Neil Dewsnip recalls the first day he took to the training pitches at St. George’s Park back in August with a mixture of amusement and pride.
He had only just taken up his role as The Football Association’s technical lead for the 17-21 age group when he spotted a familiar figure going through his paces on the Wembley-cloned pitch at the National Football Centre.
Steven Gerrard trotted over to greet Dewsnip, his former PE teacher at Cardinal Heenan School in Liverpool.
England v Belgium
An U18 International
2pm, Tuesday 18 February
St. George's Park
"It was wonderful to see him," Dewsnip said, "and he reminded me of when he went to trial with England schoolboys, and, can you believe it, he didn’t get in.
"Well he had come back to the PE room at the school to tell us and it had absolutely broken his heart.
"And I said to him, just like you would say to anyone, ‘don’t worry about that; it’s not that team you want to be in, it’s the full team you want.’
"A throwaway remark!" said Dewsnip, "and I would have said it to any kid in that situation."
Dewsnip has spent six months in his position at The FA, where he divides his time between coach education, assisting the England U19 Head Coach Noel Blake, and leading the national U18s, who face Belgium at St. George’s Park on Tuesday.
Before then he enjoyed 17 years at Everton, most recently as academy coach, where he helped deliver Wayne Rooney, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell and Ross Barkley to the Blues’ first team.
"It has been fantastic watching England over the past few years, with Steven, and of course Wayne [Rooney] who I coached at Everton," Dewsnip said, before turning his attention to the latest Finch Farm prospect to wear the Three Lions.
"Ross is an outrageous talent. He wouldn’t be dissimilar to all the boys I worked with at Everton.
"They are fanatical about football and it is an unbelievable environment to work in. The energy that comes from the boys is unbelievable.
"Well... Ross would be at the extreme end of that.
"He is desperate to be the best he can be. He has incredible talent and he is a great learner. He has great self discipline and his manners are fantastic.
"He is just somebody you would hope would go the distance. He can score and he can create."
Despite Dewsnip’s Evertonian credentials, his family football history owes as much to Anfield as it does to Goodison.
His father, Jim, worked as a youth coach under Bill Shankly in the 1970s, but turned down an offer to go full-time, preferring the security that teaching could provide.
Dewsnip was taken to watch Everton by his uncle but played for Liverpool’s youth teams.
He said: "My dad would have known that I wouldn’t have been good enough to be a top professional player and looking back now guided me to go the PE teaching route."
He spent 10 years teaching in Liverpool, where he encountered the young Gerrard, and learned a vital lesson in the nurturing of young players.
"I remember a spindly little lad at school, who had amazing talent in terms of shooting and passing, but then at 14, 15, he hit real issues in terms of growth – he went from being a small boy to being this lanky young man. That needed managing and there were times when he couldn’t play.
"And that carried on right until the age of 21, 22, until he became the man and the player he is now."
While there may be similar gems amongst Dewsnip’s U18s squad, he is well aware that his role as a coach educator at The FA is every bit as important – and St. George’s Park will have a major role to play in this.
"I remember going to Lilleshall in 1985 – they were two of the best weeks of my life. After every session you went to your room to collapse.
"The camaraderie you still have to this day from a course all those years ago is unbelievable.
"I still get calls to say ‘do you remember when...’, and of course you do.
He added: "And with all the national teams training together, with the exchange of ideas both out on the training pitches and in the corridors, I am sure there is that kind of environment forming at St. George’s Park."
