How to become a football coach in a LaLiga’s club coming from nowhere

Jorge Cárcamo has always wanted to be a coach. When he retired from football, his home club offered him a coaching job in its academy. He didn’t hesitate and he started of a career that has led him to a LaLiga club in a few years. “I’ve always loved tactics. Even when I was playing , that department of the game captured my attention”, explains to Digital Football Community. Do you want to become a coach? Jorge’s story may interest you. This is how he got to an elite club coming from nowhere.

Internet + books + tuition

Thanks to the internet, access to information and knowledge is limitless. So it is the divulgation of both. “There is plenty of good material to get started in coaching. There are many managers that share posts of Youtube videos with interesting material”, points Jorge. “It is the perfect place for debating and networking”. When he started his coaching career, Cárcamo lacked of a degree in football and the internet and a few books were his unique tuition. “Don’t forget that working for a non-professional club implies doing it almost pro bono. Not every young lad can pay 1.000 euros to get the Coaching Level 1”.

Not long ago, the official program of the Spanish Federation was the only training available. Its price and duration made it inaccessible for a lot of young people who first get into coaching as a hobby. “Nowadays there are companies and private organizations that offer decent development programs within a varied range of prices”. Jorge has combined every tool to develop himself as a coach. He reads, he shares, he attend to football conferences and he finally had his football degree (Spanish Nivel 1, the first out of three levels). His very first club payed him the tuition in exchange of coaching a youth team during one season.

Working for Eibar

After promoting Aranbizkarra y Cadetes category, Cárcamo looked for a new challenge in Eibar, the city where he attends college to major in Renewable Energy. “Eibar is the place to be because they pay a lot of attention in their academy coaches development”. Right now, Jorge is working with the youngest kids in Eibar academy. Besides his coaching job he has scouting duties for the junior team (the top squad in the academy and the very first after the professional teams). “It helps me to engage with professionalism. In terms of scouting and preparing the upcoming game is close to LaLiga’s team. It enriches me because I can share my ideas with other coach. We analyze everything: from the set pieces to the game patterns”.

Longtime Second and Third Division material, Eibar is now a established club in LaLiga. In its third consecutive year in the top league, their smart administration has led the team to be in contention for a Europa League spot for the next season. This winning philosophy has been translated into the academy for several years now. “As an academy coach you work with LaLiga’s team one week during the season. You are an actual member of the stuff during those days: you see how they prepare each session, how they scout the next opponent. You even have lunch with the coaching staff”.

Make a living out of football

In his short career, Cárcamo has worked on both ends of non-professional football. From youth football to senior non-league ball. He worked as an assistant coach for Aranbizkarra’s senior team during his tenure at the club. He hopes to become an engineer by this summer and his plan is to focus in football then. “I’d like to coach a team that plays every weekend and get the Level 2 of Coaching by the Spanish Federation”. Unlike what you may think, Cárcamo is not planning a professional career in football. “I love coaching kids and I do my best, but I don’t picture myself making a living out of football because it’s an unpredictable world, specially for a coach. I see it as a complement that fulfills my life”.