Dr. Adam Owen (UEFA Professional Licence, PhD, MPhil, BSc Hons) is a high-performance coach, coach educator, and football methodology specialist whose career combines elite club leadership, federation work, and an academic base linked to the University of Lyon (France). Known for soccer-specific training design, he consistently connects game model, training methodology, and performance science into one integrated approach that transfers to match performance.
Adam’s pathway began in the professional game as a player at Wrexham AFC, before moving into coaching and development roles. He later became Head Youth Coach at Wrexham, supporting academy structure and player progression, and helping develop links between coaching practice and sport science. He continued this development-focused work at Celtic FC, operating as a Sports Scientist and Academy Coach, where he contributed to long-term player development planning and progressed into first-team involvement—building experience in a high-demand, winning environment.
A defining period of his career came at Rangers FC, where he worked for over six years in a senior high-performance role within the first-team structure. During this time, he supported elite preparation across domestic competition and multiple European campaigns, including participation in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competition, operating inside the pressures and standards required at the top end of the game.
In more recent years, Adam has held senior roles across Europe, North America, and Asia, including Director of Research at SL Benfica (BenficaLAB), Assistant Manager & Performance Director at Servette FC, Head Coach at Lechia Gdańsk, Director of High Performance & Technical Advisor at Seattle Sounders FC, and Director of Performance & Assistant Coach at Hebei China Fortune. He also worked as Assistant Head Coach at Hibernian, and served as Technical Director at Lech Poznań, leading the integration of high-performance coaching methodology and game model development.
He is currently Head of Technical Development at Blackburn Rovers (since July 2024) and a High-Performance Coach Educator with The Football Association (since July 2019), where he helps shape coach education content and integrated performance-coaching frameworks from grassroots through to UEFA Pro level. Fluent in English and French, Adam brings a rare blend of research, coaching, and elite football leadership to every environment he supports.
Academic Institution:
University of Lyon, France
Languages Spoken:
English, French
Area:
Training methodology
Other References:
Sky Sports Interview