Kicking off a career in youth coaching with Saints Foundation

Samatee Tocknell first got involved with the Foundation's Premier League Kicks programme during his first year at Solent, completing the six hours of work experience required by his course. What started as a box to tick quickly became something much bigger.

"When I first got involved volunteering, the gist of it was to get some work experience for my course," he says. "But after my first session, I saw the real positive impact of it, and I kept volunteering for a year or so, getting closer with the Premier League Kicks team and applying what I learned from my course into the sessions."

Premier League Kicks sessions offer free, regular football sessions to young people, and for many of the participants, they mean far more than just sport.

"They are kids who don't have a lot, and a Premier League Kicks session to them can be their whole week," Samatee explains. "Having the impact of someone looking forward to seeing you and your colleagues, and seeing them fall in love with football, that's what really drew me to carrying on what I was doing alongside studying."

In his second year, the Foundation helped him gain his Level 1 football coaching qualification, opening the door to paid casual work as a Youth Engagement Coach. By his final year, he was also supporting the Foundation's office with admin work, giving him experience across the organisation.

"By the end of it, I had around 170 hours of experience that I could pick and choose from for my final assignment, when only 20 hours were required," he says. "Because of the work experience I got from the placement, it has set me up to now being here, which I'm incredibly grateful for, especially in this job market."

Samatee credits the safeguarding and coaching principles taught in his first year at Solent with setting him apart early on. "That's what separated me from the other volunteers, and I think that's why they wanted to keep me on," he says. "I was learning year by year, alongside my placement, and I was the only one on my course who stayed on with the Foundation afterwards."

Originally from Thailand, Samatee moved to Barnstaple in Devon at the age of eight, later choosing Solent for the quality of its sports facilities.

Now working full-time, Samatee says he doesn't take the opportunity for granted. "To have the privilege of calling this a job is incredible. I'm not going to take it for granted now that I'm in a full-time position. I'm still going to carry on working as hard as I can, because this is a privilege."

By placing employability, adaptability and real-world experience at the heart of every degree, Southampton Solent University is positioning itself at the forefront of a new model of higher education, one that puts students' futures first. Find out more about our career ready revolution here.