Building coaching skills
08/28/2024
According to Hazem Sobhy, his MBA courses and experiences working with the Columbus Crew have improved his coaching skills.
Learning to make soccer fun
Hazem Sobhy ’25, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) student and men’s soccer graduate assistant coach from Cairo, Egypt, spent his summer working with the Columbus Crew, a professional soccer team in Columbus, Ohio.
During his time with the Crew, Sobhy organized and executed various youth camps throughout the summer. Sobhy was responsible for ensuring daily operations of the camp ran smoothly, setting up teams with current ages for the camp and teaching the youth foundational soccer skills. Sobhy was also able to work in the administrative side of soccer operations. Sobhy says he was able to improve his knowledge of soccer and apply the skills he learned to his coaching.
“I was exposed to many different aspects of soccer which I have never seen before which will help me in my coaching,” said Sobhy. “Along with the fundamentals, I learned how to make the game of soccer more fun and how to be an organized coach.”
Not only was Sobhy able to work in a professional sports venue, but he was also able to work unique soccer events such as the Major League Soccer All-Star Community Days and Skills Challenges.
Building and maintaining a relationship with the soccer team at Bluffton, Sobhy says, was very easy. Sobhy says because of the small and intimate nature of Bluffton, the soccer team naturally develops close-knit relationships with each other.
“Soccer is such a unique sport because it beings so many people together,” said Sobhy. “At the beginning of each season we do team bonding as part of training, but through the rest of the year, the bonding with the team happens organically.”
Sobhy says his MBA courses have helped him improve his coaching skills. Leading a team through coaching allows Sobhy to use the knowledge from the classroom and apply them to the soccer field.
“The MBA at Bluffton is unique because it helps develop you as a coach,” said Sobhy. “When I am coaching the team, I often see the topics we discuss in class in a real-world scenario through coaching.”
Sobhy received his undergraduate degree in organizational supervision in 2021 from the University of Akron. In 2023, Sobhy began working as the graduate assistant coach for men’s soccer at Bluffton. After graduating from Bluffton, Sobhy plans to work for the Crew or work in real estate.