{"id":751084,"date":"2026-06-21T07:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T07:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/751084\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T07:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T07:06:13","slug":"the-french-soccer-coach-using-duolingo-to-help-train-his-australian-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/751084\/","title":{"rendered":"The French soccer coach using Duolingo to help train his Australian team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Armed with a lifelong love of soccer and the Duolingo app, soccer coach William Loison goes to work each week aiming to train the next generation.<\/p>\n

Originally from Paris, the 27-year-old coach must overcome multiple challenges to effectively communicate with a team of players from diverse backgrounds at the Shepparton Blasters Football Club in Victoria’s north.<\/p>\n

French-speaking Mr Loison says he navigates his language barrier by sticking to a few English words he knows for coaching that he learnt through the Duolingo app.<\/p>\n

”Football is a universal language,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I focus on the essential words and limit the number of words I use while training.”<\/p>\n

\"Thirteen<\/p>\n

Players at the Shepparton Blasters club come from a range of backgrounds. (Supplied: Shepparton Blasters)<\/p>\n

The coach came to Australia five months ago on a Work and Holiday Visa and chose Shepparton as he juggles a mix of farm work and soccer training.\u00a0<\/p>\n

”From Monday to Friday, I have farm work and soccer training sessions,” he said.<\/p>\n

He works at a farm in Tallygaroopna, just north of Shepparton, and said the region’s diverse migrant community brought a wealth of soccer talent.<\/p>\n

The next generation<\/p>\n

Rian Sobin, 13, is captain of the Blasters’ Under 15 side and is hoping that he could one day play in the National Premier League.<\/p>\n

He said Mr Loison is helping make a difference to the team’s performance.<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/p>\n

Rian Sobin captains the Under 15 team at Shepparton Blasters. (ABC News: Delys Paul)<\/p>\n

”The French coach is hard on us, but the harder the better. It makes us push to the limit,’ he said.<\/p>\n

”After the French coach came, we are passing the ball a lot more and playing much better.<\/p>\n

”We understand most of his language, and coaching is effective.”<\/p>\n

Rian has high hopes for the Socceroos at the World Cup and thinks the Aussies could make it to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

But said he was hoping to see the “GOAT” Cristiano Ronaldo lift the World Cup for the very first time for Portugal.<\/p>\n

‘An essence of Australia’<\/p>\n

The Goulburn Valley region has a history of producing first-class players.<\/p>\n

Soccer clubs like the Goulburn Valley Suns have produced players such as Garang Kuol, who went on to become a national and international star.<\/p>\n

Sports researcher at Monash University’s Intercultural Lab Tom Heenan said Australia’s soccer scene evolved around migration.<\/p>\n

”Soccer is a sport that reflects contemporary Australia,” Dr Heenan said.<\/p>\n

He points out the current Socceroos team has several players of African descent which reflects migration from that part of the world.<\/p>\n

”Soccer really does capture an essence of Australia.”<\/p>\n

\"Twelve<\/p>\n

Shepparton Blasters soccer players warming up. (Supplied: Shepparton Blasters)<\/p>\n

Support at a grassroots level<\/p>\n

Mr Loison has experience in soccer coaching roles across youth levels in Paris, but said the game was quite different here.<\/p>\n

”Football is not the same in France,” he said.<\/p>\n

“In France, training starts at the age of four or five. But, here many join very late for training.”<\/p>\n

\"Soccer<\/p>\n

William Loison uses Duolingo to learn English and communicate with players.\u00a0 (ABC News: Delys Paul)<\/p>\n

Mr Loison believes Shepparton has a lot to offer, but said to make it to an elite level players would need to work hard and the region would need more coaches.<\/p>\n

”Shepparton has got quality players but needs more qualified soccer coaches,” he said.<\/p>\n

”Football is a passion. I am here to push the players to a higher level.<\/p>\n

“When you are on the pitch, you have to give more than 100 per cent.”<\/p>\n

This is a sentiment shared by some of the club’s parents.<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/p>\n

Christian Steri is the parent of two soccer-playing kids in Shepparton. (ABC News: Delys Paul)<\/p>\n

Parents such as Christian Steri, who migrated from Milan to Australia 20 years ago, said he could relate to the tough soccer training offered by the French coach.<\/p>\n

”Mr Loison’s coaching is producing results,” he said.<\/p>\n

”The toughness may come across as harsh. But ultimately, you want the best for the kids.<\/p>\n

“They will succeed. I think it is part of us coming from Europe and growing up with football every day.”<\/p>\n

\"soccer<\/p>\n

William Loison says there is a lot of football talent in Shepparton. (Supplied: Shepparton Blasters)<\/p>\n

Mr Steri said Australia was at a stage where it needed more skilled coaching.<\/p>\n

Former Socceroo and commentator Archie Thomson said Australia needed to create more pathways for young players at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n

”We need more passionate people for the game at grassroots level where it counts,” he said.<\/p>\n

“That is where there is a bit of a disconnect, between grassroots and elite football.<\/p>\n

“Sport is hard at a professional level \u2026 we’ve got to have the right foundations. It is definitely the paths and the grassroots that we need to work on.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Armed with a lifelong love of soccer and the Duolingo app, soccer coach William Loison goes to work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,268489,268492,561,268491,268490,82,13009],"class_list":["post-751084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-shepparton-blasters","tag-shepparton-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-soccer-pathways","tag-soccer-training","tag-sports","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}