A Conversation with Liverpool FC Throw-In Coach, Thomas Gronnemark

Thomas Gronnemark holds the Guinness World Record for longest throw-in.

He is also the full-time throw-in coach under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool FC. He previously worked with Ajax, Leipzig, Gent and FC Midtjylland.

After winning a Danish U19 championship as a soccer player, Gronnemark made the switch to track and field where he became the country’s individual champion in the 200m and 400m.

He had a strong desire return to a team sport. Hence, he made the unique transition to bobsledding! Gronnemark was a four-year member of the Danish bobsled team.

In this fascinating Q and A, Gronnemark tells the story of the steps he took to become a freelance throw-in coach and how he was eventually discovered by Klopp.

This interview from The Coaching Academy on SiriusXM FC has been edited for clarity.

Glenn Crooks: When we last spoke in 2017, we were just talking about long throw-ins. There is much more to it now for you and a lot has changed in your life. And my congratulations on signing on for your fourth season at Liverpool.

Thomas Gronnemark: Thanks a lot, Glenn. Yeah, that's totally crazy going from being pretty known in Denmark to being well known in the big part of the football world, winning Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool and many other teams around the world because I'm a freelance throw-in coach. So yes, it's been like an adventure for me.

GC: You have had a remarkable journey. You played soccer, but your best athletic performances it seems were in track and field and bobsled.

TG: Yeah, that’s totally right. I played soccer for 15 years and then six years with the Danish National Track and Field team.  I won a European championship in the 1X400 meter. And with the bobsled team we traveled all around Europe and Lake Placid. That’s when I started thinking about throw-ins. I always had this great, long throw-in.

GC: So, you were just sitting around one day during your bobsled training and decided you wanted to get back into soccer?

TG: When you just first hear it, you think that's crazy and doesn't make any sense. But when you hear the details it’s quite logical to take that step. I had my experience as a soccer player. I also had a long throw-in as a real strength - a weapon. Then I got a lot of knowledge around biomechanics from athletics. And we were innovative on the bobsled team, and we did a lot of video analysis. We did 1000’s of video analysis of our bobsledding at the start of every season. So, I was used to doing analysis, analysis analysis.

GC: Was there anything else that convinced you?

TG: We were playing a soccer friendly with the German bobsled team just before our physical training and I just threw a really long throw-in and they all said, ‘how can you do that?’ I thought, if I can make that good throw-in why can’t I teach other players to do it?  So, I went down to my local library in Denmark in my hometown of Skive and I wanted to find a book on throw-ins but there weren’t any. So, I had to make a course for myself to invent everything myself.

GC: You got your first breakthrough at Viborg FF in the Danish Superliga followed by FC Midtjylland. What was the response?

TG: It was a big success. The first couple of seasons it was only the long throw in but then I developed what I call the long-fast-clever philosophy. A small part of this is to improve the players length - only like 5% - it's more about precision.

GC: How do you make things more precise?

TG: The most important thing I work with is to create space all around the pitch as a team and have different solutions. And it's not only the attacking throw-ins but also defending throw-ins.

GC: But length is still important, yes?

TG: The reason why it's important to improve your throwing length - especially for the fullback – is not just as a set piece. For instance, we don’t use a long throw-in at Liverpool. The important thing is that the longer throw-in you have, the greater throw-in area your will have, and you can throw to more teammates. That's just so important for keeping possession.

GC: So, you don’t really consider your throw-ins at Liverpool, set pieces?

TG: It's important to say I don't make solutions like in American football where you have a playbook. No, I'm working with the players throw-in intelligence by working with basic exercises. So, I’m taking the individual strengths like speed or some with a strong body to protect the ball or some have a good first touch. My teams have many options because they can pick different number of players at different distances.

GC: Did Jurgen Klopp contact you or did you contact him?

TG: I made a tweet in June 2018 about one of my players in Denmark who improved his throw-ins by almost 14 meters. Later, the German newspaper Bild made an article about my job as a throw-in coach. It's like 10 million Germans who are reading that every day.

So, I was vacationing with my family in Spain. I had my wife, my son and daughter with me. They went into a chocolate shop, and I saw I had a voice mail from a +44 number – which is England. I thought it was a guy trying to sell me something. I listened to the voice mail, and it was Jurgen Klopp on the phone. My heart was just pounding.

GC: What happened next?

TG: We eventually connected. He told me they had a fantastic season, but their throw-ins were horrible and he invited me to Melwood, the Liverpool training ground. I ended up signing a contract after the World Cup (2018).

GC: I assume it went well since you are still signing contracts.

TG: In 2017-18, Liverpool were 18th out of 20 teams in the Premier League keeping possession on 45.4-percent of throw-ins under pressure. In my first season we improved to 68.4-percent and moved to number one in the Premier League and number two in all of Europe – second to FC Midtjylland – the team I worked with in Denmark. And in the last three seasons we scored 14 goals based on throw-in possession.

GC: That's the analytic that's important - that number of goal scoring creations based on throw-in possession.

TG: Yes, and it's really important to say that most of my teams are not really using the long throw-in as a set piece weapon. Of course, I have teams who do like Midtjylland – from 2014-18 we scored 35 goals from long throws.

GC: Wow, you're hired!

TG: I'm an expert - just call me (laughing).

GC: Let’s stick with long throws. All these big dudes in soccer and I always wonder, ‘why aren’t there more players creating these chaotic situations with long throws?’ Does that mystify you as well?

TG: On one hand, yes but on the other hand no. First, the biggest thing in throwing improvement with the length is technique and I see most soccer players have really bad technique. That's the reason why most players I'm coaching improve five to 15 meters with just technical improvement. If I must choose between strength and flexibility, I will choose flexibility every day. Some of the players have been doing too much bench press in the weight room. The most important thing is the technique and then it's flexibility.

GC: So, you agree it’s an important weapon.

TG: The challenge is that people are fascinated by the long throw. But you know, if it's not long enough don't be fascinated - I think it's just stupid. Like a Hail Mary in American football. You can do that in soccer, too in – maybe one out of 100 times should it be a strategy then? No, of course it shouldn't.

GC: There are so many Liverpool supporters across the world, I’m sure they would love to hear about your work with the fullbacks, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold.

TG: First of all, they both improved their throwing length. For example, Robo was throwing really short - like 19 meters. That’s very short but improved to 27 - eight meters better. For both, it's much more important as a fullback to see the space being created by their teammates and getting the ball fast - making fast decisions and choosing what kind of space to throw into what player what you want to hit. That's much more important than throw-in length. And some people think I'm only working with the fullbacks but I'm working with all the players. if you look at Liverpool, it's often four, five or six different players. You can say the whole team has really improved.

GC: We opened by talking about the NFL and the specialization of coaches. Do you see the same possibilities in soccer, beyond the throw-in coach?

TG: Yeah, I can. Now, I'm the only throw-in coach in the world so maybe not that but there could be specialists for many different things. A good example is Sammy Lander. I had a long chat with him and gave my best advice – he became the first ever substitution coach at Wimbledon in England. You know, we can work with every detail if it's important enough.

GC: Have there been a lot of skeptics about a club having a throw-in coach?

TG:  Of course - sometimes people are laughing or smiling because they lack knowledge. If it's only criticism where people are making fun of you - I don't care about that – it’s just personal. But some criticism has been positive. I’m always looking for ways to make it better.