Gurus home in on East End

McCann and Sbragia to speak at coaching conference

The Scottish FA is delighted to announce that East End Park, Dunfermline, will host the seventh East Region Coaching Conference on Sunday 31st August.

The conference, which will be on between 10am and 3pm, is aimed at coaches working at all levels of football, and will include a variety of practical sessions as well as a discussion forum.

The conference has been designated as a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) event for coaches

Speakers at the event include:

Ricky Sbragia – Scotland Under-19 National Coach

Ricky Sbragia has been involved in the youth national set up for the past 3 years. Sbragia began his national coaching role with the Scotland Under-17’s and has moved up along with the players to the Under-19’s.

Before taking on the Under-17’s role, Sbragia has coached at some of the biggest clubs in England including Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.

Neil McCann – Dunfermline Athletic

Neil McCann is a former Scotland international who is currently the assistant manager at Dunfermline Athletic. McCann had a successful playing career, winning domestic honours with Hearts and Rangers as well as playing for Southampton in the English Premier League.

As well as his position at Dunfermline Athletic, McCann is also a columnist and pundit for Sky Sports’ coverage of the Scottish Professional Football League.

John Potter - Dunfermline Athletic

John Potter was previously captain of St Mirren before joining Dunfermline Athletic in a player-coach capacity for two seasons in 2011. In the 2012/13 season Potter was the team’s Under-20 coach.

Potter began his career at Celtic in 1996 before joining Dunfermline in 1999. Between 2002 and 2005 he played for Clyde before signing for St Mirren, where he was part of their promotion-winning side.

Robert Kielty - Sport Scientist and Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University

Robert Kielty is the programme leader of Sport and Active Lifestyle Promotions and the new International Sports Management degree at Glasgow Caledonian University. Kielty is also the Head of Sport Science at Dunfermline Athletic’s Academy.

Before re-entering education, Kielty was Head of Sport Science at Blackpool FC where he was responsible for the development, monitoring and evaluation of the club’s sport science strategy for the first team and youth academy players. He has also worked for the Scottish FA as a tutor during professional coaching courses.