He can smile about it now, but Callum Martin was a whisker away from missing out on a dream opportunity to represent his country across the 2023/24 campaign.
Narrowly avoiding a missed opportunity
Thanks to the England Elite Coach Programme, introduced in 2017 by the FA and PFA, up to four coaches each year from historically under-represented groups can be given the chance to work within the national team set-up at St George’s Park.
Standards are exceptionally high, meaning there is no guarantee those posts will be filled, but last summer the former Fulham Under-15s coach was extremely keen to throw his hat into the ring.
“There was so much going on at the time with my Fulham role and the LMA Diploma in Football Management course that I was also a part of,” recalls Martin as he takes up the story.
“I’d been out with my family one Sunday afternoon and got back to my house around 4.30pm when out of nowhere my heart suddenly skipped a beat. For whatever reason I remembered there and then that I hadn’t got around to applying, and the deadline was 6pm that evening!
“I frantically pulled out my laptop to update my CV and to write a personal statement as best I could, but because I was in such a rush I knew it wasn’t as good as it might have been. Just before 6pm I filed my application, but was kicking myself, thinking I’d blown my opportunity.
“How many chances do you get to work with elite level international players and coaches? I desperately wanted it, as I knew the placement would be amazing for my development as a coach.”
The intensive interview process at St. George’s Park
Thankfully, Martin fears were ungrounded, and he was soon asked to report to St. George’s Park for an intensive day-long interview.
The 37-year-old first had to make a presentation based around his own coaching journey, detailing moments and experiences that shaped his style. Following that, he discussed his own philosophy and ideas on the game in front of the assembled panel, before delivering a coaching session in the afternoon.
“I remember sitting in my car at the end of the day feeling mentally exhausted,” he says. “It was a tough, rigorous process, but when I later got the call to say I’d been offered a position as assistant coach with the England Under-15s team for a year I was so thrilled, and it made it all worthwhile. I knew it was going to be an incredible experience.”
Developing emerging talent at England Under-15s
The Under-15s are the youngest age group on England’s pathway at St George’s Park, so at the outset Emerging Talent was the priority for head coach Will Antwi, alongside Martin and fellow assistant Stuart Delaney.
A total of 72 players had been recommended, and invited to St Georges Park across three different camps which were a month apart. The groups were split into 24, and from those sessions the very best would be selected to play for England in international friendlies and tournaments.
Working at the same age bracket with Fulham at the time, Martin, himself a former England Under-18 Schoolboy international, was in a good place to assess the quality of talent on show.
But according to the man himself, there were other factors to consider.
“You’re working with young players of potential and that potential doesn’t always look like how you want it to look,” explains Martin. “Hopefully the expertise I had from working on the ground with 14 and 15-year-olds at Fulham helped my judgement.
“When you work with England you have to look two, three, or four years down the line for when the major tournaments kick in. Some boys are ripe and ready to go at 15, but others will have untapped potential that we must identify. We keep an eye on those players for when they become ready further on down the pathway.
“The conversations and analysis we shared as a coaching staff around potential were different to those that you have at club level, and I found it so enlightening.”
Coaching techniques
Martin was designated a role that saw him principally working with forward players across the three Talent ID camps. Coaching six to eight front men at a time, the bulk of his sessions were built around movement and finishing.
Breaking down the way things worked, he outlines, “This wasn’t a time for presentations or deep dive analysis, we just wanted the boys to come in and play football. So, we always began with a 60-minute 11v11 which I think released some of the anxiety they may have been feeling.
“On day two we’d set up some possession and unit work, which is where I took the strikers and had a closer look at their qualities.
“The next day was based around small-sided games, with some more unit work before we rounded off the camp on day four with another 11v11 to finish.
“With my group of forwards, I made sure there was lots of communication throughout the four days,” Martin continues. “I would sit down with them individually and show them clips from training, asking what their own views were on specific actions and decisions they made, and gave feedback on what we wanted to see from them the next day.
“From my end it was key to give them as much help as possible ahead of that last 60-minute 11v11, where they had that final opportunity to showcase their talent.
“We also ensured the sessions were replicated as exactly as we could for all three camps. Doing that helped us judge the players on a fair and even playing field.”
Player evaluation
At the end of each day England’s Under-15s coaching team would sit down to talk about the players, and grade them on various aspects of their game. These notes were then uploaded into an internal database.
Interestingly, several of the FA’s scouts also sit in on those meetings. Able to provide insight on whether certain individuals are playing with higher-than-normal levels of anxiety, because they have seen the players in their own natural environment, those viewpoints are also taken into consideration before gradings are made.
“We don’t like to make snapshot decisions on players, because that’s unfair,” says Martin. “You’ve got to also keep the door open with players you might not initially select and give them time to develop.
“When they left the camp, I would always tell the players that what they do at their own clubs moving forward is now more important than the pressurised four days they’ve just spent at St George’s Park. Now they are part of the pathway, each of them will be watched a lot.”
The FA coaches use Hudl Sportscode analysis software, so learning how to code players on the go was a new skillset picked up by Martin during his year with the group.
Analysts use the codes to get clips ready for the players to view, and after each camp Martin also put together videos for head coach Will Antwi. These are also held on the FA database for future reference.
“Sometimes you can get so immersed in the coaching session that you might forget to code a certain part, but as you know you’ll watch it back in the evening that’s not a problem,” he says.
“I did find a method that worked well for me, and that was to put my hand in the air when something of note was on my mind. That way, when I watched the video back, seeing my hand in the air would jog my memory and save a little time. It’s a great tool for me to be able to support the players.”
England Under-15s played three matches in February against Scotland and Belgium (twice) before heading to Croatia for an eight-team international tournament at the end of the domestic season.
Results-wise they beat Morocco 5-1 and the USA 4-3 before losing 3-2 to the hosts in their group decider. In the third/fourth place play-off they were beaten 3-0 by France.
“It was fantastic to be a part of that trip,” says Martin. “We only had two training sessions with the players prior to the opening match, so as a staff we had to quickly prioritise the information we gave them to support their performances and development. Maximising the minutes we had with them on and off the grass was incredibly important.”
Transition to a New Role at Cambridge United
Much to his delight the FA have offered to extend Martin’s placement to a second year within the national team set-up, and he is currently waiting to see how this will fit in with a new job he has accepted with Cambridge United.
On his completion of a two-year placement with Fulham via the Premier League’s Coach Inclusion and Diversity Scheme, the Cottagers offered the former non-league player a full-time role as their Under-15s head coach in 2023.
The CIDS supports coaching pathways in the professional game for coaches from some currently underrepresented groups.
It is a position he thoroughly enjoyed, but his longstanding ambition to work in the Professional Development Phase (PDP) has prompted him to take on a fresh opportunity in 2024/25.
League One side Cambridge United have named Martin their new Individual Development Coach and Pathway Manager for the PDP and first team.
“Essentially, I’ll be looking after the senior PDP players’ development and making sure they don't just become training bodies for the first team, trying to fine-tune their pathway through individual training and loans. This role is especially important due to Cambridge United having a Category 3 Academy and no Under-21s team.
“I'm thrilled to take on this new challenge,” he says, “as it perfectly aligns with my career aspirations. The chance to work in the PDP and focus solely on individual player development and supporting their transition into a first-team environment is something I've been striving for over the past few years.
“The CIDS programme has been instrumental in this journey, with all my project work geared towards the role I'm now stepping into.
“I couldn’t be happier with how the last few years have gone, and my career is now heading in the direction I wanted it to go.”
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