"Plagiarism"

Plagiarism, comes from a Latin verb that means, “to kidnap.” If you plagiarize "you’re kidnapping and stealing others work." This word is usually associated with a negative tone but I think when it comes to coaching it should have a positive tone.  I have plagiarised from every coach I have ever had.  As a player, I have had many different coaches with many different styles.  I have literally had some of the best coaches and the world and I think some of the worst.  I have taken something from every one of them.  I learned what not to do from some coaches and I copied the ways of the great ones. I have written down so many different exercises and brought them to my own teams and players. I have "kidnapped" many different ideas and used them to create my own unique coaching style.  
The second best thing to playing is coaching! I have been coaching for a long time.  I started with a U10 boys team my Junior year in high school. It was a travel team in my town; Hampshire United.  Before taking on the team I had heard many different things about this particular group of boys, but I was up for the challenge.  They were incredible; they absorbed everything I threw at them and each one of them gave it there all every practice.  The games were fun; they put on a show and were always willing to play outside of their comfort zone and try new things.  We ended up winning the championship and it was definitely one of my most memorable soccer moments.  I can remember it vividly; it was just a U10 game but it felt like it was a World Cup final. They were a special team.  Shortly after the season I left for college and I had not seen them in a long time.  I was home last Easter.. It was six years later and I saw all the boys... First of all, the last time I saw them they were shorter than me.. Now, they are in high school, have deep voices and are way taller than me.  It was great to see them and I was proud to know that they were all still playing! Its amazing how a moment or a season like that can impact someones life so much!

In Florida I started training kids one on one.  I started out with this eight year old at the time; Daniel.  Daniel is highly skilled for his age and I greatly enjoyed training him.  His family started giving my name out to his teammates and they all started to call me.  I went from coaching one kid one on one to coaching eight kids one on one. I then got involved with the Lakeland soccer club and was the head coach and trainer for the U14 girls and the U16 girls.  Later on, I got contacted by another club; Lake Wales soccer club. I was the trainer for the U14 girls and the head coach for the U18 girls team.  To say the least I was extremely busy when I was in Florida! I felt like there was not enough hours in the day to finish everything I wanted to do.  After training with my own college team, I was literally jumping from session to session every night. It was intense at times but I loved it!!  I got to use my coaching experiences for my senior seminar course. It also allowed me to pay all my bills and more! I could not of asked for a better job. It was extremely rewarding and a great way to try out new styles and techniques.  I experimented and learned a lot.

 I got really close to some of the kids and their families. I was in Florida this past February visiting, training and going for my next national coaching license.  While I was there I trained a few of my old players.  It was so nice to see them. I was proud to see that they have continued to invest in their development.  All of them have bright futures ahead of them.

The coaching course was great! It was in Palm Bay.  There were about 50 guys and only five girls.  A few of the girls went to Florida Tech.  We have played each other so many times! It was always a great game against them and it was neat to meet them in another environment.  They are going to be great coaches as well! It is cool how small the soccer world can be.

 In the course we had a few written exams, an oral exam and were given topics and the instructors evaluated our coaching. My first topic was "when and how to dribble" (my favorite) My session went extremely well and I got some great feedback from my instructor.  I saw many different styles and learned so much when the other coaches were coaching as well. We went over everything from field size, to numbers, to topic related activities. I made so many contacts and I will definitely keep in touch with all of them when I am ready to start my own soccer club.
    
Im still learning so much.  I feel like coaching has made me a better soccer player myself because I have to really dissect all the different aspects of the game to teach it.  Im learning just as much as the players.  During my summers in college I worked as a staff coach for Tony Dicicco's soccerplus camps.  I played for their club, I was a five year camper and coached for three years. As a player I knew how the club was run in and out.  I also worked in the office.  I experienced every aspect when it came down to how a club and camp is run. It was neat to be on the other side of it.  When I started coaching for them they helped me find the "coaching moment" They have an incredible program and a lot of my coaching philosophy comes from them.

 When I was out in Boston with the Aztecs, I also had a few one on ones and ran some clinics.  The sessions out in Boston were always fun and intense.  I revised the new drills I had learned during my own trainings to compensate for some of the younger players and it was successful.

In Finland I coached at the GBK soccer camp and ran a weekly clinic for a middle school.  It was great and a rewarding experience because I had to teach kids that could not speak a word of English.  This was probably one of my favorite sessions because; very few words were spoken but we completely understood one another.  Soccer is a universal language.

Before I came out to Sweden I helped out my old coach Chris Bart Williams with Western United extreme.  I trained with the girls and I observed his sessions. He uses the same methods on the younger girls that he had used on my team when I had him as a coach on the Soccerplus CT Reds. It was great to be around him again. I gained so many new ideas. I used his different methods in my coaching course and I am going to use them in Sweden as well. 


I feel like I could right a book on my coaching experiences alone.  I have so many stories to tell. They will all be in my book one day. Now I am in Sweden and I have started coaching the youth team for IFK Gavle, and I am coaching in three different schools.  So far it has been awesome! My first time coaching for one of the schools  I put both boys and girls through a creative warm up I learned throughout my playing career.  They loved it and seemed to really enjoy themselves.  At each of the schools I take the girls and the other coaches take the boys. The other coaches are great and all the players seem really into the game. I think I can help them get to the next level .  I hope I can give back what has been done to me and make a positive impact on all of the players here!