Posted by Team, 20th March 2018
One of the pillars of the Global Image Sports partnership program is coaching education. We realize that these are the men and women that are going to have the greatest impact on players here in North America, so we do our best to provide opportunities and resources for these coaches to grow in their knowledge of the game. One way we do this is providing coaching diploma courses through our partnerships with our various professional clubs such as West Ham United, Wolverhampton, Chievo Verona, Stoke City, and more. The goal is to expose these coaches to the practices, techniques, and philosophies that are used to develop tomorrows professionals.
GIS recently hosted the “West Ham United Academy 2018 Coaching Diploma” from February 8th-14th at their London Academy facilities. Eleven coaches from GIS youth partner clubs attended. The course was led by Paul Heffer, West Ham’s International Academy Coaching Director and Terry Westley, West Ham’s Academy Manager. The coaches were given full access to the West Ham Academy training philosophy through on-field practical training sessions, classroom sports-science discussions and observation of various academy age games and training sessions. Additionally, the group attended a first-team game at the Olympic Stadium in which West Ham beat Watford 2-0.
We believe these diploma courses are some of the best things we provide through our partnership and the coaches agreed:
Noe Vargas, Cal Glen Soccer Club: “It is excellent to see the actual training grounds. We also got invited to a pep talk before the game with Terry, it was amazing to be in, previous to the Tottenham U23 game.”
Ivan R. Gonzalez, SG1 Soccer Club: ”My experience at the West Ham Academy Coaching Course was phenomenal! Being able to be in a pro-active environment with experienced coaches like Paul Heffer and Terry Westley provided a terrific atmosphere that was able to be engaging and stimulate learning. All of the West Ham staff were hospitable and willing to be a part of the learning process. Especially West Ham Coaches, Juyel Hussain and Lits Zaman, would even go above and beyond and physically demonstrate some practice sessions with the group. As a young coach, I wanted to learn and experience as much as I could in order to improve in my craft. I can definitely say without a doubt that I learned a great deal from Paul Heffer and this coaching course. I have to thank Global Image Sports, as well as, my club team from Houston, Texas, Sports Group 1, that provided me with this wonderful opportunity.”
Otto Berti, Gitchi-Gummi Soccer Club: “It was a great experience…learned a few good things and it was great watching the U23 practices and games.”
Pradip Humagai, Keystone Athletic Soccer Club: “The West Ham Diploma is the best coaching course I’ve attended.”
Brandon Stemwedel, Gitchi-Gummi Soccer Club: “From the moment we landed to the moment we left, I felt we couldn’t have been treated any better. Paul Heffer made sure to talk to us about what and why the coaches were doing things when watching the sessions and how to build upon certain drills he showed us. All the coaches would stay in the dining area of the hotel and chat about what we learned each day or what is happening that can benefit our clubs and give advice or perspective on like areas.”
Steve Gough, Cal Glen Soccer Club: “The course was amazing. The biggest benefit is gaining detailed insights into the world-class West Ham Youth Academy and seeing how professional players are developed through privileged observation at academy training sessions, detailed interaction with the coaches, observation at games and most importantly learning from the practical sessions lead by trainers who have personally coached and mentored the likes of Lampard, Ferdinand, Cole, Carrick, and Johnson. I have already implemented numerous drills and routines from the course into my U18 program and the lads love it and are already gaining a good understanding of the ‘play in the future’ philosophy and approach.”
If you’re interested in attending one of our fall diploma course trips email info@globalimagesports.com
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