The NF coaching team continues to grow and develop
The NF coaching team continues to grow and develop
Central to NF Academy’s constant search for excellence are the coaches, who are in direct contact with the players and their parents.
So far this year, we’ve expanded our team in Oslo with three Portuguese professional coaches to contribute and improve the support to players in Norway and the Oslo region. After a couple of months getting to know the people and the players, we checked in with the coaches David Fernandes, Rodrigo Silva and João Leal to hear about their experiences.
Read more about the coaches and their experiences working for NF Academy below.
Press the button to see the upcoming events in your region.
NF Coach David Fernandes
His main passion and skills are centred around talent development with youth players. David has worked with youth teams over the past five years, three of them as a Head Coach.
During this time, he has had great success in identifying players weaknesses and systematically improving on them with individual exercises and team context, which matches perfectly with the NF Academy methodology.
Background:
- U10 team Head Coach at Sporting Clube de Portugal
- U13 team Head Coach at Escola Academia Sporting – Carnide
- U15 team Head Coach at Grupo Desportivo da Ilha
- U13 team Assistant Coach at Grupo Desportivo da Ilha
It’s been a few months since you started this journey with NF Academy. What do you find the most fascinating about this opportunity?
– I believe that this working with NF in Oslo, I can make a strong impact with players of great potential. I think so for two reasons.
– Firstly, all the athletes that are part of the NF project have the possibility to work with the NF methodology. This allows them to improve their abilities both in terms of performance and decision making while learning the game and the complexity around it.
– Second, I’ve learned that the athletes we are working with are focused athletes, interested, with initiative, with a very positive competitive spirit and with exciting levels of effort and motivation to grow. In my view, this is the perfect combination for the project to continue to grow as it has so far.
NF Coach Rodrigo Silva
Rodrigo boasts a complete profile with experience in several areas from being a technical coordinator in a club, working on youth players development to leading a senior team as a Head Coach.
He has excellent competence as a communicator and as a leader, which makes training sessions more effective when working with young players.
Background:
- U17 Head Coach at Benfica/Feillie Technical Partnership Rudong, China
- Technical Coordinator at FC Barreirense
- Head Coach Senior Team at ACRUT Zambujalense, Portugal
- U15 Head Coach at Sporting CP School Academy, Portugal
- Internship Coach at Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Portugal
How do you feel that your values and coaching techniques match those of NF Academy?
– For me, my personal values and as a coach are all about sincerity, humility, work capacity, emotion, psychological and social well-being for everyone. The most important of all is always to put the athletes first.
– Regarding the coaching techniques, the foundation of my teachings is to convey a better understanding of the game, combined with improved decision making, while always reflect on the decisions made with the athletes. This goals and values are very much in line with the purpose of my position here with the team in NF Academy Norway.
NF Goalkeeper Coach João Leal
João is a UEFA C coach, with more than eight years of experience in coordination of Goalkeeping Development Departments and in the training of athletes from different age groups (U9 – Seniors).
Background:
- Goalkeeping Coach at FC Barreirense senior team.
- Founder and responsible for the Goalkeeping Development Department at Seixal Clube 1925.
- Responsible for the Goalkeeping Development Department at SU 1º Dezembro.
- Goalkeeping Coach at The LIFE Academy FC (England).
- Women’s senior team Goalkeeping Coach at QP Rangers FC (England).
- Goalkeeping Coach at AC Almada.
How has the feedback been so far from players and parents?
– Until now, after completing three events with the team, the feedback from both players and parents have been very positive. Many of them have asked to stay in touch about future events as well, so I’m motivated by their interest to come back to train with us.
– For me, it’s very rewarding seeing that the athletes are happy and that, at the end of each training session, they have understood and implemented the main messages.
DO YOU WANT TO TRAIN AND LEARN WITH THEM?
Below you can see the events where David Fernandes, Rodrigo Silva and João Leal will attend. To check all the upcoming NF Academy events scheduled, click here.
UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS
Date | Program | Country | Place | Age Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
08 - 12 Jan 2025 | NF Selection Riga Cup | Latvia | Riga | 2010 | |||
16 - 19 Jan 2025 | NF Selection Riga Cup | Latvia | Riga | 2011 | |||
22 - 26 Jan 2025 | NF Selection Riga Cup | Latvia | Riga | 2008-2009 | |||
30 Jan - 02 Feb 2025 | NF Selection Riga Cup | Latvia | Riga | 2012 | |||
05 - 09 Feb 2025 | NF Selection Riga Cup | Latvia | Riga | 2013 | |||
16 - 22 Feb 2025 | NF Elite Training Camp Week 8 |
Portugal | Lisboa / Estoril | 2010 - 2016 | |||
23 Feb - 01 Mar 2025 | NF Elite Training Camp Week 9 |
Portugal | Lisboa / Estoril | 2010 - 2016 | |||
12 - 17 Apr 2025 | NF Selection Costa Daurada (BOYS) | Spain | Salou | 2009-2014 | |||
12 - 17 Apr 2025 | NF Selection Costa Daurada (GIRLS) | Spain | Salou | 2007-2010 | |||
17 - 21 Apr 2025 | NF Selection Future Cup | Sweden | Gothernburg | 2008-2015 | |||
Check the complete Event Calendar here.
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