Louis Bland obtained his UEFA B qualification at the tender age of 21 and the Sleaford Town assistant manager has set his sights on going as far as he possibly can.
Louis had been on the books at Peterborough United as a youngster, though it is his passion for coaching that has been the biggest driving force. At the age of 15, Louis was coaching an under-9s team and, by the time he was 19, he decided that he was far better suited to the touchline.
He told Fen Regis Trophies: “I had a little bit of a football career, but when I got to the age of 19 that’s when I started taking [coaching] seriously.
“My dad had been a coach all the way through, and I just decided that I was going to go further coaching than I was playing.”
Playing Football and Coaching with his Dad
For most youngsters playing in a professional football club’s academy, there isn’t a thought in their mind about coaching. The dream of making it as a footballer dominates their mind, applying themselves on and off the pitch to realise a dream of a career that has a 15 to 20-year lifespan.
Though Louis’ love and passion for the game could never be questioned, he could see the bigger picture as a teenager; realising that a career as a coach could potentially have more to offer.
“I was a scholar at Peterborough United,” he said. “Then I played Step Five football at Harrowby United…there was always the opportunity, potentially, that it could have happened, but I was a little bit more realistic.
“It’s so competitive to make it as a player, so I felt it was a better opportunity for myself to go down the coaching side of it.”
Louis’ father, Mark Bland, played a major role in getting his son started as a coach. Having taken over as vice-chairman at Colsterworth Colts, a grassroots side that the younger Bland had played for as a six-year-old, Louis’ father encouraged him to try his hand in the technical area.
“He said ‘I’ll help you through it’,” Louis recalled his father telling him. “’We’ll do it together’, and I said ‘yeah, I’ll give it a go’ and that’s how it started.
Louis signed up for his FA Level One coaching qualification at the age of 16 and then secured his FA Level Two badge aged 19. It was at this time in 2017 that Louis would once again follow in his father’s footsteps in heading to Grantham Town, where Mark was part of the academy setup.
“I got offered a year’s apprenticeship coaching at Peterborough United and then left as they didn’t offer me anything full-time,” Louis said. “I went to Grantham in 2017 and had five really good years until May 2022.”
He added: “I had a lot of luck. I’ve always been a big believer that you make your own luck.
“My dad was offered the Under-23s job and he knew I was starting to take coaching seriously, so he asked me if I wanted to play or if I wanted to coach.
“I said I wanted to coach, and I came in as his assistant.”
Louis would assist his dad with Grantham Town Under-23s until 23 October 2021, when his father died. He would remain at the club until the end of the 2021/22 season in his role as academy manager before moving to pastures new.
Sleaford Town
Louis wouldn’t be out of the game for too long before he got a call from former Boston United and Kings Lynn Town defender Tom Ward, who had taken up the manager’s job at Sleaford Town. The two had previously worked alongside one another a couple of years before when Ward joined Grantham Town and was Louis’ assistant in the academy, and Ward was keen to bring Lewis to the United Counties League Premier Division North outfit.
“In my second to last year at Grantham,” stated Louis. “We had Tom Ward over and he became my assistant in the academy.
“What happened was is that he left [Grantham] after a year because he became a qualified teacher, so he left and go himself a teaching job. We just got on really well, hitting it off really well.
“Tom is very much a defensive-minded person, while I’m more of an attacking sort of coach. He taught the nitty gritty stuff of keeping the ball out of the back of the net.”
Ward was initially unsuccessful in bringing Louis to Eslaforde Parke when he first took up the role at Sleaford Town in September 2021. However, when Louis left Grantham in May 2022, the coaching duo soon reunited.
Louis said: “When he (Ward) first got the job, he tried to entice me to come over. I said it was not the right time and I needed to complete what I needed to do at Grantham first.
“Then when my time at Grantham came to an end and I made the decision to leave he was the first person I was on the phone to.
“He was delighted to have me on board, and we are in our second season now.”
Looking Forward
Still aged only 25, Louis could still be coaching for another 40-plus years. His immediate ambition is to return to full-time coaching and work towards earning his UEFA A Licence, which is one level below the UEFA Pro Licence – the highest qualification a football coach can achieve.
Louis believes that beginning his coaching journey at a younger age gives him an advantage over older coaches, allowing him time to develop and form a coaching identity.
“Starting a bit younger gives you that more opportunity to spend more time at places,” said Louis. “I’d say it’s a rush when you get a little bit older.
“If I had started at 40, and to think that I’m nearly 10 years into coaching, I’d then be 50 and at that point, you’d be worrying about whether you are too old.
“Now, I think I can just enjoy and see what I can do this season with Sleaford and then the doors are open in terms of maybe going abroad and working in a different environment – I’ve had a few offers from abroad over the last couple of years.
“Maybe I could go into management myself as the main man at Step Five, or stay at Sleaford and hopefully win promotion to Step Four, or even get another job at Step Four, Step Three, or Step Two…I don’t know.
“The big one for me is that I want to get back into full-time football. Since walking away from Grantham, I haven’t found anything just yet that is full-time.
“I want to get back on the training pitch full-time, so that’s the sorts of stuff for the next five years. I’m open at the moment, and that’s the best way to be, I think.”
There won’t be many, if any, coaches with as much experience as Louis at such a young age. With a desire to succeed as strong as his passion for football, Louis Bland could well be a name to keep tabs on over the coming years.
By Aaron Gratton
