For James Gow, LFC has always been a key part of his life. He went from attending games at Anfield as a kid to working as First Team Analyst for Kenny Dalglish. Now, he’s Technical Director for LFC International Academy in Australia, and still loving the close connection with the club.

As well as being an avid Reds fan, Gow grew up with a passion for the game of football generally. Once he had realised he wasn’t going to make the grade as a player, he began looking for another way in to the game. Before long, his career would take him to LFC at a level he could never have imagined.

Pathway to LFC and five-a-side with Kenny Dalglish

James’ working connection with the Club first started in a volunteer role back in 2007, working with LFC in the Community to deliver evening coaching sessions. As he started to really enjoy the coaching side of the game, he would begin to consider how to turn his love of the game in to a professional career.

He headed to university to add a professional qualification to his armoury, and it was from there that his fast-track to LFC first team involvement began.

James recalls: “As I started seriously looking to follow a career in professional football, I decided to enrol on the Science and Football degree at Liverpool John Moores University, alongside studying for my coaching qualifications.

“One of the subjects we studied was Performance Analysis and a position came up working at Melwood assisting with analysis duties. I decided to apply but did not think much would come from it.

“I got called to have an interview at Melwood. Andy Scoulding was the Head of Analysis at the time, and someone who I learnt a great deal from. And for some reason he decided to give me a go.”

Starting work at Melwood was an amazing moment for a Scouser that had grew up fascinated with all things LFC. Forming part of the analysis team, he would soon be helping to provide key information to the First Team management and coaching staff.

Explaining his role, James said: “Our role as a department was essentially to assist with preparing the team for upcoming matches. This would involve watching and analysing games of the team we were playing, identifying trends in their play, and looking for ways we can exploit their weaknesses.

“My work was to do lots of the manual labour. There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing for a match; around 70 hours’ worth of work. Players only really see the tip of the iceberg, the nice finished product, the stuff that looks slick on Match Of The Day.

“But to get to that stage requires lots of effort to go in beneath the surface. I loved the work I did, it was often very long hours and mentally tough work, but to do it for Liverpool FC, and knowing that it could help contribute towards the team winning at the weekend, it was an honour I was extremely proud of.

“It’s still dreamlike to think that I would go into Melwood every day and work with leaders in their field.”

While the professional side of working in the job was a thrill, as a fan of the Club, James had to pinch himself whenever he considered his surroundings, and those people around him.

“It was a surreal opportunity, driving into Melwood every day in my little Fiat Punto wedged between the most luxury of cars and two superstars. There are so many memories I have from working there, but certainly playing five-a-side with Kenny Dalglish was up there, or the time when Kenny kicked off at one of the Sport Scientists for wearing his boots!

“He (Kenny Dalglish) would tie a specific knot in his boots when he wasn’t using them and leave them in the bootroom, and one day one of the Australian Sport Science guys had forgot his boots. Lots of the staff would get together to have a game of five-a-side in the indoor, and this guy, stupidly put the King’s boots on thinking he’d never know. The next day, the King come in and let the lad know in no uncertain terms that he knew he’d wore them because the knot wasn’t tied as it should!

“I was lucky enough for some home games to be in the changing room sticking up pre-match information, like set pieces etc. Along with a close friend of mine, Brad Wall, who is now with England as an analyst and a fellow Scouser, we would stick them up while laughing our heads off. All the players’ kits and boots would be laid out, Gerrard, Suarez, Carragher etc. We couldn’t believe we found ourselves in this incredible position.”

A career in coaching

From before his time working at Liverpool, James had held a strong interest in coaching. He began coaching at just 16 years old, and from there built up a strong CV of coaching qualifications. He achieved his UEFA B License aged 20 and graduated from university with a First Class Honours Degree in Sports Science at 22.

He’s now working toward a Masters Degree at the University of Liverpool, and is looking to further boost those coaching credentials by securing a place on a UEFA A License in the near future.

The calibre of his work, and connections with LFC, would soon see his career take him down the coaching route. After his time with the first team came to an end, James joined LFC International Academy as a coach.

His work with the International Academy has taken him around the world, experiencing first-hand the passion fans around the globe have for LFC.

James said: “Wherever you go, there’s Liverpool fans, and often Scousers to be found!

“I have been exceptionally lucky to travel all over the world with Liverpool. I haven’t yet been to a place where there isn’t a huge following for the club. The affection people have for Liverpool is incredible. You can be thousands of miles from Liverpool and still find people who love the club and it’s a huge part of their life.

“It’s very humbling when you see the power of the club and the positive affect it has on people’s lives.

“Whilst traveling I have been to supporters clubs in Scandinavia, South Africa, Australia, America and Singapore amongst many others and the intensity for the club is similar to what you would see at Anfield. It becomes a part of people’s identity.”

As well as gaining an insight of the global adoration for LFC, the trips abroad also gave James the opportunity to experience coaching overseas in different cultures and locations. The experiences are ones he values.

He said: “I think working in a different country and experiencing a different culture and language teaches you so much as a person. People say travel broadens the mind, and of course this sounds cliché; but I think it really is true.

“I think it develops your awareness of cultural differences and how they affect your work and relationships in general. As an individual it gives you a grounding that I don’t think you would necessarily experience by staying at home. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to develop”

It was these experiences that helped James learn to speak Mandarin, a skill he never imagined developing:

“Learning Chinese is certainly something I would never have believed happening, especially with a scouse accent!”

“Being a coach isn’t purely about your tactical or technical understanding of the game; but in fact more so about communicating your goals and managing and developing yourself and the people you work with.

“Living abroad gives you the chance to hone those skills and teaches you how to relate to and connect with all kinds of people. I think it widens your knowledge of the world and exposes you to things make you richer as a person. These are traits that without doubt come back round to help in your coaching.”

It was that trip to China that really stands out to James:

“China was an amazing place to work. It was a challenge and an experience that certainly stretched me, but I see it as an invaluable time that taught me a great deal. China is at a tipping point at the moment in football and the focus and resources being put into the game is frightening.

“To experience that and feel that was fantastic. Of course China has a totally different culture than in the U.K. and getting used to it was something I found challenging at the start. But at the same time, it was something that was really stimulating. China will continue to plough resources in the game and I think they will no doubt improve as a result.”

Technical Director at LFC International Academy New South Wales

Having invested such time in to building his coaching qualifications and experience with LFC International Academy, James was offered the opportunity of a lifetime by the Club in June 2016 to move to a permanent Head Coach role in Australia.

The opening of the LFC International Academy in Australia was a key achievement for Club, and James was chosen to lead the programme due to his fine record of delivering international soccer school programmes and events for LFC. It’s a move James has certainly not regretted. Located in Byron Bay, New South Wales, the Academy has gone from strength-to-strength.

“Australia is brilliant, I love it here.” says James.

“The people remind me a lot of Scousers actually! Funny, quick-witted, warm and friendly, and they don’t take life too serious!

“The lifestyle is Australia is incredible. I live in a place called Byron Bay, I genuinely couldn’t have picked a more interesting or cooler place to live in. The lifestyle is fantastic, sunny and clear blue skies every day, the beaches are spectacular, the food is great - I struggle to find negatives!”

As with all LFC International Academy programmes around the world, the emphasis is on delivering an authentic LFC coaching experience. A consistent curriculum is delivered, similar to that of the one implemented at the Club’s Academy in Kirkby where many young players have been produced.

By following these exact same coaching methods, participants are assured of an authentic experience whether they’re at a UK Soccer School or at LFC International Academies elsewhere in the world.

James said: “Authenticity is a core part of what we do. People want the genuine experience of the things we do with our players at Kirkby. We focus as a team of coaches on making sure we achieve this. The sessions are those that we use with our players in the U.K. But to experience a Liverpool programme is not just about the sessions they partake in, but it’s made up of all the small touches that are often difficult to conceptualise.

“Things like living and communicating our values, telling stories direct from the club, using the same language and terminology that we would with our players back home, having them play in the same way our teams would, and making feel like they really are a part of the club. I’m confident in saying our culture is similar to that of The Academy back home. I don’t think there’s anything that could quite match going to Liverpool, but this is certainly one of the closest ways to experience the club.”

Growing football in Australia

As a country, Australia has a proud history of being a competitive sporting nation. Football is not broadly considered the number one sport, but its popularity and participation continues to grow, especially among younger generations.

Speaking about the development of the game in Australia, James believes there is a lot to be positive about.

“There is enormous passion for the game here. Australian’s love sport and it’s a big part of their upbringing. The game is of course not as developed as it is back home but it is growing rapidly, it is now the most participated sport in the country. But unlike Liverpool, where football is overwhelmingly the number one sport, Australians have tonnes of sports to choose from.

“This means that all the different sports compete for the same athletes. It also means that the amount of time players have a ball at their feet is a lot less. When kids leave school at the end of the day in England, they walk home with a ball at their feet, then go to training, then go out to play with their friends, and then continue to play in the house! Because of all the different sports and opportunities the kids have here, their time on the ball is a lot less.

“What we have tried to do at the LFC International Academy New Suth Wales is increase the time we have with the players, and truly maximise that time. We aim for as much time playing as possible. We are constantly striving for new ways to inspire them to play football outside of training. That’s where lots of skill acquisition happens; it’s not a coincidence that the kids who play the most football are generally more developed.

“As a result of adopting this approach, we’ve found that our players are indeed playing a lot more. We’ve set up activities for them that encourages them to arrive at training early and practice. This has seen a rapid development in all of our players. We want them to become as obsessed about football as our kids back home, and using role models from our first team has certainly supported this.

“We are very blessed that we have great facilities and additional resources. We have our partnership with Southern Cross University; and utilise their facility. The facility is a leading facility for the state.

“Additionally, we are fortunate in that we can also utilise expertise from the Sport Science department at the University. We now have 10 strength and conditioning coaches, a team of physiotherapists, a nutritionist, a psychologist and a performance analyst all working with our coaches and players each session and each week. If we can continue at the pace in which we have started, keep our focus on education and also continue to innovate then I think we can achieve something quite unique.”

If you live in Australia and want to get involved with LFC International Academy, visit the website at www.LiverpoolAcademyNSW.com.au.

Alternatively, details of programmes across the world can be found on our International Courses page.