coaches
We have more than 30 full-time coaches, and a similar number of part-time and assistant coaches.
Our coaches follow an approved coaching curriculum, overseen by our qualified senior coaching team. This ensures consistently high standards of coaching and safety.
We invest in our coaches, supporting them to improve their accredited qualifications. We also run regular, genuine coach professional development and improvement programmes.
APSS’s main advantage of any of our competitors is our professional development. We run regular internal workshops delivered by our senior coaching team, but we also invite high-quality educators to deliver courses for us. For example, since 2015:
Coaches Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
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We now take care of most of our CPD internally thanks to our highly qualified and experienced senior coaching team. Workshops in the early days of APSS and Kinder Kicks focused on what to coach with coaches participating in different types of sessions working on technical development, 1v1 play, understanding transition in football, patterns of play and different types of SSGs (small sided games) to name a few. In more recent years as the expertise of APSS and KK coaches has grown the focus has switched from what to coach and to how and why we coach a certain way or use a certain method. Workshops have covered the benefits of Carousel learning, how to develop Active Learning Time and Ball Roll Time, understanding the Coaching Continuum and Developing the Motivational Climate for Athletes.
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Matt Thomas, Senior Coach Educator with the Canadian Soccer Association, came to HK to run workshops for our coaches, focusing on developing grassroots players. Matt’s organization uses Game-Activity-Game (similar to Whole-Part-Whole used by the English and French FAs) and APSS coaches explored this format to see the benefits of how more learning through real game play can benefit young players.
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APSS co-operate regularly with AIA and Tottenham Hotspur’s Foundation Coaches who are based in HK to support the Asian region. In 2017, APSS organised events for the first team players and senior management at both Kellett School Kowloon Bay, and Wah Yan College Kowloon while the 1st team were on tour. APSS coaches have participated in several workshops with Spurs Foundation coaches who demonstrated some of the areas they focus on in their Academy Development Centres back in London.
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HKFA coach educators Matthew Pears and Tsang Wai Chung have run several different short courses for us, focusing on developing young players technically and athletically. Matthew’s expertise is in strength and conditioning and he provided a wonderful insight in how to tailor sessions to benefit young players physical development. Tsang Wai Chung is the futsal master in HK, and he provided an equally insightful workshop into how he develops young players for the national team.
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15 APSS coaches attended a seminar by Nick Cox, Academy Operations Manager of Manchester United. This was organised with the HKFA, and focused on how the Club designs sessions for young players.
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APSS have linked up four times now with Rangers FC’s U23 coaches while they were in HK to participate in the Soccer 7s. The Ranger’s coaches shared the club’s philosophy and methodology in developing young players at the elite level in a Category A academy in the UK.
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Hannover 96 youth coach Marco Weber was invited to Hong Kong, where he delivered a workshop for our coaches sharing the philosophy of the Bundesliga club’s youth coaching system. He also led training for some of our Squad teams.
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Charlie Jackson, Manchester City Academy Coach, and founder of UEFA-endorsed “Matrix” training system, has delivered workshops on his Matrix system to our coaches. Charlie has also delivered some Matrix sessions to our elite players. APSS operates the Matrix program on Charlie’s behalf in HK, https://www.apsoccer.hk/matrix/
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Alan Walker – UEFA Pro-Coach Educator formerly with the Northern Irish Football Association delivered intensive pre-season courses for our staff on two occasions. This introduced content delivered in UEFA courses for 7 and 11-a-side gameplay. The philosophy of the courses revolves around successfully coaching players to understand the 4 Moments of the Game and the Principles of Play which are at the heart of the APSS Squad program.
Child Protection
We take child safeguarding and protection seriously at APSS and Kinder Kicks. Our coaches have to undertake police background checks and attend first aid and other child protection workshops to be able to work with your children. You can see the details on our About page.
See our code of conduct for coaches