Q&A with Aaron Paye, MU Director of Coaching for Boys, 8U-11U

As part of a new series for the MU Newsletter profiling MU staff and coaches, we sat down for a 1:1 interview with Aaron Paye, MU’s Director of Coaching for the 8-12U Boys’ program, to discuss his playing career, how he ended up at MU, his love for coaching, and his goals for the MU Boys’ program. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Tell us about your background in soccer, how you got started in the game, and your playing career?

AP: My dad was a soccer player. He played for Gustavus in college and then ended up moving back to Liberia, where I was born. We lived there until I was nine, and then we ended up moving back to America due to the civil war in Liberia. I grew up in the Brooklyn Park area and went to Champlin Park High School. I played high school soccer there, and also played club soccer growing up for the Brooklyn Park Kickers, the Andover Invaders, and the St. Paul Blackhawks. As a kid, I was constantly playing soccer with family and friends. When I moved here to the US, I ended up playing multiple sports. I adapted and played football, played baseball, and played a bit of basketball. So I think it’s important that kids play multiple sports.

Q: Tell us about your philosophy and the MU approach to navigating kids playing multiple sports, especially at the younger ages?

AP: It’s hard to balance, because if you play a winter sport like hockey or basketball, you end up missing a lot of training, and those kids that are practicing constantly at soccer are improving. Multi-sport athletes should do their best to make as many winter soccer training sessions as possible, but we don’t want them to have to pick one sport. It’s imperative that players and families ask questions about how to get better. Is there a time where I can come in for extra work? We are a big enough club, and we are going to make it work as well as we can for every player, especially those that play multiple sports. We absolutely don’t want to penalize kids who miss trainings, but the reality is that there may be a bit more catchup in the spring for those players who are playing winter sports. 

Q: How did you get into coaching and involved with MU?

AP: I played college soccer at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and would come back in the summers and played in men’s leagues. I got to know Tamba Johnson (MU’s Director of Coaching for 13U+ Boys) through that experience. After school, I started playing for the Minnesota Thunder and then reached out to Tamba to see if I could start coaching. I think I started coaching in around 2004 or 2005 and my first MU team was a girls’ team. And I really started to fall in love with coaching at that point. I always knew that when my professional playing career was over, I wanted to give back to the sport that opened up so many doors for me.  To be able to play Division I on a full scholarship and get a degree was due to soccer. I continued coaching on the boys’ side and coached at least one group from 10U to 18U. When the younger boys’ DOC position came open around 2010, I talked to Tamba about really wanting to enhance MU’s program and how we could do that at the younger ages. It’s been a great experience.

Q: What is your philosophy and methodology around coaching development, especially for those coaches working with young players?

A: It’s not easy finding high-level coaches that want to coach at the younger ages. We view the younger age teams as a great opportunity to bring in younger coaches that we can work with. One thing we do in the winter is have our younger coaches shadow me or other experienced coaches during sessions. We’ll have them run sessions and then provide feedback. I’m in constant contact with our coaches, especially newer ones, regarding the unique challenges of coaching younger players. Our general philosophy to coaching is to be firm and instructional, but above else to provide a fun environment.  And I think our success demonstrates we’re doing that. Our numbers continue to grow because the kids are having positive experiences.

Q: What should be the balance between developing individual players and developing winning teams at the younger ages?

AP: Our focus at the younger ages is more on the technical part of the game rather than the tactical part. I strongly believe that you need to focus on technical things such as handling the ball, playing in tight spaces, and attacking and defending 1 vs 1. The tactical work will gradually increase over time. We sometimes struggle competitively against other clubs at the younger ages where one or two physically advanced players can make the difference, but when we get to U11 or U12, our kids are technically sound and we start to play very competitive team soccer, often at a dominant level.

Q: As a former Division 1 athlete and professional player and now a DOC and varsity level coach, what do you tell young elite players about focus areas in guiding their development as soccer players?

AP: Number one, always listen. My dad imparted that wisdom on me, and it’s always been my focus. Whether someone is 1 year older or 20 years older, you can learn things from everyone. We have a great coaching staff made up of people who have played the game at a high level, even among our younger coaches, and listening to their collective wisdom is critical. So, I would say that listening and asking questions is the most important trait for a young player.

Q: How do you think about position development and the age in which players should be honing in on their long-term position?

AP: What I tell my coaches is that you should start to see at U11 or U12 that players are really starting to focus on 1 to 2 positions.  But honestly, it can change as players develop and they get into different team situations. In my entire youth career I played forward, but once I got to college, I was moved to right mid, a position I had never played. That was where the playing time was. And I struggled a bit at first. So I think it’s important to develop players with positional flexibility.

Q: Given that you’ve spent a good amount of time with MU, where do you think we are as a club and what we can we do to improve

AP: It’s no secret, but given MU’s size, we struggle with space. We end up having a lot of teams that share either indoor space in winter or outdoor space in spring, summer, and fall, which sometimes makes team development tough. But, we work really hard to make it work and I think our success is a testament to that. I’m very proud of the diversity of the club. From players to coaches, we work hard to make this a welcoming and inclusive place for all our people. Overall, I love the club and want to keep seeing it grow and excel.

Q: Outside of soccer, what do you like to do with your time?

AP: Mostly just spending time with my wife and my boys. I have a few great friends from high school that I like to hang out with, but it’s primarily raising my kids and watching them grow up. Honestly, outside of soccer, there’s not too much. I do try to exercise and get to the gym, mostly so that I can stay active with the little guys.

Q&A with Kelsey Hans, MU Girls Technical Director & Director of Coaching for Girls 13U-19U

As part of a new series for the MU Newsletter profiling MU staff and coaches, we sat down for a 1:1 interview with Kelsey Hans, MU’s Girls Technical Director & Director of Coaching for Girls 13U-19U, to discuss how she ended up at MU, her passion for coaching, and her goals for the MU Girls’ program. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Tell us about your background in soccer and how you came to be in the position you are with MU?

KH: I grew up in Lakeville and played club soccer at the club that eventually became MTA and we had a very good team, finishing second at nationals two years in a row, and that got me the exposure to get recruited. I then played college soccer at Northwestern University and still hold the record for career goals and goals in a season. And then between my undergraduate and graduate studies, I spent six months in South Africa coaching soccer for a non-profit that offered athletic opportunities for just elementary-age girls, which was a life-changing experience. That’s the experience that developed my passion for athletics and how it impacts the development of everyone, but young women specifically. I then got a Masters Degree in Ecology from the University of Michigan, which led to positions in the National Park Service and the Fish & Wildlife Service, but I always coached soccer on the side. I found that it was extremely hard to balance coaching with having a full-time job, which is something that a lot of our coaches deal with. So, I then transitioned into working in school settings, which was more conducive for me to continue coaching, and have worked and coached at several schools before landing now at Breck School where I serve in a student support role and coach the varsity girls soccer team. I joined MU in 2020 as the Director of Coaching (DOC) for the girls’ side.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of working at MU?

KH: Now that I’ve been here for a few years, seeing the girls progress through the program and building the relationships with those players and watching them develop as people is really fun. I like getting more females involved in coaching, and that’s something I’m proud of as well. It’s really important for girls to have role models as coaches. And finally, I’ve loved working with the MU staff….it’s a great group of people that are really passionate about MU soccer. I’ve had a great amount of help from Tamba and Aaron, who have been around the club for a very long time and really helped me when I first started as a DOC.

Q: What are your goals for the MU Girls’ program?

KH: One of the main goals is ensuring that there’s a place for everyone. That we have teams for top level players that matches their drive, commitment level, and talent. And then moving from there. There are clubs that will only have a couple of teams for each age group, and I think it’s important that we find a place for everyone that wants to be involved. Being involved as a young girl provides so many benefits, and I want everyone to have that opportunity through MU. I also want us to focus on the holistic development at all levels. You don’t need to be an academy team to have an intense practice session or compete against other clubs at your level. I want development to occur at all levels. 

Q: As a former Division 1 athlete and now a DOC and varsity level coach, what do you tell young elite players about focus areas in guiding their development as soccer players?

KH: It’s extremely important to find a love for the game. Because if you love soccer, you’re going to want to spend time doing soccer-related activities. So just focus on having fun and the other things will follow. The technical development will follow much more easily as players age up if they have a love of what of they’re doing. Ultimately, you have to be disciplined and have to practice on your own to reach a certain level. It’s not going to happen only with team training. For me, my technical skills were lagging at a young age and I spent hours juggling in the backyard to improve. 

Q: How do you feel about young soccer players also playing other sports? 

KH: I think it’s great. Kids should play whatever sports they want, especially at the younger ages. And then as they get older, U15 and up, it becomes a question of balance and whether you can manage playing multiple sports physically. It should always be a personal choice whether a player wants to focus solely on soccer or on other sports as well. I like that about MU. Some clubs say they don’t care, but I think we practice what we preach. We have a lot of young athletes who play hockey, basketball, or lacrosse, and even dancers. And we talk about it as a coaching staff and we encourage it. You have to know your team and if there are a lot of multisport athletes, our winter training sessions may look a little different. It’s also important for the athletes to communicate expectations about when they can make it to training as well.

Q: Outside of soccer, what do you like to do with your time?

KH: I have two kids, 8 and 5. So I get that balancing act that a lot of MU families face. I’m very busy, and often when I’m at a game, the kids are also there. Both play soccer as well, so I’m also a soccer parent. My relaxation activity at home is gardening. And finally, I’ve been proud to serve as chair of the board of the Minneapolis Athena awards, which is an organization sponsors the recognition of outstanding female athletes in 54 Minneapolis area school districts. The Athena awards have been in place for over 50 years and it’s an honor to work with an organization that celebrates young women playing sports.

MU Competitive soccer, with nearly 80 teams and top-notch coaches, offers the most comprehensive range of competitive play opportunities to committed players.

We strive to give Minneapolis youth the best competitive soccer experience in Minnesota. Our coaching staff is committed and our players are fantastic!

Players and families that want to get to know the PlayMetrics app and your player's team website, click THIS LINK to be redirected to a tutorial page on PM's site.

MU is excited to announce that we are consolidating our software platforms beginning with registering your player(s) for MU’s tryouts. PlayMetrics is the premier club management software platform for youth sports and will be replacing MU’s usage of SportsEngine, TeamSnap and TeamGenius. They have a reputation as being a more user-friendly operations platform with exceptional customer service. The change will benefit MU’s administrative team by streamlining our operations, minimizing human error, and consolidating our software. 

As a member, you will experience the following benefits and changes:

Team Management – Team pages, player profiles, and event calendars provide information, on a mobile phone app and desktop website. MU and each team’s manager and coach will easily manage lineups, scheduling, attendance, communication, etc. In other words, the PlayMetrics app will replace how families and teams utilized TeamSnap.
 

Club Operations –  Management of our practice field space, game field utilization, roster management, host player forms, and communication of time-sensitive messages (last minute practice or game changes). MU will be able to monitor daily team activities and make adjustments to field utilization on the fly.
 

Registration and Payments – The claim is that PlayMetrics is the most flexible and intuitive program builder you’ve seen. MU’s admin team will have real-time program status dashboards. Parents will have one easy-to-use app to register, pay, and sign documents. This functionality will replace SportsEngine’s player registration.
 

Tryouts and Team Formation – MU Tryout player registration and coaches evaluations will all happen inside PlayMetrics, streamlining the entire process. MU’s admin team can then quickly and accurately build rosters and then communicate teams to families. This functionality replaces the need for TeamGenius software used at tryouts for evaluation and the use of google sheets that we use to track player registration on all of the formed teams.
 

Coaching and Player Development – Internally, MU’s Directors of Coaching can establish their curriculum, assign coaches, and plan weekly sessions with a customizable drill library. Player evaluations will be simple to set up, track, and share.

As mentioned above, you will begin to see our transition to PlayMetrics when you register your child for tryouts through the new and improved system. Then, families will accept their player’s spot on their team after tryouts and begin utilizing the PlayMetrics app for all of your player’s team practices, games, attendance and internal team communication. MU is excited about this opportunity, but realistic in that there will be a learning curve. Please be patient and know that the decision to switch platforms was based on months of research, multiple pitches from software companies, and testimonies from speaking with other youth clubs that have already transitioned to PlayMetrics.