Ali Colman was a coach in Norwich's Academy for a number of years, for instance coaching the Under-11s in 2010/11. He progressed to the role of Head of Foundation Phase Coaching.

In October 2018, Ali left the club following the review of the Academy. Sporting Director Stuart Webber said of the Academy review: "When we reviewed it, it was obvious to me there was an issue with the discipline of players. A lot of these lads maybe don’t come from fantastic backgrounds, so we have to give them manners, where they might not have had a role model or a parent to look up to. We have to make them rounded individuals and from that the football builds. Players generally fail because, mentally, they are not in the right place. They all have the same physical and tactical capabilities. I believe we can teach players to be good professionals.You look at how the academy is measured and audited nationally and in terms of producing players we are not good enough. The facts are there. There are reasons for that. When you are in the Premier League it is not easy to blood young players, because the priority is to stay up. The same applies when you are in the Championship and going for promotion. It is a bit of vicious circle, hence perhaps why I am here now and able to look beyond Saturday to Saturday.”

He then joined Langley School as coach. A feature on the school in early 2024 quoted Colman as beaming with pride when invited to talk about the school's success stories which included Jon Rowe, Alex Matos, Jaden Warner, Ruben Shakpoke, Tyrese Omotoye, Saxon Earley, Abu Kamara, Tony Springett, Tyreece Simpson (Huddersfield), Sonny Carey, Matt Ward (Ipswich Under-21), Keyni Mills (Ruthin Town), Ayyuba Jambang, Nelson Khumbeni, Waylon Renecke and Alex Roberts.

“Our job is to develop each individual to maximise their potential so they can be the best that they can be. It’s not an elite programme as such, but we’ve had elite people in here," Colman said. "Our job is to develop each boy and girl as much as they can. We range from year six all the way to sixth form. As you go up through the age groups, you get more Langley Football Academy sessions. All of those kids will get the chance to play in the school team and represent the school in county cups, national cups, independent schools cups and state school cups. That is how the programme works.