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Transcript: Anthony Godfrey and Matt Brown

By James Shaw, 07/17/18, 7:45AM MDT

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Anthony Godfrey, Global Technical Director at Seven Elite Academy, sat down with Matt Brown, 7EA Schools Manager and Coach, following the visit of Senior Coach Educator Keith Mayer...

Anthony Godfrey:

So Matt, we’ve been on the journey, the Stage One course with our coach education programme over last two days. How have you found it and what have you taken from it?

Matt Brown:

For me personally, it has been very enlightening and got me to dig deeper within myself. There has been a lot of self-discovery. In day to day life as coach you kind of lose touch with that I think, and these things put you back in touch with perspective and remind me that when I’m working with kids it starts with me. I have a crucial role to create an environment where kids can have fun but still be learning and want to come back for more. I feel this course has really helped me to kind of hone in and dial in on what personally I need to do to continue to give that in my sessions.

AG:

It’s interesting that you’re thinking about yourself and what you need to do. This course has really touched on the social element and the social aspect. How key now do you feel is the type of personality you portray and how you deliver yourself to the kids that gets the best out of them and gets them to feel inspired within our environment?

MB:

We can’t put enough importance on it. I’ve had sessions in the past where I’ve been driving home and thought it didn’t go so well and still to this day wasn’t able to put my thumb on it, but after the course I was able to pull some of those things back up. It was for me maybe I had a rough day and carried a little bit of that with me onto the pitch or my energy wasn’t really what it needs to be or what it usually is. I had the luxury of being in a classroom with kids before I was a coach and I learned really early with kids that they’re half as energetic as you are, so you really need to bring energy so they can feed off that and keep a fun tempo to the session.

AG:

Was there a moment for you, over the last two days of the course in the classroom or on the actual pitch, that little wow moment? Something you thought that’s part of who I am and what I want to achieve with my players? Something over the last two days that stood out more than anything else?

MB:

I think in the practicals I showed up and I wasn’t necessarily ready. I was told I was up, my number was called. It was going to go one way or the other and I was in control of that. I took a few deep breaths, thought about what I needed to do. The magic moment for me came within that session, where about five or seven minutes in, there were loads of coaches, parents, lots of things going on in the room and in that moment nothing else was there. It was just me, the kids and the session was just alive. I felt like I was really in it. For me that is what I want to strive to create every time I’m on the pitch, whether that’s Pre-Academy or an under-12 team. Anything I’m doing I want to be able to harness that wow moment and do well for the kids.

AG:

It was an intriguing moment for me, as I was one of the instigators to throw you in at the deep end because we know of your development rate, where it’s been going over the last twelve months. We wanted to take you out of your comfort zone and go to the next level. So putting you in that kind of situation, taking you out of your comfort zone, what were you feeling before, based on coaches and parents watching you, to the feeling afterwards?

MB:

Initially, the parents were there but I wasn’t took worried about that. But I’ve never coached in front of my direct peers. I’ve been on courses where there were other coaches, but I didn’t know them. These coaches I know, I have relationships with them, so initially I was stressing and I was a bit nervous. But as the course went on they disappeared to me and afterwards the feeling was really refreshing and empowering because I just stood a little taller and the pride was there and the confidence was there. Hearing feedback from the other coaches, I was kind of reassured that I can do this and that they’ve got my back…

AG:

Keith, who you know from your time in the UK, came over and delivered on our course. He did a brilliant job with all our coaches, me included, and left us all thinking about certain things and directions for the future. What was your take on what Keith has done for us over the last two days and your relationship with Keith as well?

MB:

Back in September when I walked into the Liverpool office, I saw Keith and was really curious about who he was. I knew we had the course coming and from just associating with him for the first five minuets I met him, there are people who have the factor in their character. You just want to be around them. There was just something about him that drew me to him and as the course grew it really opened my mind to what you can really do with coaching. Here in Salt Lake over the last two days, some of the message has been similar, but some went in a different direction. For me, as well as hearing his message and meeting him, I sat back a bit and watched some of our other coaches and it was interesting for me to see how they took to what he had to say. There were a lot of pens moving and lot of coaches thinking. It really makes me excited because obviously the other coaches were feeling that initial feeling that I had.

AG:

One of my last questions to you, your own development journey, what targets do you now set yourself for the next twelve month?

MB:

The next twelve months, I would really like to set myself up to be equipped and ready to obtain further training for my development and from this course I want to really continue to to feed information inside me and continue to implement that on a daily basis. I want to grow the Pre-Academy that we have, which as you said it is the lifeblood of this club. The more youngsters we can get in, seeing what we have to offer, buying into what we have to offer and parents doing the same thing, the sky is the limit from there.

AG:

Well, I might challenge you on that one. The sky is the limit, why is there footsteps on the moon? I’m thrilled with your work and I’m sure your message will spread throughout Academy.