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Max's Blog

Feeling the heat

Max eyes top job

Last updated: 17th March 2009

I went to see Sir Trevor Brooking to find out what I'd need to do to get the England job. Sir Trevor says I've got a long way to go. But I'm committed.

Max Rushden
Quotes of the week

Hello, first off apologies for sweating on Saturday. It was hot. Bizarre that it was only my right arm pit. I suppose that is my main pointing arm.

Even more bizarre, I have a website and I get to see what people write in Google to get there. And on Saturday afternoon, two people wrote "max rushden sweat". Whatever makes you happy I suppose. People have written even weirder things, but I won't go into that here.

Anyway yesterday I began taking my FA coaching badges. We were just sitting in the office one day, and wondered what they were.

When we ask more experienced players what they're going to do when they finish playing the game, so many of them say "I'm doing my coaching badges". So I thought it might be a good idea to find out what anyone has to do to get them.

First off, I went to see Sir Trevor Brooking to find out what I'd need to do to get the England job. Sir Trevor says I've got a long way to go. But I'm committed. I enjoy Soccer AM, but nothing lasts forever, so I need to get some qualifications to help me carry on in the game for the rest of my working life.

Level one

Coaching begins, surprisingly, at level one. I turned up at a sports centre in Walthamstow at 9am, with a little hangover. We'd won 9-0, another two for me (that's 14 this season) so I got drunk.

It's the first time I've sat in a classroom for a while. I was next to Luke, a photographer, and Kasir, who works in a stationery shop. Kasir asked me where I bought my stationery. I said I didn't have a favourite.

After three hours of discussing coaching and what we wanted to get out of the course - we went out to the pitch, and worked on some drills. I've been assigned "round the clock", and over the next two weeks I've got to perfect coaching it to the rest of the guys on the course.

I'll be assessed by an FA coach, and then hopefully move onto level two. I don't think I get to learn with pros until level four - so I've got a while to go.

Bothy

I'm currently in Scotland, with my homework - which I have to finish tonight. I'm going hiking tomorrow and staying in something called a bothy. It's a stone building without a toilet and no heating.

I've never been hiking before, so if I'm not there on Saturday, can someone come and get me from a stone hut in the middle of the Cairngorms.

If I do make it back, then I'll see you Saturday, one step closer to being a football manager.

Have a good week...