The second Barclays Premier League Skills Course took place at Aston Villa’s training ground on the 27th and 28th November. The course was conducted by Alfred Galustian, co founder of Coerver® Coaching and technical advisor to the Barclays Premier League.

Youth coaches from the following Clubs attended; Manchester City, Everton, Manchester United, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Newcastle United, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur.

Galustian said, “This was not a pass or fail course, the idea is to contribute towards the professional development of coaches who work with the most talented young players in the country. The program we have devised teaches the coaching of core skills. In addition it shows how these skills can be used effectively in games.”

Special guests at the course were Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier and Scottish great John Collins.

Gerard Houllier the Former France national team coach and Technical Director told the participants, “In 1993 Michel Platini and I identified that France’s best young players needed to be master technicians. We then invited Alfred Galustian to work at Clairfontaine and the other centers teaching coaches how to improve technical skills”. Houllier said, “that many of France’s top players were a result of this technical emphasis that Alfred and the Coerver Program are well known for”.

Collins said “I have been involved with the Coerver program since I was a teenager, it certainly helped my career. It is essential that we bridge the technical differences between UK players and some of the best players in the World. Watching Barcelona each week confirms to me that we need to teach our young players technical excellence. This should be taught by the experts, Coerver Coaching”.