"Coach Joon," football coach at Mon Thong Wittaya School, revealed his reasons for avoiding 7-a-side football, emphasizing that football must build careers, not cause harm!","tags":["football","youth sports","career development","Mon Thong Wittaya"]
"Coach Joon" Anurak Srikerd, former youth national team coach and current coach at Mon Thong Wittaya School, firmly stated, "7-a-side football is not my way." He focuses primarily on 11-a-side football structure to pave the way for children to advance to university level or sign professional contracts with salaries to support themselves.,"tags":["Coach Joon","football coaching","youth development","professional football"]
Despite losing three consecutive games without scoring, Coach Joon said the results were not the main issue after Mon Thong lost on penalties 0-0 (3-5) to Sarawittaya in the third-place match of the first Friends of Mon Thong Football Tournament.,"tags":["football match","Mon Thong","Sarawittaya","tournament"]
Coach Joon told Thairath Sport that the team has brought in new players and adjusted the age balance, as the squad previously relied heavily on 15-17 year olds. This change aims to help the team better compete in the league.,"tags":["team strategy","player recruitment","age balance","football league"]
He emphasized that the main goal is to “build people,” with match results secondary to giving children chances to play and improve. The long-term aim is for them to earn scholarships to university or advance to professional clubs (T3) and earn a living.,"tags":["player development","scholarships","professional football","youth opportunity"]
“I don’t follow 7-a-side football and focus on building 11-a-side structure, so I don’t prioritize 7-a-side. From now on, any non-main tournaments won’t be scheduled to avoid exhausting or injuring the kids, who lack discipline. We must restructure, and everything will change. We place great importance on this,” he said.,"tags":["football structure","player health","discipline","team management"]
“Otherwise, the kids would play matches morning, afternoon, and evening — that’s not football; it’s harming them. Injured kids can’t continue to university, and parents must take them for surgery. This is serious. We think about the children’s future first. Many Mon Thong fans may need to rethink. Wanting kids to win many 7-a-side trophies isn’t my path. My path is for a kid to get a university scholarship, play for clubs, play T3, and earn a salary. That’s my way,” he said.,"tags":["player welfare","career path","football philosophy","injury prevention"]
Coach Joon aims to lead Mon Thong within two years to compete in all age groups at the Department of Physical Education Cup (Type B).,"tags":["team goals","competition","Department of Physical Education Cup","Mon Thong"]},{
He concluded by thanking “Pimrypie” for supporting the construction of a standard football field, which provides a crucial foundation for training and developing youth in the community with opportunities to reach the national team level.,"tags":["community support","football facility","youth development","national team"]}]}