COLIN Wall, former youth player for West Ham and professional player for Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Barnet and Southend United has joined Winkleigh FC as head coach.

Colin also played at semi pro level for teams in the South East for 18 years.

Colin’s top level playing career was brought to a halt after the long-term effects of a serious back injury earlier in his career. He commented: “Following a long period of rehabilitation my determination and positive attitude saw me carry on playing at semi pro level for many more years until the long-term impact of the back injury forced me to finally accept that my playing career was over.

“Since finishing my playing career, I have utilised the many skills learnt through my time in sport and my own personal experiences, along with gaining a number of qualifications to become a highly successful personal performance coach working within professional football under Phil Brown at Southend United for four years”.

In 2018, after leaving his career as a professional personal coach during which time he obtained formal sports qualifications, Colin and his business partner wife concentrated on developing their own business, LeadEQ.

LeadEQ has enabled Colin to use the knowledge gained during his sporting careers in the world of business and also to “keep his hand in” with professional sport.

Their business provides unique solutions for management, leadership teams and individuals through his extensive knowledge gained during his sports career along with his experience gained from business partners within the equine world and leadership within retail at board level.

Also, Colin is an associate for Switch the Play Foundation Charity which helps sports professionals who are making the transition from and planning their futures outside their designated sport.

Tony Bayley, Chair of Winkleigh FC and Captain Rob Knight said: “We are incredibly pleased to welcome Colin into Winkleigh FC and we all look forward to working with him in the future.”

 Further information on LeadEQ and Switch the Play Foundation Charity can be found at: www.leadeq.com and: www.switchtheplay.com .