Latest news with #playerdevelopment
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
McConnochie and Van Velze join Bath coaching staff
Bath have confirmed Ruaridh McConnochie and Gerrit-Jan van Velze will join a new-look backroom staff from the beginning of next McConnochie, 33, last week announced his retirement from professional rugby at the end of this season having made 97 appearances for the club so has been appointed as Bath's new skills coach, which the club describe as a part-time role that aims to "support injured players on their return-to-play programmes, as well as back-three players across the pathway".He said: "I'm delighted to be staying on at Bath Rugby in a coaching capacity. "I've always loved the game and to be able to use my experiences to hopefully improve players coming through the club is something I couldn't say no to." Van Velze, 37, has been appointed to a new consultancy role of player innovation and performance futures, which will involve him working with players on an individual level to "accelerate their personal growth."The former Northampton Saints and Worcester Warriors forward retired from playing at the end of last season."I'm proud to continue the journey with Bath Rugby," he told the club website., external"It's an exciting place to be right now, and I'm looking forward to seeing how far we can push this."Bath confirmed that former England and Scotland coach Andy Robinson, the club's head of academy coaching, and scrum coach Stevie Scott have extended their deals, keeping them at the club next season.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Dundee appoint Longwell in new player development role
As well the arrival of Steven Pressley as head coach, Dundee have "taken this period to restructure the football department" by appointing David Longwell as technical Dens Park club say the former St Mirren, Burnley and New York Red Bulls academy coach will be "part of the coaching staff with a specific focus on player development". On the arrival of Longwell, managing Director John Nelms said: "David comes to us with a long and productive history in the development of players both north and south of the border."Player development has always been at the forefront of our club, and with the amount of young emerging talent, it is important that the restructuring of the football department will emphasise this even more. "His main role will be working alongside technical director Gordon Strachan and head coach Steven Pressley to ensure the concentrated development of individual players. David will also have additional roles within the first team set-up."
Associated Press
6 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Orland Park Sting FC Sets Record for Tryout Registrations and Achieves Largest Player Roster in Club History
Orland Park Sting FC, a premier youth soccer club founded in 2016, proudly announces a record-breaking number of registrations for this year's tryouts. 'Our coaches are the heart of the club. Their commitment to helping players grow both on and off the field is what makes Orland Park Sting such a special place.'— Alex Freidine, Director of Orland Park Sting FC. ORLAND PARK, IL, UNITED STATES, May 30, 2025 / / -- Orland Park Sting FC, a premier youth soccer club founded in 2016, proudly announces a record-breaking number of registrations for this year's tryouts, leading to the largest player roster in the club's history. This remarkable achievement highlights the club's growing influence and the community's trust in its soccer programs for children aged 6 to 16. The club attributes this significant growth to its dedicated coaching staff, who are passionate about player development and fostering a positive, inclusive environment. To support the influx of new players, Orland Park Sting FC has added new coaches with years of soccer coaching experience. These coaches bring deep knowledge, professionalism, and energy to every training session, ensuring that every player receives personalized attention and mentorship. 'Our coaches are the heart of the club,' said Club Director Alex Freidine. 'Their commitment to helping players grow both on and off the field is what makes Orland Park Sting such a special place. We're proud of the environment we've built—one that families believe in and players are excited to be part of.' In addition to its youth soccer programs, the club is launching several new community-focused initiatives, including adult soccer training, corporate team-building events, and fitness sessions built around soccer fundamentals. These programs aim to promote physical health, teamwork, and community engagement for individuals of all ages and fitness levels. 'As we continue to grow, we're expanding our reach to offer more than just youth competition,' Freidine added. 'We believe in soccer as a lifelong sport—and we're committed to creating experiences that bring people together, whether they're 6 or 60.' Now approaching a decade of service, Orland Park Sting FC remains steadfast in its mission to inspire young athletes, build character through sport, and unite the community through a shared love of soccer. Alex Freidine Orland Park Sting FC, Director +1 630-673-0721 email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Head of player development leaves Brentford
Brentford head of individual player development Steven Pressley has left the former Scotland international joined the Bees in 2021 and has played a role in progressing several players from the B team to Thomas Frank's squad, including Yehor Yarmoliuk, Ryan Trevitt and Paris Maghoma."After careful consideration, I've decided it's time for a new challenge in my career," Pressley said, external."I leave the club having formed some great friendships, great memories, and also being appreciative of the opportunity to work with some highly-skilled people, which has allowed me to learn and grow as a person." Director of football Phil Giles added: ""As well as developing some of our best young players and having a meaningful impact on first-team performances in the Premier League, he's been a top professional and a pleasure to get to know as a person."On behalf of everyone at Brentford, I wish him well."
New York Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
College baseball coaches must be stopped from abusing pitchers' arms: Law
Major League Baseball has been making moves towards farming out some of their player development to college programs, eliminating short-season leagues in 2021, and quite possibly pushing to eliminate another level of the minors in the next CBA. There are so many reasons why this is a terrible idea for the sport, but one of the most obvious ones slaps us in the face every May: College coaches can not be trusted. Advertisement Witness the usage of A.J. Colarusso, a junior pitcher at Boston College. The draft-eligible left-hander threw 72 pitches in four innings on Tuesday, the opening day of the ACC tournament, which probably should have ended his week. Had he come back for an inning of relief at some point, I doubt anyone would have said anything or even noticed. Instead, BC had him start their elimination game on Friday and pushed him for six innings and 109 pitches — after just two days of rest. It was as high-pressure an outing as you'll find, as the loss ended BC's season, because their only path to the NCAA tournament was by winning the ACC tournament. Colarusso doesn't throw very hard — he sits 87-89, and it's not a high-effort delivery — but the issue with overuse is fatigue, and that affects everyone. The usage blew past the MLB PitchSmart recommendations for a pitcher his age when working on two days of rest (maximum of 60 pitches), even though 'numerous studies have shown that … pitching too deep into games, violating pitch count recommendations, and acute spikes in workload significantly increase the risk of injury,' according to the PitchSmart site. They also recommend a maximum of 120 pitches in any game for any pitcher aged 19-22. BC isn't the only school up to these shenanigans; this happens every year during the conference tournaments as coaches prioritize winning the next game over the health of their players. Arkansas-Little Rock used senior Jack Cline, who threw 69 pitches on Wednesday, for 134 pitches in a complete-game win on Saturday, which staved off elimination for the Trojans. Mercer sent senior Colton Cosper out for a 140-pitch complete-game win in their own elimination game on Friday, which is 29 more pitches than he'd thrown in any game this year, although at least in his case, he was working on more than a week of rest. Abilene Christian had lefty senior Chandler Benson throw 139 pitches on Friday on full rest. Gonzaga used senior righty Kai Francis for 121 pitches on four days of rest, even though he'd only thrown more than 50 pitches in a game once all season (and that was 76 pitches). But what's worse about Boston College overusing Colarusso is that the ACC celebrated it, posting to their official Twitter account: '109 pitches on the night. 237 pitches on the week. An incredible ACC Championship performance.' 109 pitches on the night. 237 pitches on the week. An incredible ACC Championship performance from No. 48 🫡 — ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) May 24, 2025 It was an outstanding performance by Colarusso, but the coaches and the people running the conference are supposed to be the adults in the room here, and 181 pitches over four days is not something to cheer. (He'd thrown another 56 pitches the prior Thursday, hence the 237 pitches figure in their tweet.) Advertisement None of these pitchers are pro prospects, so this isn't like LSU pushing Kade Anderson for 135 pitches on a very cold night in Oklahoma in April, a game I was at where I could see Anderson was on fumes in the eighth inning but he ended up going nine. Pro future or not, it is still irresponsible to use any pitcher like this, because we know that overuse is correlated with increased risk of injuries, notably shoulder injuries, and those can require significant surgery and/or affect someone's life beyond baseball. It's also a dodge to say that these kids — who I'm sure wanted to stay in their games, because that's the competitive mentality we seek and develop in players from Day 1 — aren't prospects, because who decides which players are and aren't prospects? Why does one college coach get to say I'll overuse this kid, but not this other one? Why are some pitchers disposable and others aren't? Stanford pushed lefty senior Quinn Mathews for 156 pitches in a College World Series game in 2023, using him on short rest. He went in the fifth round to the St. Louis Cardinals, ranked No. 55 on my preseason MLB top 100 prospects list, and is currently on the injured list, rehabbing a shoulder issue. No one can say for certain that the overuse in that game with Stanford caused his injury, to be clear, but we can say that Stanford took an unnecessary risk with a pitcher who turned out to be a prospect. There is just way too much history of college coaches risking shoulders and elbows because they face no consequences for their actions. If the kid gets hurt, he's someone else's problem at that point, because he's graduated or he's in pro ball, and as far as I know, no college coach has ever faced any sort of sanction or reprimand for overusing his pitchers. The MLB Commissioner's Office seems to think that delegating more player development to the college ranks is a good thing. It might save money, but to steal a line from P.J. O'Rourke, handing the development of young pitchers over to college coaches without any restrictions in place is like handing car keys and whiskey to a teenage boy. If the NCAA won't step in and regulate itself, MLB shouldn't allow the college ranks to have any more power than they already have. (Photo of Colarusso: Matthew Hinton / Associated Press)
