Meet the Team

Tony Carr - Editor

Tony was a West Ham youth player in the 1960s, cleaning the boots of World Cup legends Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, and Martin Peters. Injury brought an early end to his playing career but in 1973 he became Director of the West Ham Academy and since then he’s helped develop players of the calibre of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, John Terry and many others going back through the years.

Mike Beale - Editor

As Chelsea FC Youth Development Officer, Mike works closely with kids and young adults, developing talented players into the stars of the future. He was a professional with English Premier League club Charlton Athletic and FC Twente of the Eredivisie in the Netherlands before gaining just about every coaching qualification available – including the UEFA A Licence.

Keith Boanas  - Editor

As Surrey County Football Association Coach Educator, Keith is responsible for the tutoring and assessing coaches taking their level 2 and level 3 certificates in the county.

Until January 2009 he was Assistant Director of the David Beckham Academy in London before moving to Estonia where he is now Technical Director for Women’s and Girl’s Football. His first national coaching position.

David Clarke - Editor

David writes and edits Soccer Coach Weekly and is a member of our editorial board.

David’s record as a youth football coach is impressive. He has coached many teams in a range of age groups. All of his teams have two things in common – they play fluid, passing football, and they win just about everything in sight.

Kevin Barrow - Publisher

Kevin is the Publisher of our soccer coaching titles. He aims to combine his love of football with his experience in newsletter publishing to provide the ultimate training resources to coaches, players and parents. He has been playing football since the age of six and qualified as a referee when he was 16. Kevin currently plays for Guildford City Weysiders where he has been both a player and a manager since joining in 2002. He recently received the FA Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football.

Duncan Heard - Customer Services Representative

The guardian of our customer service standards, Duncan’s job is to make sure you are happy! If your newsletter is missing, your email address has changed or you’d like to comment on any of our products, for better or for worse, Duncan’s your man.

Julie Heathorn - Accounts Manager and Company Secretary

Kentish lass Julie has been accurately and efficiently managing the accounts and company secretarial duties almost since she joined the company in 1998 with a first class business studies degree.

Julie Lifton - Production Editor

Julie’s artistic talents don’t just reside in the QuarkXpress, Photoshop and Illustrator programs, as she’s also skilled at batik, stained glass windows and needlepoint. Most of your newsletters, training sessions and reports have been laid out by Julie, who is a graduate of the Reigate School of Art and Design and a regular attendee at evening classes ranging from art to singing.

Pritam Shitole - IT Manager

With a first class honours degree in computing, Pritam was the ideal candidate to manage our IT systems.

The very thought of new systems excites him, however easy or complex they may be. A philosophical person with an engaging positive outlook on life, finding IT solutions is Pritam’s passion!

Andrew Griffiths
- Managing Director

Andrew founded Better Soccer Coaching and is responsible for the company's strategy to publish the best soccer coaching and fitness advice that delights customers and is delivered with unbeatable service. He is proud to have led the company to Investor in People status, reflecting its commitment to develop all employees to their full potential.

Kia Hall - Email Marketing Executive

Kia’s background in marketing varies from luxury watches to record labels and digital signage. Having studied digital art at the University for the Creative Arts in Surrey, she enjoys bringing creativity into whatever she is working on, from direct mail campaigns to image and web editing.

Genevieve Glass - Customer Services Representative

Adrenaline junkie Genevieve assists Duncan as part of our happy-go-lucky Customer Services team. In her spare time she enjoys kickboxing, weightlifting and swimming and she spends her summers surfing and wakeboarding.

Mark Lawford -Editor

Mark has 22 years' experience in sports journalism. He worked for The Times, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail.

For almost six years he was Sports Editor of Metro in London where he worked with Will Greenwood, Josh Lewsey and Joe Worsley to get their opinions and insights on the latest rugby news.