On the 10^th August 2011, I was lucky enough to take part in the first ever coach exchange through the partnership between St Albans City Youth FC and Centerville United Soccer Association (CUSA), in South Ohio, USA. I was greeted by Brett Thompson, CUSA’s Executive Director, at Cincinnati Airport, and he, his wife Nancy, and his daughter Ashley were kind enough to host me during my stay. I cannot thank them enough for doing this, and I was treated with immense generosity and hospitality.

I got up to a lot of very enjoyable things during my stay. First and foremost, I took part in a US Soccer D License Course, the equivalent of our Level 2 Course here. This was highly worthwhile and interesting for me, as I could observe some similarities and differences in coaching methods to the UK. I’m pleased to say that I gained a National Pass for this course. My thanks must also be extended to Jamie and Roger, two CUSA coaches, for hosting me on both of the weekends that this course took place.

I also delivered and observed a number of training sessions with CUSA; these were with U8, U9, U13, and U14 Girls teams, and a U12 Boys team. Again, this was a fantastic experience for me. I was called ‘Harry Potter’ due to my strange English voice!  I also attended CUSA’s coaches training night, with all coaches from CUSA. This was very similar to the Coaches Summit we hosted at Sandringham School with the Herts. FA, and topics covered included goalkeeper warm ups, technical sessions on dribbling and turns, a kick-ups club they run, and general team management. I also observed CUSA’s Goalkeeping Technical Director, who ran sessions for the goalkeepers of all ages. I also attended lunch with the Club President, Dean Burgess.

As well as this, I was lucky enough to attend at a time when the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament was on, and was taken by Brett to see the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Mardy Fish, Marcos Baghdatis, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva. This was brilliant! King’s Island theme park was somewhere I also went to with Jamie and Roger, which again was excellent. On the last night, Brett managed to get me inside a massive hamster ball on water, a video of which can be viewed on our Facebook page. It involves me falling over a lot, so I’m sure you’ll have a great time watching!

Again, a massive thank you to the Thompson family, Janelle Fritschie – CUSA Director of Coaching, Jamie and Roger, and everyone involved with CUSA who made me feel so welcome out there. It really was the trip of a lifetime. We look forward to welcoming CUSA staff when they come to visit us in February.

On a personal level, I would like to thank Chris Johnson, Gordon Graham, Steph Hancock, and the girls section for allowing me to be the first coach to go out there to visit CUSA. A great level of thanks must also go to David Wray, Mervyn Morgan, Ian Woods, and everyone involved with St Albans City Youth FC. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in. I have had some fantastic experiences in the last twelve months, and will be forever grateful.

Sam Mardle