Ramón Raya: "We need dynamic people on and off the field"

Ramón Raya is a coach for the Mexican beach soccer team. In 2007, the team placed second at the Beach Soccer World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Ramón was nominated for Best Coach at the event. He was a professional football player from 1985 to 1996 and played with six teams during this time. Ramón is an official FIFA Beach Soccer instructor since 2009. He does the Master in the Administration of Football - MINAF in Mexico City.

Why did you decide to start with MINAF at the Johan Cruyff Institute Mexico?
The globalization, the importance of football in the media and the evolution of sport marketing in the modern world, make this master a very attractive option to continue learning and become prepared. Despite the fact that I work as a technical director, I acquired new tools during the master’s program that not only showed me a better way of what happens on and off the field, but also around the game, which has enthused me to make better decisions correlating with the best interest of my team.

What is your opinion about the importance of studying for athletes, coaches and sport managers?
The fact that you were an athlete is nowadays not enough to be prepared and equipped to apply for a job. Somebody once said that knowing a lot about one thing is like not knowing anything about it. It’s a mistake to think that you can keep on your pace and not adapt to continuous learning in these dynamic times of information and continual new knowledge. Keeping quiet is remaining stagnate and now more than ever the sport world needs dynamic people on and off the field.

In your opinion and with your experience, what do sports need to professionalize / propel in the future?
I think it is a matter of time. We notice that the teams that made an effort to be prepared in the most professional way obtain better results than the ones that haven’t. The ones that don’t integrate this professionalization will be falling behind and eventually be marginalized. It is clear that momentarily there are not many programs like MINAF, which limits professionalization, but sooner or later it will be inherent to work in the sport sector because it will be that same sector that will ask for it.

What is your experience with the Johan Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies?
From the beginning I attended with a positive attitude and high expectations about the work program. Fortunately, I say this with honesty and sincerity, my expectations has been exceeded and I am really enjoying the interaction that we have achieved in the group and the feedback from the teachers who responded to our concerns. Every session has been a positive exchange of arguments, ideas and refreshing viewpoints, which made it very educational.

How do you think you will apply your MINAF knowledge and skills?
In my current work as a technical director, I started to apply them already on a daily basis. The general structure of my team is better and we defined the roles and responsibilities of every position within it, which led to a more dynamic, effective and simple way of working.

Do you have a message for the network of the Johan Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies?
I am just grateful for the opportunity to be part of this institution and grateful for the professional way they are treating each student who form part of this group in Mexico and that they encourage you to share what we’ve learned with each other and motivate others so every time more people will seek professionalization of their work within sports.