Just like the best players in the world: The Brand New Youth Department Project

One of the Youth Academy’s goals is to help players grow and develop into players who can contribute and play on the First Team. Behind the scene there are plenty of coaches and staff who work day and night who give their all to the Yellow & Blue youngsters in their quest to be the best that they can be. Let’s meet some of those important people:

Asaf Heber
Coach: Under-15 North
Years as football coach: 10 years (last 2 at Maccabi)
Why did you decide to become a coach: “Football is the biggest joy in my life and I received my coaching licensing years before I actually decided to go into coaching. When my oldest started training with my youth club Hapoel Petah Tikva a friend of mine who is a coach at their youth department met me in the stands and asked me to come and help him twice a week and that’s how I ended up becoming a coach.”

What are your thoughts about the changes in the Youth Department? The new philosophy and the use of technology: “I began at the club the the changes began, so I can’t really compare as to what was before. On a personal level I’m enjoying everything, the philosophy that translates into actual game play and how to build proper training sessions. The technology side helps everyone at the club learn and improve both during training sessions and during the matches as well. We can also show the players certain data on their play from training and matches and have them explain why they did one thing or another and discuss if that was the best option available. This way we can help the players become more confident and have the ability to make better decisions during the actual game.”
What do you think is the most important thing to impart in young players in order for them to develop into professionals? “The most important thing is to show them that desire and hard work both on and off of the pitch will help their development and that it’s a long marathon in order for them to learn the tricks of the trade. Unfortunately there aren’t enough training hours and children today are barely playing football or any other sport outside of training hours so in order to be the best one must invest more and more hours into their training.”
How do you work on improving both yourself and your training ability? “Under Patrick van Leeuwen, the Club’s Performance Director there is a philosophy of training coaches from the level of presentations, lectures, discussions, visits to academies outside of Israel and accompanying the coaches along the way. In addition, I am always trying to enrich my knowledge and understanding through materials on the internet, books and trainings sessions on film.”
Is there a player that trained under you who has succeeded in Israeli football? “Right now there are players who are finishing their U19 season and I believe some of them will play for the First Team at Hapoel Petah Tikva.”
Role Model: “I don’t have a specific one. I always try to take a little from various coaches and try to improve myself.”
Favorite club in the world: “Manchester United.”
Unforgettable match: “State Cup quarter final from 2012/13 when we came into Ashdod as an underdog, went down 2:0 and came back to win 5:3.”
Something that we don’t know that’s untreated to football: “I work in information services and specialize in information security.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years: “I hope that coaching football will be my main employment.”

Eliran Sliman
Coach: Under-12 North
Years as football coach: 11 years all at Maccabi
Why did you decide to become a coach: “The love of the game.”

What are your thoughts about the changes in the Youth Department? The new philosophy and the use of technology: “There’s a good change at the Youth Department and we are making strives to improve through the wonderful coaching philosophy to help players improve as they continue to develop.”
What do you think is the most important thing to impart in young players in order for them to develop into professionals? “You must work on the basics of the game from a young age.”
How do you work on improving both yourself and your training ability? “I go to many continuing education seminars on various aspects of the game.”
Is there a player that trained under you who has succeeded in Israeli football? “Dan Glazer.”
Role Model: “Pep Guardiola.”
Favorite club in the world: “Real Madrid.”
Unforgettable match: “1999 Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.”
Something that we don’t know that’s untreated to football: “I like to ride horses.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years: “First Team Coach.”

Idan Kazinitz
Coach: Under-9 North
Years as football coach: 8 years, 7 at Maccabi
Why did you decide to become a coach: “Is there anything better than having your hobby as work?”
What are your thoughts about the changes in the Youth Department? The new philosophy and the use of technology: “We are constantly in the process of learning and that helps make the players and coaches better. There are plenty of new tools for the coaches to use as well. The bottom line is that I feel a lot more invested in the youth department, in every way!”

What do you think is the most important thing to impart in young players in order for them to develop into professionals? “To work on having a second foot. It’s important for us to not call it their weak foot for psychological reasons so the kids will want to work on getting it better.”
How do you work on improving both yourself and your training ability? “I read, look for ideas on the internet, watch training sessions, go to seminars and professional education workshops including one that was held in Valencia.”
Is there a player that trained under you who has succeeded in Israeli football? “It’s still early and it will take a while for some of them to succeed, but Eylon Almog who is with the Under-19 team is the closest.”
Role Model: “Puyol, 100% desire and battler, 100% ability and 100% sportsmanship.”
Favorite club in the world: “First place is Maccabi Tel Aviv and Tottenham is second.”
Unforgettable match: “3:1 win over Maccabi Haifa at Kiryat Eliezer in 1995/96, Nimni beat Davidovitch and that was that.”
Something that we don’t know that’s untreated to football:“Beach volleyball on Friday afternoons is one of my loves. There’s a good chance you’ll see me on Master Chef in a few years, I love to cook.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years: “Continue to educate athletes and footballers that they should have a healthy and athletic lifestyle as a coach at Maccabi and as a physical education teacher.”