Reunited at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Kansas City
After two years a re-connection was required.
Baltimore 2020 was great, in fact Baltimore is always a great host city, but two years without connecting with the soccer fraternity was too long.
Kansas City 2022 was just the tonic. It was GoPlay Sports’ seventh trip to the convention and undoubtedly our most valuable.
The United Soccer Coaches smartly branded the event get ‘reunited’. And we did exactly that along with thousands of other coaches and soccer businesses.
Yes, the numbers were considerably lighter than in previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A reported 30% down on registrations and then if you consider the no-shows, the attendance could easily been at 50%. The convention exhibit hall and corridors felt spacious.
However, the buzz was back.
The United Soccer Coaches did have a Zoom chat with Rafa Benitez headlining their offering. But he was sacked by EPL side Everton on the eve of the Convention after a poor run of form at Goodison.
Incidentally, last year’s guest, Jose Mourinho, was sacked three months after speaking at the 2021 digital event. So beware any coaches who are invited to headline Philadelphia 2023!
But there’s no doubt that we made more valuable new connections than in previous years. The attendees and exhibitors seemed engaged - like in no other year.
The exhibit hall has definitely shifted to being more tech heavy. The variety of tech businesses that offer solutions to soccer problems is growing by the year. Our friends at Kairos were again in attendance and their scheduling and communications platform is one to look out for.
North American Irish Coaches Association
One of our greatest new contacts has to be the North American Irish coaches Association (NAICA). We were delighted to sign a partnership deal ahead of the convention and it has already proved to be one of our smartest pieces of business to date.
They are a dynamic, growing organization that offer support and help to Irish coaches in North America. Their aim is to serve, connect and to elevate their members.
If you are a new coach and need some help or an existing coach that has just found NAICA, they really are there to help.
We were only too happy to help with their annual ‘Convention Social’ at The Dubliner, and help facilitate the travel of special guest Niall Quinn to the event.
Niall has almost 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland and proved to be a brilliant guest. His humbleness to engage with anyone he met was apparent, While his endless stories from his time at Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland kept the members entertained for hours.
But while Niall fulfilled his commitments with the USC and NAICA, he was not expected to meet up and socialize with us and the NAICA members outside his schedule, as he did.
Niall has become such a friend of ourselves and many of the NAICA members and we are sure he will be back in Philadelphia.
Head in the Game
We were also introduced to Dean Arrowsmith, who runs the Head in the Game organization in Ireland.
Head in the Game provide a support service for young players who require help with their mental health.
They are an invaluable non-profit organization who have initiated a Mental Health Campaign aimed at starting a “conversation for supporters and anyone involved in the League Of Ireland”.
Although they are a relatively new organization, Dean has done some great work partnering with Shine (Supporting People Affected by Mental Ill Health) and Jigsaw (The National Centre for Youth Mental Health).
GoPlay Wednesday night Social
Johnny’s Tavern was the venue for our ever-growing Wednesday night social. With general attendee numbers down, we expected a quieter than usual evening, but the turnout was brilliant.
We have developed a loyal following of clubs and coaches. We believed we did the right thing by our customers over the last two years.
We refunded all of our clients money due to cancellations because of Covid-19. We responded robustly to the pandemic and we are proud to announce that none of our valued customers lost any money. And it’s that stance that has held us in such high regard with our past and present clients.
We were also able to publicize our Zero Deposit scheme which allows teams and players to sign up for trips without any financial commitment.
All your support is much appreciated and the least we could do was to show our appreciation with a complimentary evening in KC. We were also joined by some special guests.
Niall Quinn was again a welcomed guest, while he was joined by NBC analyst Robbie Earle.
Our Technical Director, Brian Ainscough, took to the microphone to provide an update on the state of play with GoPlay and our future plans. As always his speech was well received.
GoPlay Soccer Podcast
2021 saw the beginning of our Soccer Coaching Podcast. With an eye on Podcast Row for Philly 2023, the plans our to grow our podcast and hit new listeners.
Hosted by Manchester United Academy coach Tom Statham, our podcast is already in its second season and is closing in on 10,000 downloads. Covering coach education, player development, diversity and inclusion and player journeys, we are honored to have welcomed some big names in the game.
Liverpool Academy coach Martin Diggle kicked off our podcast with an insightful look into the philosophy at the EPL club.
Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has described his journey growing up in Serbia. While Arsenal youth coach Dan Micciche and West Ham youth coach Ross Brooks have spoken about their respective coaching ideas.
Steven Crane from the Coaching Manual was also a popular guest, while our biggest podcast to date was an interesting chat with Mark O’Sullivan, AIK Stockholm Player Developer and PHD Researcher about the Constraints-Led Approach to Coaching Youth Players.
We also welcomed a brilliant chat on Equality & Diversity with Arsenal legend and PFA Coach Educator Paul Davis and Adviser to the EPL, Paul Cleal OBE.
While episode six of Season Two featured an in depth chat about women in sport, with three influential figures in the women’s game.
In essence, the opportunity to connect with old friends and develop new relationships in KC was exactly what we were so desperate for.
See you all in Philly in 2023.