 I was about 14, 15 years old and like the president of my club, he asked me to help, you know, to coach younger kids. And, you know, I liked it. So, but I didn't really focus on that because I mainly focused on my player journey. But as I grew up, you know, especially during the pandemic, you know, no one was able to train. So this is the moment I started my private coaching business. So I would say because of the pandemic. Okay, awesome. So how long have you been coaching for now then? For about three years. Three years I started. So I started in my hometown. So it's called Trois Revières. And then, you know, I expanded to Quebec City and yeah. Okay, awesome. So tell us a bit about where are you currently located then? Yeah, so right now I'm currently in New York City. I study here and I play soccer also. So I started coaching here, you know, to help my parents play for education and I mainly market myself on Instagram. So players reach out to me on my Instagram page where I post almost daily football content with younger kids and also just training by myself. You know, people are interesting in my content and they ask for me because they also one of the great thing about that is people reach out to me and they tell me how you know I inspire them with my training sessions and stuff like that. So that means the world to me because my drills, you know, they help them as players. So that's awesome. That's really good. That's really good. So tell us a bit about your business then. What does Chavi or Havi performance do then? Yeah, so I mainly focus on the technique. I think as a footballer the most important thing is the technical part first. So we focus on the first touch, awareness, so technical drills and stuff like that. But my business is we started, you know, smaller and now I expand, I expand, I have more and more clients and yeah, so I do one. I can do a semi-private with two or three and I can also do group session. So with six, seven players. Okay, awesome. So for you that you're currently playing as well. That's correct. Yeah, I'm currently playing. Perfect. So you're currently playing but you're also coaching. So what does a good quality coaching session have to have? Yeah, I think I love to go like step by step. So I always start, you know, with some the warm-up. I like agility drills, you know, with some circles with ladder work. I think footwork is extremely important for a footballer. And then, you know, I can do some slalom drills, some one-touch drill, two-touch. So we grow and grow, you know, bigger space. And after that, you know, more movement. So yeah, that's basically how I set up my sessions, you know. Okay, awesome. I love that. So tell us a bit about your clients then. When you bring on a client into your business, into your training business, what are a couple of things you look for in a player when you work with them? Honestly, scale-wise, I don't have any requirement. It can be the first time you touch a soccer ball. I don't care at all. It's just, I want someone passionate. I want someone, you know, that care about the game, that, you know, that want to get involved, you know, in this game. So it's more fun for a coach to train with a motivated player, you know, that comes to work. So that's basically who I'm looking for. And it can, you know, about a month ago, I trained a 40-year-old woman. She was a former professional boxer and she wanted, you know, to work on her footwork. So agility, stuff like that. And she said, you know, soccer is a good game to do it. So I can train, you know, a three-year-old kid to 40 years old at a woman. Yeah. That's awesome. That's awesome. So what skills have you taken from playing and coaching into business? Yeah, so obviously, you know, I started playing when I was three, four years old. So I know a ton of drills since I started to play this beautiful game. So I have, you know, a lot of knowledge from great coaches, you know. I had the chance to be coached by professional coaches. You know, right now the CF Montreal head coach, he coached me, the assistant coach for the Canadian men's national team coached me. So it's, you know, it's crazy. And I take a little bit from every coach, you know. So to become a better coach for the players. Yeah, so I would say I take a lot about my experience, the knowledge that I acquire from these amazing, you know, you're a coach. And yeah, so that's really, yeah. Perfect. Love that. Love that. So let me take you back when you first started your training business then. So what has been, what was your biggest obstacle when you first started? My biggest obstacle. Honestly, I did it so far because I'm so new in this business, you know, it's been not even three years yet. I didn't face any big obstacles. I would say the biggest challenge is for consistency, you know. So I have, I sometimes I feel my sessions and, you know, even after the session is done, you know, I need to edit the content, film the drill, and then upload it, you know, to market myself to put my name out there, you know, to reach out to more clients. So I would say the, the household is the biggest obstacle, you know, you need to stay remain consistent and relentless. Yeah. Okay, love that. Love that. So where do you see private training going in Canada in the next two to five years then? I think my, my business is going to grow a lot. So because private training in Canada is not as much developed as in UK or in the US. So here right now in New York is there's a lot of private coach, but in Canada, in the province of Quebec, maybe there's five, six, there's not much at all. So I really want to, I want to be, you know, the main name. If the parents, they want their kids to have a private session or they think about Coach Tavi, you know. So that's my main focus. So I think my business is going to grow a lot. And I want to be the main name, you know, for people to, when they want to get better, you know, they know they can reach out to me and book a session. Love that. Love that. Recently, I signed up with the, I did a partnership with a mental coach. So he played at the same college as me. Yeah. And right now he focused right on the mental side. So the goal is in the future, you know, even, even recently I have a fitness coach that reached out to me. So it would be, people can book for the full package, you know, they have the fitness part, they have the technical part with me with the balls and drills, you know, how to get better. And then they also get the mental part. So they can book for the full package. So I think the value of a partnership like that, you know, it's, it's huge. And we all know the mental side of this game. It's super important. It's hard, you know, and when your mental is not at 100%, you know, you don't perform at 100% also. Perfect. How did you build that partnership with the other coach then? Yeah, so with the mental trainer, he contacted me and, and I knew him by name. And when, when we just spoke to each other on the phone, you know, the connection was, was there already. So, so it was very easy to set up this partnership. And then I don't have yet a fitness coach, you know, in my team, but some people, they reached out to me. And, you know, I'm, I'm just, I just have to take a decision, you know, of who I pick and be wise about it. Love that. Love that. So how do you, how do you balance playing and coaching? Yeah. So my main priority is playing right now, you know, because I'm just 21 years old. And I still make it, I still want to make it to the next level. But I love coaching as well. And I love to share my, my, my learning experience. So I was in a day, I think it's very easy to balance. So it's, for me, it's not even working when I train with someone. It's, it's just having fun and, and, and, you know, teaching. So I, I can, you know, train two or three sessions per day. And then later in the day, you know, I have my team practice and stuff like that. So it's easy to balance. Yeah. Love that. Love that. Cool. So what would you say to another Canadian coach who's watching this or maybe listening to this interview? And they haven't started their business yet, or they want to start their business, but they haven't yet. What would you say to them? I'll be the number one advice. Yeah, I will say not to be scared to start, you know, the hardest step, I think is to start the business. So put your name out there. It's may, it might be hard also to start to have some clients, but not, not to give up, you know, just keep going, keep grinding upload content. And then, you know, the clients will come, especially in Canada, because there's a lack of, of partner trade training trainers. So there's a lot missing. So I would say just, you know, go for it. Don't be scared. Love that. Love that. So let me take you back when you first started your training business then. How did you get your first client? Yeah, so my first client, it was, it was a client I coach when I was younger. So I'd like 13, 14 years old, you know, with the club, like I mentioned. And then, you know, in the pandemic, every, every little kids, they couldn't wait to play. You know, they were tired to be in lockdown at home and stuff. So as soon as I said, you know, I'm starting a partner training session, you know, two, two meters away. And clients were just reaching out, reaching out. It wasn't, to be honest, it was easy to get my clients. That's awesome. Yeah. And how many are you currently working with at the moment? Over 30. Oh, wow. Do they come on a consistent basis? Yeah. So some players, it's one training every two weeks, some other players, it might be twice a week. And I even have some players if three times per week. So it's, it's, it really depends, you know, of, you know, that the level that the players wants to get, you know, if he's more amateur, you know, he wants to get better, but it's not very his main focus. He's going to train once a week. But if you see he wants to join a professional academy or he really wanted, you know, to push to get to the next level, it's going to be more for sure. Love that. Love that. So how do you, how do you market your business then? My, my market plan is mainly through social media. So I use Instagram. I post, you know, daily, daily soccer content, training sessions, some story about the players, you know, some interview with the players. What, what did they like about the session? So, and, and, and, and I think also the kids they love, you know, to be on the page and to see themselves play. So I think it's fun for them also. So yeah, that's, that's mainly my market plan, you know, I didn't, I didn't even have to spend money to, to, to market myself. It's, it just came, you know, it came easily, honestly. Love that. Love that. So what would you say is the number one thing that kids need today then to become a better player? The mental side is extremely important. But you know, when they're younger, they don't even know what this means really. So I would say, honestly, it's to have fun. Just have fun playing this game. You'll get better. So yeah, I put a lot of pressure when I was younger. And, and, and sometimes, you know, I regret to put a lot of pressure because it's a game at the end of the day, you know, but just have fun, have fun playing with the ball and the first touch, first touch is extremely important. What this is when, you know, the level gets better and as you get older. So how, how do you build self-discipline then? I speak a lot to my, to the players I coach about nutrition, how it's important to put, you know, good food in your body because it's, it's, it's going to guide your, your performance and also sleep. It's important to sleep at least, you know, eight hours a day. And I mainly talk about the invisible preparation. This is, you know, because it's, it's going to have a big impact on your playing. So this, this is, you're going to be, you know, you're going to be disciplined if, if you, you can manage to eat well, sleep at least eight hours a day. And yeah. Excellent. Love that. Love that. So have, have, yeah. Tell us, where do you see your, your company in the next five years from now? So right now I have maybe around 30 clients. So I see myself as the main name, you know, in the province of Quebec. I want, you know, people to, you know, I want, they ask their parents, you know, I want to get better. It doesn't matter if I need to drive two hours, you know, to, to, because I want this coach. I want to get this guy, because he's the best. So he, he, he, he makes the players improve their performance. And I want to have my own soccer, soccer place. So I want my indoor indoor facility, maybe with two, two turf. So I have maybe coaches working for me as well. You know, clinics, camps, online sessions to a little bit. My one of my model is a genre football. You know, football, he's in Australia. So I really, I really try to follow his type of business because he's extremely successful. And, and I think you don't, in this niche, you don't need to recreate everything, you know, there's people that are already successful that have a great, great market plan. And you just need, you know, to follow, follow this path. Love that. Love that. I'm guessing in Quebec, it gets very cold in winter, right? Yeah, so, you know, in the summer it's easy to train outside, but especially in the winter, you know, the place will always be booked. On one, it's still placed with the soccer, you know, but outside the crazy winter, snowstorms, it's not possible. So that's, that's even a bigger advantage to, to be in Quebec. Yeah, love that. Perfect. So happy. Last two questions then. Yeah. These are, these are more personal ones. So the first one is what does failure mean to you. The second one is how important is it to take risks? Nice. So for the first one, I think failure, it's, it's when you know, you try something and it doesn't work and you stop. This for me is failure. What, what each player should do, it's okay, you know, you go to an open trial. You're not going to get a callback, but don't stop. You know, like, like the call, never thought yourself in your back, the background. You should, you should still go after your dreams. You should still continue. If one coach doesn't see what you think you are, there's going to be another coach that will like you. So failure for me is when, when, when you, you have goals and you try them and, and it doesn't work out and you stop in everything in life. It's bad. And what was the second part? So the second one was how important is it to take risks? Yeah. They say what risk it for the biscuit something like that. So that's, so you need to risk it, you know, because in life, you never know if you don't take risk. It's easy to stay in your comfortable zone, you know, you stay in your little town, you don't go out, you don't go to open trials, you don't go in other countries. So I would say me personally, I take a lot of risk. And that's why I'm here right now in New York City. If I never took risk in my life, I was to be my, you know, little hometown playing, you know, amateur football. So yeah, take the risk. Yeah. Love that love that. I have you all thank you very much for taking the time out to share your story. And I know many coaches watching will be inspired by especially making the move from from Canada to a new city. You know, that's quite scary. And you've not just done that, but you've also started your business in a new, in a new city as well, which, which takes a lot of courage. So fantastic. Now, if any coach wants to follow you or getting contacted with you, what would be the best way to do so? So, mainly through Instagram. So I have my personal account. It's Xavier under, I don't know the name in English. So, or my coaching page. It's a coach, Xavier performance. And also, I have a YouTube channel as well. So, mainly throughout there. Perfect. Perfect. So what we'll do then is we'll put your links under the video. So anyone that wants to follow your journey, your company or wants to gain contact with you, they can do so there. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me too. It was, it was good. Great question. Thank you very much for coming on again and wish you all the best in the future. And when I'm in Quebec, I'm definitely going to come and see you. Awesome.