The Radical Hospitality of
Soccer Coaching
RUSS DAVIS DIrector | 90 + League
What if coaches saw soccer not just as a game or a profession, but as a banquet table? Instead of the coach taking on the vocation as merely an instructor or tactician, they would see their role as hosts extending radical hospitality to their players and treating each training or match as if it were a dinner party of consequence.
Hospitality is not just nicety; it is formation. The ancient Greeks had a word for it: xenia, guest-friendship, a virtue so weighty it was counted sacred. The truth is, the heart of that ancient code still beats today. Hospitality is not just for temples or travelers; it belongs in the locker room and on the pitch. When coaches see themselves as hosts, they create an environment where players don’ t just sharpen their touch or master tactics, but grow roots of character, resilience and belonging( Brown, 2019; Cushion & Jones, 2006). The role of host reframes coaching as the work of attention and intention; and in soccer, where development is both technical and human, this lens may be a vitally important shift.
10 | Soccer Journal