Has Belgium discovered the secret to International Football success?

In 2009, Belgium was #66 on the FIFA World Rankings. They made a few changes and rocketed to #1 in six short years. What did they change? What is their secret? Belgian FA Director of Coach Education, Kris Van der Haegen, shares their secret on our latest Way of Champions Podcast.

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Show Notes

9:00 Crashing out of the 2000 European Championship was the wake-up call for Belgium

11:10 Creation of the Vision of Youth Development

19:30 The use of “multi-moves” training to prepare children for every sport

22:40 Who is in front me?

28:25 Training sessions must have opponents because the game has opponents

37:40 No standings, no substitutions on the fly, every player must play at least 50%

48:00 The four questions a coach should ask before a session

About Kris van der Haegen

Kris van der Haegen is Director of Coach Education for the Royal Belgian Football Association. A former high school teacher who speaks countless languages, and a member of the UEFA Jira Panel, Kris has been one of the main architects of the elevation of Belgian football to unheard-of levels of quality in recent years. Kris enjoys talking about how to make football better, especially for children and young people, yet he has also extensive experience coaching at the top level. he is currently an assistant coach with the Belgian Women’s National Team.

Here is a summary of his accomplishments:

Belgian Football Association (since 2008)   

• Coach Education technical coordinator (2008-2012)
• Assistant – Coach Belgium National Teams (U15/U16/U17) (2008-2011)
• Coach Education Director Belgian FA (2013)
• Lead tutor UEFA PRO license course (since 2013)
• Head coach Women National team Belgium U19 (2013-2017)
• WU19 European Championship (2014)
• Scout Women’s National A Team of Belgium (2015)
• Assistant coach Women’s National A Team of Belgium (since 8/2017)
• Member of the UEFA JIRA Panel (since June 2015)

Get in Touch

Twitter: @krisvdhaegen

Twitter: @ICoachKids

I Coach Kids: http://www.icoachkids.eu

Email: [email protected]

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