Sam's Blog - Level of Play - Feb. 13

Sam’s Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. Sam Snow is the Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer.

At some point in their youth soccer coaching career most coaches eventually face the question of should a team move up a division in the level of competition.

Here’s a typical scenario from an American youth soccer coach:

I recently met with the parents of our U12 boy’s team to discuss what division they would be participating in the spring. The team was invited to play at a more competitive level by our youth association. Two dads sent out an email taking it upon themselves to make sure the boys would stay at the lower division due to the fact that if they move up they are in danger of not winning any games for the season. The team was in the top four places in their age bracket and I assured them that their children would benefit by playing at higher level even though we did not win the division. The parents’ final stance is that when they win the division then they can move their children up to play at the higher level. Am I wrong to allow our kids to stay at the lower division and have success or would playing up hinder the children’s development or stifle their love for the game.

By this age, 12 years old, the players need to begin making decisions that fit their individual needs. Some of those kids may have the talent and drive to play in that next competitive level as offered by the association/club. Others may be better suited to stay at the current level of competition. In any case the entire team likely will not stay together as a unit. Just as in school at this age some kids in the same grade begin to be on slightly different academic tracks with the classes they take at school. They are still part of the same school and the same grade, but their classes are fitting their current academic needs. In soccer too they will still be part of the same club and age group but in different teams (class) and at different levels of play (curriculum) to fit their current needs.

Here are the overall objectives for this age group:

Ages 10-14 Puberty
More combinations on offense and defense. Many decision making environments. Psychologically positive with correction. Advanced competitive skills against match opponents. Tactically work on the roles of attack and defense and the basic principles of play. Exercises should focus on endurance, rhythmic movement, flexibility and running mechanics. Application of where it all fits into the game – the part of the field.

MATCHES
Matches of 8- to 11-a-side. Selection (try-outs) should not begin until the U13 age group. Less emphasis on the match results and more emphasis on players’ performances.

From the state Technical Directors Position Statements:
Age of competitive play # 4
While it is acknowledged and recognized that preteen players should be allowed to pursue playing opportunities that meet both their interest and ability level, we strongly discourage environments where players below the age of twelve are forced to meet the same “competitive” demands as their older counterparts therefore we recommend the following:
1. 50% playing time
2. no league or match results
3. 8 v 8 at U12

JT's Blog - Myths or truths - Feb. 7

JT's Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. John Thomas "JT" is the Assistant Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer.

I thought I’d take a moment to highlight some of the more common Soccer “myths,” so that coaches can get a better understanding when it comes to working with their kids and parents.

1) The younger you can get your child on a travel team, the better.

In some areas of the country, travel/competitive teams start as early as age 5 or 6, yes really.

My problem with that is there doesn’t seem to be any supported academic research to support this idea that I have read. Nobody that I know has ever produced a scientific study that shows that having your child play on a travel/competitive team at a very early age is going to guarantee athletic success down the road.

However, on the other side of the coin, there are lots of studies that show that burnout is a real problem for kids in their early teens – and burnout usually affects kids who have been playing one sport for a long, long time on travel teams.

2) All travel team coaches are certified instructors, have degrees in physical education or psychology, and have a solid background in coaching kids.

Now, I’m not saying that you to need to have all the above, but I think there should be some type of certification program as a requirement. Anybody can start their own team, but can anyone coach a travel/competitive team that will be a benefit to the players and parents?

The rules and regulations to become a travel coach depend on your geographic location. Unlike teachers, who have to be certified by the state in which they work, travel coaches have no such requirements.

Many parents automatically assume that if the coach has played the game then the coach certainly should be knowledgeable in how to train a travel team. There are assumption being made; one is that the coach has been trained appropriately by someone who had the qualifications to train a coach hopefully using methods that include player-centered and age-appropriate training methods.

Can you just show up and become a travel team coach? My answer is no.

Sam's Blog - Single Year or Dual Year Age Groups - Feb. 5

Sam’s Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. Sam Snow is the Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer

The only reason soccer clubs got into the routine of single year age group teams was for administrative convenience. In the 1970s and most of the 1980s all teams fell into the following age groups: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U19. There were no U6 teams until beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During the ‘80s and ‘90s the soccer boom was so rapid that the numbers of participants increased dramatically for local clubs annually. In order to manage the numbers from a logistic and administrative perspective many local soccer organizations began having single year and/or single gender teams. However, there was never a purely soccer reason for these groupings.

As is presented in the “Y” License course we can easily group the children into two year age groups and they handle it just fine. Clearly the children of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s have handled those groupings in stride. Currently many local soccer organizations have two year age groupings because they do not have the enrollment numbers to have a management need to have single year groupings. We teach in the course two year age groups. We discuss the pick-up game of yesteryear when kids in the neighborhood played together and learned games from each other and those games were mixed age groups.

For player development, in fact, it is a benefit to have the children in the two year age groupings. The younger players learn from the older ones and they learn that they must play more skillfully and intelligently because they most likely will not outrun or outmuscle the older kids. The older kids learn leadership skills. This cycle continues up through the U19 age group. Some of the stagnation of the development of the American player is due to single gender and single year age groupings. If the circumstances in your club allow you to have two year age groupings I actually recommend it as it will have a positive impact on the growth of your players.

Please do not hesitate to let me know if the US Youth Soccer Coaching Education department can be of assistance to you.

JT's Blog - Winning Isn't Everything - Jan. 31

JT's Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. John Thomas "JT" is the Assistant Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer.

Winning is Great, but it’s Not the Goal!

It always seems when coaches get together, the topic of winning always comes up. Coaches always boast about their team winning 10 of 12 games or about beating some well-known team by one goal. It seems it’s always about winning. If we don’t win then the parents will take their children to another club that believes winning is the right thing to do. There’s a wide differences between loving to win and having to win, between competing to be our best and competing to be the best.

Is it almost un-American to say winning is not the goal. In fact, many would say we compete in a “win-at-all-costs” environment. How does this help or hurt our player’s performances and how does it assist with their developing into to productive citizens? Yes, we all want to win, but please understand the distinction: winning is a byproduct, not a goal.

Winning odds increase when you place your focus on how you get there rather than on winning as the goal– the learning and development, the continual movement toward mastery. During competition this means having a moment-to-moment, concentrated focus on executing skills and maintaining a positive attitude.

John Naber, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, exemplifies this vital concept. He shares, “My goal was never to win a race. My goal was to be the best I could be that day.” Disturbing news stories and studies show a focus on winning can produce unsportsmanlike behavior, outright dishonesty and unethical use of dangerous drugs.

I have known many great youth teams that were undefeated during their regular season and lost their first postseason match when they played a team that on paper they should have easily have defeated. Perhaps their focus is on the outcome rather than on the moment and the process. Focusing on winning can lead the performer away from the power of the present moment and creates performance-lowering tension by putting attention on something not under a player’s direct control.

Parents have a part in this process; they can help the player stay focused. How? Be interested in what the child is learning about him or herself and what skills they are developing. Ask the child what they like about playing soccer. You certainly don’t have direct control over how well your child will play in the game, but you do have control over how calm you are during and after your child’s games or training sessions, what you say and how encouraging you are very important in the process of winning or losing. Sometimes losing is better then winning in preparing a player for the future.

There will be times when you find yourself getting frustrated or annoyed at your player or child’s performance, ask yourself, what am I trying to control that I don’t have control over? Then zero in on what you do control. And remind yourself the focus should be on the learning and the fun!

Sam's Blog - A Look Back - Jan. 29

Sam’s Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. Sam Snow is the Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer

This past weekend I attended the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association AGM (Annual General Meeting). On Saturday evening a banquet was held for their soccer hall of fame. Seven folks were inducted and many past inductees were in attendance. Some of the hall of famers include Brian Bliss, Joe Marrone, Tony DiCicco, Charlie Kadupski, Bob Dikranian, Sunil Gulati, David Socha, Dan Woog, Ray Reid, Dan Gaspar, Joe Machnik, Curt Onalfo, and Andrea Duffy and now add David Vaudreuil among others.

These are names many of you will recognize and there are many others in the state’s hall of fame that you likely would not recognize unless you have been involved in soccer in that state for years.

However, those other folks have made equally important contributions to the game. The event highlighted for me the rich and long history of soccer in the United States. We tend to look back only a few years and think of ourselves as a newcomer to the sport of soccer.

This is far from the truth. Soccer is the second oldest professional sport in our country after baseball. The first intercollegiate game, between Princeton and Rutgers, was in 1869. Our football association was an early member of FIFA joining in 1913. We played in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. To learn more about our soccer past, present and possible future take a look at Soccerhead by Jim Haner.

The hall of fame dinner in Connecticut reminded me that our sport has deep roots in many of our states and cities. We must not forget the many contributions that generations of Americans have made to soccer on these shores. We must celebrate our soccer history and bring it more into the consciousness of the current generation.

By looking back we can also see some of the paths we must take now and in the future to continue the growth of our game as well as seeing some of the pitfalls to avoid. We are now at the beginning of a new chapter in the story of soccer in the USA. We must revive our missionary work of bringing the game to new segments of our society. We have managed the soccer boom and once again need to grow the game. We have a 147 year old history of modern football (soccer) in our country and in the last 30 years we have made impressive strides forward. We can grow the game on reservations, the inner city and rural communities.

We have the chance NOW to begin the next soccer boom.

Top 20 of 2007

Soccer America today named the Top 20 Boys and Girls Youth Soccer Clubs in America. The magazine has named the top 20 annually since 2003. The top club on the boys and girls side for this year, each hail from Illinois (Eclipse Select for the girls and Chicago Magic for the boys).

You can see the complete list at www.USYouthSoccer.org. There you'll also find links to the Soccer America pages that detail each club in the rankings.

For the fourth year, Soccer America selected the top 20 boys and girls clubs, based on success of their teams in national youth competitions over the last three years and national recognition for players from these clubs in 2006. The most important criteria for determining 'America's Best Youth Clubs' was success in the US Youth Soccer National Championships during a three-year cycle (2004-2006) an and the number of players who went on to U.S. Soccer national teams and were selected to US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program All-Star rosters via the annual Thanksgiving Interregionals.

If you were to judge the top clubs in the country how would you set the criteria? Would you like to see a weekly or monthly ranking for youth soccer?

Do you think your club should have made this list? Why?

JT's Blog - Players Develop - Jan. 24

John's Blog will be a weekly addition to the US Youth Soccer Blog. John is the Assistant Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer.

Player development is the act or process of developing; unfolding; a gradual growth or advancement through progressive changes…

While teaching at the National Youth License course, hosted by Florida Youth Soccer Association, in beautiful Weston, Fla., on the January 2-6.of Jan 2007, the topic of much discussion was on player development. My thoughts on this subject and discussion to follow, is a summary of comments from Mike Strickler, Florida State Youth Soccer Director of Coaching, Virgil Stringfield, Assistant Director of Coaching for Florida and Bill Buren one of the writers of the National Youth License and the candidates in attendance at the course.

I think a majority of young players become what they were always going to be largely by their own efforts and a lot of encouragement and information from coaches. Playing as many matches as possibly will not alter that fact, nor will playing in more tournaments or conducting more or longer training sessions.

What can we do to help the process, foster a love for the game and allowing talent to develop in a sane environment means an appropriate number of matches and training sessions for the age group. The idea that the game is the great teacher is very true but misunderstood and misapplied. Some believe the more matches the better. This is not true, in fact fewer games the better for youngsters. The game will show a player how he or she has progressed or what they need to work on to improve. The game should teach players how to play before they are asked to compete for wins.

Approximately 0.01 percent will make it onto a national team be it youth, Olympic or the full National Team, according to the NCAA. The NCAA also estimates that only two percent of high school players in all sports will go on to play in college. Soccer is a long-term athletic development sport. Starting to play on teams when barely out of diapers will not amend this fact of the time needed to grow physically and psychologically to become an accomplished player.

While the players are in primary and secondary school, the adults caring for their soccer experience and controlling their soccer environment must be patient with an eye to long-term goals as well as short-term objectives. The coach must allow the player the freedom to develop by learning from millions of experiences. The coach must resist the temptation to interrupt the players, realizing that learning takes place by experiencing the game.

Coaches should not try to solve every problem in each session. Coaches need to understand that development whether individual or team is a long-term process. They also should understand that players can only assimilate a little information at a time, so they should choose their comments carefully. In the end, it does not matter what the coach knows or says it only matters what the players can receive and put in to action.

One of the best chances a coach has to develop a player is to insure that they love the game. Make players part of the process and make all decisions concerning player development around the idea of player centered decisions.