A GIFTED student who hopes to become a professional football coach has netted a second top award from the Worcestershire FA.
Grace Gallagher-Kennett has won female pathway Coach of the Year in the association’s grassroots football awards after scooping Volunteer of the Year last year.
The 18-year-old has just completed her studies at Kidderminster’s Baxter College sixth form in PE, applied science and business and is hoping to start a coaching and performance degree course at Wolverhampton University in September.
When injury forced Grace to stop playing football, she turned her passion for the game to coaching and at just 16 took a team of u10 girls from beginners to cup finalists in their first season with Kidderminster Lions FC.
Parents of the young players were quick to nominate her for the Volunteer of the Year award for her ability, passion and caring nature in supporting the girls and now, as successful u11s, their parents again nominated her for her coaching, leadership and being an influential role model.
Grace, who has also taught football to year sevens at Baxter College and to local Brownies, where she is a young leader, hopes to be able to stay with her Lions team whilst at university, describing them as ‘like a family’.
She said: “It was so nice to be nominated by the parents and to win the volunteer award and now this, which is a much bigger category, will really help me.
“The awards’ ceremony was on my birthday, making it a very special celebration.”
Grace, a talented winger, was diagnosed with a hip problem whilst playing for the Harriers and West Bromwich Academy but, undeterred, she jumped at the chance to start coaching.
Liz Spare, sixth form curriculum and standards lead, said: “To win two such prestigious awards in successive years is amazing and we are so proud of Grace and all she has achieved.
“She has been a joy to have as part of our Baxter family and showed huge resilience in overcoming the disappointment of being unable to continue playing and then discovering her talent for coaching.
“She is the embodiment of the ‘Baxter Way’.
“Grace looks set for a great future as a star football coach.
“We will follow her progress with greatinterest and wish her the very best.”
