We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Holzer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Be kind and good to people. Do not only focus on the money, especially in the start of your business. Appreciate your clients and customers, make them feel special, and build meaningful relationships while working hard.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m booked for private soccer sessions from 6am to 8pm every day and wake up at 4:30am (sometimes 4am), so my private coaching business keeps me business all day long traveling from one place to another, training individual players and groups.

What sets you apart? 

Coaches with my level of experience usually don’t want to coach players individually or outside of their level and that’s what sets me apart. My clients value my level of experience and ability to improve players, along with the passion I put into each session. I offer professional soccer coaching (one-on-ones, groups, teams) available to anyone and everyone – I coach players at all levels and ages including 4-7 year old beginners, youth players, youth national team players, professional players, adult amateur players, adult beginners, moms and dads looking to get soccer fit, etc. My coaching background (professional coaching experience with Leicester City from the Premier League, Coach at D1 College Iona College in New York, FSA Pro-UPSL Head Coach, playing professionally with the NY Cosmos), together with my Master’s Degree in Communications & PR, helped me to start my own business that succeeded in less than 1 year. The combination of my experiences and coaching style helped set me up to start my own business, along with the weather here in California. I enjoy teaching the beautiful game of soccer to everyone, making players better regardless of skill while building meaningful relationships.

What are you most proud of?

I’m very proud of the business I have built from the ground up in California. I moved from New York to California and started with having one training session a day to being booked every day in just 1 month. Now, I’m booked out months in advanced with 10-12 sessions per day and have a waitlist for those wanting to train with me. Players also travel from out of state, driving over 4 hours or flying in, to train with me. Additionally. I offer soccer camps and clinics every holiday weekend with 50-100 players per camp, along with regular training programs throughout Southern California. Most players who attend my camps end up coming back to all the other camps. The key to my success has been putting in the work and doing what I do best with all the passion I have, which has led to clients through word of mouth and social media.

I’m proud of the players I’ve trained, from professional soccer player who participated in the World Cup (Christian Fuchs from Leicester City), Canada National Team Player (Lauren Sesselmann), celebrities and their kids (Hilary Duff’s son, Bob Marley’s son Ziggy Marley, Al Harrington’s daughter), to working with Time Warner Brothers, HBO Max and Mindy Kaling, and many more A-list celebrities and actors.

What are some challenges?
I’m always traveling to clients, so I would love to see my wife more and spend less time in my car.

What’s your world to know?
Be kind and a good person first before looking at the money. Build meaningful relationships with your customers and make them feel special every time you see them, so much that your time with them feels like the best hour of their week. Be more than a coach.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would show them Huntington Beach Pier, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Malibu, and Rancho Palos Verdes (a city I could see myself retiring with my wife), and definitely take them to an LAFC Home Game (the atmosphere is amazing). The Bungalow in Huntington Beach is one of my favorite spots for dinner and drinks with a beach view, as well as Splashes Restaurant in Laguna Beach which has a beautiful oceanfront dining experience and great coffee.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents deserve all the credit. My father (who was a former professional soccer player) was my coach who taught and trained me every day as a young soccer player. My mother taught me how to save money, important values such as respect, hard work, punctuality, appreciation and determination, and always supported me in all my decisions in my life.

Website: www.coachmichaelholzer.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachmichael_california/?hl=en

Image Credits
Sandra Velez Sports Shots

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