PAOK Academy’s newly established Individual Improvement Department
Specialized training to strengthen weaknesses and improve a player’s skills is clearly required in an era of demanding championships, which the PAOK Academy consistently engages in. And so PAOK have created a new team, the individual improvement department, which is focused on PAOK B, U-19, U-17 and U-15 players.
The department will be headed by Spanish coach Dani Ponz, who has significant experience in youth developmental football and a coaching career in Spanish B and C teams.
The goal is to optimize each player’s physical, technical, tactical and psychological abilities, in order to improve their overall performance and achieve specific goals. The aim is also clearly to ensure a smooth transition of young players from development to men’s football.
The department is made up of coach and head of the department Daniel Ponz, coach Michalis Christaras, fitness coach Kostas Georgiadis, and video analyst Thodoris Mikropoulos. PAOK Academy psychologist Evangelos Kleitsas will of course also play an active role.
The department’s operations concern the initial assessment of each player, the establishment of individual goals, the planning and development of a relevant training program, and of course the analysis of performance after each match. It is important that individual meetings are also held with the players.
Daniel Ponz
Daniel Ponz joined PAOK to lead the newly established PAOK Academy youth development department, both for the Academy and PAOK B. Born in 1973 in Solana, Valencia, he played as a goalkeeper for his hometown team and retired at the age of 29.
He then worked as a fitness and goalkeeping coach and in 2005 he began his coaching career as head of the EMFU L’Alcúdia academies. With significant experience in youth development football, he moved on to coach Atletico Saguntino, in 2012 he took over UD Alzira and in 2017 he became coach of CD Eldense, all teams in the Spanish third division.
In 2020, when he returned to Algeria for a third stint, he achieved promotion to the Segunda Division RFEF in his first season. He continued in 2023 with the Primera Federación team Unionistas CF and in 2024 he returned to Eldense on a one-year contract and the team now competes in the Segunda Division.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Valencia and has a UEFA Pro licence.
He speaks English, Spanish and Catalan.
Michalis Christaras
An old acquaintance of the club, born in 1979, Michalis Christaras has experience and a background in developmental ages from 2000 to 2020 (he has worked at Iraklis, Aris and PAOK) He returns to the PAOK Academy to staff the individual improvement department.
He holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Sports and Human Resources of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a focus on «Maximizing Human Performance». His main specialty is football and secondary sports management and marketing. He is also the holder of a UEFA A licence and is a certified training and match analyst.
Konstantinos Georgiadis
Konstantinos Georgiadis was born in 1998 in Thessaloniki, he is a graduate of TEFAA AUTH (Serres), with a master’s degree in Sports and Health and holds a UEFA B diploma. He has also attended the training program «Coaching load and physical fitness in modern football – From science to practice».
He has worked either as a coach or as a fitness coach, at Doxa Neou Skopos in Serres, in Radestos, in Keravnos Angelochoriou, in Hanioti.
He speaks English.
Theodoros Mikropoulos
Theodoros Mikropoulos was born in 2003 in Rhodes and is a student of the University of the Aegean, in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Financial Mathematics, with the aim of specializing and developing in the field of football, specifically in analysis.
He holds a master’s degree in Statistics and Data Analysis from the University of the Aegean, a UEFA C licence, while he speaks English and German.
In the 2024-25 season he served as an assistant analyst at PAOK B.
Evangelos Kleitsas
A psychologist and mental coach, Evangelos Kleitsas was born in 1990 in Ioannina, graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which he holds a Bachelor’s degree.
He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, is a graduate of the Barcelona Innovation Hub with a specialization in the psychology of high performance in sports and holds a UEFA B diploma. He has also completed postgraduate training in Child Psychology at the University of the Aegean. He has worked in schools and in the PAOK women’s football team.
He speaks English and Italian.
