The Coaches Network Podcast

In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Alex Piache for a wide-ranging conversation exploring football intelligence, player development, methodology, coach education and what it really means to help players understand the game.

Having coached across 11 countries, Alex brings a perspective shaped by working within very different football cultures and environments. The conversation begins by exploring how the same game can be interpreted differently depending on the country, culture and society in which it is played — and why coaches need to understand the context they are working within rather than simply transporting methods from one environment to another. 

From there, the discussion moves into one of Alex’s strongest beliefs: before coaches become consumed by exercises, methodologies or tactical trends, they need to develop a deeper understanding of football itself.

Football is presented throughout the conversation as an inherently situational and interactive game. Players are continually perceiving information, communicating, making decisions and then executing actions. For Alex, developing technique cannot therefore be separated completely from the context in which that technique needs to be used.

💡 Key Talking Points

• How coaching across 11 different countries has shaped Alex’s understanding of football and culture.

• Why the same game can be interpreted very differently depending on the environment.

• The importance of developing a common language around what football actually is.

• Why understanding the game should come before choosing exercises or methodologies.

• Football as an interaction between perception, communication, decision-making and execution.

• What Alex means by developing an “intelligent footballer”.

• Why game intelligence includes what players do without the ball, not simply what happens when they are in possession.

• The difference between experiencing football and actually learning from those experiences.

• Why the game should be the starting point for player development.

• How coaches can simplify football without removing the information players need to make decisions.

• Developing technique within context rather than simply reproducing movements in isolation.

• Why opponents, space, direction and intention change the meaning of a technical action.

• Coach Yas and Alex debating the value of rondos.

• Why Alex describes the rondo as the “mother” of positional games — and why he believes it is frequently misunderstood.

• Why the effectiveness of a practice depends less on the activity itself and more on what the coach understands and how they coach it.

• The importance of body profile, receiving on the back foot, angles, positioning and recognising space.

• Why academy methodology should create behaviours rather than simply prescribe a game model.

• Developing a clear club identity through repeatable behaviours across different practice formats.

• Why coaches should give players tools to solve problems without making every decision for them.

• The danger of coaching the player who already has the ball.

• Why coach education should develop understanding rather than simply provide coaches with collections of practices.

• The relationship between expertise and the depth of a coach’s own understanding: you cannot effectively teach what you do not understand yourself.

• Why coaches need to become comfortable working outside their own control zone.

• The difference between designing a practice that looks successful and designing one that genuinely creates learning.

• Why mistakes are an essential part of player development.

• The importance of trust, relationships and putting your coaching at the service of the player.

• Why coaches need to keep challenging beliefs and practices they may have accepted for years.

One of the strongest ideas in the conversation arrives when Alex challenges coaches to become more comfortable with chaos.

Football is not predictable. The picture changes constantly. Opponents behave differently. Space appears and disappears. Players make mistakes. Solutions that worked five seconds ago may no longer work.

Yet coaches can sometimes design practices around the things they can control because successful repetitions make the session feel effective.

Alex challenges that assumption:

If football is chaotic, coaches need to become better at coaching the chaos — rather than simply creating environments they can control.

The conversation ultimately becomes a challenge to both coaches and coach developers to keep questioning what they know, explore the beliefs they may never have challenged and remain willing to discover that something they have always done could potentially be done differently.

Alex leaves coaches with a simple message:

We are lifelong students. Never stop learning. Keep listening, watching, observing and understanding — and try to become a little better every single day.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective

Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches?

The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment.

You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions.

Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us.

📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email [email protected] with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line.

The Coaches Network Podcast

Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches.

Hosted by Coach Yas.

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In this episode, Coach Yas welcomes Rusty Earnshaw back to The Coaches Network Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation exploring coaching, coach development, expertise and the complexity of helping other people get better.

Using Coach Yas’ own experiences on the Premier League Future Coach Developer programme as a starting point, the conversation explores what happens when coach development conversations do not go according to plan — and why those uncomfortable moments can sometimes become some of our most valuable learning experiences.

Rusty challenges the idea that effective coach development is simply about asking great questions or providing good feedback. Instead, the discussion explores the judgement required to notice what is happening, understand the person and the context, and select the interaction most likely to help in that moment.

The conversation moves between theory and practice, exploring challenge and support, curiosity, relationships, power, feedback, observation and the difficult question every coach developer eventually faces:

When should I ask, when should I suggest — and when should I simply tell?

💡 Key Talking Points

• What effective and expert coach development might actually look like.

• Why coach developers are continually navigating tensions rather than applying simple solutions.

• The importance of noticing what is happening before deciding how to intervene.

• Why expertise may involve having multiple options rather than one preferred method.

• Coach Yas’ reflections on a challenging coach development conversation during the FCD programme.

• Why the coach developer and coach can experience exactly the same interaction completely differently.

• Understanding yourself and how you “show up” before trying to develop somebody else.

• Why relationships and context influence whether challenge is accepted.

• The relationship between high challenge and high support.

• Why being curious does not mean avoiding giving people answers.

• The dangers of both extremes: constantly telling people what to do and endlessly questioning without ever helping them reach a solution.

• Knowing when to ask, suggest, guide, tell or model.

• Why coach developers should be prepared rather than simply planned.

• The importance of agreeing how a coach actually wants to be supported.

• Why more coach development may need to happen before and during practice, rather than relying primarily on reflection afterwards.

• Using pre-mortems and “what if?” conversations to help coaches prepare for situations before they happen.

• Why time pressure can negatively influence the quality of coach development interactions.

• Creating coaches who are capable of asking for, filtering and experimenting with feedback.

• Why coaches should become great learners — and find great teachers.

• The importance of coach developers maintaining credibility through an understanding of coaching itself.

• Why expertise in coach development is contextual rather than a fixed set of behaviours.

One of the strongest messages from the conversation is that effective coach development is not about perfecting one style of interaction.

Great coach developers develop the ability to notice what is happening, understand the person in front of them and choose from a range of possible responses.

Sometimes that means asking a question.

Sometimes it means offering a suggestion.

Sometimes it means modelling something.

And sometimes it means simply saying what you think.

Rusty leaves us with a challenge that applies just as much to coaches as it does to coach developers:

Become a great learner. Find great teachers. Develop options — and learn when to use them.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective

Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches?

The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment.

You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions.

Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us.

📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email [email protected] with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line.

The Coaches Network Podcast

Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches.

Hosted by Coach Yas.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Justinas Gasiūnas for a fascinating conversation exploring coaching, goalkeeping and a career that has taken him from Lithuania to England and across professional football in Europe.

Justinas shares the story of leaving Lithuania after finishing his playing career and arriving in London with limited English, eventually working in a coffee shop while trying to find his first opportunities within football. What initially felt like one of the worst decisions of his life would eventually become one of the most important.

From volunteering in London parks, opportunities followed at Brentford and Brighton before his journey took him into senior football across Europe and eventually to Saba in Azerbaijan.

The conversation moves beyond Justinas’ career journey into a detailed exploration of how his thinking around goalkeeping has evolved, challenging traditional drill-based approaches and asking whether the practices we have always used actually reflect what goalkeepers experience in the game.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Leaving Lithuania and starting again in England with limited English and very few contacts.

• Going from professional footballer to working in a coffee shop while trying to break into coaching.

• Why difficult decisions sometimes only make sense when we look back on them.

• The relationship between luck, opportunity and consistently putting yourself in the right environments.

• Volunteering in grassroots football and the opportunity that eventually led to Brentford.

• The influence demanding environments can have on developing coaches.

• How Justinas’ approach to goalkeeping has changed throughout his career.

• Why the quality of repetitions may matter more than simply accumulating repetitions.

• Moving away from practices because “that is how goalkeepers have always trained.”

• Designing training around the information, pictures and problems goalkeepers actually experience within matches.

• Why anticipation and reading the game are central to effective goalkeeping.

• Developing goalkeeper decision-making within realistic contexts.

• The relationship between specialist goalkeeping work and integrated team practice.

• Why 11v11 might be the most representative practice — but does not always provide enough of the specific problems a goalkeeper needs.

• Breaking the game into smaller scenarios without removing the context that gives those actions meaning.

• The changing role of the goalkeeper coach within modern football.

• Whether specialist coaches risk becoming generalists by continually taking responsibility for more areas of the game.

• Why post-match analysis may sometimes benefit from allowing emotion to settle before reviewing performance.

One of the strongest messages from the conversation is the importance of continually questioning the practices we inherit.

Just because something has traditionally been part of goalkeeper training does not necessarily mean it is the best way to prepare goalkeepers for the game.

Justinas challenges coaches to keep asking:

What is the game actually asking the player to do — and does our practice genuinely prepare them for it?

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective

Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches?

The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment.

You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions.

Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us.

📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email [email protected] with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line.

The Coaches Network Podcast

Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches.

Hosted by Coach Yas.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Imran Hamid for a conversation exploring his journey from grassroots football in South West London to coaching within the academy at Manchester United.

Imran reflects on the people, environments and experiences that shaped him as a young coach, from seeing coaches who looked like him growing up, to volunteering in grassroots football, travelling across London for opportunities and continually putting himself in environments where he could learn, experiment and make mistakes.

The conversation explores what it really means to develop players and people, the importance of understanding the individual behind the player, and why coaching cannot simply be reduced to what happens on the grass.

Imran also shares insight into his experiences at Manchester United, where developing technically confident, creative and courageous players was underpinned by an environment that encouraged players to take risks, express themselves and learn through mistakes.

💡 Key Talking Points

• How role models shaped Imran’s belief that coaching could become a career.

• Why grassroots football provides such an important learning environment for young coaches.

• The value of volunteering, travelling and putting yourself into different coaching environments.

• Why coaches need opportunities to experiment, make mistakes and discover what works for them.

• The importance of developing the person, not simply the footballer.

• Why understanding a player’s background and experiences can change the way we support them.

• The difference between developing players across grassroots, academy and elite environments.

• Why technical development should give players the tools to solve problems rather than simply reproduce movements.

• Creating environments where players feel able to take risks, make mistakes and go again.

• Developing brave, confident and expressive players.

• Why psychological and social development cannot be separated from technical development.

• The importance of understanding context rather than simply copying what successful academies do.

• Why different experiences can make coaches more adaptable and better able to connect with players.

• The realities of navigating opportunities within professional football.

• Why coaches should continue developing themselves beyond coaching qualifications and what happens on the pitch.

One of the strongest messages from the conversation is that becoming a better coach is not simply about collecting qualifications or reaching the next club.

It is about accumulating meaningful experiences, understanding people, remaining willing to learn and continuing to develop yourself even when the pathway does not unfold exactly as you imagined.

Imran leaves coaches with an important reminder:

Aim high. Keep learning. Develop yourself holistically… and don’t allow the obstacles in front of you to decide how far you can go.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective

Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches?

The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment.

You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions.

Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us.

📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email [email protected] with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line.

The Coaches Network Podcast

Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches.

Hosted by Coach Yas.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Mark O’Sullivan for a wide-ranging conversation exploring ecological dynamics, learning, expertise and what all of this actually means for coaches working in the real world.

Mark describes himself as a “recovered expert” and throughout the conversation challenges some of the assumptions that can sit underneath traditional ideas of coaching, coach education and player development. Rather than presenting ecological dynamics as another methodology to simply copy, the discussion explores it as a lens through which coaches can better understand learning, behaviour, skill and the environments they create.

The conversation moves beyond terminology and theory into the practical realities of coaching: what we notice, what we choose to intervene on, how players learn, how context shapes behaviour and why becoming a better observer may be one of the most important things a coach can develop.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Why Mark describes himself as a “recovered expert”.

• Ecological dynamics as a way of understanding learning rather than a coaching recipe.

• Why there is no simple copy-and-paste approach to coaching.

• The importance of context when trying to understand skill and behaviour.

• What functional skill actually means in practice.

• Why coaches may need to become better observers before becoming better interveners.

• How perception, action and the environment interact during learning.

• The limitations of breaking learning down into isolated parts.

• Why player exploration can be an important part of development.

• The tension between nonlinear learning and the linear structures often found within coach education.

• How coach education can sometimes simplify complex ideas in order to make them teachable.

• The difference between knowing about coaching and actually being able to coach.

• Why expertise should not necessarily be viewed as arriving at a final destination.

• The value of curiosity, experimentation and remaining open to having your thinking challenged.

One of the strongest messages from the conversation is that good coaching is not simply about finding the right practice, the right intervention or the right answer. It is about developing the capacity to observe, interpret and respond to what is happening in front of you.

Mark leaves coaches with a simple but powerful challenge:

Be curious. Practise observing. Allow your players to explore… and allow yourself to explore.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

Continue the Conversation: The TCN Coaching Collective

Looking for a space to reflect on your coaching, work through challenges and learn alongside other coaches?

The TCN Coaching Collective brings coaches together for a monthly 90-minute online conversation facilitated by Coach Yas. Bring a real challenge from your coaching, explore it through questions and shared experiences, and identify practical next steps for your own environment.

You’ll also have access to our WhatsApp community to stay connected, share resources and continue discussions between sessions.

Whether you’re navigating a difficult coaching situation, questioning your approach or looking for fresh perspectives, you’re welcome to join us.

📩 To find out more or enquire about joining, email [email protected] with “Coaching Collective” in the subject line.

The Coaches Network Podcast

Conversations that inform, challenge and inspire coaches.

Hosted by Coach Yas.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Liam Bloye, Head of Coach & Player Development at Cambridge United FC. With experience across England, the US, and Australia, Liam shares honest reflections on leadership, learning through experience, and what it really means to support coaches, players, and parents within an academy environment.

This conversation explores the balance between professional identity and personal life, the value of varied experiences over time served, and the ongoing challenge of creating alignment without complacency in coach development systems.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Liam’s journey through coaching roles across different clubs, countries, and cultures.
• Why identity beyond coaching matters — fatherhood, perspective, and balance.
• The difference between years of experience and quality of experience.
• Why complacency is one of the biggest threats to development in football organisations.
• How exposure to different environments shapes adaptable, reflective coaches.
• Measuring whether coaching is actually “working” — beyond assumptions and tradition.
• Creating aligned identities without stifling individuality in coaches.
• Supporting parents as stakeholders in the player development process.
• Finding better ways to genuinely impact coach growth while keeping players at the centre.

🧠 “You can have 20 years of different experiences — or 20 years of doing the same thing over and over.” – Liam Bloye

📣 Whether you’re leading coach development, working in an academy environment, or reflecting on your own coaching journey, this episode will challenge you to think more deeply about experience, identity, and how we truly know development is happening.

👉 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 Join the conversation — how do you know your coaching is actually working?

#CoachDevelopment #FootballCoaching #CoachEducation #LeadershipInSport #PlayerDevelopment #ReflectivePractice #TheCoachesNetwork

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In this episode, Coach Yas sits down with Dr. Stephen Harvey, a globally respected coach educator and researcher known for his work on game-centred approaches, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), and reflective practice in coaching.

Stephen brings decades of experience in sport pedagogy, coach education, and applied research. Together, they explore what it means to teach the game through the game, the value of inquiry and questioning in practice design, and how coaches can thoughtfully integrate theory into real-world coaching moments.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Stephen’s journey into sport pedagogy, research, and coach education.
• The principles and philosophy behind Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU).
• How TGfU shifts coaching from instruction first to problem solving through play.
• Designing practice tasks that reflect real game context and decision-making.
• The importance of questioning over telling — helping players think, not just react.
• How coaches can balance structure and freedom in practice.
• Integrating reflective practice and theory to improve coaching impact.
• Practical examples and Q&A driven insights on implementing game-based approaches.
• Why coach development should be rooted in curiosity, evidence, and ongoing learning.

📚 Resources & Further Reading

Explore Stephen’s work on Teaching Games for Understanding at the FIFA Training Centre:

👉 Science Explained — TGfU Overview

https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/environment/science-explained/high-performance/train/stephen-harvey-teaching-games-for-understanding.php

👉 TGfU Q&A with Stephen Harvey

https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/environment/science-explained/high-performance/train/stephen-harvey-teaching-games-for-understanding-qa.php

These resources expand on many of the ideas discussed in this episode and are excellent companion material for coaches looking to implement TGfU principles.

🧠 “The coach’s role is to open the game for the learner — not to close it down with instructions.” – Dr. Stephen Harvey

📣 Whether you’re a grassroots coach, academy practitioner, or coach developer, this episode provides actionable insight into teaching through play, fostering decision-making, and using questioning to unlock player understanding.

👉 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 Join the conversation — how are you using game-centred approaches in your practice?

#CoachDevelopment #GameCentredCoaching #TeachingGamesForUnderstanding #TGfU #FootballCoaching #ReflectivePractice #CoachEducation #TheCoachesNetwork

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In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Ruben Ward-Lindsay, a coach working across academy football, semi-professional men’s football, and education. From his role with Watford’s U10s to his coaching at Biggleswade United and his full-time work as a PE teacher in alternative provision, Ruben brings a powerful blend of lived experience, empathy, and practical insight.

This conversation dives into what coaching really looks like on the ground — working with young people who’ve experienced adversity, navigating Foundation Phase priorities, and challenging traditional ideas around 1v1s and session design. Ruben shares honest reflections from both the academy and AP worlds, exploring transferable skills, behaviour management, and what young players actually need to grow.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Ruben’s coaching journey across Watford Academy, Biggleswade United and alternative education.
• What coaching in alternative provision teaches you about patience, empathy, and behaviour management.
• How working with excluded young people develops communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.
• Why understanding the “whole child” is essential in both teaching and coaching.
• The importance of context when coaching 1v1 situations — and why generic 1v1 boxes often miss the mark.
• Position-specific 1v1s: creating realistic, match-like pictures that reflect actual demands.
• Foundation Phase priorities:
• Passing & receiving as the most frequent action in the game.
• Consistency versus capability — and why U10s can do things but not replicate them yet.
• Finishing: unopposed, in the box, and from realistic scenarios like cutbacks.
• Comparing Foundation Phase (U10s) with YDP demands (U13s–14s): biomechanics, decision-making, and consistency.
• Why coaches must think beyond isolated practices and consider what players were doing before and what they’ll need next.

🧠 “Passing and receiving is massive — it’s the most frequent action in football. The difference at U10 isn’t ability, it’s consistency.” – Ruben Ward-Lindsay

📣 Whether you're a Foundation Phase coach, working in education, or navigating multiple environments, this episode offers grounded, practical insight that will help you rethink session design, player development, and how to support young people more effectively.

👉 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 Join the conversation — how do you create realistic, position-specific pictures in your coaching?

#CoachDevelopment #FootballCoaching #FoundationPhase #CoachEducation #PlayerDevelopment #YouthFootball #TeachingAndCoaching #TheCoachesNetwork

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In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by Kurtis Millan, an individual development coach currently based in Sweden at Hammarby IF. Kurtis shares his unique journey from coaching in Ireland and the U.S., to working with players across multiple levels and cultures, combining professional experience with a learner-focused coaching philosophy.

This conversation explores player autonomy, the value of different coaching approaches, and how focusing on relationships and individual needs can create meaningful impact. Kurtis offers practical insights for coaches looking to develop players holistically, refine their approach, and embrace diversity in coaching practice.

💡 Key Talking Points

• Kurtis’s journey: coaching in Ireland, America, Northern Ireland, California, and now Sweden.
• How personal experiences and unconventional paths shaped his coaching perspective.
• The importance of allowing players freedom and autonomy — football is a player’s game, not the coach’s.
• Why every coach brings a unique role and function — there is no single “right” way to coach.
• Focusing on the learner’s needs rather than imposing a coach-centric view.
• Practical examples of how to create impact through relationships and understanding individuals.
• Reflection on a sports psychology exercise highlighting what makes a coach memorable: respect, empathy, and personal connection over tactics alone.
• Encouraging coaches to embrace individuality — for themselves and their players — and to leverage their strengths for greatest impact.

🧠 “Don’t approach the session as a coach. Step into the mindset of what the learner needs. We’re lucky — we get to teach football.” – Kurtis Millan

📣 Whether you’re coaching youth, academy players, or individuals in development roles, this episode highlights the power of autonomy, relationships, and learner-focused coaching.

👉 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 Join the conversation — how do you balance player freedom with structured coaching in your sessions?

#CoachDevelopment #FootballCoaching #PlayerAutonomy #IndividualDevelopment #YouthFootball #CoachingImpact #TheCoachesNetwork

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In this episode, Coach Yas is joined by John Murphy, a highly experienced coach and educator whose career spans MLS, US Soccer, and the UEFA pathway. With roots in both the US and UK, John brings a unique dual-perspective shaped by decades in professional environments, university soccer, and coach education.

This conversation explores the art of keeping coaching simple, designing meaningful player-centred sessions, and understanding what truly matters in long-term player and coach development. John’s journey offers powerful insight into the realities of elite sport, the importance of psychological safety, and how coaches can stay grounded in a profession full of complexity.

💡 Key Talking Points

• John’s journey from Boston to Scotland to MLS — and into coach education with US Soccer.
• Navigating coaching across elite, university, and youth environments.
• Why simplicity is a superpower in coaching: lessons from Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, and other top influences.
• Designing a weekly rhythm: when sessions should be player-led vs coach-led.
• The “sandwich” approach to session flow — blending player-centred and coach-centred methods.
• Understanding the two tracks of sport: elite performance vs participation, and why both matter.
• Creating psychological safety and high-energy training environments.
• The role of curiosity, humility, and lifelong learning in coach development.
• How modern coaches can use readily available resources to grow in small, consistent steps.

🧠 “The best coaches I’ve learned from keep it very simple.” – John Murphy

📣 Whether you’re working in grassroots, academies, elite performance, or coach education, this episode will help you rethink how you design sessions, engage players, and build your own coaching identity.

👉 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 Join the conversation — what does ‘keeping coaching simple’ mean in your environment?

#CoachDevelopment #FootballCoaching #CoachEducation #PlayerCentred #CoachingSimplicity #CoachingMindset #TheCoachesNetwork

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