Aaron Brunner is currently taking part in an educational trip to Argentina sponsored by the US Soccer Federation. He is maintaining a blog documenting a trip.
Friday, February 12th
Arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday morning. Checked into Hotel and had a meeting to go over the schedule of events for the week. Went to lunch and lunch lasted 2 hours. Great Food and Discussions. Played 5v5 at an Indoor Futsal Facility 7 blocks away. Sat at a Cafe for an hour before dinner listening to stories from some of the coaches from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. Went to a Pizza place for dinner for about an hour and a half.
Saturday, February 13th
Woke and ate breakfast and two cup of Argentine coffee. Good Stuff! Went to Boca Juniors training grounds and Stadium. We observed 1st Team and Reserve Team training. We had discussions and lectures with 1st Team Head Coach, Youth Director, Executive Directors. This was one of the most educational experiences of my life. I can’t wait to tell everyone about it. Too much to tell but I will give you a few example of many.....
1) Youth Developer - U8-U18. Form, Develop, and Manage Players. Long-Term Projects and not Short-Term. Never any pressure to win games. "Teaches the concepts and principles of soccer to a little boy". Allowed to fix mistakes in players games.
2) Head Coach - 1st team Coach - Chooses the players, selects the formation, Wins or Loses Games, and TONS OF PRESSURE. No room for mistakes.
3)When asked what they think about US Soccer.... Boca Juniors Head Coach and Youth Director stated "In time USA will be good once it begins to work with it’s U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 players more. What they learn in the U8, U10, and U12 age groups they will remember forever. These ages are most important."
Toured the stadium, sat in the stadium and took pictures, went to the pro shop and bought a jersey for the game tomorrow night, wal through town, had lunch, and headed back to the hotel. Drove an hour to watch a D1 Match (Cimnasia v Esgrima La Plata).. The stadium held around 20,000 fan and it was packed with the exception of the mandatory open section between the home fans and visiting fans. We sat in the VIP section at midfield and was asked to have hotdogs, soda, candy and deserts at half time. At the end of the game we had to wait 20 minutes to allow the visiting fans time to exit the stadium to prevent any incidents between the fans. Got back to Buenos Aires around midnight and headed to dinner. There were so many people out during this time. Finished having Argentine BBQ around 2am. Great stuff but too much food!!!
Sunday, February 14th
We had a morning lecture with the Gerardo Salorio, Argentina Football Association Director of Academy, and this was fantastic. He described his experience of participating in 6 World Cup (both Youth and Senior). Spoke about relationship with staff and players such as Messi and Riqulme. Gerardo spoke of the mistakes made during World Cup and lessons learned. Described preparation methods for different World Cups, team building activities, and how the selection process was when finalizing rosters. Gerardo explained who and how to select staff and stated it is a must to have good people around you if you get stuck.
Meet with Tigres General Coordinator for Youth. “You must take advantage of the time you have with a child. Long-Term development is a focus. Tigres youth development focuses on technique, individual development, repetition to improve a player, and coordination with the ball, real game situations, lots of games, essence of the game, movement with and without the ball, good habits, mechanics and body positioning, They want to close the gaps between the BIG CLUBS and themselves. Everything gets better with work. He asked a question…Q: Are MLS clubs helping locals clubs when they ask for help? They help with local clubs and have good relationships with them. Went over some sample activities that they run with their youth players.
Toured Buenos Aires in the Boca Junior section. Had a great lunch at a café and went to the Boca Junior Pro Shop. Attended the Boca Junior game in the Bombaro Stadium. I was 10 years old again. The atmosphere and crowd were amazing. Were nice seats and I sat back and enjoyed the moment. It was awesome.
Monday, February 15th
Departed to the city of La Plata to visit Estudiantes de la Plata. Once we arrived we change into their training gear and observed the U18 training session. Session started with a fun team building activity moving into a dynamic warm-up with and without the ball. They ran a typical Monday session focusing on movement, patterns, pay special attention to the team they will compete against especially if it is a rival team. Emphasis on characteristics of those teams and how to break it down or how they plan to play against them. Moved into a ball possession and pressure game and then worked on defensive heading with the four in the back that could lead from a 1v1 to a 5v4 to goal game. Ended the session with 1v1 finishing in various scenarios.
After the session we played a staff game (9v9). There is nothing better than to wear training gear, play on nice fields in the middle of the day, and compete with good players. It was a lot of fun. After the game we had lunch with Estudiantes de la Plata Coaching Staff and that was followed by a tour of the complex and lecture on the history of the club.
People who played in the club work in the club. They have a professor of methodology for age groups from 4-14 years old. They focus on nutrition (teaching players how to eat and take care of themselves at a young age), medical testing, treat the kids very well with discipline (they grow up these kids), hard work is non-negotiable, good habits, and provide education (more possibilities to become a better footballer). If they want to be a pro, they must go through the medical and educational process. Only 3-5% make it so they must be prepared for life after soccer. They teach how to be educated, compete, BE POLITE, and how to win. Kids must understand the rules of the game and focus on the development of all players in an athletic society.
Estudiantes instills appropriate game day behavior and theme. Tells them when they should wake up, gives them what they should eat (otherwise parents feed them pancakes and soda), walk them through a cool down, understand at home conversations with parents, prepare for the next game, and help them deal with results (MATURITY TO ACCEPT A LOSS). Players and coaches dress appropriately and always on time. Club is responsible to all training gear and it is free to all players.
IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, THEY FIX IT TOGETHER LIKE A FAMILY…….Great day!
Tuesday, February 16th
- Observe 1st Team Training
- Q & A with Estudiantes Head Coach - Alejandro Sabella
- Field Session
Wednesday, February 17th
- U6 to U12 Clinic
- Q & A with Argentina 1986 World Cup Champion – Jose Luis Brown
Thursday, February 18th
- Farewell Lunch
- Depart for Airport
Friday, February 19th
- Arrive back to the US
