Billy’s journey with Middlesbrough FC Foundation

A familiar face, a very different chapter 

Billy has been coming to Middlesbrough FC Foundation since he was five years old. Back then, he was just a local kid who loved football and the Boro – turning up to holiday courses full of energy and excitement like hundreds of others across the Tees Valley. 

But as he got older, life got harder. Billy stepped away from those sessions, and found himself in a dark place, struggling with his mental health and unsure of where his future was heading. 

“I didn’t realise how much I needed those sessions until I went. They gave me something to look forward to again.”  

His way back came through Think With Your Feet (the Foundation’s football-based mental health programme) designed to give people a safe and supportive space to move, talk, and reconnect. Week by week, Billy began to feel like himself again. 

Six months later, Foundation staff, who had watched his confidence quietly rebuild, encouraged him to apply for a casual coaching role on Premier League Kicks. He got it. Suddenly, he was on the other side of the pitch. 

Just a year after first walking into that mental health session, a staff member suggested something bigger: a Coach Core Apprenticeship. 

Twelve months. Four programmes. One remarkable transformation. 

Over the course of his apprenticeship, Billy delivered across Premier League Primary Stars, PPA cover in primary schools, Premier League Kicks, and Roary’s Academy – working with participants aged three to eighteen across sixteen education and community settings. 

“Billy has this natural ability to switch his approach depending on the group. With the little ones, he’s full of energy and warmth, and with the older ones, he challenges them in just the right way. That adaptability is rare.” — Gemma Bellis, Programme Officer 

Coaching with emotional intelligence 

What makes Billy’s development stand out isn’t just the numbers – it’s the quality of connection he brings to every session. From day one, his mentors worked with him on emotional intelligence: self-awareness, empathy, communication, and the ability to stay calm and present in challenging environments. 

In areas of high deprivation, where many young people arrive carrying significant risk factors, that matters enormously. Billy has developed the instinct to re-engage participants when attention drops. Not through confrontation, but through conversation and trust. 

“Billy’s ability to connect with young people is a real strength. He understands that trust comes first – once the participants know he’s there to listen and support, they engage more fully. This is exactly the kind of influence we need if we’re going to make a real dent in NEET (not in education, employment or training) statistics across the Tees Valley.” — Danny Thompson, Education Manager & Manager of the Coach Core Apprenticeship Programme 

“I’ve watched Billy handle situations where a young person has completely disengaged. Instead of telling them off straight away, he talks to them, finds out what’s going on, and then encourages them back in. Nine times out of ten, they’re back smiling and joining in within minutes.” — Sean Mackin, Facilities Manager 

Stepping outside his comfort zone 

Early in his apprenticeship, Billy openly admitted he struggled with confidence and public speaking. At the 90-day mark, rather than writing a case study, he was invited to record a video about his journey – something that would have been unthinkable just months earlier. 

He did it anyway. 

“Seeing myself on camera, speaking well and getting my points across. It made me realise how far I’d come in just a few months. A year earlier, I wouldn’t have even considered it.” — Billy  

By the end of his apprenticeship, Billy’s experience stretched across all three of the Foundation’s themes (Education & Employability, Social Inclusion, and Health & Wellbeing). He delivered seated exercise classes for older adults, contributed to programme design discussions with the Yorkshire Cricket Board Foundation, and helped collect and analyse monitoring data to demonstrate impact and shape future delivery. 

A coach. A role model. And now, a student. 

Billy has gone from attendee to apprentice to a qualified coach ready for a career in community sport. He’s living proof that the Coach Core model works. Not just as a skills programme, but as a pathway for young people who need the right environment and the right support to discover what they’re capable of. 

And he’s not stopping there. Inspired by everything the apprenticeship has shown him about his own potential, Billy is now starting a degree through the Foundation’s USW programme.  

“The apprenticeship gave me the belief to push for more. Now I’m starting a degree – something I never thought I’d be ready for this soon. This past year has shown me that coaching is as much about the person as it is about the player. I want everyone who walks into my session to feel they belong, because that’s when they grow.” — Billy