The first problem I´m going to face is training in Baltic weather -- it´s just barely creeping above freezing in Northwest England now. The key I´ve found in training in Pittsburgh is no lines, little teaching, lots of movement. I remember training in March a couple of years ago on the turf at Hempfield and the wind chill was somewhere in the ballpark of 10F, so that experience will be put to good use.
I am checked in and on my way to the airport shortly. Hopefully I can get some sleep on the plane, so I´m not a zombie in tomorrow´s staff meeting. I need to be sharp, so I´m contributing from the time I hit the ground.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Countdown
It´s time to start figuring out what to pack -- tough decisions when you have 50 pounds, plus a carry on, and it´s winter. While I´m doing laundry, I´m going over some of my past session logs and watching a little bit of video to stay sharp.
The weather in Preston hasn´t been bad -- cold, but little snow. The northeast, however, is blanketed in snow, and matches are being cancelled. That can always be tough -- sometimes the extra rest does a squad good, but sometime you can lose sharpness. I´m looking forward to Wednesday and seeing what we have, and how I can contribute.
Monday will be a long day -- three hour layover in Atlanta -- but I hope I can sleep on the plane and maybe catch a nap on the train from Manchester to Preston. Tuesday I´ll get settled, and then to work on Wednesday.
The weather in Preston hasn´t been bad -- cold, but little snow. The northeast, however, is blanketed in snow, and matches are being cancelled. That can always be tough -- sometimes the extra rest does a squad good, but sometime you can lose sharpness. I´m looking forward to Wednesday and seeing what we have, and how I can contribute.
Monday will be a long day -- three hour layover in Atlanta -- but I hope I can sleep on the plane and maybe catch a nap on the train from Manchester to Preston. Tuesday I´ll get settled, and then to work on Wednesday.
Monday, November 22, 2010
It´s Official!
After a series of conversations with Andy Burgess, manager at PNEWFC, I have my plane ticket and I will be joining the squad for training on Wednesday, 1 December.
On Tuesday, I will meet with Andy and we will go over the squad, some of the training and match issues, and I will get video of the season thus far to begin studying. The task ahead is daunting: can we move from mid-table to the promotion spots?
Already, one difference in the game culture I recognize: Andy, as manager, wants to be much more hands-off in training than an American head coach. As a head coach, that is certainly one of my weaknesses: I spend so much time and energy training that I don´t necessarily see ¨big picture¨ items, as a manager would. I did find this past season that video taping sessions helped me considerably. In American soccer, we don´t make a clear distinction between the manager, who guides the squad, and the coach, who implements training. It´s not that one person can´t fulfill all those roles, but it´s difficult to compartmentalize.
We use different parts of our brains when determining over-arching vision (such as playing philosophy, developmental philosophy, or program identity), match and training strategy (organization and design), and finally mechanical, hands-on training and implementation. The great coaches, Bear Bryant in American football, Bill Shankly in football, John Wooden in basketball, Anson Dorrance in college soccer, all recognize that need for compartmentalization and surround themselves with a staff that can fulfill those roles.
I hope that I can implement Andy´s vision and help move us up the table.
On Tuesday, I will meet with Andy and we will go over the squad, some of the training and match issues, and I will get video of the season thus far to begin studying. The task ahead is daunting: can we move from mid-table to the promotion spots?
Already, one difference in the game culture I recognize: Andy, as manager, wants to be much more hands-off in training than an American head coach. As a head coach, that is certainly one of my weaknesses: I spend so much time and energy training that I don´t necessarily see ¨big picture¨ items, as a manager would. I did find this past season that video taping sessions helped me considerably. In American soccer, we don´t make a clear distinction between the manager, who guides the squad, and the coach, who implements training. It´s not that one person can´t fulfill all those roles, but it´s difficult to compartmentalize.
We use different parts of our brains when determining over-arching vision (such as playing philosophy, developmental philosophy, or program identity), match and training strategy (organization and design), and finally mechanical, hands-on training and implementation. The great coaches, Bear Bryant in American football, Bill Shankly in football, John Wooden in basketball, Anson Dorrance in college soccer, all recognize that need for compartmentalization and surround themselves with a staff that can fulfill those roles.
I hope that I can implement Andy´s vision and help move us up the table.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Trying to Make It Work
It´s been two and a half weeks since I resigned at Pitt-Greensburg, and two weeks since I was offered the coaching job at Preston North End Women´s FC. I think that I might have everything sorted out that I am going to be able to make it across the pond and start working next week.
I´m hoping to get a lot out of the next three months: working in an English club environment will be miles different from working in US college or US club. In addition to working as senior coach with PNE Women´s, I expect to be able to at least observe some academy and COE training sessions of some of the clubs in the Northwest.
The Northwest of England is a football hotbed -- of course most everyone on the planet is familiar with Liverpool and Manchester United, but just in the football league, there are well over a dozen clubs within thirty miles of Preston. PNE, of course, Wigan, Liverpool, Everton, Man City, Man Utd., Rochedale, Bury, Accrington Stanley, Burnley, Blackpool, Blackburn, Oldham, Bolton, and more. Of course, the population density is high, but still the Northwest supports as many professional clubs and produces more professional players as the entire North American continent.
It´s not just a learning tour though -- I really think I have something to bring to the table. With three years coaching college women, and several more coaching youth girls, my experience and my education bring something to the club. The women´s game, while it has much of the same shape as the men´s game, the actual application of the principles of play is very different. As few women can hit the sixty yard diagonal ball, an emphasis is placed on combination play, defensive shape, and support of the ball. With the amount of women´s soccer I´ve been watching, I expect I can provide meaningful insight into the game.
Can I translate that insight into helping move the squad up from the middle of the table?
It´s still not certain I will be on a plane next week, but that´s the plan. Over the next three months, I hope to be tracking my progress as a coach, and sharing what I´ve learned. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of English coaches have made the trip to teach us in the States. Do I have something to return to the home of football?
I´m hoping to get a lot out of the next three months: working in an English club environment will be miles different from working in US college or US club. In addition to working as senior coach with PNE Women´s, I expect to be able to at least observe some academy and COE training sessions of some of the clubs in the Northwest.
The Northwest of England is a football hotbed -- of course most everyone on the planet is familiar with Liverpool and Manchester United, but just in the football league, there are well over a dozen clubs within thirty miles of Preston. PNE, of course, Wigan, Liverpool, Everton, Man City, Man Utd., Rochedale, Bury, Accrington Stanley, Burnley, Blackpool, Blackburn, Oldham, Bolton, and more. Of course, the population density is high, but still the Northwest supports as many professional clubs and produces more professional players as the entire North American continent.
It´s not just a learning tour though -- I really think I have something to bring to the table. With three years coaching college women, and several more coaching youth girls, my experience and my education bring something to the club. The women´s game, while it has much of the same shape as the men´s game, the actual application of the principles of play is very different. As few women can hit the sixty yard diagonal ball, an emphasis is placed on combination play, defensive shape, and support of the ball. With the amount of women´s soccer I´ve been watching, I expect I can provide meaningful insight into the game.
Can I translate that insight into helping move the squad up from the middle of the table?
It´s still not certain I will be on a plane next week, but that´s the plan. Over the next three months, I hope to be tracking my progress as a coach, and sharing what I´ve learned. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of English coaches have made the trip to teach us in the States. Do I have something to return to the home of football?
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