Mike Small

Long before Coach Mike Small became a member of the Del Val United Football Club, he enjoyed much success on the American Gladiators Live tour winning a car and over $10,000 in 1992. That same level of success has occurred in his role as a youth football coach with Mike being the last head coach of the Del Val District who won a youth Championship. (Jr Terriers 5-6 grade team, 2016).

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Coach Small, a resident of Alexandria Twp for the past 16 years, recently retired from a career in law enforcement and emergency management which gives him ample opportunity to spend time with his 3 boys and wife, Michelle. It also affords him the opportunity to be the Head Coach of the DVUFC 5-6 grade team, a role he accepted this past week.

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Mike has a recipe for success as a coach. "While coaching, I find it beneficial to the young athlete to be on the field and gaining valuable experience, everyone on the 2016 championship roster started on that team. It allowed the children to get progressively stronger and more confident as the season continued on” says Small, who was a 3-year letter winner in football at Kean University.

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While winning is nice, it isn’t the real focus of Mike’s efforts on the football field.

 

"As a coach, my philosophical goals are, to ensure the kids are having fun, (kids want to come back if it was an enjoyable experience), teach life lessons (kids get to realize how a team functions), and let the kids play ( leagues that have a number play rule can be detrimental to the development of the child. Kids want to, need to and deserve to play if they are at practice on a daily basis)."

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Coach Small has a reputation of being one of the best coaches in youth football and it’s our pleasure to have him as part of our team at DVUFC.