LOUIS BARON
Founder & Head Coach of Football Life
ABOUT ME
Like many kids in the UK, I was born into a “football crazy” family. At the age of 5 I strapped on a pair of boots and took to the field for the very first time. My love affair with ‘the world game’ had begun.
From my humble beginnings of playing football for my local clubs, I was privileged to secure a spot in the Crystal Palace’s Youth Academy. I spent 2-3 years learning from some of the best coaches in England at the time. Andy Ritchie, my main coach at Crystal Palace, had played for Manchester United and Leeds United, and then went on to manage the England U18 Team. He was a wonderful coach and inspiring role-model.
My fondest memory of being at Crystal Palace was having the then captain of Crystal Palace, Gareth Southgate (former England First Team coach), run a coaching session with us. As a 14-year-old kid, I was mesmerised by Southgate’s quality as a player and leader.
Since my days at Crystal Palace, I have learnt a lot about the game we all love. And after moving to Australia to get married to my beautiful wife (she’s still beautiful!), I continued to play football for a bunch of teams. It was during these days in my 20s that I first started to dream about coaching kids in order to make a positive difference in their lives.
However, it wasn’t until 2020 – of course, a year made infamous by COVID – that I finally decided to take my experience as a player and channel it into coaching. With great excitement Football Life became a lived reality mid-way through 2021!
I simply cannot express in words my delight about coaching young athletes to not only become better players but also to become better people through the powerful medium of football!
This is my story.
And this is Football Life!