Coaches and players from the New England Revolution Academy recently returned from a week in Germany as part of a new partnership between Major League Soccer, adidas and the German Football Association (DFB).
Every MLS team had representatives in Germany from July 20-26, with on-field instruction and classroom education part of the process. The program will carry through the upcoming season, with training methodologies present throughout and year-end check-ins with DFB mentors for final assessments. In the interim, MLS academies will have DFB mentors to help track progress.
Jasir Charris, in his ninth season as a goalkeeper coach with the Revolution Academy, spoke at length about the experience. He was joined by fellow Revolution Academy goalkeeper coach Karl Spratt, as well as U-15 goalies Sebastian Pliszka (Newington, Conn.) and Matthew Tibbetts (Westboro, Mass.).