Bio on Founder Mike Elster

Coach Mike Elster has had a passion for the game of soccer and teaching kids for over twenty-five years at the youth, club, and high school level. During his playing career, he played for Saint John’s High School where he was co-captain and won the school’s first ever State Championship. He continued his playing career at Connecticut College where he was also a member of the track and field team. While abroad in Spain, Coach Mike played in the Complutense Univerity of Madrid Intramural League. He continued to play in various indoor and outdoor leagues in Washington D.C., Virginia, and Massachusetts including the competitive Embassy League in Washington D.C. where he was on the US Embassy team.

He started coaching various recreational and premier teams in Fairfax County, VA a year after graduating from college.  Coach Elster moved back to Massachusetts in 1998 where he became the JV Boys Soccer Coach at Shrewsbury High School and a Sutton Youth Soccer (SYS) Coach.  He continues to be with Sutton Youth Soccer and has served many capacities including U4 and U8 Coordinator, Training Director, and currently is the President of SYS.

In 2001, Coach Elster became a coach and trainer for the Fuller Hamlets where he remained for 14 years. While with the Fuller Hamlets he served on the Board and won a number of league and tournament titles.  He was a head coach of numerous age groups and also spent several years as a trainer in the Developmental Wanderers Program for the club.  Coach Elster also was the Head Coach for Abby Villa Soccer Club’s U17 Boys Maple D1 and US Club Soccer EDP Regional Team where they went undefeated winning both leagues.  This team then went on to win the USYS State Cup and competed in regionals in West Virginia.  In the Fall of 2016 he founded a new premier soccer club called Fortis FC.

As a competitive recreational and premier club coach, in 2007 Coach Elster was awarded the US Youth Soccer Massachusetts Boys Soccer Coach of Year and Region I Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.  That same year he received the US Youth Soccer adidas Boys Competitive Coach of the Year and was honored at the USYS/NSCAA National Conference.

He also has been the Sutton High School (SHS) Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach for the past 11 years where he has never had a losing season and has made the district playoffs every year.  As the head coach at SHS, Coach Elster has won numerous Dual Valley Conference titles, four MIAA State Championships (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) and in the fall of 2016 his team was MIAA Central Mass D4 District Champions and then moved on to the State Semi-Finals and after overtime lost in penalty kicks.  He was the Central Mass Soccer Coaches Association High School Coach of the Year for D3 in 2010 and 2011.  In 2014, Coach Elster also was named MIAA Boys Soccer Coach of the Year, National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) State of Mass Small High School Coach of the Year, and the National Federation of State High School Soccer Boys Coach of the Year for Massachusetts.

Other coaching experience includes being a Mass Youth Soccer District Select summer coach and five years as the Head Soccer Coach for the Central team for the Summer Bay State Games where he has four gold medals and one silver medal.  During these years, Coach Elster also has been the director and/or coach at Sutton Soccer Schools, WPI High School Soccer Prep Camp, Mass Youth Soccer Residential Camp, and has delivered numerous clinics and other private and team training sessions throughout Central Mass .

Coach Elster has his International Youth Conditioning Association Strength and Fitness Certification and was one of the founders of Rise Above Performance Training where athletes received customized training plans based on an evaluation, their age development stage and specific sport.  He also has a USSF E license and the NSCAA Advanced Regional and National Diploma.  He also has multiple Special Diplomas from the NSCAA in Technical Development of the Competitive Player, Maximizing Player Performance Using Technology and Science, The Mental Game: The Coaches Role in Developing Players, NFHS Professional Development Certificate, and Systems of Play.  Coach Elster annually attends numerous conferences locally, regionally and nationally to maintain his knowledge of the game to ensure he continues to be progressive in his approach to player development and team and club management.

Coach Elster created Hybrid Soccer Training a few years ago and continues to improve it year to year based on his attendance at these learning events.  Hybrid Soccer Training is technical soccer skills complemented with age appropriate speed, agility and strength/power training.  This hour of training builds confidence with the soccer ball and develops a complete and confident athlete.  It is customized to the age group and the progressive curriculum increases the demands as the player increases in age physically and psychologically.  The combination of soccer skills and improved movement and coordination combined with core strength exercises is critical in the development of a young athlete.  As the demands of the sport increase and the competition becomes more challenging these are key factors that will assist in future success on the field.

In addition to his experience learning the game of soccer and how to coach it at the different age groups from U4 up to U19, he also has studied and learned the importance of team building and leadership.  Coach Elster has delivered Team Building and Leadership Programs over the years and most recently at the Whitin Community Center.  His former time as an adjunct faculty member at Bentley University was valuable experience on building a detailed curriculum for these programs.  At these sessions he has helped middle school and high school age players understand that the game is more than just stepping on the field and knocking the ball around but also includes other key factors that benefit the player’s on and off the field of play.

Coach Elster is a part owner in a new soccer complex planned to open in the Fall of 2018.  Game On will have nine outdoor fields, all with lights and video capability.  Moreover, the complex also will include an approximate 120,000 square foot indoor facility with four indoor fields and a strength and fitness center.  The complex will host local, regional and national tournaments, high level training opportunities, college showcase events, leadership and team building programs, and league and practice space for teams.

Coach Elster has devoted most of his life to educating himself and learning how to motivate and assist youth and teams on reaching their goals both on and off the playing field. He has a deep passion for connecting and supporting the players and has learned through his years of coaching that building character, teamwork, leadership, and discipline in youth and young adults is just as important as the sports specific training.  He is happy to have had a great group of players and parents he has worked with over the years as well as a dedicated and dynamic staff of coaches and trainers.  He continues to ensure that his programs offer high quality, positive, and supportive training and coaching to players of all ages and abilities.
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The training staff for Elster Training includes a group of coaches who are dedicated and experienced with a passion for working with the players in a positive, fun, and challenging developmental environment.  They include coaches that have both played and coached the game at a high level winning premier league State Cups, Bay State Game Gold Medals, High School State Championships, and league and tournament titles both in the NSL, NEP, EDP, and MIAA high school season. They understand the details of the technical and tactical aspects of soccer while also embracing the concepts of team building, leadership, commitment, effort, perseverance, and sportsmanship.  Several of our coaches have attended leadership training such as the MIAA New England Leadership Program at Stonehill College.  Moreover, many of our coaches have USSF and NSCAA licenses as well as a number of NSCAA Special Topic Diplomas.  Furthermore, our pool of high school and college players that assist in the training experience and really connect with the kids include players from Fortis FC, FC Stars, NEFC, GPS and colleges such as Springfield, Franklin Pierce, Merrimack, Salve Regina, Assumption, WPI, Providence, UMass, as well as from many of the surrounding high school programs.

The Elster Training staff pool is focused on ensuring a quality experience in a positive and rewarding setting.  Coach Elster reviews the player registration list and then assigns coaches appropriately based on their background and ability to work with their age group.  With over twenty  years of coaching in the area at the club, recreational, high school and adult amateur level, Coach Elster has developed a strong relationship with many coaches and players either through working with them directly or competing against them.  He maintains a healthy respect for those relationships and enjoys bringing all of their learned experiences together in support of delivering programs that benefit your children on and off the field of play.