Between The Posts Podcast: Keepers | Coaches | Parents | Soccer

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Topic: Club Culture
Episode 23: with guest Sean Afkhaminia

In today's episode of Between The Posts we tackle a hot topic circulating coaching organizations in the ongoing discussion around creating a unique club culture. Guest Sean Afkhaminia of the Footy Factory is a prime guest to be discussing what he and his staff seek to do each season in Texas communities.

| BE THE CLUB THEY SEEK OUT, NOT SETTLE FOR |

Today's episode will add value to every listener no matter whether you are a player, coach, parent, or fan. Today's episode will be the one we know you will quickly want to send to others, it's just that good! Here's a glimpse into episode 23 and what you can expect as you listen and what you can take back to your organization:

• Create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for players, parents, coaches, & fans
• Creating a positive club image in your community
• The attraction of new members or sponsors; a challenge of all programs.
• The club becoming a place where people want to spend their time not just settle for.
• The club becoming more respected by the community and other clubs.

Check out Sean and the Footy Factory here to learn more about how they're revamping soccer in Texas communities:  https://www.footyfactory.us/

Do you know someone who should be considered as a guest on our show? Email me at [email protected]

Part 2 continues the genius of great coaching which is making hard work FUN! When planning your practices they must duplicate the excitement of the game. As coaching educators we must create an environment which forces players to make their own decisions. We must create an atmosphere where players are allowed to teach themselves and provide a practice that develops instinctive attacking and defending habits. 

One of the many strategies we as coaches should be using more often across youth fields are small-sided games. The impact small-sided games vs alternative methods can have on your players is hard to disagree with if introduced appropriately. 

In today's episode "Koach Karl" joins us to dive deeper into the methodology behind small-sided games and why he believes so deeply in a FUNdamental approach to player development.

Want to read more from "Koach Karl"? For many more wonderful resources, or a closer look into the 9 Step approach to practices visit Karl online: 
www.fundamentalsoccer.com

The genius of good coaching is to make hard work seem like FUN! When planning your practices they must duplicate the excitement of the game. As coaching educators we must create an environment which forces players to make their own decisions. We must create an atmosphere where players are allowed to teach themselves and provide a practice that develops instinctive attacking and defending habits. 

One of the many strategies we as coaches should be using more often across youth fields are small-sided games. The impact small-sided games vs alternative methods can have on your players is hard to disagree with if introduced appropriately. 

In today's episode "Koach Karl" joins us to dive deeper into the methodology behind small-sided games and why he believes so deeply in a FUNdamental approach to player development.

Want to read more from "Koach Karl"? For many more wonderful resources, or a closer look into the 9 Step approach to practices visit Karl online: 
www.fundamentalsoccer.com

Today's episode of Between The Posts we hold a special conversation with guest John DeBenedictus of The Last 9 Seconds. John DeBenedictis has traveled throughout North America presenting his unique lecture on scoring goals. He was one of the keynote speakers at the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Coaching Convention in Indianapolis in 2013 speaking to a standing room only crowd of over 500 coaches. He was also a guest speaker at the NSCAA conventions in 2004 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In 2007, DeBenedictis was invited to speak in Santa Clara, California for the California Youth Soccer Association’s annual coaching conference and convention.

John holds the unique distinction of having spoken to the largest soccer coaching audience by any Canadian born coach. Over 1,000 coaches attended his sessions at the conference in Baltimore. John is in his 40th year of coaching and has coached at all levels including internationally. He also ran his own soccer camps with Tony Waiters, former English International goalkeeper and Canadian National Team coach. He played goalkeeper for York University helping them win the National Title in 1977. He signed a semi-professional contract in a professional league called the "National Soccer League" with Toronto Ukrania.

DeBenedictis completed his Honors Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Physical and Health Education as well as earning an advanced certificate of coaching from York University. He holds an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and a CSA Pre B Provincial License. He has extended his studies by doing extensive research into the cognitive processes used for performing tasks as it relates to perceptual motor-muscular learning. He has focused his research to include studying visual motion perception as it relates to different situations that soccer players encounter. DeBenedictis also studied super-star athletes from a variety of sports to see what they did differently in their human perception motor-muscular development process. His findings are unique and different when combined with the goalkeeper’s point of view on stopping goals. All this information formed the basis for his unique course, which led him to seek out different soccer facts that have helped players understand what it takes to be a great striker. He was able to take his experience as a goalkeeper as well as his coaching experience in dealing with adolescent athletes and blend it in with sports psychology to develop a program that will connect with the athlete in delivering the powerful information derived from his research and findings.

DeBenedictis was also the first coach to bring the Wiel Coerver Dribbling and Ball Possession techniques to Canada demonstrating the techniques across Ontario to coaches and players. DeBenedictis also produced a video on Ball Possession and Dribbling techniques geared to North American kids which are being re-issued and re-edited and some segments are out on YouTube. Many of the players he has coached or instructed went on to play professional soccer in Canada, the USA, and Europe. He has also written numerous coaching articles for soccer publications and sport psychology websites across North America. Some of his articles have been instrumental in introducing change in player development programs with soccer clubs across North America. DeBenedictis is the author of the book, "The Last 9 Seconds" which just came out in 2013 and the primary point of discussion during today's episode!

For more information about John, to buy his book, or if you're considering to host John for "The Golden Goal Scoring Course", and so many other wonderful resources you can find out more here:

http://www.thelast9seconds.com

Article Written By Caleb Wossen of The Dallas Observer: https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/a-new-soccer-school-is-redirecting-the-focus-from-winning-to-technique-to-the-dismay-of-some-8951088

"Most training sessions for youth soccer feature a dozen or more players engaged in rigorous group exercises and fitness tests, mirroring the sport’s homonymous counterpart, football. Practice at Footy Factory, based in Addison, TX more closely resembles a martial arts or improv session.

Players ranging from kindergartners to high school seniors scrimmage in groups of three or four per session and occasionally one is pulled aside to polish a flaw in technique. During these drills, little to no reference is made to games or competition. This is by design, says founder and CEO Sean Afkhaminia. The goal of Footy Factory is to revolutionize American youth soccer with training that is individualized and focused on developing specific skills by taking the focus and pressure off winning.

“We’re trying to develop players, and no else is doing that [in Texas],” Afkhaminia said. “What’s going on in Dallas is that a lot of the big clubs will take parents’ money and put them on a team, they’ll practice twice a week for an hour, and then play a game on the weekend. It’s not enough. There’s no player development going on here.”

Footy Factory is trying to work against the prevailing mindset that the purpose of playing team sports is to pad a resume for college. The attitude of Footy Factory's coaches recalls soccer clubs in Europe that incubate students for years without interruption.

In conversation, Afkhaminia refers to his philosophy of passion trumping hard work. He insists that no person is born with natural talent, citing Daniel Coyle’s 2009 book The Talent Code.

Afkhaminia specifically disagrees with the bias favoring athleticism and winning records over skill, and he wants Footy Factory to help eager, young players who lack the access or funds to continue developing their craft. Players train three times a week, while members of the club’s various teams practice twice a week and play a game on the weekend. As students grow older, the number of games played per week increases, but training is the highest priority.

“Right now, individual training is always last,” Afkhaminia said. “It’s something that happens after their team practices and games, but that should be their main work so they can take what they know and apply it outside.”

Jude Anuwe, who became a Footy Factory coach in early 2015, majored in biology and physiology at the University of Texas at Dallas. He's helped create a scientific foundation for the company's ethics and regimen. It's all rooted in proprioception or the science of body awareness in space. The plan is to mold players who are able to move more efficiently and better prevent injury.

“Nowadays, you see a particular type of soccer player,” Anuwe said. “Guys pirouetting on the spot, overhead kicks — all of these skills are only mastered if you have a strong core, know where your body is in space, and master your balance. Can we move in a functional way?”

Afkhaminia founded Footy Factory in late 2014 after graduating with a degree in business from West Texas A&M University. Feeling dissatisfied with the school’s soccer program, Afkhaminia briefly managed a soccer club before assuming coaching duties at Shelton High School, there realizing an idea that would evolve into Footy Factory.

For more info on Sean and the Footy Factory philosophy we invite you to check them out on their website as well as social media platforms!

https://www.footyfactory.us/