Matt S.

I have great experience working with athletes of all ages! I have worked as a personal soccer trainer with athletes ranging from 6-18 years old, doing 1 on 1 and small group training sessions. I was also an undergraduate assistant coach at my former college and part of a very qualified and experienced staff that brought our team into the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament. This experience at the collegiate level grew my coaching insight to a whole other level! My main role for trainings was to show my players how to properly warm up, walk them through attacking movement and exposing defenses, and to closely examine and critique their individual play during training sessions, giving them constant feedback. I was even held responsible for coaching entire sessions at times... so I can handle big groups! My main role for games was to study team and opposing team film, give pre-game insight on the match, giving team talks, and motivating them to win! I don't just have a passion for coaching, I have a passion for seeing athletes reach their full potential.. in every aspect! Whether it be skills, awareness, thought process, or confidence, I am here to teach. Side note, I have the most experience working with forwards, wingers, and midfielders, as I was one myself... but being a former attacking player myself, I know exactly how defensive players operate, therefore I can coach those players in a more niche way than a defensive coach would. Giving them insight on what an attacking player looks for to expose a defense, and coaching them from that standpoint.

I played Division 3 soccer at SUNY Cortland, NY. We were a top 15 ranked team for the 4 years I played there, at one point being the #2 team in the country. I started mostly every game from sophomore year on, with 13 starts in my freshman year as well. During my time, my team and I were 3 time regular season champions, won 3 conference titles, and reached the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament 3 years in a row.
As for me, I was awarded 2-time All-Conference first team, 2-time All-Region first team, and 3rd team All-American. I am also the programs all-time leading goal scorer (42 goals) (breaking the previous record of 35), and all-time leading point scorer (100) (breaking the previous record of 92). I was also awarded national player of the week my junior year. And my senior year, was tied 17th nationally for most goals in a season. And to be honest, was robbed of our offensive conference player of the year my senior year. My junior year our team was ranked 3rd best in attacking play, averaging more than 3 goals a game for an entire season with a very tough schedule.

When a client is working with me, expect to work hard. I believe talent is nothing without hard work.
A typical session with me if you're an attacking player will look like this: A dynamic warmup integrated with fast foot work, coordination work, and injury prevention movements. After that, I will give the player(s) the rundown of the session, what to focus on, why these drills are important, and how they will relate to match performance. I will never coach drills, or give advice that won't help or relate to your performance in a match, as that is what's most important.
To start, expect close ball control drills (footwork, first-touch, juggling, quick turns, etc.) Then jumping into open space play such as turns and half-turns, passing ability and decisions, and open space dribbling. If it's a group session, expect small sided games with an emphasis on quick decisions and 1-2 touch play.
Next, we will get into finishing (my specialty), expect to spend at least half the session doing all kinds of finishing work... as it is what is most important as an attacker. Most coaches don't recruit fancy footwork, they recruit execution. Some shooting drills to expect are weak foot power and precision (massively important), cross-goal shooting, close space finishing, 1-time finishing, and long range accuracy. I won't just pass them the ball so they can shoot it, I will coach them in these ways: Where to shoot, why you're aiming for that corner, when to place vs when to power, where your foot should be connecting with the ball, how your body should look as your shooting, different types of shots (curl, knuckle, trivela, dip, chip, laced, rising, half or full volley, etc). And showing them runs and movements that will guarantee to make them space to open up shooting opportunities.
By the end of a session players will have a great understanding on the art of scoring goals, it's much more than just putting your foot through a ball.
As for a defensive player at a training session, it will look a little different. Instead of half the session being finishing drills, we will be more focused on distribution. This involves flighted balls, driven balls, first touches into space, and under pressure situations.
As a former attacking player I know what a defender hates, so by helping them understand what not to do, is just as important as coaching them on what to do. As a defender you are the second to last-line of defense before the goalkeeper, so good decision-making is what matters most. Also expect to have fun, just because we won't be shooting on goal for 30 minutes doesn't mean they won't enjoy the session.