The Bolton Wanderers Football Club International Soccer School was in Estonia recently with Manager Dave Bailey and the Andres Oper Football School, the 5 day programme was based in Talin the Capital City.
Dave worked with U12's and U13's up the groups were split into morning and afternoon sessions, the weather was -20 outside so it certainly was a blessing they had very good indoor faculties. There were also 20 or so coaches who attended every day to watch the session and take notes on the Bolton Wanderers Way. In addition for the coaches Dave also did a Q&A at the end of each session which allowed the coaches to ask any questions on our ways of delivering.
Whilst out in Estonia aswell as the Coaching Sessions the BWFCISS and Andres Oper Football School hoseted several Classroom Seminars which took place at the Estonia FA headquarters which also happens to be the National Stadium. Andres Oper who owns the school is the all time leading goal scorer for the Estonia International Team and is the most capped player he currently is playing in a league over in Cyprus so unfortunately could not attend, but his fiancé Merle (Maria) and all the schools staff looked after Dave very well.
The new found partnership between BWFCISS and Andres Oper Football School is going to be a long term venture, we are already planning the next visit and have arranged for their coaches to come here for a firsthand experience of what we do here at Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
Dave said;
“When Maria got in touch through John Ashley (Junior Whites Programme Manager) I had to look on the map to see where Estonia was, bit embarrassing really. Maria came to see me at the Reebok and I knew right away this was a great set up and we had no hesitation in linking with the school. Out there I have to say it was a real pleasure, the players and coaches alike have a great enthusiasm and first class attitude to the game."
"We also gained links with the Estonia FA which I hope we can expand on and I met the President of the Estonia FA who knew our own Chairman (Phil Gartside). The Coaches seminars seemed to go very well with some real positive feedback, Matt Poom (ex Arsenal Goalkeeper) was there and seeing how he re-acted I could tell it was a success and look forward to the future with Andres Oper Football School”
Andres Oper Football School was formed in 2003 it is a children's football school that currently trains over 200 young players between the ages of 3 and 15. The School operates in two of the largest cities in Estonia, one being the capital Tallinn and the second Tartu. The School's main strength is the highly qualified coaching staff and thanks to Andres' good relationships with several European clubs, the boys have the chance to be part of various footballing programs with the new patnership with BWFCISS being the main one. The aim of the school is to provide young players the right environment and support for them to be able to reach the best of their ability.
The school's website is currently in Estonian, but they are in the process of translating it to both English and Russian so please keep updated by checking out www.oper.ee