BRSC kicks off new academy

LAKEWOOD RANCH — From the time he was 5 years old until he walked onto Finland’s National Team, Kai Haaskivi spent three months every summer in what he considers heaven.

As the son of the former director of coaching for the Finnish Football (Soccer) Federation, Haaskivi spent his childhood at the Finnish Sports Academy surrounded by members of Finland’s National Team.

There, Haaskivi first picked up a soccer ball and began repeating everything he saw out on the field.

“For me it was like heaven,” Haaskivi said. “When the players went inside for lectures, I had all of the fields and balls to myself. So I got used to the repetition.”

Now, Haaskivi, the director of coaching for the Braden River Soccer Club, who spent 19 years playing professionally in Finland and the United States, is hoping to share his knowledge of the game with the area’s young up-and-coming soccer players.

At the end of the month, Haaskivi will launch the Kai Haaskivi Soccer Academy at the Braden River Soccer Club.

“I’d like to think I’ve got quite a bit to give,” Haaskivi said. “It’s a demand brand of training. The main ingredient for participation is a willingness to work.”

The academy, which is open to boys and girls of all skill levels, will offer a junior academy for players ages 9-14 and a senior academy for players ages 15-18. In addition, the afternoon academies will be open to players from all clubs — not just the BRSC.

“The door is open to ones who feel they need help with their game and have an interest to improve,”  Haaskivi said. “I don’t really care whose shirt you’re wearing, but I can only help the ones who show up.”

Those who choose to participate in the academy will spend two to four days a week out on the fields working on their own individual training programs.

“We’re flexible,” Haaskivi said. “We’ll create an individual path together. It’s more individualized training. The idea is to supplement what you’re already doing. The practices will be competitive and intense, but it’s the only way you improve.

“I believe with a couple days a week we can put together a program that everyone benefits from, and hopefully they’ll go back to their clubs and play better,” Haaskivi said. “It’s not a way for me to strike it rich. It’s a way for me to give back.”

In addition to running his own academy, Haaskivi also will maintain his current role as the director of coaching, through which he’s responsible for coaching, educating and developing the league’s existing coaching staff. Haaskivi also will continue to coach the BRSC’s U13 boys team.

“I do my part as a coach, too, so I can stay in touch,” Haaskivi said. “It’s a combination of both. In a way I try to lead by example on the field, and I also see what I need to do to develop and upgrade our coaching staff.”

Haaskivi joined the BRSC two years ago. At the time, Haaskivi thought the area would be a good potential location for his future soccer academy.

Haaskivi has wanted to start his own academy for as long as he can remember, but it wasn’t until his father, Olavi, passed away three years ago that Haaskivi began reading his father’s old coaching books and manuals and realized now was the perfect time to fulfill his dream.

“I felt like putting my playing experience at the highest level and his knowledge and information to use not only for kids in the area but coaches as well,” he said. “I have the time to give back, and I feel like I have something to offer.”

During his 19-year professional career, Haaskivi played in 692 games in which he tallied 450 goals and 602 assists. He was an eight-time indoor All-Star and was named MVP of the 1980-81 NASL indoor regular season and finals and the 1987 MISL All-Star Game.

Haaskivi played professionally for the Finnish National Team and Finland’s Premier League before moving in 1978 to the United States, where he began playing for the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League.

He went on to play for the Houston Hurricane and Edmonton Drillers before moving on to the Major Indoor Soccer League where he played for the Houston Summit, Cleveland Force, Baltimore Blast and Cleveland Crunch before retiring in 1992.

For more information on the Kai Haaskivi Soccer Academy at the Braden River Soccer Club, visit www.bradenriversoccer.org.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].