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🎙️ Episode 121: Coaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha Players – A Focus on Mindset

Episode 121 marks the first episode co-hosted by Scott Mowberry and Ray Power, launching a new collaborative chapter for The Soccer Coaching Podcast.

For this episode, Scott and Ray are joined by Phil Phillipou to explore the challenges and opportunities of coaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha players, with a particular focus on mindset.

As the game continues to evolve, so do the players we coach. This conversation dives into how today’s young players think, learn, communicate, and respond to pressure — and what that means for coaches working in modern football environments.

🧠 Key themes discussed include:

• Understanding the mindset traits of Gen Z and Gen Alpha players
• How social media, culture, and modern life influence young footballers
• Why traditional coaching approaches don’t always land with today’s players
• Creating environments that support confidence, resilience, and self-belief
• Practical strategies coaches can use to connect, challenge, and support players
• The balance between standards, empathy, and accountability

Phil brings a psychology-informed perspective grounded in real-world coaching and athlete development, offering practical insight that coaches can apply immediately — whether they’re working in grassroots football, academies, or performance environments.

📘 About the guest

Phil is the author of Inspiring Young Minds: The Psychology Mastery for Young Footballers, a book designed to help young players develop strong psychological foundations alongside their football ability.

🔗 Book link:
https://www.amazon.com/Inspiring-Young-Minds-Mastery-Footballers/dp/B0FN79FKV9

📲 Connect with Phil:

• Instagram: @mindsightsport
• LinkedIn: Phil Phillipou

Phils Webinar & Discount Code- https://www.tickettailor.com/events/raypowercoacheducation/2029162

The discount is PHIL10

🎧 Coach’s Voice – get involved

As part of this new phase of the podcast, we’re introducing Coach’s Voice episodes — and we want to hear from you.

Coaches are invited to:

• Send in a voice note (up to 2 minutes) sharing a question, idea, experience, or viewpoint
• Be as individual, reflective, or even controversial as you like

Selected submissions will be played on the podcast and used as the starting point for discussion with Scott and Ray.

A couple of simple guidelines:

• Please don’t use player names
• If your topic is controversial, avoid naming clubs
• If you prefer not to record audio, you can email your thoughts instead

📩 Send voice notes or emails to:
thesoccercoachingpodcast@gmail.com

This episode was brought to you in association with our friends at Soccer Coach Weekly.

Established since 2006, Soccer Coach Weekly is a leading source of inspiration and advice for all grassroots coaches. Join thousands of youth soccer coaches, just like you, saving time and effort in their goal of having the most effective, enjoyable and successful coaching journey for them and their players. – https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoyed the episode!

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🎙️ Episode 120: An Exciting Evolution of The Soccer Coaching Podcast

In this short update episode, I share some exciting news about the next evolution of The Soccer Coaching Podcast.

Going forward, I’ll be collaborating with Ray Power to bring even more engaging, thought-provoking, and coach-focused content to the podcast. Together, we’re planning to release one or two episodes per month, alongside the existing format, designed to explore the game from multiple perspectives and spark meaningful discussion.

🔍 What’s coming next?

Our collaborative episodes will include a mix of:

• Guest interviews with coaches and practitioners
• Round-table conversations exploring key themes and ideas
• Coach’s Voice episodes — where you, the coaching community, take centre stage

🎧 Coach’s Voice: we want to hear from you

For our Coach’s Voice episodes, we’re inviting coaches to get involved directly.

You can:

• Record a voice note (up to 2 minutes) sharing a question, idea, experience, or opinion
• Be as unique, reflective, or even controversial as you like

We’ll play selected voice notes on the podcast and use them as a starting point for discussion.

A couple of important guidelines:

• Please don’t use player names
• If your topic is controversial, avoid naming clubs
• If you’d rather not record audio, you can email your thoughts instead

📩 Send voice notes or emails to:
thesoccercoachingpodcast@gmail.com

This evolution is all about making the podcast more interactive, more reflective of the coaching community, and a place where real coaching conversations can happen.

Thanks, as always, for listening and Ray and I are really looking forward to sharing what comes next.

This episode was brought to you in association with our friends at Soccer Coach Weekly.

Established since 2006, Soccer Coach Weekly is a leading source of inspiration and advice for all grassroots coaches. Join thousands of youth soccer coaches, just like you, saving time and effort in their goal of having the most effective, enjoyable and successful coaching journey for them and their players. – https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoyed the episode!

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🎙️ Episode 118 — Deep Dive #1: Building Out from the Defensive Third (with Paddy King)

Brought to you in association with our friends at Soccer Coach Weekly (@SoccerCoachWeek)

In the first episode of our brand-new Deep Dive series, we’re joined by Paddy King to explore one of the game’s most important tactical elements — building out from the defensive third.

Paddy breaks down what effective build-out play looks like and shares insight into the key principles behind it — from creating angles and supporting runs to recognising when and how to progress the ball through the thirds.

Using a short clip from a recent Barcelona match, Paddy highlights how top teams manage this phase of play, before explaining how grassroots and academy coaches can translate those same concepts into practical, engaging training sessions.

In this episode:

• How Barcelona’s structure and spacing create options during build-out
• The decision-making process for centre-backs, midfielders, and the goalkeeper
• Coaching cues and constraints-led practices to develop confident build-out play
• Ideas for small-sided games that replicate real match scenarios

📺 Watch this Deep Dive episode on YouTube:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@thesoccercoachingpodcast9489

💬 Got feedback or a topic you’d like us to explore?
We’d love to hear from you — email us at thesoccercoachingpodcast@gmail.com

⚽ Subscribe on your favourite podcast app (and on YouTube) so you never miss a new Deep Dive episode!

This episode was brought to you in association with our friends at Soccer Coach Weekly.

Established since 2006, Soccer Coach Weekly is a leading source of inspiration and advice for all grassroots coaches. Join thousands of youth soccer coaches, just like you, saving time and effort in their goal of having the most effective, enjoyable and successful coaching journey for them and their players. – https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoyed the episode!