Anthony Brenner Coaching

11/03/2026

🪄 The Magic Wand Question: Answer: I keep sending my shots over the crossbar when I’m in and around the box. Can you help me?”

Absolutely. But first, we need to understand WHY the ball is traveling higher than intended.

What you see in this video is a very intentional focus on one specific technical detail: the direction the kicking foot travels THROUGH the ball.

Using a simple string as a visual reference, we’re helping the player understand something that is often overlooked.

If you strike the center of the ball, but your foot is traveling UPWARD at contact, you’re creating the conditions for the ball to rise higher than intended.

However, if your foot enters through the middle of the ball, travels straight through its center, and exits along that same line, you’re creating the conditions for a much flatter, more controlled ball flight.

The goal isn’t simply to hit the middle of the ball. It’s to understand what your foot is doing as it travels THROUGH the ball.

Now, there are certainly other technical influences that contribute to shots traveling over the crossbar, but we intentionally didn’t address those today.

Two important ones are:

⚽ Plant foot depth: Where the plant foot is positioned relative to the ball influences the path of the kicking foot.

⚽ Kicking knee position: If the kicking knee remains behind the ball just before and at contact, the foot is more likely to be traveling upward through contact, increasing the likelihood of excessive height.

But today wasn’t about fixing everything.

It was about helping one player develop a deeper understanding and awareness of ONE thing she could immediately begin to recognize, feel, and control.

Because when a player understands WHY the ball behaves the way it does, they become far less dependent on someone else telling them WHAT to change.

That’s where real learning begins.

AnthonyBrennerCoaching

11/02/2026

There are moments in life where the universe conspires on your behalf.

This is one of them.

I am honoured to announce that I have joined Shama Academy in Ivory Coast, Africa as Director of Global Football Development, International Pathways and partnerships.

But the announcement is almost secondary to the story of how I got here.

The synchronicities were too many to ignore. I was drawn to Shama before I ever set foot there — magnetised by something I could not fully explain but absolutely trusted. When I finally visited, everything crystallised. This is not a coincidence. This may be part of my purpose for being here.

Because here is what I have always believed — and what my entire career has been built on —

The human being kicking the ball matters more than what they can do with the ball.

Their wellbeing. Their mental health. Their identity beyond the game. Their life when the cleats are no longer worn.

And yet — the window of opportunity as a footballer is precious and finite. Timing matters. Development matters. The pathway to the world stage matters.

Shama is where all of it comes together.

I have many gifts still left to share. And I believe this is exactly where they belong. 🌍⚽

11/01/2026

One of the questions I get asked most often is:

“What is ONE thing I can help my son, daughter, or player improve that is completely within their control AND I can help them with”

My answer is almost always the same.

Teach them how to properly lock their ankle.

It sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Yet in my experience, the majority of young players, especially those under 13 (and many much older), haven’t truly developed an understanding of what a locked ankle should feel like.

And here’s something I think we often overlook as parents and coaches:

Just because we’ve told a player to do something doesn’t mean they understand what we’re asking them to do.

We say, “Lock your ankle!” But have we ever actually taught them what that feels like?

In this video, I’m demonstrating two things:

1. WHEN the ankle should begin to lock during the kicking motion.
2. HOW to help a player physically experience what a properly locked ankle feels like.

The goal is for them to FEEL the difference, not simply hear another instruction.

In my experience, this is often the exact moment when the connection happens.

Suddenly, “lock your ankle” is no longer just something their coach says. It’s something they understand, recognize, and can begin to reproduce independently.

And that matters because a stable contact surface is one of the foundational elements of clean, consistent ball striking.

The lesson goes well beyond the ankle.

Before assuming a young player knows HOW to do something, ask yourself whether we’ve ever given them the opportunity to truly understand what it feels like.

Sometimes the smallest technical details create the most meaningful breakthroughs.

Parents and coaches: Try this with your player and let me know what you discover.

10/30/2026

6 players. 2 rounds. 1 MPH separated the winner. ⚡️⚽️

We put some serious players to the test with the Speed Ball.

Round 1️⃣: Who can hit the ball the hardest?

Round 2️⃣: Who can combine power + accuracy and still hit it with the most speed?

Each player had 3 attempts in each round, and every attempt counted. At the end, we added up the scores and found our winner…

And the difference? Just 1 MPH. 😳

What made this even more fun was the level of competition. Every player in this video is either an MLS NEXT Homegrown player, professional player, or former Division I player. So when you put six highly competitive players in the same group and give them something measurable to compete over… things get serious pretty quickly. 😂

The Strikesphere Speed Ball made it possible to turn something we normally just feel—how hard we can strike a ball—into something we could actually measure, compete over, and improve.

SoccerCompetition ShotPower SoccerPlayers PlayerDevelopment SoccerCoach

10/26/2026

Over the past four months, I’ve worked remotely with seven professional goalkeepers, and one technical adjustment has consistently produced greater improvements in kicking distance than anything else I’ve shown them.

What’s fascinating is that I see this same technical issue at virtually every level of world football, including goalkeepers competing in the Premier League, La Liga, and even the World Cup.

And the solution is remarkably logical.

The goalkeeper at the beginning of this video is a Division I player I worked with toward the end of the summer. Watch his movement carefully, particularly what happens to his body and kicking leg AFTER he strikes the ball.

His ability to maintain his momentum and transfer his energy in the direction of his target is about as technically sound as it gets.

Now consider what I see so frequently in other goalkeepers.

They generate tremendous momentum during their approach, accelerate toward the ball, and then, at the moment of contact, their body and kicking leg begin to fall away to the side.

Think about that for a moment.

You’ve spent your entire approach generating momentum in one direction. Why would you suddenly redirect your body’s movement somewhere else?

Why create all that momentum only to interrupt the very movement that helped produce it?

Instead, imagine maintaining your body’s momentum through the strike, allowing your kicking leg and your body to continue traveling naturally toward your intended target.

The difference can be extraordinary.

10/21/2026

“If you could wave a magic wand and be better at one thing by the end of today’s session, what would it be?”

Without hesitation, her response was, “I want to learn how to hit inswinging corner kicks better and more consistently.”

So, as is almost always the case, we started at the very beginning.

Before worrying about height, distance, power, or even accuracy, she first needed to understand what it feels like to create pure sidespin on the ball.

Imagine looking straight down at a soccer ball as if it were an analog clock.

For a left-footed player, we’re looking to make contact around 10 o’clock. For a right-footed player, around 2 o’clock.

The objective? Generate pure sidespin, without topspin, and begin to understand how that contact influences the flight and curl of the ball.

One of the challenges she was experiencing, which isn’t shown in this video, was that her ankle wasn’t completely locked at contact. Without a firm, stable striking surface, consistently producing the desired spin becomes much more difficult.

Once we addressed that detail and she began consistently contacting the correct part of the ball, the change was remarkable. She started generating tremendous sidespin and curl.

Here’s what’s important to understand:

Everything you see her doing today was at approximately 20–30% of her maximum effort.

We weren’t concerned with how far the ball traveled, how high it went, or whether it would reach the intended target.

We had ONE objective: Learn what it feels like to consistently create sidespin.

That’s it.

In subsequent sessions, we’ll gradually introduce more speed, power, height, distance, and ultimately the precision required to consistently deliver dangerous inswinging corner kicks.

10/20/2026

I’ve observed countless patterns in player development—technical deficiencies, physical limitations, behavioral tendencies, and mental and emotional challenges.

But there is ONE challenge that stands above all others.

The inability to effectively manage mistakes.

Without question, it is the most common mental performance challenge I’ve encountered throughout my coaching career.

And to this day, I believe it is one of the greatest barriers preventing players from reaching their potential—not only in a single moment or match, but throughout their careers.

We’ve all heard the advice:

“Forget about it.”
“Let it go.”
“Move on to the next play.”

And while I agree with the principle behind those words, telling a player WHAT to do is very different from teaching them HOW to do it.

How does a player actually let go of a mistake when their mind is replaying it….especially when the adult that said those words could be partially responsible for creating the internal conditions that the player is experiencing?

How do they interrupt the frustration, embarrassment, anger, or self-doubt that follows?

How do they shift their attention away from themselves and back to what their team needs in that moment?

These are not simply questions of attitude or toughness. They are skills that can be taught, practiced, and developed.

Over the years, I’ve developed a practical mental performance protocol that helps players recognize these emotional reactions, interrupt the patterns, and redirect their attention toward the next action.

Because the goal isn’t to become a player who never makes mistakes. It’s to become a player whose mistakes no longer determine what happens next.

If this is something you or your player struggles with, I’ve created a resource to help.

LINK IN BIO.

10/20/2026

10/19/2026

🚨 DALLAS, TEXAS | JANUARY 2, 2027

THE DETAILS THAT SEPARATE GOOD DISTRIBUTION FROM EXCEPTIONAL DISTRIBUTION.

I’m excited to announce a specialized 2-day goalkeeper ball-striking and distribution clinic in Dallas, Texas, in collaboration with Just4GK Professional Goalkeeper Academy, proudly hosted by ULETE Sports!

This clinic will explore a level of technical detail in ball striking and distribution that is rarely addressed in traditional goalkeeper training.

We’ll explore the subtle details that can dramatically influence distance, power, precision, and consistency.

These are the same technical details that national team goalkeepers and professional keepers competing at the highest levels in Europe are seeking my support to better understand and refine.

It’s not simply about learning HOW to strike a ball. It’s about understanding WHY the ball behaves the way it does.

My goal is to help players develop the awareness and capacity to see the ball differently.

The ball is always communicating. The question is, have you learned how to listen?

🤝 TO GOALKEEPER COACHES & ACADEMIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY:

There are very few opportunities for players to explore ball-striking mechanics at this level of technical detail.

My hope is to collaborate with coaches and academies who recognize the importance of this specialized work and want to bring another dimension of technical understanding to their players and programs.

I would welcome the opportunity to connect and explore how we might work together.

📍 DALLAS CLINIC PARTNERS

Just4GK Professional Goalkeeper Academy
🌐 www.just4gk.net

Hosted by ULETE Sports
📸 ULETE SPORTS
🌐 www.uletesports.com

📩 CLINIC INFORMATION & INQUIRIES

Visit the Just4GK Events Page for additional information and to inquire about attending:

🔗 https://www.just4gk.net/events

SoccerDevelopment

10/17/2026

Every time I travel to Michigan to work with Dorian, I leave even more convinced of something I’ve said before: In all my years of coaching, I have yet to see a more technically complete player at just eight years old.

But what impresses me most isn’t simply his technical ability and athleticism . It’s the process behind it.

Dorian genuinely loves the game, and the work he puts in each day is a reflection of that love. Equally important has been the extraordinary trust, patience, and commitment that he and his parents have shown in following a very intentional approach to his development.

When we get together, we certainly address specific technical challenges and make subtle adjustments. But the foundation of what you’re seeing in these videos isn’t the result of constantly introducing new drills, techniques, or ideas.

It’s the result of a handful of technical non-negotiables that we’ve established, practiced, and continuously refined over time.

The fundamentals haven’t changed. His understanding, precision, consistency, and ability to execute them have.

And perhaps that’s the most important lesson here, particularly for parents and coaches of young players.

Development doesn’t always require doing more, learning more, or constantly searching for something new.

Sometimes the greatest progress comes from doing a few important things exceptionally well, with intention, understanding, and consistency.

I’m incredibly proud of Dorian, not simply for the player he’s becoming, but for the joy, curiosity, and commitment he continues to bring to the process.

He’s a wonderful reminder of what’s possible when a child’s love for the game is supported by patience, trust, and intentional development.

In full transparency, his high level of dribbling ability is NOT a result of my work with him. That is all him and his daily training habits.