When Casey Walker is not working as a financial consultant or spending time with his family, you will most likely see him out on the pitch teaching soccer fundamentals to kids.

“I’m not the normal youth coach; I have high expectations for the players. If they don’t come out and work hard and are not committed to coming to practice I don’t want them,” Walker said.

That may be one of the reasons he likes coaching competitive teams instead of recreational ones. Walker said kids in Tooele County need to work especially hard on the technical side of the game at a young age before worrying about strategy or winning.

“In Tooele County we need to develop the kids and teach technique so the high school coaches don’t have to worry about that and can work more on strategy,” he said. “I teach dribbling and passing and keeping possession of the ball. At first kids just want to kick it as far as they can and then run hard and shoot. If you have a fast player that is OK, but that won’t work later when opposing players are more skilled. You are going to have to know how to pass and control the ball.”

The coach said some kids and or parents don’t like his coaching methods and soon give up on soccer, but many parents applaud his coaching philosophies. In fact, Walker’s contribution to teaching youth soccer has earned him the honor of Utah Youth Soccer Coach of the Month for September.

“Casey is very involved with soccer at many levels, is committed to ongoing coaching education programs and has done an excellent job of inspiring and developing young soccer players in his area,” said Greg Maas, state technical director for the Utah Youth Soccer Association

But accolades do not motivate the coach as much as the smiles of his young pupils when they master a technique and then see it work during a game or practice session,” said Walker.

“I started playing soccer when I was 3 years old in Oregon when my dad was coaching my older brothers back in the late ‘70s. I like to see the light turn on kids’ faces when they are successful at learning a skill and then they see it work for them. When I was little I saw how much time my dad volunteered as a coach and thought it was a great thing,” he said.

The coach has now played soccer for 31 years.

Walker’s coaching philosophy is to develop, coach, train, educate and communicate to every player as if he or she were his own child.

TC United is the soccer club for youth in Tooele County and is sanctioned by both the Utah Youth Soccer Association and the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSA). Players range in ages from 6 to 18. The AYSA is a feeder program for the United State’s Olympic Development Program.

Walker currently coaches five teams and helps with another. He coaches a U6 co-ed team, U8 girls team, U10 girls team, and two U11 girls teams. The U10 team and the U11 teams are competitive squads. Because several parents wanted Walker to coach their girls, TC Thunder sponsors two U11 teams. Walker also helps with a U12 team.

The coach said a lot of soccer talent is produced in states like Florida, Texas, California and Arizona because teams can play year-round. Also several talented players hail from New England where they have several indoor soccer facilities.

“In Utah there are more and more indoor facilities for soccer popping up. We use the Dow James building in Tooele and the Salt Palace is used. There also are indoor facilities in Bountiful, Woods Cross and Murray,” he said.

Walker said he usually can spot soccer talent early. “If a person is athletic and dexterous they can be good in soccer. Aggressiveness is also important. You can usually tell quite early if a person is going to be aggressive and not afraid,” he said.

The coach said a good goal keeper is also an important part of a successful soccer team, but the midfielder should also be a top player. “He is like a quarterback on a football team. He has to be assertive and not afraid. He’s working both sides of the field,” he said.

Walker also coached the Grantsville boys soccer team for six years and the girls team for five years. His favorite soccer teams are RSL, Real Madrid and Celtic. His most memorable soccer experience so far is watching his children score their first goals; and also watching his oldest walk out with RSL captain Jason Kreis for the Real Madrid game.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com