The U.S. Men’s National Team’s 2-0 victory over Jamaica in a FIFA World Cup qualifier at Q2 Stadium last Thursday grabbed the headlines during U.S. Soccer’s visit to Austin, but it wasn’t the only impactful moment of the week for the area’s soccer community.
On October 8 and 9, Austin FC and the 4ATX Foundation partnered with U.S. Soccer and the South Texas Youth Soccer Association to host a Coach for Community event, offering free education for local coaches. After a 90-minute online session last Friday, the 11 coaches who attended received on-field instruction at St. David’s Performance Center on Saturday.
“I am proud that South Texas, Austin FC Academy and the 4ATX were able to partner on this initiative to provide free access to coaching education in the Austin community,” said Jené Baclawski, Technical Director of the South Texas Youth Soccer Association. “Each coach took away something to immediately improve the players they work with and that trickle effect will make a large impact for years to come.”
The 11 coaches came from across Texas and from a variety of experience levels. Junro Narita, U-14 Head Coach at the Austin FC Academy, provided a demonstration of U.S. Soccer’s Play-Practice-Play methodology - which focuses on creating positive, player-centric training environments - during Saturday’s on-field session.
“Austin FC is committed to serving the community and we are striving to improve every facet of the game in South Texas,” said Narita. “Coaching education is an integral part of this initiative and we are honored to help with Coaches for Communities.”
Each coach that attended last week’s sessions was also sent a $25 voucher to access one of U.S. Soccer’s Grassroots License Courses, providing the chance to further their coaching education through the federation’s certification process.
