Interview with John Vella McIntyre

by Ayrton Galea - 7th March 2014

This week we interviewed John Vella who is the Coach of the Under-15's and Assistant Coach of the Under-17's at the Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery.

These two teams are living different realities. The Under-15's have won the promotion to Section A, and are one small step away from clinching the title.. On the other hand, the Under-17's team are battling to keep their place in Section A.

Who is John Vella?

I am 25 years of age, from Mellieha. People consider me to be a calm person.

How do you spend your regular day?

I start work at around 8 o'clock until approximately 4, after I head straight to training until 7. I spend some time with my family and later dedicate some time planning training sessions.

How do you spend your weekends?

Weekends very much depend on my football schedule, on busy weekends when we have both under 15 and under 17 games, free time will be quite limited otherwise I like to watch high-profile matches and spend quality time with my family and friends.

What are your hobbies besides football?

I like reading, most of the time it would be either football or IT related material.

Mention three things that without them you cannot live.

PC, football and family.

Do you have a favourite quote or motto?

Yes, definitely, 'What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger'.

What motivates you most in life?

Determined people that succeed in life.

Do you follow international football? If yes, which is your favourite nation when it comes to football, and which is your favourite club?

Italy as a national team and Juventus at club level.

Who is your favourite Coach?

I do not have a particular favourite. I prefer to follow top coaches and try to learn something from each.

How did your coaching career start?

I always enjoyed analyzing the tactical side of the game and I felt inclined towards the coaching role. I started at the age of 16 with Mellieha while I was still playing.

When and why did you join Birkirkara FC?

I heard that the Birkirkara nursery were embarking on an interesting project and head coach Marko Glumac had taken charge. We got in contact, met up for a meeting and I quickly decided it would be a step in the right direction.

What makes a good football Nursery?

There are various factors that make up a good nursery. Personally, I believe that the technical and administrative sides are equally important. At the administrative level you need capable and dedicated people running the nursery on short and long term basis. While at the technical level you need a good number of knowledgeable coaches operating in a systematic manner.

What are the limitations you face?

Unfortunately, the biggest limitation we face in Malta is that a lot of people consider football to be a hobby. Although we need to keep our feet on the ground and understand our limitations we need to strive to work outside those limitations.

What is your over-all most memorable match as a coach?

I have two very fond memories as a coach. The first is a quarter-final in the knock out competition when I was with Mellieha, we scored a late goal and made it to the semi final. The second is this year's performance against Floriana, a very positive performance both defensively and offensively.

What are your comments about the Under-15's and Under-17's season so far?

At youth level, the most important objective is player development. I believe that in both cases we achieved quite a lot in this regard. When taking results into consideration, we can say that we had our ups and downs. With the Under 17s, although our league position is not ideal, we had a good number of positive performances. With regards to our Under 15s, performances have been consistently satisfactory following a rough patch during late October.

Which were our best and our worst matches?

Under 17's best matches were vs. Valletta and Hamrun Spartans while our poor performances were vs. Sliema Wanderers and Mosta (Knockout match). On the other hand, Under 15's best matches were vs. Floriana and Kirkop (2nd round) while our poor performances were vs. Tarxien Rainbows and Kirkop United, both first round matches.

With both Sunday's matches rated as decisive, what are your thoughts?

Obviously, they are both very important matches, we have now been working hard for the last 9 months for these important moments. At the same time I believe that, we need to be looking at the bigger picture and put everything into its perspective.

Is the Under-15's Knockout part of our targets for this season?

The knockout competition for the Under 15's is an interesting challenge in my opinion. It gives us

The opportunity to compete against Section A teams. We have already managed to beat Hamrun from Section A, now we face Floriana in the quarter-final and potentially Valletta and Sliema during later stages. I believe that it should be our target, in the sense that, we have the opportunity to challenge ourselves to the limit.

What are your personal targets till the end of the season?

I personally set 3 objectives in the beginning of the season: 1 - player development, 2 - promotion to Section A and 3 - develop the player's loyalty towards the club.

What are your plans as a coach?

I do not have any specific long term plans, I like to take things step by step in life. I am definitely enjoying my time as a youth coach.

Is there a message you would like to pass on to the players training at the nursery, and to their parents?

Yes, I would like to remind the young players that they should always remain dedicated and give their utmost during matches and training sessions. Not only the most gifted players make it but also the most dedicated. To the parents, I would suggest that they should be encouraging and supporting their children to help them develop. It is important to be aware, that children should be given their own space because by over doing it they might be interfering rather then helping their development.

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