Welcome to ‘Dugout Diaries’, a new content series in partnership with the Premier League highlighting a new cohort of coaches working hard to make elite level football more diverse and inclusive for the next generation, on and off the pitch.Former Wycombe Wanderers winger Jon-Paul Pittman was one of the first candidates to graduate from the Professional Player to Coach Scheme (PPCS) – a joint programme between the PFA, the Premier League and the EFL – designed to increase the number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic players who transition into full-time coaching roles in the professional game.The scheme, first introduced in 2020, provides six coaches per season with a 23-month intensive work placement at an EFL club within the Academy or First Team environment. Each coach works through an individualised learning and development programme focusing on several key areas: physical performance and conditioning, recruitment, analysis, administration and coaching different age groups.He started off his coaching career with Exeter City FC as a Youth Team coach, but now, JP is a part of Premier League side Brentford’s U18 coaching set up, working with U18 head coach Lydia Bedford as her assistant, and has ambitions to continue developing his coaching skills within the Bees’ Academy.VERSUS sat down with JP to talk about football’s ongoing efforts to ensure off-pitch representation matches on-pitch levels of diversity, why it's so important players see themselves in their coaches, and his future coaching plans. VERSUS: What does being a coach mean to you?Jon-Paul Pittman: I think it means trying to help as many young players as possible. You’re only with them for a short time, so really just holding their hand for a part of their journey. It’s just making sure that during that time you’re treating them with care and compassion.What is the first thing, in terms of being a coach, that comes to mind and makes you smile?Well for me, selfishly, I love being on the grass. I think I’ll always love being on the grass and when the players come out, every day is a new day. The chance for them to reinvent themselves. But I think what I really like is the transfer of knowledge – not just from what we do in training but from the conversations we have in the changing rooms or in the classroom or what not – seeing the transfer of that onto the pitch just puts a smile on your face.You’ve played the game but when you think about your journey, how important is it for players to have a coach like you?Not necessarily a coach like me, but a coach that shows that they care about the players. And I think you’re seeing more and more examples of that now. I think safeguarding has become something that’s not such a dirty word anymore that people are frightened of. It just encompasses your whole daily structure of how you go about helping a player.How much of a role does your upbringing play in the type of coach you are?Yeah, I’d say certainly there’s an element to your upbringing and your values and the way that you were educated will come into it, but then also after that, it’s what else you’ve done in terms of your personal development to try and notice some blind spots or help develop the things that you’re already quite good at.Would you say this is something you always believed you would want to do, and was always a possible option in terms of your career development?No, for a long time coaching wasn’t on my radar. It wasn’t until later on in my career that I started thinking about it and a few people had said to me that I’d probably make a good coach. So I started looking into it.When you think about your own experiences of playing football and your personal career, how different do you think that would have been if you had a coach – or coaches – that looked like you?Unfortunately, you don’t see that many Black coaches at the Professional Development Phase level, but I was fortunate I had Chris Fairclough to look up to which was great. So from a young age I had actually seen somebody in the role before, so I knew it was possible. For some people they probably don’t get to see it and live it on a day-to-day basis.Who are the coaches you look up to now you’re on the other side and actually coaching?Thomas Frank. I don’t just say that in jest. The other day we shared some guacamole together and we were talking about football and talking about life in general. I think it’s quite unusual for the assistant under-18s coach to have that kind of bond with first team staff so early on.How does the journey from professional player to coach look for you?I was already working as a part-time coach, doing all the hours under the sun I could just to get some experience and learn more about my coaching craft. The Professional Player to Coach Scheme certainly put me in the best place to grow and flourish. All the support from mentors, the courses and the peer-to-peer stuff is really important. I owe the position I’m in now to the Professional Players to Coach Scheme.Brentford is a club that really champions a diverse workplace. What’s unique about the work environment here, having been at different set-ups?I think it’s really refreshing to see just so much diversity. We’ve got people from all over the world here with different backgrounds, not just sporting backgrounds, as well. We don’t want ‘groupthink’. We don’t want everyone to think the same, but we want to have the same values and respect the club’s values.Why do you think it’s important for such action to be taken?Diversity and inclusion is a big target for the key stakeholders of the game. The Premier League, the PFA, the FA, the EFL, all want to try and improve the numbers. So, if we want to have diverse playing staff, we want to try and represent that in the coaches as well. And then eventually, you know, at a forward level you start to see some more diversity there as well.When you look at your journey, are you becoming more aware of the impact that your own journey is having on others?When I speak to young coaches like we’ve had today – someone external coming just to shadow our session – it does kind of make you aware that actually there’s people watching and seeing what you’re doing. So on a day-to-day basis, no I probably don’t even realise the impact, but yeah, outwardly I think there probably is some traction growing.Vincent Kompany as we know, is the only Black manager in the Premier League. What are your thoughts on the lack of diversity at the highest level?Premier League jobs are difficult to come by and the numbers don’t lie. There aren’t that many Black coaches that are in those positions or in the running, but I think with time and with people starting to open up to the idea that diversity of thought is really important, we’ll start to see more.I don’t know Vincent personally but from the outside, it looks like he’s worked really hard to apply his trade. Obviously all of his coaching qualifications, he’s gone abroad – albeit back home – but then he’s come back and done a good job. So by all accounts he deserves an opportunity. Long may that continue for all people coming out of the game that want to carry on into management.So with the path that you’ve been on now at Brentford, where do you want to take it? Where do you want to go with this?Well, luckily working with Lydia (Bedford) and the U18s, it’s a big project because the academy is being reinstated and there’s a lot of work to be done. So right now my focus is on making sure that we absolutely maximise that, and I’m not looking too much further ahead.What is it like working with Lydia, because her own journey is quite an inspirational one, too?It’s really important and Lydia is a classic case of someone who’s a fantastic coach who just so happens to be a woman, something some people either can’t believe or get really caught up in. She’s a great coach, and it makes it really easy for me to come in and do my job. She’s very well structured and very well driven, so it’s a really good fit.If you could speak to your younger self, based on everything you’ve learned on this programme, on this journey, what would you say?Ask for advice! Asking for advice is probably how I ended up where I am today. There are times in your career where you’re not sure where your next step is going to take you. Ask people that have already been through it and have already done it, and try to ask a wide range of different people, then take that information and try and make an informed decision.