In May 2015 I was on a much needed post-season break to the South Coast when I finally opened a Christmas present - Michael Calvin's "The Nowhere Men". The book charts the life of scouts within football as they travel from stadium to stadium keeping an eye out for the next big thing. It was Chapter 4 that really caught my attention, with Michael documenting his time spent with Miguel Rios who was then the Brentford FC Head of Academy Recruitment. Much of what Miguel said rang true with my own experiences of coaching and youth development including the inhibitory approaches of coaches who are 'wedded to winning'. Furthermore, he addressed the importance of physical literacy, the aim to create an environment that was pressure-free for players and more. On a wave of enthusiasm from my previous #CoachingConversations with Paul Holmes, Jamie Taylor, Daniel Pyke and Peter Jeffrey, I got in touch with Miguel and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to head down the road from home to Brentford to meet him.

In your role as Head of Recruitment, and with a background in coaching, what is it that you are looking for within young players?
It depends on the age really. At the younger end of the spectrum I am primarily looking at the physical characteristics over tactical or technical. At 6, 7, 8 years old I want to see if they have the ABCs that will set them up well going forward, technique can come in time. It's also important to get an idea of how they respond to the coach - can they learn? 


It has always amazed me somewhat that football clubs take players at such a young age. Although a very different sport and structure, the NFL Draft featured high numbers of players who were multi-sport athletes up until (and including) college. Football is very much focused on early specialization, getting the kids in at 6 years old. What is your view on this and how does it affect your role?
I think I see this differently to many - I've not got too many issues with early specialization, it certainly hasn't done Xavi and Iniesta any damage to be playing football regularly since a young age. My opinion is that the focus should be on the coaching itself - hopefully through good coaches we can bring out a variety of skills and put our players into a variety of environments to ensure they have a rounded development that maximises their potential to make it as professional footballers. In terms of my role in recruitment, the age of the player links to their strengths and position - a midfielder needs to have a high technical ability for example. It also depends on the club itself and what level they are playing at. In each of the professional leagues the game is slightly different and requires players with different skills and strengths. Clubs in the Premier League may want to recruit and develop players in a different way to those in League 1 or League 2. 


So for your role, in an Academy that is highly regarded, are you recruiting for players with Premier League potential and skillset despite being in the Championship?
I believe that should be the aim, yes. Having that ambition to recruit players suitable for the top level of football.


In 'The Nowhere Men', you mentioned how the development of some young players is inhibited because their coaches are wedded to winning. Is that still an issue you encounter and how do you break that?
Firstly, I want to say that I have no issue with winning as a concept - I think it is important to have competition where teams win and lose. However, it is the winning-at-all-costs mentality that can be harmful and the connection that winning has for the young players is the important thing. It should be part of the game but not the over-riding factor, especially for young players who are still learning and developing. Some parents and coaches see it differently, and that's hard to combat. But the nature of winning and losing, I think, is a good lesson - players need to experience hardship at times as it helps them to grow and it shows a lot about their character. At the end of the day, we are operating at the top end of elite sport and players need to be able to roll with hardship and keep going.


I also read that it is important for you to remove the pressure from your players, why is that crucial for you and how do you do it? Pulling on a Brentford FC shirt must inherently bring an element of pressure with it?
You're right, it does - but we want to create an environment where the pressure is off and the fear factor is removed. I'm not saying it needs to be a relaxed environment, but one where they are able to take risks and develop as a result. When players take risks they can learn, they can show themselves for who they really are. Too often, Academies are run on fear - the fear of being released and not making it. That inhibits players and encourages them to play it safe.


A number of Academies have very strong reputations, if you were to set-up your own club how would you build the Academy to produce good players?
Many Academies get a lot of praise, however I think the key things come down to good coaches at a given time as opposed to it being something inherent within the club itself; that is they have good people in place who coincide with a number of talented youngsters. I'd build my club around high level recruitment, high level coaching and plenty of playing football - that is how young players develop.


You used to coach, and you interact with coaches daily - what is your view on the current coach education provision? I myself have some reservations about the coach education within rugby, certainly.
I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of The FA coaching courses even though I have had to do them myself. It is all about the qualification itself rather than the learning aspect. It's like a driving test, you pass an assessment and there is no real measure of quality or improvement as a coach after you have been certified.
Box-ticking...
Yeah, in many cases and how do you know what you've learnt? How does the FA know? There are many coaches in the system just aren't at the level because they can pass a course but might not be developing themselves as a coach, or be able to communicate effectively with players..
A lot of doors in rugby are closed by ex-pros moving into coaching. I'm sure many are very good, but I've seen plenty who aren't too...
The same in football. I see it all the time and I think it'll continue to get worse. I'm currently working on an a course with The FA on Talent ID which is based on ongoing learning stretching my abilities over 18 months, hopefully a similar approach will come over to the coaching side too. Another problem is academic inflation - so many coaches are having to shell out huge sums of money to be more qualified than the next coach, but everyone is having to do it and it kills young coaches, how can they afford it?
I know a number of S&C coaches who feel the same way about their own industry, I've heard the phrase "S&C is one of the only industries where a Masters might get you an internship." What would your advice be, therefore, for young coaches?
Get experience and be themselves. Experience is key, and much of that will have to come from volunteering.


Is there anything that many Academies aren't doing that maybe you should be improving?
Certainly recruitment, who they bring in and why. Most Academies are just wanting to develop that one player, one star. However every team needs 11 players! My key philosophy is to give everyone a chance. If you recruit for the right reasons, and have the right coaches in place then give everyone the chance to earn that professional contract. Some clubs just don't have a player in a certain position in an age group, so will recruit a young player because it will do for the next couple of years. I don't think that is good enough. But, football is results-driven and staff turnover is high - it's hard to develop that environment.


Football is renowned for how few players actually make it to the top, and that many of those released at 18 have limited education and prospects. In rugby, Saracens put a huge emphasis on their culture and as part of this they insist on all players taking part in higher education or the workplace. Could this work in football if a club wanted to try a similar approach?
I think in football there is just too much choice. If we put the money into an education programme then maybe we can't pay them as much. If they can earn more down the road at another club then they can just sign for them - it's that simple. Culture as a concept is hugely important, I'm just not sure the education side would work in a football Academy set-up.

I was recently listening to the Marc Maron 'WTF!' podcast which featured none other than President Obama as the guest. In the episode, Obama is as engaging as ever but there was one particular part that caught my attention when talking about growing up and his role as President. He mentions how in his teens he was 'trying on different clothes' in terms of who he was as a person, trying to seek answers to the questions 'Who am I?' and 'What is important to me?'. He goes on to explain that he realised he didn't have to just be one way, that his personality could be more fluid and that there was no need to pressure himself into being something that he isn't. A focus on core values, he reflected, such as honesty, hard work and kindness are the best way to live life both as a person and a professional. 

Coaching is never too far from my mind and this really struck a chord for me. It is my belief that the essence of coaching is in relationships - with players, with colleagues, with your employers etc. However, it is with your players that you must establish rapport, to see them as, and have genuine care for them as, people, not just as athletes. 

The majority of coaches don't work in an elite, results-driven environment. Rather, they are out with youngsters and amateurs, trying to educate, improve and create something. I am still early on in my journey as a coach, with plenty yet to learn, however I think Obama's focus on core values should be at the heart of coaching. Leave your ego to one side and try to create and embody an environment that allows your athletes to thrive. Honesty, hard work and kindness seem like a good place to start. 

Wayne Harrison first came to my attention on twitter a few months ago (I think through The Whitehouse Address) - he seemed passionate about coaching and was constantly engaged with a wide range of coaches across the United States and beyond. A little bit of research was quick to show his extensive CV and experience both as a player and a coach in various countries. Wayne has also contributed to the coaching community with various books and articles that have been published - a full run down of these can be found here. His passion for youth development, as well as willingness to 'be different' and innovative made it clear to me that he'd be a good person to contact for #coachingconversations. 

You founded Soccer Awareness in 1996, what is the overall philosophy and aim?
To provide a focus in training on the development of the mind with exercises designed to teach and test it. 

It is clear that you put a big emphasis on the thinking player and training the mind - what led you to prioritise this aspect?
I played professionally but would have been a better player if I was more mentally attuned to the game in terms of assessing my options before receiving the ball. The game was fast even then and to have been a faster decision maker would have meant I would have been a better player. So I always wanted to help others with it and it became my focus on teaching. I call it teaching a "half a touch mentality" to produce different actions based on it. 

Decision making is crucial in all sports - as a rugby coach in the UK I have often come across players who run certain moves because they are told to and occasionally have success, but the actual understanding of why they are doing it or who they are manipulating is absent. The landscape is starting to change now, how important do you think it is to put this focus on decision making and understanding at a young age?
It is THE most important focus in the game in my opinion. Funny it's becoming fashionable now to talk about decision making and the mind and faster thinking when I've focused on it for almost 20 years. The younger you start the better. I teach patterns of play, I present ways to do things, then I have the players make their own decisions and find different ways to do things within my pattern play framework. 

How would your athletes describe you as a coach? What is the coaching identity you seek to put out there?
Positive, encouraging, warm, excitable, fun, educational, very down to earth, and occasionally very demanding when needed. I seek to make sure we are all at the same level no matter what age I teach and everyone's view is as important as the next. They must never call me coach either, it's Wayne, because I want us mentally attuned at the same level. 

Soccer is now pretty established in the states, gaining increased media coverage to go alongside the youth participation numbers which have been high for a while. How has the soccer landscape/environment changed whilst you've been in the U.S. and how has this impacted, if at all, on your coaching?
It's generational. Current parents, many have played the game so understand it better and hence the demand to see the game has grown. No impact on my coaching to be honest I'm just happy the game is growing. 

Recently you had somewhat of a Twitter rant, which was great, about the approach to youth sports in the U.S. and the focus on winning rather than development. I read recently that Miguel Rios of Brentford FC described youth coaching in the UK, outside the academies, as sometimes being hindered by being wedded to winning. It is so ingrained in the American psyche to win - have you had huge pushback to your long-term developmental approach or do some people 'get it'?
People say they agree then show they really think the opposite. It's fashionable to say development over winning but it's still about winning - perhaps parents push and believe in the win so much as they are vicariously living through their kids and to be a winner in the USA is in the psyche. It's made USA what it is today, with this desire for success in all walks of life, but in Soccer's case I think it's still not understood fully that we must teach the right principles of how to play the game correctly first before the obsession with winning. So not obvious push back, but developing clubs and making money and winning all go hand in hand unfortunately. It won't change my attitude and I love to win but I always believe it's HOW you win not winning for the sake of it. 

What do you think are the most important aspects in general for youth development?
Technical development, skill development (which in my book is decision making and links to the mind and totally different to technique) and tactical development and understanding of movement off the ball. We have the ball ourselves 4 to 5 minutes a game so 86 minutes it's movement off the ball - more training focus on this aspect is vital. 

I noticed that as well as your football career you played England U16 Rugby and Cumbria Cricket U18 - do you think that experience, and participation in other sports, made you a better overall sportsman rather than if you had specialised early on football?
I believe so but I think it's more difficult to be good at many sports now and specialization comes earlier. And the demands of clubs and coaches mean that little time is allowed for other sports. 

You have no doubt been a great help and influence for many coaches with your various videos, books, talks etc. How do you continue to improve and learn yourself?
I buy books, I watch games every day on TV, I read about head coaches and how they work, I see other peoples' work and incorporate it or more often change it to suit my way of teaching. I like to experiment with different systems of play, I have another book coming out soon on "how to teach the 3-1-3-3 system of play" which is a very radical way to play. I'm always looking for the new angle on the game and to try to do something unique.