Trygve Lorentzen is what you would call a football dad and a pretty successful one as well.

His son Kristian was this spring among 50 youngsters who got a call-up for the Equinor Talent Camp.

Trygve has been a “personal trainer” for his son throughout his childhood and two years back he also decided to send his son to an NF Academy event and this was the beginning of a new successful collaboration.

As much as Trygve likes to guide and coach his son, he also thinks it is important that his son try different coaching strategies and methodologies from professionals that can improve his sons game further.

You can, by the way, sign up for NF Local events right now.

– Hi Trygve! How would you describe yourself as a football dad?

– I have always been into sports myself, especially volleyball after I reached adulthood. I wanted to pass my love for sports and training on to my kids and they have had an active upbringing.

I identified Kristian’s potential early on and I did my best to nurture it. It wasn’t like I pushed him in the beginning. He clearly loved to kick the ball around and I just tried to facilitate his interest, really.

– Now that Kristian is older I do however push him outside his comfort zone once in a while. I believe that youngsters grow with greater challenges. I can tell that he is tougher now than he used to be. He is already quicker than me and he outperforms me when it comes to most football skills at this point. I guess that indicates that I did a decent job coaching him.

We still practice football together and we do a fair amount of strength training as well. Unfortunately, this is an under-prioritized area in football, but it is essential to reach the top and endure all the training load on the way there.

ALSO READ: See how you can qualify for a trial with Sporting Academy this summer.

– Has football strengthened the father and son relationship between you and Kristian?

Undoubtedly.

– Why did you encourage him to join NF Academy?

– He was better than his teammates early on and he even excelled playing with the kids that were older than him. Again, I believe in giving kids greater challenges and I knew how much he loved the game, so it seemed to be a logical next step to go to one of NF Academy events. As a young kid dreaming about becoming a pro you need a reality check and see how you compare with the very best players in your generation.

I had also been curious about NF Academy and I thought they had an interesting concept. We didn’t have any big plans for the summer back in 2018 and I thought it was a good opportunity to check it out. Kids don’t play enough football during the summer in Norway.

ALSO READ: Learn more how you can boost your train this summer through NF Virtual Academy programs.

– Do you think NF Academy has been crucial to your son’s development?

– It has undoubtedly been important. To what extent I cannot tell, but I know for sure that the gifted coached and players that he has surrounded himself with have taught him a lot. Joining a whole new group of players and being coached in English also makes you grow as a person.

Qualification last summer was a highlight. It was an incredibly competitive level there and I have never seen so many good youngsters gathered in one place before.

– What is important for Kristian’s development in your opinion?

1. Good coaching.
2. Avoiding injuries.
3. Play in a competitive setting with players that can push him.
4. Never lose the love of the game!
5. Hard and focused work. Here there are big rooms for improvements in terms of planning, determination etc.

– NF Academy plays a crucial role when it comes to the first 3 bullets I mention.