Assistant Manager - Celtic FC, Former Everton FC, Celtic FC, Monaco FC and Scotland Captain
"I was a Coerver® pupil as a youngster.it helped me so much in my career..I would recommend it to all coaches, parents and players"

Most capped professional player of all time, Double FIFA World Cup™ Champion, Double Olympic Gold Medal Winner, USA.
"Coerver Coaching has history, it's authentic, and the best soccer teaching programme I have seen. I worked with the Coerver programme all through my career, and it certainly made me a better player"

The Performance Academy GK

The Performance Academy GK is a Technical development programme for youth goalkeepers from Coerver® Coaching, “The world’s number 1 soccer skills teaching method”, and their international partner adidas®.

Coerver® Coaching Performance Academy GK operate around the world with the aim of maximizing each player’s development. This is achieved by providing each player with professional coaching, age specific Technical and Physiological programmes, top class facilities and an extensive support programme on and off the training field.

Our aim is to develop confident, Technical goalkeepers whilst teaching essential Social skills such as good sportsmanship and respect, in addition to a good attitude to practice and play.

Performance Academy Pathway

Performance Academy GK operates a 3 level, interchangeable development pathway that consists of Development, Advanced and Elite programmes.

To gain entry to the Performance Academy GK, each goalkeeper is required to complete a practical trial that has been developed to test each individual’s ability within our 5S player development model.

Each Goalkeepers performance in these five areas will determine which level ofPerformance Academy GK the player will be offered a place within.

The Package

Performance Academy GK offers a market-leading player package that has been designed to maximize the Technical, Physical, Psychological and Social development potential of each goalkeeper:

Technical GK Coaching

• 35 X 1 Hour weekly sessions term time per year (35 Hours)
• 8 x 6.5 hour holiday clinics per year (52 Hours)

Coerver® Coaching/adidas® Training Kit

• Shirt
• Shorts
• Socks
• Rain jacket
• Training Top (Pro Kit Package only)
• Training Pants (Pro Kit Package only)

Sports science testing

• Delivered, monitored and analysed 2 times per year

Web based support package

• Players website used for homestudy that includes our weekly Technical quiz, video advice on skills, fitness, health and nutrition
• Parents website used for account management and performance feedback which includes Technical quiz results, Technical and Physical evaluations

Costs

Suggested RRP’s – please contact your local CC centres for more price information. All payments are made by monthly Direct Debit and are inclusive of vat and booking fees

The Performance Academy

The Performance Academy is a Technical development programme for youth soccer players that is brought to you by Coerver® Coaching, “The world’s number 1 soccer skills teaching method”, and their international partner adidas®.

Coerver® Coaching Performance Academies operate around the world with the aim of maximizing each player’s development. This is achieved by providing each player with professional coaching, age specific Technical and Physiological programmes, top class facilities and an extensive support programme on and off the training field.

Our aim is to develop confident and creative players whilst teaching essential Social skills such as good sportsmanship and respect, in addition to a good attitude to practice and play.

Performance Academy Pathway

Performance Academy operates a 3 level, interchangeable development pathway that consists of Development, Advanced and Elite programmes.

To gain entry to the Performance Academy, each player is required to complete a practical trial that has been developed to test each individual’s ability within our 5S player development model.

Each player’s performance in these five areas will determine which level of The Performance Academy the player will be offered a place within.

The Package

Performance Academy offers a market-leading player package that has been designed to maximize the Technical, Physical, Psychological and Social development potential of each player:

Technical Coaching

• 35 X 1.5 Hour weekly sessions term time per year (52.5 Hours)
• 8 x 6.5 hour holiday clinics per year (52 Hours)

Coerver® Coaching/adidas® Training Kit

• Shirt
• Shorts
• Socks
• Rain jacket
• Training Top (Pro Kit Package only)
• Training Pants (Pro Kit Package only)

Sports science testing

• Delivered, monitored and analysed 2 times per year

Web based support package

• Players website used for homestudy that includes our weekly Technical quiz, video advice on skills, fitness, health and nutrition
• Parents website used for account management and performance feedback which includes Technical quiz results, Technical and Physical evaluations

Costs

Suggested RRP’s – please contact your local CC centres for more price information. All payments are made by monthly Direct Debit and are inclusive of vat and booking fees

Coerver® Coaching in partnership with FourFourTwo Performance have launched a brand new video series titled “Play Like Spain”. The new series of videos are aimed at providing coaches and players with essential drills, games and tips to emulate the individual and team style of play of the reigning World and European Champions. The drills and games cover four areas that include Fast Combinations, Lose / Win Speed, Killer Pass and Fast Finishing.

Coerver® Coaching’s have collaborated on a number of previous drill series with FourFourTwo Performance and is often some of the most popular content on the site with the vast number of visiting coaches and players from around the world. The Play Like Spain series was filmed at the Clayton Wood, first team training ground of Coerver® Partner Club, Stoke City FC with the U16 academy squad taking part in the drills and games.

Coerver® Coaching Co-founder Alf Galustian who presents the new series (see above image) said “It is great to continue our working relationship with such a world renowned publication as FourFourTwo. We feel that this series if up with the best that we have produced to date and I’m sure that these new drills and games will be very useful for all coaches and players out there who want to emulate the fantastic individual and group play that is synonymous with Spain with their own local teams. I would like to thank FourFourTwo Performance for collaborating on this excellent new series and also Stoke City FC for being such fantastic hosts and to the players who were a real credit to the club”.

FourFourTwo Performance is a one stop resource for coaches and players who want to train, think and play like a pro. Many of the game’s leading players, coaches, sports scientists, physiotherapists psychologists and nutritionists provide content for the website.

Gordon Craig has been a Director of Coerver® Coaching in Scotland for 20 years and during this time he has delivered many Coerver® workshops as a consultant on behalf of the association. Gordon has recently been appointed a position within the newly formed National Performance department which has been put together to deliver the Scottish FA’s £10 million Performance Strategy (see below image with Gordon Craig, Scott Booth – Scotland U16 Coach & Mark Wotte – Scottish FA Performance Director).

As part of the Performance Strategy, seven schools throughout the country have been selected to house the cream of Scotland’s talented young footballers. There, they will marry their football education with their normal school curriculum as part of the Scottish FA’s commitment to elite player development.
Seven coaches have been appointed to work in conjunction with the schools and the players’ clubs to enhance their technical skills at a key stage of their development, Gordon is in charge of the Performance School at Braidhurst High School in Motherwell.

Each coach is responsible for up to 20 of the most talented under-12 players in their region – both boys and girls – and are to provide a minimum five extra coaching sessions focusing on skills development. Over a four-year period, this will provide the most talented young footballers throughout the country with an extra 800 sessions.

Led by Scottish F.A. Performance Director, Mark Wotte, the Regional Performance Schools are the crown jewels of the Performance Strategy. A series of football festivals involving senior clubs, boys and girls clubs and school teams helped the performance team to identify the best players eligible for each school in time for enrolment in August 2012.

Wotte believes the new schools will help produce Scotland internationalists of the future and spoke enthusiastically of the relationship between the Scottish FA, education authorities, local authorities and the clubs. “The creation of the Regional Performance Schools is one of the most significant and positive developments for Scottish football in decades. The schools will enhance the coaching provided by clubs by implementing an individual player development programme by our experienced football teachers. Our young players need more contact time with the ball and must develop key skills like balance, agility, speed, movement and co-ordination.”

In addition to his role within the Performance School programme, Gordon has also been working with the best young players in the country as part of the technical staff for the U16 National team. This included Scotland’s recent participation in the Sky Sports Victory Shield, which is the first time players will fully represent their country in a home nations tournament with Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales taking part. In the most recent game Scotland visited England, taking them all the way to a narrow loss of 1-0 in extra time in front of an enthusiastic 4,000 crowd at Burton Albion FC (see above image).

Part of the preparations for the game included 4 days at the new £105 million England National Training at St Georges Park in Staffordshire (see above image). Gordon Craig said “ The SFA are focusing on technical excellence and developing a strategy to produce special players for the future. This has given me the chance to take 20 years of Coerver work and experience to the best players in the country. Playing with the best versus the best is key in making sure the players not only have the technical skills but the tactical, physical and mental skills to match. It’s our job as coaches to inspire and ignite player’s inner confidence and help them to reach their full potential.”

“One highlight of the trip to England was working and staying at the magnificent facilities at St Georges, as well as meeting Scottish Football legend Archie Gemmel who visited the squad as we trained in the build up to the game. Everyone remembers the great individual goal Gemmel scored in the 1978 World Cup when Scotland beat a great Holland team 3-2 with the Dutch going on to the 78 Final against Argentina despite our win. For me its goals like Gemmel’s against Holland that inspired me as a young footballer and encapsulated why I’ve taught the Coerver method to so many young players and shared my knowledge to other coaches, perhaps looking to recreate such memorial moments. Coerver can inspire the future generation we are all working so hard to develop. Players who can play with flair, freedom and confidence on the world stage and who can create magical goals”.

Former Coerver® Australia kid Tom Rogic has this week signed for Scottish Champions Celtic FC from Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners on a four-and-a-half-year deal with a transfer fee of £450,000 being quoted. Tom has had a fantastic season in the A-League where he has played 24 times scoring five goals which had put him on the radar of a host of professional clubs in Europe.

The 20-year-old has been on trial with Celtic on their recent winter training camp in Spain and, work permit permitting, will join the squad and be available for selection for the re-start of the SPL season at Parkhead against Hearts on Saturday 19th January 2013. A host of Premier League™ clubs, including Fulham, QPR and Reading, were also said to be keen on signing Rogic but Celtic was the preferred destination for the Australian International midfielder.

Former Celtic midfielder Michael McGlinchey, who was a team mate of Rogic at A-League side Central Coast Mariners, feels that he could be the missing piece in Neil Lennon’s Celtic jigsaw and said “When Tom found out Celtic were interested I said it would be a great move, he had other offers but I told him he had to go to Celtic and I know he was keen on going to Spain with them to see their set-up. He was excited about finding out what the club is all about. Tom’s well capable of making a real name for himself in Scotland. He’s already in the Socceroos squad and over here everyone is talking about him as Australia’s new wonderkid”. (see below image of Tom Rogic playing for the Australian National Team).

“From what I’ve heard, Celtic need a No.10 type player to unlock defences with killer passes, especially in games at Parkhead, Tom could do that, he has all the attributes to play that role. We play 4-2-3-1 and he operates just off the striker. Tom likes to play between the lines, he has a great left foot and an eye for goal. He has an unusual style and is one of those guys who just seem to glide with the ball. He’s the type of player Celtic fans will enjoy watching”.

McGlinchey was stunned by Rogic’s quality when he turned up for training with the Mariners last season. He appeared after winning a talent competition that saw him named one of the eight best young footballers in the world. And McGlinchey isn’t surprised that a year after joining them, clubs such as Celtic, Reading, Fulham and QPR were after his signature.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who left Celtic in 2009 and is now a regular in the New Zealand national team, said: “It’s incredible to think Tom has only been a full-time pro for 12 months – his progress has been fantastic. He was still playing Futsal about a year ago. He was in a squad that went over to England and that’s when Reading were keen on him but they couldn’t get a visa. He joined us towards the end of the season and we couldn’t believe how good he was. Tom has real quality and he’s different as he’s 6ft 2ins and can play as an attacking midfielder or up front”.

“He’s unusual because, despite his size, he’s got great feet, he’s just a terrific footballer and I’m not surprised so many teams were after him.”

Everyone at Coerver® Coaching is extremely proud of Tom, who adds his name to the long list of players to have developed under the Coerver® programme and have gone on to fulfil their dream of being a professional footballer, WELL DONE TOM!.

Former Coerver® Australia kid Tom Rogic has this week signed for Scottish Champions Celtic FC from Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners on a four-and-a-half-year deal with a transfer fee of £450,000 being quoted. Tom has had a fantastic season in the A-League where he has played 24 times scoring five goals which had put him on the radar of a host of professional clubs in Europe.

The 20-year-old has been on trial with Celtic on their recent winter training camp in Spain and, work permit permitting, will join the squad and be available for selection for the re-start of the SPL season at Parkhead against Hearts on Saturday 19th January 2013. A host of Premier League™ clubs, including Fulham, QPR and Reading, were also said to be keen on signing Rogic but Celtic was the preferred destination for the Australian International midfielder.

Former Celtic midfielder Michael McGlinchey, who was a team mate of Rogic at A-League side Central Coast Mariners, feels that he could be the missing piece in Neil Lennon’s Celtic jigsaw and said “When Tom found out Celtic were interested I said it would be a great move, he had other offers but I told him he had to go to Celtic and I know he was keen on going to Spain with them to see their set-up. He was excited about finding out what the club is all about. Tom’s well capable of making a real name for himself in Scotland. He’s already in the Socceroos squad and over here everyone is talking about him as Australia’s new wonderkid”. (see below image of Tom Rogic playing for the Australian National Team).

“From what I’ve heard, Celtic need a No.10 type player to unlock defences with killer passes, especially in games at Parkhead, Tom could do that, he has all the attributes to play that role. We play 4-2-3-1 and he operates just off the striker. Tom likes to play between the lines, he has a great left foot and an eye for goal. He has an unusual style and is one of those guys who just seem to glide with the ball. He’s the type of player Celtic fans will enjoy watching”.

McGlinchey was stunned by Rogic’s quality when he turned up for training with the Mariners last season. He appeared after winning a talent competition that saw him named one of the eight best young footballers in the world. And McGlinchey isn’t surprised that a year after joining them, clubs such as Celtic, Reading, Fulham and QPR were after his signature.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who left Celtic in 2009 and is now a regular in the New Zealand national team, said: “It’s incredible to think Tom has only been a full-time pro for 12 months – his progress has been fantastic. He was still playing Futsal about a year ago. He was in a squad that went over to England and that’s when Reading were keen on him but they couldn’t get a visa. He joined us towards the end of the season and we couldn’t believe how good he was. Tom has real quality and he’s different as he’s 6ft 2ins and can play as an attacking midfielder or up front”.

“He’s unusual because, despite his size, he’s got great feet, he’s just a terrific footballer and I’m not surprised so many teams were after him.”

Everyone at Coerver® Coaching is extremely proud of Tom, who adds his name to the long list of players to have developed under the Coerver® programme and have gone on to fulfil their dream of being a professional footballer, WELL DONE TOM!.

Stoke City FC Under 11′s showed that the future could be bright for the Potters after coming out on top at a regional Futsal tournament that was organised by the Premier League™ in Birmingham recently. The squad (pictured below at the 2012 Grassroots Football Show) completed the tournament with a 100% record having competed against Reading FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Aston Villa FC, Swansea FC and Bristol City FC with this success being all the more rewarding given the fact that the majority of the U11 squad are from Stoke-on-Trent it-self.

Stoke City FC Academy Manager, Dave Wright (see below image) said: “It’s great for the lads to have some tournament experience that can be a really big part of their development. Futsal is focuses on developing a player’s technique and skill, which ties in nicely with the Coerver Coaching programmes that are been implemented at the Academy”.

Stoke City FC Lead Foundation & U11 Coach, Will Ryder added “The incorporation of Coerver Coaching into our programme has shown to really benefit the players when using their 1 v 1 skills, which is key both in and out of possession in futsal. The fact that we work on quick changes of direction, mini opposed and fast break attack practices was evident throughout the day”.

“The players have a really good understanding of the format and rules of futsal and how to incorporate our playing philosophy into the 5 v 5 structure. They showed when and how to counter attack and when to show patience to build and retain possession to wait for an opportunity to attack so we were really pleased with their performance throughout the day”.

Coerver® Coaching UK Director, Scott Wright (see above image) who works as Coach Developer/Technical Coach at the club added “It is a fantastic achievement to see our boys playing so well in this Premier League tournament against quality academy opposition. We are really happy with how the players are transferring the Coerver based work from training into game play and performances such as this show that the boys are developing their ability to use their skills effectively and consistently, at game speed, under game pressure, at the right time and in the right place”.

“It is very satisfying to see these components come together in a game environment as this is ultimately where we can assess if the work we are delivering in training is effecting the understanding and development of each player. I’m pleased to say that we are seeing this on a regular basis which validates our programme here at Stoke City and bodes really well for the future of the club”.

Stoke City FC are one of only a select number of clubs in the country to have achieved Premier League™ Category 1 academy status and at the time of writing have scored within the top three highest grades in the country from independent academy assessors, Foot PASS.

Coerver® Coaching have provided support through the Partner club programme since 2011 with specialist support being provided to the club in a number of areas. This includes Technical Coaching for the players, Coach Education for the staff, Age specific session planning and a cutting edge home study website that supports the education of all players and coaches.

Coerver® Coaching Co-founder, Alf Galustian & UK Director Scott Wright, have recently returned from delivering a series of education clinics for clubs and coaches in Spain. Four days of coach education were hosted at the Camilo José Cela sports university in Madrid and included sessions delivered for the Madrid Coaches Association, alongside a two day Coerver® Youth Diploma course.

Finally the fourth day was a session for grassroots clubs. The sessions were attended by a mixture of grassroots and professional coaches from across Spain and Europe (see below image). An additional 5-day course was also delivered by Coerver® UK Director, Scott Wright at CDB Massanassa in Valencia, who are the first club in Spain to become a Coerver® Partner Club.

Alf Galustian said “It is common knowledge that Spain are the current leading developers of football talent and they have implemented a style of play that is the envy of world football. This has been backed up by results and performances with Spain winning the last three major championships in a row, which has never been achieved before and may never be achieved again”.

“I have worked in Spain as a coach educator several times throughout my career and it is great to be invited back and to see that even after all of the success that Spain is having in terms of developing players, that they are still looking at new ways to give their players an extra edge. Many influential coaches here feel that Coerver is a proven and effective way to do this which is great to hear coming from the many excellent coaches that I have worked with here in Spain”.

“The feedback to the clinics was very positive from the attendees that had come from all levels of the game and included Jose Morais, First Team Coach of Real Madrid CF (see below image with Alf Galustian) who said “I am a long-time fan of Coerver Coaching, and recommend it to every coach I meet. I use some of the Coerver work with the First Team at Real Madrid and one of the wonderful things about Coerver is that it can be adaptable to players of all abilities”.

Diego Camacho (See below image – centre with Alf Galustian), who played over 400 Games in La Liga and has recently retired to begin his coaching career in Spain said “Every ex-professional player, no matter the level, who is thinking about moving into coaching should definitely study the Coerver System; I wish it had been available to me when I was a young, it would have made me a better player”.

Manuel Ojalvo (see above image – right with Alf Galustian), former Atletico Madrid Player, said “In my opinion, Coerver is essential for the next generation of players in Spain. While there are three or four strong youth programs at professional clubs here, there needs to be more quality programs across the country and I believe that Coerver provides the content and teaching system that fits perfectly with the Spanish philosophy of Football”.

Antonio Lorrente, Under 16 Youth Team Coach of La Liga club Getafe, said “The Coerver course was different to any I have been on in Spain, there was a more detailed explanation of how to teach skills than I had heard or seen before”.

Miguel Medina Tierno (see below image with Alf Galustian & Scott Wright), President of the Madrid Coaches Association described Alfred Galustian as “A Coaching Maestro!”.

Lubo Moravcik, Glasgow Celtic FC Legend and Czechoslovakia National Team Player said “I travelled from Prague, especially to attend the Coerver course. as a former International Player, Coerver is essential not only to kids but the highest level of player. In my opinion, Coerver is the top technical program in the World”.

Coerver® UK Director Scott Wright (see below image), said of the visit “It is fantastic for us to be working in Spain which is without doubt, the most successful football development programme in the world currently. The reputation of the Coerver programme in Spain is really starting to grow and it is great that the coaches and clubs here see real value in the work that we deliver and how this can integrate with and compliment the already very successful programme they are running”.

“There is an open mindedness and thirst for knowledge here that I find refreshing and is probably one of the reasons that they are so successful. They also have a real desire to remain as the number one team in the world and from speaking to many professional coaches here, they know that their programme will need to evolve to stop other nations catching them up.

“From the feedback we have had during our time in Spain, many of the coaches and clubs that we are working with see Coerver as an effective system to assist with this evolution process. We have had coaches from all levels attend our courses here including La Liga clubs Real Madrid, Getafe, Real Mallorca and Rayo Vallacano as well as other coaches and ex-players from across Spain and Europe which speaks volumes for the credibility that the Coerver programme is building in Spain but also has globally”.

“In addition to the Madrid clinics, I spent five days in Valencia working with CDB Massanassa (see below image) who are the first club in Spain to become a Coerver Partner Club. This new support programme is something we have piloted since 2011 and continue to run at Premier League club Stoke City FC and we are now rolling this out through our networks across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world”.

“The idea is that we support the club, whether it be grassroots or professional in a number of areas that includes, coach education, technical coaching with the players, curriculum provision/development with all of the above being supported by e-learning through our Partner Club website. With the level of professional, on-going support and guidance that we provide, we feel that the clubs will have an outstanding structure in place with a clear vision for successful, long term coach and player development in their local area. Over time, this will help to improve long-term performance for the club as a whole, both on and off the pitch”.

“The programme is working really well and we feel that over time we can have a real influence on the way the game is taught and eventually played in the various countries that we operate in around the world through our new Partner Club programme”.

Paco Lopez, Sporting Director of CDB Massanassa said of the initial Partner Club course “The course has been a great success and has had a very good acceptance by our coaches, players and parents. How to implement the exercises, the intensity, the little time lost between exercises and real-time training is totally different than usual here is Spain. For coaches it is very interesting the way that Coerver teach the concepts of football, how one can progress each exercise just by changing the speed or difficulty, all demonstrated perfectly by Scott Wright over this last five days. All coaches were delighted with the course and very excited about moving forward to apply this method”.

“Parents at the end of the training sessions of their children were greatly surprised and pleased. They had never seen a similar way to train, as I said before, fun, enjoyable, and really focused on the individual learning and development of each child. We all realized that by using the Coerver method the evolution of our children in terms of playing football will be higher and faster than using any other system or method of training that we have access to. We do not want to simply win titles with this programme, we believe that improving the training of the coaches and players individually will eventually lead to the improvement of the teams and thus the level of the club as a whole”.