Nicola Waxler
Director of Football
Experience
Nicola is Director of Football at Breakthrough.
She has 26 years of football playing and coaching experience at the elite and grassroot's level.
Nicola played for Millwall Lionesses from the age of 10, who, during the 1990's were the leading female football club in the county, producing many international players. At the age of 16 Nicola joined the first ever full time female football academy in the country, Arsenal Ladies Football Academy, where she got to play and train alongside the most elite players in the womens game everyday.
Later on in her career Nicola represented Great Britain in the Maccabiah Olympic Games held in Israel. Scoring a goal against the Germans, top bins, was a career highlight!
Nicola Waxler Director of Football
Nicola Waxler Director of Football
At the age of 16 Nicola gained her FA level 2 coaching certificate and became head coach of Millwall Girls Centre of Excellence U10s team. This was the first ever female centre of excellence in the country.
She spent 7 years there and then went onto coach the Arsenal Ladies U14 Centre of excellence team.
Nicola has worked overseas in the USA coaching football and has experience coaching teams at elite level and coaching players in development centres to help them get to the elite level.
Nicola's most recent post was the West Ham United Performance Squad U12 boys, where she coached them into the Junior Premier league, Elite League. The team were unbeaten throughout the whole season until the second to last game, Nicola attributed this success to a great mixture of talent, hard work and the right mindset from the players.
Qualifications
Nicola is now qualified to UEFA B standard which she underwent with the PFA, working with one of the most respected coach educators in the country, who has been her mentor since the age of 16.
Nicola is a Level 3 Personal Trainer and has a BA Honours degree in Physical Education and Sport.
Nicola is currently Studying a Masters in Advanced Football Performance with the university of South Wales.
Nicola's Philosophy
Breakthrough Football Academy was born from Nicola's vision of being able to offer an elite coaching experience for young players and to be able to help them take the step up from grassroots into the elite game. Nicola is passionate about providing a holisitc, player centred approach to coaching to set players up to be capable young adults in life, as well as in football. In the modern game, football imitates life and the psychological and social sides of the game can often be over looked, but are in fact, the difference between a player making that step from grass roots to elite.
All of Nicola's one to one sessions and team events, are based around her philosophy of making sure that every detail is covered within the FA's four corner model, in every session.
Contact Nicola
Email Nicola at nicola@breakthroughfootballacademy.co.uk