It is fair to say that a role at a LaLiga team would be a dream for thousands of aspiring coaches around the world.
Since graduating, GIS Alumna Victoria Yarnold has realised this dream through her position as International Department Football Coach at Villarreal CF. After working as a coach at Chicago Fire and an internship at Villarreal, Victoria landed the job in 2022, and studied MSc Football Coaching and Analysis at GIS in the meantime.
Speaking on her decision to choose GIS, Victoria explained that studying with the institution let her, “take a flexible approach to my studies, as it allowed me to study online and part-time. In that moment, I was looking to find a coaching job abroad, therefore studying this way allowed me to do so without any restrictions.”
With modules ranging from Global Sports Leadership to Applied Football Match Analysis, Victoria felt the course gave her a wide range of knowledge that transferred over to her role at Villarreal. On this, she added that, “The degree provided me with knowledge in a variety of areas, and allowed me to improve my own coaching practice through developing a deeper understanding of my own behaviours, and also tactically how I work with players on the pitch.
“I was also able to learn about different trends in the modern game, such as match analysis and data, which were new concepts for me going into the course, and that's really important in my role as coach here at Villarreal, as we often record players and their performances to carry out analysis and therefore improve their player development.”
Providing students with these skills is part of the reason why GIS graduates have such a high industry employment rate. More specifically, 79% of GIS’ 2023 graduates found a job in sport within nine months.
Approaching her third year at the club, Victoria is still enjoying her role as much as the day she started. “The best thing about working in football is that I get to make a career out of what I love.
“Football has always been a hobby for me, whether that's been watching it, playing it, or coaching. I’ve also grown to be quite a big supporter of Villarreal. I have a season ticket, and when I'm able to, I’ll travel to away games, therefore to say I work for the club I now support is quite special.”
Having received her UEFA B Licence recently, Victoria looks back on the start of her career, and how far she has come: “It feels quite surreal to say that I work in my dream career, I have to keep reminding myself about where I am and what I've achieved. Ever since I was 16 I knew I wanted to work in Spain and in football, therefore I've always guided my education around this. I got an injury when I was quite young playing football, therefore turning to coaching allowed me to maintain my involvement in the sport.”
To find out more about GIS graduates like Victoria who have gone on to have careers across the global sports industry, click here.
Article by Zak Anani
