Chattanooga Football Club recently announced the appointment of Sebastian Giraldo as the new CFC Academy Director of Coaching.
Giraldo sat down with ChattanoogaFC.com to discuss his vision for the academy, his journey and his coaching education philosophy, among many other topics.
ChattanoogaFC.com: Can you take to the core of why you got into coaching soccer in the first place?
Sebastian Giraldo: I would say my 'why' has changed throughout the years. But now, truly I do it for the players above anything else—trying to improve their environments and experiences and eventually what their ceiling is in development. Also coaches—I like working with coaches and collaborating with them and working on coach education and development. Those are probably my two big 'whys'. I also absolutely love soccer. I'm obsessed with soccer, so I've made it my full professional career.
What has motivated you most in becoming an elite coach and coaching educator?
I come from a very soccer-centric family. My dad worked in the game. My brother works in the game as well. In my household, soccer was on 24/7 on the TV. I always joke around that my mom is probably more of an expert than the majority of coaches. My passion and love for coaching is really about the athletes and players. Why I've got to where I am in my career is probably lucky in terms of gearing my education towards coaching and the development of elite athletes. With age and experience, I've had the opportunity to be at a lot of good places.
Can you speak to your path to Chattanooga and what led you here?
All of my family is Colombian. I was born in Colombia. My immediate family moved to the United States because of the drug violence in Colombia. Both myself and my brother came to the United States when we were really young. I consider myself both American and Colombian as I've dedicated my whole life here in the United States. All of my schooling took place in the United States, including undergaduate studies and doctorate studies. I've had the pleasure of working soccer systems all over the country. My background is becoming my normal in coaching, which is heavy on having an academic background. I've also been coaching since I was 17-years-old, so I've been coaching for a long time.
Why was this position the right move for you in this stage of your career?
As people here know, it is a special place. When I came to visit for my formal interviews, it all started to click. My family moved to the Tennessee area about four years ago, so they're not too far from here, about an hour away in Rock Island. I've kind of fallen in love with Tennessee and their people. It worked out really well that it seemed to be an ideal situation in a great city. The people are extremely friendly. There's a lot of good food, which is important for me as well!
Can you share your overall vision for the future of the CFC Academy?
The academy's been doing a lot of things really well for a long time, especially when it comes to the connection to the community. That's something that I find very unique and part of my philosophy is that I think the soccer, the staff, and the players need to represent the community, both demographically and ethnicity-wise. I think we can capture in the academy some of the special and unique features of Chattanooga. There's a deep love for the game here that will only help the academy. What you're going to see is a very heavy move towards professionalization of our coaching staff, our technical framework, in the way we communicate with our families, especially with the introduction of MLS NEXT next year. We have to move to some areas to make sure we're competitive nationally. What I can promise is that there will be a lot of change, but that change will be evidence-based and very science-based.
What's your message to coaches interested in coaching for CFC Academy?
We are going to be extremely innovative in our approach. We need to make sure it fits the culture and context of Chattanooga. We are looking for highly-motivated coaches that want to work in rigorous coach development systems. You will get a lot of attention here, but we will help develop you to whatever your potential is and what you want to do professionally.
And lastly, what's your message to the players?
For players you will find that the environments I try to create are very enjoyable and it will be a great place to be. We will promise going forward that everything that we do will be evidence-based, with more examination of video, better framework in terms of what we do with curriculum and coach methodology and behaviours. The ultimate goal for us is a very connected system and that we are doing things in a very certain way, and we will differentiate ourselves from everybody else.
