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Date Posted... Oct 21st 2020

Former professional football player is new coach at Truro School

Ex professional football player Alex Watson has recently joined the school as part of the new partnership with Saints Southwest. Alex had a successful career that started in the late eighties through to the mid-noughties, beginning by signing for Liverpool Football Club. During his career, Alex had over 400 league appearances in a host of clubs including Derby County (loan), Bournemouth, Gillingham (loan), Torquay United, Exeter City, Taunton Town, and Clevedon Town.

While Alex was still playing, he began to take his coaching qualifications at the age of 28. Then referred to as C, B, and A licences, (now levels 1,2,3 and beyond) Alex had completed his coaching awards before finishing playing. His modern-day football idol is Van Dijk, who plays centre back (also Alex’s playing position) for Liverpool and captains the Netherlands national team.

Alex’s role at the school is to oversee the Cornwall part of the Saints South West regional and development centre, who also have centres in Devon and Somerset. For 2-16 years old, there are currently community programmes running on the school site. After half term Truro School students will benefit from football being written into the games curriculum for all year groups. Alex is already involved with after school and lunch time clubs.

Alex commented: “I’ve just moved down but I’m familiar with Truro because I’ve been here in the past but not stayed here. It’s going really well. The school’s fantastic and everyone’s lovely and helpful. At the moment I’m getting to know sports staff, mainly because I have the most interaction with them, but I’ve started getting to know curriculum staff because they come up to teach and coach as well. It’s all been really enjoyable so far.”

Truro School students will be ‘concentrating on football as a general term’. To begin with, the emphasis will be on participation and enjoyment for all year groups, with the future aim to focus on players who want to take football seriously and are ‘really into their football’ so they can channel their enthusiasm, and to make them as good as they can be at a local level or further afield. The football programme will also re-enforce the core values and standards of the school.

Alex finished: “I am looking forward to building and progressing the football programme down here and getting to know the area better. The long-term goal is to make Truro School a hub for football. Excellent programmes will ensure players and students enjoy themselves and that students stay in football after they leave school.”