New STRIVE 365 eposide out now! Meet the new MLS head coach of Minnesota UnitedFC, Cameron Knowles https://youtu.be/Nngf-UFtJWs

I recently came across a research paper I wrote for New Zealand Football several years ago, exploring the merits of a fully centralised versus decentralised model for developing talented youth players. The work included analysis of various national sporting bodies in New Zealand and input from industry leaders. It was a timely piece then, and much of the insight remains highly relevant today as we continue to challenge and refine our player development pathways. A good reminder that the questions we ask about structure and development models are just as important as the answers.

Interesting observations from top football academies that include Ajax, Barca, Liverpool, Benfica, Dinamo Zagreb and more.

Recording of my 2025 Football Victoria Webinar series, talking about Youth Development #skatepark #mindset #parents #play

I’ve been thinking about what it is that professional players really want. I’ve boiled it down to three things. They want to WIN. They also want to IMPROVE. They all want to ENJOY their daily environment. I don’t know many athletes (and coaches for that fact) that don’t want all three. If the professional athletes demand this, then surely coaches of all levels should be thinking about how fill all three of these buckets! In a recent podcast episode with Richard Bell, Richard spoke about the notion that in the film industry, you can only have 2 of Good, Cheap and Fast, never all three! By looking at the lens of the athlete, maybe we should only recruit athletes that offer at least 2 (of 3) of Helping the team Win, Striving to Improve their ability and bring JOY to the environment. I can accept the athlete that helps us win and is positive in the overall environment, but doesn’t care about getting better. I can manage the athlete that helps us win and works to improve but is an “energy vampire” around the group. I can be patient with the athlete that is developing whilst adds joy, but doesn’t have great impact on the teams overall performance. I CANNOT recruit any athlete that only wins (but detracts from everything else), or is the clown (brings laughter but nothing else), or only a developing athletes (doesn’t help win or brings joy to the environment. Food for thought….