U16s coach Réda Johnson recently graduated from the PFA and Premier League’s Professional Player to Coach Scheme, with the occasion being marked at Sheffield Cutlers Hall.
Since retiring from a stellar career, Réda has been coaching at City’s Academy, where he notably led our U15s to winning the EFL Floodlit Cup at the end of last season. His graduation from the course is another positive step in his coaching career.
“I’m really pleased,” Réda began. “I stopped school very early because I signed a professional contract at 18, so I didn’t have the chance to graduate. When I retired from football, I decided that I’d like to go back and learn a bit more. I knew that I wanted to become a coach and part of becoming that was to graduate from the course and learn more about the game. I learned a lot. I was very lucky to be part of the programme, because they taught me everything that I didn’t know. When you finish playing football, you think that you know a lot about the game, but your ability to coach it, it’s a different world. It’s helped me to become the person that I am now and this is just the start.
“The Premier League, with the course, gave us a chance as retired footballers to become coaches that are employable. In two years, I learned so much and I don’t think I would be in the position I am in now without the scheme. I am really enjoying being at Cardiff City. The future of the Academy is bright and we can see the next generation. We can see a lot of desire and energy in our players and for us as a Club, it’s important for our players to be humble and a hard worker. Our Academy players are full of that, so hopefully, we can see some excitement in the future.”
