On the last day of the 2010 NSCAA Algarve Cup Symposium, I asked some of the participants what they thought about their experience. Thanks to everybody for sharing your thoughts so openly!

Transcript:

Erin Aubry, Head Coach at the University of Arkansas
“We talk about the four pillars of soccer, but they really embraced every single aspect of it. And so it wasn’t just a trip about the soccer, and of course being in this amazing environment, but you know, just everything. And you realize how much bigger your role can be.”

Sam Laity, Coach at Dos FC in Seattle, WA – NSCAA Master Coach Candidate
“The access that we had to the players and to the coaching staff, and just the relaxed nature of the whole thing was fantastic. There’s no other experience really like it – available in the U.S. or probably in the anywhere in the world. So thanks to the NSCAA for putting it together.”

Gabe Massine – Coach at Broomfield United in Denver, CO
“Yeah definitely. It’s the best soccer coaching thing the NSCAA does, in my opinion. Favorite part? I don’t know – there’s too many. Access to watching national team trainings, speaking to coaches from other national teams. Colleen Hacker and April Heinrichs obviously are two of the best in the world and having them in small groups and being able to talk with them for a week and learn from them is pretty amazing.”

Erin DeMarco, Head Coach at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, PA
“This is a great place to be. You get to do a lot while you’re here, it’s not in the classroom all the time. There really hasn’t been a wasted moment. Everything has been quality and planned very well.”

Erica Destache, Assistant Coach at University of Wisconsin, Osh Kosh
“Going to the training sessions and seeing the level of soccer we’re seeing. You usually don’t have that anywhere in the world, and it’s wonderful. And also meeting all these great people, and seeing the sites of Portugal has been fun.”

Paula White – Professional Hair Stylist in Dallas, TX Note of interest: Paula’s sister, Kat Connor, is the Head Coach at Texas State University and was on the trip for her second year in a row
“It’s a lot of psychology and team-building and ways to encourage any team, or any staff… I work for a salon so the staff I educate, and the information I’ve learned from Colleen can really help me with my education, too.”

Ted Anderson, Assistant Coach at University of Nebraska, Omaha
“Being able to see the best teams in the world train, and having the opportunity to watch them play against each other is going to be exciting.”

Laura Flynn, Front Office Staff at the WPS Philadelphia Independence
“I was concerned that, because I don’t have any coaching experience, I wasn’t sure if this was the trip for me. If someone needed to have lots of experience coaching. I would say this trip is good for anybody. I have learned so much that I can take away just when I’m starting at the youth level. And I’ve made a lot of great connections.”

Kristina Kiss, Retired Canadian Women’s National Team Player and youth coach in Ontario, Canada
“I love the lectures and seminars we’ve been having with Dr. Colleen Hacker. Watching international soccer is always amazing, especially at this level. I think anyone who wants to be a coach, anyone involved in coaching, even players, it would be an excellent opportunity to see things from the other side…. the dark side.”

Erin Aubry, Head Coach at the University of Arkansas
“Obviously the group that we have here is a wide, wide diversity of people and their soccer backgrounds. Everybody fit in and everybody had something to contribute. Nobody was out of place or didn’t have anything to say, and I think everybody brought something to the table to make the trip great. So I think the more diverse the group can be, the better it is.”

To those who’s Q&A; didn’t make the cut, I’m sorry – I must confess that there were some technical difficulties with the recording on my computer so I didn’t get it all.

View Original Post at amandavandervort.com

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