Kinetic Academy Head of Coaching Eddie Munnelly is leaving us after 2 years to take up the role of Talent Development Coach in the High Performance team at FIFA. We caught up with him before he left and you can read below what he had to say!
Thoughts on the Kinetic academy programme as a whole…?
“The Kinetic Academy programme as a whole, statistics show we’re one of the best in the country on getting players to the next level. But what’s more rewarding and what we do on a deeper level, is trying to influence social change and producing well rounded individuals – good students/good footballers. They’re going to get an education at Kinetic that is equal to or better than most professional environments along with making sure they are the well-rounded individual for society. So the whole programme with Kinetic is a massive plus for me.
The biggest thing is that: the standards are high, we push the players to maximise their potential on and off the pitch, it’s a place where it is difficult but that is probably part of the secret of why we’ve been successful so for me if you want to have an easy life and go elsewhere to another college programme then that’s fine but if you want to get pushed, maximise your potential and ready to invest in yourself then Kinetic is the place to be!”
I wouldn’t say I have one specific proud moment. I’m really proud and happy when I see the development of where players/coaches were to where they are now…
Kevin Ciubotaru – “As an U16, his grasp of the English language wasn’t the greatest. He wasn’t as physically developed as he is now and he didn’t start in the FA Youth Cup team that year. When you see how much he’s sacrificed, if I told Kevin to be somewhere for training at 5am/6am/7am, he would be the first one there even though he probably had the hardest journey in and willing to sacrifice those hours. So when you see where Kevin was and then to see him play for Rangers against Ajax in the UEFA Youth League the other week, I’m so happy for him as he’s put in that work to get there.”
Sol Baugh – “Getting A’s in his A Levels.”
Fernando Macedo – “Would come and train early in the morning, go to school, team training with Kinetic then would go do deliveroo in the evenings. So it was great to see him sign for Sheffield United.”
“Even with the staff, when I came in and how Dan Hogan was in regards to his coaching. How he now see’s the game, links training to games so much more is outstanding, his team talks have really progressed and he’s improved so much. Being in an environment where you can really help the development of elite mindsets and habits has been a proud time as a whole.”
Most memorable Kinetic Academy game…?
“5-0 win at Stevenage. I’ve never seen such a together performance from a Kinetic team than that, they pressed like animals on a hot day and they just couldn’t handle our boys. It was testament to how hard we pushed them in pre-season.
3-1 win at QPR. Going back to my old club. They put Sinclair Armstrong up against Jonathan Erhabor and Jono pocketed him, now Sinclair is playing for QPR in the Championship. The football we played that day was unbelievable, we carved them apart and I think our keeper only had to make two saves. And when you look at that Kinetic team, 7 of the starting 11 have since signed for professional clubs. Sincere Hall scored a great goal. To have 65% of your starting lineup go to pro clubs with a lot of them category 1, its fantastic.”
Advice to Kinetic scholars on the academy programme…?
“The biggest piece of advice to them would be to first and foremost understand that development is non-linear. You might come in the building being released from a professional club and you might see players that you were playing with that might be in and around first teams or you might not have been at a club at all but you’ve got a passion for football and feel you’ve got a god given talent so trust in the process. If it something you really want to do then make the necessary sacrifices to maximise your potential and that means you’re not going to be a good footballer if you don’t work on yourself as a person and also as a student. The importance of having an elite mentality and being professional in everything you do, in both football and at school, its paramount and will set you up to be successful in the future.”
You studied at Jacksonville University in the USA. Is it something you’d recommend…?
“For me I can’t speak more highly of it. I do know some people who have gone out there and after the first 6 months it hasn’t really worked out for them but for me and some others I know, I feel that experience shaped me a lot as a young person. It helped me continue to play football at a high standard. To put it in perspective; we had one American in the team and the rest were foreign. We had guys who were U19’s at Bayern Munich and Swedish youth team internationals, the standard was good. It was also an elite sport environment so there was people there that now play in the major league baseball, PGA Tour in golf, on the Olympic female sprinting team. You won’t experience an environment like it in England because you have so only elite sports in one area.
I’d probably recommend a young person do that between the ages of 18 and 22 rather than slug it out in Non-League. So you might as well go, mature as a person/player and get an education which will help shape you as a person and the facilities are world class for you to work on your game. It’s a good way of life, so I’d recommend it personally if you’re not at a professional club or very close to being at one anytime soon.”
As a coach, what things do you look out for from a young player…?
“A hunger and willingness to learn and get better. Someone who’s extremely competitive and have very high standards for themselves. From a technical point of view, do they do something outstanding e.g. one on ones, finishing, driving with the ball, defending. Then also one outstanding physical attribute as well whether that’s speed, agility, strength, power, speed of thought, reaction time etc. All things we look out for. But most definitely a mentality to always want to learn and get better.”
Some final words from Kinetic C0-Founder Harry Hudson…
“We were incredibly lucky to have Eddie on board with us for the time that he was. Supremely experienced and knowledgeable, he added such a new dimension to Kinetic around how we develop people as much we develop players. He has an in depth understanding of personal development and his incredible knowledge of the game. I’m sure everyone from our staff to the young people benefited hugely from his impact at Kinetic.”
