Every month on the Surf Nation coaches newsletter, we aim to recognize one of our coaches who embodies our values, exceeds our standards, and leads by example on the sidelines and in the community.
This month’s coach is Connor Marino from NLSA Surf. Connor took some time to share his influences, views, and sources of inspiration with us recently:
Why do you coach?
I have two reasons for coaching. The first one is a common answer: I love to impact the players’ lives. I’m not where I am today without the game of soccer, and I want to give that back to young players today. I want to help them achieve their goals within the game. The second reason, maybe more selfishly, is that I love intellectually what it takes to be a coach. I love the tactical adjustments in the game. I love the challenge of the first 5-10 minutes of a game and figuring out where the spaces are. I will never have all the answers, but I love challenging myself in that aspect of the game.
Who were some of your first real influences when you started your coaching journey?
Well, Lenny and Alan played a big role in my development, but I have to add one more to that. My assistant coach, when I played at Marshall, Thomas Olivier, had a huge impact. I’ve never met someone who thinks about the game like him, and I still use many of his ideas when I coach. Many coaches have similar issues in that they can see the game, but how do you teach it? He could see everything and put it into words and a session plan, which was huge for me and still is.
Is there a team (past or present) on which you model your playing style?
I’m a big fan of Thiago Motta (Juventus coach), especially during his spell at Bologna. Over the past few years, his playing style has been fluid, positive, and progressive. He’s also always rotating three players simultaneously so you can always see the triangles. That’s been something that I’ve preached to players when I’m coaching, so the prior two years have been amazing to watch. He also sees the field sideways, which has opened my eyes a bit regarding how you can view the game.
Is there a player (past or present) that inspires you when you watch them play?
For me, it’s Messi, but it’s connected to why I love coaching the intellectual piece. You see and hear about him spending the first ten minutes of every game walking, but that’s because he’s scanning the field. You hear Pep referencing this when he speaks about him. He’s assessing what spaces to exploit, strengths and weaknesses, etc. That’s what I’m trying to do as a coach as well. I was also a big Ronaldinho fan back in the day!!
What’s your favorite book related to coaching?
The Coaches Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov. When I was young and inexperienced, I was a little naïve to think that you could just simply step on the field and coach. Then I got that book as a gift and I loved how he breaks down the differences between coaching and learning. As a coach, you have to develop an understanding around when your players are starting to recognize what’s happening and actually learning the information. That book has helped me a lot.
In the next 5 years, what aspect of development do you think will become really important?
In terms of soccer in the US, I think the game will grow exponentially, particularly with the World Cup coming. But I think the game is based more on athleticism and will become a lot more technical. Our players here are technically really good, but there’s always a slight difference at the very highest level. I think we will become a lot more technically capable, and that will help us a lot.
Describe your training environment at the club?
It’s funny, when I first started coaching, I never got asked this, but now parents are asking this question a lot – which I think is great! I like to say that it’s demanding but also that it’s a safe environment. It’s safe because players are free to be who they are. I will never change personalities, they are free to make tons of mistakes, and of course have fun in the session. But it’s also demanding in terms of the work rate because they all have goals as players, which we know from their IDPs. As I’ve learned and grown as a coach, I’ve started to build both components into the session flow with my 10-10-70 rule.
