Sport Coaching graduate, Aaron Briggs, is flying high in the Premier League in his role as First Team Individual Development Coach at Liverpool Football Club, after stints at Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, VfL Wolfsburg and other well-known clubs.
Aaron is currently in his first season at the top of the league club, where he’s assisting the manager assessing the skills and performance of individual players, and the team as a whole. He often works with young, emerging talent to prepare them for the first team, whilst also supporting the existing squad.
After graduating from the University of Central Lancashire’s BA (Hons) Sport Coaching degree in 2008, Aaron went straight to work at Preston North End F.C. in a full-time role, after working with their first team part-time during his final year of study.
Following his time at North End, Aaron spent four seasons at Tottenham Hotspur F.C. where he was offered the opportunity to work with the U18s and progressed to work as Head of Analysis. He then went to Manchester City F.C. to lead the Academy Performance Analyst Department before being promoted to first team Performance Analyst.
Aaron then went to work for AS Monaco as a Tactical Analyst Coach, before being promoted to Assistant Coach and Head of Football Methodology. Speaking about this role, Aaron said: “Having full visibility of the game plan from creation to delivery and then to the match fascinates me and working alongside expert coaching staff who are open to new ideas was a great learning opportunity for me."
In 2022, Aaron left the principality and moved to become Assistant Coach at VfL Wolfsburg where he planned and conducted training sessions and game plans, as well as analysing in game data and opposition teams. He then moved to Liverpool F.C. for the 2024/25 season.
"My time at University has had an enormous impact on my life. I arrived with a dream of being a football coach and I left with hands-on experience and a foot in the door at a professional football club. I grabbed that chance and now I’m in my 18th season in professional football as a result of studying the course."
— Aaron Briggs, BA (Hons) Sport Coaching.
Alongside his role at Liverpool, Aaron acts as a consultant for FIFA and worked with them during the 2022 World Cup analysing set pieces. In addition to this, in the same year Aaron was awarded a University of Central Lancashire Alumni Achievement Award in for his services to sport, something he said he was “honoured and privileged” to receive.
Aaron looks back fondly on his time at University and the on-the-job experience which enabled him to succeed in his chosen career path. He said: “While I was studying at University, the teaching staff were academic as well as practical. I was actively encouraged and showed the correct way to pursue a progression in my desired field. It was an enjoyable three years of my life which set up my career.”
When asked what advice he would give to prospective students, he said: “My advice to a new graduate starting out in their career is to follow a passion for something you’re going to put boundless energy in to and you will be successful. If you follow a route you’re pushed down, you probably won’t succeed. I think if you’re passionate about your career it will be fruitful, and you’ll be happy too.”