Bicester football coach Jamie Cassidy has vowed to keep up the good work after he was named as coach of the year by the Oxfordshire FA, writes MATTHEW BRUCE.

The 25-year-old was recognised for his work with Jamie Cassidy Soccer Schools, which involves coaching children aged five to 11 in the Bicester area.

And Cassidy admitted that the news of the award had taken him by surprise.

He said: “It was more of a shock than anything – but a very nice one – because I hadn’t been expecting to win it at all.

“I didn’t even realise I’d been nominated until the letter came through the post.”

Cassidy’s path to his recent success has been a long one after he gained his coaching qualifications when he was still a teenager.

Following previous youth coaching roles with Oxford United, Milton Keynes Dons, Reading and Northampton Town, he decided to branch out on his own and begin running his own football courses in 2013.

And Cassidy’s reward has come after a lifelong fascination with the coaching side of the game.

“I used to play at quite a good level, but I wasn’t quite good enough to make it professionally,”

he said.

“That was what led me to decide to go into coaching really, because I still wanted to be involved with the game.

“When I was young I used to go and watch Manchester United with my dad and I always found it really interesting to watch the coaches during the warm-up.

“So I think that’s what sparked my interest in coaching.”

After collecting his award at the Oxfordshire FA’s glitzy ceremony at the Four Pillars Hotel in Witney last Friday, Cassidy felt his decision to start coaching had been more than vindicated.

He added: “I feel like I’ve really achieved something.

“And this just makes me more determined to continue the work I’ve been doing.

“It makes me realise that I did go down the right route when I went into coaching.

“There have been times when I could have stopped, because the money wasn’t there, but I know I’m doing the right thing.”

Steve Honey, who has been at Chesterton football club for 20 years receive the outstanding contribution to grassroots football.

The awards were presented by former Aston Villa manager John Gregory.