Former Melbourne Victory star launches Torquay soccer school

THE career of former Melbourne Victory player and Socceroo Adrian Leijer has taken him to the United Kingdom, China and South Korea, but his next chapter of football will take place right here on the Surf Coast where he grew up.

Leijer, a Surf Coast ‘local’ since the age of 14, has kickstarted 2022 with a new soccer school set to run throughout the whole year named Coerver Coaching based in Torquay.

Coerver Coaching is a global football coaching program that will focus on individual skills development and small group play, developing skilled, confident, and creative players, making the game fun to practice and play, and teaching good sportsmanship and respect for all.

“I work at Adidas who is a global partner of Coerver, and given I work with the two brands quite closely it just created a natural progression in starting a soccer school of my own,” Leijer said.

“Coupled with my first taste of coaching last season with an Under 7’s Surf Coast FC side, it all kind of came together and it was great for the girls to get out and be active.”

Leijer has prepared a full program for his “students” this term and beyond, having done an abundance of research and study leading up to Term 1.

While he admits the first few sessions can be a bit daunting, he feels confident he has adapted quickly.

“The school is available to anyone and is by no means an elite school for elite players,” Leijer said.

Coerver Coaching invites players of all abilities to participate and if numbers start to grow across the region, more and more age groups will start to emerge in the program.

“We do a little group for three- to six-year-olds called ‘First Skills’,” Leijer added.

“I’m also conducting a Just For Girls program, purely because there is so much interest around the sport due to my two daughters and their friendship groups and then there is the seven- to 16-year-old groups which we split up accordingly dependant on ability on the day with multiple coaches.

“The long-term goal is to have a performance program in the future that gives kids the necessary training to really push their game to the next level and provide them with a chance to progress beyond junior soccer.”

Leijer is a firm believer that the Surf Coast has an abundance of untapped potential in the sport and is looking forward to passing on the knowledge from his past experiences to help others progress in the sport.

Bookings can be made at www.coerver.com.au after selecting the Geelong location tab at the top of the screen.