Josh Gardner has had an extensive career in the world of soccer. He started out playing with the Houston Hurricanes soccer club and went on to receive scholarship opportunities to play at the university level. Gardner ended up attending and playing soccer for the University of Cincinnati. After an exceptional game with the United States U-20 team in 2003, he was offered an MLS contract and went on to play professionally for six different teams until 2014.
In August of 2021, Gardner put his years of knowledge and skill to work by starting his own football Academy for kids from the ages of 7 to 12, Kingdom Football Academy. “I had a lot of parents, that I knew from growing up, saying that I needed to start a club.” Said Gardner. Since its conception, Kingdom Football Academy has seen a lot of growth. “We went from training 3 kids and now we have over 40,” said Gardner “So we’ve grown a lot.”
Gardner initially started his academy as a way to spend more time with his kids. “I wanted to be around my boys,” said Gardner “When I was coaching at a different academy I didn’t really get to see them because I was focused on other players.” However, Gardner’s focus is not only on his kids, but on all of the kids that he coaches.
The former pro athlete saw something missing at other clubs and decided to fill the gap. Gardner explained just how little some other clubs care about their players as people and how many clubs create toxic environments for their kids. “I’ve gotten kids that come from really toxic cultures in other clubs and academies,” said Gardner “They are scared to make mistakes and I wanted to open up an environment for them where they know that mistakes will happen and that’s okay.”
Kingdom Football Academy boasts a hands-on and personal approach to training. “My training sessions are more player focused,” said Gardner “I focus on the kids and what their needs are individually and also their needs as a group. We try to give them the skills that they need to be successful in a team environment.” Gardner does his best to ensure that the kids that train with his academy feel cared for and that they have the knowledge that they need to play their best game and maybe, eventually, to sign professional contracts of their own.
Gardner does not measure his academy's success and growth in profits, but in the improvement of the kids he coaches. “ I think the proof of our success is in the improvement that the kids have made,” said Gardner “You can see that their skills and their understanding of the game has improved, which is the most important thing.”
Gardner’s academy aims to encourage its kids to feel confident and comfortable enough to develop their skills. “I don’t berate or belittle them because my job is to teach them to minimize mistakes and if mistakes do happen, how to recover from them,” said Gardner “I want the kids to feel like they are truly known and that I care about them as people on and off the field and they can trust me with their development.”
Kingdom Football Academy
KingdomFootballAcademy.com