Question: Explain what the World Football Academy is?
 
Answer: "The World Football Academy, based in the Netherlands, is led by Raymond Verheijen. The mission of the WFA is, quite simply, to make the sport of football better. The WFA offers a variety of coaches' education courses all over the globe.
 
Question: What was the experience like attending World Football Academy?
 
Answer: "It was an incredible experience working with Raymond Verheijen. His passion for the game was evident and he has a genuine desire to make our sport better. He treated the classroom like a team dressing room. He was the coach and we were the players. It was a very different learning environment compared to the traditional USSF and NSCAA coaching licenses that I've earned. Every second, I was taking in new concepts while my traditional ways of thinking were being challenged. I've earned the USSF D, C, B, and A license, as well as the NSCAA Advanced National and Premier diplomas. I also spent a decade teaching coaching education courses for both the USSF and the NSCAA. In those courses, there was testing involved, discussions, and a plethora of handouts and exercises to take back to your training. In the WFA course, what Verheijen gave you was an entirely new way of looking at the game itself and what we should be teaching. By design, we did not receive one handout. The challenge was to think and reflect about how we do things, what is effective and what isn't. It was very philosophical by nature, yet very intense because he forced me to challenge my traditional core teaching methods."
    
Question: What were some key takeaways from the experience?
 
Answer: "I learned a tremendous amount on a variety of subjects like "tactical communication", "coaching decision making", and "building football fitness". A key takeaway for me was the recognition of an objective reference for the "what" and the "how" we teach our student-athletes. There is a tremendous amount of subjectivity in our sport that can lead us off path. The WFA provided us an easily understandable reference for coaches to teach the game. Verheijen is also an expert of football periodization. I was encouraged that, in the context of keeping players fit and healthy, we are already doing a lot of things well. But, I also learned how we can reshape some of our programming to make it better for our players and team. The structure of the college soccer, specifically the calendar, is not ideal. We have a very short and incredibly unique season. There are significant physical demands due to playing two matches each week with minimal recovery time. You report on August 1st, your have 12 days of preseason and then you're thrusted into playing two games a week for two months. The course helped me consider new ideas on how to manage our entire season so our athletes can stay healthy, continue to perform at a high level over time, and hopefully be the freshest team down the stretch."
  
Question: What is the value that this experience brings to the Elon program?
 
Answer: "The ultimate value is that we can be better coaches for our players. The players will benefit. In the summer months, we ask a lot of our student-athletes in terms of preparing for the season. As coaches, we must practice what we preach. Therefore, I demand a lot of our coaching staff in the summer too. Although we are coaches, our mindset should be, just like our players, that we are still students of the game. The game continues to grow and we as coaches must grow and evolve with it."