Blockers, 'Edges' and storytellers: The life of a set-piece coach - an interview with Karl Hooper

Interview with Charlotte FC's set-piece coach Karl Hooper on his career path, coaching philosophy and the technical details of modern set-piece coaching.

Karl Hooper, first-team assistant and set-piece coach at Charlotte FC, discusses his journey from failed academy player at Birmingham City to one of football's specialist coaches. After studying sports science at Liverpool John Moores University, Hooper spent 15 years coaching in the Midlands before joining Aston Villa's academy in 2020 as an individual development coach under Unai Emery.

Hooper worked closely with Villa's set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, learning the technical minutiae of Emery's methods and translating them to academy players. He emphasizes the complexity of modern set-piece coaching: players must master multiple roles including marking, blocking, and "edge" positioning—understanding secondary movements and where to be if possession is regained.

Hooper stresses that good coaching requires storytelling: coaches must sell the vision and explain how sessions benefit players.

Hooper followed manager Dean Smith to Charlotte FC in MLS earlier this year, combining the approaches of MacPhee and individual coach Rodri. He credits Smith's vision for set pieces and the autonomy given to specialists like MacPhee and Nicolas Jover (now at Arsenal) as key to their success.