At nine, I was trialing with Arsenal and Fulham.
Watch on CBCI didn't sign. Came home to Ottawa. But I saw up close what the top of the game looks like at that age.
The drills.
The pace.
The standards.
NoahAbatneh
Canadian international defender. 2025 CPL champion with Atlético Ottawa. I work with a small roster of players each season: 1-on-1, online, the way I wish I’d been coached.
Teams
Roma
Lazio
York Utd
Atleti
Canada
Watch · 2014Watch · 2026
Watch on CBCWatch on CBCAt nine, I was trialing with Arsenal and Fulham.
I didn't sign. Came home to Ottawa. But I saw up close what the top of the game looks like at that age.
The drills. The pace. The standards.
At twenty-one, I was playing for Canada.
Got the call in January and played against Guatemala, twelve years after that first trial in London.
The players at that level aren't more talented. They're more deliberate.
Watch on CBCAt twenty-one, I was playing for Canada.
Watch on CBCGot the call in January and played against Guatemala, twelve years after that first trial in London. The players at that level aren't more talented. They're more deliberate.
The coach I needed at fifteen didn't exist.
Advice that was the same for everyone. No one reviewing my games with me. Programmes written for twenty players at once.
I built the practice I run now because the players coming up deserve better.
The coaching, in detail
Early yearsYork United FC
My Journey
I grew up playing in Ottawa. At nine, I went on trial with Arsenal and Fulham. At eleven, I moved to Italy to join Roma’s academy, and later Lazio.
Then came the hard part. From Lazio’s academy to a loan in Serie D, Italy’s fourth division, about as far from my dream as it gets. It was the toughest stretch of my career, and the one that taught me the most.
In 2023 I came home to the CPL, where I was moved from right-back to centre-back and had to learn the position from scratch. Two years later, I was a CPL champion with Atlético Ottawa and got called up to Canada’s senior national team.
Most coaches tell you what to work on. I can tell you what it actually takes, because I’m still doing it.
In The Media
Seen. Heard. On Camera.
Interviews, features and coverage from across the Canadian game.
2026 Intake
A limited roster.On purpose.
I take a small number of players at any one time. If this is for you, the next step is a short call. I'll be on it myself.