Former European Soccer Pro Coaches Wayne Kids

WAYNE, NJ — Coach Tamas Kovacs gets his players into a huddle. He looks at them calmly, without a trace of nervousness.

"My sons," he says to the players, "everything is calm. Everything is good. Go out with high pressure, my sons."

That's how Kovacs coaches. His team is his family.

Kovacs is the founder of the Wizards Sports Club. About 100 9- and 10-year-olds kids from throughout North Jersey, including Wayne, belong to the club.

Kovacs played professional soccer in his native Hungary from 1993 to 1999. He came to the United States in 2001 and started refereeing games and training players. He has worked with the New Jersey Youth Soccer Association and the youth program with United States Soccer.

Kovacs wants to instill some European soccer sense and training into his American players.

"We try to give them a thick skin," Kovacs said. "We tell them, 'don't worry about making a mistake, that's going to happen 100 times. Think about how you're going to get out of that mistake."

But it goes beyond what happens on the field.

"Focus on eating foods from all over the world, including the diet they eat," Kovacs said. "It's the little things that matter. The players here in America, they're not on the same tier of players in Europe."

But beyond diet and ability, there's heart. That's what Kovacs wants his players to have.

"They're great kids and they love to play soccer," Kovacs said. "That's the stuff you can't coach and that's what I love about these kids."

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