A Commitment to Ongoing Coach Development

Coaches Attend First "Players First Summit"

A Commitment to Ongoing Coach Development

From December 12-14, FC Wisconsin coaches had a big presence at the first ever Players First Summit held in Miami, Florida, learning from and interacting with directors from across the country and experts on a variety of topics relevant to player development and sport.

The Players First Summit was hosted by US Club Soccer, and only clubs that met the rigorous standards to be licensed as a "Players First" club were invited to attend.  Fewer than 90 clubs across the country (out of more than 4000 clubs in the US) have met these standards.

Club Director Christian Lavers was one of the subject matter experts presenting at the event, and spoke on the topic of "Club Leadership, Structure, and Philosophy."  The presentation was very well recieved, with components focusing on staff development, club culture, training design and game model principles.

Youth Academy Director Joana Bromley was in attendence at the event, and reflected on the value of the information presented throughout the weekend:

"The Players first Summit was unique, with different speakers in various areas of expertise. I was able to expend my knowledge on the game as well as player health, coaching methodology, sport psychology, club management and leadership.  The highlight of the weekend for me was listening to keynote speaker and author Jessica Lahey talk about her book ‘The Gift of Failure.’  Jessica highlighted the import aspects that change a relationship; autonomy, competence, and most of all, connection. Giving our athletes autonomy and assisting to build competence, and not just self-confidence, can go a long way in developing a relationship with our players. Even more, establishing a meaningful connection, both on and off the pitch, can drastically change a relationship and lead the player to be more intrinsically motivated (behavior that is driven internally)."

FC Wisconsin is commited to providing the best possible learning and development environment for players, and our commitment to staff development is one piece of our club.  

For more details on the Players First Summit, click here.

Sponsors & Affiliates

Adidas