Growing up in Paddington, West London, Jason Clayton played many sports, however football was the one sport he thoroughly enjoyed. After many years of playing with friends at the park, he progressed to playing at grassroots level with many community clubs in England. He also spent a lot his youth travelling north and south of the UK following his favourite EPL club Chelsea.
He arrived to the Northern Beaches in Australia in 1993, and played football for Saint Augustine for many seasons. He currently plays and also now coaches for Wakehurst Tigers, as his passion for football has driven him to want to get more involved in the sport by coaching children.
“My desire is to help them develop a wide range of football skills, help them reach their highest potential, for them to develop new friendships, and most importantly to enjoy playing the great game. With the Women’s World Cup only months away, all clubs have the potential to grow the game at grassroots level and maybe even produce the next Matilda!”
Jason naturally instilled this passion into his three daughters who also currently all play at Wakehurst. This has given him extra motivation to coach and watch them and their peers develop their skills. Last season was the most successful so far, with a great team effort to win W14 Division 1, the grand final, and to make the quarter finals of Champion of Champions.
In recent years, Jason has completed both the Skill Training and Game Training Certificates at MWFA, as well as various other coaching workshops. At the end of the 2022 season, he decided to undertake the Future Coaches Program to push himself even further.
“The Future Coaches Program has challenged me and has got me thinking and looking at football in many different ways. I did this course to help me develop my all-round coaching skills, and I have already been able to improve my training methods, communications skills and meet other like-minded coaches. Based on this experience, I encourage everyone to invest in themselves to help others.”
Over the last eight years at his current club, Jason has also met many like minded, supportive people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure it’s a safe and enjoyable environment for players to begin their football journey, and this is where he hopes to be able to contribute more moving forward.
“I want to strongly encourage everyone to get involved with your local football club. You will find it very rewarding and make some great friendships along the way. Football has given me a lot over the years, and it’s my time to give back. We all need to make community football a success!”
MWFA is looking forward to seeing Jason’s passion and enthusiasm help to continue to grow the game and give players at his club a great experience, and the more people like him involved, the more successful this will be across all clubs.
Look out for more articles on other MWFA Future Coaches over the coming weeks.
