Meet the Author …

Q. Congratulations on that topping of the Amazon charts, Carl – that must have been an incredible feeling. It’s fair to say that your book has been really well received?

A. Thank you. Yes, it came as a real surprise and I really didn’t expect it, but I was obviously really pleased and it was great to see that so many other football coaches thought that it would help them.   

Q. We’ve seen some incredible endorsements and forward reviews for The Intelligent Soccer Coach – what is it about the book that you think is appealing to coaches?

A. Football coaches understandably like to view different practices and we will often look to other coaches practices for ideas and inspiration. The book offers practice ideas but more importantly it provides the thought process behind them, so that it helps the reader understand the purpose of the practice and why it can be effective in a player’s development. This will then allow the reader to design their own practices or adapt other practices, so that the players are given relevant and realistic environments to develop and learn in.

It also allows the reader to fully understand their role and the impact that they can have on the development of the children they are coaching both as people and as players. And finally it provides a reminder that we are coaching children and it puts forward a number of strategies that can be used to help support their learning and more importantly to ensure that they enjoy coming to training.

Q. We are seeing widespread appeal – from both seasoned and new coaches. Why do you think the book appeals to both? You’d normally expect different books for different levels of experience?

A The book provides a number of key messages that new coaches may not be aware of or more experienced coaches may have forgotten or lost sight of. And these messages provoke the reader to consider and analyse their own coaching and how they might do things differently going forward and this is really important for any coach to do, no matter how experienced or qualified they are.

Q. And is this book suitable for coaches working with adult players?

A. Though the book is focused towards working with young players, there is a lot of information that can be used by coaches working with players of any age. For example, there is discussion around the key characteristics of the game of football and how it is important to replicate these within our practices, so that the players are training within realistic and relevant environments. So, the book definitely provides something for everyone.

Q. While you are an experienced soccer coach, having coached for a number of professional clubs for both men and women, you are also a University lecturer and Programme Leader for a BA (Hons) course in Football Coaching and Management. Do you think your academic experience adds a new dimension to your coaching and indeed to your book?

A. Yes definitely, hopefully it provides the reader with not just the ‘what’ we should do as coaches, but also the ‘why’ as well. By doing this, it helps the reader change their approach to how they plan their sessions as well as, how they deliver them. In addition to this the book highlights some key areas of coaching that some readers might not have considered or seen as being that important, such as reflecting, both during and after the session.

Q.What inspired you to write the book?

A. I have really enjoyed my roles with the football association as both a coach mentor and also a coach education tutor, where I loved helping coaches in their developmental journey and similarly supporting the students during their time at the University. Therefore, I wanted to provide a book that coaches could keep referring back to and that would be a resource that they could continue to use throughout their coaching journey.

Q A question I find I can’t not ask our football authors – how old were you when you fell in love with the game?

A. Like most people who are involved in the game, whether this is coaching, playing, officiating or just watching it, I became obsessed with football from a very young age and as far as I remember it has always been an important part of my life.

Q. And what position did you/do you play?

A. I really did not play at a very good level and just played for my local team in a range of positions and that is why I quickly moved onto coaching!

 

Hahaha. Thank you Carl for your time – and honesty! The Intelligent Soccer Coach is out today and is available through all good book stores and online retailers. Grab yourself a copy now. Further information and some buying links can be found here.