Symposium Spotlight: Tobias Nubbemeyer
Note: this is the first article in a five part series highlighting the clinicians who are scheduled to present at this June’s NorCal Premier Soccer Summer Coaching Symposium. To sign up for the event, which is free to all NorCal members, click here.
Despite hailing from Germany, U19 TSG Hoffenheim manager Tobias Nubbemeyer heads to the Bay Area this summer with the influence of one of the region’s most well-decorated leaders, former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh.
When Nubbemeyer was 16, he read Walsh’s book, “The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership,” and incorporated the three-time Super Bowl champion’s thoughts into his own coaching philosophy.
“It’s important to focus on your principles and your attitude and the result will come by itself,” Nubbemeyer said. “The process is important with the right attitude, winning is a natural consequence.”
And for Nubbemeyer lately, the score really has taken care of itself–in 2024 he became the first manager to ever capture a U19 Bundesliga and DFB Pokal double. This past season he led Hoffenheim to the round of 16 of the UEFA Youth League, the equivalent of the Champions League for his age group.
Previously employed in the youth setups at RB Leipzig and the Philadelphia Union, the UEFA A License holder returns to the NorCal Summer Coaching Symposium after having led some of the most popular sessions at last year’s event.
While Nubbemeyer’s game model falls in line with several other German coaches–high intensity and immediate pressing are paramount–some of the interesting ideas that he presented last year involved the ideal shape that his teams hoped to play.
Unlike many around the world who try to make the field as big as possible when in possession and as small as possible when out of possession, Nubbemeyer wants his team to play as wide as necessary as they can in many moments of the game.
“One reason for this, the most important one, is that the more narrow you are, the closer you are to goal,” Nubbemeyer said. “You don’t need to put crosses in. You can already go into the 18. When you see the stats of the best leagues in the world, most of the assists come from inside the box. That’s why we want to play narrow because crosses from wide areas are unlikely to score. If you have a special striker, you can do it, but it’s still much more difficult.”
“The other reason (we play as wide as necessary) is because of the counter pressing,” Nubbemeyer said.
For those who attended last year’s symposium, Nubbemeyer plans to bring new content to the course, with updated presentations and field sessions as well as some time to share his experience coaching in the UEFA Youth League.
However, his core philosophies will remain the same, including those that extend off of the field.
“I’m a family guy, but that’s how I see the team: as a family, I have only two things in my life, my family and my team,” he said. “That’s what I look for and care for and how I bring my intensity and passion to the field.”
“There are a lot of moving pieces (in football), but the most important piece is that I really look for players with a lot of character who look to hunt and sprint and to transition quickly,” Nubbemeyer said.
