Words: Staff Writer
Image supplied by Sunshine Coast Fire

Sunshine Coast Fire this week confirmed the appointment of respected English coach Melvyn Wilkes as the club’s new Technical Director.

Wilkes has worked at several high profile English Premier League clubs in a junior coaching and youth development capacity.

His previous roles include Under 9’s to Under 17’s Technical Director for West Bromwich Albion, Academy Coach at Manchester City Youth Academy and Nottingham Forest Youth Academy, as well as Coach Education Manager at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Wilkes currently holds a EUFA “A” Licence and is enrolled in the FFA Pro Licence course.

Fire Managing Director Noel Woodall said Wilkes’ excellent qualifications, along with his experience, made him impressive candidate in the selection process.

“Melvyn’s role as a former junior English Premier League coach and specialist in youth development and coach education make him ideal for the role that we have available at the club,” Mr Woodall said.

“I expect that Melvyn will be able to continue the good work that has already been done in our youth development program and he will also be able to bring international experience from Europe as well as excellent contacts for the club in Europe.”

Wilkes previously delivered structured sessions with PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland club FNQ FC Heat and has kept a close eye on the competition’s development ever since.

He said he was excited to begin working within the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues structures in his new role at Fire.

“Sunshine Coast FC is a professional, well run and successful club with a passion for success and drive which fits my personal philosophy,” he said.

The Technical Director’s role will next season require the delivery of coaching courses to community clubs, as well as maintaining and progressing Fire’s extremely successful Junior Development Programme.

Wilkes believes his experience as a coach educator and youth technical director will stand him in good stead for the season ahead and allow him to create a ground-breaking Junior Development Program for the Sunshine Coast region that will be the envy of the rest of the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland as well as Hyundai A-League clubs.

“Junior Development is the life blood of the club and vital for the continued success of the first team in producing a stream of home-grown players to compete for senior positions,” Wilkes said.

“I have a technical syllabus which meets the criteria of the National Curriculum while also paying attention to producing players for the future of the club.”

“This document will be distributed to the Club’s coaching staff and it will be my job to work with both players and coaches of every age group to give everyone an idea of what is to be expected,” he added.

Another core focuses will be promoting progression amongst SCFC’s aspiring coaches to ensure strength and depth throughout the coaching ranks.

“My extensive knowledge in coach education will assist me to further engage with potential coaches for SCFC in the community and in addition I will be using these skill sets to challenge and stretch our current group of coaches when we stage our own in-service CPD at the Club,” Wilkes said.

Wilkes also stressed the importance of his role in community football on the Sunshine Coast.

“It is imperative to be in contact with all feeder clubs and to invite them into the Club to ensure the bridge building process continues,” he said.

“It’s also equally important to ensure our coaches, along with myself, senior players and staff, where possible, visit our local schools to engage with a spectrums of the community.”

“The community plays a huge role in every football club and it’s important we play our role in the community,” he concluded.

Wilkes will commence his role as Technical Director with Fire in the coming weeks.