About Academy

NOKC soccer academy is a program designed to develop young players and give them the tools needed to play soccer at a more advanced level than recreational soccer. This is a program designed for players who want to develop their game, it is a program that aims to develop players for competitive soccer and it aims to give a basic foundation level. We have various levels and we are not exclusive for the best athletes or for the best younger players. We train players as a pool and players can and do move around according to the players and teams needs unlike in recreational soccer where rosters are locked. Players will have their main team but we move them to challenge or reward them for their effort or performance during their weekly training or games. All players receive playing time but that playing time is discretional.

There are four main parts to the game of soccer namely: physical, psychological, tactical & technical and all of these areas of the game are important to develop well-rounded players. The most vital part of a players development is ages 6-14, and at the academy level the most important aspect is technical skill acquisition because without good technique players do not have the tools needed to succeed at a higher level.

Players are tactically trained according to their age and ability level, it’s essential that players know the basic tactics needed to play competitive soccer.

Physically the most important things are coordination and speed and we aim to introduce players to the basics but this is not a focus of academy soccer.

Psychologically players have to learn how to compete, they must be able to cope with losing, they must be able to cope with pressure, they need to control their emotions, they need to accept their roles on a team and they need to able to deal with physical risks and injuries. We will address some psychology with players but at a younger age it’s not our focus.

Players are trained by coaches who have a passion for the world’s most popular game, these coaches have experience in educating young children. Coaches hold accredited coaching certifications, they are background checked and most coaches have played at a college or professional level.

We follow guidelines set by the USSF and other major governing bodies and we aim to develop players in an age-appropriate manner. We understand that we are coaching children and not adults and we aim to foster a passion for the game. We want players to develop into good people, not just athletes and that’s why sportsmanship, honesty, integrity and other values are important
to us just as much as winning and losing are.

The development of players is based not just on winning and losing but more importantly technical and tactical improvements. It’s important that we have long term goals and those goals are that later in life these players are still active and healthy, we hope that academy sets a foundation that might help them to play competitive, high school, college or professional soccer. We know that development is more of a marathon than a sprint and that players develop at different rates. Some players develop physically early some late, some have more technical ability some less some love the game some just like meeting friends and being active whatever it is that children take out of soccer we want to be part of their development.