La Liga Formation Methodology Level 2 Course Day 1
Right off of the heels of NorCal Premier Soccer’s coaching education trip to Europe, NorCal continued its mission to help develop coaches by welcoming in La Liga instructors for the second-ever La Liga Formation Methodology Level 2 course, hosted at Las Positas College in Livermore.
The day started off with a true treat with the course’s first clinician, Felipe Vega, a FIFA Technical Director and the former Technical Director of the Solomon Islands national team.
Using his wide array of experience in coaching and life, Vega was able to give a detailed account of optimizing game models through meticulous preparation for the roughly 60 coaches in attendance who had already completed the La Liga Formation Methodology Level 3 course.
Vega began with a few anecdotes to explain his, and La Liga’s, game model and philosophies and what influences them in aspects such as club and country football culture, players’ capabilities, and principles of play.
“Does the United States have a clear coaching philosophy? No. And now you see why it’s possible for a country this big to not qualify for the World Cup,” Vega said. “If you have a club, if you have an academy, try to have a clear philosophy, otherwise every year you have to create a new plan.”
After two morning lectures that explained how the coaches at La Liga implements these ideals, it was time to see the methodology in action with a practical field session featuring NorCal Premier Soccer’s U15 PDP boys.
The design of the session: to build a game model from an integral perspective.
Following a quick lunch break, it was time to head back in the classroom as Vega debriefed the session through a Q and A and then began the next step of the process: a lecture and training session specifically tailored to individual positions.
Finally, the coaches were put on the spot to see what they had learned throughout the day, with Vega assigning them all to come together in teams in order to create a specific training exercize to help a single line of play in the team.
All in all, the first day of the two-day course was well-received by those who travelled to Livermore looking to hone their craft.
“I think it’s going great, I’m incredibly impressed with the content,” said Sunnyvale Alliance coach and former U.S. National Team player Christopher Sullivan. “I think it’s comprehensive when you look at the material that they’re giving and the delivery with the course structure, Felipe is fantastic. He knows the game, the substance is there with the way that he identifies the stages of the development of the game is great. It’s very refreshing.”
“For any soccer coach, even if you’re talking about the highest level, whether you’re a college coach or a professional coach, you want to think about the development and the stages and everything that you put into planning, the flexibility, the adaptability makes an incredible difference in understanding all the facets of this proven model coming from Spain,” he added.
