The ECNL hosted its annual coaching symposium this week in Las Vegas, where over 750 soccer leaders from across the country gathered to align on the vision of the ECNL moving forward, hear from an incredible lineup of guest speakers, and continue to grow and move the sport forward.

The two-day event featured speakers Drew Brees (former NFL Quarterback and Super Bowl MVP), Ceri Bowley (ECNL Technical Advisor and former City Football Group staff), Martin Diggle (Head of Coach Development at Liverpool FC), Paul McVeigh (former English Premier League player), Sean Nahas (Head Coach of the North Carolina Courage), Charlie Stillitano (Chairman for Serie A USA), Shari Summers (Chief Soccer Growth Officer for US Soccer), and Dr. Drew Watson (ECNL Medical Advisor). The speakers touched on topics ranging from coach and player development, the psychology of being a leader, the lessons from and importance of sports on human development, as well as personal stories from their careers, and more.

“We are pleased with the information they were able to deliver to us to help on our soccer journey in Wichita,” said Blake Shumaker, Director of ECNL at FC Wichita.

In addition to the guest speakers, at the ECNL AGM league leadership discussed the current state of the league, and ECNL President Christian Lavers presented the league’s vision moving forward, highlighting where the ECNL plans to go in the coming years.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the ECNL leadership’s vision, their statements of intent, where they want to take the league, and their accountability for what they have accomplished, what still needs to be worked upon, and what the next set of initiatives are in how they are growing the league and making this the best environment for youth players in the country,” Chatterjee said.

“The most important and the best part is the clear vision and direction of the league moving forward. That is something I think everyone should be excited about and the reason we should all trust in this league and the project,” said Sena Halilovic, Technical Director at Chicago Inter. “We are taking a lot home with us to share with our coaching staff, administrators, and players. I think it’s extremely beneficial being here and we will be back next year for sure.”

Below are just some of the many insights shared by speakers throughout this year’s ECNL Coaching Symposium.

“The ECNL is a leadership factory disguised as a soccer league.” - Drew Brees, “Lessons From Sport”

“It’s not about how we prefer to coach. Until our mindset becomes about the player we will only develop half a player.” - Ceri Bowley, “Creating Environments Where Success is Inevitable”

“Our model and techniques are always applied to the identity of the player.” - Martin Diggle, “The Liverpool Way”

“Your entire emotional experience is dictated by how you think and how you think is going to drive what you do.” - Paul McVeigh, “The Psychology of Leadership”

“Look at every player and say they are on this team for a reason. The intelligence of how we approach these young players is so important.” - Sean Nahas, “The Journey From Youth to Pro Soccer and the Connections Between”

“Sir Alex Ferguson once told me, listen to everyone, but you have to make decisions. Only one person can be in charge at a club.” - Charlie Stillitano, “Travels Through World Football”

“I’m excited where we are trying to head and it’s going to take a team effort to get there.” - Shari Summers, “US Soccer Federation Vision”

“We want to deliver actionable data to drive individual and team-level interventions in real time.” - Dr. Drew Watson, “Research in the ECNL: Reducing Injury and Improving Mental Health Across the League”