Soccer Coach Weekly: Recent Episodes
Soccer Coach Weekly
The Soccer Coach Weekly team discuss all things youth soccer coaching in the Soccer Coach Weekly podcast.
Join John Allpress, former assistant head of academy player and coach development at Tottenham Hotspur and Aaron Allpress, strength and conditioning coach and professional squash player, as they explore how to get the most out of pre-season with your team, incorporating the physical, mental and technical aspects of the game.
This podcast is the audio version of a Soccer Coach Weekly webinar. If you want to watch the webinar, see the slides and video, and get the associated resources, plus check out more of our pre-season content, including planning guidance, core practices provided by John himself, a four-week plan, tips and webinars on preparing for match day, and a whole host more, head to: soccercoachweekly.net/pre-season
Think we've missed anything, or got any thoughts for us? Let Steph know: editor@soccercoachweekly.net
John Allpress is ex-assistant head of academy player and coach development at Tottenham Hotspur and a Former national coach at the English FA. He has decades of coaching experience, and a keen interest in how players learn and take on information.
Here, he shares his knowledge on how youngsters learn, and how we, as coaches, can use that information to help them get better.
Find this in written form: https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/coaching-advice/how-youngsters-learn---and-how-you-can-help-them
Register for John's webinar on October 25: https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/coaching-events/how-to-help-your-players-get-better---cpd
The Journey to Training is a series from Soccer Coach Weekly, sharing advice, ideas, inspiration and opportunities for coaches to reflect as they head to their next training session. Or, as they head anywhere, really.
Ultimately, we want to help you become a better coach, and solve some of your coaching problems. Wherever and whenever you listen, we hope to do just that.
Find more from us: www.soccercoachweekly.net
Moritz Kossmann is DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City in South Africa.
Here, he speaks to Soccer Coach Weekly about the skills of covering and recovering – how the approach to them differs depending on position, how we sell the skills as positive actions and the role leadership and communication plays...
Moritz Kossmann is DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City in South Africa.
Here, he speaks to Soccer Coach Weekly about the skills of challenging - how it has changed over the years, the role of strength in the challenge and the information that goes into decision-making around challenging…
Moritz Kossmann is DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City in South Africa.
Soccer Coach Weekly caught up with Moritz to discuss the crucial skill of intercepting.
He covers whether it’s a natural action for players, how important communication is alongside it, and how players can build up their knowledge around it as they progress...
Moritz Kossmann defines the act of marking as "the act of tracking the movements of an opponent player and looking to close them down in a 1v1 situation or to intercept the ball as they are receiving or are about to receive the ball".
Moritz - DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City - speaks to SCW about what marking looks like for different positions, the decision-making process, the physicality required and how players learn about marking over the course of their development...
For Moritz Kossmann, pressing is the primary defensive action in soccer.
It is, in his words, “an attempt at putting pressure on an opponent who has the ball so that they can't progress the ball up the field easily".
Moritz - who has now moved on from his role at Ubuntu Football Academy to become DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City - sat down with Steph Fairbairn to discuss collective pressing strategies, individual pressing principles and how to coach it all...
In our June 2 issue, SCW's consulting coach Carl Wild looked at the basics of passing. Now, Moritz Kossman takes up the baton and digs a little deeper.
Passing is more than just transferring the ball from one player to the other. At the elite levels, in particular, it is like a secret language, full of non-verbal signals and triggers, underpinned by players' ability to see the bigger picture in their heads.
Moritz - who has now moved on from his role at Ubuntu Football Academy to become DStv Diski Challenge coach and head of youth at Cape Town City - sat down with Steph Fairbairn to discuss how passing can be used as a form of communication, the decision-making that goes into it and why the actions after a pass are so crucial...
Moritz Kossmann defines turning as: “A change of direction on the ball while you are in possession of the ball".
Moritz is a coach at Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town, where he coaches the U21s, who play in the third tier of South African football, and oversees the senior section, made up of U18s and U16s.
Having previously discussed receiving the ball, moving with it and finishing, he now talks to SCW about turning – why it is so important to the game, how players off the ball can support the player in possession while turning and what the building blocks of learning turning techniques are…
Goals win games. But attempting to finish, never mind actually scoring, isn’t easy to do.
Moritz Kossmann is a coach at Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town, where he coaches the U21s - who play in the third tier of South African football - and oversees the senior section, made up of U18s and U16s.
In our May 5 and May 26 issues, he spoke to us about receiving the ball and moving with it.
This time, it’s all about finishing. Moritz covers what it is, the techniques and the building blocks for players learning the skill…
When to do it, what parts of the foot to use and how underloads aid attackers' dribbling development. Moritz Kossmann shares his expertise on moving with the ball...
Receiving is such a vital skill in soccer.
A good first touch can beat a player in an instant, get a team out of trouble or create a chance on goal.
But how can we support players to improve their receiving?
Moritz Kossmann is a coach at Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town. There, he coaches the U21s, who play in the third tier of South African football, and oversees the senior section, made up of U18s and U16s.
Moritz lent SCW his expertise on receiving – what it is, what good receiving looks like and how we can coach it…
As a player, Joanna Boyles Fennema performed at the highest level.
She spent her four college years with the North Carolina Tar Heels, represented the U17 US national team and played for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL.
Alongside success, Fennema’s playing days came with a lot of challenges – she was drafted by the Boston Breakers just before the team folded, suffered two ACL injuries while at college, discovered she has severely degenerative discs in her back.
This back injury, and subsequent hip labrum tears, led Fennema to retire at 24.
A chance encounter led her back into the game, and she is now thriving as an assistant coach at Columbus State University (CSU).
SCW caught up with Jo to talk about the transition from player to coach, and how coaches can best support players going through injuries...
Mark Jenkins is the U15s lead coach at Weston-super-Mare AFC, a semi-professional club based on the southwest coast of England.
Having been ready to keep working with his current crop of players for a few years, Mark was told that he would be given a new group for the 2023-24 season.
It spurred him to start early with his season planning, and give him the best chance of getting the most out of his players.
SCW caught up with the Uefa B-qualified coach to find out more about how he is going about preparing for next season...
Sarah Brady had aspirations of making it as a player.
She went through Everton’s academy before playing for her beloved Liverpool for a brief time, and then moving to Leeds United for a short spell.
When, she says, her "body didn’t really want to comply with the ambition", she took a step into coaching. It led her to the USA 14 years ago, where she has “done everything, from tying the shoelaces of three-year-olds all the way up to the collegiate game”.
Last season, she was head coach of AC Connecticut in the inaugural USL W League, a pre-professional women’s league. Now, she is the USL academy director for the women’s pathway.
SCW caught up with Sarah to find out more about the USL Academy structure, the Academy Cup, and what challenges coaches face working in the set up…
Matt Spear has had numerous different lives in soccer – as a player at NCAA Division I program Davidson College, a sports marketer, returning to his alma mater as a full-time coach for 18 years, and president and general manager for the third-tier US pro side Richmond Kickers.
During his time at the Kickers, a number of things collided, resulting in Matt experiencing what he calls a "dark depression" as the result of burnout.
It is what led him to his current role – a life coach and wellbeing advisor. He works with a number of clients, including the United Soccer Coaches' national office staff and various athletes and coaches.
SCW caught up with Matt at the United Soccer Coaches convention to chat about why coaches are so susceptible to burnout, what some of the signs might be, and how open coaches should be about their mental health in front of their players…
Katie Smith, based in Memphis, Tennessee, started coaching straight out of high school, alongside playing at community college.
Now, in a situation that might sound familiar to a lot of coaches trying to make their way, Katie juggles numerous roles.
She coaches at Collierville High School and Collierville Middle School, has two youth teams at Lobos Rush, is a volunteer assistant at Northwest Mississippi Community College and also works with USL 2 club Tri-Cities FC. Katie is also a full-time student and, this semester, a student teacher.
SCW caught up with Katie at the United Soccer Coaches convention in January to talk about what is similar and different across her roles, her person-over-player philosophy, and some of the challenges she has faced…
Kyle Martyn is senior girls’ academy director for the Ukrainian Nationals Soccer Club in Pennsylvania, the place where he grew up. Martyn played high school and college soccer in the state before going professional for a few years.
Now, as a coach, he gets to give back to the game he says was such an integral part of his childhood.
SCW caught up with Kyle at the United Soccer Coaches convention - coincidentally held in Pennsylvania, back in January - to talk about the importance of soccer for kids, how he creates a safe space at his club, and what it’s like coaching in your home state…
James Wagenschutz is an applied sports scientist and sports performance coach who has been in soccer for almost 25 years.
He holds a USSF A license and has used it to coach in the college game, including notable stints as assistant men’s soccer coach at Colorado College and Regis University, and his daughter’s U5s team.
He is now a coach educator for United Soccer Coaches and the USSF, and runs his own consultancy, W Sports Performance, working with MLS players and Olympians.
SCW talked to James at the United Soccer Coaches’ convention about how players and coaches learn and develop…
Dr Haroot Hakopian got into coaching by accident when he suffered a significant knee injury - tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL - and requiring four different operations.
A move into coaching followed, alongside entering education. Thirty years later, he is still involved in, and loving, both worlds.
Dr Hakopian celebrated 20 years as an AP English teacher and girls’ soccer coach at Winston Churchill High School in Maryland last year. He also holds numerous other roles, including sitting on the United Soccer Coaches’ board of directors.
SCW caught up with him to talk about culture, climate, and the importance of telling your players when you’ve messed up…
A love for the work of his college coaches was what led Jeremy Tosaya to go into the profession himself.
Jeremy coached the college game for 18 years, including a notable seven-year stint with Dakota Wesleyan University, before moving on to coach in club soccer.
Since Covid, Jeremy’s full-time job is outside of coaching, but he continues in a part-time role as director of coaching for Nebraska State Soccer, and has just taken on a high-school coaching job.
SCW caught up with Jeremy to explore what a good coaching environment looks like, the delivery of coaching points, and how the attention span of players is likely a lot shorter than you think…
In her senior year at Shawnee Mission West High School Kansas, Sarah Gonzalez wrote in her yearbook that, in five years’ time, she would be back at the school, teaching math and coaching soccer.
Well, after playing soccer at the University of Kansas and then taking on a junior varsity role, Gonzalez has made her dream come true.
She is now 18 years into her time at Shawnee as both a math teacher and head coach of the girls’ soccer team.
At the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia last month, SCW caught up with Sarah to find out more about what it is like coaching at your alma mater, why mentorship is so important to her, and the struggles she has faced over the course of her coaching career...
Tom Shields is the technical director, boys’ ECNL director and USL2 head coach at STA Soccer in Randolph, New Jersey.
Tom was formerly coach of Hull City Ladies and the University of Hull, in his native England. He was also an assistant and NCAA Division I title-winning coach at Central Connecticut State University, and director of player performance and pedagogy at Rutgers University. He also holds a masters degree in sports psychology.
SCW caught up with Tom at the United Soccer Coaches Convention, where he spoke about his progressive, holistic, player-centred coaching approach…
The first team Kai Edwards ever coached was a group of under-12s that included two players who would go on to be US World Cup stars: Kristen Press and Whitney Engen.
He is currently head coach at the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, leading the team to its most successful ever season in 2022.
In between those coaching gigs, Edwards, in his own words, "worked, competed, failed, got dropped out, and came back in".
When he joined us on podcast row at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia last week, Edwards explored his journey in more depth, talking about how he manages his ego, why he is no longer a "transactional" coach and how important it is to be human…
Steph Fairbairn joined her first soccer team as an eight-year-old, back in 2001.
Then, the women's game in England trailed behind in participation and attendances - so much so that, in 2006, Steph was part of a double-figure crowd for a top-flight game, chatting in the bar with England players Jill Scott, Fara Williams and Rachel Unitt.
The current landscape is very different. WSL crowds are In the thousands and the
current Lionesses get mobbed wherever they go, thanks to their victory in the Women's Euros last July. Steph was there to see it - along with 87,000 others.
Now, she joins our team on a full-time basis as editor-in-chief, having been our podcast host and a regular contributor.
It is therefore the perfect time to turn the tables - and allow her to discuss her coaching philosophy, learning from others and 'holding the space' for discussions
around young players' mental health…
Wesley Gullin started coaching in the early 2000s, in his hometown of Watford, just north of London.
In 2013, a job with Yeovil Town Ladies took him to the south-west of England. Wesley has since immersed himself in girls and women’s football in the region – coaching at Yeovil, founding Sherborne Town Ladies, and working at both Somerset and Dorset Advanced Coaching Centres (ACCs).
Now called Emerging Talent Centres (ETCs), they are run by the Football Association (FA) with the aim of furthering the development of female players.
SCW caught up with Wesley to find out more about the ETCs, what coaching in one looks like and who he is as a coach...
As a semi-professional player, John Allpress says he wasn’t very good because, rather than having a "footballer’s mentality", he has a "game-based mentality".
It was this mentality that led to him becoming a physical education teacher - initially shocked that people were "paying him money to play games" - before coaching at top-level English academies, such as Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur, and two spells with the Football Association.
During his second stint at the FA, John’s focus was on developing an understanding of how children learn, in order to better coach education and, ultimately, the player’s experience.
Here, John shares with us his insights into how kids learn, and explains why leadership is far more important for coaches to possess than tactical or technical knowledge…
Justin Walley’s soccer journey has, he says, been "very chaotic and very unintentional".
From being player-manager of his university team at the age of 18, to working at Euro 96 as assistant director for one of the host cities, Nottingham; and from founding and coaching Riga United in Latvia, to managing the team representing Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, Justin’s journey has been beyond what he could have ever envisaged. And he’s done it all with an FA Level 2 qualification.
SCW caught up with Justin to learn more about his journey, how he went about building a club from scratch, and his advice for other coaches…
Michael Wright has coached within the youth ranks at Premier League club Southampton for the past decade.
Now working with the under-nines to under-11s in the academy, he has previously held roles with various other age-group teams and in the recruitment department.
His coaching journey began aged 17, and ramped up when he was released as a player, when he had been, by his own admission, "more of a team player than an individual".
Coaching has taught him the importance of individual play, and he has become fascinated with the idea of 1v1 dominance.
SCW caught up with Michael to find out what the term means, what it looks like in an attacking and defensive sense, and how we can coach it…
Lewis Vaughan-Jones finds himself in a position many coaches will be all too
familiar with – working with multiple teams.
Lewis coaches the U8s, U9s and U14s at Notts County's development centre, the goalkeepers at Notts County Girls, and a senior men’s team in tier 11 of the English football pyramid, Wollaton FC.
It means the 22-year-old FA Level 2 coach is gaining lots of experience fast. But it also comes with its challenges.
SCW caught up with Lewis to talk about what his week looks like, the similarities and differences across the environments he works in, and what he has learned about himself from combining environments…
Rob Breton has been coaching since the age of 17.
He started out as a youth coach before moving into the US college game, spending four years as an assistant women’s coach at NCAA Division II team Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia.
During his time at AB, Rob also assisted with the Battler men’s soccer program and was girls’ head coach at Clarksburg’s Excel Futbol Club.
He has since stepped into a head coach role, taking the reins of the women’s team at the University of Nebraska at Kearney – a Division II institution in the MIAA conference. Rob calls it "the best decision he ever made".
SCW caught up with Rob to talk about how he knew he was ready for the jump to head coach, what his first season in charge looked like, and how to create the optimum environment for your players...
Chris McLaughlin is a teacher, Uefa B license coach, and increasingly, a football analyst.
With a variety of coaching experience - including work as an academy coach, club development officer and women’s assistant manager - and time spent at the Scottish FA and Celtic, Chris set about integrating analysis into his skillset to improve his tactical understanding.
A role as first-team scout and opposition analyst at East Fife FC allowed Chris to put his analysis skills into practice.
Now living and working in Malaysia, he continues to share his thoughts and ideas about games on social media.
SCW caught up with Chris to talk about what he enjoys about analysis, how it helps his coaching, and how other coaches can get started…
Dan Bratcher is a Uefa B-qualified coach, currently working with Cambridge City Ladies, who play in the fourth tier of the women’s football pyramid in England.
Having stepped into coaching after realising he wouldn't make it as a player professionally, Dan has now found a home for himself within the women’s game.
He is committed to his personal learning and development, with the ultimate aim of getting a full-time role in professional soccer.
SCW caught up with Dan to talk about how he furthers his learning, the role of reflection, and if assessing yourself honestly gets any easier the longer you coach…
Aulani Fernandez is currently the interim head women’s soccer coach at Chicago State University.
It is a role that Fernandez - part of the 2021-22 United Soccer Coaches' 30 Under 30 Program - didn’t see coming so soon. But she has grasped it with both hands.
At Chicago, she is rebuilding the program from the ground up, with a culture of "inclusiveness, love, support, vulnerability and safety" at its core.
SCW caught up with Aulani to talk about why those principles are so important to her, how she goes about embedding them, and what it is to be a young, female coach in the world of soccer…
Connor McGinn is a 21-year-old coach based in the UK, FA Level 2 qualified and a third year student in a football coaching degree programme.
He has spent time coaching at grassroots level, in development centres and at academies. Most of his coaching experiences have been with children from under-6 to under-10, and through that he has found a passion for coaching in the foundation phase (ages 5-11).
SCW caught up with Connor to talk about how we create the right environment at the foundation phase, the technical skills we should be coaching, how we can help our players shape their sessions, and what to bear in mind on matchdays when it comes to selecting a formation…
Having stepped away from coaching to become a postal worker, an offer to coach a colleague’s son’s soccer team led Matt Fisher back to a journey he had started at the age of 16.
More than two decades on from his first step onto the coaching ladder, Matt is now full-time at English pro club Crewe Alexandra, famed for their academy which has produced several England internationals.
He works with the U18s boys on the education programme, leads on the newly formed Emerging Talent Centre, and manages the women’s first team.
SCW caught up with Matt to talk about his work with the women’s team, the style he’s developed and what working with his first female team has taught him as a coach...
Philip O’Callaghan is a physical education teacher from Cork in Ireland.
Though tennis was the sport he played growing up, and coaches now outside of school, his PE sessions mean he teaches a variety of sports.
Much of his approach to teaching sport is based on skill acquisition, a topic he says he researches and reads about as a hobby - even running a Twitter account to make the approach more accessible, and to “give coaches a starting point…to see how they can use some of the skill-acquisition research or theory to improve their sessions".
SCW caught up with Philip to find out more about skill acquisition and how it can be better understood in the context of coaching and session design...
Eight years ago, when Ali Speechly was playing Sunday League matches with a team in south London, she was offered a free place on an FA Level 1 course, then the entry point into coaching in England.
That first course quickly led into a second and now, almost a decade on, Ali is a Uefa B level coach, with a vast array of experience under her belt.
She has coached players at grassroots level, respected girls’ academies, women’s clubs and foundations - and currently works with Goals4Girls, a football development programme for girls from deprived backgrounds which aims to bridge the gap between grassroots and academy.
Her coaching ethos is ’engage, educate, empower’. SCW caught up with Ali to find out more about that approach and how coaches can work on what drives them...
Barnsley Women ply their trade in the fourth tier of women’s football in England.
At the helm is 26-year-old Lois Daniels, who became the sole person in charge in May after a period as joint-manager.
She had previously coached Sheffield FC and their city neighbours Sheffield United, having hung up her boots early as a player to fully commit to her management dream.
Her first solo season as Barnsley boss comes off the back of England’s historic victory in the Women’s Euros.
SCW caught up with Lois to get her take on the Euros, what impact it has had on her players and the club, and the opportunities the Lionesses’ victory can provide the female game at all levels in the UK…
Ross Williams is a physical education teacher, working in a small school in north Wales.
Having started out as a strength and conditioning coach working in elite pathways, Ross now applies his skills to his PE practice and curriculum.
SCW caught up with him to find out more about his approach, talk about what planning and reflecting looks like for him, and get some tips for coaches working in a school context…
Matchdays are a key part of the coaching week and can be exhilarating, daunting and stressful all at once. For the players, those emotions are amplified.
It is the coach’s role to make the matchday experience as safe and enjoyable as possible for all. But how do we go about doing that?
We asked Sarah Lowden, a Uefa A coach and a regional coach development officer at the Football Association, for her take.
Sarah - who has previously coached at the Reading and Burton Albion academies and Sunderland girls' regional talent centre - shares some of the key things coaches need to consider…
Having previously spent time coaching at QPR and Aldershot Town, Ross White is now lead professional development-phase coach at English fourth-tier club Sutton United.
The Sutton academy - where White leads the under-18s squad, the final step before the senior team - recently attained Category 3 status, the third level for UK academies.
Uefa A-licensed coach White describes the past 12 months at the club as "exciting times" and is now looking to develop what he calls a ‘championship mentality’ among his squad.
SCW caught up with White to talk about what that is, how he is going about developing it, and why getting to know your players is vitally important…
Dean Arrowsmith is director of coaching of the United and Extra programs at the American Youth Soccer Organisation's Region 300 in Chicago.
He moved to the US permanently seven years ago to take up a full-time role in soccer, having gained much of his experience back in Dundalk, Ireland.
Alongside AYSO, he also has another very important role: co-founder and chairperson of Head In The Game, a mental health campaign aiming to start a conversation for those involved in the League of Ireland.
In the two years since its inception, Head In The Game has made a big impact, offering a safe space for coaches that may be struggling with their mental health.
Dean himself has been affected by self confidence issues and imposter syndrome when on a Uefa B course at the age of 21.
SCW caught up with Dean to discuss the work Head in the Game does, the pressures coaches face, and tools for coping with them.
Please note: this interview contains references to suicide, from the start.
Having previously coached at youth clubs, in the Elite Clubs National League, at development academies and as an assistant at NCAA D1 level, Jason Collinsworth is now fully focused on his own enterprise.
PlayMaker Training provides individual coaching to develop more confident players who want the ball.
SCW caught up with Jason to talk about why confident soccer players are so important, and how we as coaches can go about developing them...
After two serious injuries in consecutive seasons, non-League player Ben Franks turned to another area of the game he had always been interested in – coaching.
He chose university as the route of entry, doing an undergraduate degree in sport, coaching and physical education, a Masters by research in sport and health sciences, and is now studying for a PhD in perceptualmotor learning.
He is also a coach developer at Boing Kids, a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, and was recently announced as a first-team coach at Ebbsfleet United Women.
A key element of Ben’s research is ecological dynamics. SCW caught up with him to find out what that is in the context of soccer and how it helps in session design…
Since starting coaching at 14, Ross Brooks has developed a style and approach that sets him apart as a brilliant foundation phase coach.
Although he has experience across many levels and forms of the game, Ross says he does enjoy teaching that 5-11 age group the most, and his mission is to make sure the kids he coaches are enjoying it too.
Currently the u9s-u11s lead coach at West Ham United, Ross focuses on creating an environment where players can fall in love with the game.
SCW caught up with him to find out how he judges the needs of players and how we can all make sure joy is present in training sessions, regardless of the age group…
In 2020, Adam Davidson returned to the UK from Australia.
The pandemic made sponsorship and visas difficult, meaning he couldn't stay in a country where he had spent the previous five years working various roles, such as youth technical director at Dunbar Rovers FC.
Adam has since been appointed head of coaching at Priority Football Academy, based in Bristol, England. He has been there for more than a year, initially taking on the role of lead coach and performance analyst.
His coaching experiences and Masters degree in sports performance analysis mean Adam has always had a fascination with session design.
SCW caught up with him to talk about something he has been trying recently - co-designing sessions with his players…
Debbie Barry did her FA Level 1 coaching qualification when she was at university in Liverpool.
She didn’t coach for a number of years after that, believing there wasn’t a career available to her. Instead, she chose teaching.
In 2019, a visit with a school colleague to Doncaster Rovers Belles' training facility reignited her interest in coaching.
Three years later, Debbie is now both the u16s coach at the Belles' Regional Talent Centre (RTC) and a coach development officer at the Football Association (FA).
SCW caught up with Debbie to talk about environment and team culture, touching on what a good set up looks like and how coaches can help create one…
In 2015, Brookhaven College women’s soccer team were struggling, often seen by league opposition as an opportunity to increase goal difference.
In the seven years since, the Texas-based Bears have gained three national titles and won the conference five years in a row.
This has all come under the stewardship of head coach Jimmy Elder and his assistant Robert Williams.
Robert, who originally began coaching in his native Bermuda, is so enamoured with Brookhaven, and the journey the team has been on, that he aims to one day be elevated to the head coach role.
For now, though, he is thoroughly enjoying the success the team is achieving. SCW spoke to Robert to discuss the important role of junior colleges and how to be an effective assistant…
Ed Jackson-Sankey started coaching at the age of 12, helping his mother run the after-school team at a local primary school.
That was 16 years ago. Now, Ed is in the final stages of completing his Uefa A and Elite Youth A Licenses.
His coaching journey, which has taken him to South Korea and seen him take up roles in England with Portsmouth and Oxford City, among others, was interspersed with a stint as a secondary school teacher.
Now, he bases a lot of his coaching methodologies on the principles he learned as a teacher. SCW caught up with Ed to talk about one principle he’s particularly committed to: player-led environments…
JF Scarfo is both coach and club manager at Alpha Football Intelligence in London, a grassroots club with the motto ‘Play at pace, attack the space’.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the French-born, Uefa B-licensed coach used his time to watch, review and clip videos of pro games.
Now, he uses both these clips, and clips of his team playing, to help his players improve.
SCW caught up with JF to talk about the benefits of using video, how it has helped him develop as a coach, and a technical and tactical map he put together to categorise the clips…
In a 15-year career to date, Ash Civil has coached in more than 10 different countries.
Uefa A qualified, Ash made the decision at an early age to coach internationally in order to stand out from the crowd.
Currently, he is head coach at Tampereen Pallo-Veikot, a third-tier club in Finland, where he also works alongside the director of coaching and sporting director to develop talent pathways to the first team.
SCW caught up with Ash to talk about the soccer culture in Finland, coaching in extreme weather conditions and the importance of letting players have a say in what their sessions look like…
Having developed a love of the game in the English city of Stoke-on-Trent - birthplace of rock guitarist Slash and pop icon Robbie Williams - an invite to work at a soccer camp led Tim Bradbury to the US.
Adding to the qualifications earned in the UK, he went on to gain the USSF A License, USSF National Youth License, USSF DOC License and the USC Master Coach Diploma.
Now director of coaching at Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association, a US youth national instructor and on the United Soccer Coaches national staff, Tim dedicates his time to bettering the game for coaches and players alike.
SCW caught up with him to talk about letting kids make their own decisions, coaching according to your values, and bringing parents along on the journey…
Brian Murphy wants people in soccer to open up more about their mental health.
The Irish-born, Australia-based coach freely admits he had such a bad year in 2019, battling depression amid a turbulent period in charge of New Zealand amateur side Fencibles United, that he tried taking his own life.
“I felt like a failure again,” Murphy says, candidly. “I went to a really dark place. I have a beautiful wife and two beautiful kids. It was a tough time for me and them.
“A friend of mine, Brian Shelley, reached out and brought me back into football as an assistant coach, for the rest of that season.”
Following his recovery from that period, Murphy has most recently taken on his first role as head coach of a professional side, Magpies Crusaders United in Queensland.
He is taking all he has learned over the years – in good times and bad – to lead a team built on strong values and humility.
SCW caught up with Brian to discuss these values, how he goes about sharing his personal experiences with his players, and why he encourages them to hold themselves accountable…
If you were to walk past a session put on by Billy Ready, chances are you may not see a soccer ball being used.
Instead, the 25-year-old has been known to challenge youngsters by throwing a tennis ball, multi-sided reaction ball or even an American football into small-sided games.
Billy, the son of former Wales international defender Karl Ready, also reduces complex coaching points into bitesize rhyming couplets and acronyms.
He is currently working towards his Uefa B licence, and much of his coaching has been with the community arm of English third-tier professional side Wycombe Wanderers.
But Billy is also on the staff of a local semipro team, operating in the ninth tier of the English pyramid.
SCW caught up with him to discuss his use of language and differently shaped balls - but started with a philosophical question...
Jake Brown has been on a journey, in many senses of the well-worn word.
He hadn't set out to be a coach - but after taking his first off-field role as kitman of the Scotland women's national team, with his sister Frankie in the team, he now holds the Uefa B licence and has helped a number of young female players become professionals.
And Jake has also kept on the move himself, first heading south to England for a spell coaching in the Bristol City Women academy before taking on a different soccer culture entirely in Spain.
He is now based in Madrid, coaching the amatuers of FC Britanico as well as local youth players. We caught up with Jake to discuss how he got where he is today...
Since his coaching journey began in 2004, Frank Lopez has built up a wealth of experience in youth soccer, as well as the male and female adult game.
He has spent time in London at Barnet FC academy, and at AFC Wimbledon, where has coached in the academy with the women’s first team.
Having achieved his A License in 2018, Frank recently moved from London to Brisbane for a second time. He is now the Under-23s coach at Brisbane City FC.
SCW caught up with Frank to talk about academies, how coaches can go about preparing youth team players for senior football and what the appropriate level of challenge looks like...
The African Coaches League (ACL) was set up in 2020 by Ezirim Kennedy, with the aim of leveraging coaching to lift people on the continent out of poverty.
Now, with around 1,500 members, it hopes to solidify its presence and its purpose.
An offshoot of the Yagazie Foundation, a charity that "engages and enables the vulnerable, the marginalized and the less privileged teenagers and youth", the ACL offers its members support, education, opportunities to give back and the chance to both give and receive mentorship.
Ranji Ragbeer, a coach at Athens United in Georgia, USA, is one of the founding members of the ACL.
We caught up with him to find out more about the League, its membership, what it offers, and how you can get involved…
"It's incredible to watch other people thrive through sport, especially football," Sarah Nickless tells me. "it's such a powerful tool."
And Nickless sees many benefit from the power of sport in her role as development officer at AoC Sport, an umbrella membership group for colleges in England.
Her role centres on developing the next generation of leaders, and she has previously worked in a similar role for the FA.
In the week we celebrated International Women's Day, SCW caught up with Nickless to get her thoughts on how more young women can be brought into coaching, what the potential barriers are and the benefits of the FA's Women's Football Apprenticeship Programme...
Like many grassroots coaches, Marcus Renzi juggles a couple of roles in the men's and women's game.
He is head coach for both Leckhampton Rovers reserves - a men's team playing in a local division in south-west England - and the University of Gloucestershire women's second team.
But Marcus faces challenges the vast majority of coaches do not - as he has been a wheelchair user since the age of 11, following a stroke.
It was a tough period for the sporty young boy but he quickly adapted and spent almost two decades playing wheelchair basketball - in one match, he came up against Great Britain Paralympics star Ade Adepitan.
Now 38, he has spent the last few years in soccer coaching, after some not-so-gentle encouragement by the chairman of the club his son plays for.
Having completed his FA Level 1 and 2 courses, Marcus now has his sights set on his Uefa B licence - and an all-terrain chair that costs £15,000.
SCW caught up with him to discuss his life to date, coaching methods and his fundraising drive…
Sarah Lowdon doesn’t do things by halves.
When Becky Burleigh - her leader for a number of years at the Florida Gators - announced her retirement, rather than buying her a gift, Sarah wrote her a book about what she had learned from her.
Over the years, Sarah has tried to take on as much knowledge as possible in order to have a sustainable career in the game.
She has the USSF A License and USC Premier Diploma, is an NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist, an athlete development specialist and has two Masters degrees - in Exercise Physiology and Health Promotion and in Sport Management.
Her roles in soccer have included assistant coach at Houston Dash and Penn State University, various roles under Burleigh at the Gators, and state coach at South Texas Youth Soccer Association.
Sarah has come a long way, and a lot of miles, since she started kicking a ball as a young girl on the streets of her hometown, Newcastle, in the north east of England.
SCW caught up with her to ask about her somewhat unconventional career path…
Jon Cotterill-Bolsover has performed a variety of different roles in both the men's and women's game.
He has been a goalkeeper coach, club chairman, head of performance and development and strength and conditioning coach.
Jon has now set up his own firm - World at Her Feet - which works with female players in off-field areas such as performance analysis and sports science.
But his specialist area is sports psychology. SCW spoke to Jon about emotional intelligence and its importance in coaching, how to handle a difficult player and the best response when a dressing-room bust-up happens…
Two years ago this week, Optus Sport named Ben Cahn on a list of 10 coaches 'knocking down the door' for a job in the A-League, Australia's top flight.
Last year, at the age of 33, that potential was almost realised as he was narrowly pipped to a vacant post in the division.
Englishman Ben is currently in charge of second-tier side Olympic FC but admits he is "guilty of being overly ambitious".
For now, he is happily at the helm of the Brisbane-based team. SCW caught up with him to discuss his circuitous route Down Under, how learning in Korea boosted his career and what he took from his playing days that he is now passing on as a coach…
Not too long ago, Derek Johnston made the leap into coaching full time.
The belief he had in himself has been validated - he now works in four different coaching roles in and around Glasgow in Scotland.
His current CV reads community outreach coach at Cumbernauld Colts, women’s first- team coach at Stenhousemuir, one-to-one coach at Oliver Performance Academy and soccer academies coach at Scottish giants Rangers.
We caught up with Derek to talk about making coaching his full-time profession, how, by working with adults then children, he is doing things in reverse order, and why reflection is a key focus for him this year…
Sam Hudson has spent almost 10 years as a coach.
Roles coaching at camps and clubs in the US, including New Jersey Soccer Group, were followed by time spent at academies in the UK, including Derby County.
Now an Academy coach at Aston Villa, Sam has recently published his first book, Football in a Pandemic, an insight into the strategies and tactics used during the 2020- 21 Premier League season.
I asked Sam for some of his technical expertise on the role of the defender, talking about the key attributes required, how we can build defending into our practices, and the role both body shape and physicality play in defending...
George Roberts began his coaching journey as a community sports coach, delivering PE sessions, after-school clubs and soccer camps, writes Steph Fairbairn.
He worked at development centres and shadowed some coaches at Centres of Excellence, and is now with Plymouth Argyle. He is the under-nines' assistant coach at the English club's academy.
UEFA B qualified, George also works as a marketing and communications officer with Cornwall FA.
Soccer Coach Weekly caught up with George to talk all things session design, including how to go about planning your practices and how many concepts a good session should cover...
Manisha Tailor, assistant head of coaching at English Championship club Queens Park Rangers, has long been convinced of the benefits soccer can have on mental health.
When she was 18, Tailor’s twin brother developed depression, then schizophrenia. Football has been one of the ways she has been able to reconnect with him.
Through her work as a coach and a former school teacher, Tailor has identified a need for more resources to allow those working with youngsters to be able to support them with their mental health and wellbeing.
Having played at a semi-professional level in England, Wayne Cleverly moved to Canada aged 26 and developed a career in coaching.
Formerly the foundation-phase manager at Calgary Foothills Soccer Club, Wayne now splits his time between his own academy, through which he consults for clubs, coaching the Canada men's national futsal team, and working as a coach developer for Canada Soccer and Alberta Soccer.
SCW caught up with Wayne to discuss building a program and philosophy, planning and delivering sessions, learning from others and those tying the shoelace moments...
Sian Osmond was taken to her first soccer match at six months old. She cried every time her dad's team scored.
But tears quickly turned to cheers and by the age of 18 she received the FA Level 2 coaching badge. A further decade on, the 28-year-old has the Uefa A License and is head coach of London Bees, who play in the third tier of the women’s pyramid in England.
What started as medical cover, watching games and observing training quickly became a swift rise through the coaching ranks with the Bees, from under-17s manager and development team assistant coach to development team manager, first-team coach and now, after an interim period at the helm, permanent head coach.
Sian's full-time job is as a women’s recreational football officer at the Middlesex County Football Association, where she is working to increase adult participation in the run up to Euro 2022, hosted in England.
SCW caught up with Sian to talk about how she has developed as a coach, and her advice for coaches looking to climb the coaching ladder...
Hannah Duncan has always started early.
At a time when the regulations allowed it, she was playing in senior matches at the age of 14, and took her first steps on the coaching ladder at 17.
Now 32, she continues to combine playing and coaching - she took a girls team through from under-11s to under-16s, has taken a representative team to the world-renowned Gothia Cup and is now coaching a boys' under-7s team at a Premier League club.
A captain at three of the clubs she has played for, and possessing the Uefa B licence, Hannah knows a fair bit about leadership and communication.
Matt Bee admits first impressions were not on his side when he was given the head coach role of Burnley Women back in 2016, at the age of just 22.
Although the team was then in the fifth tier of women's soccer in England, it was still a gamble to appoint someone so young.
"I distinctly remember people's faces when I first walked in," he said. "I remember them looking me up and down, probably thinking 'this kid is not going to last five minutes'."
But Matt was not a callow newbie. He had already been coaching for five years, honing his craft as a teenager in Australia before returning to England and beginning his climb up the ladder.
He has since done the same for Burnley, leading them to two promotions in the five years he has been in charge.
SCW caught up with Matt, now 27, to talk about his coaching journey and how he won over the older members of his squad...
Tom Hartley spent three years running a player development programme at Arsenal Women before joining the Football Association.
He worked on the FA Skills Programme, which encouraged participation for five- to 11-year-olds.
After 10 years with the FA, Tom joined UK Coaching, where he is now Coach Programme and Pathway Manager, working alongside 30 coaches across a variety of sports, all of whom coach athletes who are on pathways towards the Olympic Games.
Currently working towards his UEFA A License, Tom is also assistant manager at Oxford United Women, in the third tier of English women's football.
SCW caught up with him to talk about what he has learned from other sports, support for coaches, and individual development plans...
Since leaving school and starting to coach in the community more than 15 years ago, Simon Goodey has built up vast experiences in the game.
Having worked at youth-academy level for Colchester, Fulham, Bournemouth and Southampton, Simon’s latest challenge is coaching in Spain - a country he first worked in for a year back in 2015.
Now a PE teacher at an English school in Madrid, and a coach at Club Unión Zona Norte, Simon spoke to us about the soccer culture in Spain, how to communicate when you and your players speak different languages, and how you engage young players in the tactical side of the game...
Rob Atkin’s varied coaching career spans over 30 years.
His roles have included football development officer at Newcastle City Council, a coach at Newcastle United academy and head coach of Newcastle United Women.
Rob has since returned to the grassroots game, working with the junior teams at Blyth Town FC. As a Football Association coach mentor, coach education is also high up on his list of priorities.
SCW caught up with Rob to discuss staying relevant, core techniques, the concept of meaningful competition and what a good session looks like
Sherlen Lindsay is a foundation-phase coach at Fulham FC, working with the London club's under-nines and under-10s. A UEFA B licenced coach, he previously worked at both the Arsenal and Crystal Palace development centres. His full-time role is supporting the physical education staff at a special educational needs secondary school.
SCW caught up with Sherlen to discuss his passion for the foundation stage, why fun should be at the heart of everything and how you can go about understanding your players as individuals…
A concept developed in basketball and popularised by one of US college soccer’s most successful coaches has been adopted by a women’s team competing in England’s fifth tier.
Fred Wright, coach at Whyteleafe Women, was inspired by Anson Dorrance’s use of the ‘competitive cauldron’ system at the ultra- successful University of North Carolina (UNC) women’s program.
The ‘competitive cauldron’ measures various performance indicators at training and Wright – a 36-year-old Uefa B licenced coach – credits it with boosting the intensity of his team’s sessions this season.
SCW caught up with him prior to one training session this week to find out more…
Carl Wild's work can be broken down into two distinct streams.
First, there is the youth coach who worked with girls at Crewe Alexandra, Stoke City and - until August - Manchester City, where he was foundation-phase lead. He now heads up the junior section at Chester FC.
Carl's other passion is coach development. By day, he is programme leader of the football coaching and management degree at UCFB, an English university which specialises in football and sport-based qualifications.
By night, he has combined his coaching roles with teaching the FA Level 1 and 2 courses, and is now a published author. His book - The Intelligent Soccer Coach: Player- Centred Sessions To Develop Confident, Creative Players - was released last month.
During our chat with David Streetley, a tutor of the FA Level 1 and 2 courses, utters the phrase: "It's difficult, coaching".
You cannot argue with him. Whether you are full-time at a professional club or a volunteer, every session or matchday presents new challenges.
You are, after all, dealing with people (all different), situations (unpredictable), and plans (which may have to be torn up).
Created ‘upside down’, Manchester United had a girls section before there was a women’s first team to graduate into. In this episode, academy boss CHARLOTTE HEALY talks to Women's Soccer Coaching about how she gone about joining the dots
Peter Prickett is the author of Football's Principles Of Play, Developing Skill: A Guide to 3v3 Soccer Coaching and Developing Skill 2. He is a Level 3 Football Coach and an ex-FA affiliate futsal tutor. He coaches at Brentford FCs community sports trust.
Dave Clarke spoke to Peter about what lies behind his 3v3 philosophy and how coaches can use that when they are working with their players. Peter has just published his latest book called Football's Principles of Play and he explains what he sees as the main principles of play, how they have changed, alternative principles and games to bring them out.
The topics we cover include:
- Benefits of 3v3 coaching
- How 1v1s, 2v2s etc work in the system
- Coaching technique and tactics
- Defend narrow spread out to attack
- Principles of play and session design
- How Lionel Messi's goal fits into the principles of play
Contact Peter Prickett on:
Twitter: The Bearded Coach @PeterPrickett
Buy the books:
Developingskill.com
Hawksmoorbookstore.com
Natalie Wood is the Director of Sport at St John's College in Cardiff. She is also an experienced life coach working in the health, wellness and fitness industry. She lists her skills as physical education, coaching, teaching, sports massage, health and fitness.
Dave Clarke spoke to Natalie about being a director of sport during lockdown, what effects this has on the children, working online and how with all the different sports schools cope with coaching. Natalie also points out the importance of mental health especially as the world comes out of lockdown.
The topics we cover include:
- The contribution of cognitive distraction to injury rates
- Working with children in sport
- Fitness training
- Working with different age groups
- Coaching individuals
- Mental health
Contact Natalie Wood on:
Twitter: @nwoodcoaching
Instagram: nataliewoodcoaching
Alf Galustian is the co-founder of Coerver Coaching. He is the coach instructor for 17 National Federations including the French German English Japanese and Brazilian FAs and has worked with over 50 top professional clubs including Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Benfica, Roma, Arsenal and Juventus.
Dave Clarke asked Alf this question: "Bayern Munich has removed U9 and U10 teams and their academy will now start at U11. Is this a model other professional clubs should follow?" Find out what he thinks. Also session planning, what are the most important things to consider? We also discuss the current Covid restrictions and how we can help players to practice at home.
The topics we cover include:
- What are the most important factors in session planning
- How to plan your sessions
- Coaching mixed ability players
- Motivate players to practice by themselves
- What should individuals work on
- How long should they work for
Keith Boanas is a Uefa Pro License coach and FA affiliate tutor and is working for the highly-regarded Palace for Life Foundation. He has a long history in the men and women's game – after a three-year stint as boss of Tooting & Mitcham United men’s team from 1998-2001, Boanas moved on to managing Charlton Ladies and Millwall Lionesses before taking charge of the Estonia Women’s team for seven years from 2009-16. He has worked with and assisted in the development of many senior England women internationals such as the head coach of WSL club Manchester United and former England captain Casey Stoney, Eniola Aluko and is married to former Charlton keeper Pauline Cope.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Keith about dealing with coaching in the lockdown including keeping fit, the learning curve for coaches as well as players, sessions he has had published in Soccer Coach Weekly and Elite Soccer, his role with the Palace for Life Foundation, what skills a coach should be looking to learn from coach education and life as a published author.
The topics we cover include:
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- Session design
- Dealing with problems in your sessions
- Confident coaching
- Working with game models
- Coaching the individual
- What to look for in young players
- Fun soccer games
Billy Gazonas was one of the greatest college soccer players from the 70s. He has written an inspiring soccer story that shows us that if you're really motivated and ignore those that say you are not good enough, you can make your dreams a reality. In "That little son of a b**ch!" Billy explains what he went through, his roller coaster of emotions. The fears, embarrassments, elations, devastating defeats, jubilation in victory, and the drive and passion he felt every day throughout his four years at Hartwick College. It is a fabulous book for coaches to read with some great ideas for coaching skills and tactics.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Billy about his book that chronicles his time in college soccer with tales from Bruce Springsteen to Franz Beckenbauer and includes some valuable advice for coaches on teaching technique to players and using tactics to win games. Most of all Billy highlights what players can do to improve their game working alone and the dedication it takes to become a champion.
The topics we cover include:
- Being a substitute
- Four principles of playing left back
- Training alone
- Pain of losing
- How to scan the pitch
- Making balls skills work
- Girls, cars and beer
- Becoming a champion
Chris Panayiotou is the Director of Coaching for Virginia Rush senior boys. He recently passed the USSF B license, and intriguingly is the Grassroots Developmental Technical Director for Rush soccer. He recently did a give back project taking football into elementary schools in Virginia Beach which has 55 elementary schools. The club visited 42 of the 55 schools teaching football in the PE classes and did approximately 80 visits in the last 3.5/4 years coaching over 100,000 children through that process.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Chris about looking beyond winning with an emphasis on educating players and parents in the philosophy he has for Virginia Rush. The topics we cover include:
- Reinforcing parental focus
- Keeping kids playing
- The car journey
- The impact of social media
- Evolving your philosophy
- Video your coaching sessions
- How to communicate at practice
- No lines, no laps, no lectures
To find out more go to:
https://www.varush.com/
Touchline Tales is a season-long series of Soccer Coach Weekly Podcasts with Go4Goal and Leatherhead Youth FC. Go4Goal is run by Andy Maciel, FA Level 3, and Paul Jones, FA Level 2. Both are qualified to Level 2 with the Federation of Catalunya Smartfootball and in Futsal.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Andy and Paul about the use of a mentor both for head coaches and for the head coach mentoring the coaches underneath them. Including coaching technique, focus and following a season long philosophy:
- Adapting sessions
- Coaching philosophy
- Benefits of working with a mentor
- Developing as a coach
- How a mentor helps you build a strategy
- Benefitting your players
- Measuring success
To find out more go to:
http://www.go4goal.org.uk/
Touchline Tales is a season-long series of Soccer Coach Weekly Podcasts with Go4Goal and Leatherhead Youth FC. Go4Goal is run by Andy Maciel, who has over 20 years of coaching in the professional and grassroots game, and Paul Jones, who has over 15 years in the sports and football development industry.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Go4Goal lead coach and goalkeeper coach Jon Lewis and goalkeeper coach Salvador Espinosa – also the Leatherhead Youth FC goalkeeper coaches – about a whole heap of coaching things, including return to play, does size matter, best practice for coaching goalkeepers and why it helps to be a bit crazy!:
- Dealing with return to play
- Goalkeeper trigger words
- Creating the ideal goalkeeper – the 5 Cs
- The mental side – confidence
- Development targets
- Game day tactics
- Discipline
- Warm ups
To find out more go to:
http://www.go4goal.org.uk/
Bill Stara is currently the Director of Education for the Broomfield Soccer Club. He holds US Soccer 'A' License and and has a list of coaching badges as long as your arm. He is an instructor for US Soccer, US Youth Soccer and United Soccer Coaches as a Goalkeeper Instructor.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Bill about educating coaches to get the best out of them and out of the kids they coach. He says: "Once kids understand you're primarily there for them to be successful they'll give you the world." The topics we cover include:
- Sports psychology
- Interacting with players of different ages
- Changing your terminology
- Coaching kids to deal with stress
- Holding kids accountable
- Filling the coaches toolbox
- Being creative as a coach
Touchline Tales is a season-long series of Soccer Coach Weekly Podcasts with Go4Goal and Leatherhead Youth FC. Go4Goal is run by Andy Maciel, FA Level 3, and Paul Jones, FA Level 2. Both are qualified to Level 2 with the Federation of Catalunya Smartfootball and in Futsal.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Andy Maciel and Paul Jones about the build up from lockdown to being back to full time coaching. Including educating players at home via the internet, coach education and best practice for coaches:
- Using meditation techniques
- Coaching via the classroom
- Coaching players during lockdown
- The mental side
- What will your first session back look like?
- Coping on match days
- Dealing with parents
To find out more go to:
http://www.go4goal.org.uk/
Tony Mee is a UEFA ‘A’ Licence coach currently lead youth Development phase coach at Doncaster Rovers. He was previously with Rotherham United, working with various age groups before being promoted to head of youth academy coaching. He has also served as academy manager at York City.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Tony about his session in Elite Soccer aimed at developing play in the attacking third, one that coaches players to finish from balls crossed into the penalty area. Tony explains the coaching points, what to say to players and talks about good coaching practice:
- How to motivate players in the session
- What to say during the session
- Moving the session on
- Getting the coaching point across in the game
- Adapting sessions for different age groups
- Coaching challenges
- Being creative as a coach
To find out more go to:
https://elitesoccercoaching.net/
Rick Meana is the Director of Coaching for New Jersey Youth Soccer, leading a staff of national state coaching school instructors from across the state influencing learning for thousands of kids. He is a former college coach and currently on the US Youth Soccer National Instructor Staff .
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Rick about his coaching education programme that covers philosophy, methodology and how the youth players are educated with fun, a sense of belonging, development and the best way to discipline out of line players:
- Philosophy, methodology
- Parental education
- Type of coach you should be
- Late bloomers
- Sitting on the bench
- Coaching challenges
Steve Scott is the head coach of the USAFF C15 Boys National Team with the US Fustsal Federation. Scott coached high school soccer for 23 years and recorded 205 wins and one state title. His 2019 team went 11-4 and his last two squads record a 26-8 overall record. His teams have a 66-44 record in his seven years at YHS and five of those were winning records and one an even season.
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Steve about the benefits of playing Futsal, tactics and techniques used, the individual skills used and the coaching challenges he faces with the USA Futsal Federation C15 boys national team as he gets the squad ready for the World Cup in Paraguay later this year:
- Growth of the game
- How it works
- Tactics/Techniques
- Individual skills
- Motivation
- Coaching challenges
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Duncan Ryan about the Football Coaches Association of Australia and the problems facing coaches as they develop players to be the best they can be:
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- Skills acquisition
- The importance of communication
- Why motivation matters
- Coach education
- Session: The conductor
- Session: Pass or protect
- Playing time
- Discipline
Steven Drinkell is a goalkeeper coach at the Westminister School in Atlanta, Georgia and an assistant Varsity Coach. Soccer Coach Weekly head coach Dave Clarke spoke with Steve to gain an insight into the secrets of coaching what is probably the most difficult position in the team.
In this podcast Dave talks to Steve about the problems facing coaches when they have to coach the goalkeeper in training and motivate them in matches, including:
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-
- Playing out from the back - Tactics and Technical work - Match day warm ups - Does size matter? - Motivation when teams lose - The parent problem - The blame game
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In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Dan Abrahams about how to motivate coaches and help them to create the perfect environment for their teams:
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- The psyche social
- Arrival techniques
- Participation, progression, performance
- Physical/mental warm ups
- Dealing with success and failure
- What went well... better next time
- Working with parents
As head coach and editor of Rugby Coach Weekly, Dan has provided thousands of coaches worldwide with drills, insight and advice covering all aspects of coaching. A former player for Bath and Bristol, Dan is a level 3 coach, level 2 referee and course tutor.
In this podcast Dan and Dave talk about how to deal with the problems coaches face when they are coaching children:
- Playing in an academy
- Changing age groups
- Coping with losing players
- Grassroots to academy
- Equal playing time
- Coaching the ruck
- The Beatles drummer and parental control
Gordon MacLelland is the CEO of Working with Parents in Sport which supports organisations, parents and coaches in working together to provide children with the best possible sporting experiences.
In this podcast Gordon talks about how to deal with the difficulties that parents and coaches face in today’s world:
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- The 'did you win?' question
- Creating a positive culture
- Meeting the parents
- Getting parents involved
- The car journey
Interview with Ian Barker, director of education for United Soccer Coaches. Talking about coach education, the Convention in Baltimore, USA what you get out of going. Includes some coaching anecdotes and information on tactics, psychology and coaching sessions.