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Richard Bucciarelli,

October 1, 2015



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Richard Bucciarelli For more information about Soccer Fitness, please visit www.soccerfitness.ca.



Canada’s first soccer fitness coach

“Soccer has come a long way in Canada in the past 15 years”. This was the thought running through my mind as I watched my good friend and colleague, Paolo Pacione, take the field as Fitness Coach with the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer on Saturday, June 20th, in their match versus Orlando City FC in front of a packed crowd at Montreal’s Stade Saputo. Of course, the examples of exactly how the game has changed in this country since the year 2000 were right in front of me that night. Among them were: • The Montreal Impact, one of 3 Canadian teams (the other two being Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps) that were a part of MLS’s Canadian expansion which began in 2007 • Stade Saputo, Montreal’s own soccer-specific stadium, and just one of many such soccer-specific stadiums located across Canada • The role of Pacione himself, as Fitness Coach, a job which literally did not exist 15 years ago in this country Pacione has always been somewhat a trail blazer for soccer fitness coaches in Canada. He was the first person to work with a professional team here (the Toronto Lynx, starting in the year 2002); the first to hold a full time position (with the Ontario Soccer Association, starting in 2005) and also the first to work with a Canadian National Team (with our women’s U17’s, starting in 2007). Now in the middle of his third season with the Impact, he has continued to set the standard for soccer fitness coaches in Canada. I sat down with Pacione following the match versus Orlando City (a 2-0 win for the Impact), to discuss his experiences with the team, as well as his thoughts about the future role of fitness coaches in the sport. How did you become Fitness Coach with the Montreal Impact PP: A contact I had who was closely linked to the club was speaking to me one day and had made me aware that they were looking to make some changes at the Impact and were looking for a fitness coach. He thought I would be a good candidate for the position. This was around the end of 2012. We had two interviews, one in Toronto, and then one in Montreal. One week later, the club made me an offer and I accepted it. Everything happened very quickly. The team was preparing for a post-season trip to Italy, and I felt that it would be very important for me to go on this trip, to get to know the staff and players, and develop more cohesiveness prior to the start of the 2013 season. In hindsight, my decision to travel with the team to Italy was a good one, because the start to the 2013 season for us was fantastic. I think a part of this success was the strong relationship I was able to build with the coaches and players from traveling with them the year before. Describe your work responsibilities as fitness coach with the club PP: My work encompasses everything performance related. This includes being fully integrated into the coaching staff, providing players’ physical conditioning work done on the field during training (which is an integral part of their performance). I also handle match-related sports science, including pre- and in-game warm-ups, cool-downs, and nutrition/hydration. My role is not just limited to conditioning work on the field during training and matches, however. There are several other responsibilities, including: • working with the Therapy and Medical teams regarding players who are recovering from injuries, to develop “return-to-play” plans • involvement with the team’s Mental Preparation Coach to discuss individual players’ performance plans from a psychological perspective • working with the team’s Performance Analyst to review players’ performance data (including GPS and heart rate data) and determine any training adjustments that may need to be made • Meeting with the team chef to discuss and ensure optimal player nutrition I have also had a great deal of input towards the development of certain aspects of our club’s new high performance training facility, which the first phase belonging to the First Team will most likely fully complete by late fall 2015. This added dossier has been above and beyond my role as Fitness Coach / Performance Manager. Since November of 2014 I researched day and night, and made many visits throughout construction to follow the progress. Together with the project and facility managers we put forth every effort to care for every possible detail. We are very proud of the new home that has been created for us through a significant investment by Joey Saputo. How do you see the role of fitness coaches in soccer changing, if at all, in the next 10-15 years? PP: I don’t necessarily see the role of a fitness coach changing; what I foresee and hope to see more of in Canada is an increase in people’s awareness of the importance of fitness coaches in soccer, as well as in their knowledge and understanding of the work that we do. In Europe and South America, fitness coaches are an integral part of the coaching staff, and in many cases, are right beside the manager or head coach during training and match play. I support this model because if coaches want to get the best out of their players, they need to have fitness coaches on the field working with their players on a daily basis. Fitness coaches must be involved in all aspects of the planning and implementation of training (not just the “physical” part; all team training). One area in which I do foresee some changes happening is that the role of the fitness coach will become more scientific, including performance monitoring during training and matches, as opposed to simply the “practical” aspect of the job. The information collected from performance monitoring makes the planning of training more specific and streamlined. A good fitness coach should be able to put all of these pieces together in combination with the coach’s philosophy and system of play, to develop the optimal training plan for their players in their specific situation. Finally, what are your most memorable moments as Fitness Coach with the Montreal Impact? PP: There are two. First, winning the Amway Canadian Championship with the Impact in 2013, and celebrating on the field with our players including Alessandro Nesta and Marco Di Vaio, former Italian National Team members and players with professional clubs in the Italian Serie A. Second was competing in the 2015 CONCACAF Champions League Final match, versus Club America from Mexico City, in front of 61,000 people at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on Wednesday, April 29th. This day was memorable not only because of the amazing experience we had in the match that we could have won, but also because my daughter Téa was born earlier that afternoon, less than 4 hours prior to kick-off! Yes, I did make in time to warm up the team. Needless to say I have a very supportive and loving wife! Richard Bucciarelli is the owner of Soccer Fitness Inc., a soccer-specific strength and conditioning company in Toronto. He recently traveled to Montreal to attend matches with the Montreal Impact, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup. For more information about Richard and Soccer Fitness, please visit www.soccerfitness.ca