Jonathan Davies

Background

About Jonathan Davies

I am a fully qualified History teacher and professional football coach, currently working as an IDP Co-Ordinator and Talent Manager in the Professional Development Phase of the SK Slavia Prague academy. Having graduated from Cardiff University, gaining a PGCE in 2010, I found that at the age of 23, I was much too young and inexperienced to become a teacher. Coupled with my strong desire to travel the world and my love for discovering new cultures and places, I decided to seek more classroom experience in China. I worked for a variety of different schools in China for 3 years, as an ESL teacher and in 2013 I decided to relocate to Taiwan, to gain international experience elsewhere. Having initially continued my work as an ESL teacher, I found a perfect opportunity to fulfil my dream of becoming a professional football coach. I coached for four years in an international football academy in Taiwan, as part of a highly successful and multi-national coaching team. In Taiwan, I worked with UEFA qualified coaches on a daily basis, preparing and conducting sessions as a lead coach and in conjunction with others. I moved to Czech Republic in October 2017 and subsequently became a youth coach for the SK Slavia Prague academy. In 2022, I was appointed as the Head Coach of the U12 age category, becoming the first non-Czech speaker to be appointed head coach of a youth team in Czech football history. After two years in that role, I was then made assistant coach of the U19 and U17 categories for the next two seasons. I now operate as the IDP Co-Ordinator and Talent Manager. I’m responsible for building and managing our IDP programme, in addition to working individually with the top talents in our U17-U20 age categories, helping to strengthen the pathway into the first team. In addition, I work with management and colleagues, helping them with their English proficiency through regular conversation classes.