Garen Arabian, a soccer coach based in Glendale, California, has spent the last twelve years training athletes ranging from five-year-olds to Division 1 college players. Arabian’s approach, dubbed “Symmetrical Soccer,” emphasizes developing skills on both feet within the same exercise sequence, a method he began refining after observing various trainers as a youth.
Arabian’s own soccer journey began early, with informal training sessions in his living room with his father. He progressed from AYSO at age four to club soccer at seven, eventually playing professionally in Armenia. This personal experience, he states, fueled his interest in the art of training, which developed around age eight or nine.
According to his profile on CoachUp, Arabian holds a degree from the University of California, San Diego. He began formally training students over a decade ago, and his reputation grew through word of mouth, expanding from the Los Angeles and San Diego areas to Armenia, where he trained the Women’s Armenian Premier League champions during their preseason for four months.
Arabian’s training philosophy centers on symmetry, aiming to develop balanced skills in athletes. He describes his system as working the athlete’s right and left foot symmetrically, within the sequence of the same exercise. Five Star Skills, the organization through which Arabian offers training, promotes “Symmetrical Soccer” as a creative approach to improving ball skills, fitness, and match performance.
A mobile application, “Garden Soccer,” launched in July 2024, offers a platform for organizing soccer matches. The app allows users to book slots, create matches, and invite friends, and also facilitates finding other players to complete a team. Doinsport developed the application, and provides support via email at doinsportapp@gmail.com.
