 Hey, what's up coaches? Welcome back to the channel. Today we feature James Bistera James is the founder of Bistera soccer training. They have an amazing company They specialize in private and group training and they run a bunch of camps and clinics throughout the year Right now they're currently serving up to 600 active clients. You can learn so much in this interview I hope you enjoy it like the video and make sure you subscribe to our channel So you can get more interviews like this that we post throughout the month Coaching journey started when I was 17 years old. I was involved with Paul Bales Academy And part of the apprenticeship there was to complete your coaching badges So I did the level two that you had to do. Unfortunately for me, it seemed unfortunate at the time I got held back a year to kind of grow and develop as a player But within that extra year it allowed me to do my UEFA B. So I completed my UEFA B at 19 Just through the recommendation of the the course instructor at the time it was Jamie Robinson Who is who's working with the FA right now? But I just found an interest from that completed the UEFA B course when I was 19 and then I moved to the States Played soccer and continued my education and also coached within a local club here So that's been the coaching journey and how I started in that so Perfect. So you're obviously originally from from the UK and you've coached in the UK and you've coached in the US So what are the differences or are there similarities between the two? So long time ago since I've coached in the UK, although I did Collaborate with Tom Owens UK who's based in Liverpool. There's something similar to was it be Starrer and just the in terms of the players the I know it's a big work to throw around but the culture of Eat sleep breathe the game, you know back home here and they don't watch as much games They don't really that the soccer IQ isn't on the same level as the players back home in terms of the athleticism and the willingness to work is on the same but taking an interest away from playing And developing yourself through watching the game and the tactical part is something that's a big difference Perfect perfect. So tell us a bit about your your business then what does your company specializing? So our company specializes in the one-on-ones We basically want to be supplemental trainers. So the one-on-ones the small group sessions We also do camps and clinics and we've recently just bought out a feature where we do Team sessions. So we go into local clubs in the area provide training for the team with over here, there's a lot of a lot of grassroots football where The parents are volunteers and they coach So they get to take the teams on a match day But we kind of take them for training and we work alongside the club with a curriculum and the parent volunteers to To make sure that they're getting the right education through through playing Perfect love that. So you you've obviously been coaching for a long time now So what what would you say is a perfect coaching session then? A perfect coaching session Plenty of mistakes From both the playing coach because I always feel as though it's something That you need to reflect on. It's it's a journey within the within the session itself And so plenty of mistakes because they're going to happen And understanding the mistakes why they happened and how to Reflect on them and put them right in the next session Is really really important And just making sure you step off the field Knowing that you couldn't really given anything more The players got a smile on the face When you check for understanding at the end of the session They can give you some information where you walk away and you're thinking Okay, they they've taken something on board then Then the challenges in the next session when you ask them the same questions at the end of the session At the start of the next session, can they can they give you the information that they said Towards the end of the previous session. So I think I think that's a perfect coaching session Love that love that. So what what do you look for when you bring on a new client then into your business? What are the characteristics they have to have or the personality traits you're looking for? Attitude number one is willingness to work or willingness to learn and we've worked with plenty of players who are really good From a technical standpoint If you're given little pieces of information The ability to retain that information and put it into their their training or their games and apply that May may fall short just because of A lack of attitude or a belief that they already know So I feel as though no matter the player no matter the ability um If they go in with an attitude of a growth mindset and willingness to work and willingness to learn that's going to help Then it's going to help us as coaches I'm a coach that um feeds off the energy of the player too and so if a player is really energetic and and you can see their eyes are locked in and and they They want to learn and you can see that then I'll give everything that I've got in that session Love that love that So let let me take you back to when you first started your your business then Yes, what what has been your your biggest obstacle? since starting The the obvious one is a visa so Obviously with with me being from the uk it's um, I came over here on a on a scholarship to play soccer um, but From that point to the point that I'm at now. There's there's been a lot of obstacles with the visa situation. So I completed a master's degree Which forced me to move down south to alabama for three years Um, which was a great experience too Um, and then just applying for the different visas is a daunting process Um, but luckily I've been approved and and continues to be approved on those visas So visa is the main one for me personally The second one and I feel as though this is for a lot of the the supplemental trainers Are the facility space the the the access of fields So, you know when we first started out we were hopping fences and You know waiting waiting to get kicked off basically which affects your coaching session because If if in the back of your mind you're thinking is anyone coming over here to kick us off You can't give your entire attention to to the player that you're working with so Um, luckily we've we've developed a partnership with with the local facility here Um, and we operate at off peak hours, which allows us to to kind of get the sessions in Perfect. Perfect. So do you run the business by yourself or do you have a business partner? I've got two other business partners. So I started the business initially and then My friend who I played in college with He came on board And and that's where we we created the main beast era And then another one of our friends who we played in college with came on board two years after that So there's three others that own the business Excellent excellent and what what is it like having Three business owners. What what do you need in order for the business to be successful? It's a good question and I feel as though we're very unique in terms of our skill sets and Each pieces of the jigsaw kind of fit together really nicely So I love the the individual and the small group sessions and I love the marketing aspect Uh, my other business partner, Mike. He loves camps. He absolutely loves camps. So he got his is uh master's degree in education Um, so he was a PE teacher too So he loves that part of the business And matt the other guy is loves the the numbers the finances the HR stuff Um, so all three of those combined kind of take care of those those pieces of the jigsaw And the other thing that I think glues us together is the amount of trust that we've gotten each other Um, obviously we were friends before the business So, um, we really value our friendship more than More than the business really we're friends first and the business comes second but fortunately with our skill sets it all comes in it ties together and We honestly haven't had an argument yet within seven years of being an operation. So I think this cross that stays like that but Perfect that that goes on to my next question and how how do you build that? That friend a business relationship then how how how does that come about? When may when you have to make really big decisions Yeah, I think every voice is is welcome not just from us three, but the other staff members that we've got to um, so The the the hierarchy of the business obviously you've got the three owners But we like to operate, you know on a level playing field with everyone. So Um, in our in our meetings, we'll ask if there's any issues any concerns Or any projects that we've got going ahead We'll ask for for contributions from from the other team members too and any insights that they may have because I feel as though at times maybe you're three as owners You know or our eyes are too close to the ground and we need that outside perspective. Um, just giving us that That other perspective as I've just said so. Um, yeah, it's it's easy when like I said easy when you're friends because If if we weren't friends if we were just business partners I feel as though being able to Say something that you don't agree with will be a little bit more difficult When you're friends if if you don't agree with something There's not as much of a repercussion from from the person who you give him feedback to Okay, love that love that so so where do you see private training going? You're based in the u.s. So in the u.s in the next two to five years from now I think the The fact that they've just qualified for the world cup the u.s is enormous The the women's game over here is enormous Um, so I feel as though that's just gonna continue to grow the sport I think the fact that they're hosting it as part of north america in Uh, 2026 is going to be enormous for the sport too So I feel as though in terms of the the growth in the sport is going to come from that but I feel the The switch to the individual and the supplemental training is is going to be so so important because If you look at the big clubs now, especially over here, they're hiring out supplemental trainers within the club Because at the end of the day the clubs are a business They want to bring players through as homegrown players and then sell them on to the big european clubs so The focus on the individual within the team. I think that's only going to keep growing so being able to to have a methodology of Taking one-to-ones in the small groups within the club setting is is going to be massive for our field of work anyway That's good Excellent. So what what would you say to another american coach? That that is either watching this or listening to to this interview And they want to start a business But maybe they're hesitant or they're scared to what would be the number one advice you would give them Um, it's all about context. So Um, I don't want to just give a general answer. I think it just applies to everyone's unique circumstance For me If I was starting the business now at 31 years old versus when I started at 24 It'd be different advice because at 24. I didn't have any responsibilities per se so Me being able to work Seven seven hours in a row and staying on the field for six days a week seven days a week Was fine. I didn't mind pointing the grinding But now for me to do that. I probably wouldn't have a relationship So I I think it you have to look at, you know, what your responsibility is that you have to take care of that you need to take care of and Are you really passionate about this because it may look Um fantastic on social media and all this stuff how it's portrayed but Really, it's a word of mouth business So if you're not willing to be passionate and put the work in and be authentic with with your approaches And how you interact with your clients their parents so on and so forth Then you may want to reconsider because it is a grind so Those are the biggest advice I give Love that love that. So now that you brought up social media And something I know a lot of coaches are very good at is they're good at building the brand But they aren't good at building a business Yes, so How do you build that business and the brand at the same time? I feel as though the brand The brand and the business go hand in hand and You know if you're first starting out and I think Joe Dixon spoke about this I saw him when I was speaking to you and I think he mentioned about the brand a lot um If you tie your name into the business People expect you to be there the whole time really if you have a name that Anyone can come in and you build the brand under the name of quality Then you can start to bring in more people And then you as a business owner can work on the business not in the business and so Branding is so important. You want you want people to When they hear your business or when they see the logo You want those to be associated with positive things. So just how you how you Um express yourself on social media is important, but That is obviously it should be a reflection of what your sessions are in person to Because the last thing that you want is building this Thing on social media where everyone thinks this they come to work with you in person And it's like a completely different person like what's happening here So I feel as though just being true to yourself and your methods is is Really important in terms of building the brand and the business Perfect. Perfect. So How important is networking? As a business owner huge and I think Especially for us in the supplemental training sector because it's so new Um, I feel as though we often get looked down on as if we're just throwing out cones Making players dribble around cones and then picking up cash at the end of the session Like we're a full operational business So and Don't get me wrong for me when I was first starting out. I didn't really pass it as a business until Probably six months into going full time like I was living off my savings for the first six months And I was just like it's a passion and I love doing it. I wasn't really focused on the business aspect So that's when map came in um and really Said, you know, we need to work on strategy that we need to get in systems and processes What are we going to do with this and I'm thinking That's I was reluctant to like class it as a business But Yeah, in terms of the networking if you if you put yourself out there is again someone who's authentic Someone who's humble and someone who's good at their work I think things naturally happen. So Our social media was big in terms of securing the the Nike sports camp contract for our camps um We've been able to work with Jonah football who's huge in the The football training space Skills different equipment and manufacturers Equipment have Have come through the networking of and it's not always direct networking It's off someone else. Oh, I know this person who may put you into contact with this person in it It's uh The more you look at it is a small network So if if you can be that good person an authentic person that's going to help you to to create more opportunity Yep, 100 percent agree. So let me take you back to when you when you first started How did you did you get your first client and how many are you currently working with right now? So initially uh first starting out I was coaching a club in the area and um I I was just dissatisfied walking away from the session with Thinking the certain players haven't gotten anything out of that there I really feel as though I was maximising their development within the session Um, so I I talked to a parent about that And and they said, you know, do you want to you want to take my kid for for a private session? And if you if you want to try and work on a shooting or something like that So that's how it started out. Um, and then it grew through word of mouth In terms of active clients. So we we classify active clients as um working with us within the past year to Five between five fifteen six hundred clients that do individuals in small groups um, and our camp Numbers last year were over a thousand players. So Um, it's it's definitely grown Um over over the seven years that we've been in business Perfect Well, congratulations for that growth I'm always excited for coaches that are are succeeding in this kind of industry because I know how tough it is Yes, especially with the global pandemic happening as well. You were like for a moment, you know, I was I was concerned about all the other supplemental trainers thinking You know, how how how are people going to survive after this, you know This is is is their income. Um, and and they can't do sessions because the facilities are closed You can't come into close contact with anyone. How are people going to survive after this? But Fortunately from what I've seen on social media in the network that we that we've got everyone seems to have come out. Okay Yeah, perfect. So what is what is your current sales process then? How do you guys sell and market your business? Word of mouth Is the biggest one We're in kind of a niche market here in Albany because the closest professional club is three hours away Which is a positive in that There's no professional academies in the area So that's a positive But the negative and this is what I'm talking about with the culture aspect at the start of the conversation is that For our players to go much alive professional game, they have to travel three hours away So that's that's a negative part of living in here But the sales processes is all word of mouth from from the clients that we operate with in here We probably get two to three reach outs every day Over the past month. It's been two to three reach outs each day and typically it comes from an existing client That we've been working with for a number of weeks The next session they'll be like do you mind if I bring a friend or two and it'll kind of snowball It'll be a snowball effect through that and then Social media as we spoke about is also provided as opportunities to work with professional players So that's that's another big a big vehicle for us Perfect so Talk talk talk to us a bit about your your onboarding process then say I'm a parent and I want to get training from from you guys Do you guys offer evaluation sessions? How do you onboard players into your program? So this is where we're currently refining our curriculum Um with the amount of sessions that we've we've done I just feel as though we need to focus on the 20 percent of the drills and topics that are going to provide 80 percent of the value to the players so for us Working on a combination of ball skills such as an L turn into a scissor into a stepover Yeah, it may be building coordination and footwork patterns, but Is it more beneficial for players to work on? A drop step of the shoulder and then outside touching the space and explosiveness through that so we're we're like I said, we're currently through a a refining our curriculum Because we're not what we're always striving to like be better And and making sure that we've got our own methodology of Okay, once you hit this you've got to be going into this Yeah In terms of the parents we want to provide them flexibility. So the pay-to-play model over here And it's it's quite expensive to play over here which I can't necessarily be a critic of the pay-to-play otherwise. I don't think I'll be in business but With the pay-to-play parents are tied into the club for a year whatever it is For us, we want the flexibility So we never want our sessions to replace team training. We never want our sessions to replace the games So we want to be As flexible for the parents as possible if they want to come to us once a month Fantastic if they want to come to us three times a week. They have that option too and the biggest thing I think in terms of our ability to retain clients is being able to interact with the parents and speak to the parents and and Getting them on board with our processor and what we're trying to do I listen to different podcasts and James Smith podcast he mentioned you know a driving instructor You have a driving instructor for a little bit and then you don't need them anymore because you can drive That should be the same for us Our goal is as weird as it sounds our goal is for you to not come to us anymore because You know how to critique yourself in your own time You know if you keep having to come to us three times a week. It's kind of like it's It's not pointless, but it's like you could be doing this in your own time I come to us every now and again to just get Okay, I need to focus on this this and this but it shouldn't be just coming to us As you're outside training then you're doing nothing in your own time Yeah So I think it's just being authentic with the parents and the players too about what what our plan is for them Yeah, perfect So so talk to us a bit about the journey then that your client has when they join when they join you So what's the ultimate result you guys are looking to achieve? I know you've mentioned it briefly. It's like Not to get more help Yes, what's what's the what's the outcome you guys are looking for for that for that client? um for Then to hit whatever goals they have if that's to play in college at any level over here great and When when we speak to the client on an individual level like coaching in a one-on-one so much more different than a team session because You've got to engage in conversation for an hour with one person Yeah, it's like the other skills have got to come out. So we're trying to build life skills within that session Not just for soccer, but life skills So by the by the end of their journey, it's kind of like Have you achieved your goal? Yes or no. Okay. Have you enjoyed your experience with us? and Or you were good human being Like that for us when we were starting out. It was kind of like Every player that we're going to train is going to go pro But it's not possible. It's not possible. So now it's Are they good people? Have we instilled some values with along with their parents and their environment that they're getting at home? Can we be a an aid in that sense? and also Can we adjust our coaching to their goals? For example, if one player says to us, I want to go professional You're like, okay Our coaching points now and our demands of you are going to be to a professional Yeah, if if someone says to us, I just want to make friends on my local team Then our demands in our session are going to be very very much different different You know what we're expecting of you and what what what information we're giving you to So I think it's just being able to to cater to every individual's needs and help them on their journey Of soccer of life, whatever it is and just be a positive influence on them Perfect. And how how important is good communication with parents? huge The biggest the biggest we're club neutral over here. So we don't really Get involved in the club politics over here But the amount that we hear from parents talking about this club and this club and we're just like look That's not us. We're not getting involved. We're just here to train But the thing that keeps cropping up is a lack of communication So I think just because at the end of the day if you're looking at it from a business perspective Your clients aren't the players your clients are the parents. They're the ones that are paying the money So you need to be in constant communication with people who are paying the money And what are they what are they getting out of out of this transaction? Is it just a one-time transaction where they do the session and that's it or is it a continued Action of emotions where how did you check in with them? How did they do this weekend? Oh, great. They they did this that you worked on the previous session How did they feel the session went today? So it's just that continuous communication to let the parents know That you do actually genuinely care about the kid and their development Yeah, love that So something we work with coaches in our program on is adding value away from the field So what what are a couple of things that you guys do to add more value to your to your program away from the training session? um We provide so Feedback is important in our camps and clinics. We give evaluations Just so that the players got something that they can take away and be like I need to work on this this and this for the parents We we speak about working on the business not in the business and this is something that I'm to this day really guilty about and it takes up so much of my time but I'm I'm still responsible for scheduling every session Me personally we haven't gotten we're going to move to it eventually but a scheduling system online will take off so many Many hours of my time which is going to be great But I'm very reluctant to do so because of losing that personal touch So when I'm reaching out to parents to schedule the sessions or when they reach out to us Again, it's asking questions that are off the soccer field. So how are they doing in school? um What can they be what have they have they been working on these things that we worked on in the wrong time? Have they been doing their homework both soccer and schoolwork because we've said to parents before If if we've given them homework in our sessions, they go away and they don't do it Don't bring them to ours. Don't bring them to us again. Yeah, because you're wasting your money like They need to show that they're willing to put the the time in away from us because growing up we we didn't have Personal imagine having a personal coach back in the day Yeah Like we don't have it. We're okay. Like we developed technique. We developed the football IQ So you should be coming to us as it's a privilege Absolutely. So I think just making them understand that is is really important Perfect. Yeah, completely agree with you. That was definitely something I needed when I was younger Yeah, yeah, I would have loved to have had it but I think that had been my How really how good are they really? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Can you learn it in your own time? But yeah Perfect. Excellent. So where do you see your your business in the next five years from now? So currently we're refining the curriculum as I said I just want to have a unique methodology of player development for all ages and abilities and be able for us to Digitize that and give that out to Many many more people. So instead of just in person sessions here in Albany. It's like, okay, if you live in Wherever whatever country it's like you can still have access to our methodology and our coaching points So I think we're going to be making a big push on that in the next couple of years Oh, but as Joe said again, it's it's the You've got a five-year goal But for us it's it's kind of like the daily goals of like, how can we do that? How can we improve each and each day? So being very reflective on Our personal sessions being very reflective on the players Um, it's it's important too because We're learning as much as the players are learning to Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And this this industry changes every single day. Yes Perfect Excellent. So one last question. This is a personal one. What does what does failure mean to you? Um If you if you think about what I said about the mistakes aspect, what's a perfect session plenty of mistakes um, I feel as though failure Is bound to happen It's just how you react to that So it's it's all circumstances. It's like If you mess up And you have an expectation of it going a certain way And you don't deal with it in the right way. It's going to negatively affect you if you have No expectations of something Failure can't happen because you've got no expectations so If you do have expectations and it doesn't work out right you've failed It's right. Okay. It's happened. How can I Make sure it doesn't happen again or what are the lessons learned from that? So I always think it's it's just so important that Nothing's perfect Nothing's nothing's what it seems on social media. Nothing's what it seems You know, everyone that's very bright and bubbly You know may be dealing with other things On the inside or I wake up some days and I'm like, I've got to go and coach Yeah And then I think back and like hold on a minute. You've got to go and coach like like it's like Instead of turning Got I've got to go and coach into a I get to to go and coach today. Yeah I think it's that that complete different mindset switch That's That's how you deal with the failure Yeah Yeah, love that No, I completely agree Um, and I like the point you made where where you said I've got to go and just change in your mindset because like one of my rules My day-to-day rules is to be grateful for what I'm doing. Yeah Um, you know one thing is sat here Asking you questions. Yes Um, you know something that I don't know other people don't get the opportunity to But again, it's also a decision You know the decisions you make day to day reflect on where you go. Yes Um, I think we're all at the same level But the only difference between one person reaching the top and one person staying at the bottom is just decisions Um, so yeah, I mean failure for me is it's a it's learning Um, but if I can avoid failure, then I'd avoid a lot of stress and anger But I know it's impossible so And you have to go through it. Yes, you do. You do. Yeah, perfect All right, James. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure Um, you've inspired me And I know any coach watching or listening will be inspired by your story by your you know by your journey as well So what would be the best way if someone wants to get in contact with you? to do so um social media platforms at Beast Air Soccer Training or our website www.beastairsoccertraining.com Um, if people want to find out a little bit more about what we're doing or if you want to send me a DM on instagram, I'll try to reply within a day Um, try to be keep on top of that. But um, no, I really appreciate you taking the sign to Um and ask insightful questions and hopefully it provided some value to to someone out there who's watching So again, I really appreciate it Absolutely. All right. Well, we wish you all the best And hope to connect again In the near future. Absolutely top man. Leah. Thank you, mate. No problem Hey coach, do you want to make more money in your sports training business? First make sure hit that subscribe button on youtube So you can stay updated with all the newest videos that we have Second, I want you to text me at this number right here. That puts you in contact with me I can jump on a quick zoom call with you learn more about your business and show you how to scale your company That's it. See you soon