The Charleston Battery launched its coaches association program in late February as part of greater effort to become more involved with the area’s youth clubs and player development.
The program kicked off with behind the scenes access to a private Seattle Sounders training session during Carolina Challenge Cup. The registered coaches were invited to attend Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s closed practice the day before Seattle’s match with Columbus Crew. The MLS Cup winning coach addressed the group, walked them through the session, and fielded questions.
Following the Q&A, the youth coaches had unrestricted access to roam the sidelines of MUSC Health Stadium and watch Clint Dempsey and the reigning MLS Champions prepare for a match.
The program will continue with more open practice events in the future. Charleston Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser will host the next open session in the lead up to the team’s first USL game on March 25th. More details to come in the next newsletter.
“Our aim with the program is to bring our local coaches together via the first class facility and coaches we have here at MUSC Health Stadium, which should ultimately help raise the standard of player development in our region,” said Battery Vice President Mike Kelleher. “We want to connect with the clubs in the area and help each other to achieve that goal however we can, and we feel this is a step in the right direction.”
The Charleston Battery Coaches Association is free and open to all coaches in the Charleston area. Registration for the program is still open, visit teamphoria.com to register. You will be signed up for the program newsletter upon registration.
