@AztecWSoccer Assistant Coach. Former @sandiegowavefc Assistant Coach. & Head of Goalkeeping. @ussoccer_ynt Coach . @AVFCOfficial fan. Views are my own.
Andoni Iraola got asked by @GuillemBalague on where football is going. This is his response:
“Players do not demand freedom; they demand structure from their coaches. It is from that structure that they feel free and can make their own decisions.
“As coaches, we cannot arrive somewhere and tell everyone: ‘Do whatever you want. Take the ball wherever you want.’ If you did that, after 30 minutes they would be angry with us. They want us to show them the way. They demand organisation, information, different options, and thorough preparation for every game.
“They are asking us to study a lot. Our job is to put the player in the best possible scenario to shine.
“With that preparation in their armour, they can then make informed decisions and make the difference on the pitch.
“There are different styles and different ways to play, but all of them require structure, study, thought and hard work.”
This is a Mindset MUST-watch.
Bookmark and share. 📌
We can become exactly who we want to become.
We can control our thoughts.
We can control our mind.
We can make that 8-year version of us proud!
Having this perspective at age 22 is just awesome. 🥇
I love the Olympics. Winter, summer, every single games, I tune in.
I love it because we see how sports bring us together.
I love it because we are reminded that sports are the ultimate equalizer. Look at weightlifting in the summer Olympics or downhill skiing now. The weights and the mountain don’t care what country you come from, how much money you have, or what religion you are. The weights and the mountain are the same for every single competitor.
I love it, most of all, because the Olympics remind us of a core life lesson: greatness and heartbreak live right next door to each other.
You can’t find greatness without a few meetings with heartbreak and failure.
We saw this very clearly over the weekend.
Like many of you, I’ve been following my friend Lindsey Vonn’s inspirational comeback. She’s 41, one knee is completely rebuilt, and now she went into the Olympics with a freshly-torn ACL.
As storylines go, you can’t get any better. It is gutsy. It is brave. It is a little bit crazy.
And it brings out all of the losers to do their naysaying.
“Why would she do this?”
”She must be missing something in her life.”
“It’s irresponsible.”
What these people don’t understand, because they’ve never tried anything great, because they’ve never pushed themselves to the absolute edges of their limits, because they’ll never know their real potential, is that there is no such thing as risk-free greatness.
Yesterday, when her Olympic dreams ended in that horrible crash that left all of us praying for her in front of our televisions, the haters were out in full force.
I don’t need to repeat it. Twitter has given losers enough of a platform; I won’t be amplifying them in this newsletter.
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🚨 Coaches 🚨
Quick follow on from my methodology post last week…..
Here’s an example of how you could train a specific phase of your game model with some session structure ideas
@m_korcker Pro environment might have a more structured pre-season periodization plan to gradually work on all aspects, but once seasons starts, its mainly about planning for the next match week to week based on opponent or the teams unique needs.
🚨 Coaches 🚨 🧠 ⚽️ 📋
When building your methodology whats the most important things u need?
Here’s some base ideas I believe are impactful from my time working in pro, college, YNT and youth club environments.
Interested how others might adapt, agree, challenge these ideas
@m_korcker At the college level (with a limited pre-season) you have to be smart about possibly implementing multiple topics into sessions to accelerate learning……tbc
@m_korcker I think it all depends on your specific environment.
At youth level, a 4-6 week periodization can go a long way to players all round long term development…….tbc;
A 4-2 victory for our #U23WNT over England to close out their final camp of 2025!
⚽️ 2' - Emeri Adames
⚽️ 44' - Maddie Dahlien
⚽️ 57' - Sarah Weber
⚽️ 72' - Ally Sentnor
That time when Alex Morgan scored in the 88th minute to secure the first trophy in @sandiegowavefc history. ☝️
Now, her jersey will be the first retired by that club. Watch Sunday at 8:30pm ET on ESPN.
Lucky enough to have worked at the pro and youth level in beautiful San Diego over the last 10 years… excited to now experience the college game with @AztecWSoccer 💪🏼 ⚽️ ❤️🖤