What were the differences between the US and West Ham’s approach to training and Youth development?
In trying to be as succinct as possible, I would have to say the attention to detail. When I found out that I was going, I was hoping for the “blue print” of player development “The West Ham Way”. I made a fool of myself when I asked if they have a curriculum that the staff coaches work from. Paul Heffer, summed it up best, “If you have to write a curriculum for youth coaches, then you need to find new ones. You give the players what they need.” All of the training sessions I observed, from the U-8 through the reserves, looked very similar. They consisted of around 30 minutes of speed and agility warm up, the technical coach was on next with around 30 minutes of pure technical training and then Tony Carr with the main theme of the training session. The activities selected by the coaches were not that different than what most quality coaches here in the US might use, but the approach to making coaching points, the attention to “detail” was spot on in every aspect. They never coach the p
