They’ve got ‘Mini Messi’ Arat Hosseini coming through their doors but Liverpool-based KKZ (Kickerz) Professional Coaching are ready to welcome players of all abilities at the first indoor 1-2-1 Football Centre in the UK.
Situated in Walton, at the site of the former Oakmere Community College, opposite the Taxi Club on Cherry Lane, the KKZ Football Performance Centre officially opens on Monday April 26 and patrons are looking forward to an open event on Saturday May 1 for players and their families past and present plus partners Applied Nutrition and Pulseroll.
Coach Shaun Mangan runs KKZ alongside his business partner Andrai Jones.
The two Scousers lived in digs together when they started off on their own football journeys at Bury.
Shaun explains how the concept of 1-2-1 coaching can help provide players with the kind of personal attention and bespoke experience they wouldn’t normally receive as part of a team.
He told the ECHO: “One to one coaching is specific to each child. For a football coach to engage with 11 to 20 players for 60 minutes, they’re giving each child two minutes of their time.
“With us, we’re able to engage with that child for 60 minutes. For every single moment they’re with us, we can engage with them and work on them individually.
“We’re able to call upon our own past experience in the game. Football sometimes has its negative side, children get released and the parents might not know how to speak to the child.
“But we’ve been there and done it – and had the bad days. When I got released it was a bit of a heavy moment but for all these children that come in, we’re there to support them emotionally.”
Shaun added: “There’s a lot of pressure on these boys and girls. If you’re in school and your child says they want to be a doctor when they’re six or seven years old, they don’t go down to the walk-in on a Saturday and volunteer.
“But if you want to be a footballer then you’re going down to Liverpool or Everton’s academy, pretending to be a footballer.
“This goes on for years and years and gets a little bit more intense as they get older.
“When we started it, we thought it was all going to be performance-based and we were going to work on this skill and that skill, how to strike a ball.
“But as it’s progressed and we’ve learned more about the individual, we’ve realised a lot of it is about the mental side, supporting them, and explaining that this sort of stuff happens and you’ve got to be ready for it.”
The nature of the service provided by KKZ also means that while participants can benefit from the full focus of those coaching them, the activities on offer are suitable for all levels of player – including some high-profile guests who sometimes pop by.
Shaun said: “I could put the same session on for a six-year-old child that I could do when we have pros that come in during the summer like Jon Flanagan, (the former Liverpool player is now with Belgian side Charleroi); Danny Lloyd who plays for Tranmere or Michael Ihiekwe who’s at Rotherham.
“It’s how we deliver it to that person and whether that person is engaged and working to their maximum.
“We always say to the kids: ‘Get comfortable with being uncomfortable’ because football can be like that at times, especially if you’re in a situation where you’re coming up against a really good player.
“If you get yourselves in those situations then you can improve.
“Jon Flanagan’s maximum is different to the average fella’s maximum which in turn is different to a five-year-old’s maximum.
“I went to school with Jon. We grew up playing football together.
“I know he’s not had great success over the past couple of years but what he’s achieved is unbelievable.
“He’s still someone I look up to when he comes in and listens to a session it gives me a little lift because I think: ‘Well I do know what I’m talking about’ because I’ve got someone there who was so close to winning the Premier League with Liverpool.”
Although KKZ are dedicated to making every player the best they can be, they do have a rather remarkable natural talent on their hands in the shape of Iranian-born Arat Hosseini, nicknamed ‘Little Lionel Messi’, a seven-year-old Liverpool’s academy protégé who has become an internet phenomenon who has 5.7million Instagram followers admiring his skills.
Shaun said: “He’s a great player and a great kid. Ability-wise, he’s got a lot, he’s special with the ball.
“It’s a long road. We try to keep him grounded a little bit because he’s got so much pressure on him already because of how good he is.
“We’ve got to make sure we just keep him on the right track and pushing him in the right direction. He is unbelievable though. He’s a fantastic talent.”
