By Matt Badcock
As learning experiences go, ten days in a National League dug-out taught Tom Shaw a lot.
The 31-year-old was thrust into the hotseat as caretaker when Jon McCarthy left Chester earlier this season and before Marcus Bignot arrived.
“That was terrific,” Shaw says. “I would have liked to have picked up a few more points, but we performed really well and it brought the feel-good back a little bit at the time.
“It was ten days I had the job. Despite the four years of coaching badges, I think the most learning I did was that. It was hands on, learning on the job and a really interesting ten days.
“Everyone around the club was great with me, so were the fans – some of the messages were terrific.
“So I learned a lot about myself and about the game. We played well but didn't get the points. The reality is it's a results business and you've got to be good in both boxes. That was the big bit I took away from the experience.
Knowledge
“It's sometimes hard to be detached from the emotion of the game. Because you're kicking every ball you get wrapped up in everything – referees, fans and everything that's going on. Sometimes you have to take a step back and think about what's happening and how you can affect the game or if you don't need to do anything. It's definitely made me hungry to have another crack at it further down the line.
“It's a competitive industry, there are a lot of people out there who want to do it. It's an addictive job and one people really want to find the magic formula to crack it.”
I first met Shaw back in 2009 when England C took on, and beat, a talented Poland U21 side in Poznan. Even back then, his knowledge and intelligence for the game shone through and it's why he's proved such a savvy National League operator through the years.
Back then he was playing for Tamworth fresh from Conference North promotion. Since then the midfielder has had spells with Kidderminster Harriers, Cambridge United, Alfreton and Chester before he returned to the Lambs a fortnight ago.
It's been no surprise to anyone who knows Shaw that his coaching talents are showing through.
When he was a youngster at Rushden & Diamonds he would help coach the youth set-up and he's had roles with Nottingham Forest and Derby County before starting a new job in September.
Head of Football at Nottingham Trent University, the demanding day job is a big reason why he left the Blues to return to Tamworth.
“Everybody I come across says play for as long as you can, so that's my plan,” Shaw says. “Hopefully I can have a good 18 months, at least, at Tamworth and help them challenge in what is a really tough league now.
“I made some really good friends at Chester – it's a really special club with the fans and volunteers. I had some really good times there but Tamworth and how it fits around this job, I couldn't turn it down.
“It was a choice perhaps for my family more than my football, for the first time. But I know Tamworth well and had good times here before.
“There are loads of faces I recognise from before. The only difference is the grass has changed to 3G!
“We had a really good team and played some really good stuff under Gary Mills and I can see similarities in Andy Morrell now. He's really positive, wants to play good football and I think I'm going to enjoy my game.”
Shaw oversees five men's teams and four women's team as well as four futsal sides. The men's first team are top of the Premier North division and will win the league with a point against Loughborough on Wednesday. Past graduates include QPR striker Conor Washington and Shaw's ex-Tamworth team-mate Alex Rodman, now at League One Shrewsbury Town.
Uni is an increasingly popular route for young footballers, who have been released by League clubs and decide getting qualifications while still pursuing their dream.
Scholarships are offered, much like in America, with the teams training full-time around studies.
Shaw says a big plus of Nottingham Trent is the fact players are free to play for a Non-League club at the weekend, which can help their income and experience of men's football.
Basford United are seeing the benefits of four of the students as they run away with the EVO-STIK North. Ex-Nottingham Forest man Aidan Austin, former Cambridge United midfielder Fernando Bell-Toxtle, ex-Notts County defender Connor Bartle and Jerry Nash, previously at Luton Town, have become mainstays having originally joined to help out in an injury crisis.
At the other end of the spectrum is ex-Mansfield man Anthony Howell, 31, who is getting his football fix playing for the Uni side while doing his degree in teaching PE.
Insight
“There's a sports coaching and exercise course which is popular for our footballers, but any degrees people are interested in are pretty much done at this university,” Shaw says. “Jerry Nash does a mathematics degree, for example.
“We have people from all over the country now. A big selling tool for us is we've got a link with Basford and lots of other Non-League clubs in the area because we don't have our own Saturday team.
“Going out and playing in Non-League really makes them grow up quick as people and players. That benefits our programme too.”
Former Coventry City striker Noel Whelan is part of the coaching team and provides valuable insight into what it takes to play at the top, with an emphasis on lifestyle advice alongside the more expected nutrition and strength and conditioning programmes.
“One of the big things we hammer home is humility,” Shaw says. “Around the University we try to represent ourselves as the best sports club. Whether we are doing that, I don't know, but we are trying. We make sure we are polite with everybody, are good with all the sport centre staff – little things so that they are equipped to go out thereand make a success of themselves.”
For more info on NTU's football programme contact Tom Shaw on tom.shaw@ntu.ac.uk
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
