April 14, 2026
One of the best things I get to do is volunteer with the Charleston Battery, our local professional team. Being around a pro environment as a 15-year-old player has changed how I train and how I coach the younger players I work with around Mount Pleasant. I’m Olly, I play for Charleston Soccer Club, and I want to share a few things I’ve picked up from the Battery — because most of them apply just as much to an 8-year-old learning the game as they do to a pro.
Here’s the thing that surprised me most. You’d think professional players spend all their time on flashy stuff. They don’t. They drill the basics — passing, first touch, movement — over and over, at high speed, every single day.
Watching that changed how I coach. When a young player wants to skip the fundamentals and learn tricks, I think about the Battery guys still hammering their first touch as pros. The basics never stop mattering. They just get faster. That’s why I keep our first touch work at the center of every session.
The biggest difference between pro soccer and youth soccer isn’t skill — it’s speed. The Battery players think and move so much faster. The ball barely stops. Decisions happen before the ball even arrives.
That taught me to train young players to play quicker, not just cleaner. I ask them to check their shoulder before they get the ball, to decide early, to move it and move themselves. You can start building that habit at any age, and it’s the fastest route to real soccer IQ.
Being around the Battery, I noticed the best players carry themselves a certain way. They’re not arrogant. They’re just calm and sure of themselves, even when a game gets tight.
That confidence comes from preparation. They’ve done the reps, so they trust themselves. I try to build the same thing in the kids I coach — not fake hype, but real confidence that comes from being prepared. When a young player has practiced something a hundred times, they play free. Helping kids build that confidence is honestly my favorite part of coaching.
At the pro level, working hard isn’t the thing that makes you special. It’s the price of being there at all. Every single player is putting in the effort.
That’s a powerful lesson for young players. Talent gets you noticed, but work ethic is what keeps you improving. I tell the kids I coach: outwork yesterday’s version of yourself. You don’t have to be the most gifted player on the field to be the most improved one. That’s a race anyone can win.
I’m not training 8-year-olds like professionals — that would be silly. But the principles carry over more than you’d think.
Being close to the Battery reminds me that the game is the same game at every level. The pros are just doing the fundamentals faster and more consistently than everyone else. That’s a message I love passing on to the younger players I work with here in Charleston.
Olly volunteers with the Charleston Battery, our local professional (USL) team, which puts him around a high-level training environment as a young player. He brings the principles he observes — speed of play, mastery of basics, and prepared confidence — into the youth training he does around Mount Pleasant.
Being around professional players shows what the fundamentals look like done at full speed. That perspective helps a young coach keep youth sessions focused on the things that actually matter — first touch, quick decisions, and confidence — rather than flashy drills that don’t transfer to games.
Speed. Professional players think and move dramatically faster; the ball barely stops and decisions are made before it arrives. The skills are similar — the pros just execute the basics quicker and more consistently. Training young players to play faster is the biggest lever for improvement.
Absolutely. Watching how pros move without the ball, check their shoulders, and keep the ball moving teaches lessons a young player can copy immediately. Attending a Charleston Battery match is a great, local way to see high-level habits up close.
That the basics never stop mattering — they just get faster. Professional players still drill first touch and passing every day. A young player who commits to the fundamentals, played at increasing speed, is building the exact foundation the pros stand on.
Everything I learn from being around the game, I bring back to the players I coach. If your child wants training built on real fundamentals and prepared confidence, you can train with Olly right here in Mount Pleasant. You can also read more about my story on the about page.
Olly Sovenyhazy is a 15-year-old Charleston Soccer Club player and Charleston Battery volunteer who trains younger athletes around Mount Pleasant and Charleston, SC. He coaches the way he trains: real reps, clean technique, and confidence built through consistency. You can learn more about the local pro side at the Charleston Battery’s official site.
