Team Elmhurst Soccer Coaches attend National Convention

Hello Elmhurst Community,
My name is Ben Lewis (TESC Girls U12 teams and U18 Girls Coach) and I'm a staff coach for Team Elmhurst Soccer Club (TESC). Myself and our coaching staff had an opportunity to attend the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Annual Convention at McCormick Place in Chicago this past weekend. Generally, the convention has been held in cities outside of the midwest; Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Los Angeles, just to name a few, but this was the first time it was held in Chicago! Needless to say, there was some excitement to show off our wonderful city to the soccer world. Instead of babbling on about soccer jargon and reminiscing over the countless soccer celebrities we encountered, I think it’s more beneficial to summarize in sheet-cheat form, our experiences from the weekend!
What is the USC Convention
Over five days, 250 education sessions were presented by more than 200 coaches and experts ranging from classroom sessions on strategies for creating LGBTQ inclusive teams to field sessions developing wide attacking play and finishing in the final third. As an attendee, coaches had a chance to earn one of 13 different diplomas and certificates offered throughout the entirety of the event.
The Highlights
1. The majority of the TESC staff was present on Friday for the entire day; team building & bonding is awesome (this is not the norm and we are lucky to have been able to send such a large group!)
2. Connecting and collaborating with other coaching friends from around the globe.
3. Seeing Alexis Lalas, John Harkes, Jermaine Jones, Laura Harvey, yadda, yadda, yadda.
4. My favorite session was called Scoring Goals: How to Develop the Goal-Scoring Predator. While I’m fond of using goals in my practices, this gave me some new ideas and also got me thinking about how I can tweak existing activities for the better. No pressure U12 girls ;)
5. The most unique session I attended was called TOVO Training: Cognitive Progressions. I have used most of the activities he introduced, albeit some slight modifications, but the way he coached and started his training offended a ton of people in the audience. Too hard to explain here but a quick summary: “Everything all you coaches are doing is wrong”. Eek!
Google him: Todd Beane. Interesting dude.
6. Attending sessions run by Man Utd Academy Coaches, French U17 National Team Coach, Men & Women College coaches, etc.
7. Coach Daniel saying “smile” every 5 seconds.
The Low Points
I almost missed the staff picture because I was in line for coffee! Eek!
Purpose
Each club, coach, age group, team, and player is different. It’s important that we understand and embrace the uniqueness that comes with being involved in soccer. The ability to learn, grow, and adjust to different variables makes one stronger and is the reason attending educational opportunities like this are necessary!
Finally, it’s important for you to know, as a stakeholder, your coach got better this weekend.
Thanks!
Coach Ben