By Mike Singleton
The offseason is near, so here are ways players can work on their skills on their own. …
1. Juggling
a) Juggle the ball with all parts of your body (left and right sides). Try not to have more than five consecutive juggles with the same body part (i.e., feet, head, etc.).
b) Juggle with a friend or friends in a similar fashion to the basketball game “HORSE” — the player who drops the ball gets a letter.
c) Play one-touch or two-touch juggling with your friends, earning letters for drops.
How to Juggle video:
2. One-vs-One
a) Only use one foot — the ball cannot touch your other foot.
b) Have a goal (or a cone) which you can score upon from all sides.
c) Same as b, but have the same goal for both players.
d) Have two goals for each player, one on an end line and one on a sideline.
e) Have three goals for each player, one on an end line and one on each sideline.
3. Wall Soccer
Just kick a ball against a wall using both your left foot and right foot. Place hard shots against the wall (with accuracy and force). Try doing this three-touch, then two-touch, then one-touch. This game helps with trapping/receiving, positioning, striking of a ball with both feet, foot speed, being on toes, and concentration.
It also will improve your passing/shooting accuracy because of the high number of touches you will have on the ball and the high number of balls you play against the wall.
Vary your shots - high, low, left, right, inside foot, outside foot, instep, etc., and make yourself work at a high pace to get your body behind the ball before it rolls past you. Get closer to the wall to improve foot quickness and move further away to increase lateral quickness.
Video on using the wall:
4. Own the Ball!
Just you competing for possession of one ball (through shielding) with one other person. If you lose possession, do whatever you have to do get the ball back as quickly as possible. Correct shielding technique — body sideways, arm providing protection, ball on outside foot, knees bent, turning as defender attacks, using feel to understand where defender is going.
5. 2v2 or 2v1 Games
Any 2v2 and 2v1 drills or games will be extremely useful. The entire game can be broken down into 2v2 or 2v1 situations. The more skilled you are at these, the more success you will have in the larger game. Playing combination passes is key!
6. Paired Tag
Pair players up, giving each pair two balls. One player starts and is given a two-second lead to break away from his/her partner. The chaser (”it”) dribbles after the first player and tries to tag him/her with his/her hand. If tagged, the roles reverse and the player who was previously “it” has two seconds to break away before their partner tries to tag them. Players must always dribble their soccer ball during this activity.
7. Marbles
Players are in pairs, each with a ball. One player plays out his ball and the partner passes his own ball in an attempt to strike the ball his partner played out. Players should keep track of how many times they hit their partner’s ball. This game should be fast-paced, because players take turns at trying to hit each other’s ball without ever stopping.
If Players 2 misses Player 1’s ball, then Player 1 immediately runs to her own ball and tries to hit Player 2’s ball (Player 2 does not get to touch his ball after missing Player 1’s ball). After Player 1 has a chance, then Player 2 immediately tries to hit player 1’s ball right back. etc.
This game is continuous and players should keep score.
(Hint: If two balls are lose to each other, a player should kick his/her ball hard at the other ball so that when they hit it, it is more difficult for the other to hit their ball back).
A video demonstrating soccer Marbles:
8. Soccer Tennis
With a partner, set up two 10×10 grids that are separated by a net (or a line, couple of bags, string tied to bags - something serving as a net). Just as in tennis, players play the ball (though with their feet) into the other’s grid and the ball must bounce once in that grid. If the receiving player(s) allows the ball to drop twice, the server earns a point. Receiving players can play volleys. Limit your touch count to two- or three-touch.
Soccer Tennis Video:
9. SLAM
Get a partner or partners and play against a wall (or turn over a bench). Use one-touch to kick the ball against the wall.
Turns alternate between partners. Players earn a letter if the ball goes over the bench or goes wide of the bench/wall until they spell “SLAM.” Once they spell “SLAM” they are out of the game.
A video demonstrating SLAM:
(Mike Singleton is the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association’s Head State Coach and Director of Coaching. He is a Region I ODP Senior Staff Coach and a U.S. Soccer and US Youth Soccer National Staff Coach. This article first appeared in Mass Youth e-News.)
Other articles focused on improving skills outside of practice include:
Getting Kids To Play On Their Own
Practicing Solo: The 720 Challenge
Improving skills on your own: wall play
Getting players to juggle
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Before you scream at a ref ...
By Donna Olmstead
Sometimes as I slouch down in my lawn chair watching my grandchildren's soccer games, I indulge in wishful thinking. Only skillful, focused players on the field. Only knowledgeable, supportive parents on the sidelines. Only coaches who remember the bottom line is character development and not just winning games. Only top-notch officials running the lines and the field. Never going to happen. Like I said - wishful thinking.
Not that I'm an expert on the soccer subject. But I have spent 32 years immersed in youth soccer. As the chauffer. As the team mom. As the team grandmother. And any other position that needed a warm body. Some knowledge of the game is bound to rub off after awhile.
Now my daughter and granddaughters are referees as well as players. And I'm seeing games from a whole new angle.
Sitting on the bleachers watching my 14-year-old granddaughter play at a Disney tournament recently, I got annoyed at our parents for criticizing the assistant referee's seeming inability to be in position to make good calls.
When the parents grew vocal enough for the AR to hear, I decided to muffle the criticism. Duct tape would have done the job, but I used something more personal - an incident that happened to my 16-year-old granddaughter Emily at a different game the day before.
Emily was running the line on the parents' side and they gave her a bad time about her offside calls. The coach even went to the center ref after the game and complained about her. Fortunately, the center ref had been paying attention and said Emily's calls had been correct. This is a tough situation for a young referee to handle, and probably why the attrition rate is so high.
When I told our parents about Emily's experience, they were indignant about anyone's criticizing Emily. After all, she's one of ours. We know her. We know she's conscientious and unbiased. She knows the game both as a player and a certified official. How dare those parents and coach give her a rough time?!
Then I pointed at the AR running our line and said, "She's somebody's Emily."
I know that, in the heat of competition, everyone forgets that the officials are somebody's Emily or Tom or Dave. Parents demand superhero officials. Which, in most cases, means officials that make only calls the parents agree with. And when most of the parents don't even know the difference between being offside or being in an offside position, that would be an impossible demand.
You couldn't pay me enough to take the abuse that soccer officials take. I'd probably take the field armed with a whistle and a small caliber handgun. And because I know that about myself, I stay on the sidelines. And try to encourage parents to send positive energy toward the field. And to try to help them remember that the every official is somebody's Emily.
(Florida resident Donna Olmstead has been involved in soccer through both her children and her grandchildren, as well as housing professional players and owning and running an indoor soccer facility. She is a freelance writer and spends weekends trying to remember which tournament she's supposed to be cheering at.)
Sometimes as I slouch down in my lawn chair watching my grandchildren's soccer games, I indulge in wishful thinking. Only skillful, focused players on the field. Only knowledgeable, supportive parents on the sidelines. Only coaches who remember the bottom line is character development and not just winning games. Only top-notch officials running the lines and the field. Never going to happen. Like I said - wishful thinking.
Not that I'm an expert on the soccer subject. But I have spent 32 years immersed in youth soccer. As the chauffer. As the team mom. As the team grandmother. And any other position that needed a warm body. Some knowledge of the game is bound to rub off after awhile.Now my daughter and granddaughters are referees as well as players. And I'm seeing games from a whole new angle.
Sitting on the bleachers watching my 14-year-old granddaughter play at a Disney tournament recently, I got annoyed at our parents for criticizing the assistant referee's seeming inability to be in position to make good calls.
When the parents grew vocal enough for the AR to hear, I decided to muffle the criticism. Duct tape would have done the job, but I used something more personal - an incident that happened to my 16-year-old granddaughter Emily at a different game the day before.
Emily was running the line on the parents' side and they gave her a bad time about her offside calls. The coach even went to the center ref after the game and complained about her. Fortunately, the center ref had been paying attention and said Emily's calls had been correct. This is a tough situation for a young referee to handle, and probably why the attrition rate is so high.
When I told our parents about Emily's experience, they were indignant about anyone's criticizing Emily. After all, she's one of ours. We know her. We know she's conscientious and unbiased. She knows the game both as a player and a certified official. How dare those parents and coach give her a rough time?!
Then I pointed at the AR running our line and said, "She's somebody's Emily."
I know that, in the heat of competition, everyone forgets that the officials are somebody's Emily or Tom or Dave. Parents demand superhero officials. Which, in most cases, means officials that make only calls the parents agree with. And when most of the parents don't even know the difference between being offside or being in an offside position, that would be an impossible demand.
You couldn't pay me enough to take the abuse that soccer officials take. I'd probably take the field armed with a whistle and a small caliber handgun. And because I know that about myself, I stay on the sidelines. And try to encourage parents to send positive energy toward the field. And to try to help them remember that the every official is somebody's Emily.
(Florida resident Donna Olmstead has been involved in soccer through both her children and her grandchildren, as well as housing professional players and owning and running an indoor soccer facility. She is a freelance writer and spends weekends trying to remember which tournament she's supposed to be cheering at.)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Skill Priorities - The four letter word of soccer: KICK
Skill Priorities
Everyone knows that the game of soccer has a number of basic skills, or techniques, that players have to learn, such as dribbling, receiving passes, making passes, shooting and heading. Players also have to learn to make good decisions during the game, such as when to dribble, when to pass, and to whom to pass. These players’ decisions are referred to as tactical decisions.
Skill Factor Video containing break down of skills and live footage of the best soccer players in the world. (this is a long video in high definition, to watch it without if having to buffer freuently press play now, once it gets going press pause. The finish reading the article and watching the video below and come back to it. I highly recommend this video as a stocking stuffer or as a gift this holiday season.)
The first principle of soccer development is that players should master the basic techniques before they can learn the tactical side of the game. Technique before tactics! Think of techniques as vocabulary, and tactics as the grammar rules for forming sentences and paragraphs. Now, imagine a young immigrant who arrives in America without a word of English. It’s pretty obvious that before we can teach this immigrant about the rules for joining nouns, verbs, and adverbs to form a sentence, we have to give him a chance to accumulate enough vocabulary. The bigger his vocabulary, the better will he be able to use grammar to articulate his thoughts.
In terms of soccer development, your child is just beginning his/her ‘schooling’. We use the word ‘schooling’ here because there are many similarities between a regular school and a youth club, which can be considered as essentially a soccer school. In fact, as you might have already noticed, throughout this letter we will be using many analogies from real life schooling and the principles of growing up to explain the rationale behind the program.
As far as techniques are concerned, some techniques should be taught before others. The first technique that children should learn is dribbling. The ability to dribble is absolutely critical since dribbling is the foundation skill and preparation for all the other fundamental techniques of soccer, such as receiving, passing and shooting. When players are receiving the ball and making preparation touches prior to passing or shooting, they are essentially engaged in a mini-dribble. Young players need to learn to dribble within a variety of playing situations, such as dribbling forward unopposed, changing speed and direction with the ball, shielding the ball from opponents, dribbling past an opponent, and dribbling to get away from pressure. A limited ability to dribble leads to a limited range of passing or shooting. There are also times in the game, when the player with the ball has no passing options and the only way out of tight pressure is to dribble.
Aside from the fact that dribbling forms the foundation for all the other skills, there are many other reasons why we need to focus on dribbling at U-6/U-8. First of all, it takes years to become a comfortable and confident dribbler. Players have to learn to combine body control, agility, coordination and balance with the mechanics of dribbling and the sooner they start, the better. Just like any complex bio-mechanical skill such as skating or gymnastics, the later you start, the harder it is to achieve perfect form. Secondly, the process of learning to dribble involves trial and error. At first, the players’ rudimentary attempts at dribbling will often result in failure as they discover the contrast between a soft touch and a hard touch on the ball. The players will slowly develop a ‘feel’ for the ball as they experiment at controlling and propelling it. Young players don’t get discouraged easily if they don’t succeed. Players of this age do not possess the analytical thought process to look back or think ahead. They live for the moment, inSome of you might ask “but what about passing?” Isn’t soccer a team game and passing a fundamental team skill? Passing implies an intention by a player to direct the ball accurately towards a teammate. It implies decision making. Do not confuse passing with kicking. Kicking means using the feet to propel the ball in a certain direction. You will not see any passing in a U-6 game, and very little in a U-8 game. Passing is simply beyond the ability of U-6 the here and now, and the fact that the last time they tried to dribble it didn’t work will not even enter their minds. But if we wait for the players to mature before we emphasize dribbling, many of them will lose their confidence if they do not succeed and will become reluctant to dribble. Thirdly, In 3v3 and 4v4 play, the fields are so small that dribbling is always an option since the ball is always just a few yards away from shooting range. Once the game moves to the larger sized fields, dribbling becomes less effective on it’s own and must be combined with passing to get the ball from point A to point B. And lastly, it’s better to go through the process of trial and error when game results are not important and standings are not kept. At the U-10 and older ages, game results assume more importance, making it hard for the parents and coaches to show patience and tolerance for mistakes, and putting added pressure on players to ‘get rid of the ball’ rather than risk losing it. Once games become competitive, the resultant environment is not ideal to start learning how to dribble.
Kicking is NOT a Soccer Skill!!!
Most coaches and parents of beginner players unknowingly emphasize the wrong skills. In a typical U-6/U-8 club play, the players are encouraged by both the parents on the sidelines and the coaches to ‘boot’ the ball up the field. Shouts of “get rid of it!” and “kick it!” are all too common. The further forward a player kicks, they louder the cheers. Players are so indoctrinated to ‘kick it forward’ that very few of them dare to get out of pressure by dribbling. The fact is that the players are asked to execute a skill (kicking) that they would automatically learn anyway as they grow up, even if they didn’t play soccer. If you don’t believe it, just go outside to your back yard, place a ball on the ground, take a few steps back, run up to the ball and kick it forward. I am willing to bet you that, even if you never played soccer in your life, you would still succeed in kicking the ball forward. Your kick might look awkward and your movement lack grace, but you still would manage to kick it forward.
The reality is that players are controlled like puppets by the adults to such an extent that they are not thinking for themselves and are afraid to do anything but kick the ball. Even throw-ins are routinely thrown straight to the other team by confused players who are conditioned to play the ball forward, no matter what. The kick-offs are no better, with players kicking the ball straight to the other team, American football style. Players who clearly have plenty of time on the ball with no pressure anywhere near, are still kicking it forward without any thought or skill. And this type of mindless play is usually not corrected by the coaches and is allowed to occur time and again. The end result is that we are ‘coaching’ the skill of dribbling OUT of the players. We take away the natural ‘comfort’ with the ball - forever!
Let’s be frank here. The underlying issue has to do with how you, the adults, look at the game and analyze it. It’s fair to say that you all accept that results at U-6 and U-8 do not matter and that there is no need to keep standings. But you also instinctively know that the easiest way to get the ball from point A to point B is to kick it in that direction. It’s hard for you to watch your child lose the ball in front of his own goal and for the other team to score. So, the next time your child has the ball in his/her half, you can’t help it and shout “kick it!”. But every time they kick it, they lose another opportunity to learn to dribble. The buzz word of our program is: ‘Soft first Touch’. Every time your player goes to the ball, his/her first touch on the ball should be a soft one, meaning, NO KICKING!
Some of you might ask “but what about passing?” Isn’t soccer a team game and passing a fundamental team skill? Passing implies an intention by a player to direct the ball accurately towards a teammate. It implies decision making. Do not confuse passing with kicking. Kicking means using the feet to propel the ball in a certain direction. You will not see any passing in a U-6 game, and very little in a U-8 game. Passing is simply beyond the ability of U-6 and most U-8 players. In terms of the level of difficulty, kicking is the easiest to learn, dribbling is next, and passing is the hardest to master for young players. Think of dribbling as ‘passing to oneself’. If players cannot pass to themselves, how can they be expected to pass to a teammate 15 yards away? What young players do is actually kick, not pass, and the cheers they hear from you when they kick only serve to reinforce this bad habit. For this reason, we ask you to stop shouting to your players to Kick the ball. If game results truly don’t matter, no one should be overly concerned if a player tries to dribble and loses the ball. First touch must be a SOFT TOUCH.
SOFT TOUCH VIDEO:
Everyone knows that the game of soccer has a number of basic skills, or techniques, that players have to learn, such as dribbling, receiving passes, making passes, shooting and heading. Players also have to learn to make good decisions during the game, such as when to dribble, when to pass, and to whom to pass. These players’ decisions are referred to as tactical decisions.
Skill Factor Video containing break down of skills and live footage of the best soccer players in the world. (this is a long video in high definition, to watch it without if having to buffer freuently press play now, once it gets going press pause. The finish reading the article and watching the video below and come back to it. I highly recommend this video as a stocking stuffer or as a gift this holiday season.)
The first principle of soccer development is that players should master the basic techniques before they can learn the tactical side of the game. Technique before tactics! Think of techniques as vocabulary, and tactics as the grammar rules for forming sentences and paragraphs. Now, imagine a young immigrant who arrives in America without a word of English. It’s pretty obvious that before we can teach this immigrant about the rules for joining nouns, verbs, and adverbs to form a sentence, we have to give him a chance to accumulate enough vocabulary. The bigger his vocabulary, the better will he be able to use grammar to articulate his thoughts.
In terms of soccer development, your child is just beginning his/her ‘schooling’. We use the word ‘schooling’ here because there are many similarities between a regular school and a youth club, which can be considered as essentially a soccer school. In fact, as you might have already noticed, throughout this letter we will be using many analogies from real life schooling and the principles of growing up to explain the rationale behind the program.
As far as techniques are concerned, some techniques should be taught before others. The first technique that children should learn is dribbling. The ability to dribble is absolutely critical since dribbling is the foundation skill and preparation for all the other fundamental techniques of soccer, such as receiving, passing and shooting. When players are receiving the ball and making preparation touches prior to passing or shooting, they are essentially engaged in a mini-dribble. Young players need to learn to dribble within a variety of playing situations, such as dribbling forward unopposed, changing speed and direction with the ball, shielding the ball from opponents, dribbling past an opponent, and dribbling to get away from pressure. A limited ability to dribble leads to a limited range of passing or shooting. There are also times in the game, when the player with the ball has no passing options and the only way out of tight pressure is to dribble.
Aside from the fact that dribbling forms the foundation for all the other skills, there are many other reasons why we need to focus on dribbling at U-6/U-8. First of all, it takes years to become a comfortable and confident dribbler. Players have to learn to combine body control, agility, coordination and balance with the mechanics of dribbling and the sooner they start, the better. Just like any complex bio-mechanical skill such as skating or gymnastics, the later you start, the harder it is to achieve perfect form. Secondly, the process of learning to dribble involves trial and error. At first, the players’ rudimentary attempts at dribbling will often result in failure as they discover the contrast between a soft touch and a hard touch on the ball. The players will slowly develop a ‘feel’ for the ball as they experiment at controlling and propelling it. Young players don’t get discouraged easily if they don’t succeed. Players of this age do not possess the analytical thought process to look back or think ahead. They live for the moment, inSome of you might ask “but what about passing?” Isn’t soccer a team game and passing a fundamental team skill? Passing implies an intention by a player to direct the ball accurately towards a teammate. It implies decision making. Do not confuse passing with kicking. Kicking means using the feet to propel the ball in a certain direction. You will not see any passing in a U-6 game, and very little in a U-8 game. Passing is simply beyond the ability of U-6 the here and now, and the fact that the last time they tried to dribble it didn’t work will not even enter their minds. But if we wait for the players to mature before we emphasize dribbling, many of them will lose their confidence if they do not succeed and will become reluctant to dribble. Thirdly, In 3v3 and 4v4 play, the fields are so small that dribbling is always an option since the ball is always just a few yards away from shooting range. Once the game moves to the larger sized fields, dribbling becomes less effective on it’s own and must be combined with passing to get the ball from point A to point B. And lastly, it’s better to go through the process of trial and error when game results are not important and standings are not kept. At the U-10 and older ages, game results assume more importance, making it hard for the parents and coaches to show patience and tolerance for mistakes, and putting added pressure on players to ‘get rid of the ball’ rather than risk losing it. Once games become competitive, the resultant environment is not ideal to start learning how to dribble.
Kicking is NOT a Soccer Skill!!!
Most coaches and parents of beginner players unknowingly emphasize the wrong skills. In a typical U-6/U-8 club play, the players are encouraged by both the parents on the sidelines and the coaches to ‘boot’ the ball up the field. Shouts of “get rid of it!” and “kick it!” are all too common. The further forward a player kicks, they louder the cheers. Players are so indoctrinated to ‘kick it forward’ that very few of them dare to get out of pressure by dribbling. The fact is that the players are asked to execute a skill (kicking) that they would automatically learn anyway as they grow up, even if they didn’t play soccer. If you don’t believe it, just go outside to your back yard, place a ball on the ground, take a few steps back, run up to the ball and kick it forward. I am willing to bet you that, even if you never played soccer in your life, you would still succeed in kicking the ball forward. Your kick might look awkward and your movement lack grace, but you still would manage to kick it forward.
The reality is that players are controlled like puppets by the adults to such an extent that they are not thinking for themselves and are afraid to do anything but kick the ball. Even throw-ins are routinely thrown straight to the other team by confused players who are conditioned to play the ball forward, no matter what. The kick-offs are no better, with players kicking the ball straight to the other team, American football style. Players who clearly have plenty of time on the ball with no pressure anywhere near, are still kicking it forward without any thought or skill. And this type of mindless play is usually not corrected by the coaches and is allowed to occur time and again. The end result is that we are ‘coaching’ the skill of dribbling OUT of the players. We take away the natural ‘comfort’ with the ball - forever!
Let’s be frank here. The underlying issue has to do with how you, the adults, look at the game and analyze it. It’s fair to say that you all accept that results at U-6 and U-8 do not matter and that there is no need to keep standings. But you also instinctively know that the easiest way to get the ball from point A to point B is to kick it in that direction. It’s hard for you to watch your child lose the ball in front of his own goal and for the other team to score. So, the next time your child has the ball in his/her half, you can’t help it and shout “kick it!”. But every time they kick it, they lose another opportunity to learn to dribble. The buzz word of our program is: ‘Soft first Touch’. Every time your player goes to the ball, his/her first touch on the ball should be a soft one, meaning, NO KICKING!
Some of you might ask “but what about passing?” Isn’t soccer a team game and passing a fundamental team skill? Passing implies an intention by a player to direct the ball accurately towards a teammate. It implies decision making. Do not confuse passing with kicking. Kicking means using the feet to propel the ball in a certain direction. You will not see any passing in a U-6 game, and very little in a U-8 game. Passing is simply beyond the ability of U-6 and most U-8 players. In terms of the level of difficulty, kicking is the easiest to learn, dribbling is next, and passing is the hardest to master for young players. Think of dribbling as ‘passing to oneself’. If players cannot pass to themselves, how can they be expected to pass to a teammate 15 yards away? What young players do is actually kick, not pass, and the cheers they hear from you when they kick only serve to reinforce this bad habit. For this reason, we ask you to stop shouting to your players to Kick the ball. If game results truly don’t matter, no one should be overly concerned if a player tries to dribble and loses the ball. First touch must be a SOFT TOUCH.
SOFT TOUCH VIDEO:
MLS CUP Photo Album
REAL SALT LAKE - 2009 MLS CUP CHAMPIONS!
SLIDESHOW
ALBUM
Honestly one of the most memorable and fantastic weekends of my life! Thank you Bobby Ginn, Brandon Haug, Brett Payne and Dell Loy Hansen (and his family) for sharing the experience with me.
SLIDESHOW
ALBUM
 |
| MLS CUP |
Honestly one of the most memorable and fantastic weekends of my life! Thank you Bobby Ginn, Brandon Haug, Brett Payne and Dell Loy Hansen (and his family) for sharing the experience with me.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
DID YOU KNOW?
-No one is destined to be unskilled.
-Understanding the keys to the mechanics of sport and play can greatly increase; at the same time it can reduce the time normally required to improve your skills.
-All individuals can improve their balance. By increasing your balance not only your agility but also your power and accuracy will improve.
-Knowledge of spins can increase your score in many sports, including basketball, golf and soccer.
-Understanding some of the basic mechanics of movement could help you begin to become an outstanding coach or player.
(Torbert, Secrets to Success in Sport & Play, Prentice Hall 1982.)
US Youth Soccer
-Understanding the keys to the mechanics of sport and play can greatly increase; at the same time it can reduce the time normally required to improve your skills.
-All individuals can improve their balance. By increasing your balance not only your agility but also your power and accuracy will improve.
-Knowledge of spins can increase your score in many sports, including basketball, golf and soccer.
-Understanding some of the basic mechanics of movement could help you begin to become an outstanding coach or player.
(Torbert, Secrets to Success in Sport & Play, Prentice Hall 1982.)
US Youth Soccer
Competition and Children
Is competition good for children in activities and sports? Children engage in competitive endeavors on a daily basis, whether we call attention to it or not. How many times have we seen a group of kids chasing one another on the playground playing tag? During these games children are competing against one another in order to get, or not get, tagged. How many times have we seen a child on the monkey bars trying to get past the third bar in a series of eight bars leading to the other side? The child gets to the third bar and falls, then tries repeatedly to get past that bar. He competes over and over again against himself and his personal best until he reaches further, or decides he does not want to try anymore. In sports children compete all the time, whether coaches stress it or not. For example, consider a child playing a soccer game against another team. Each participant is competing in order to attain some reward; whether it is a goal, a joyful feeling of playing the game, pleasing mom or dad, or winning.
In each of these examples children are competing. While the soccer example makes it easy to spot competition, the first two examples show children competing spontaneously against someone or against themselves. Moreover, in each example the competition yields successes and failures; from the child on the monkey bars making it to the fourth bar then quitting, to the youth soccer player losing the game or feeling great having just played soccer for 50 minutes. It is our role as coaches and parents to teach kids that there is a healthy way to approach competition. An appropriate and healthy way to approach competition is to help kids see that it is more about getting better and improving than winning at all costs.
Achievement Goal Theory is commonly used by sports researchers to investigate and explain children’s competitive approaches in sport. The theory basically states that coaches create climates that either suggest that you are successful when you are winning or beating others, or that you are successful when you are improving or getting better. These are extremes as most of us involved with children likely stress both. However, the research would suggest that there are a whole host of benefits for stressing one over another in a competitive situation.
The basic idea is that a coach who stresses things such as trying hard, attempting skills or getting up after being knocked down during competition will be developing players that believe their success is due to effort (as opposed to innate ability that can’t be changed), players that persist (as opposed to those that quit), and players that ultimately will enjoy the game more (as opposed to those that say this “stinks”). Whereas a coach that stresses winning (with words or those pesky nonverbal gestures like a head shrug or hands thrown up in the air) will be developing kids that get anxious, may cheat to win, get frustrated and will not enjoy it if they do not win. Of course, striving for a win and discussing winning isn’t inherently bad, but think about it. Oftentimes winning is not in your control, especially in soccer. Let’s play out a scenario.
Team A has five great games in a row and loses all of them 1-0. The coach, thinking he was doing a service to the kids, says, “Why did you do that? That’s not going to help you win,” or “Get out there and win,” or “If you don’t win don’t even come over here at the end of the game.” Then the kids lose. Instead of telling the kids, “Hey, great job working hard we’ll get them next time,” the coach shrugs his shoulders and says, “You didn’t care enough to win.” Or, he says “You didn’t work hard enough to win.” Or the extreme says nothing and gestures for them to get out of here (don’t say you haven’t seen something like that).
The truth is very few kids will have the wherewithal to deal with that type of pressure. Those kids are likely the ones with high ability (very good players who, let’s be honest, at the younger ages are bigger stronger and faster and as a result have high confidence and more success in many cases anyway) or have parental support that suggests, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get ‘em next time.” A more likely occurrence, is that the coaches’ behavior, if it persists, will drive many kids away from the game. The reason is that by placing emphasis on the win it takes a lot of control away from the player. This leads to higher anxiety, less confidence because he or she is not pleasing the coach and, at the end of the day, more questions in the child’s mind like, “Why would I subject myself to this when I can be doing other things.”
So what does all this mean to people who work with children in sports? While some will sit out there and condemn youth sports for being too competitive too early, or all about winning and losing, the truth is it can be a real opportunity to teach children valuable ways to approach competition; namely with the goal of working hard, focusing on getting better and having fun while doing both. Winning is always going to be in the equation, and I say good. When children lose and are upset about it, which they might be, it can be explained that it is ok to want to win but winning is sometimes out of their control and that in order to be successful they can try to work hard on the skills that it takes to win games. If you have ultra competitive kids, for example my son who hurls Candyland figurines across the room after a loss, it takes time. But ultimately youth sports can be the ideal place to teach and mold these behaviors as life is a series of wins and losses, and if we can promote the attitude to keep on chugging it is a good thing.
Dr. Lee Hancock is a USSF A licensed coach, professor in the Kinesiology Department at CSUDH in California, and sport psychology consultant for youth, college and professional athletes, teams and coaches. If you would like to contact Lee e-mail him at Lchancock@gmail.com or visit his Web site at www.developmentalsolutions.net .
In each of these examples children are competing. While the soccer example makes it easy to spot competition, the first two examples show children competing spontaneously against someone or against themselves. Moreover, in each example the competition yields successes and failures; from the child on the monkey bars making it to the fourth bar then quitting, to the youth soccer player losing the game or feeling great having just played soccer for 50 minutes. It is our role as coaches and parents to teach kids that there is a healthy way to approach competition. An appropriate and healthy way to approach competition is to help kids see that it is more about getting better and improving than winning at all costs.
Achievement Goal Theory is commonly used by sports researchers to investigate and explain children’s competitive approaches in sport. The theory basically states that coaches create climates that either suggest that you are successful when you are winning or beating others, or that you are successful when you are improving or getting better. These are extremes as most of us involved with children likely stress both. However, the research would suggest that there are a whole host of benefits for stressing one over another in a competitive situation.
The basic idea is that a coach who stresses things such as trying hard, attempting skills or getting up after being knocked down during competition will be developing players that believe their success is due to effort (as opposed to innate ability that can’t be changed), players that persist (as opposed to those that quit), and players that ultimately will enjoy the game more (as opposed to those that say this “stinks”). Whereas a coach that stresses winning (with words or those pesky nonverbal gestures like a head shrug or hands thrown up in the air) will be developing kids that get anxious, may cheat to win, get frustrated and will not enjoy it if they do not win. Of course, striving for a win and discussing winning isn’t inherently bad, but think about it. Oftentimes winning is not in your control, especially in soccer. Let’s play out a scenario.
Team A has five great games in a row and loses all of them 1-0. The coach, thinking he was doing a service to the kids, says, “Why did you do that? That’s not going to help you win,” or “Get out there and win,” or “If you don’t win don’t even come over here at the end of the game.” Then the kids lose. Instead of telling the kids, “Hey, great job working hard we’ll get them next time,” the coach shrugs his shoulders and says, “You didn’t care enough to win.” Or, he says “You didn’t work hard enough to win.” Or the extreme says nothing and gestures for them to get out of here (don’t say you haven’t seen something like that).
The truth is very few kids will have the wherewithal to deal with that type of pressure. Those kids are likely the ones with high ability (very good players who, let’s be honest, at the younger ages are bigger stronger and faster and as a result have high confidence and more success in many cases anyway) or have parental support that suggests, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get ‘em next time.” A more likely occurrence, is that the coaches’ behavior, if it persists, will drive many kids away from the game. The reason is that by placing emphasis on the win it takes a lot of control away from the player. This leads to higher anxiety, less confidence because he or she is not pleasing the coach and, at the end of the day, more questions in the child’s mind like, “Why would I subject myself to this when I can be doing other things.”
So what does all this mean to people who work with children in sports? While some will sit out there and condemn youth sports for being too competitive too early, or all about winning and losing, the truth is it can be a real opportunity to teach children valuable ways to approach competition; namely with the goal of working hard, focusing on getting better and having fun while doing both. Winning is always going to be in the equation, and I say good. When children lose and are upset about it, which they might be, it can be explained that it is ok to want to win but winning is sometimes out of their control and that in order to be successful they can try to work hard on the skills that it takes to win games. If you have ultra competitive kids, for example my son who hurls Candyland figurines across the room after a loss, it takes time. But ultimately youth sports can be the ideal place to teach and mold these behaviors as life is a series of wins and losses, and if we can promote the attitude to keep on chugging it is a good thing.
Dr. Lee Hancock is a USSF A licensed coach, professor in the Kinesiology Department at CSUDH in California, and sport psychology consultant for youth, college and professional athletes, teams and coaches. If you would like to contact Lee e-mail him at Lchancock@gmail.com or visit his Web site at www.developmentalsolutions.net .
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Bumper Cars
Generally I just post things about soccer. Well, here it comes, me on the boys trip to Seattle. We laughed so much simply because... who rides bumper cars any more? We were at the space needle, saw it and couldn't pass it up. Enjoy the sillyness. featured: Bobby Ginn and Brandon Haug
Friday, November 13, 2009
Q & A with Chelsea FC Academy Director
In a recent article found in Success In Soccer Magazine they asked the Youth Academy of Chelsea FC a multitude of questions regarding the academy and its welfare...One of the questions was this:
What are some improvements that could be made here (in reference to the England based academy, not the Florida based academy) in England?
Neil Bath Replied:
Any problems we have are not with the Charter itself, but with those entrusted to execute its philosophies. There are more, but two elements that should be addressed are hypocrisy and the overemphasis on athleticism.
In regard to hypocrisy, there are those who forsake the development of a player in order to achieve results on match day. Too many times I have seen other academies play it safe during a youth match by sending the ball forward and not giving their players an opportunity to build out of the back or challenge their technical skills in their own half. These players will ultimately suffer because of this. This actually feeds into the other issue I see, which is the selection of a young player for his athletic potential versus his ability to play football (soccer). A common approach should apply here. I'm an admirer of Spanish football, and when I see their better players I know I'm witnessing the game as we preach in the charter: a group that moves effectively, with and without the ball, and glides along the pitch. Of course a better athlete can make a better soccer player, but to have the physical characteristics be the final determinan tis risky and ultimately ineffective. Here at Cobham we seek balance and build it whenever the situation allows.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Recent Article in Success in Soccer Magazine
I read the following article in Success in Magazine. It is always nice to know that even the most well funded, and most experienced clubs/programs have similar ongoing issues that Infinity SC and other clubs in Utah have. I have highlighted things that seem to be issues in nearly every club I've ever encountered.The evolution of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy
Part 3: The road ahead: Combating threats to youth development
by Pat Johnston, Success in Soccer contributing writer
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy can only be labeled a success to date. In trading its originally passive role for a much more proactive one, U.S. Soccer has done a excellent job of getting its objectives across. One of its biggest accomplishments has been to rein in the over scheduling rampant in American youth soccer, making each game meaningful and providing elite players with true challenges. Another advance has been to create greater player movement within dubs, which has made it possible for club directors to control player development with much greater precision.
These are just the highlights of what the Academy's curriculum has achieved for U.S. players and their coaches and clubs. Other benefits that are a direct by product of its involvement in the scene include more routine scouting by college and professional coaches, training regimens prescribed and monitored by the best U.S. coaches, enhanced instruction and assessment provided by corporate sponsors, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, despite high Iy selective criteria for entry, the Academy has undergone impressive growth, adding 16 new clubs to its initial roster of 63 clubs plus the U.S. Residency Program. (For more details on the Academy's creation and evolution, see SIS 4/09 and 5/09.)
Future Challenges
In the previous issue, we discussed some of the obstacles the Academy now faces, such as the costs associated with registration, professional coaching, travel, etc., and the geographical challenges posed by running a nationwide league in a nation as large as the U.S. While these issues have not yet been totally resolved, the progress that has been made on them so far has been extremely encouraging. However, these are all comparatively straight forward problems based on controllable factors, making it relatively easy for Academy personnel to conceive and execute a plan to remedy them.
U.S. Soccer's efforts have given elite youth players the opportunity to play in more meaningful matches.
The human element, on the other hand, is a complex issue that will require exceptional patience and attention on an ongoing basis. In the history of soccer there have already been many clubs and organizations that have put development-based curriculums in place, and all too often these curriculums have gone by the wayside to satisfy people who lacked an understanding of the bigger picture: parents, coaches and/or board members who valued the result above all else, even though they professed to be proponents of player development. Not surprisingly, this type of hypocritical behavior is just as much a problem for the Academy as it is for every other soccer organization. The Academy has already revoked the membership of one club to date, and several others are under review for failing to adhere to the philosophies and practices that were outlined to them as requirements when they were accepted as participants. To realize the Academy's ambition of player development, all those responsible for executing its philosophies and principles must adhere to the spirit of the charter. While it is always necessary to play to win from the standpoint of attitude, tactics may not necessarily be what is best for the result. Truly embracing player development means setting aside ego and doing what is best for the players in the long run.
No one is immune
The failure to follow through on player development is not limited to anyone club, league or even country-for example, Neil Bath of Chelsea's Academy says that he has witnessed it within his league, and I can confirm his statement from personal experience. Having witnessed one of England's "big four" academies from the inside and in competition, I can unequivocally say that coaches, even at the elite level, do not always practice what they preach. On a crisp Sunday morning in April, I watched a match between a pair of U9 academy teams from the English Premier League, and what I saw was extremely disappointing. These youngsters-some of England's best simply hoofed the ball every time it came to their feet. And to make matters worse, there was no instruction from the sidelines to do otherwise.
Winning a championship is always a great accomplishment, but youth coaches, players and parents need to remember that development comes first!
Why was this happening? The answer is simple: The safe and direct path to the opponent's net was the easiest way to extract the desired match result from the day's competition. I had visited the same academy in February and heard the directors describe their ambition of making these players "artisans," but now it seemed that everything I had heard was mere lip service. When I moved to the next field, I was able to watch the U11s doing exactly the same thing. Ironically enough, at the conclusion of that match I overheard the losing coach tell his comrades that his side had lost because the winning side had "forsaken all semblance of development"! I couldn't help laughing, because as I watched the game, his side was matching the opposition hoof for hoof. But of course, it was convenient for him to blame the result on his opponents' deviation from the guiding philosophical principle of player development. Why was he discussing the result and apologizing for it, anyway? Why not talk about what his team did right and what they needed to improve on? So much for Howard Wilkinson's Charter of Quality and its influence on the development of the young English player. Here were two of England's foremost representatives of what player development should be, and they were being compromised before my very eyes.
Of course, that was just one day on the pitch, and I have no real way of knowing whether it was a typical one. My experience of hypocrisy in U.5. youth soccer, on the other hand, is much more extensive. Having spent five years coaching at a club that was recently accepted into the Academy, I have seen firsthand some of the insidious practices affecting youth soccer and the reasons behind them. One reason is that ego-driven coaches and parents are running clubs and compromising player development. They portray themselves as dedicated to the improvement of the player-all players-but in fact they are primarily concerned with results. And often their directors of coaching do not have the courage or the wherewithal to right the ship: Because their livelihoods are at stake, they have little choice but to acquiesce to a self-serving board of directors whose only interest is the success of their children's team.
Too many coaches are too dependent on the income they earn from coaching at the youth soccer level. And the perception of failure is too often associated with wins and losses. So when faced with the decision to either play it safe and kick it down the field or take the risk of putting players under pressure in their own half, a coach who's worried about the result will be inclined to take the safer path. Unfortunately, I have never seen a player improve by watching the ball sail over his head and into the opposition's half of the field. Another tactic often employed is to "soften" the schedule, skewing the results in a way that improves the ratio of wins to losses. Naturally, not having to compete game in and game out will result in a better record, but it won't facilitate an environment in which players are required to excel. These are just some examples from my personal experience as a coach. Of course the Academy is aware of this problem and has taken significant steps to remedy it, but its reach only extends so far. Will it be far enough? Only those personnel directly involved in the handling of the Academy's teams can truly say.
In conclusion
The U.5. Development Academy has made a significant impact on the elite of American youth soccer in a very brief period of time. In two years they have established the Academy as the primary pipeline through which America's best young players will travel to reach the next level.
Though it does not have all the answers, U.5. Soccer has succeeded in creating a vehicle that appeals to the group it is seeking to influence and monitor: emerging talent. It has established a league and a curriculum in which the best U.S. clubs seek to be involved, and it has created a culture that has the potential to directly influence the evolution and well being of the sport across the entire nation. The Academy's founders and current members are now in a position to help capable American players compete in domestic and international leagues at a level undreamed of just a few years ago.
While U.S. Soccer still has many hurdles to overcome in its quest to be among the world's elite, ultimately nothing it does will have any effect if it fails to deliver on its stated intentions. Academy staff need to educate and communicate to all concerned what the final product is supposed to be: not a one-dimensional decorated winner of medals who can only play right back for Soccer Club FC, but a player capable of lacing them up and performing comfortably on any pitch. And then, most importantly of all, the clubs need to actively work toward the realization of this objective- then, and only then, will the efforts of John Hackworth, Tony Lepore and all their colleagues at the Academy be realized.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Freedom
"It's never been my team, its always been the players team. Thats just how it is, the players are what get it done on the field, I just do what I can to help prepare them. It's a players game, not a coaches game. In soccer the title should be manager and/or trainer. The title of coach makes little sense. Managing a group of talented individuals to be successful, that is the goal. Having the drive to win comes from the confidence the individuals gain from being trained in highly competitive and demanding atmospheres. It is the responsibility of the players to get the win and my job to allow them the creativity to earn the win in a fashion that allows each individual to express themselves on the park. Freedom on the field, freedom in my homeland. Express yourself without consequence. Long live soccer in America."-Jeff Ginn
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Parents Seeing The Big Picture
By Jim Thompson
I have long been a fan of "The Family Circus" comic strip. Perhaps my favorite strip of all time features the family dog barking up a storm in the middle of the night. Dad, irritated that he's been awakened from a much-needed sleep, clomps down the stairs to yell at Barfy, who dutifully hangs his head. Dad climbs back up the stairs while the cartoonist has a surprise for us. He pans back so we see in the far corner of the yard a burglar retreating.
We who see the "Big Picture" know Barfy has protected his family from a burglary. The dad, seeing only the "Little Picture," is angry at being disturbed.
This comic strip can serve as a metaphor for youth sports. Youth coaches and parents are often overwhelmed by so many Little Pictures filled with barking dogs that they miss the Big Picture entirely. How our children do in any given sporting event is Little Picture. Whether they win or lose, play well or badly, laugh or whine after the game - all Little Picture.
What children take away from youth sports to help them become successful, contributing members of society is the Big Picture. Whether they remain physically active throughout life, learn to bounce back from difficulties with renewed determination, discover how to support other people within a team context - these are the Big Picture.
THE BIG PICTURE AND YOU. This book* describes a model of sports parenting that focuses relentlessly on the Big Picture. We call it the Second-Goal Parent.
There are two broad goals in youth sports: striving to win and building character so kids develop into successful, contributing members of society.
As important as winning is, Second-Goal Parents let coaches and athletes worry about the first goal of scoreboard results. Second-Goal Parents have a much more important role to play: ensuring their children take away from sports lessons that will help them be successful in life. Remember, that is the Big Picture. And attending to this is much more vital than being an extraneous backseat coach.
Now, there is nothing wrong with caring about whether your child's team wins or loses. Go ahead and care about it! Likewise, there's nothing wrong with giving pointers when your child asks for them.
But the lifelong impact you can have - that no one else can in quite the way you can - is on the life lessons your child takes away from the sports experience. No one can be there for your child in this way better than you. No one.
If you embrace your role as a Second-Goal Parent, it will transform the way you see youth sports. It will help you seize the teachable moments that will come your way again and again because you are looking for them.
What might have seemed like a disappointing loss or a failure by your child becomes an opportunity to reinforce resiliency. A tough competition in forbiddingly hot, cold, or nasty weather can prompt a conversation with your child about learning to enjoy challenges. Whether your child succeeds or fails on the playing field, you will be able to use the experiences to reinforce the kind of person you want him or her to be.
*(Excerpted from "Positive Sports Parenting: How 'Second-Goal' Parents Build Winners in Life Through Sports," the fifth book by Jim Thompson. It is available for $8.95 at www.positivecoach.org/store . Thompson is the founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance.)
I have long been a fan of "The Family Circus" comic strip. Perhaps my favorite strip of all time features the family dog barking up a storm in the middle of the night. Dad, irritated that he's been awakened from a much-needed sleep, clomps down the stairs to yell at Barfy, who dutifully hangs his head. Dad climbs back up the stairs while the cartoonist has a surprise for us. He pans back so we see in the far corner of the yard a burglar retreating.
We who see the "Big Picture" know Barfy has protected his family from a burglary. The dad, seeing only the "Little Picture," is angry at being disturbed.
This comic strip can serve as a metaphor for youth sports. Youth coaches and parents are often overwhelmed by so many Little Pictures filled with barking dogs that they miss the Big Picture entirely. How our children do in any given sporting event is Little Picture. Whether they win or lose, play well or badly, laugh or whine after the game - all Little Picture.
What children take away from youth sports to help them become successful, contributing members of society is the Big Picture. Whether they remain physically active throughout life, learn to bounce back from difficulties with renewed determination, discover how to support other people within a team context - these are the Big Picture.
THE BIG PICTURE AND YOU. This book* describes a model of sports parenting that focuses relentlessly on the Big Picture. We call it the Second-Goal Parent.
There are two broad goals in youth sports: striving to win and building character so kids develop into successful, contributing members of society.
As important as winning is, Second-Goal Parents let coaches and athletes worry about the first goal of scoreboard results. Second-Goal Parents have a much more important role to play: ensuring their children take away from sports lessons that will help them be successful in life. Remember, that is the Big Picture. And attending to this is much more vital than being an extraneous backseat coach.
Now, there is nothing wrong with caring about whether your child's team wins or loses. Go ahead and care about it! Likewise, there's nothing wrong with giving pointers when your child asks for them.
But the lifelong impact you can have - that no one else can in quite the way you can - is on the life lessons your child takes away from the sports experience. No one can be there for your child in this way better than you. No one.
If you embrace your role as a Second-Goal Parent, it will transform the way you see youth sports. It will help you seize the teachable moments that will come your way again and again because you are looking for them.
What might have seemed like a disappointing loss or a failure by your child becomes an opportunity to reinforce resiliency. A tough competition in forbiddingly hot, cold, or nasty weather can prompt a conversation with your child about learning to enjoy challenges. Whether your child succeeds or fails on the playing field, you will be able to use the experiences to reinforce the kind of person you want him or her to be.
*(Excerpted from "Positive Sports Parenting: How 'Second-Goal' Parents Build Winners in Life Through Sports," the fifth book by Jim Thompson. It is available for $8.95 at www.positivecoach.org/store . Thompson is the founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance.)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
For Kids Only …
By Mike Woitalla
This column is for the kids. Adults can stop reading now (but really Infinity parents... read it, but make sure your kids do too :)
Dear Soccer-Playing Children of America,
The fall season is underway and I’m hoping you’re having a great time. I’m hoping that you’re playing soccer more than you have to stand in line and do drills.
I hope you’re falling in love with the soccer ball and keep it with you as much as you can. Juggling it. Kicking it against a wall. Dribbling it around in your backyard.
And I especially hope that your parents aren’t screaming at you during your soccer games.
~view 30 second video ~
I worry that you probably do get yelled at, because that’s what I see at almost all the youth soccer games I go to. Hopefully you just ignore it. But I don’t blame you if it bothers you.
No one enjoys getting screamed at. Sure, if you start crossing the street on a red light or throw a toy at your little sister or brother, your parents are justified in raising their voices. But they shouldn’t scream at you while you’re playing a game.
If they do, it doesn’t mean they’re bad people. But, unfortunately, sports does something to adults that makes them behave in ways they usually wouldn’t.
You may have noticed this if you watch sports on TV. A coach, for example, dresses up in a fancy suit and throws tantrums like a 3-year-old.
Get adults around sports and all of a sudden they forget the same manners they try to teach you. In a way, sports are like driving. A grown-up gets behind the wheel and all of a sudden forgets you’re not supposed to pick your nose in public.
And when grown-ups go watch their children play soccer, they, for some reason, think it’s OK to scream like maniacs. Perhaps they don’t realize what they’re doing. Like the nose-pickers on the freeway who think they’ve suddenly gone invisible.
I hope you’re able to block out all the sideline noise. But maybe you do hear their shouts. Telling you when to shoot the ball, when to pass it. Ignore all that!
You need to dribble the ball. Try to dribble past players. If you’re dribbling too much, your teammates will let you know. And they’ll help you make the decision of when to pass and when to dribble.
You decide when to shoot. When you’re dribbling toward the goal and the goalkeeper is 20 yards away, and the adults are screaming at you to shoot, don’t pay attention. Because if you get closer to the goal, it will be harder for the goalkeeper to stop your shot.
One of the really cool things about my job is that I get to interview the best coaches in America. And you know what the national team coaches tell me? They say young players are far more likely to become great players if they’re allowed to make their own decisions when they play soccer.
They say that coaches should coach at practice, and when it’s game time, it’s time for the children to figure things out on their own. It’s like at school. The teachers help you learn. Your parents help you with homework. But when you get a test, you’re on your own.
That’s just an analogy. I’m not saying soccer is school! Soccer is your playtime.
I hope you have lots of playtime, on the soccer field and elsewhere. But I bet that you don’t have as much time playing without adults around as we did when we were children.
When we were kids we had summer days when we would leave the house in the morning, be only with other children all day, then see our parents when we got back in the late afternoon.
Things have changed. The reasons adults are much more involved in your activities than they were in your parents’ when they were children are complicated, and a result of your parents’ good intentions.
But sometimes we adults forget how important it is for you to play without us interfering. We love watching you play, especially on the soccer field, because it is such a wonderful sport. But we need to be reminded that it’s your playtime.
You should decide. Ignore the shouts if you can. But don’t be afraid to say, “I’m trying my best. Please, don’t scream at me.”
(Mike Woitalla, who coaches youth soccer in Northern California, is the executive editor of Soccer America. His youth articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.)
~have fun watching this soccer video~
This column is for the kids. Adults can stop reading now (but really Infinity parents... read it, but make sure your kids do too :)
Dear Soccer-Playing Children of America,
The fall season is underway and I’m hoping you’re having a great time. I’m hoping that you’re playing soccer more than you have to stand in line and do drills.
I hope you’re falling in love with the soccer ball and keep it with you as much as you can. Juggling it. Kicking it against a wall. Dribbling it around in your backyard.
And I especially hope that your parents aren’t screaming at you during your soccer games.
~view 30 second video ~
I worry that you probably do get yelled at, because that’s what I see at almost all the youth soccer games I go to. Hopefully you just ignore it. But I don’t blame you if it bothers you.
No one enjoys getting screamed at. Sure, if you start crossing the street on a red light or throw a toy at your little sister or brother, your parents are justified in raising their voices. But they shouldn’t scream at you while you’re playing a game.
If they do, it doesn’t mean they’re bad people. But, unfortunately, sports does something to adults that makes them behave in ways they usually wouldn’t.
You may have noticed this if you watch sports on TV. A coach, for example, dresses up in a fancy suit and throws tantrums like a 3-year-old.
Get adults around sports and all of a sudden they forget the same manners they try to teach you. In a way, sports are like driving. A grown-up gets behind the wheel and all of a sudden forgets you’re not supposed to pick your nose in public.
And when grown-ups go watch their children play soccer, they, for some reason, think it’s OK to scream like maniacs. Perhaps they don’t realize what they’re doing. Like the nose-pickers on the freeway who think they’ve suddenly gone invisible.
I hope you’re able to block out all the sideline noise. But maybe you do hear their shouts. Telling you when to shoot the ball, when to pass it. Ignore all that!
You need to dribble the ball. Try to dribble past players. If you’re dribbling too much, your teammates will let you know. And they’ll help you make the decision of when to pass and when to dribble.
You decide when to shoot. When you’re dribbling toward the goal and the goalkeeper is 20 yards away, and the adults are screaming at you to shoot, don’t pay attention. Because if you get closer to the goal, it will be harder for the goalkeeper to stop your shot.
One of the really cool things about my job is that I get to interview the best coaches in America. And you know what the national team coaches tell me? They say young players are far more likely to become great players if they’re allowed to make their own decisions when they play soccer.
They say that coaches should coach at practice, and when it’s game time, it’s time for the children to figure things out on their own. It’s like at school. The teachers help you learn. Your parents help you with homework. But when you get a test, you’re on your own.
That’s just an analogy. I’m not saying soccer is school! Soccer is your playtime.
I hope you have lots of playtime, on the soccer field and elsewhere. But I bet that you don’t have as much time playing without adults around as we did when we were children.
When we were kids we had summer days when we would leave the house in the morning, be only with other children all day, then see our parents when we got back in the late afternoon.
Things have changed. The reasons adults are much more involved in your activities than they were in your parents’ when they were children are complicated, and a result of your parents’ good intentions.
But sometimes we adults forget how important it is for you to play without us interfering. We love watching you play, especially on the soccer field, because it is such a wonderful sport. But we need to be reminded that it’s your playtime.
You should decide. Ignore the shouts if you can. But don’t be afraid to say, “I’m trying my best. Please, don’t scream at me.”
(Mike Woitalla, who coaches youth soccer in Northern California, is the executive editor of Soccer America. His youth articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.)
~have fun watching this soccer video~
Friday, October 2, 2009
Out of the Mouths of Babes
By Emily Cohen
Driving the school or sports carpool always affords the opportunity to eavesdrop on what's really happening in kids' lives. While kids may not tell their parents about an embarrassing or unsettling experience with a teacher, a coach, or another authority figure, they'll almost certainly tell each other, especially if they're in the backseat of a car and they don't think the parent is listening.
It was just this situation in which I found myself, driving my daughter and some friends home from a soccer game. In between surfing radio stations, I heard the girls comparing the coaching styles of various coaches. One girl said to the others about a past coach, "One minute, she yelled, 'Go to the right!' The next minute, she yelled, 'Go to the left!' I was so confused, I didn't do anything. I stopped to figure out what she was telling me to do, and the girl with the ball dribbled right by me."
I laughed to myself and wondered if the coach realized that her yelling was completely counterproductive. In fact, I wonder if most coaches really think about how their bellows and screeches from the sideline, which they think of as helpful instructions, are perceived by their players.
If coaches ever stopped to ask players whether instructions yelled from the sidelines motivate the player to do what the coach wants, the collective response would be a resounding "No!"
All but two of the 15 kids — ages 7 to 17 — with whom I spoke said that their coach's yelled instructions didn't help them at all. In fact, it made it difficult to focus on what they were doing — playing soccer. And the two who did say that shouted instructions or directions by the coach helped them perform better qualified their answers by saying that they thought the coaches were trying to help but, when they thought about it, what the coach was trying to explain to them would have been better communicated off the field, during a substitution or at halftime — or, better yet, at a practice.
But enough of my interpretations. Let's hear it from the kids themselves:
"Getting yelled at by my coach isn't helpful at all because it makes it harder to concentrate. It's more difficult to control the soccer ball when someone's yelling at me."
"When the coach yells at me to mark someone or run somewhere else, I can't focus on the game. I think I make more mistakes because I was listening not playing."
"Both the coaches were screaming instructions. I tried to do what one of the coaches said, but it was hard to figure out, because the coaches were saying different things."
"I hate it when the coach screams at me to 'play better' or 'run harder.' I mean, really, I'm trying my best already and that just makes me feel worse. It doesn't make me play better or run harder."
"Most of the time, when the coach yells something to me, I saw it already and I'm trying to get there. But I can't yell that to them because I'm too busy running!"
And my personal favorite:
"I don't like it when a coach yells at me to do something because I usually figure out what to do on my own."
There it is, in a nutshell. Isn't that really what youth soccer is about? Figuring out how to play the game and gaining a sense of accomplishment from doing just that?
I wonder how many of those screaming coaches could play an hour of soccer (or play a tennis match or a run a 10K race or cycle up a steep grade) with someone yelling at them the entire time to "run harder," "cycle faster" or "play better." Most would likely lose their patience and yell back at the offender.
I just hope the next time one of them coaches a kids' soccer game, he or she thinks twice about yelling at the players and decides to just let them play.
(Emily Cohen is a freelance writer living in Berkeley, Calif. She is the mother of a son, 12, and a daughter, 9, who both play multiple sports. She has been a team manager for her children's soccer, baseball and softball teams.)
Driving the school or sports carpool always affords the opportunity to eavesdrop on what's really happening in kids' lives. While kids may not tell their parents about an embarrassing or unsettling experience with a teacher, a coach, or another authority figure, they'll almost certainly tell each other, especially if they're in the backseat of a car and they don't think the parent is listening.
It was just this situation in which I found myself, driving my daughter and some friends home from a soccer game. In between surfing radio stations, I heard the girls comparing the coaching styles of various coaches. One girl said to the others about a past coach, "One minute, she yelled, 'Go to the right!' The next minute, she yelled, 'Go to the left!' I was so confused, I didn't do anything. I stopped to figure out what she was telling me to do, and the girl with the ball dribbled right by me."I laughed to myself and wondered if the coach realized that her yelling was completely counterproductive. In fact, I wonder if most coaches really think about how their bellows and screeches from the sideline, which they think of as helpful instructions, are perceived by their players.
If coaches ever stopped to ask players whether instructions yelled from the sidelines motivate the player to do what the coach wants, the collective response would be a resounding "No!"
All but two of the 15 kids — ages 7 to 17 — with whom I spoke said that their coach's yelled instructions didn't help them at all. In fact, it made it difficult to focus on what they were doing — playing soccer. And the two who did say that shouted instructions or directions by the coach helped them perform better qualified their answers by saying that they thought the coaches were trying to help but, when they thought about it, what the coach was trying to explain to them would have been better communicated off the field, during a substitution or at halftime — or, better yet, at a practice.
But enough of my interpretations. Let's hear it from the kids themselves:
"Getting yelled at by my coach isn't helpful at all because it makes it harder to concentrate. It's more difficult to control the soccer ball when someone's yelling at me."
"When the coach yells at me to mark someone or run somewhere else, I can't focus on the game. I think I make more mistakes because I was listening not playing."
"Both the coaches were screaming instructions. I tried to do what one of the coaches said, but it was hard to figure out, because the coaches were saying different things."
"I hate it when the coach screams at me to 'play better' or 'run harder.' I mean, really, I'm trying my best already and that just makes me feel worse. It doesn't make me play better or run harder."
"Most of the time, when the coach yells something to me, I saw it already and I'm trying to get there. But I can't yell that to them because I'm too busy running!"
And my personal favorite:
"I don't like it when a coach yells at me to do something because I usually figure out what to do on my own."
There it is, in a nutshell. Isn't that really what youth soccer is about? Figuring out how to play the game and gaining a sense of accomplishment from doing just that?
I wonder how many of those screaming coaches could play an hour of soccer (or play a tennis match or a run a 10K race or cycle up a steep grade) with someone yelling at them the entire time to "run harder," "cycle faster" or "play better." Most would likely lose their patience and yell back at the offender.
I just hope the next time one of them coaches a kids' soccer game, he or she thinks twice about yelling at the players and decides to just let them play.
(Emily Cohen is a freelance writer living in Berkeley, Calif. She is the mother of a son, 12, and a daughter, 9, who both play multiple sports. She has been a team manager for her children's soccer, baseball and softball teams.)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"Experiment, Take Risks, and Be Creative"
What this means and why...
Children that are allowed to experiment, take risks, and be creative with a soccer ball develop the most gifted soccer skills. Unlike other countries, the United States treats youth soccer players as if they are "robots" in the words of Eric Wynalda. Many children in the United States lack the idea of creativity in the game of soccer. They are taught to defend, pass, and shoot. There is a middle game between those three important topics... space and freedom. To pass and shoot a player needs space on the field, weather the space be 6 inches or 30 yards. Creating this space is easiest when a player is extremely comfortable with the ball at his or her feet. Quick touches, tight spins, sharp turns and instantly generated ideas can get players out of tough situations. This also seems to be what is enjoyed the most by the youth soccer players as well as any other player or spectator of the game.
Eric Wynalda is a US Soccer icon. He played for the national team, has the second most goals ever scored by an American male (behind Landon Donovan). Wynalda has been the commentator for most of the national matches until recently he spoke out about a few controversial soccer items. One of those items was about how the current soccer programs in our country are failing our kids.
Eric Wynaldas "robot" statement:
Eric Wynalda has a dream of changing the way soccer is coached and played in the United States. Eric believes, that players need to develop personalities and their own style. Players should not be over-coached, play like robots or move from team to team in search of the “perfect fit”. The perfect fit is found collectively in a group of players who are loyal to each others development and the team’s progress.
Experimenting at its finest...
...here's another fun video for the kids to watch it is of Christiano Rinaldo. FIFA, the governing body of soccer, named Christiano Rinaldo the FIFA player in the year 2008.
Enjoy
Children that are allowed to experiment, take risks, and be creative with a soccer ball develop the most gifted soccer skills. Unlike other countries, the United States treats youth soccer players as if they are "robots" in the words of Eric Wynalda. Many children in the United States lack the idea of creativity in the game of soccer. They are taught to defend, pass, and shoot. There is a middle game between those three important topics... space and freedom. To pass and shoot a player needs space on the field, weather the space be 6 inches or 30 yards. Creating this space is easiest when a player is extremely comfortable with the ball at his or her feet. Quick touches, tight spins, sharp turns and instantly generated ideas can get players out of tough situations. This also seems to be what is enjoyed the most by the youth soccer players as well as any other player or spectator of the game.Eric Wynalda is a US Soccer icon. He played for the national team, has the second most goals ever scored by an American male (behind Landon Donovan). Wynalda has been the commentator for most of the national matches until recently he spoke out about a few controversial soccer items. One of those items was about how the current soccer programs in our country are failing our kids.
Eric Wynaldas "robot" statement:
Eric Wynalda has a dream of changing the way soccer is coached and played in the United States. Eric believes, that players need to develop personalities and their own style. Players should not be over-coached, play like robots or move from team to team in search of the “perfect fit”. The perfect fit is found collectively in a group of players who are loyal to each others development and the team’s progress.
Experimenting at its finest...
...here's another fun video for the kids to watch it is of Christiano Rinaldo. FIFA, the governing body of soccer, named Christiano Rinaldo the FIFA player in the year 2008.
Enjoy
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
An email to the u10 Parents & Players from Coach Jeff Ginn
U10 Parents, Players & Coaches,
Thursday the u10 Girls had a scrimmage. In that scrimmage the premier team was having their way with the respected younger U9 team that they were training with/against. Travis Clements, a parent coach to the team, reminded the girls to take players on instead of pass around them. Some parents raised their eyebrows and respectfully asked why.
Before I send you his reply to the parents and my contribution let me please say that we, as a coaching staff, love watching our players pass around players and get excited for the ability to play such quality soccer and do not want to discourage success. In contrast, we do not want to encourage our players to be successful NOW in a way that will jeopardize their long term development.
Travis sent this below email...below it I provided more info and a link I would really encourage each of you to read (even though it is lengthy).
Travis wrote:
Hi,
I hope that I wasn't too confusing to the parents yesterday at the scrimmage, particularly with the Premier team. It may have looked like I was unhappy - or trying to fix things that were being very successful. It wasn't that I didn't have an appreciation for the great soccer the girls were playing. Their passing and awareness was incredible and very fun to watch. The thing we were trying to work on was getting the girls to dribble more and to use the moves they've been learning in practice in the scrimmage games.
Here's the logic. Dribbling to beat an opponent is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest skill in soccer to master. It is MUCH easier to pass the ball and to get rid of it before they are under pressure. The reward of the passing game is at this age it translates into wins and goals. (very tempting, but short-sighted) The Risk of promoting that is that it ultimately limits the ability of the player. The kids spend years passing and getting rid of the ball that should be spent mastering their ability and creativity on the ball. They become afraid to keep the ball and panic with the ball when under pressure. Soccer players who can pass are everywhere. Soccer players who can dribble stand out like a full moon on a dark night.
We want every girl to be confident with the ball at their feet and to not feel pressure to pass the ball so they don't lose it. It may mean missing chances to score, or even giving up goals, while they develop. That is an acceptable price to pay at this age for ultimately having a team chuck-full of players who can handle the ball with skill and confidence.
While we will all cheer goals, especially well-worked goals, I would ask that you cheer louder when your player takes on and beats an opponent or exhibits skill on the ball. Even when they are unsuccessful, praise their confidence to try and encourage them to keep at it. The long-term reward for your player will be unbelievable.
Thanks,
Travis Clements
Ginn Reply:
Travis,
Thank you for reminding us of what the focus is. I agree with Travis's email and have some thoughts as to incorporate scoring by way of dribbling to pass on to the coaching staff as well.
Parents and coaches please, please, please read the following information and document. It will help your players out tremendously this fall as we enter competition.
Before I give you the US Soccer governing body's take on this let me put this in American terms...
1) Play basketball without dribbling, just pass.
2) Think about recent basketball players and take them off of their successful teams; derrin williams, john stockton, gary payton, magic johnson etc, these players made things unpredictable and drew defenders to them which in turn created space for teammates to be successful once they passed the ball to them.
3) Take the running game out of American football (or throw ball as us true footballers refer to it as). All you can do is throw and pass. The game becomes predictable and easy to defend.
In soccer everyone plays on all parts of the field in critical times and non critical times. Even goal keepers need to be brilliant with their feet. In the 2008 European Championship tournament goal keepers used their feet seven times more than their hands!
I would like all coaches and parents to read a document published by US Soccer Federation that shares the priorities at this age group. I added this age groups information below, highlighted the parts of emphasis and added the link to the entire document.
USSF Best Practices: Player Development Guidelines
http://www.epysa.org/pdf/USSFBestPractices.pdf
Ball Skill, Creativity and a Gradual Insight into the
Game: 10 - 14 years old
U-10: 3rd and 4th graders
Soccer for this age is a fun activity for the kids that encourages a lot of games to goals and encourages experimentation with the ball. The ratio of balls to players should be small enough that all your players are involved all the time. The focus is on developing a relationship with the ball in a joyful environment. There should be no standings and no awards (Infinity SC thought: this means no paying your child for goals or saves or whatevers, let the game be the reason they PLAY).
CONSIDER THIS: How can the coach help all his or her players to develop to their potential?
First, help your weaker players to develop their confidence with the ball. At the same time, continue to challenge your stronger players to expand their creativity and confidence. Confidence is the key. The more time they spend during practice and games with the ball at their feet, the more comfortable they will become, the more confident they will become, the more they will look to get involved, and the more fun they will have with soccer (the Infinity coaching staff views scrimmages and match play as additional training to prepare them for the future) . Remember that the level of skill and competence that a 9-year-old exhibits is no indication of the skill and competence that he or she will exhibit at 16 or 18 years of age. You cannot predict which 9-year-old will develop into a real player. Therefore, work to encourage all your players to be competent and comfortable with the ball. This will give all your players the same opportunity to reach their potential. Work during practice to move all your players forward at their own pace. Do not be concerned with match results. Be concerned that all your players want the ball at their feet and they want to score. If you can accomplish this, you have successfully allowed your group to grow as soccer players. Unlike practice, you cannot add more balls/goals during games to give kids more chances with the ball. But you can emphasize certain themes for the players to focus on, such as getting involved, attacking the goal, taking chances, and then spend the length of the game reinforcing these points (the infinity coaching staff is working on taking opposing players on 1v1 with a focus on the scissors/stepover move - click here to see what scissors are). This approach will give your players the green light to experiment and be creative - qualities that, unfortunately at the younger ages, are often discouraged on game day, in the name of being safe and winning.
CONSIDER THIS: At the youth level, games are a forum for players to test their ball skills and game awareness, and should be considered an additional means of development, rather than the objective. Results are important as it gives the players a competitive focus in the match. Coaches are encouraged to promote soccer that:
• is free flowing,
• is coach-guided, not coach-directed,
• demands that all players on the field, regardless of their specified position, participate in defending and attacking.
USSF Best Practices: Player Development Guidelines
http://www.epysa.org/pdf/USSFBestPractices.pdf
Thank you for working with your child at home and encouraging them to fall in love with the ball at home. This is truly where they become great individual soccer players!
-Ginn
Thursday the u10 Girls had a scrimmage. In that scrimmage the premier team was having their way with the respected younger U9 team that they were training with/against. Travis Clements, a parent coach to the team, reminded the girls to take players on instead of pass around them. Some parents raised their eyebrows and respectfully asked why.
Before I send you his reply to the parents and my contribution let me please say that we, as a coaching staff, love watching our players pass around players and get excited for the ability to play such quality soccer and do not want to discourage success. In contrast, we do not want to encourage our players to be successful NOW in a way that will jeopardize their long term development.
Travis sent this below email...below it I provided more info and a link I would really encourage each of you to read (even though it is lengthy).
Travis wrote:
Hi,
I hope that I wasn't too confusing to the parents yesterday at the scrimmage, particularly with the Premier team. It may have looked like I was unhappy - or trying to fix things that were being very successful. It wasn't that I didn't have an appreciation for the great soccer the girls were playing. Their passing and awareness was incredible and very fun to watch. The thing we were trying to work on was getting the girls to dribble more and to use the moves they've been learning in practice in the scrimmage games.
Here's the logic. Dribbling to beat an opponent is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest skill in soccer to master. It is MUCH easier to pass the ball and to get rid of it before they are under pressure. The reward of the passing game is at this age it translates into wins and goals. (very tempting, but short-sighted) The Risk of promoting that is that it ultimately limits the ability of the player. The kids spend years passing and getting rid of the ball that should be spent mastering their ability and creativity on the ball. They become afraid to keep the ball and panic with the ball when under pressure. Soccer players who can pass are everywhere. Soccer players who can dribble stand out like a full moon on a dark night.
We want every girl to be confident with the ball at their feet and to not feel pressure to pass the ball so they don't lose it. It may mean missing chances to score, or even giving up goals, while they develop. That is an acceptable price to pay at this age for ultimately having a team chuck-full of players who can handle the ball with skill and confidence.
While we will all cheer goals, especially well-worked goals, I would ask that you cheer louder when your player takes on and beats an opponent or exhibits skill on the ball. Even when they are unsuccessful, praise their confidence to try and encourage them to keep at it. The long-term reward for your player will be unbelievable.
Thanks,
Travis Clements
Ginn Reply:
Travis,
Thank you for reminding us of what the focus is. I agree with Travis's email and have some thoughts as to incorporate scoring by way of dribbling to pass on to the coaching staff as well.
Parents and coaches please, please, please read the following information and document. It will help your players out tremendously this fall as we enter competition.
Before I give you the US Soccer governing body's take on this let me put this in American terms...
1) Play basketball without dribbling, just pass.
2) Think about recent basketball players and take them off of their successful teams; derrin williams, john stockton, gary payton, magic johnson etc, these players made things unpredictable and drew defenders to them which in turn created space for teammates to be successful once they passed the ball to them.3) Take the running game out of American football (or throw ball as us true footballers refer to it as). All you can do is throw and pass. The game becomes predictable and easy to defend.
In soccer everyone plays on all parts of the field in critical times and non critical times. Even goal keepers need to be brilliant with their feet. In the 2008 European Championship tournament goal keepers used their feet seven times more than their hands!
I would like all coaches and parents to read a document published by US Soccer Federation that shares the priorities at this age group. I added this age groups information below, highlighted the parts of emphasis and added the link to the entire document.
USSF Best Practices: Player Development Guidelines
http://www.epysa.org/pdf/USSFBestPractices.pdf
Ball Skill, Creativity and a Gradual Insight into the
Game: 10 - 14 years old
U-10: 3rd and 4th graders
Soccer for this age is a fun activity for the kids that encourages a lot of games to goals and encourages experimentation with the ball. The ratio of balls to players should be small enough that all your players are involved all the time. The focus is on developing a relationship with the ball in a joyful environment. There should be no standings and no awards (Infinity SC thought: this means no paying your child for goals or saves or whatevers, let the game be the reason they PLAY).
CONSIDER THIS: How can the coach help all his or her players to develop to their potential?
First, help your weaker players to develop their confidence with the ball. At the same time, continue to challenge your stronger players to expand their creativity and confidence. Confidence is the key. The more time they spend during practice and games with the ball at their feet, the more comfortable they will become, the more confident they will become, the more they will look to get involved, and the more fun they will have with soccer (the Infinity coaching staff views scrimmages and match play as additional training to prepare them for the future) . Remember that the level of skill and competence that a 9-year-old exhibits is no indication of the skill and competence that he or she will exhibit at 16 or 18 years of age. You cannot predict which 9-year-old will develop into a real player. Therefore, work to encourage all your players to be competent and comfortable with the ball. This will give all your players the same opportunity to reach their potential. Work during practice to move all your players forward at their own pace. Do not be concerned with match results. Be concerned that all your players want the ball at their feet and they want to score. If you can accomplish this, you have successfully allowed your group to grow as soccer players. Unlike practice, you cannot add more balls/goals during games to give kids more chances with the ball. But you can emphasize certain themes for the players to focus on, such as getting involved, attacking the goal, taking chances, and then spend the length of the game reinforcing these points (the infinity coaching staff is working on taking opposing players on 1v1 with a focus on the scissors/stepover move - click here to see what scissors are). This approach will give your players the green light to experiment and be creative - qualities that, unfortunately at the younger ages, are often discouraged on game day, in the name of being safe and winning.
CONSIDER THIS: At the youth level, games are a forum for players to test their ball skills and game awareness, and should be considered an additional means of development, rather than the objective. Results are important as it gives the players a competitive focus in the match. Coaches are encouraged to promote soccer that:
• is free flowing,
• is coach-guided, not coach-directed,
• demands that all players on the field, regardless of their specified position, participate in defending and attacking.
USSF Best Practices: Player Development Guidelines
http://www.epysa.org/pdf/USSFBestPractices.pdf
Thank you for working with your child at home and encouraging them to fall in love with the ball at home. This is truly where they become great individual soccer players!
-Ginn
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
NSCAA Soccer Journal Series: Player Development
In the May/June and July/August 2003 issues of Soccer Journal, we offered a special two-part series focusing on player development. As a service to NSCAA members and soccer coaches in general, NSCAA.com has compiled the articles of that series into a special section. Please read the articles below.
"The biggest difference between the Brazilian players and the American players was that the Americans did not demonstrate any understanding of the subtleties of the game. And that affects what coaches do during every training session."
"Subtleties of any game usually are developed “in the sandlot” when the players are young. We all learned how to play sports as we grew up by playing with other kids in the neighborhood. We learned what we had to do to win. If you lost, your team was off the court or field."
Taken from LACKING SUBTLETY an article that can be found below.
* The Craft of Coaching
* Introduction and Phase I of Player Development (U-12)
* Phase II of Player Development (U-14)
* Phase III of Player Development (U-16)
* Phase IV of Player Development (U-19)
* Fitting Practices to Ages
* The Game is the Best Teacher
* Training with an Eye on Detail
* The Progression of a Goalkeeper
* Demands of the Up-Tempo Game
* Making Soccer Drills Work
* From Looking Good to Winning
* Lacking Subtlety
* In France, c'est la Technique
* Trim Down the Training Session
"The biggest difference between the Brazilian players and the American players was that the Americans did not demonstrate any understanding of the subtleties of the game. And that affects what coaches do during every training session."
"Subtleties of any game usually are developed “in the sandlot” when the players are young. We all learned how to play sports as we grew up by playing with other kids in the neighborhood. We learned what we had to do to win. If you lost, your team was off the court or field."
Taken from LACKING SUBTLETY an article that can be found below.
* The Craft of Coaching
* Introduction and Phase I of Player Development (U-12)
* Phase II of Player Development (U-14)
* Phase III of Player Development (U-16)
* Phase IV of Player Development (U-19)
* Fitting Practices to Ages
* The Game is the Best Teacher
* Training with an Eye on Detail
* The Progression of a Goalkeeper
* Demands of the Up-Tempo Game
* Making Soccer Drills Work
* From Looking Good to Winning
* Lacking Subtlety
* In France, c'est la Technique
* Trim Down the Training Session
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Guided Discovery
By Sam Snow, US Youth Soccer Technical Director
The traditional way sports have been taught is with the coach at the center of attention. The coach told the players what to do {command style} and expected them to produce. With the command style, the coach explains a skill, demonstrates the skill and allows the players to practice the skill. In contrast to 'reproduction' of knowledge in the coach-centered approach, the guided discovery approach emphasizes the "production" of new talents. The approach invites the player to think, to go beyond the given information and then discover the correct skills. The essence of this style is a coach-player connection in which your sequence of information and questions causes responses by the player. The combination of information and question by you elicits a correct response, which is discovered by the player. The effect of this process leads the player to discover the sought tactic or technique. Guided discovery simply means that you raise questions and provide options or choices for the players, guiding the players to answer the questions for themselves because they become curious about the answers. The novice player in a command style setting thinks too much about what they are trying to do, a form of paralysis by analysis. Instead if you guide the players in a player-centered training environment then they gradually become capable of holistic thinking in their soccer performance.
Holistic thought is opposed to the analytical type of thinking. Analysis means to divide the whole into parts which can be studied more closely. Holistic thinking considers the thing as a whole. Soccer performances {training sessions and especially matches} are better suited to holistic than analytical treatment because they involve an integrated set of movements which must all happen at the same time. There simply is not enough time during a match to perform each of the movements separately and then string them together. Holistic thinking has been linked anatomically to functions carried out in the right hemisphere of the brain. The brain has both a right and left hemisphere connected by a bundle of nerves called the corpus collosum. The right hemisphere coordinates movements and sensations associated with the left side of the body and the left hemisphere does the same for the right side of the body. In addition, the left hemisphere is known to control analytical thinking, which includes verbal expression, reading, writing and mathematical computation. The functions associated with the right side of the brain are nonintellectual ones or those having to do with sensory interpretation, coordination of movement, intuitive or creative thinking and holistic perception of complex patterns. This hemisphere can grasp a number of patterns simultaneously.[i]
Sports tradition has emphasized left-side brain functions to the exclusion of the other. We acquire pieces of knowledge one at a time. In soccer, the traditional coach teaches separate points of technique, ignoring the 'flow' needed in actual performance. Some coaches use the holistic approach. In soccer we draw upon right-hand brain capabilities of holistic perception, rhythm, spatial relationships, and simultaneous processing of many inputs. Left brain functions are largely uninvolved. Novice players often go wrong in trying to control their movements with a constant, specific internal awareness. They engage the left-brain functions of analysis and sequence to interfere with holistic coordination of physical movement, which is a right-brain function. Obscuring a player's awareness with too many instructions {over-coaching} will make him or her so preoccupied that he or she can't 'chew gum and run at the same time!' It's called 'paralysis through analysis'.
It is often argued that effective coaching is as much an art as it is a science. Guided discovery in coaching soccer is a balance of the two. In a broad sense our coaching style of the American soccer player must move away from the 'sage on the stage' to the 'guide on the side'.
""I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.""
Confucius
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS TOPIC
The traditional way sports have been taught is with the coach at the center of attention. The coach told the players what to do {command style} and expected them to produce. With the command style, the coach explains a skill, demonstrates the skill and allows the players to practice the skill. In contrast to 'reproduction' of knowledge in the coach-centered approach, the guided discovery approach emphasizes the "production" of new talents. The approach invites the player to think, to go beyond the given information and then discover the correct skills. The essence of this style is a coach-player connection in which your sequence of information and questions causes responses by the player. The combination of information and question by you elicits a correct response, which is discovered by the player. The effect of this process leads the player to discover the sought tactic or technique. Guided discovery simply means that you raise questions and provide options or choices for the players, guiding the players to answer the questions for themselves because they become curious about the answers. The novice player in a command style setting thinks too much about what they are trying to do, a form of paralysis by analysis. Instead if you guide the players in a player-centered training environment then they gradually become capable of holistic thinking in their soccer performance.
Holistic thought is opposed to the analytical type of thinking. Analysis means to divide the whole into parts which can be studied more closely. Holistic thinking considers the thing as a whole. Soccer performances {training sessions and especially matches} are better suited to holistic than analytical treatment because they involve an integrated set of movements which must all happen at the same time. There simply is not enough time during a match to perform each of the movements separately and then string them together. Holistic thinking has been linked anatomically to functions carried out in the right hemisphere of the brain. The brain has both a right and left hemisphere connected by a bundle of nerves called the corpus collosum. The right hemisphere coordinates movements and sensations associated with the left side of the body and the left hemisphere does the same for the right side of the body. In addition, the left hemisphere is known to control analytical thinking, which includes verbal expression, reading, writing and mathematical computation. The functions associated with the right side of the brain are nonintellectual ones or those having to do with sensory interpretation, coordination of movement, intuitive or creative thinking and holistic perception of complex patterns. This hemisphere can grasp a number of patterns simultaneously.[i]
Sports tradition has emphasized left-side brain functions to the exclusion of the other. We acquire pieces of knowledge one at a time. In soccer, the traditional coach teaches separate points of technique, ignoring the 'flow' needed in actual performance. Some coaches use the holistic approach. In soccer we draw upon right-hand brain capabilities of holistic perception, rhythm, spatial relationships, and simultaneous processing of many inputs. Left brain functions are largely uninvolved. Novice players often go wrong in trying to control their movements with a constant, specific internal awareness. They engage the left-brain functions of analysis and sequence to interfere with holistic coordination of physical movement, which is a right-brain function. Obscuring a player's awareness with too many instructions {over-coaching} will make him or her so preoccupied that he or she can't 'chew gum and run at the same time!' It's called 'paralysis through analysis'.
It is often argued that effective coaching is as much an art as it is a science. Guided discovery in coaching soccer is a balance of the two. In a broad sense our coaching style of the American soccer player must move away from the 'sage on the stage' to the 'guide on the side'.
""I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.""
Confucius
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Barcelona's tradition sets it apart from the rest
The foundation for the club's Champions League triumph was set 307 years ago, in 1702.
By Grahame L. Jones, On Soccer
7:46 PM PDT, August 1, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-jones-soccer2-2009aug02,0,2834168.story?page=2
It's the sort of tale that historians love, the sort that spans centuries and weaves together past, present and future.
It was in Rome on May 27 of this year that FC Barcelona won the European Champions League, but the foundation for the Catalan club's triumph was set 307 years ago, in 1702.
That's when workmen in Barcelona completed a two-story stone farmhouse that still stands today. La Masia, they call it, and it is nothing less than the soul of FC Barcelona.
It was where architects more than half a century ago laid out their plans for the giant Camp Nou, Barcelona's magnificent home stadium which, with a capacity of 98,772, is the largest in Europe and stands nearby.
Thirty years ago, in 1979, La Masia began a new incarnation. It became the primary residence for young players being groomed by Barcelona for future success.
Very young players.
The Barcelona team that defeated Manchester United in the May final in Rome is a virtual blueprint for the way a successful soccer team should be built.
The team's coach, Josep "Pep" Guardiola, and seven of the 11 Barcelona starters that day passed through La Masia on their way to international stardom.
* Defender Carles Puyol, 31, joined in 1995 at age 17. (14 years)
* Midfielder Sergi Busquets, 21, joined in 2005 at age 17. (4 years)
* Goalkeeper Victor Valdes, 27, joined in 1995 at age 13. (14 years)
* Forward Lionel Messi, 22, joined in 2000 at age 13. (9 years)
* Midfielder Andres Iniesta, 25, joined in 1996 at age 12. (13 years)
* Midfielder Xavi, 29, joined in 1991 at age 11. (18 years)
* Defender Gerard Pique, 22, joined in 1997 at age 10. (12 years)
How does Barcelona find such players? What does it look for? Where does it look? How does it persuade their families to allow them to relocate to Barcelona? How is the La Masia magic accomplished?
According to Joan Laporta, the 47-year-old president of FC Barcelona, it all comes down to having a philosophy as a club (Barcelona is owned by its 162,979 members), having a soccer identity as a team, and believing in tradition.
In an interview in Beverly Hills on Friday, Laporta traced the origins of the 109-year-old club's current success to 1973, when Dutch great Johann Cruyff joined the team.
Cruyff, a three-time European player of the year and the ultimate exponent of "total football," changed everything.
As a Barcelona player and later as the team's coach, Cruyff developed "the way that we express our identity," Laporta said, the style that Barca teams employ at every age level.
He created the "dream team" that won the club its first European championship, in 1992. The captain of that team was Guardiola, a gold medal winner for Spain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and a player who had joined La Masia in 1984 at age 13.
Barcelona's playing style, inherited from Cruyff, is all about possession, short passing, movement off the ball, one- and two-touch attacking soccer, and pressuring the opponent when the ball is lost.
The first team plays that way and so does the youngest of the club's many youth teams.
German national team Coach Joachim "Jordi" Low, in a recent interview with England's World Soccer magazine, recognized the importance of such consistency.
"I was in Barcelona and I saw the under-17 team play a game in training against the first team," Low said. "I didn't see any difference. Seventeen-year-old players from Barcelona with perfect technique, perfect position, perfect speed.
"Of course, maybe they did not have the 100% motivation of the professionals, but I saw something special. They practice in training from the age of 12, 13, 14, so when they go into the first team they know what they have to do."
Most of those who come to La Masia are from Spain, but Laporta said Barcelona employs about 50 scouts worldwide who look for players with something unique.
"In order to express our identity, we have to love football and that means that we understand football in a particular way," he said.
"We are searching for players everywhere, especially in Cataluña, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Africa as well, the countries that are producing players.
"It is important that when they arrive they have a particular talent that would allow them to be a player for Barcelona."
Laporta says he believes Barcelona can repeat its success of last season in years to come.
La Masia virtually guarantees it.
"We think that we can replicate it," he said. "We see that in our youth teams there are players who could be maybe a new Iniesta, a new Xavi, a new Busquets, a new Puyol."
Guardiola concurs.
"There are three, four, five players who are at the top level already," he said.
Those who doubt that assertion should take note of some names. They will be heard from soon.
* Spanish forward Bojan Krkic, 18, who joined La Masia in 1999 at age 9.
* Israeli winger Gai Assulin, 18, who joined La Masia in 2003 at age 12.
* Mexican midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos, 19, who joined La Masia in 2002 at age 12.
The list goes on. The tradition continues.
grahame.jones@latimes.com
By Grahame L. Jones, On Soccer
7:46 PM PDT, August 1, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-jones-soccer2-2009aug02,0,2834168.story?page=2
It's the sort of tale that historians love, the sort that spans centuries and weaves together past, present and future.
It was in Rome on May 27 of this year that FC Barcelona won the European Champions League, but the foundation for the Catalan club's triumph was set 307 years ago, in 1702.
That's when workmen in Barcelona completed a two-story stone farmhouse that still stands today. La Masia, they call it, and it is nothing less than the soul of FC Barcelona.
It was where architects more than half a century ago laid out their plans for the giant Camp Nou, Barcelona's magnificent home stadium which, with a capacity of 98,772, is the largest in Europe and stands nearby.
Thirty years ago, in 1979, La Masia began a new incarnation. It became the primary residence for young players being groomed by Barcelona for future success.
Very young players.
The Barcelona team that defeated Manchester United in the May final in Rome is a virtual blueprint for the way a successful soccer team should be built.
The team's coach, Josep "Pep" Guardiola, and seven of the 11 Barcelona starters that day passed through La Masia on their way to international stardom.
* Defender Carles Puyol, 31, joined in 1995 at age 17. (14 years)
* Midfielder Sergi Busquets, 21, joined in 2005 at age 17. (4 years)
* Goalkeeper Victor Valdes, 27, joined in 1995 at age 13. (14 years)
* Forward Lionel Messi, 22, joined in 2000 at age 13. (9 years)
* Midfielder Andres Iniesta, 25, joined in 1996 at age 12. (13 years)
* Midfielder Xavi, 29, joined in 1991 at age 11. (18 years)
* Defender Gerard Pique, 22, joined in 1997 at age 10. (12 years)
How does Barcelona find such players? What does it look for? Where does it look? How does it persuade their families to allow them to relocate to Barcelona? How is the La Masia magic accomplished?
According to Joan Laporta, the 47-year-old president of FC Barcelona, it all comes down to having a philosophy as a club (Barcelona is owned by its 162,979 members), having a soccer identity as a team, and believing in tradition.
In an interview in Beverly Hills on Friday, Laporta traced the origins of the 109-year-old club's current success to 1973, when Dutch great Johann Cruyff joined the team.
Cruyff, a three-time European player of the year and the ultimate exponent of "total football," changed everything.
As a Barcelona player and later as the team's coach, Cruyff developed "the way that we express our identity," Laporta said, the style that Barca teams employ at every age level.
He created the "dream team" that won the club its first European championship, in 1992. The captain of that team was Guardiola, a gold medal winner for Spain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and a player who had joined La Masia in 1984 at age 13.
Barcelona's playing style, inherited from Cruyff, is all about possession, short passing, movement off the ball, one- and two-touch attacking soccer, and pressuring the opponent when the ball is lost.
The first team plays that way and so does the youngest of the club's many youth teams.
German national team Coach Joachim "Jordi" Low, in a recent interview with England's World Soccer magazine, recognized the importance of such consistency.
"I was in Barcelona and I saw the under-17 team play a game in training against the first team," Low said. "I didn't see any difference. Seventeen-year-old players from Barcelona with perfect technique, perfect position, perfect speed.
"Of course, maybe they did not have the 100% motivation of the professionals, but I saw something special. They practice in training from the age of 12, 13, 14, so when they go into the first team they know what they have to do."
Most of those who come to La Masia are from Spain, but Laporta said Barcelona employs about 50 scouts worldwide who look for players with something unique.
"In order to express our identity, we have to love football and that means that we understand football in a particular way," he said.
"We are searching for players everywhere, especially in Cataluña, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Africa as well, the countries that are producing players.
"It is important that when they arrive they have a particular talent that would allow them to be a player for Barcelona."
Laporta says he believes Barcelona can repeat its success of last season in years to come.
La Masia virtually guarantees it.
"We think that we can replicate it," he said. "We see that in our youth teams there are players who could be maybe a new Iniesta, a new Xavi, a new Busquets, a new Puyol."
Guardiola concurs.
"There are three, four, five players who are at the top level already," he said.
Those who doubt that assertion should take note of some names. They will be heard from soon.
* Spanish forward Bojan Krkic, 18, who joined La Masia in 1999 at age 9.
* Israeli winger Gai Assulin, 18, who joined La Masia in 2003 at age 12.
* Mexican midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos, 19, who joined La Masia in 2002 at age 12.
The list goes on. The tradition continues.
grahame.jones@latimes.com
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Evaluations at Pioneer Cup
Wednesday, July 22nd 2009
Infinity u11 Girls: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddp5t87f_115kfvjb9g8
Infinity u12 Girls: http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddp5t87f_114gcr5wcgj
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Parents' Role
One of the main problems with parents at games is that they sit too close to the field. Their proximity to the players gives them too much of a presence which, in turn, impacts the players’ behavior, response and performance. It’s very hard for parents to resist shouting instructions to the players because beginner players are visibly unsure of themselves and naturally make a lot of mistakes. Children aged 4 to 8 are naturally dependent on their parents for many of their daily needs. This dependency spills over into youth sports, manifesting as parental coaching from the sidelines. The players themselves will tend to look to their parents for help since they are conditioned to be dependent on them. Therefore, another important objective of the U-6/U-8 programs should be to wean the players out of their dependency on their parents’ help during games. This is so very crucial for the development of soccer players. We all know that soccer is a players’ game, meaning that it’s the players who must make the decisions on the field. In soccer, coaches have a lot less influence and power during games than in some of the other traditional American sports. Soccer players must learn to think for themselves, and the sooner they learn to stand on their own feet, the better. Since results do not matter at these age groups, no one should be overly concerned if players make mistakes that lead to goals. Parents and coaches must resist the urge to tell their players what to do. The following guidelines are recommended for U-6/U-8 game set-up:1) The fields to be laid out in such a way that keep the parents about 20-30
yards from the sidelines. This can be easily done using special lines or ropes beyond
which parents cannot encroach. We all agree that most players want their parents to be at the games, watching them play, and we realize that having the parents sit by the sidelines seems so nice and cozy. But keeping the parents some distance away from the action will enhance the players’ sense of freedom and ease most of the intimidation any players might feel when the parents are right on top of them. And the parents can still enjoy watching the game. What we lose in coziness we gain in giving the players more independence.
2) The parents should not coach the players. All they should be allowed to do is cheer good plays by their team but they should also be encouraged to politely applaud good play by the other team.3) Parents must never tell the players to “kick” or “boot” the ball. Kicking the ball needs to be discouraged. The parents will need to be prepared to accept that a lot of the dribbling attempts will be unsuccessful and that, nevertheless, they will have to bite their tongues and let the players try again and again.
4) The coaches should also keep their instruction to a minimum and let the
players understand that they must make their own decisions on the field and that it’s OK to make mistakes. The coaches should stand on the sideline and only enter the field if absolutely necessary. It must be remembered that we are trying to help the players grow out of their dependency on the adults. The coaches should encourage dribbling out of trouble and discourage kicking.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
We will likely never get this moment again...BOO HOO FOR SPAIN & HURRAY FOR USA!
Spain suffered a phenomenal relapse into their old ways by losing to a disciplined US squad in their semi-final match of the Confederations Cup.
Watch highlights here: http://sports.espn.go.com/videohub/video/video?id=4284720
Iker Casillas and Gerard Pique suffer the onslaught of a case of La caraja
Once again in sport, the favourite was defeated by the underdog, and once again in football Spain underachieved in a major tournament. Five factors had an instrumental influence in the outcome of the match when analysed from the Spanish point of view:
1: "La caraja"
The meaning of this word (not to be confused with its masculine, ruder version) is best explained through examples. With no rhyme or reason, some days your mind is elsewhere and you keep doing dumb things, such as locking yourself out of your apartment with your keys inside, putting salt on your coffee, or calling your current girlfriend by the name of the previous one. Spaniards also use empanada or berza to describe this error-prone state of mind.
On Wednesday night, the Spanish squad displayed a sensational caraja from the first minute of the match. We saw excellent players play like mediocre footballers even when their dedicated rivals were not intervening: poor passing, worse positioning, terrible play selection. Even Xavi Hernández looks ordinary in a day of caraja. If your opponent is focused and knows how to play their cards, as it was the case with the US, the match becomes quite challenging.
On top of that, luck will never go your way in a day of caraja: a half-hearted shot parried by your goalkeeper would hit the post and head for the corner flag in a normal day, but in a day of caraja it will go in. ON a normal day the referee would award a penalty if your playmaker is pushed from behind in scoring position, but will wave play on in a day of caraja. Yesterday was a quintessential caraja day, and only extreme dedication can help you to win matches in those days.
2: Lack of respect for the opponent
I spent the hours prior to the match at the national team hotel in Bloemfontein. I have never seen such a relaxed atmosphere before the semi-final of a FIFA tournament. Even though all of Spain's public statements had recognised the US as a worthy opponent, it felt like the Spaniards were preparing a friendly game for a philanthropic cause.
Supporters were taking pictures with Del Bosque and several players among surprisingly lax security measures. I talked with the representative of the main sponsor of the national team. "Isn't this too quiet?", I asked him. "Other than the tactical chat, they haven't spoken about the match more than half an hour in the last three days", he answers. "I'd rather be playing Italy, they wouldn't be this relaxed".
The attitude within the media wasn't different. We had only booked hotels for the final in Johannesburg, and even your usually superstitious correspondent broke several unwritten rules to avoid bad omens: I spoke about the game like a sure win with several friends, created a file with ideas for my article on the final and didn't wear my (still unwashed) lucky jersey from Euro 2008 to the match. I should have known better.
3: The wrong formation
In my previous article, I wrote wonders about Vicente del Bosque's array of tactical options. Our gaffer chose the wrong one for this match, or rather Mr Bradley was ready to exploit its weak points.
When Spain apply a 4-4-2 with Cesc Fábregas on the right, he actually roams towards the middle, leaving the right flank open for Sergio Ramos to go forward. This is very similar to Real Madrid's approach back when del Bosque was the gaffer, with Zidane as a fake left midfielder and Roberto Carlos taking care of the left wing.
This approach requires a very disciplined full back (which Roberto Carlos was only to a limited extent), and a great defensive midfielder (Claude Makelele) to cover whatever gaps when the other team counter attacks and the flank is open.
In the current Spanish squad, Sergio Ramos (see factor #4) clearly can't play the Roberto Carlos role, and Xabi Alonso is still far from being a Marcos Senna in defensive tasks. Bradley understood this and, especially during the first half, his team punished Spain every time Ramos went forward, while del Bosque was slow in adjusting the side (and also unlucky because Santiago Cazorla was simply horrendous when he replaced Cesc).
4: Sergio Ramos
Let the record show that I texted a friend of mine as early as minute 15 of the first half asking him what Ramos was doing on the pitch. As explained earlier, the US gaffer decided to give him plenty of space offensively to exploit his back at the counter attack, and Sergio naively swallowed the bait. The US caught Spain's defence out of place at least four times until Altidore scored, in all cases because Ramos wasn't where he should.
His stellar participation in the US' second goal brought me back (not very fond) memories of Christian Karembeu. The Frenchman will always be remembered by Real Madrid fans for three reasons: his collection of trophies, his spectacular wife, and the Karembina.
In 1999, during a Liga match at the Santiago Bernabéu, Karembeu decided to avoid a corner kick for opponent side Celta by backheeling the ball into the path of a Galician striker, who easily scored. The Karembina, meaning an assist from a defender to a rival striker, was hence born. It had been some time since I last saw one, and now I can thank Sergio for his generosity (and yes, I am really bitter).
5. The silly season
The day before the match, Jorge Valdano stated that Real Madrid had paid Golden Ball money for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, and that David Villa did not belong to that group. Even if Valdano's statement is accurate, its timing was terrible. Villa played like he had to win the match by himself to prove Valdano and Real Madrid wrong, and was selfish beyond belief.
Fernando Torres was quickly infected by Villa's selfishness virus. We rarely saw collective play between the strikers during the whole game, a strange feat in a side that base all their approach in smart passing.
When you combine all those factors in one give match, it is hard to win. On top of that, if you are facing a team that had nothing to lose after their miraculous qualification for the semi-finals and who clearly knew what to do at every instance of the match, you're in serious trouble.
Del Bosque's words during the press conference point at the right direction: this national team is young and should grow further until the World Cup. This shocking defeat has "overconfidence" written all over it, while the old Armada's failures were a mixture of incompetence, fear to win and bad luck.
Hopefully the players will have learned the lesson for the upcoming World Cup. In any case, they have to go back to Rustenburg to play for the third spot on Sunday, which feels like a harsh enough punishment for them.
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