College welcomes new head of academy football

Coleg Sir Gâr is excited to welcome a new manager to its football academy who is aiming to lead the team to further success.

Nathan Mcauley, a former Queen’s Dragoon Guard, has vast experience of coaching juniors, youth and adults and is a UEFA B Licence coach having gained numerous qualifications with both the English FA and FAW.

He has also played football at various levels including representing his Army regiment for six years and has coached since 2008, at both amateur and academy levels at clubs including Telford United and Newport Academy, before moving back to his hometown of Llanelli.

Nathan Mcauley said: “This is an exciting new challenge for myself and my team of coaches and together we are looking forward to settling in and getting to know the squad and working with them for the academic year ahead.”

All coaches bring a wealth of experience in different areas of the game and the current team consists of Sion-Dafydd Williams, a UEFA B Licence coach and previous Coleg Sir Gâr student and football academy player who has coached at Llanelli AFC and volunteered at Drefach FC’s U16s. 

The college also welcomes Aaron Thomas, a UEFA C Licence coach and university graduate, who is a volunteer coach at Llangennech AFC coaching the U15s team. 

New to the team is Kate Mcauley, a UEFA C Licence coach in the female game, who is head coach for Llangennech AFC girls’ side and head coach and business manager at Street Star Soccer Coaching. 

Nathan Mcauley added: “I am hoping to bring some fresh ideas and ensure the players get the best experience and coaching by being part of the football academy. 

“The Football Academy is a fantastic programme for both male and more recently female footballers and an excellent opportunity for anyone looking to come to study at Coleg Sir Gâr. I look forward to working with the players potential and maximise their performance by helping them to learn and develop as players.” 

Nathan also runs his own private football company called Street Star Soccer Coaching which provides football opportunities for boys and girls of all abilities and in his spare time, volunteers at Llangennech AFC where he has taken over as head of football and development.

Nathan follows in the footsteps of Jonathan Garcia who led the college academy to end its season with a successful run of games including an English College’s Football Association West League win.

He also facilitated play in the Association of Colleges (AOC) category two and three leagues and gave the teams international playing experience in tournaments such as the Roma Caput Mundi.

Jonathan is still supporting the development of the academy but is also newly involved in developing football at UWTSD.