Callum Crockard
Head Coach Loughborough Students Womens FC 2's
Diving straight into opportunities coaching here at Loughborough, Callum quickly cemented his place within the Football Programme as head coach of Loughborough Students Womens FC 2's. Since then Callum has logged 200 hours supporting the 2s develop alongside the rest of the Women's programme on campus.
Tell us a little bit about yourself (hobbies, interests and background):
I was born and brought up in Bournemouth but very passionately Scottish and have spent my whole childhood going up and down to watch Scotland play (very rarely watching us win). I played academy football for AFC Bournemouth and then moved into coaching and pretty much everything I do seems to be based around football. Whether it’s planning sessions, kicking a ball about or watching Rangers, you can normally guess there’s a football involved in some way!
How did you first get involved in volunteering within sport at Loughborough?
Before arriving at Loughborough, I spent a long time contacting the relevant people so as I could start my coaching as soon as I arrived on campus. I came up and did a trial session in September for the Women’s club and before I knew anything I was taking sessions and was off to BUCS games with the 2’s.
During your years at Loughborough what have you got involved in through volunteering within sport?
As well as my role with LSWFC, I was lucky enough to get to play a part in organising the IMS all-stars for 2020, a genuine highlight in my year.
What has your experience volunteering been like whilst at Loughborough?
It’s given me the exact type of opportunities that I expected it to and that it is the reason I chose Loughborough in the first place. The opportunity to coach as often as I do, the responsibility and the time I get to spend doing what I love and the people I get to work with and learn from have only proved my decision absolutely spot on to choose Loughborough.
How has being involved with Loughborough Sport helped you develop and progress (personally and professionally)?
The responsibility and the opportunities to essentially make mistakes and learn from them has been brilliant. I get to work in a performance setting where everyone is driven by success and that only makes me want to develop myself and play my part in that success. The CPD opportunities are better than anything I could have hoped for and the support I get from other coaches such as Issy Martin and Karl Brennan is exactly what I need to push on.
What’s the best advice you could give to a Loughborough student looking to get involved in volunteering & gain the most out of their university experiences?
Get involved, be prepared to push yourself to take on challenging roles and situations and above all else have fun with it because if you enjoy what you do, you’ll want to succeed and improve.
Finally, what do you enjoy most about volunteering?
The realisation that there is no ulterior motive for what I am doing other than that I genuinely love it. As a coach I want to win the champions league but purely on the basis that I love what I do and I’m hungry for success, not for any financial reasons and by volunteering now, it makes me certain that I do what I do because I love it and am passionate about it, and that means I’ll never really work a day in my life.
Feeling inspired?
Feeling inspired by Callum's experience? Check out the CVA Portal regularly for coaching opportunities like this.