US Club Soccer and LaLiga to host multiple sessions at United Soccer Coaches Convention

About Players First | USC Coaches Convention

BALTIMORE, Md. | For the fifth consecutive year, US Club Soccer will host classroom and field sessions alongside LaLiga at the largest annual meeting of soccer coaches across the globe.

The sessions from Players First partner LaLiga, “Introduction to LaLiga Methodology: Training Session Structure and Principles,” and “The Progression Principle in the Training Session” will provide an insightful approach to building a training session using LaLiga methodological philosophies and principles.

Along with the classroom and field sessions, US Club Soccer will also feature a notable booth (#500) in the convention hall. Current and prospective US Club Soccer members are invited to visit the booth and mingle with their respective membership services representative.

Here are US Club Soccer’s session details:

• Thursday, Jan. 16; 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET: Field session – “The Progression Principle in the Training Session;” LaLiga methodology experts will demonstrate how to train progression – the concept of efficiently breaking lines to move the ball up the field under control. Presented by LaLiga Formation Methodology experts Hugo Blanco, Carlos Casal and Felipe Vega-Arango.
• Friday, Jan. 17; 11 a.m. -12 p.m. ET: Classroom session – “Introduction to LaLiga Methodology: Training Session Structure and Principles;” How has LaLiga been able to consistently produce some of the world’s top players? In this classroom session, LaLiga methodology experts will share the philosophies and training session concepts that guide LaLiga academies to achieve world-class player development. Presented by Blanco, Casal and Vega-Arango.

LaLiga Formation Methodology presenter bios:

• Hugo Blanco is LaLiga’s Sports Projects Manager and an expert in methodology training (UEFA-PRO Coach). Blanco has worked as a Director Manager in different Public and Private Facilities, and he has extensive experience with the Galician Football Federation and Galician School of Coaching, among other organizations. Blanco holds a Ph.D. in Science of Physical Activity and Sport from Universidad de A Coruña (Doctoral Thesis about Tactical Data Analysis) and has researched and published several articles relating to top-level soccer performance.
• Carlos Casal is the current Senior Specialist in Sports Projects Development at LaLiga. He is a UEFA PRO-certified coach and has bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sports Science, specializing in soccer tactical analysis. Casal joined LaLiga in 2015 and has since carried out different football programs in more than 20 countries, ranging from grassroots development to a high-performance perspective. He continues to work in various research studies and has published articles in high-impact journals.
• Felipe Vega-Arango, current Technical Director of the first LaLiga Academy in the U.S. (in Miami). Former head coach and Technical Head of the Salomon Islands National Team, Felipe is a UEFA-PRO certified coach with more than 20 years of experience in Spanish and American grassroots development. From the coach’s development perspective and beyond his mission in Spain, Felipe is one of the FIFA Technical Experts, training more than 500 coaches around the world during the past two years.

Stay tuned as room numbers and more details are finalized as the convention approaches. Join the conversation on social media by using the Players First-hashtag #P1soccer.