to the position of Technical Director at Sunshine Coast FC.
With a background in coach education and junior development, Wilkes has previously filled roles as Under 9s to Under 17s Technical Director for West Bromwich Albion Football Club, Academy Coach at Manchester City Youth Academy and Nottingham Forest Youth Academy and Coach Education Manager at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Wilkes also holds a EUFA “A” Licence and is enrolled in the FFA Pro Licence course.
Mr Woodall said Wilkes’ excellent qualifications, along with his experience, made him impressive candidate in the selection process.
“Melvyn’s role as a former junior English Premier League coach and specialist in youth development and coach education make him ideal for the role that we have available at the Club,” Mr Woodall said.
“I expect that Melvyn will be able to continue the good work that has already been done in our youth development program and he will also be able to bring international experience from Europe as well as excellent contacts for the Club in Europe.”
Having previously worked with Far North Queensland FC to deliver a number of structured sessions, Wilkes has followed the QLD NPL over the past two seasons and said he was excited to begin working within the NPL structure in his new role as SCFC Technical Director.
“After speaking with people about Sunshine Coast FC and speaking with Managing Director Noel Woodall the decision to apply for the position was quite easy. Sunshine Coast FC is a professional, well run and successful Club with a passion for success and drive which fits my personal philosophy,” he said.
The Technical Director’s role will next season require the delivery of coaching courses to the community Clubs, as well as maintaining and progressing the Fire’s extremely successful Junior Development Program. Wilkes believes his experience as a coach educator and youth technical director will stand him in good stead for the season ahead and allow him to create a ground-breaking Junior Development Program for the Sunshine Coast.
“My aim is to build on the success of what is currently being developed in the Junior Development Program…and create a development program which will not only be the envy of the QLD NPL but also the teams who occupy the A-League. Junior Development is the life blood of the Club and vital for the continued success of the first team in producing a stream of home-grown players to compete for senior positions,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes said the implementation of the National Curriculum would play a big part in this vision.
“I have a technical syllabus which meets the criteria of the National Curriculum while also paying attention to producing players for the future of the Club. This document will be distributed to the Club’s coaching staff and it will be my job to work with both players and coaches of every age group to give everyone an idea of what is to be expected.”
Another of Wilkes’ core focuses will be promoting progression amongst SCFC’s aspiring coaches to ensure the coaching workforce is second to none, with strength and depth throughout the coaching ranks.
“My extensive knowledge in coach education will assist me to further engage with potential coaches for SCFC in the community and in addition I will be using these skill sets to challenge and stretch our current group of coaches when we stage our own in-service CPD at the Club,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes also stressed the importance of his role in community football on the Sunshine Coast.
“It is imperative to be in contact with all feeder clubs and to invite them into the Club to ensure the bridge building process continues,” he said.
“It’s also equally important to ensure our coaches along with myself, senior players and staff, where possible, visit our local schools to engage with a spectrums of the community. The community plays a huge role in every football club and it’s important we play our role in the community.”
Wilkes will commence his role as Technical Director with Sunshine Coast FC in the coming weeks.
