Who are the players?
Where do they come from, what attributes do they bring and what do they need now?
Proposed Technical Director · Germania USAAbout the coach Built the German way
Holger
Kraft.
A German youth-development coach and coach educator who believes technique only becomes valuable when a player can execute it under pressure, at speed and with the game fighting back.
In his own words
“Football is still fundamentally simple: score a goal and defend your own. Make fast decisions under pressure.”
Holger describes his work as part of a DFB task-force team charged with redesigning training methodology in German football. His conviction is that the pathway must preserve German competitive identity while learning intelligently from the best attributes of other countries.
That means developing technique early, then forcing players to retrieve it inside high-pressure, game-like situations—while explicitly training decision-making, resilience and mental strength.
02 The Kraft principles
The formative “golden age of learning” builds the tools a player will later need under pressure.
Unopposed repetition can introduce a movement; it cannot be the main test of game readiness.
Scanning, speed of thought and choosing the correct action matter as much as mechanical detail.
Mental strength is not assumed. It is developed through standards, responsibility and competitive moments.
The American opportunity
Measure what matters.
“I’ve seen units in the USA where they trained patterns over and over again without pressure from opponents. That’s pointless.”
Holger respects the precision and measurement culture in U.S. soccer, while challenging programs to connect mechanics to the real game. Foot position, body angle and movement details matter—but players must ultimately scan, decide, compete, score and defend.
His supplied background includes coach-education work and relationships across MLS coaching environments, giving Germania USA a methodology designed for American players rather than a European system copied without context.
Biographical and relationship statements on this page are supplied by the coach and project team and remain subject to formal diligence. No league, association or club endorsement is implied.
Technique · Decisions · Mentality