HUBERT VOGELSINGER

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Hubert Vogelsinger was a brilliant technician who created and ran the biggest coaching camps/clinic organization in the USA for over 50 years, hiring many leading international coaches and professional players for his natioVV nwide residential camps and in the process started many coaches professional careers. He was a pioneer and one of the greatest soccer innovators the game has ever known. Back in Austria he was influenced by Hugo Meisl, the architect of the Austrian Wunderteam who in turn was influenced by Jimmy Hogan, the godfather of Total Football (Hogan was born 50 miles away from my father and he also attended St Bede's my brothers and I) who was a proponent of technical skill development and a major inspiration to the Hungarian Mighty Magyars team, led by Ferenc Puskas. 

Prior to starting his camps, he was a successful college coach at Yale and coach in the NASL and MISL. In 2004 when I last worked with him he was winding down and was not on the field as much as he used to and had me doing much of the demonstrating of his famous instep and aerial ballwork. Hubert eventually sold his camp business and sadly, passed away in July 2013. 

I met Hubert after writing to him in 1989 from Australia asking him to work his VOGELSINGER PUMA ALL STAR camps, as they were previously called. I was still playing at the time as was active and mobile and had high level of technical ability. He learned I was a former assistant to Wiel Coerver and was a capable demonstrator and because he needed to show the players high quality demonstrations of this technical materials. I was thrust onto center stage becoming the leading technical demonstrator for Hubert, tasked with leading most technical demonstrations for 2 years in Santa Barbara Wisconsin and Connecticut specializing in instep/aerial control, striking and half volley receiving. Milan Dovedan did the ground sequencing combinations with me and former Stanford Men's soccer coach Bobby Clark did the tactical module. My father Victor also coached at Hubert's 3 week residential camp in Santa Barbara, a 2 week camp in Wisconsin and 2 week camp in Connecticut and my brother Simon was a main demonstrator in Santa Barbara with me for 2 weeks. It was grueling work starting with 6 am 'Soccerobics' (unique calisthenics designed by Hubert using a ball which most coaches tried to skip out of ;) and ending late in the evening. 

Hubert reinforced in me what my own father and Wiel taught me the desire and curiosity to learn & search for perfection. Like Wiel, Hubert was ahead of his time and far more advanced than even the best professional clubs worldwide. He had a deep appreciation for and keen sense of the importance of technique. I saw in Hubert what I saw in Wiel- that he was meticulous, extremely detailed & sought perfection. Hubert believed that technical mastery and the ability to receive, guide and control the ball was paramount and critical facet on which to develop tactics and team strategy. Some of the material was so difficult to do that very few coaches were able to and asked to demonstrate. I was one of the few that were able to and eager to exhibit the techniques and gravitated to the coaches who appreciated Hubert's material and his approach to the game. 

Hubert was a brilliant, demanding but he was also kind and respectful and a very intelligent man. Coaches were afraid of him but I discovered that these tended to be amateurs who were cutting corners- there was no reason to be afraid of Hubert. I was proud of the fact he felt me worthy of demonstrating for the coaches and campers-trust me it wasn't easy to do! Hundreds and hundreds of demonstrations takes it toll on the body but I can assure you its the best way to learn, and to develp technique- you have to actually do it!  I will never forget the material and I still use the material today. Hubert was way ahead of his time in many ways and had a deep appreciation for and keen sense of the importance of technique. 

Hubert reinforced in me what Wiel and my father taught me- the ability to learn & search for and demanded perfection. Hubert was a hard person to please, extremely meticulous and detailed. No demonstration was ever good enough which i was fine with because I had worked with Wiel Coerver and my father who were even more particular in some ways.  

I led the technical instep demonstrations and Milan Dovedan did some of the sequencing & combinations. My father Victor also coached in Santa Barbara, Wisconsin and Connecticut and my older brother Simon joined me in Santa Barbara for 2 weeks. Former Stanford coach and pro. goalkeeper Bobby Clark did the tactical and defending module. 

Hubert commanded tremendous respect from all and has left such a positive mark on the game. His legacy of excellence and quality instruction will be remembered whenever his name is mentioned in the future. Hubert gave me the opportunity to lead many sessions and trusted me with the demonstrations for the hundreds of players at his camps. He made me a better coach and teacher and I discovered I was able to combine the ball mastery material did with Wiel and Michel, with Huberts aerial material (volley, instep, 1/2 volley etc) which improved my own game game tremendously. 

Hubert stretched and challenged me which helped me find new and higher levels, not only in my coaching ability but in my own game as a player At the time I was still playing (only a few months before I had been playing for Queensland and was selected to play Super 6 football vs Arsenal, Man City and Nottingham Forest) and I can say without question the material transformed my first touch, striking, shooting and overall confidence on the ball. Numerous professional and college coaches owe a great deal to Hubert, who often helped them gain credibility and positions in the football industry. For example when he was Yale coach he allowed Machnik to run the first ever No. 1 Goalkeeper’s Camp. A lot of coaches came away from working with Hubert more inspired, with more attention to detail and more disciplined in their work, as well as learning an incredible amount about the game that they were never exposed to. 

Hubert was disciplined, tough, didn’t take excuses and was equally demanding on the coaches than he was of the players, but he was fair and honest. If coaches were tardy he would reprimand them, sometimes publicly. He taught players and coaches that commitment, perseverance and hard work can help make you better soccer player, student, person and employee. 

Gary Ireland: Ex-Wiel Coerver Asst & Pro player; ex-Liverpool FC Academy coach

Simon Ireland: Ex-Wiel Coerver Asst & Pro player; Academy Soccer; World Soccer

Victor Ireland: Ex-Leeds United FC Reserves; Founder Academy Soccer

Jimmy Melia: Ex-Liverpool FC player; former Brighton Manager; ex-LFC America

Werner Hebenstreit: Admira Wacker GK (Austria)

Roger Verdi: Ex-NASL player

Bobby Clark: Ex-GK. Stanford & Notre Dame coach)/New Zealand National Team Coach

Jamie Clark: UW Wisconsin & Tommy Clark (Grassroots Soccer) 

Campbell Money: Ex-Scotland National team GK

Tommy Wilson: Dunfermline FC pro player; Philadelphia Union MLS Academy Director

Tad Bobak: UCSB Women's Coach; ex-USA U15 Girls National Team Coach

Matt Kennedy:  

Marijo Tot - Dinamo Zagreb manager/former Iran National team Asst. Coach

Marcelo Campos- Brazil U17, Azerbajan National team Asst Men's Coach. Botafogo. 

Field Assistants: 

Aaron Heifetz- UCSB Asst coach Tad Bobak Director of Communications US Womens Soccer