Tom Brown participates in International Workshop
4/8/2014 10:14:00 AM | Soccer
Sam Houston head soccer coach Tom Brown spent more than a week in England as part of a US Soccer International Workshop. The trip included stops at the famed Arsenal Academy as well as at Manchester United, Manchester City and the headquarters for the English Football Association.
“The trip not only provided these incredible experiences in England but provided the 
coaches who come from the professional, collegiate and youth ranks to discuss what we have learned from our different jobs and how some of this new information could help us improve,” Brown said.
Brown has had the unique opportunity to learn from some of the best soccer clubs in the world, after he visited four major Italian teams last summer and spent a weekend at a sports science clinic hosted by Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders.
As part of the England trip coaches who attended were also able to witness three Barclays Premier League games, two of which were major rivalry games. Brown saw a 3-0 win for Liverpool at Manchester United, a 6-0 thumping by Chelsea over Arsenal, and a 2-0 Manchester United win at West Ham United.
“The three games I watched each had an incredible atmosphere,” Brown said. “We got to see four of the top teams in England and watch their players perform live. The last game I saw included an unbelievable goal from Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) with a goal scored from midfield. It could be goal of the year.”
Brown visited three youth academies, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur where he listened to the academy directors provide their vision for developing young players.
“The youth academies had terrific facilities and we got to hear from the academy directors concerning their vision for their academy programs and how they plan to develop players for the first team. Tottenham has the newest facility but Manchester City has almost completed a new training center that will cost more than $250 million dollars.”
The trip was capped off by two days at the St. George's Park, the headquarters for the English Football Association coaching education and national team programs. The coaches met with several youth license instructors who talked about coaching both in the professional game and at the grassroots level.
