MADELENE GÖRAS

I have played at the highest level in 10 years (Sweden). I played my first game in Damallsvenskan when I was 15 years old. I won the Champions League with Umeå IK, we also won Damallsvenskan twice and the Swedish Cup. I was captain of the Youth National Team. I also played a few games in U21 National Team. When I was 25 I started to work as an instructor instead of being a soccer player, mainly as I had some serious injuries as a player.

I started Goeras of several reasons; One of them is that I LOVE soccer (can’t live without it), already as a kid I knew I was going to be a soccer player and then work with soccer. Another reason is that there is a lack of great female technical soccer instructors in Sweden. I think its so important that our young female soccer players have role models to look up to and have females instructors (not only male instructors). I first worked at another academy in Stockholm (I was responsible for players and leaders education). After a while I felt that I wanted to do this in my own name, both better and different.

We provide individual training, team training, goalkeeper training, small groups of player training and camps. Besides that we also provide video analysis of technical skills and matches (individually).

Our education is for both girls and boys (at all levels). 90% of our clients are female soccer players.

You have more time with the player; You create a program which is designed to fit the client, based on the needs the player has. You can work with the details which can change the game. You can work with a player’s weaker attributes or with the stronger attributes to make it a quality that makes a difference. The player also get a mentor/coach, sometimes it can be easier to talk with your individual coach instead of your team coach. It’s also good not to be involved with the games and the team selection of the games, you can focus on the player’s development only.

I draw inspiration from games (from youth games and professional games), I look at different situations in the game and what skill you need. From that I create exercises. I also draw inspiration from YouTube and Instagram.

The most important quality you can have is your will/dedication. That you are focused and always do your best at all training, but you also need to work more than others. Play with the ball often, train your technique at home on your own, or with a friend at the field. Try to make your technical skills faster and better at all times. Work with your orientation on the field as often you can (you can practice that even when you practice by your own) and also work with both feet. If you don’t have an individual coach, watch Instagram videos to get inspiration for your own training - always train with dedication.

Next is to create our own training facility. We need a small field indoor (with artificial grass). Besides that we continue to work hard, we want to be the best academy for female soccer players in Sweden. We’re also going to visit the USA (California) in January and hopefully we can visit some academies.