Sam’s Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. Sam is the Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer
Last week I drove from Bismarck, North Dakota to Gillette, Wyoming to meet with the state coach and others to discuss coaching education and the professional development of their state staff instructors. The drive took me through part of the Bad Lands during a snow storm, which gave an already far-out landscape an even more unworldly look.
If you are not from that region of the United States you may wonder where in the world is Gillette and do people actually play soccer there. Well the town is in the northeast corner of the state and yes folks do indeed play the beautiful game there.
These facts highlight that soccer continues to grow across our nation and not just in metropolitan areas. We had our soccer boom and now we have gotten a fair handle on managing those huge numbers of participants. So it is time once again to work on growing the game as we did in the 1970s. Towns such as Gillette and Mamou, Louisiana and Williston, Vermont are where the game will continue to grow.
So in our soccer missionary work how do we start the next soccer boom?
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2 comments:
I look forward to having you back in Indiana soon...always appreciate your visits...
Indiana Youth Soccer currently has about 58,000 registered players. One of our 5 major goals (in our strategic plan) is to grow our membership to 100,000 players by 2012.
If we are successful, it will no doubt be because we were successful in creating or improving the programs, events, services offered by this State Association.
In Indiana...
If we create an environment for youth soccer which is healthier, safe and fun... we will succeed.
If we better educate coaches so that they understand the developmentally appropriate (developing vs. winning)....we will succeed.
If we better educate parents so they understand the game more...and understand their supportive role better (being positive)....we will succeed
If we better educate referees so they understand the importance of knowing the rules (laws), keeping up with the play...while prioritizing health and safety...we will succeed.
If we continue our initiatives into schools and urban areas (which we have not focused enough time in the past)...we will succeed.
If...through the sport of soccer...we create an environment which is fun, safe and healthy...for all the participants-
The next "boom" or significant growth can/ (in youth soccer players) will happen in Indiana and throughout the United States.
I look forward to the continued assistance of US Youth Soccer (and the staffs your help) with our educational needs.
Sam,
In another blog, you asked about other types of media that we would like to use. I am looking for soccer material that I can download to my ipod. I think as a coach, when you should the kids a video of a drill or exercise, they comprehend it much quicker. Is that a possible format for you to use? Do you know of any soccer drills and / or exercise that are in a podcast format?
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