Episode 55: Didn't Touch A Ball For 6 Months Now He's A Professional w/ Sergiu Anton

Episode 55: Didn't Touch A Ball For 6 Months Now He's A Professional w/ Sergiu Anton

Welcome to the 55th episode of the In The 11 Podcast! Today, Brendan Griffiths is joined by Sergiu Anton who shares how coaching is definitely his passion and that it will be so for a long time, but is haunted by the thought that he didn’t do more with his professional career as a player. As a kid, Sergiu always has been interested in playing as a pro, and after a short professional career from 2016, he’s decided to delve into coaching. In this episode, Sergiu shares more about his journey of how he started his career and why he left, and also what ultimately urged him to come back. He also speaks about different hurdles that came his way within his career and also his insights on the different paths a young player could take to reach a high-level playing field. Stay tuned in this episode to learn more about Sergiu’s thoughts on the career in general and how he plans to continue!

Coming back home to his goal:

Sergiu shares how there’s been a series of nightmares that kept him thinking how he hasn’t reached his peak with his professional career yet. He is in love with coaching, helping develop young players especially since he values the development in the youth but the very human need for growth came to him in the image of playing professionally again. Now being a part of a team in Romania, Sergiu shares his experiences especially regarding having to take in the negative sides of training as well, just to be able to take full advantage of the opportunity he’s gotten.

Being good enough sometimes doesn’t land you a spot:

Sergiu shares how teams often have players that they invest in at a young age which makes it difficult for other players to get into ar team. He shares that the logic he sees behind it is that teams have been paying for a home-grown player’s training and they’re younger and more coachable. These advantages youth players have make it difficult for a player that has already experienced enough to develop their own play style. Young players have also spent years becoming acclimated to the clubs environment making it difficult for outsiders to break into the team.

About Sergiu Anton:

Founder of Kitchener-Waterloo's ROCA Technical Soccer Training. In October of 2020, ROCA relocated to London, England. Providing the highest level training to youth footballers and professional players.

Appeared in nine games in 2016 and started two in the midfield. Recorded one assist and also started two games at the U SPORTS championships. Had five shots and three shots on goal in the regular season. Won OUA silver medal and finished sixth at the U SPORTS tournament.

Appeared in 15 games in 2017 and started one in the midfield. Scored one goal, the game-winner in the season finale against Windsor for the first of his career. Recorded five shots and three shots on goal. Appeared in all six playoff games. Won OUA championship and finished fifth at the U SPORTS tournament.

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Outline of the Episode:

• [02:44] Going back to playing and the psychology behind it
• [14:05] Getting into a club and building his career from there
• [18:15] What Sergiu wishes he knew at the beginning of his career
• [22:22] The doubts and the harsh realities he’s experienced
• [31:56] What path would Sergiu would have chosen to get