Academy column: A trip to university

This week we took the U18s squad to Warwick University for a two-day trip, culminating in the 4-2 win over their first team in what was an excellent match from both teams on Wednesday afternoon. It was a fantastic experience for our players and it was a great success. We were approached by Warwick University six months ago regarding the work they do with high schools and colleges and giving students a university experience. It sounded really interesting so we invited the university staff up to the Academy and we agreed that we would take our U18 squad for a university experience and for them to experience what life is like being a student.

The Plan A for our players is to play for Liverpool's first team. The Plan B is if life at Liverpool doesn't work out then we have to prepare them for the best possible opportunity to succeed at another club. If that doesn't work out, it's helping them find a job, or maybe go to a university in America to continue with their football life. We also help them to try to get a university degree in England, so this visit to Warwick was to give them an idea what that would be like. We also wanted them to experience some subjects during this trip away from sport.

The majority of our players do their education around sport and obviously they are around sport all of the time. I wanted them to sample things like politics and learn about current topics going on in the world today. It was really good for the players to not only experience life living around campus but also being involved in actual lectures where they have sat, listened and taken part in some of the outstanding lectures around different subjects surrounding politics and business. We wanted them to be exposed to things which they've never been involved with before and it ultimately takes them out of their comfort zone.

The idea behind playing a match against Warwick University's first team came from our Academy director, Alex Inglethorpe, and he has fully supported this. Alex was keen for the boys to have a different football experience and it was a great setting for them because they were playing in a different environment than what they are used to. Over 400 people turned up to watch the game and the facilities we had were absolutely first-class and it was a very enjoyable day.

I must say thank you to Martin Heather, who is head of education and welfare from the Premier League, Oshor Williams and Neil Bailey, who came from the PFA, Neil Dewsnip from the FA, John Pout, head of Rainhill High School, and Caitlin Hawkins, our LFC Head link tutor at Rainhill High. Also Critch has been fantastic in supporting this event, allowing this to fit in to an already very busy U18s schedule.

I wanted to have a representation with us from different areas of the businesses we work with at Liverpool. It was great for them to see that if this template works for Liverpool then maybe it can be used at other clubs or other schools within the country. We had some really good, positive discussions about how things can move forward with Warwick University. I just think this has been a really good learning curve, not just for the players but also our staff who attended the event as well.

I have now been head of education and welfare at the Academy for over six years and it has been a really enjoyable experience. It is a job I feel so privileged to do and I love working with the players and helping them as best as I can off the field to reach their ultimate goal on the field. My work is to support and work alongside all the different areas within the Academy who do a fantastic job to try to achieve our ultimate goal - which is to get players every season from the Academy to Melwood to be in the first-team squad and also appear ultimately for the first team.

The role is also to ensure that when an individual leaves Liverpool, whenever that may be, he is a thoroughly decent person who is ready for employment at another club or another job and is able to add to society in a positive way. I get just as much satisfaction from one of our players achieving after their Liverpool experience has ended as I do watching a player make his debut for the first team.

Education is massive for our players. We want our players to not only get the best GCSEs but also the best BTECs and best A-levels. Academic qualifications are only one aspect of what education means for all our players at Liverpool. We are massively supportive at this club in developing the players' lifelong learning, which is a massive holistic experience for the players including life skills such as managing your finances, what does community work look like, what would a coaching career look like, sexual health, the best way to represent Liverpool Football Club, and using social media correctly, as examples. All these things come together to make a good person and create a really good profile because playing for Liverpool Football Club is not only a job, it's an honour to be able to do that and we want our players to be able to understand just what that means fully.