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anthonybrennercoaching

@anthonybrennercoaching

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Master Ball Striking & Holistic Performance Coach
Club Consultant | Coach Educator | Published Author
Former Pro | Academy Scout 🇺🇸🇩🇪🇪🇸🇨🇷
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Pros pay attention!
A 2009 player from Charlotte headed to IMG told me he wanted to hit 70-yard long balls.
Over the next 10 days, he drove 18 total hours for 6 hours of training.

Pretty simple:
If it’s important enough, you’ll put in the work. If it’s not, you won’t.

For him, it clearly was.
Now look at the result.

I can promise you, even if you think your long balls are good they can be better….even all you pros. I see players in the world cup that with slight adjustments could hit 80 yard balls

#soccertraining #goalkeeper #soccerskills #footballskills #footballtraining taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @anthonybrennercoaching

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4 months ago

LEARN THE SECRET TO FIXING GOALKICKS

DM @anthonybrennercoaching TO LEVEL UP YOUR GAME INSTANTLY

#goalkeeper #goalkicks #kicking #coach #soccer by @anthonybrennercoaching

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a month ago

HOW MUCH DISTANCE IS HIDING IN YOUR TECHNIQUE?

Today, a high-level 16-year-old goalkeeper from England sent me two videos of his long-ball distribution.

Within 30 minutes, I had broken down his approach and identified details that could be costing him consistency and distance. Tomorrow, I’ll finish the evaluation by analyzing his swing mechanics, contact and follow-through.

But this isn’t only for developing goalkeepers.

To the pros and goalkeepers playing at the highest levels in the world:

I watch keepers every weekend who are hitting long balls 15–20 yards short of what I believe their bodies are capable of producing.

Not because they aren’t strong enough.

Not because they aren’t talented enough.

Because power is leaking somewhere in the mechanics.

Sometimes the difference is almost invisible.

And that’s the point.

You can’t fix what you can’t see.

If you want to make your long-ball distribution more consistent—or simply discover how much farther you are capable of hitting the ball—send me a DM and I’ll walk you thru how we can work together.

You can be anywhere in the world.

And if you’re already playing professionally, don’t assume there’s nothing left to find.

The higher the level, the smaller the inefficiencies—and the more valuable they become.

#goalkeeper #goalkeeperlife #soccer #footballskills #soccerskills taken in UK by @anthonybrennercoaching

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a month ago

I’ve been working with this young man since he was 12.

He’s now 19, 6’6”, 200+ lb , D-1 GK @felixhuebnergk

And this conversation about distribution reminded me of something I think we can all relate to.

Think about the first time you got a new phone.

If there was something you couldn’t figure out…

You didn’t just give up.

You stayed on that screen.

You clicked around.
You searched.
You watched YouTube videos.
You probably watched TikToks.
You tried different things.

And if it mattered enough to you, you would spend HOURS figuring it out.

You were determined to understand what was possible.

So if the precision, power, and quality of your distribution really matters to you…

How far are you willing to go to understand it?

Will you research?

Will you ask questions?

Will you seek out different coaches, players, perspectives and ways of doing things?

Will you peel back the layers and discover what you’re currently not seeing?

Because there is almost always more beneath the surface.

But you won’t find it if you’re convinced that the way you’re currently doing something or been taught is the only way.

And that, to me, is the real lesson in this entire conversation.

When you get stuck…

Don’t just keep repeating the same thing and hope it changes with more reps.

Pause.

Get curious.

And ask yourself:

What am I not seeing?

What other perspectives, opinions, beliefs and approaches are are available for me to discover?

That question can change the way you play.

And honestly…

It can change the way you live.

#gk #goalkeeper #goalkeepertraining #soccer #soccerlife by @anthonybrennercoaching

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4 days ago

The athletes who keep growing are usually getting something more than physical development. They’re learning how to handle pressure, frustration, confidence, relationships, and everything happening between the ears.

I also share conversations like this on my podcast and in my free newsletter for parents and volunteer coaches. Comment PODCAST to access my Uncoached podcast or HUDDLE for the newsletter.

Here’s what coaches need to think about:

1. Coach the person behind the player.
Before there’s a striker, pitcher, goalie, or point guard, there’s a kid. Understanding who they are, what motivates them, and how they respond to pressure helps you coach them better.

2. The mental side can separate athletes.
At higher levels, everyone has skill. The ability to stay composed, handle failure, communicate, and keep competing when things get hard can become a huge difference-maker.

3. Environment matters.
Good athletes don’t develop in a vacuum. The culture around them matters. Kids need a place where they can be challenged, make mistakes, ask questions, and still feel supported.

4. Coaches need more than drills.
Knowing how to run practice is important. Knowing how to handle emotions, confidence issues, frustration, and different personalities is coaching too.

👉 Follow The Coaching Dad for more insights built to help volunteer parent coaches.
#ParentCoach #youthsportsparents #youthsports #sportsparents #CoachingKids by @anthonybrennercoaching

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4 days ago

Last week, I had the privilege of traveling to Iowa to work with a team that invited me in to spend two days going deeper into the mechanics and technique of the game.

We worked with two separate groups, focusing on first touch, passing on the ground with the instep, and long-ball technique.

The clips you’re seeing here are some of the teaching moments from our work with the girls on the long ball.

For me, these sessions are about more than simply showing players how to strike a ball. It’s about helping them understand the mechanics behind the technique, so they can begin to feel, recognize, and ultimately reproduce the movement for themselves.

I’m incredibly grateful to the coaching staff for their trust and for giving me the opportunity to work with such a kind, respectful, and engaged group of young women.

Thank you for welcoming me into your environment. I’m already looking forward to the next trip.

#SoccerDevelopment #SoccerTraining #TechnicalTraining #PlayerDevelopment #girlssoccer taken in Iowa by @anthonybrennercoaching

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6 days ago

I keep being reminded, week after week, why I do what I do.

A young player shows up to training and one of the first questions I ask is:

“What would you like to give some attention to today?”

And then we go to work on that thing.

Because I’ve learned something over three decades of coaching: if something is top of mind for a player, there’s usually a reason. Somewhere underneath it, there’s often a little uncertainty. A little doubt. A place where they don’t completely trust themselves yet.

So how do we influence confidence?

We help them turn a perceived weakness into a superpower.

We create understanding. We give them tools. We let them experience themselves getting better at the very thing they were unsure about.

And suddenly, something begins to shift.

Not just their technique.

Their belief in themselves.

In more than three decades of coaching, I haven’t found many things that impact confidence—and, more importantly, self-belief—as powerfully as helping a young person discover that something they once believed was a weakness can actually become a strength.

There is such a profound, very human lesson in that.

The things we struggle with don’t have to define us. With awareness, attention, intention, and work, they can become some of our greatest strengths.

This is why I do what I do.

#soccertraining #footballtraining #soccerskills #mentality #mentalperformance taken in Raleigh N.C. by @anthonybrennercoaching

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8 days ago

Last season, he was one of the top scorers on his MLS NEXT team.

Now he’s been moved to outside back.

So when he came to training, he knew exactly what he wanted to work on: crosses and service into the box from wide areas.

And just like every other technique, we started at the beginning.

Dead ball. No pressure. No defender. No complicated exercise.

Just understanding his technique.

His approach angle.
Tempo into the ball.
Body shape.
Foot shape.
Point of contact.
Follow-through.
Posture through and after the swing.

Because why wait years hoping precision eventually develops?

Let’s create the understanding—and then the conditions—for him to learn how to put the ball exactly where he wants it, with the appropriate spin, trajectory and weight for the situation.

“Just put it into the area” isn’t the standard.

Can you find the front-post runner?
Can you bend it behind the back line?
Can you drive it across the six?
Can you recognize the picture and intentionally produce the service it requires?

Today was only the beginning, but as you can see, he has tremendous capacity for this. I’m excited to see where it goes over the next several sessions.

The value of a wide player increases exponentially when the ball arriving from their side isn’t just a cross…

it’s a delivery with intention.

#soccertraining #footballtraining #soccerskills #soccerlife #footballskills taken in Apex, North Carolina by @anthonybrennercoaching

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11 days ago

Don’t waste the moments that didn’t work ….. He missed three chances, so we recreated all 3…..Your game is telling you what to train, just pay attention

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a very gifted striker from Triangle United MLS NEXT.

I start every session with the same question:

“Is there anything that showed up in training or a recent game that you want to give some attention and energy to today?”

His answer came immediately.

“I had three opportunities inside the box, and I wasn’t successful.”

Perfect. Now we know where to begin.

We recreated those moments.

Not simply to practice “finishing,” but to slow each situation down and look at everything that contributed to the outcome:

His movement before receiving the ball.
His positioning and body shape.
His decision.
His first touch.
The location of that touch.
His footwork and tempo to the ball.
His technique.
And even what he was seeing and thinking in the moment.

This, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful ways a young player can develop.

Your games are constantly telling you what you need to train.

Imagine beginning this process at 12 years old.

Play the game.
Identify the moments that didn’t go the way you wanted.
Recreate them.
Understand them.
Train them.
Then go play again.

Do that consistently for six years.

Think about the hundreds—potentially thousands—of situations you would have intentionally experienced, analyzed and trained by the time you’re 18.

Eventually, there are fewer and fewer moments in a game that feel unfamiliar becuase….

You’ve been there before.

Maybe not in that exact game, against that exact opponent, under those exact circumstances—but you’ve rehearsed the movement, solved the problem and experienced the moment both physically and mentally.

And to me, that is one of the greatest sources of confidence a player can have.

Confidence isn’t only telling yourself that you’re ready.

It’s having evidence that you’ve prepared for the moment.

#soccertraining #footballtraining #soccerskills #soccerlife #footballskills taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @anthonybrennercoaching

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12 days ago

Yesterday I worked with an MLS NEXT Homegrown player who will be heading to Germany for trials in one month.

And I started the session with the exact same question I ask every player, regardless of age, level, or experience:

“What’s showing up in training or games right now that you want to improve? If you could wave a magic wand and be better at one thing an hour from now, what would it be?”

His answer:

Weak-foot passing. More accuracy. More consistency.

So we went all the way back to the ground floor.

No advanced drills. No complicated exercises because of the level of the player. We approached passing technique with a beginners mind and learning it for the first time.

There are a handful of details that influence the outcome of a pass that I didn’t include in this video, but I wanted to highlight two of the biggest:

1. Where your ankle bone goes, the ball goes.

If the ankle travels directly toward the target through contact and the follow-through, you dramatically improve your ability to send the ball where you intend.

2. Body-weight distribution matters.

If your weight isn’t properly distributed over the plant foot, through the ball and toward your target, you increase the likelihood of the ball leaving the ground when you’re trying to play a clean, pass along the grass.

Sometimes the fastest way to improve an advanced player is to stop treating the problem like it requires an advanced solution.

The level changes. The fundamentals don’t.

And when the margins become smaller at higher levels, those little technical details become even more important.

#soccertraining #footballtraining #soccerskills #soccerlife #footballskills taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @anthonybrennercoaching

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12 days ago

The number 1 difference between good players and the ones who keep moving up.

Skill matters. Athleticism matters. Work ethic matters. But at higher levels, the mental and emotional side starts to matter just as much as what athletes can physically do.

I also share conversations like this on my podcast and in my free newsletter for parents and volunteer coaches. Comment PODCAST to access my Uncoached podcast or HUDDLE for the newsletter.

Here’s what separates a lot of athletes:

1. They take the mental side seriously

The players who keep progressing are often the ones who understand that confidence, focus, composure, and self-awareness are skills too.

2. They know what triggers them

What happens after a mistake? What frustrates them? What causes them to shut down? The more athletes understand those moments, the better they can respond to them.

3. They work on the response

Mental performance is not just positive thinking. It’s learning how to reset, manage emotion, stay focused, and keep competing when the game gets uncomfortable.

4. Winning still matters, but it can’t be everything

Wanting to win is not a bad thing. But if winning becomes the only goal, we can miss the bigger work of building technically strong, mentally resilient athletes.

👉 Follow The Coaching Dad for more insights built to help volunteer parent coaches.
#ParentCoach #youthsportsparents #youthsports #sportsparents by @anthonybrennercoaching

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15 days ago

Lawson Trial Week Update✓

A week of trials for Lawson is done! 🇩🇪⚽️

United in Football opened the doors for him to have trials with FC Homburg U23 and Wormatia Worms U21. Both teams were impressed by the improvement he has made since last year’s trip.Many thanks to @anthonybrennercoaching for the great work he did with Lawson back in the States.

Big news is about to come… 👀🔥

Keep going, Lawson! The hard work is paying off. 💪⚽️ taken in Felsenland Resort by @anthonybrennercoaching

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16 days ago