June 30, 2010

Local coach Ian McClurg Earns UEFA "A" License

RELEASE - Ancaster resident Ian McCurg has joined the elite class of soccer coaches worldwide by earning his UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) "A" License from the Irish Football Association. The UEFA "A" License is viewed as the MBA of soccer coaching qualifications. This license is required to coach in the English Championship League and other elite professional leagues in Europe.

To earn the distinguished license, McClurg completed more than 240 hours of training spanning more than two years, including extensive on- and off-field coursework, peer analysis by course instructors and a display of world-class expertise in the tactical, technical, physical and psychological aspects of the game. He travelled to Northern Ireland during the week of June 14th to complete the final requirements for the award with other top professional coaches from Europe and North America.

McClurg says "Like players, it is important too that coaches continually challenge themselves and be open to new ideas. Continued development and education is paramount for all coaches in all sports, especially one that changes as quickly as soccer. Arsene Wenger the Arsenal coach has commented that parents will want to send their children to the best piano teacher, if they want to be the best at that skill. I apply this same concept to soccer coaching and want to the best qualified coach in the area, so that I can best assist young players with their own long-term development"

During the last 18 months, McClurg has operated Brazilian Soccer Schools at Burlington and Hamilton locations. He offers year-long training programs that include personal 1:1 training, group and team training sessions. He is currently working on several new elite programs that will be launched in the fall of 2010 to assist local players prepare for US Scholarship and professional playing opportunities overseas.

"I spent a lot of time with coaches from top clubs in Europe who are involved with the youth development side for their clubs. We have exchanged ideas and they are all very interested in some of the work we are doing here. Working on the license has provided me with a really good sense of the trends in the modern game and what types of players we need to be developing in Canada to be successful. The top young players in Europe have trained (not played) for 14,000 hours by the time they are aged 16. We must quickly develop a "training mentality" in Canada to be successful. Our current system is not geared towards Elite Player Development and we will be working hard in the coming months to change that"

You can learn more about Ian's work by viewing his website at www.icfds.com/burlington