St. Mary's United (U-17) Furies

Alan Buster...
I am a coach of the select Furies. I have been a player on the collegiate level in two sports as well as a club soccer player. I have trained collegiate and high school athletes in conditioning and fitness. I started coaching youth soccer in 1998, “REC +” soccer in 2002 and travel soccer in 2003. I received my “E” license in 2003 and have I received my “D” license in September 2005. I am a firm believer that soccer is a team sport that develops the player personally and athletically.

My philosophy: I believe that the foundation of any soccer team rests in the basic control of the ball, the development of self-confidence in the player and the TEAM concept. There is no back to basics on a team I coach. The basics are never left, but continually built upon. Pass, pressure and space are the keys to success. A player will only develop to a point that they allow themselves to get to. Self-confidence and the internal belief that they can properly perform a skill is more than half the battle. The idea of TEAM is a must. I look for a roster of great TEAM players not stars. A TEAM fosters fun, challenges the player and leads to success. A TEAM will always perform better than a group of individuals.

John Kelly...
I am a coach of the select Furies. I have been playing soccer for the past 23 years. I am currently playing indoor soccer year round, on two teams, in two different leagues. I started coaching youth soccer six years ago. I received my “E” license in 2003 and I just received my “D” license in 2005. I am a firm believer that just because you play a lot of soccer, it does NOT make you a good coach. I am learning something new about the game, and how to teach the game, at every practice session.

My philosophy; I believe that basic fundamentals are the most important part when teaching youth soccer. Skills, skills, skills, I believe that in order to control a soccer game you must possess the ball longer than the other team. If your team’s skills are better than the other team, you will possess the ball longer, allowing more scoring opportunities. The only way to improve a player’s skills is to get as many touches on the ball as possible during the practice sessions. The way we get our players to thrive to do better, is by making the practice sessions fun and challenging. If our players are having fun they will want to come to practice, and if the practice session is challenging they can only get better.