Coach Through Play — Playful Training Environments
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Coach Through Play Built for recreational soccer clubs + volunteer coaches

Make recreational coaching easier.Every coach supported.

Coach Through Play gives volunteer coaches one simple place to find games, build practices, learn and plan while helping the club create a more consistent, playful coaching environment. No coaching background required. Open it, find what you need and take it straight to the field.

Bring Coach Through Play to my club
Why it matters

Volunteer coaches want to help. Clubs need an easy way to support them.

01

Coaches need confidence

Give volunteers a clear starting point instead of asking them to invent every practice.

02

Clubs need consistency

Give every team access to the same simple coaching principles without scripting every coach.

03

Kids need to play

Create active practices built around the ball, teammates, opponents, decisions and fun.

Support the coach. Strengthen the club. Improve the player experience.
Everything in one place

Plan. Find. Create. Coach. Reflect.

Useful every week, not another manual that sits unread.

01

Resource Library

Ready-to-use games, sessions and curriculums with simple diagrams.

Find an idea fast
02

Game + Session Builder

Create one activity or three connected games around what your team needs.

Plan with purpose
03

Match-to-Practice

Start with what happened in the game and turn the observation into the next practice.

Make training relevant
04

Coach Education

Short, practical learning designed for busy grassroots and volunteer coaches.

Build confidence
05

Season Planner

Keep practices, games, meetings and saved sessions organized across the season.

Stay organized
06

Club Dashboard

Invite coaches, manage access, organize resources and view engagement.

Support the whole program
Why clubs benefit

Better support without creating more work for your DOC or Rec Director.

One shared platform gives volunteer coaches practical help while reinforcing the type of environment your club wants players to experience.

Less planning stress Coaches know where to go for ideas
More confident coaches Simple guidance they can actually use
More play Active, decision-rich practices
More consistency A shared club coaching language
Inside the library

Practical games, ready for the field

Clear visuals and focused coaching detail help volunteers move quickly from an idea to a game on the field.

A tactics creator diagram showing players, passing lines and a yellow playing area
Play

Tactics Creator

Draw the session as you see it: players, runs, passes and the space you want to create. Coaches get a clear picture they can take to the field.

See membership
Play firstObserveReal decisionsAdjust the challengeLook for transfer
Quality behind the platform

Supported by an Education Board

Resources are shaped and reviewed through coaching, coach education, research and player development expertise, giving clubs confidence that the support has a clear purpose behind it.

Darren Laver
Game-Based Learning

Darren Laver

Coach Educator, Researcher and Resource Lead

Practice-to-game transfer, playful learning, constraints and player-centered coaching.

Game-Based Learning

Darren Laver

Coach Educator, Researcher and Resource Lead

Darren Laver

Darren Laver is a soccer coach, coach educator, academic, researcher and program developer with extensive experience across youth development, coach education and applied learning environments. His work focuses on designing training that transfers effectively to the game, with particular emphasis on skill acquisition, representative learning design, player-centered coaching and constraints-led practice.

Darren is currently completing his PhD, with research focused on practice-to-match transfer in youth soccer. Alongside his academic work, he teaches at university level and develops coach education resources, training programs and soccer initiatives designed to make learning practical, engaging and accessible for both players and coaches.

Contribution to Coach Through Play

  • Leads game-based learning and constraints-led resource design
  • Reviews activities for practice-to-game transfer
  • Contributes creativity, street soccer and decision-making content
  • Develops coach education courses and practical field guidance
Rick Fenoglio
Player Development

Rick Fenoglio

Coach Educator, Sports Scientist, Scout

Playful learning, skill development, game understanding and player-centered coaching

Player Development

Rick Fenoglio

Coach Educator, Sports Scientist, Scout

Rick Fenoglio

American soccer scientist, author, coach educator, academic, consultant, club developer, and football scout with more than 35 years of experience across professional, academy, grassroots, and governance environments. Former Senior Lecturer in Football and Sport Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, with 30 years of higher education experience.

Project work has included The Football Association, FA Wales, The Football League, Premier League, Professional Footballers’ Association, Professional Football Scouts Association, and numerous academies and Centers of Excellence. Expertise includes scouting, curriculum and pathway development, coach and player education, qualitative research, skill acquisition, physical conditioning, and educational resource development.

Work with Manchester United FC included research on the 4v4 Pilot Scheme, Academy Syllabus, and EPPP Performance Plan. Current work with Manchester City FC includes worldwide senior scouting, CFG Academy auditing, and lecturing on the club’s BA (Hons) Community Coaching program.

Co-founder of Give Us Back Our Game and creator of the In-Play Football Coaching Group.

Contribution to Coach Through Play

  • Reviews content to ensure activities are enjoyable, creative and player-centered
  • Contributes curriculum, player pathway and coach education expertise
  • Supports resource development around skill acquisition and game understanding
  • Provides insight from extensive professional, academy and grassroots soccer experience
Dr. Ajit Korgaokar
Sports Scientist

Dr. Ajit Korgaokar

Player Development Specialist

Player Development, Session Design, and Player Performance

Sports Scientist

Dr. Ajit Korgaokar

Player Development Specialist

Dr. Ajit Korgaokar

Dr. Ajit Korgaokar is an Associate Professor in the Jeanette Cantrell Rudy School of Nursing & Health Professions. Originally from West Sussex, England, he holds a Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance and has more than 20 years of experience across teaching, coaching, and applied sport science.

His academic and professional expertise includes kinesiology, biomechanics, sport nutrition, performance recovery, blood flow restriction training, and athlete development. Dr. Korgaokar has worked as a sport scientist with Nashville Soccer Club in Major League Soccer and as a performance coach within the club’s academy.

His research focuses on soccer performance, youth athlete development, and evidence-based approaches to training and performance. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and contributes to the continued development of coaching and sport science practice.

Dr. Korgaokar also serves as an Educator Developer for the U.S. Soccer Federation and holds a U.S. Soccer A License.

Contribution to Coach Through Play

  • Reviews content to support effective player development and appropriate challenge
  • Advises on session design, progression and player engagement
  • Contributes expertise in player performance and applied sport science
  • Supports coach education with practical, evidence-informed guidance
Dr. Stuart Mourton
Sports Coaching and Educcation

Dr. Stuart Mourton

Sports Pedagogy Specialist

Sport and Education, Coaching Procedures and Feedback Delivery

Sports Coaching and Educcation

Dr. Stuart Mourton

Sports Pedagogy Specialist

Dr. Stuart Mourton

Dr. Stuart Mourton is Program Leader for the BA (Hons) Sport and Education degree at the University of Derby and a Senior Lecturer across undergraduate and postgraduate sport programs. His academic and research expertise focuses on motor control, skill acquisition and cognitive functioning, with particular relevance to how athletes learn, adapt and make decisions in dynamic sporting environments.

His work has strong applications to soccer, particularly in understanding how players develop technical skills, perceive information, make decisions and transfer learning from practice into competitive situations. Dr. Mourton’s expertise supports the design of representative training environments, player-centered coaching practices and evidence-informed approaches to skill development.

He also provides research supervision and support to MRes and PhD students, contributing to the development of applied sport research.

Outside the University, Dr. Mourton volunteers with Special Olympics West Midlands, supporting athletes in training and competition. His wider research interests include sport, learning and performance among individuals with intellectual disabilities, reinforcing his commitment to inclusive and individualized athlete development.

Contribution to Coach Through Play

  • Reviews resources through a motor learning and skill acquisition lens
  • Advises on decision-making, perception and player learning
  • Supports session design that encourages adaptation and problem-solving
  • Contributes evidence-informed guidance for inclusive, player-centered development
Matty Becks
Player Development

Matty Becks

Youth Development

Youth soccer coaching, player development, engaging session design, and age-appropriate learning

Player Development

Matty Becks

Youth Development

Matty Becks

With more than 20 years of experience in sports coaching and football development, he brings a strong passion for player development, talent identification, and creating innovative programmes and pathways that support long-term growth both on and off the pitch.

He holds a UEFA B Licence, FA Youth Modules 1 & 2, FA Futsal Level 1, and the FA Talent Identification Award. His coaching career began with Southampton Football Club, where he worked across the Community Programme, Girls’ Centre of Excellence, and Advanced Coaching Centres. He also supported the club’s women’s programme as Reserve Team Coach and First Team Assistant Manager, alongside wider administrative and community coaching responsibilities.

In addition to coaching, he has extensive scouting experience and currently works as an Academy Scout for Reading FC. Previous scouting and academy roles include Fulham, AFC Bournemouth, and Portsmouth Academy. Across his career, he has helped identify and develop talented young players, with more than 20 boys and girls progressing into professional academies including AFC Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Reading, and Swindon Town.

Contribution to Coach Through Play

  • Shapes age-appropriate coaching content for youth soccer players
  • Supports fun, engaging sessions that promote confidence and technical development
  • Advises on player progression, talent development and appropriate challenge
  • Reviews activities to ensure they are practical, enjoyable and effective for grassroots coaches

Quality matters: the goal is not to give coaches more content. It is to give them better, clearer support they can confidently use.

Simple membership

Support one coach or your whole recreational program

For clubs, the strongest value is one shared environment where coaches can plan, learn and find practical support throughout the season.

Annual membership

Individual Coach

$79 / year

Personal access to the planning and learning tools.

  • Resource library
  • Game and session builder
  • Season calendar
  • Coach learning
Join as a coach
Best for rec programs

Club Membership

$499 / year

A shared coaching-support platform for your recreational program.

  • Coach access
  • Club dashboard
  • Planning and resources
  • Coach education
  • Engagement overview
Bring it to my club
Flexible support

Association / Multi-Club

Custom

For organizations supporting multiple clubs or programs.

  • Multiple workspaces
  • Branded resource areas
  • Usage reporting
  • Implementation support
Contact sales
Make coaching easier

Give volunteer coaches somewhere useful to go every week

Less searching. More confidence. More play. A clearer coaching environment across your club.

Bring Coach Through Play to my club

Annual membership. Club access is the strongest fit for recreational programs that want every volunteer coach supported from one place.

Member access

Welcome back

Pick up your sessions, resources and club work where you left off.

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