British Premier Soccer Academy

Ian’s skill and tactical knowledge improved this year. Watching the team as a whole improve each game was enjoyable. Ian’s ability to see the field and make good decisions increased immensely. His work rate is the better than at any time in the 3 years he played club soccer.

All that effort is wasted when players lose the ball trying to dribble out of the back, attempt to dribble through 4 defenders on the attack, the aimless pass attempts that give possession immediately back to the other team. The team dominates when the team work the ball up the field. Each game in which the team maintained possession by passing was successful. You may contact me for any discussion.

Hello Coach Wes! You had asked for some feedback on how our player has done this past year. In my view, Michael has progressed very well. Ive noted a few specific things in his growth. His understanding of more subtle skills such as passing angles and anticipation has grown significantly. For example, within the first few games of this year, Ive seen that when he receives the ball, he is not simply trying to blast it forward but does actually seek out a specific target for his pass. Hes become more thoughtful in making the correct pass, such as a short diagonal pass I saw him make at the game this week that went behind the opposing player rushing towards him, rather than trying to simply send it forward and then lose possession. We spend a considerable amount of time discussing games on our way home and talking about the importance of thoughtful, patient play, possession, and work ethic. He knows that great things can happen simply by maintaining a high work rate, pressing, and forcing errors by the opposing team. He is an incredibly hard worker on the field. That being said, by far the biggest improvement Ive seen is that hes gained a better understanding of some of his own physical size advantages. In a couple of games this early season Ive seen him receive the ball and then carry it forward with a great amount of strength and balance. For example, in the game on this past Thursday, he had a play where he got the ball, saw the opening, and took it all the way up the field from his defensive position, with multiple opposing players trying to knock him off the ball. He kept at it, held his balance, and brought it to the penalty box. The same happened in the game where he scored the hat trick a few weeks ago. His size and strength advantage allowed him to fight through defenders, maintain his balance and pace, and blast the shots into the goal. He understands that in the vast majority of cases, particularly when hes on the offensive, his size is a tremendous advantage. Whereas others often get bumped off the ball or knocked to the ground, hes able to fight through it. In complete honestly, where hes been disappointed is in the irregular substitution and positioning patterns. Just as one example, in the most recent game, he started the game on offense, made a terrific play crossing the ball in front of the goal from the right side of the field, but only played 6 minutes on offense before being substituted for and then spending the remainder of the game at center-back. Hes shown the willingness to be aggressive and work hard, but the move back after only a few minutes at the start of the game was discouraging. Since his three goal game hes played two games and maybe 15 total minutes on offense. While Im sure there is reasoning behind this, providing him some feedback for the shift in tactics after such a successful game is something hed welcome. Finally, he knows there have been a number of call-ups from his team for other Navy 2 games but he hasnt had more than one opportunity, when we happened to be out of town. I know hed be very excited to have the opportunity to test his skills at a higher level in a game situation. We look forward to his continued improvement and the additional challenges over the course of this season.

Experience has been great. Playing with more confidence and really enjoy my football right now. Thanks to Coach Wes knowledge and positive attitude.

Coach Wes is so passionate about soccer and really makes the experience personal for the kids. He has helped our player grow in so many ways, both in the goal and on the field. He earns the respect of the kids easily and finds a way to inspire them to do their best. We are lucky to be able to work with him.

Wes is very passionate about the sport of soccer and developing youth soccer. His no-nonsense vision of running club soccer and structuring teams is the most impressive format Ive seen in raising two kids through soccer over the past 10 years.

Wes is passionate about the game and enjoys instilling that passion in his students