Football Coaches Australia presents ‘The Football Coaching Life Podcast’ S3 Ep 5 with Gary Cole interviewing Michael Valkanis

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Valkanis

Michael Valkanis was most recently the Assistant to John van’t Schip as the Greece National Team Coach and this week has been appointed as the new Assistant Manager at K.A.S. Eupen FC. They currently play the in Belgian First Division A, the top tier of football in the country.

Michael played his junior football at South Melbourne and as a student at De La Salle College. He made his senior debut in the NSL with South Melbourne before heading to Greece to play with Iraklis and then AEL Larissa. He played for eight years in Greece before returning to Adelaide and the A-League.

His coaching journey began at Adelaide United with the youth team and then as an Assistant Coach with the first team. A new opportunity took him to Melbourne City to work alongside John van’t Schip and then a brief spell as head coach before joining John in Holland with PEC Zwolle. This was followed by the move to Greece with the National Men’s Team.

Michael served a wonderful apprenticeship as Assistant Coach in Adelaide and Melbourne, with brief stints as Head Coach at both clubs. He is now keen to stretch his wings and take on the mantle of Head Coach as his journey continues to develop.

He firmly believes that there are many Australian Coaches good enough to work overseas. Coaches, like players, need to “get out of their comfort zone”. This is another conversation full of wisdom.

Michael’s ‘One Piece of Wisdom’ was: ‘Knowing yourself. Look in the mirror and ask who am I going to be?’ ‘What do I stand for, what are my values that will come out?’ ‘This will show to the group who you are, they stand out because they are consistent over time.’ ‘Your football philosophy will come to light through knowing yourself.’

Please join in sharing Michael Valkanis’ Football Coaching Life.

Football Coaches Australia presents the Attacking Principles of Play coaching masterclass

Liam Watson
Image credit: Maxisport / Shutterstock.com

Football Coaches Australia (FCA) has confirmed details of a coaching masterclass session to be run on Thursday, September 12 at 6pm AEST.

Based around the Attacking Principles of Play, the coaching masterclass from FCA is delivered by Hills Football Association – in collaboration with Australian College of Physical Education and Global Institute of Sport.

The masterclass aims to support and extend coaches’ understanding of attacking principles of play and how coaches utilise these to support teams’ game models/playing styles.

A panel discussion will be presented via a webinar with leading coaches from the UK and Australia.

FCA’s Executive Committee member Mara Watts will provide her insights to the game, featuring a panel which will welcome The Football Association’s Senior Women’s Coach & Development Lead Mark Swales, alongside Plymouth Argyle Analysis Show’s Lead Analyst Aaron Cusack.

Completion of the coaching masterclass will accrue 1 hour of Continued Professional development (CPD).

To register for the FA CPD Hour, click here: https://lnkd.in/gCHstPVr

To register just for attendance and without the CPD Hour, click here: https://lnkd.in/g9xZSmcj

AFCAS recruitment and scouting workshops coming to Australia

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Image credit: AFCAS website

The Association of Football Coaching and Scouting (AFCAS) have confirmed that their recruitment and player scouting workshops are coming to Australia.

These interactive workshops are all online and led by AFCAS managing director Ged Searson – a professional football scout with over 15 years of experience and who has also been a football coach for almost 30 years, learning from the likes of Sir Bobby Robson.

Searson has previously worked as a scout for clubs such as West Ham United, Grimsby Town FC and Leyton Orient FC in England.

Most recently, he served as the chief scout and analyst of the Malawi national team during the 2022 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon going as far as the Round of 16.

The workshops run for three and a half hours over two evenings and are designed for both new and experienced football scouts aiming to enhance their skills and development.

This will also be helpful for football coaches and agents to help them improve their scouting abilities and also to gain an understanding of the recruitment process at professional football clubs.

Throughout these workshops, video footage will be used to complete scouting tasks giving participants the chance to practice scouting techniques.

Attendees will also develop a better understanding of how professional clubs scout players and how recruitment systems operate at the highest levels of football.

Some of the content in these workshops will include:

  • Learning various professional football scouting techniques and skills.
  • Learn how to write and create your own scouting reports.
  • Understanding different types of scout reporting and assignments.
  • Assessing player performance in different playing positions.

These workshops are limited to nine attendees, creating opportunities to interact with not only the presenter but also fellow attendees and it will provide potential networking opportunities with different people in the football industry.

Participants will also receive a scouting pack, including software, to complete their own scouting reports following the workshop.

The sessions will run on Wednesday, September 11 from 7 pm – 10:30 pm and on Friday, September 13 from 6:30 pm – 10 pm.

If you are interested in having a career in the football industry, click the link to claim your spot in these online workshops.

For more information about AFCAS, visit the website.

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