It is a monumental and proud time for the entire Fox Soccer Academy organization. We would like to thank everyone for your continued support as you influence us each and every day to fulfill our goals. Our mission of developing players remains our focus and we are thankful for you joining us on our journey to become a premier soccer academy on an international level.
The game of soccer has and will forever mean the world to me. Soccer is my life, my passion, and I have been blessed to be able to make a career out of this game. The true blessing at this stage of my career, however, is the development of Fox Soccer Academy (FSA) and it’s future potential. Over the course of my nearly two decade career thus far, I have been fortunate enough to learn from many great colleagues, teammates, and managers and it is my mission to pass along my experiences and knowledge through our FSA programs and teams. With the development of FSA PRO and now FSA PREMIER in the United States, we are off to a wonderful start together, however, I stress to emphasize that this is only the beginning.
Speaking of beginnings, my early years will always be part of how I carry myself and they are a direct influence on our vision and mission here at FSA. I want the players coming through our programs and system to have the same and even better opportunities I had as a child. With this in mind, I have built a staff of professionals and have now interviewed dozens of coaches for our FSA PREMIER teams that can fit our profile. What’s even more crucial is that our staff members must have the willingness to learn and pass on our philosophy to our players. Our coaches are not here to tell our players what to do, they are here to teach them why and to develop their skills on and off the pitch.
It is not just our staff members that matter though, because without you, my dream and the dream of my colleagues of forming a proper academy would not be possible. Since 2017, we have been running academies in England and Austria and we are so excited to go down this path with you in Warwick, NY. Our teams in England have been crowned league champions in two consecutive years as well as winning the EDP showcase last June in New Jersey. Our successes and experiences abroad have set the standard we will create at Hudson Sports Complex and within FSA PREMIER. I cannot wait for the last week of March when I will be at Hudson Sports Complex to watch training and to be involved as we step into our inaugural year and make more history together.
This year is vital towards the development of our FSA PREMIER dream. It will set our standards for years to come. We need to continue to hone the fundamentals of this game, but we also need to challenge ourselves to get better each and every day so we can reach our full potential. With great joy I have put together our curriculum with these principles in mind. It has been predominantly influenced by my current manager, Brendan Rodgers, at Leicester City FC (LCFC), who is the best I have had in my career so far. Also, Thomas Tuchel, the current manager at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), has played a major role in my life and the guidance that I want to pass down to our players here at FSA.
Not only is the curriculum built to help us win, but we are most concerned with setting lasting impressions on our players and making sure they continue to progress. This is where the entire structure of FSA is crucial. We want to create opportunities for players both locally and internationally. There will continuously be an exchange of knowledge, experiences, and thoughts between all locations in the USA, England, and Austria. Our three bases of London, Leicester, and Warwick will allow us to interchange players and coaches and to get our players in front of the right eyes at the right time. Our international program director, Mark Smith, who’s running our operations in the UK but is also heavily involved with the setup in the US, is a guiding figure for everybody at FSA. His expertise and experience, having worked on the highest level in England and have been recognized for his work with Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace), are unmatched. We are at a good place with our established connections to clubs in England and throughout Europe and we look forward to taking full advantage of these resources.
At the end of the day, I want our players to feel they are improving with every training and enjoy every experience they have with us at FSA. I am not a fan of just winning because that is not at all what is most important. Sports and this game in particular, are about gaining confidence, forming camaraderie, and improving skill sets. I am a fan of developing a playing culture and making sure players are growing on and off the field. My personal ambition is to create a spirit within the FSA family that everybody feels at home and welcome. I want everyone to have a great time, which for me, is defined as: setting standards, values, and then executing them to the best of our abilities. Working hard and being focused every day will provide us the right formula to be successful and will allow all of our dreams to become realities, together.
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