Illinois Top Coaches

Discussion in 'Youth & HS Soccer' started by VolklP19, Aug 5, 2011.

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  1. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Nesci? Ptuii!! I know AYSO dads who are better coaches. Wait, yonko, you are not nesci, r u?
     
  2. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    As someone who holds a E/D I have to say that what I have picked up on the field from fellow coaches has been the most valuable - rather then the licenses themselves. In fact the E/D were more of an annoyance in terms of taking up time then anything else.

    New coaches who are going for an E license are always excited about being able to coach competitive soccer but I have told them that they will learn far more on the field from ther collegues and thusly they should always keep an open mind and listen - a lot!

    I believe that the license is just a requirement by NISL/IWSL to participate as a coach. I do not think it has much to do with regard to how good a coach is in terms of development - nor how much a club is willing to pay a coach for their services.

    Also it's never just about soccer. Good coaches need to be able to reach out to youth players and both capture and maintain attention and respect while driving skill sets. They don't teach that in many courses and if a coach cannot do that then he/she is in the wrong job altogether.
     
  3. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Yeah - they are probably all ex (American) football players and coaches:D
     
  4. TopSoc

    TopSoc New Member

    Jun 13, 2008
    Just so you know the E/D are the minimum for the leagues and are pretty much watered down so a dad or mom who hasn't really played the game can help their kids. The higher licenses are for the 12 and up basically. What we need to understand is that the coaching experience requires coaches with a high level of playing experience, a commitment to expanding their knowledge and remaining current( the licensing helps here) and then of course of suitable character to work with youth. Many people see championships and automatically assume the coach is great and then truck and pay for years before they recognize their mistake. Those that can recognize a coaches weakness will probably be ex pro players or high level coaches. The audience that rates coaches in Illinois is fairly unsophisticated and just see the glory of the win or that the coach really cares about their kid cause he or she is playing all the time. By the way AYSO has many coaches that have been at a high level as a player and coach ( Eric Wynalda) The level of league does not indicate a coaches ability.
     
  5. Not Vago

    Not Vago Member

    Mar 19, 2008
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Based on player development success, I am going to have to go with John Hannan.
     
  6. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Can't argue there. John is a great, great coach and an awesome man. Real humble guy. can't say enough good things about him.
     
  7. y.o.n.k.o

    y.o.n.k.o Member

    Jan 12, 2010
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    No, I'm not Nesci. But seriously, AYSO dads better coaches than Nesci? Come on, I smell a lot of "hate" towards Mike coming from you. Is it personal?
     
  8. notFred

    notFred New Member

    Apr 8, 2010
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    I have to agree with you on that point. One of the coaches mentioned above is not a very good coach (inability to communicate appropriately with players) and appears to be not a very good person. Likes to denigrate and verbally abuse kids to make up for his coaching mistakes. Not the type of person you want around you kid.

    However, I doubt we are talking about the same person.
     
  9. Price Lister

    Price Lister New Member

    Sep 3, 2012
    I have seen the impact of Ian Dunbar had on a group of talented, but struggling U16 boys who are now college seniors. If you can have this man train/coach your son or daughter, you should jump at it.
     
  10. GKParent

    GKParent Member

    Dec 31, 2011
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I neither know nor care what coaching license my kids' coaches have. I want to see a love of the game, a passion to teach the game, and an ability to get the most out of every kid. Here's my short list (obviously west/south focused)...

    Charlie Trout, Chicago Fire Academy
    Kevin Wickart, Chicago Magic
    Brian Bierman, Team Chicago
    Greg Muhr, NSA

    For goalkeepers,
    Neil Thompson, Big Cat Goalkeeping
    Stan Anderson, Camp Shutout
     
  11. jsScott

    jsScott New Member

    Sep 16, 2012
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Based on four years watching my daughter play in the IWSL, here's my list:

    --Drago Jaha (Vernon Hills Premier)
    --Oktay Akgun (Lake Forest SA)
    --Janet Albert (formerly of FC Barrington, now at Hawthorn Woods Honor SC)
    --Mike Barshai (Glenview SC)
    --Marcus Jenkins (Galaxy)
     
  12. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    I had a son who was a head case at 6 years old - social issues mostly led to not finishing practices and more...

    Cindy Martinello (Sockers) eventually told me to go shopping - leave the field and she will take care of him.

    After 6 months my kid absolutely loved the game - his new friends and eventually was upset when he missed a practice/game while being coached by Cindy.

    As far as I was concerned she was/is the best youth (5-8) coach I have ever seen on every level.
     
    GKParent repped this.
  13. the Next Level

    Mar 18, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    Dorian Thomas at South Side Fire (no relation to Chicago Fire) is very good.

    He and his staff have put players on ODP teams as starters with no political connects and from as low as the Silver II division. Small local clubs can be the best place to learn the game.
     
  14. CLFutball

    CLFutball New Member

    Feb 7, 2012
    Any updates? New coaches, coaches who have moved around in the area? Coaches have figured things out? Coaches who have lost it? I hear good things about what Paul Miceli is doing with Chicago Alliance in the far NW burbs, and Janet Albert in Hawthorne Woods / Honor.
     
  15. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Paul has a u14 boys team that was basically developed by Karl Smith, left Magic, went to Woodstock Crossfire and then on to PM. I would call this a money issue because PM doesn't have a board and can be liberal with charging players and the cost for these kids became to high at Magic.

    Anyhow that is a pretty decent team but like I said, many of them are a product of KS. I would look at his other teams to get a basline on how well that outfit is going. Unfortunately PM is competing with a lot of other sub par clubs in the area with parents who don't know very much about soccer. Heck Crystal Lake Force touted their u14 boys team as national champions because the won Presidents Cup???? That entire area is a vacum of lack luster clubs sucking the $$$ out of un-informed parents.

    Janet is excellet. I think she is doing doing a lot right in terms of development for the younger kids.
     
    SheHateMe repped this.
  16. CLFutball

    CLFutball New Member

    Feb 7, 2012
  17. Ironkick14

    Ironkick14 Member+

    Sep 29, 2011
    Chicago, IL
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was at a youth tournament to watch my brother this weekend and I've got a name I haven't seen mentioned. Dino Delevski. He coaches the Chicago Inferno U12 Elite team (as well as the Inferno's PDL team) and they are the best youth team I've ever seen live. Not necessarily the most talented player-to-player, but the style they play is the amazing. They beat the Columbus Crew Pre-Academy team and the Sockers Pre-Academy team in the games I watched. If any of you have ever seen the Kleibans' work, that will give you a frame of reference. Dino's coaching product isn't quite as far along as Brian Kleiban's, but it's in the same category.
     
  18. slash8

    slash8 New Member

    Oct 7, 2014
    Can confirm the vacuum statement. We are out that way but there are very few options for quality.

    One problem w Alliance is that they just don't draw enough players, possibly due to their location. I heard they only had a handful tryout for some age groups in the girls U13-15 range.

    My only experience w Honor/HW is when a female coach of theirs felt it necessary to walk over to our girls post game to tell them they were the worst team she had coached against in Club Open. This was immediately following our girls shutting them out and allowing one SOG. I do not know what her name was tho.
     
  19. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    #44 VolklP19, Oct 7, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2014
    That's funny because it's not very "Honorable" LOL.

    The u16 girls from Sockers played Joga Bonito and shut them down completely. Their coach (also a female) was just berrating them at half time while sitting comfortably under her warm blanket. We heard it all loud and clear! Must have been a parent coach because no experienced coach would ever act like that.

    Second half their players told some of our parents to shut up and gave us the finger.

    Joga Bonito (I guess) stands for the beautiful game... Not so much when you are losing huh?

    You may be referring Jen Albert?

    She's intense. I recall a coaches meeting last winter where she hijacked the ref's discussion for 10 minutes - insisting that the u8 group should not play with shin guards - really?

    That club is over priced and competing with 2 other clubs in the area.

    Go a little further and you have Buffalo Grove which has some strong teams and decent coaches.

    Of course all the smart parents with solid players will leave to Sockers/Magic/Eclipse anyhow.

    And that is the problem in the area. No matter how good a coach or staff is, the pool of players in the NW burbs will never be close to those in more concentrated areas such as Palatine/Schaumburg where you have parents from Europe who KNOW the game and put their kids in credible programs at a young age.

    So while good players can be developed, as a whole they will likely never be as good as thouse practicing in Naperville/Olypmic/Highland Park etc... It's really a culture issue at it's core.

    Take Alliance - parents love it because of cook outs, parades and regatta's. It's another example of kids joining travel soccer to be with friends and have fun instead of going on it to play soccer and then make friends.

    Same said with many new clubs/integrations that have popped up. Lots of family fun and coaches who preach development. We'll give them a few more seasons to see where that ends up. Honestly screaming coaches - like you mentioned are all over and THAT certainly is not going to work so what else is there?

    Cary Defenders is trying to compete with other new clubs that charge less. They are licensing volunteer parents with an E and saying have at it - thusly creating an Elite version of rec soccer getting stuffed at the lower ranks with GA/GF ratios that I have never seen before!

    So instead of fixing the problem - these clubs are just expanding all that's wrong with the sport.

    "Lets make it fun and develop players"

    That would make sense if it was in the context of a rec environment for sure - maybe worth a few more bucks as well.

    But it's not quality soccer and parents are starting to figure that out. THAT trend is not going to change ever. So expect more integrations/clubs working together as they try to keep their heads above the water with Boards that have no clue about the State or Region when it comes to youth soccer.
     
  20. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Had a nice conversation with JH Wednesday night - good guy for sure.

    Problem I hear is that the rest of the staff at DG is no where near his talent.

    Sometimes these coaches are better off part of a larger club then running the club itself.
     
  21. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Congrats to Caulbert Smith - http://www.illinoisyouthsoccer.org/home/846835.html

    I hear he's leaving CSA but also Phil Knorr is out the door as well?

    Wasn't it just a few years ago that Brad Wellman left the club?

    Geeze - here's a wonderful example of how a board and people that know nothing of soccer can tank an entire program altogether!

    Anyone else in this neck of the woods?
     
  22. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Wow!

    Soccer City hosted a 7v7 indoor tourney last weekend. Our mix of u8/u9/u10 played in the boys u10 and got killed but played very well - so no worries there. Between games a staff coach - what I later found out was a DOC for Addison United, got into it with a female parent pretty intensely.

    Fast forward an hour and I am now standing with 3 u9 girls from our team and this DOC walks past - I'm guessing that the husband of the woman jumps out from the bleachers and right into the DOC's face yelling at him "You can't talk to women like that!!!"

    The DOC returns fire and yells "F*^k you!"

    The parent says the same back at him to which the DOC then says 3 times "I will kick your f*^king ass right now".

    I jumped in yelling at the both of them - pointing to the kids behind me and they both paused. The DOC then dropped a few more F bombs right in front of us before a shuffle pushed them further down the walkway towards the concession stand.

    At that point parents had to get between the two to break it up.

    That said... What should happen in this situation? For example I have seen twice this Fall an opposing coach swear loudly - one time it was "Shut the f*^k up!" to one of our coaches.

    In both occasions the game was called by the ref and the opposing coaches had to take a forfeit because of their language.

    But in this case, every parent and player in the area heard and saw this. No Soccer City officials were present and no one from Sockers or any other DOC was there at the time.

    I felt that as a former coach and club owner I had an obligation to report the DOC. I think that the way he handled the situation was completely un-professional and more so the language he used, being baited and escalating the event right in front of MANY kids is quite serious.
     
  23. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    Love quoting myself :)

    Looks like Phil Knorr has taking on the role as DOC at Campton United - best of the rest but a club that would make a huge gift if it merged with any of the 3 DA clubs in Illinois.

    Adam Pashley takes over for Caulbert Smith. He wife comes over from McHenry Vipers (another small select club). I've heard MANY good things about her ability to work with younger players (u6-u9).
     
  24. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Oh so that was you. He went over the top but at least he is being consistent with what they state on their website. Not like other clubs with bs about developing a person, team work, life lessons blah blah. Non of that bull crap. All parents of youth soccer should remember that when it comes to youth soccer, "they lie, they all lie." I heard this expressed from a parent many many years ago and things haven't changed much. I think addison united is an exception.
     
  25. VolklP19

    VolklP19 Member+

    Jun 23, 2010
    Illinois
    I am not sure what you mean - were you there?

    There were many men (adults) who tried to step in but the coach and parent were on the brink of a physical altercation from the end of the bleachers to the concession stand - about 20 feet.

    I pointed out that there were kids within two feet of the 10+ F bombs that they were yelling towards each other. The coach said "Oh - sorry" and went right back at it.

    Also - what are you talking about other clubs and lies???

    And as far as "at least he is being consistent with what they state on their website"

    What does that have to do with my post? I am speaking about a coach - who happens to be a DOC that did just about everything in the book but throw a punch in front of many parents and kids.

    That would seem to trump being consistent about messaging. I would say that the parents who choose to keep their kids in such an environment should be more concerned about his actions in terms of acting like an adult and representative of that club then the 90% of clubs that lie about development.

    Friday Night Tykes at Soccer City - not far from it because as long as his little club wins, the parents will accept this sort of behavior.

    THAT - is far worse then playing in a false dev environment IMO
     
    mwulf67 repped this.

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