ANDY SIMS

Nationality: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Coach for: UJFC U6 Amazons, UJFC U9 Rams 🐏 , Vice-Chairman

Footballing history: Growing up, I played for several teams across Merseyside and Staffordshire at grassroots level through to Sunday league until a knee injury unfortunately cut my playing days short. I have coached junior football for over 14 years and have been involved in coaching players from the first page of their grassroots journey all the way through to their final chapter. 

Supports: Derby County 

Favourite Player of All Time: This is a really tough one as I grew up in an era of such truly talented players. Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Ronaldinho, Henry, Shearer.. I could go on all day however, for me it has to be Beckham and his absolute wand of a right foot. I idolised him growing up and like all kids, I tried to copy his style of play. Although I think only one out of every twenty free kicks found the back of the net! He was also responsible for some very questionable hairstyles over the years! I think I’ve just about managed to destroy all the photographic evidence of the Mohawk years!   

Best UJFC Memory: Being involved in coaching for so many years, it is a really tough one to single out a best memory as there have been some truly great ones over the years. Taking teams to academies is always a great experience and having the opportunity to be part of the coach mentor program with the FA and help deliver a training session in front of hundreds of FA coaches at St George’s Park was a special one for me. Top of the pile for me personally though is what grassroots football is all about. Coaching and supporting a player who at the very start some thought wasn’t good enough but you saw that potential, believed in them, helped build that confidence and provide that opportunity to show what they can do and to see them go all the way through the club and become one of the best all round players in the team was a something that I am extremely proud of. 

Interesting Fact/Story: My Great Uncle, Vincent Blore, was a goal keeper for Derby County, Aston Villa, West Ham & Crystal Palace. 

Coaching Philosophy: Grassroots football to me is about more than just the medals and trophies that end up gathering dust. It’s about creating those memories for players to look back on with a smile on their face and who maybe one day, may find themselves on the sidelines coaching their own children through their grassroots journey. We are not just responsible for supporting, coaching and nurturing good footballers but for also guiding young children and teenagers into becoming decent human beings at the end of their time with the club.