It’s difficult to believe that 18 years have already passed since Reading won the Championship title with a record 106 points – and our fans were looking forward to a first-ever season in the Premier League.

Despite our success in that remarkable season, who in their right mind would have even dared to think that we would go on to finish our first-ever Premier League campaign in eighth place, above the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United and just one point shy of qualifying for Europe?

And who in their right mind could have predicted that 17 years on from our highest-ever top-flight finish, we would have ended the current campaign relieved to have avoided relegation to League Two?

The point here is that a lot can happen in a relatively short space of time in football.

I certainly wouldn’t have imagined that when I finished my professional career with Oxford United in 2014, my next competitive game would be for Caversham United in the Reading Sunday League 10 years later.

And I certainly couldn’t have imagined that my life would look like it does now just 12 short months ago.

This time last year, one of my big ambitions was to get an idea I’d had for a TV series off the ground. It’s something I’m still passionate about, so watch this space!

Fast forward to now and it’s fair to say that a lot has changed for me – and those changes have pretty much all been as a result of me finding a new passion for coaching.

It’s actually all my wife’s fault. She told me I should get into coaching when my playing days came to an end back in 2014. It took me the best part of 10 years to take her advice and, as usual, she was proved right.

From my very first coaching session with Reading Blue Coat School’s 1st XI, I was hooked. I loved it. I felt the same type of footballing buzz I got from scoring a goal, or beating Alan Pardew’s West Ham.

In October last year, I decided to launch The Dave Kitson Academy and, on my first day of coaching in November, I coached a seven year old from Burghfield called Noah and a 13 year old from Woodley called Henry. One thing I am proud of since I started the academy is that I am still coaching Noah and Henry.

I had a few key objectives when I started. I wanted to pass on some of the knowledge I gained from my playing days. I wanted to make a commitment to helping any boy, girl, man or woman I coached improve. And I wanted to make sure that we had some fun along the way.

The last six months have been incredibly rewarding for me, not just because of the improvements I’ve seen in Noah, Henry and the other children and adults I have coached, but also the feedback I’ve received from parents that their son or daughter has enjoyed the coaching, and grown in confidence.

There have been plenty of highlights for me since this time last year. Reading Blue Coat School’s 1st XI winning their first national cup competition in their 378-year history was one of them – and is one of the proudest moments of my life.

There have been a few surprises along the way. Taking part in a protest march against Reading’s owner, being appointed as team manager and international ambassador for Nauru, and scoring a couple of goals in a Reading Sunday League Division 2 local derby are just a few of them.

Something you can guarantee in football is that you can’t predict the future – and for that reason, I’m wary about being too opinionated about the ownership situation at my former club.

Like most Reading fans at the moment, I’m just longing for the day when it has been confirmed that the club has a new owner.

 

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The Dave Kitson Academy is already midway through its first year and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us so far.
 

Among some of the projects we’ve launched is our very own community of local businesses. We are committed to supporting and promoting them.

The response has been incredible. Within a month of launching this initiative, we have a vibrant local business community that includes a travel agent, a maths tutor, an estate agent, a solicitor, a health and safety consultancy, a taxi company, a beauty therapy school, a chiropractor, a builder, a waterproof coats manufacturer, and more.

And I’m pleased to say that this initiative is already generating new business for our partners.

Our business networking community is available for all of our partners. So, if you are involved in a local business and are interested in being part of a supportive community, please get in touch by sending an email to hello@davekitsonacademy.co.uk