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Coaching football in AmericaA Day in the Life of... Mark Gorman Where are you? I'm in the good old US of A! Connecticut to be precise... Trumbull, Connecticut to be even more precise. I'm coaching soccer for Major League Soccer Camps. Trumbull consists of one bar, one library, three supermarkets, a mall, 35,000 people and two McDonalds. It’s in a good location though, it’s bang smack in the middle of Boston and New York City (a two hour drive in either direction). The people in Trumbull are fantastic too; they're extremely generous and very friendly! I still haven't managed to figure out why they have been so nice to me! When did you go? I arrived in the US on April 1st, I was moved around by the company for a few weeks, until I eventually arrived in Trumbull in mid April. I'll be in Trumbull till the end of June, I'll then move onto summer camps where I'll be moving to a different town/city each week. Then I go home at the start of September. Why did you go? The model answer to this question is that I have always had an interest in travelling, especially in the USA. So when the opportunity arose that allowed me to travel in the USA but also coach football at the same time, it was too good an opportunity to turn down! While all of this is true, it’s not entirely accurate... The real 'reason' I ended up going to America, is not because it was something I had planned to do for years nor was it something I had even contemplated at all, rather I stumbled upon the idea at a time when my gap year was turning into a bit of a nightmare. I left sixth form in May 2003 with no job, no money and no idea what I was going to do for my year out. I had deferred my place at Uni for a year, as I had always thought a gap year would be a great way to gain a little experience of the real world, do a bit of travelling and to get away from studying for a while. It’s a shame this is where my thoughts about a gap year ended. I had some grand ideas of what I could do and where I could go, but I'd never seriously researched costs or made a detailed plan of action. I went on a two-week 'lads' holiday in July to Zante, a small Greek island. One of my friends was repping out there and he managed to get me a job in one of the bars. My gap year had unexpectedly begun! However the reality of working in a bar abroad did not match up to the dream. I was working very hard 12-hour shifts for very little pay (one week the owner refused to pay me at all) with no days off. It was exhausting and after a couple of weeks the thought of getting drunk every night and dancing on top of a bar wore off. Needless to say I was on a plane back home within a month. So once again I was jobless, penniless and clueless as to what I was going to do for the rest of my gap. I still had grand ideas of what I wanted to do: I wanted to see the world, I wanted to travel for at least three months, I wanted to do all this without actually having to save up any money. This limited my search for a gap down to very little, as most veteran gappers will be aware, 99.9% of gaps that include lots of travel cost lots of money. So I was back to square one and nearly five months into my gap year. I had a lot of time on my hands, so I decided to pay a visit to some of my old teachers at sixth form and see how the place was getting on without me. By chance I got talking to a new PE teacher, who overheard a conversation I was having about how I was struggling to make anything of my gap year. He asked me if I was interested in football, to which I replied "of course", and he asked me if I'd ever considered coaching soccer in the US. A little flashing light bulb then appeared above my head; maybe I was onto something here. I did a little research into it, and eureka! I could get paid to go abroad, live in another country for five months, experience another culture and also get to see a lot of America (with the added bonus that this was a job... not a gap, so it wouldn’t cost very much money). From there everything got a lot better, I finally had a sense of direction, I had something to aim for. I got a job, saved very little money, had loads of fun with the money I did earn (as I had no bills or rent etc to pay) gained an FA coaching badge level 1 (the minimum qualification needed to work as a coach in the USA) and the rest, as they say, is history! In conclusion, the reason I came to the US... because I'm an extremely lazy yet unbelievably lucky kind-a-guy who stumbled upon an idea that just happened to turn into a dream come true! How was your day? I'll let you judge this one for yourself... The morning... I dragged myself out of bed at around 10.30. I always start my day by getting my chores out of the way, I check my emails, read The Sun online and then pay a visit to gapyear.com (shameless plug but true) and today was no different. After that I grabbed myself some breakfast and had a shower. That’s the boring bit out of the way then... The workout... Being a 'professional' coach, I think it’s vitally important that I keep myself in good shape. This not only sets a good example to the kids that I coach, it also helps me feel great, that’s why I eat 'protein power' snack bars between every meal and workout! No, this isn't a quote from myself, this is a quote from one of the many adverts that you see on TV, hear on the radio and read in nearly every magazine. You hear a lot about the extremely obese people in America, but there is also another extreme that you don’t hear so much about... the extremely fit people. Living in the US for a long period of time, you cannot help but become immersed in American culture and their way of life... and I'm no different. I've been sucked into the fitness and bodybuilding way of life, and I routinely spend at least one hour in the gym every day 'pumping iron'. I've even started taking protein shakes to 'enhance muscle growth'. And why have I done this? It’s probably a whole bunch of reasons thrown together; I've always wanted to get in shape and I did actually plan to do a bit of fitness training over here; there’s a gym in the basement of my mate’s house so it’s easily accessible with no hassle of actually having to go to a gym, and the final reason is probably because I've started to develop an inferiority complex over my size (due to the fact that I'm coaching 16yr old kids who stand nearly a foot higher than me and a foot wider). Leisure time... Being a professional coach, I believe it’s vitally important that I look my best at all times, that’s why I spend at least a couple of hours sunbathing in the baking heat every day. That was a quote from myself. After doing a hard workout in the gym, there’s nothing better than relaxing in the back garden, sat on a reclining sun lounger on wooden decking, with a bottle of beer in one hand and newspaper in the other, looking out over the clear, crisp blue waters of the outdoor pool that the family I'm staying with have in their back garden, while Oasis blares out from the stereo in the kitchen. Bliss... and this is what I try and do almost every single day (weather permitting). After a few hours of doing nothing except occasionally dipping in the pool to cool off, I feel refreshed, revitalized and ready to take on 30 screaming little seven year olds at practice! The job... Yes, while leading such a superstar lifestyle, it's easy to forget that I'm actually here to coach. That's why my mood changes somewhat as the hour hand edges closer to 4pm. Because at 4pm for 3 hours a day, I resume my role as a soccer coach. While the standard of soccer isn't as good as the standard back in blighty, for a country that has only embraced soccer for the last ten years, there not doing a bad job. For the most part I coach core teams, a team where children of all abilities can play. Occasionally I get a slightly more advanced team to coach where I can work them a little more rigorously, and I have to admit, I think this coaching lark is actually something I could look into full time... and think I only got started in coaching because I was too lazy to do anything else. The night... When most people's days are winding down, mine is only getting started. After training, I go home have dinner, watch a bit of cable, play a bit of PS2 and get ready for the night ahead. At 9pm nearly every other night, Anthony (the other English coach who I'm working with) and myself head down to Marissa's, the best (and only) bar in town, where we watch sport on the 3 widescreen TVs, consume alcohol (in moderation, of course) and generally have a good time. So, was it all worth it? Hell yeah! I wouldn't change a thing about the way I'm living at the moment. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the states, I still manage to visit the big cities every weekend if I choose, but I still get the benefits of living in a small town (such as being known by a lot of people, everything being within 5 minutes drive etc). I've been so impressed by this job and lifestyle that I'm already making plans to come back out here next summer in between Uni. Top tip? Plan, plan some more and prepare to make sacrifices! I was extremely lucky in my gap year. I didn't plan ahead, I didn't prepare myself for a year out and I wasn't willing to make sacrifices. I'm probably one in about 1000 people who didn't plan properly yet managed to make something of my gap year. Planning is essential to a successful gap year; you need to plan everything from your route to your finances, and in detail with an action plan - it’s hard work but it will definitely be worth it!  Click here >> for opportunities coaching football (or 'soccer' if you insist) Click here >> for USA info |
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