Jeff Paulus - Player Development & Leadership Lessons from Grassroots to the Canadian Premier League
- E15
- 49:30
- August 2nd 2026
Jeff Paulus shares insights and lessons from his journey of becoming a grassroots coach in Canada and eventually stepping into a Canadian Premier League head coach role—along with the key influences that shaped that path.
Jeff is the Executive Director of Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club and a Coach Developer for Canada Soccer. He also serves as the Academy Director at St. Albert Public Schools Soccer Academy and is the Head Coach of NAIT Men’s Soccer. Jeff brings extensive experience in coaching, player development, and leadership across all levels of the game.
In this episode you'll learn:
1. Why development should be built around relationships
2. How peer interaction is the true value of in-person coach education events
3. Why treating players as children first is so impactful
To learn more about Jeff’s work and to connect with him, you can find him at linkedin.com/in/jeff-paulus.
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The Global Soccer Education Podcast
Insightful conversations with coaches. Soccer coaching tips, careers advice and industry insights shared by grassroots and professional soccer coaches from around the world.
Meet the Host
The Global Soccer Education podcast is hosted by Jason Blake.
Jason is a UEFA Pro Licence qualified coach and has over 20 years coaching and leadership experience in professional youth soccer.
During that time he coached in the Southampton FC, AFC Bournemouth and Reading FC academies. Jason was also Academy Director at Burnley FC and then at Dalian Yifang FC in the Chinese Super League.
Jason now lives in Alberta, Canada.