TECHNICAL TEAM

The Technical team is led by; our Technical Director, Mark Spiller (see below), along with Technical Lead Coaches Srdjan, Dejan and Stefan Gajic (more information below). Our Technical Team also receives focused support from our Girls Coordinator, Elisa Stamatakis.

Starting in Indoor 2021/22, we revamped our technical training structure in creating part-time positions (Technical Lead Coaches) who work extensively hands-on with our players and coaches.

Our Grassroots Program is led by our Grassroots Coordinator Madeline Smith-Ackerl. For more information on the Grassroots program, please click HERE.

The primary goal of the Technical team is to provide support player skill development and team play, along with providing mentorship development and feedback to our team coaches. Through engagement with teams at training and games Technical personnel are able to gain familiarity with the players and the team dynamic, allowing them to tailor training sessions to the specific needs of the coaches and players. This ongoing exposure, affords the players increased comfort with the Technical personnel.

In the Indoor 2023/24 season, our Technical Team unveiled a new “Technical Blueprint/Curriculum” which will be an extensive structure and curriculum as a resource for our club team coaching staffs to use as training themes in a weekly-block format for various age groups. This curriculum will be consistent across the club, with progressions from younger to older age groups, and assisting to guide our head and assistant coaches in their team/player development. We will also be creating a database for various coaching resources and training session plans.

While the coaching staffs of the individual teams are responsible for their specific team development and success, the Technical team is in place to ensure consistency in player development throughout the club to make for more competitive teams, as well as, a more seamless progression from one age group to another. While the LTPD model is a guiding factor in the way our teams organize training, the Technical team is responsible for supporting the implementation of various training methods that involve development and mentorship for our team coaches, and teams as a whole on the technical, tactical, fitness and mental aspects of the game.

Club Technical Director - Mark Spiller - technicaldirector@edmdrillers.com

Mark has been involved with the Drillers Soccer Club as a coach for nearly 2 decades.  He has spent his time with Drillers coaching all ages from U-8 through into our Men’s Program.  His long tenure within Drillers, along with being heavily integrated in the youth soccer community in Edmonton will be a great asset for our Club.  Mark has not only coached in Edmonton for many years. but has played the game for most of his life. Growing through the ranks with one of the inaugural first Driller youth teams (1986' boys), through St. FX High School Soccer Academy, and he has been a part of our Drillers Men’s Major League squad for years, often near the top of the goal scoring charts.  He also spent time playing semi-professionally when the Edmonton Drillers indoor team (previously in the NASL @ Rexall/Skyreach Centre for those from that era), made a comeback in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League in 2008. Mark has competed in many Provincial and National Championships as a player with his Alberta youth soccer teams, and also was a stand-out player with the NAIT OOKS at the collegiate level.

Ever since Mark has decided to start coaching, he has always had a strong drive to improve and push not only his players/teams he has worked with but also himself in learning and developing as a coach. He has coached his teams to many youth/men’s league titles and Provincial Champions.  He has had the pleasure of taking the 1996' boys Drillers youth team from U-8 all the way to U-18, in their final season where they won Alberta Soccer U18 Tier 1 provincials, earning the opportunity to represent the Drillers on the country's stage at the Canadian Youth National Championships. Most recently, Mark has held the position of U13-U19 Technical Lead Coach for the Drillers over the last two years. Mark obtained his Provincial Coaching C-License in 2016, along with numerous NCCP courses. He also spent a year working as a Technical Coach with the Barcelona Academy when they were stationed in Edmonton years ago.  Most recently, he has continued his development as a coach and succesfully completed and obtained his National-B Level Coaching License with Soccer Canada over the past year.  The coaching experience and drive he displays to continually grow and adapt with the game is what will make a positive learning environment for current and future Drillers (both players and coaches) to develop and grow as individuals and within their teams!

Board of Directors Message:

"While the outside soccer community may ask why our club did not look to post externally for the vacant TD position, the outside soccer community also likely would not have had a devoted, invested, and up-and-coming decorated soccer mind within their own ranks. It was quite clear after our Board and staff's initial meeting with Mark earlier this week, that he was ready and motivated to take a lead role for the club that he has grown with as player and coach to present day. We look forward to his new ideas and concepts to progressively phase into the club, in a variety of aspects including; player training in both a technical skill curriculum and tactical game model knowledge, our team coaches mentorship/development, and overall changes to the club structure, culture and attitude. We believe that Mark's coach education experiences, most recently his National B Coaching License from Canada Soccer, and his ability to relate as a player and past team coach himself, will give him a wide range of tools to work with our club membership, as well as networking within the Provincial and National soccer community.

This is also an extremely well-deserved opportunity for one of our own, who has deep roots and investment within the club's history, and we know how much he wants to see the Drillers grow and succeed. We look forward to seeing him thrive in this role as we support him, the other Technical staff, and most importantly, our youth team coaches, into a next chapter for the Drillers!”

Grassroots Coordinator (U4-U8) - Madeline Smith-Ackerl - grassrootscoordinator@edmdrillers.com

Madeline has a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the Univeristy of Alberta, and a Masters in Kinesiology from the Wilfrid Laurier University. She currently works for the University of Alberta as a Recreation Program Supervisor, and possesses a couple previous years experience in overseeing municipal recreation programs. From a soccer specific standpoint, Madeline boasts plenty of experience as both a player and a coach. Madeline had a successful youth soccer career, which includes three years with the Alberta Provincial team, she also played for the University of Alberta Pandas soccer team from 2012-2016, Academic All-Canadian for three of those years. She also was a Pandas Mentor Coach in her last few years of her Pandas career, mentoring for girls 12-18 years old on soccer and life skills. She also has played 10 years at the Major League Women's level during and after her Pandas University Career.

After graduating University, Madeline also spent two years coaching youth soccer for Free Footie Kids programs along with being the Interim Women's Head Coach of the UofA - Augustana Camrose campus in 2022. Since graduating University, she has obtained her Canada Soccer C-License coaching certification, along with NCCP Ethical Decisions, Respect in Sport, Girls in Sport and Coaching Athletes with Disability certifications.