Professional practices at Altitude Rush. An interview with Tato Noriega

José Antonio Noriega was born 29 December 1969. He is a Mexican former professional footballer who played 14 years for various clubs in the “Primera División de México”. Noriega played with seven different clubs in Mexico, his most years coming with Monterrey. He also played for the Mexico national team in six occasions. His friends call him Tato.

In order to get his professional coaching license Tato took his practices at Altitude Rush in Port Saint Lucie under the mentoring of Rush’s Sporting Project Director, Pablo Toledo.

Tato is a top professional, humble, and has a wealth of knowledge. After completing the course, we sat down with Tato and chatted.

Santiago: “Tato, how would you describe the process of practices and mentorship in Altitude Rush?”

Tato: “It would say diverse. It was a great combination of in class learning, talks, debates and on field activities. It was really insightful to watch how coaches from different group age applied Altitude Rush methodology. You would see how different methods, approaches, styles or ways of teaching core values, would result in a positive implementation of the methodology.”

S: “What comments, ideas or thoughts do you have of Rush Soccer as a sports project?”

T: “I believe it’s a solid project. Its philosophy is very well written and described in their manuals. I was surprised when I saw that what was written in paper, actually took place on the training field. For example, before practice they would show us three of four fundamental concepts that couldn’t be left out. These concepts where shared with players who had to comply, so when practice started, regardless of the exercise, these concepts were a key part of it, and were nonnegotiable. If you can apply on the field what you’ve taught on the classroom, that leads to a strong players development”

S: “Taking into account what you’ve learnt through Escuela Menotti, what are your thoughts or ideas from an educational perspective?”

T:”What clearly stood out after this practice is the enormous responsibility that we as coaches have when training young people. We have to follow their development very carefully, because of all the positive and negative influence we have on them. You can either confuse players and make them loose their love for the game, of you can help them reach their highest potential. And it doesn’t matter whether they end up playing in a professional level or not. We are part of a development of a person in a crucial time of their life. This is why I find that concepts such as enjoyment and fun, combined with clear training concepts, are essential for a child’s game evolution. These key ideas are continuously explained and applied in Escuela Menotti”