FSA - Les Bleus

Area of Play, Not Phases of Play

2011-09-26T15:59:00.001-05:00

by john cartwright

For years coaching here has relied on the use of Phase-play as a method for teaching specific situations or ‘slots’ in the game. These phases, be they for the use of an individual or a small group, are constructed by the coach to familiarize players with either individual situations or aspects of team-play. I feel that this type of coaching practice has several flaws and is unlikely to produce satisfactory improvements, in either individual or team performance.

I believe Phase-play methods are simply a carry-over of the structured development methods used here when coaching skills and movements for the game. This method of isolating a situation and then practising it as a singular ‘slot’ in play, does not satisfy the important playing ingredients of realistic continuity in the game. There are two specific faults with Phase-play practice:

1. It does not involve enough playing situations prior to or beyond the actual phase of play under scrutiny.
2. The recognition of a Phase-play situation and acting on it successfully in the competitive ‘heat’ of a match is highly unlikely.

Staged restart situations are more likely to prove successful from Phase-play practice, but more fluid and open play situations tend to be less so simply because they are more difficult to construct or recognize in a competitive atmosphere.

I have always believed that an on-the-ball situation developing in one area of the field derives from what has occurred in the area from which the ball came and is dependant on the actions of players in the area(s) into which the ball may go. Phase-play often limits practice to singular situations, thus reducing more expansive options that may be available to players.

Restricting game-flow opportunities from area to area to players in practice is not the way to develop spontaneity, integration and game variations in those players during competitive match-play.

The movement of the ball and players through def/mid/att. areas of the field with the conclusion of a goal is what the game is about. Movement of players as well as the ball through these areas requires ability, concentration, timing and game understanding. Combined practice through these areas that offers players a total look at all the possibilities, options and needs is what is required if we are to develop the quality of player that can play at the highest levels. Because of the competitive nature of football, the matter of interference to the flow of the game is a vital issue if success is to be achieved by both the individual and the team. Whether in att. or def. mode players must be capable of making and changing decisions on situations speedily and correctly. Unless players follow a development program based on realistic practice involving playing alternatives and options and forces changes of decisions to be made as happens in a game, it could quite easily be said that the practice time is wasted.
Phase-play practice resembles the methods used in the theatre when a Director wishes to modify or change a section in the performance; he/she reconstructs the section in question, it is rehearsed and included in the next performances. This may be suitable for the theatre where action prior to the newly learned ‘slot’ and action immediately after it remain unchanged, but it does not satisfy the needs of a game that requires the immediacy of choices and responses to situations that are never exactly the same. The reliance on pre-determined practice methods and ‘straight-line’ thinking has produced ‘straight-line’ players who can only play ‘straight-line football’. The use of unrealistic practice has been at the forefront of our football decline and Phase-play practice is yet another example of the orderly, classroom mentality that dominates our coaching; — organization and simplicity are preferred to spontaneity and skill!
A ‘chicken and egg’ situation (what comes first?) is evident in our game; is it, poor individual skill that needs a simplistic playing style, or has a simplistic playing style only required poor skill levels to play it?
Either way the result has proved a disaster for our game. From the teaching of individual skill to group and team instruction, coaching here has taken individual fantasy from the game and replaced it with combined futility.
Until we open our minds and subsequently our coaching methods, we will continue to produce football mediocrity and have the audacity to call it football greatness!

NEW MAJESTIC CURTAIN CALL MENU!

2011-09-14T13:49:00.000-05:00

Just in time for the opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Fall theater season, The Majestic Restaurant is launching our new late night small plate Curtain Call Menu - served Thursdays 8-10PM & Fridays & Saturdays 9-11PM.

Join us after your next show for a light supper, cocktails and dessert!

Also, check out recent changes to our appetizer and happy hour menus including our housemade "Corndogs", Tuscan White Bean Puree with Black Tuffle Oil, and our Majestic Gallette (crispy potato pancake with grilled portabellos, roasted red peppers, carmelized onions, and manchego cheese topped with balsalmic reduction).

More information

My last one

2011-06-15T07:51:00.006-05:00

Les Bleus are no longer anymore. Our last season ended with a victory but that was not enough to keep everyone happy. This is surely my last writing on this blog.

It started years ago when my son was 5 years old. A group of friend from the same school started the team and I was coaching. People were asking "how come we don't have a French coach? That was funny. For years, we played recreational at JCPRD with the same chore of players. My idea was that if you are friend outside the field, your game on the field should be better. We stayed recreational until the boys were 10 years old.

In Fall 2008, we went to compete against soccer clubs. Just starting in premeir, the league added me on division 3. I wanted division 2. Now the problems started. My colleague and parents started to influence me. The world of competitiveness is insane.

In sport or business, people are hypocrites. I just read something about free market this morning on the newspaper for the liquors store. There is no free market otherwise we should not bailout our banks when something goes wrong. It is like religion - there is a church for everyone. I understand that people want to learn and get close to their faith but if we had one church. We have one book with so many way to teach - Would it be less confusing if we had only one, like school?
It is the same in sports. You have so many clubs and they are spreading the talent. Coaching is ungratefully job and parents will look at different options all the time. My philosophy was trying to teach the love of the game and create a good environment.

Apparently I felt. I should not have giving up on my teaching, philosophy of life, should not pay attention around me and focus on the kids. Now I regret that but it is too late. I saw a kid that I coached for only one season when he was 13 years old. It is refreshing that somehow you can influence some kids and you are doing it for these reasons. Giving something to them. I have been influenced by others to take me away from my road. Now it is over, I can start again. It doesn't matter to be competitive or whatever, they need love, love of the game, instruction to get better. They don't need to go to a different club or academy. If the kid is talented - it will work out. It is difficult to understand that because it is like everything else, it is a business.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to coaching. Are academy team coaches automatically better than other coaches?

No matter what, I made mistakes - my team is over. I was sad because I know I should not have giving up on teaching because of emotions... but I am also human!

Good luck to the kids...

Soccer Academy

2011-05-25T14:28:00.002-05:00

US Soccer started the US developmental Academy in 2007. This was a result of an extensive review on soccer development in the US. The idea was to identify elite male athletes, put them to reach full potential.

Of course, it is not perfect system because of the size of the US. That means the national team is made up of players from academy system not the entire nation. And who are these scouts?

Now we have Sporting KC connected with the largest club, Blue Valley. Are the coaches going to do something different? Is it good for MLS teams to sign home grown players?

. I felt that for all of you whose children are are of age to try out for the Sporting KC Juniors Development Academy teams (U15/U16 and U17/U18) or their U13/14 team it will give you food for thought. FYI, going forward Sporting KC Juniors will only have 3 teams in the mentioned age groups, hence annually "graduating" players form the U13/14 to the U15/16 Development Academy team. I say "graduating" because if a player can not play in the Development Academy he will be replaced and send back to BV!

I will close by saying that development is personal choice whether in soccer, basketball, any other sport or academics. In my opinion, in the case of soccer it must be a fit that includes a review of the following:
• Financial commitment: nothing is free and no one plays for free anywhere including in our club.
• Development needs based on the four pillars of the game: psychological, physical, technical and tactical.
• Coaching style, philopsophy and methodology: is it clearly defined; is there planning; do you see teams/players developing.
• Balance of the team: administration, coaches, players and parents.
• Competitive environment: types of competition, location/travel demands.

Interesting article from the KC Star

2011-02-22T19:25:00.002-06:00

Terez A. Paylor
The Kansas City Star

In many ways, Kevin Ellis’ story is one of redemption.

After Ellis, a defender, was announced as Sporting KC’s second-ever Homegrown Player at a news conference Friday, coach Peter Vermes rained praise on him, using terms like “huge upside,” “impact” and “huge ceiling.”

But the truth is: Ellis, a 19-year-old Oak Park graduate who spent the last two years at Barton County Community College, hasn’t always been in Vermes’ good graces.

“He came out last year and tried out with us, and he wasn’t ready from a number of perspectives,” Vermes said.

Ellis was invited to the team’s three-day combine in Kansas City last January before Sporting KC’s annual departure to Phoenix for preseason training. But Vermes didn’t like what he saw from Ellis, a former Wizards’ junior player, and dismissed him before the trip.

“He wasn’t prepared physically at all, and his attitude was one where he thought he’d already arrived,” Vermes said. “I basically told him afterward that these opportunities don’t come along much — some guys would die for one — and you basically threw it away.”

Vermes also warned Ellis that if he ever got another chance, he had better be prepared.

And Ellis couldn’t have been more terrified.

“It devastated me,” Ellis said. “My dream is to play professional soccer, and to have the professional coach tell you that you wasted an opportunity and you’re not ready, it hurt. I didn’t want that feeling again.”

Ellis, however, heeded Vermes’ words. He says he started eating right every day and taking better care of himself. He called Vermes after Sporting KC — then known as the Wizards — finished its season, got the offseason workout plan that the players on the big club had to follow and followed it to the letter.

“It was challenging, mentally and physically,” said Ellis, who adhered to the plan despite his coursework. “A couple of hours every day I was in the gym, and I spent another hour and a half each day working on my game.”

When he returned to the three-day combine this January, he looked like a different player. He was in shape. He knew what he was doing. And most important, he had the right attitude. He earned the trip to preseason camp — the only juniors player to do so this season — and kept improving until Vermes felt he had no choice but to give Ellis a chance to join the big club.

“He didn’t just develop as a player, he matured as an individual,” Vermes said. “I’m really happy for the kid, because I love to see when someone is successful. He worked his butt off to get the chance he has.”

And while Vermes added that it’s safe to assume Ellis will spend much of the season playing in the brand-new reserve league – along with goalkeeper Jon Kempin, SKC’s first Homegrown Player – there’s no doubt in his mind that he has a chance to do some special things somewhere down the road.

“This kid has a huge, huge ceiling, a huge upside,” Vermes said. “I don’t know how far he is from reaching his potential, but he’s already making an impact.”

And this much is for sure – after his initial scare, you don’t have to worry about Ellis letting up.

“When something like that happens and you have opportunity to play for a professional team, the truth is a lot of guys don’t get a second chance,” Ellis said. “But I told myself I’m going to keep working hard, because I’m not going to have any regrets.”

2011

2011-01-05T07:13:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!
FSA Les Bleus—U12 Boys—D1
Our goal is to create a team with players who truly enjoy the game and playing together. We will strive to help each individual fulfill their potentials with challenging and enjoyable weekly practices. www.kcforcesoccer.com
I plan to develop a winning attitude that will approach every game with a serious desire to play well. We are in a phase that I will still focus on developping individuals but starting to move the ball around more. Physical attitudes are going to be more and more important too. Soccer is very physical. A professional soccer player is running an average of 10 km per game!
In long term, we are planning to create a team for 2012 to play at State Cup with success.

Players

2010-10-07T12:58:00.002-05:00

We need players for Spring. Boys U12 - Division 1 at Heartland. Please contact Laurent Denis at 913.269.3286

The Christmas Tree

2010-09-17T14:51:00.004-05:00

The World cup has been the tournament of 4-2-3-1 which Spain adopted against Germany and stopped trying to squeeze Fernando Torres and David Villa into the same side, fiddled with the line of three, pulling Xavi back and pushing Andres Iniesta and Pedro forward so it almost becomes 4-2-1-3, which seems to be the route club football is taking.
Argentina did have a creative, deep-lying midfielder in their squad, but Maradona seduced by the firepower on show in his all new Tevez-Messi-Higuain attack, elected to leave Veron on the bench for the quarterfinal massacre at the hands of Germany. By selecting Tevez instead of Veron, Maradona left Mascherrano completely isolated against 3 germans in the center of midfield.
It is very difficult to establish control of the game without a composed player operating in central areas who is capable of picking a pass and either slowing or raising the tempo when necessary.
Deploying 2 destroyers leaves a team bereft of that control in the middle of the pitch and unhealthily dependent on their forwards for inspiration. Deploying just one nominally defensive midfielder against a well equiped 4-2-3-1 as both England and Argentina can testify, often can be a sure fire shortcut to humiliation.

FIFA Ranking

2010-09-15T07:02:00.001-05:00

World Cup champion Spain stayed at the top of FIFA's world rankings on Wednesday, and Germany and England have risen after back-to-back wins in European Championship qualifiers.

The new rankings have France, which lost a home Euro 2012 qualifier to Belarus, dropping six places to No. 27 - its worst position since the rankings were introduced in 1993.

Spain's 4-1 loss to Argentina in a friendly last week meant its lead narrowed over the second-place Netherlands. Germany is No. 3, and Brazil dropped to No. 4.

Argentina stayed at No. 5, with England now sixth ahead of Uruguay. Portugal, African champion Egypt and Chile.

FIFA updated the standings, which weigh results over a four-year cycle, using 159 international matches played over five weeks. Euro 2012 and 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers carried the most points.

Norway and Slovakia each used a pair of wins to jump to No. 14 and No. 16, respectively - the Slovaks' best ever - and Turkey rose seven places to No. 21.

The United States remains at No. 18 and World Cup quarterfinalist Ghana climbed three to No. 20.

Switzerland, Australia and Russia dropped out of the top 20. The Australians remain the top Asian confederation nation at No. 24.

Rank Team Points Confederation
1 Spain
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 Brazil
5 Argentina
6 England
7 Uruguay
8 Portugal
9 Egypt
10 Chile

Wow! Great Weekend

2010-09-06T07:20:00.003-05:00

Legacy Park, Lee's Summit - September 3-6 2010
Finalists Boys U13 DII
Maybe one day, we will play our age group and win a tournament. I chose Fall Brawl because I thought that would be a good tournament for us. Of course, the club asked us to play up because they told me that it would be too easy for us to play U12. It was too late for me to find another tournament so we ended up to play U13 boys and 11 vs 11.
That was the first time, we played on a big field. We didn't have any expectations because we have only 11 players. We had 2 guest players from KC Legends.
So nothing is easy in life! We started with a tie, a win and a lost but we endep up in the final! Of course, we ran off juice. Having only 2 subs, playing up, we craked down at the last 5mm of the game but I am very proud of my little boys! They played "Beautiful"

Are Formations a top priority?

2010-08-25T15:09:00.003-05:00

Soccer, just like anything else goes through phases, evolving and changing over time. One clear aspect is the debate over formations and systems of play used in modern day soccer. Have you found yourself asking the question, "should I play a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3? I know I have but at the end of day that is not the top priority.

There are a tons of books, videos and coaching courses geared toward understanding the details, nuances of various systems and formations. It is important to know the difference, their strengths and weaknesses at the highest level. Should it be a top priority for young soccer development?

Regardless of being on defense or offense, soccer players need to adjust constantly ot the situation around them. Where is the ball? Where are my teammates? Where are the opponents? How can I help? All are constant questions and anwers that need addressing every second of every game. This requires constant focus, awareness, endurance, communication and effort.

It is not as easy as it sounds.

Teaching the love of the Game

2010-08-23T17:29:00.002-05:00

Coaches occupy multiple roles in children's lives as sport participants. Coaches must be excellent instructors so that youths learn and improve skills, increase knowledge of strategies and tactics and achieve their goals. Coaches also can inspire children to maintain motivation for participating in sports.

We need to get all involved:
Coaches, parents, peers (teammates, close friends) => perceived competence => Enjoyment & Motivation.

I want to thanks the Owen for the party on Saturday. I will continue to motivate athletes by teaching them self-regulated learning strategies, which allow children to depend on themselves, not only adult.

The major reasons children play sports is to develop and demonstrate physical competence, experience positive social interactions with adults and peers and have fun and enjoyable times. We all need to embrace the love of the game.

Soccer in America

2010-06-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

Jurgen Klinsmann, who lives in the US, had his comments on the state of US Soccer both present and future and didn't mince words.

"Looking at the game yesterday you had three really quality players that did not live up to their expectations, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard. They were not there. It was not their game last night and if they do not step up to the world stage then you cant expect Michael Bradley and the other ones to pull it all off. I think its really important that they lay out a philosophy for US Soccer and say where do we want to go. I mean hopefully the US will get the 2022 World Cup… and so you need to know how to develop the players.

It is very difficult within the American culture to talk about that topic because you are the only country in the world that has the pyramid upside down. That means you pay for having your kid play soccer, because your goal is not that your kid becomes professional soccer player because your goal is that your kid gets a scholarship in high school or college. Which is completely opposite from the rest of the world…and it is a tough one because soccer is very similar to basketball you need it out of the lower class environment.

Soccer worldwide is a lower environment sport. We all got up from moderate families and fought our way through. You need to keep this hunger throughout your life and I compare it to basketball because all these guys are coming form the inner cities so you need to find ways, whatever they may be to connect with the Hispanics, connect with everyone and get the kids that are really hungry. To get the kids on a technical level that are able to perform and what I mean by technical level is first touch. The first touch yesterday was not there and you cannot afford those in the WC."

Tryouts

2010-06-14T08:25:00.002-05:00

Force Soccer Academy
June 19 - Stoll Park Field E
1-3pm
Need players for:
U10 girls - New team
U13 girls - few left
U14 girls - few left
U15 girls - few left
www.kcforcesoccer.com

KC Fans

2010-05-20T05:49:00.000-05:00

Laurent Denis has no such qualms.
A native of Bordeaux (like the wine), he married a woman from Kansas City and moved here in 1995. Just three years later, he was at Le Fou Frog watching the French national team win the World Cup title by crushing Brazil 3-0 in Paris.

“We had a bunch of friends screaming and waving flags,” Denis said, “and I painted my face.”
To be fair, he only put the French flag on each cheek.
Denis, who coaches the Force Soccer Academy, believes the World Cup is a great time for young players to learn from the best.

“I’ve been coaching youth soccer for the last 10 years,” Denis said. “I tell the parents if they want their kids to get better in this sport, then they need to watch it. And the World Cup is the right time to watch it, because these are the best players in the world.”

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/08/1933468/kansas-city-fans-who-support-soccer.html#ixzz0oSv6I6c4

Kansas City fans who support soccer teams from other lands are excited for World Cup to begin - KansasCity.com

2010-05-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Kansas City fans who support soccer teams from other lands are excited for World Cup to begin - KansasCity.com

WAKA WAKA - This Time for Africa - by Shakira - South Africa 2010 World ...

2010-05-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

World Cup

2010-04-18T16:24:00.003-05:00

Here’s the full ESPN World Cup 2010 TV schedule, image captured and pasted from this ESPN press release:

Elevate Game awareness

2010-04-15T15:57:00.002-05:00

Do your kid watch enough soccer to elevate us to the next level as a soccer playing nation?
Most of our kids started to play as early as age 5. Most typically play recreational with friends and dad's coach. The better players move on and play for clubs, high schools and colleges.
However, our kids spend a little, if any, time watching top-level soccer. This developmental path leads to certain generic strenghs and weaknesses in our player development.
In general, the strengths of our players are that they are athletic and technically good and they have a terrific work ethic and team mentality.
On the flip side, players are lacking of creativity and tactical or game awareness. At our age group, the lack of understanding of the subtleties of the game and the tactical is penalizing us.
Making the family watching soccer will help your kids but also the parents love for the game... And maybe they will chose soccer first instead of other sports :)

Soccer in America

2010-03-26T06:28:00.002-05:00

How do we measure player development?
Too often in America, a professional sport model is used in measuring youth sports success. Youth soccer is not immune to this misapplied standard. For soccer the situation is made worse by a desire of many adults to use measuring tools from other sports. In fact, it is maddening to many adults that soccer is not as black and white as with some sports in judging successful play. Many team sports played in our nation are statistically driven and coach centered.

Soccer is neither of those!

In many sports the coach makes crucial decisions during the competition. In soccer players make the primary decisions during the match; the coach's decisions are of secondary importance. Ego-centric personalities will find coaching soccer troublesome. The other significant group of adults at a youth soccer match is parents. They too often have their view of the match colored by the professional model and by a view of "coaching" that is portrayed in the media. Although it is changing, the majority of parents watching their kids play soccer have never played the game. In fact the statistics show that most of today's parents never played any team sport. So their only exposure on how to measure sporting success is gleaned from the sports media. The sports media predominately report on adult teams at the college and professional levels. These adult measurements of team performance should not and cannot be applied to youth sports.

The analogy can be made to a youngster's academic development in preparation for work in the adult business world. While the child is in primary and secondary school, the corporate world measurements of success are not applied. Those business assessments are not yet appropriate because the school-aged student does not yet have the tools to compete in the adult business environment. The knowledge and skills to be a competitor in business are still being taught and learned. This holds true in soccer as well!

This analogy is driven me nuts! Yes, we are teaching discipline, hard work but we are here to teach something fun! How parents have turned youth sports into a high-pressure, big-money enterprise at the expense of their children. In America, it is even worse than other countries because traditionally with have baseball, basketball and football that are being played in College and shown on TV!

Me, I have one question! How do you want your kid to excel in sports? Playing all the sports when they are young at a very competitive level, that is nuts!

Adults don't have 3 jobs in the same time! They won't be good at none of them! Why do they do that with our kids in sports?

What makes a great coach?

2010-02-17T06:38:00.002-06:00

So everyone knows that I am great! Wow, that is a good start! I watched last night Lyon vs Real Madrid. The Real is the most expensive roster in the world and guess what? They lost against Lyon!

After all, it made me think about team and coaches. You can have the best players in the world and be incapable of making them play together. The great coaches understand that coaching in not only Xs and Os (technical skill) but much more. They have durability, determination, resilience, energy, intuition and passion.

A coach has also to have a vision.
Strategy: Is there a long-term plan or vision for the team or club?
Tactics: The elite coaches can wrong foot opponents, change match, win a match...
Team building: This is my believe. Real Madrid learned that 11 "galacticos" won't make the best team. Players who are workers are just as important as the superstars.

Good fundations in skills, motivations, compatibilty players and little of intuition make the perfect coach!

Passion

2010-02-05T15:51:00.002-06:00

Is there anyone reading my blog? Is there anyone who can tell me why are we pushing our kids in sports so much? Knowing that 70% of America’s children are abandoning organized sports by age 13.

And in addition, soccer is not the first sport! Now, if I am talking about my own kids, there is one who runs all the time and he is having fun. He is a very good athlete and performs all the time. Why? Because he is having fun… The oldest one, she is physically strong, could be a great soccer player but efforts equal pain. I went for a jugging with her and we practiced 1v1. I asked her to be more aggressive when she practices and plays. She did last practice but she got into the car and said that she was tired…. Man! Ok you are going to tell me, boys and girls are different! Yeah! You don’t have to be Einstein for figure out! But there is a major difference, one runs because he likes it, the other because she has to.

My friend called me today and said “I know why Americans are less good in soccer than other countries” “because of Nintendo” Well, it is a fact that rich people don’t play sport anymore and stop at 13. If you look at the kids who play sport, I won’t be sure at 100% but I will say the ethnic is different. Brazil, Argentinean have the best soccer players in the world because they are coming from poor family. In Europe, there are less and less white players…

So it is difficult when you are a coach of soccer that doesn’t get pay, who does it with passion to figure out what is going to happen in long term. Basketball, Baseball are priorities in this environment. Like me, don’t ask me to watch football. I don’t get it and feel it is too slow for me. I grew with speed track in motorcycle and soccer. My friend is teaching me the game of football but it is not my cup of tea. So I know that for all parents, it is the same when they watch a soccer game…

My goal is to teach a wonderful game and have fun with the kids. I would like for them to be passionate about it and have fun with it. When they need to run, they do it because they love it, not because they have to…

At the end, it is just about passion!

Talent vs Teamwork

2010-02-02T06:38:00.002-06:00

The one of the teachings more marked of this CAN 2010, this is the chronic inability of the French-speaking countries of Black Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroon), to play as a team. One there finds nevertheless the better individualities of the Continent but that forms only an addition of players gifted. Not a collective one. And as often by the past, that was not enough against teams with less provided in pure talent but animated with a state of mind and of a superior collective force.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy winning our D1! It scared me more than anything else because I thought right away about Spring! Scared because we have to reproduce the same quality of game. Is it possible?

Athletic performance is mainly determined by technical and physical abilities are stable elements that will not change or fluctuate within a short period of time. The psychological aspect is one of the most important. Athletes need to build self-confidence.

One aspect we are missing right now, I know it is winter and I am starting to worry too much! It is the trust and teamwork. We have some talents but we don't have a team right now.

I am going to need some helps!

1v1 situation

2010-01-18T07:06:00.002-06:00

It is no secret that one of the most important situation during a soccer game is the 1 v. 1 matchup. During the course of a game, attackers have to decide whether to beat an opponent by dribbling past him or her, or passing the ball, while defenders try to prevent opponent to get near the goal and score.

To be effective in the 1v1 situation each player must have a good overall technical and tactical understanding. In many cases the outcome of a game is a direct result of the various 1v1 opportunities the team is able to win.

Coaching youth soccer should emphasis the 1v1, the basic skills of control and passing. As kids get older, progress to team play and organization should be including.

Creating a winning team takes time, effort, patience and skill.

Cooking vs Coaching

2010-01-17T07:00:00.004-06:00

What is the major difference between a chef and a cook? Some people will say, experience, knowledge and talent. I will say feelings! A chef has to look at his ingredients and try to make the best of it. Each ingredients are different. Each seasons, ingredients have different flavors.

You take a lemon in December or June, they will be a different but it is still a lemon! Coaching is like cooking, you have some ingredients and you have to try to make the best Mayonnaise possible! Some days, your ingredients won’t play correctly and you have to try to adjust your recipe. When I am cooking, I can’t following a recipe. I know what I want and I improvise with my ingredients. Of course, there is basic that you can’t avoid.

Yesterday I was watching Inter Milan, where Mourinho is an incredible chef. During the game, I thought Muntari was not playing very well and Inter Milan was down 2-0. At 64mm, Mourinho subbed Muntari with another player. 3mm latter, 2-2! That is cooking! Mourinho said something about Italy versus England or other coaches like Wenger, Peterson where coaches have a vision and the clubs give them the time to create their recipe. Mourinho was complaining that in Italy, he doesn’t have the time to create his recipe and the club wants to have results quickly.

My friend said that he thought we should try to win with a different recipe. First when he told me this, I listen and finally realized that is the real point. It is not about winning but developing.

I think it is pretty sad when you are watching young soccer. This is not soccer. You can have five cooks in a box and none of them was a chef! Most of my experience in coaching or watching other teams playing soccer struggle to win. There is no development of players. Coaches are following one recipe and try to stick with it. It is so frustrating sometimes. They don’t pay attention of their ingredients. This is the age-old approach of trying to fit players into the games played and defined by adults. They are missing some fundamental building recipes - understanding how young players learn and applying those concepts to the free-flowing, problem-solving nature of the game. Of course, we are not talking about professionals soccer players. So we have to develop our players. Win or lose, that is not the point. We should focus on training, fitness and having fun.

My goal is to be able to have players that are skillful, experiment and strong. After it requires “elite” players. Like Tony says “not all horses can jump” which is true but only because we are at the highest level.

I would like parents and my best friend to realize that it has not been ever about wining but developing. If somehow, I will have time to convince everyone that it is a fun game and my kids are improving. I would rather watching a game where the players are playing well than just win because the coach is better than the other one. I would rather to hear “wow, these kids are improving” than “my kid is getting fit” or “great game” because we won. What is going to happen if I lose?

We need to focus on using our resources to train or hire better coaches to work with more coaches and players, even across club lines, rather than continue to have clubs compete for the same coaches or players.

Coaching is a craft, not a science!

Thierry Henry

2009-12-04T06:25:00.002-06:00

Not since Zinedine Zidane lined up Marco Materazzi’s chest with his head in Berlin over three years ago have so many opinions, distortions, hyperbole and hypocritical utterances been spewed forth.

The “Henry Incident” has provided an opportunity for outlandish stereo-typing and xenophobia. Opportunists have embraced a platform from which to moralize while others see the chance to advocate the red herring solution of video replay. (When Tony Cascarino lectures on ethics and fair play and isn’t laughed out of town then the apocalypse must be at hand.)

Certainly the goal should have been disallowed and the Republic of Ireland and their fans have a right to be aggrieved and to feel badly let down. The officials got the call wrong – either through not seeing the play or wrongly interpreting Henry’s actions. However, the debate was quickly hijacked and rapidly distorted. The hijackers seem to fall into three categories.

First of all we have the “the what will we tell the kids?” faction and the “it just reinforces the view that cheats win,” multitude. To the first tell the kids the same thing that you tell them when someone does something bad but prospers. Bad things happen in life and some nasty people do benefit – sport is no different. It doesn’t mean you have to take the same route.

As for the latter it is not only simplistic but also wrong-headed. It is no truer than the assertion that people who don’t cheat always lose. (If you do happen to believe that then please take a place in chronic cynics’ corner, far far away.)

The second group is the souls who believe technology will cure all and the latest occurrence proves irrefutably that it is time for the camera to be used. It is a very cute way of avoiding the debate about the full ramifications of using technology to review calls that are almost always subjective rather than objective. Video technology may arguably be less likely to bring consensus than our present method.

Technology advocates are often zealots and refuse to countenance the possibility that the law of unintended consequences may kick in. Essentially the law – which is not actually “a law” – relates to the unintended results that accrue from a course of action that might in fact be counter to the intended results.

Rather than video replays ensuring fairness and light for all could it encourage players to cheat even more on the basis that “if I am doing something wrong it is up to camera to catch it?”

Such a possibility only increases when it is suggested that the use of replays would not interrupt play because they would be capped. (Isn’t a paradoxical position to claim that “irrefutable evidence” should be used but only once each half?). “Cheating” might become less overt but much more insidious.

The final clique is the “Henry is a cheat” bandwagon-jumpers. (Is is just a coincidence that such a high percentage of video proponents also seem quick to besmirch Henry? Perhaps it comes from watching replay after replay is super-slow-mo and the V-Js have forgotten that the game is played in real time.)

Cheating surely requires premeditation. From the time the ball skips off the turf to the time it leaves Henry’s hand it can be no longer than one second. Essentially Henry had to deal with the following in that miniscule amount of time. The game was in extra time, he was traveling at a good clip towards the Irish goal, the ball was skipping off a greasy surface and heading towards him at an angle.

To “cheat” Henry would have had to act with a level of premeditation that would be nothing short of superhuman. (This is not supporting the notion that Henry did not commit a foul – there is no direct requirement for intent - by the conventional meaning - in the laws of the game. Undoubtedly the goal should not have been allowed to stand.)

But surely it is a case of a player reacting in a way that is quiet natural given the circumstances and in particular the time available. A defender on the goal line and with a ball blasted at him within arm’s length will almost always move his hand towards the ball. In both instances it is an instinct fine tuned through thousands of hours of practice and playing.

To label Henry a cheat in such circumstances requires us to cast a wide net over almost everyone who has ever played the game. Handball – cheat, pushing off a defender- cheat, picking a defender at a corner kick – cheat, moving ten yards up the touchline for a throw-in – cheat.

That leaves us with the failure by Henry to admit to the referee that the ball stuck his arm and hand. The French captain is taking a roasting for that as well. The laws of the game do not require self policing by players but that can be written in if the powers-that-be see the advantages of such a system.

We could then look forward to the day when a defender admits to a referee that he did in fact trip the opponent and insist on being sent off. Or in the absence of such a change can we look forward to the same level of indignant protests that we have seen and heard in the last 24-hours the next time a defender fails to own up to a wrong-doing?

HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE
With the Thierry Henry incident top-of-mind the newspapers have been quick to recount other injustices. One that I remember well (or I certainly thought I remembered it well) was the penalty given against Wales in a World Cup qualifying game against Scotland at Anfield in 1977.

The score was 0-0 at the time and although Scotland would score a late second goal through Kenny Dalglish the Jordan/Jones incident was a critical event in the game.

The reason I say “thought’ is because I have come upon a couple of articles that are at odds with my recollection. Here is how the Daily Telegraph described the incident,

“In the 78th minute of Scotland’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Wales at Anfield, striker Joe Jordan rose with defender Dave Jones to challenge for Asa Hartford’s throw into the box. To the surprise of the Welsh fans and players, referee Robert Wurtz pointed to the spot believing Jones to have flicked on the ball with his hand while TV replays showed otherwise. Scotland duly scored to book their place at the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina.”

First of all I remember it as being a long-throw from Willie Johnston and a quick check of some reputable sources confirmed that to be the case. As for Welsh fans and players being surprised – well that surprises me. In fact I don’t recollect it generating much controversy at the specific moment or even right after the match.

As for TV replays showing otherwise – again that is very much at odds with how I remember things unfolding. The quality of television replays was poor 30 plus years ago and I never saw nor have I seen a replay that conclusively shows Jordan punching the ball rather than the Welsh defender David Jones.

However, a Scottish Sunday paper (Sunday Mail perhaps?) was the first to print an enhanced picture that showed Jordan’s fist making contact with the ball rather than Jones. That was five days later.

Paul James in the Globe and Mail also has a different version than the facts of the time.

“After seeing Thierry Henry's get away with a blatant handball in last night's pivotal World Cup qualifier between France and Ireland it was difficult to not recall a similar incident back in 1977 when Wales played Scotland in their all important final qualifying game.”

Well it certainly seems difficult to recall it correctly. It was indeed Scotland’s final game but it was not the case for Wales.

It was a three country group and before the Anfield match the table looked like this; Scotland P3, Pts 4, Czechoslovakia P3, Pts 2, Wales P2, Pts 2. A Wales win over Scotland would have certainly made them favourites to qualify but it would have been far from certain.

In fact, a Wales win would have pulled Czechoslovakia back into contention and there would have been a possibility of a three way tie at the completion of group play.

At that time Czechoslovakia were the European Champions after beating the then reigning World and European Champions West Germany in the 1976 final. Hardly a slam-dunk even if a draw would have been all Wales needed.

A draw with Scotland would have left Wales needing a win – again hardly a fait accompli.

The penalty decision was unjust and rightly grieved by what was at the time a fine Welsh side. However, to imply in any way that the decision solely stopped Wales from reaching the World Cup Finals is a distortion of the facts.
BobbyMcMahon

tough coaches, delicate balance

2009-11-20T05:43:00.003-06:00

There were an article in the Kansas City Star magazine about coaches yelling at their athletes, saying that players are quitting organized sports before the age of 13, blaming overly aggressive coaching more than any other reason.

Personally, I grew up in environment where I wasn't able to talk at dinner,had to be back at home at a certain hour after school, being respectful to the rules, being polite all the time. It always annoy me when a kid comes to my house and don't say "hi".

"The win-at-all-costs mentality" is it the reason? Coaches are forgetting that they are kids? Or are we pushing then too far? My friends is pushing me more all the time and he is telling me when he was young, he was doing this and that... but at the end of the story, we should ask ourself, Why?

Personally, I am trying to find a balance. I want for my players to be able to enjoy and also perform but with fun. I think when we saw the way they played last weekend, they provided great soccer. That was beautiful. Should it be enough? Or when our team stops to win, though, society begins to shine a spotlight on coaching behavior?

Then we're more likely to say "hey, that's wrong"... difficult balance!

Thierry Henry

2009-11-19T18:58:00.003-06:00

THIERRY HENRY HANDBALL KILLS IRELAND DREAM! So what! Is it the first time that a player is cheating? Not really! Yes, it is bad. France didn't play well. Irish were much better team on the field but the referee could have blew for penalty kick on the first game and this game for France. He didn't...

If we want players to be able to play honestly, we need video... by the way, the only player who got caught by video is Zidane. Final of the world cup. If we didn't have the video the ref. wouldn't have given a red card...

So sorry! It is sad but it is soccer...

The Poulidor of the soccer

2009-11-16T16:27:00.005-06:00

Raymond Poulidor is a former professional bicycle racer. He was known as the eternal second, because he finished the Tour de France in second place three times. I am thinking that we are becoming the Poulidor of soccer!

We started our game with a 1-3-2-2 formation. Our opponent started with a 1-2-3-2. They were more aggressive and were playing a perfect triangle formation. Our defense was suprised and could not really react. It seems they were frozen. Ok, it was raining and freezing. After few minutes, we were down 2-0. I could not keep going like that so I switched formation and position. I came up with a 1-2-3-2 like them. Right away, we were starting to play and control better the middle of the field. Suddenly my midfielder had a great left foot and we were 2-1 at half time.

Second half, we started with the same formation and asked my boys to be more aggressive on the ball. They did. We equalized with the right middle field, finally waking up, who crossed the perfect ball to our striker who finished it! 2-2! But having 5 subs during a tournament helps the fatigue. They scored right away after a mistake. 3-2. It is difficult and I am trying to tell them to cheer between them. They were quiet. Suddenly, we attacked again and got a penalty kick! I should have asked for a red card but my brain was so frozen and I am a nice guy! Well I didn't think about it anyway! 3-3...

I was starting to believe it but suddenly, we are making another (I don't like to use the word stupid but...) mistakes that we were not making if we were not tired. 4-3. They didn't have any more juice... 5-3!

Well we need to realize that they have been playing together longer than us and they have 13 players that are balanced. Now we were playing in Division Platinum!!! And last fall we were in D3... So ok we lost but we will be back!

Not so Great Expectations

2009-10-26T15:18:00.006-05:00

Now that we almost won our league, what are we going to expect from our boys? Our last game against a younger team, was unlucky but it is soccer. We had our chances and didn't go through! We tied!

So how did these kids get so good a such a young age? Some of these kids have been playing premier for a while, when we started at U10. They have been trained through some academies and camps. The players passed, played the wall pass, played one and two touch, attacked the goal with combination play and worked hard on defense. They were fun to watch!

So should we push our players more? Should we expect more from them? In France, we played at school on concrete floor, with lines, no standing around and all children are playing, whether it is even or uneven numbers on each team. It was fun!

We came from recreational and we accomplished to be in D1 and finalist! But I want more. I want them to like this game, like I do. I want them to perform all the time and play hard in defense. Juggle more, pass more. And like always I can't do it by myself! I still need your help to commit even more! I know Basketball is coming, soccer will be second.... but we won't be like the younger team, if we don't expect more from our players! What do you think?

INTERNATIONAL STORIES FROM LES BLEUS YOUTH SOCCER TEAM!

2009-10-21T20:14:00.004-05:00

INTERNATIONAL STORIES FROM LES BLEUS YOUTH SOCCER TEAM!
It’s very unusual, to find a kids’ soccer team made up of many boys with international backgrounds, right in the heart of suburban Overland Park, Kansas! But the draw of “Les Bleus” (The Blues) starts with their outstanding coach, Laurent Denis.

Laurent was born in France, and since he was a boy, he has loved soccer. In his youth, he was an enthusiastic team member of “Les Coqs Rouges” (The Red Roosters), a city football (soccer) club, and played until he was 18.

Laurent moved to America in 1995 to start his own business. (He and his wife Kathy own the magazine and website Restaurant Guide of Kansas City.) At the same time, he began teaching young children to play soccer. He earned his Advanced Regional Diploma in coaching and the NSCAA National Diploma. Since then, Laurent has been coaching some of the best youngsters at the soccer “rush.”

"Les Bleus were finalists in our first tournament in Topeka, and won our division at Heartland Soccer (http://www.heartlandsoccer.net/), undefeated!” this coach reports. “It was our first time playing competitive soccer, and we were able to move to a higher level of competition. It’s still all about having fun!”

Laurent has served as Director of Johnson County Park & Recreational Academy, and is currently coaching his premier teams of U10 boys. For him, coaching has never been a job, but a passion.

“My goal is to instruct, provide and increase coaching knowledge, in order to maximize the development of our youth soccer football players,” he says. “I want to create a great atmosphere for parents and kids. What we have is a big family. My kids and I play the same way. Next season, I will join the FC Porto Club. We will combine the international soccer team for guys like me with the U10 boys’ team next season.”

Watching soccer

2009-09-27T14:30:00.002-05:00

Not only we need to play with a positive attitude and have fun, we need to understand the game. Most of our soccer players are suburban and 2 criticisms that often are leveled at most players are that they don't have a game awareness.

Not only, coaches have 2 hours per week to train, generally soccer is not part of their environment.

Soccer players will take their game to the next level by practicing on their own, by playing soccer with their friends outside the team environment and by watching the game.

We have seen some big improvements around us. Adrian has a record of 109 juggling, Quinlan (I think) 99, Julien 144, Me 145!!! Watching soccer regularly - especially having an idol or following a team - serves to inspire to work harder in order to improve.

Nature

2009-09-27T08:37:00.004-05:00

How can the human mind and body interact? In order to lift a finger, we would have to sacrifice free will or break the laws of nature. Spinoza responded to this problem by claiming that mental and physical phenomena are attributes of a single substance. For Spinoza, there is only one substance: God is not separate from nature. God is nature. God created us as his own image. So our kids are our mirror.
I jumped very fast! Kids grow up but we influence them all the time. As parents and coaches we have to make sure we influence them in the right direction.

A player's relationship with his partner, his friend will reflect during a game. In the team, it is about creating a common purpose. That's next to impossible if the individuals don't come in with a clear mind and if the group of parents are not together.

If we have 11 kids with critical mass - no egos, but total belief in the theory that "together we're stronger" that's when the magic happens.

Expectations for 2010

2009-07-17T10:23:00.002-05:00

Today in soccer at the highest levels, players cover mor than eight miles, including 1.8 miles of high intensity sprinting, per game. The number of sprints in the English Premiership has double since 2002. People argue that these distances will increase by 20% by 2025! Players are moving faster over longer distances and are bigger, stronger and more resistant to injury than even five years ago.

Future Game

Speed of movement, number of sprints and distances covered by players are increasing. Speed reaction to the events in the game is increasing.
Ability to play one-touch football is improving, more craft and deception before receiving the ball and prior to passing are commonplace. All players are expected to be technically proficient.
Shorter passing, a "possesion-based" game and the ability to play into, inside and through congested areas are vital. Long pinpoint vertical passes over the "block" also are becoming imperative.
Counterattacking is a priority. Development of counterattack mentality upon winning the ball and upon losing the ball is key.
Zonal back four with a holding midfielder is the only constant. Flexibility and interchangeability ahead of these five players is the norm.

Future Player

Extended technical range. Ability to control difficult passes at difficult speed is vital. All players in all positions will need to be technically proficient.
Must be multi-positional.
Must have composure, awareness and ability to operate in congested areas and to use the body to shield and retain the ball under pressure.
Possess speed, agility and power
Must be capable in 1v1 situations and at the same time understand the team's playing philosophy.

In resume

First weeks of training will focus on conditioning with ball, 1v1, 2v1 and 2v2.
Every players have to be able to do 25 juggles and more
After our first tournament will start focusing in one-touch receiving and passing, 4v4 and 5v5

I will expect discipline, motivation and intelligence (do you know why you make a mistake?) and the desire to become better. You can expect from me to study the game development contextually as well as the highest levels, study outside the sport and be a lifetime seeker, try to teach the players in a fun environment and have fun with them!

crazy

2009-06-07T10:55:00.005-05:00

There is an article almost every week in major publications concerning the evils, myths, and horrors of youth sports in America.

"Across America millions of children are being chewed up and spit out by a sports culture run amok", says Relin. Too many parents are more than willing to subject their kids to almost anything to follow the myth of the college athletic scholarship. According to NCAA statistics only 2.9% of high school athletes receive a college scholarship offer.

“There is a terrible imbalance between the needs kids have and the needs of the adults running their sports programs” says Dr. Bruce Svare, director of the National
Institute for Sports Reform. “Above all, kids need to have fun. Instead, adults are
providing unrealistic expectations and crushing pressure.”
As a result, Svare says, at a time when an epidemic of obesity is plaguing the nation’s youth, 70% of America’s children are abandoning organized sports by age 13. “The only way to reverse this crisis,” Svare argues, “is to fundamentally rethink the way America’s kids play organized sports.”

So where do we stand? Is the fundamental to give instruction and have the kids to play in a fun environment?

BARCA!

2009-05-28T15:30:00.003-05:00

Barcelona did it. While beaten Manchester United 2 goals to 0 in final of the League of the Champions, the Catalan ones sign a resounding trebled one and enter into the annals by the big door. And I ask myself THE question: did we not attend tonight to the triumph of the biggest team of the history of the game? To win one of the most prestigious competitions of club is one thing. But to win it in these conditions with such a mastery, with a totally modified defense and two offensive players of basis raising injury.

Frankly, I did not there believe a second before the game. Of as much as the ten first minutes clearly were at the advantage of the champion of England with a very urgent Ronaldo (three strikes in eight minutes). But after that, which demonstration of the Catalan ones. Technical quality, quality of game and of pass of course, which is the mark of factory of the club. But also a solidarity and a direction of the huge sacrifices, even from the attacks and this permanent will to play towards the before symbolized by Iniesta, without protests the game man tonight.
Watching games like that, makes me to continue even more to coach!

Tryouts

2009-05-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Success Story

2009-05-26T11:05:00.002-05:00

Les Bleus is leading the U10 Boys league at Heartland and will finish first or second. This position of excellence has been earned just through one year. Les Bleus started few years ago as a recreational team and moved up to Premier last Fall.

During Fall season, Les Bleus were undefeated and finish first. We moved to D2 in Spring. This accomplishment is due to our players and parents. Their commitment to soccer is evidenced in its love of the game.

Next year is going to be a new development and a new experience. Les Bleus will combine with FC Porto http://www.fcportokansas.com/

Tryouts are going to be June 13 & June 14 at Blue Valley Sport Complex (133 St. & Switzer)from 12:30pm to 2pm

Thanks to all the kids and parents that have played with passion and love for the game.

Juggling

2009-05-08T13:49:00.002-05:00

As in any other sport, the recipe for succes in soccer is equal parts talent and preparation. There is not much we can do about talent, but there is a lot we can do to prepare.
It is important that the boys spend a lot of time playing around with a soccer ball. No matter what positions they play, it is important that they have a high level of "feel" for the ball, and feel comes from nothing else but accumulating experience with a ball on your foot, not to mention their thights, chest and head, and hands if you are a goalkeeper.

And the best to do it is: JUGGLING.

Juggling is one good way to develop ball feel. But even better is kicking the ball against a wall and playing rebound in different ways. The best thing about this is most players enjoy it.

This said, I won't write their score of juggling from this week. Only 2 kids are above 20 juggling, and the rest did less than last month. If we start to lose games, don't look at me! I have tried to prevent....

Jack Jewsbury

2009-05-04T12:05:00.003-05:00

We are very grateful for Jack Jewsbery 's visit during our practice on April 28, 2009. Jewsbury was drafted 43rd overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards, and signed for a developmental contract.

Jewsbury has played all positions: striker, defender and now midfield defender, Jack became a significant utility player for the Wizards.

We played a few minutes with him and we can see how well he plays. Our kids enjoyed his visit and asked him several questions.

Thanks Jack !

joga bonito

2009-04-15T10:23:00.002-05:00

Knowing the brain

2009-03-23T09:35:00.003-05:00

Philosophy
You must love the game and want to share with the players a certain way of life, a way of seeing soccer.

I am always socked when I see young players that are not allowed to go forward if they play as defender. As coaches, we must constantly seek to become much more multi skilled. Working and learning in areas such as psychology, physiology, nutrition, human development, fitness, self development....

We know that people learn in many different ways. Some are more visually oriented, others learn best by hearing. (not with my accent!) For example, one player may be able to do exactly what you are asking the first time, but another may need to see it performed a few times first before giving it a go.

It is important for the kids to be concentrated and do his best of what I am asking for but also it is our job (coach and parents) to get involved emotionally. Our kids won't like this game, if we don't. They won't play hard if we are not passionated about it. Dr Donchin (University of Illinois) says "99 percent of all learning is non-conscious." Watch soccer on TV, play with them... Teach them without knowing it!

Hard Work

2009-01-28T20:54:00.002-06:00

Times are difficults. Do we have to play or compete?

We are going to have kids that are growing up... Our competition is going to be more difficult. We have to start to teack our kids to work hard and compete. Players who PLAY bring skill; players who COMPETE bring everything!

We have focused so much on playing that we haven’t taught players to compete, to fight, to work hard or to have the will to win. I am using "we" and you could say that I am the coach and it is my responsability but I need also your help for juggling and motivation etc...

Players lose motivation and confidence when the “work/play” is no longer easy. We haven't seen hard work only with few players.

Research is clear that constant praising of children’s innate ability (athletic or intellectual) can prevent them from living up to their potential. On the other hand, studies show that teaching young people to focus on effort rather then ability helps make them high achievers and competitors in school, on the field and in life.

Et voila, I may re-implement the patches in order to make them compete during practices, juggling and everything else...

Expectations

2009-01-07T08:19:00.004-06:00

Player Expectations:
• Players confident enough to take risks with the ball in training and game situations
• 25 juggles in one minute
Practice schedule and exercises
Every practice session is informed and shaped by observations from the previous match. However, we can sketch an outline of a typical session:
• Warm-up takes place indoors and consists of cycling, soccer tennis and strength exercises.
• The main session starts with small games focusing on attack tactics: short pass combinations, moving up from the backfield, and 1 v. 1 situations on the goal. Alternatively, this part of the session may also focus on technique, coordination or speed.
• Players then move on to practice positional play and finishing, as well as individual and group tactics such as the back four, defensive play for midfielders and attackers, offsides situations and defending in 1 v. 1 situations.
• The session concludes with endurance training: primarily practice games, occasionally running without the ball.
Objective:
• Win the Division II

6 years old!

2009-01-07T08:02:00.001-06:00

Tournaments

2008-12-02T20:58:00.000-06:00

Article by Dr. Jay Martin
Tournaments! Tournaments! Tournaments! They are swallowing youth soccer in this country! Everyone wants to play in tournaments!! Soccer America has an entire issue devoted to tournaments. Every soccer publication in this country lists pages of tournaments for our children to attend! Every year the biggest decision a club team makes is-which tournaments do we attend? Most clubs have a person or three who do nothing but prepare for tournaments! Stop the Tournaments I want to get off!!! Tournaments are hurting America’s soccer playing youth!!

Soccer tournaments started in this country as a way for clubs to make some money to pay the bills. Great idea. Clubs would sponsor a tournament early in a playing season, or in the summer when league play was suspended to make some cash. Now these tournaments rule youth soccer. It is now very important to participate in these types of events. Many clubs advertise for players based on the tournaments they attend. Many coaches entice U16's, U17's and U18's to their club by promising attendance at tournaments where college coaches will attend. Really? Many player’s (and their parents) choose a club solely based on attendance and success in certain tournaments. Today, the main focus for teams, clubs, parents and players is - Tournaments!!

The weekly league game (or two) is secondary to the Tournaments! And maybe even eliminated from the busy tournament schedule. In Central Ohio club teams must participate in a sanctioned league to be allowed to play in tournaments, some clubs have a team for the weekly league (usually a weaker team) so the A team can compete in tournaments all over the country. And, if you don’t get into the tournaments of your choice??? Change clubs or create your own tournament! It works! Try it!

These tournaments allow our soccer playing youth to play a variety of teams in a variety of states all year long. But, they are expensive. It costs the average family a weekend, car milage, hotel expense, entertainment for between games, food and video game money to play in these weekend extravagances. Why? Because everyone plays in tournaments! The kids will become better players. The college coaches can see them play! Everyone plays in tournaments. Everyone that is except youth teams in other soccer playing countries.

The weekly game is the most important game for most other countries. The teams have one week of training. One week of learning. One week to prepare for the game on Saturday or Sunday. The most important aspect of learning the game happens in well founded training programs. The habits necessary to become a complete player are developed in training.

Training is important. Training is critical to the success of these soccer playing nations.

Why is training important? Training allows a supervised and progressive means to learn the game, if done properly! Training allows the player, coach and team to focus on the areas of the game that will influence performance. What are those areas?

• Fitness
• Constant technical improvement
• Improvement of tactical understanding based on problems in the previous game
• Improvement of the mental aspects of the game by applying stress in the training situation in a variety of situations
• Team building

Do any of these things happen during a tournament? Not very likely. The very nature of tournaments prevents this from happening. Maybe in America, we are uncomfortable with training. It is still a fact that some of our youth soccer coaches still do not have the background in the game as a player to feel comfortable in training. The obvious solution is play games. So, we play games and don’t train.

Soccer teams in Germany, England, Holland etc. do play in tournaments. But those tournaments are usually during a holiday break or serve as an excuse to go to Madrid for a week. During the soccer season league games count! The entire focus is on the league game. Promotion, relegation, rivalries all depend on the weekly game. Only in America do the players play in tournaments to collect patches for their bag or to spend Memorial Day in Lexington, Kentucky. Play. Play. Play. What happened to training?

These tournaments are killing soccer in this country. Young players can not learn how to play in these types of situations. Everything about these tournaments is bad for the development of American soccer players!!

Tournaments allow players and teams with slow pace or no pace to succeed. Teams play three games in a twenty four hour period and if they are lucky play two more and win a trophy. Assuming we accept the fact that minimum recovery takes twenty four hours, it is physically impossible to play that many games in a short time. In a recent tournament in Central Ohio, for example, a U18 team played at 4:45pm and 6:00pm Saturday night and at 7:30am Sunday morning! What can a coach expect to get from the players in these games? Nothing! It is not possible to play soccer in these situations.

These tournaments breed Underwater Soccer. Nice and slow-no change of pace-no defending. Soccer is not meant to be played this way. Soccer is a game that is played when the player is uncomfortable -when the player closes in on fatigue-when the player runs, works and defends for ninety minutes. The very early laws of the game of soccer stressed a physical component by not allowing a lot of substitutions. Fitness is a part of the game. Ah, so you think there is a fitness component when playing in a tournament? No, there is not. There is an energy conservation component-not fitness? American youth players stop running when they are uncomfortable. And since they are playing so many games in a short weekend, they just don’t run at all. When the players try to move on to the next level (college), they are shocked to realize they can not make the team. They don’t know how to play! They don’t know how to run and they don’t know how to work. They don’t know how to defend. They don’t know what the physical aspect of soccer is all about. They have never been taught what it takes to play this game at a high level.

Technical development in a tournaments situation?? No chance. The games do offer a variety of opportunities to cultivate technical improvement. But, because the games are so slow and there is very little defending, the time and space available for players is not realistic for a real soccer game. In fact, it is counterproductive. When a player does get into a real game where time and space are limited he/she can not play!

Tactical improvements? Don’t look here. There is no time between games to either discuss any tactical problems or work on them before the next game. If your team faces a formation or a tactic you haven’t seen before, what do you do?? Hope you don’t see it again. As a rule, there is very little teaching going on in regards to tactics in many clubs. The prevailing mentality is simply-find the best players and let em play! Not a bad strategy. But as players move on in their soccer career, an understanding of tactics is very important. Even a constant teaching/review of 1v1; 2v1; 3v2 etc is essential to complete maturation of a soccer player. This tournament mentality does not allow this teaching to take place. A player who relies only on athletic ability without learning the game will hit a soccer plateau and not get any better. This happens far too often in the United States. There is too much emphasis on the athletic ability of a player at the expense of soccer ability. In addition, tactics are important in the development of the whole team. If you agree with Alan Wade that the most difficult aspect of coaching a soccer team is getting all the players on the same page@ then you will agree that teaching tactics is very important.. To accomplish that, the team must have time to train together and learn about tactics after each game!

And the problems do not end there. The mental aspect of the game is lost. Soccer is a game where the mental aspect is so very important. In fact we delight in selling the game as a players game and as a mental game. But, we do nothing about it. No less an authority than former German international Jurgen Klinnsman feels that working on the mental side of the game is lacking right now in soccer all over the world. There is no mental preparation during tournaments at all. If’s 2:00 it must be Vardar or Dallas Texans. Let’s go play. The young players do not learn that a warm up prepares you to play physically and mentally! Rather they show up, perform some cursory warm up(or no warm up at all) and play. As a result they simply go through the motions of the game and never get any better.

Preparation is important. Preparation is important for the individual and for the team. The game of soccer is both physically and mentally demanding. It is the responsibility of the coach to prepare for both. In tournaments preparation does not happen.

Fields? Are you kidding. So many teams want to attend tournaments that most tournaments don’t have the space necessary to supply good fields. Fields are created on any space possible. The grass is too long, the holes are too big, the field is too narrow and very bumpy. The fields create problems with injuries and bad soccer. Narrow, bumpy, heavy fields are not the surface to learn how to play. These field’s contribute to a very direct style of play and don’t allow for any creativity or any positive dribbling. The fields at most tournaments are simply unplayable.

Officials? There is a shortage of officials all over this country. Any fall weekend will see many officials working a high school game in the morning and a college game or two in the afternoon and evening! As the hours on the job increase, the quality goes down. This is exactly what happens with tournaments. Officials will do four, five or six games each day. Officials have been known to eat lunch while working a line. And, how about that six o’clock game. What can anyone expect from an official who has been on the field for six or eight hours!! These long hours for officials can cause real problems in tournaments!

Some parents and coaches argue that they Acan not get better@ playing the same old teams and tournaments allow better competition. Every other league in every other country plays the same teams each year. The concern for these teams is to make themselves better. There is very little concern about who they play. The teams train hard all week to put what they learned on the field on the weekend. They learn how to play the game systematically and with a sound progression. Our tournaments kids miss out on a lot of necessary soccer information. Traveling eight hours to play three games in eighteen hours does not make a team better. Quality of competition is important, but the quality of each team’s effort each game is what counts in the end. The time spent traveling would be better spent training at an intense level and preparing for the GAME on Saturday!!

Some tournaments have addressed some of these problems. The Cinncinati Blue Chip Classic each April allows each team to play only once each day. The teams play three games in three days. Not great, but better than the usual five games in two or three days!

Recently adidas began an Elite Soccer Program (ESP) which brings in some of the best male and female soccer players to a site for five days of training and games. Each of these programs allows the players to Abe seen@ by college coaches and play only one game a day. The players have a chance to play the game at a higher level than the weekend tournaments. The college coach can see if the kid has a game.

A tournament now and then is fine. It can be fun for the club, the players and the parents. Maybe they can travel to some cities that are fun. A tournament can bring a team together and build some morale. But too many tournaments will prevent the natural progression of learning that will take place in well organized and thoughtful training sessions. Training sessions that use the last game as a learning situation to build on and training sessions that prepare the team for the next opponent. The old coaching expression that A-the game is the best teacher@ is not true. Games used as a laboratory and supplemented by systematic and progressive training sessions-is the best teacher!

Stop the tournaments!

Importance of winter practices

2008-12-02T06:33:00.002-06:00

Until human growth ceases at physical maturity the body is constantly laying down new muscle and nerve tissue. From the average onset of puberty at approximately 12.5 years boys add about 50% of their mature physical weight.

On second hand, kids are stopping playing sports at age 13! Players who neglect their deceptive dribbling and shooting skill training at any stage during the growth cycle will get rapidly clumsier than when they first cease practicing.

A young dribbler and goal scorer will gain self-confidence. This should surprise no one because players who have the ability to make the plays that can win the game for their team will automatically become highly motivated team members and eventually leaders.

Kids need to emphasize that during winter, they will benefit because all the live situations that are used to develop great dribbling. Keep them motivated.

Mindset

2008-11-03T10:48:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a strange game.

The history of soccer is littered with examples of teen-age prodigies who failed to fulfill their potential, while others who once shared the same hype went on to become global superstars.

Players with a fixed mindset rely almost exclusively on their natural talent to deal with setbacks in their careers. They believe that talent on its own will help them through setbacks. We can say that yesterday was an example of that. Their mindset was in trick or treat… Rush team was fighting without talents. Rush team was winning their duals on 1v1. Players born with talent have a little experience facing obstacles or challenges. As a result, they often view these roadblocks as threats. When things get tough, they quit very easily and avoid hard work.

First Season

2008-10-27T14:33:00.002-05:00

After our first season in Premier league, Les Bleus are Champion for their League. For our first tournament, we went to Topeka and finished second.

It was an incredible season!

Thank you all.

Comments during a game

2008-10-12T14:03:00.005-05:00

By primarily coaching the team game coaches are teaching the predictable. It is a disciplined rote approach to developing players. Players who use only one and two touches have to be programmed to get and give the ball very quickly. There is much to admired in a quick incisive passing game but ball sharing and player interaction should no come before, or at the expense of, developing individual creativity and deception. In life the complete individual goes from dependent to independent to interdependent, to self-centered leadership and finally to mentor ship. As we can see independence clearly comes before interdependence. Yet most soccer coaches put the interdependent stage, team game, above the independent stage, development of a great individual dribblers and finisher. It should be obvious that the greatest players in team sport history developed the independent skills, dribbling and shooting, before the interdependent skills, receiving and passing.

So "by yourself" means that the player can beat an opponent or create space with a fake will penetrate more often. Critics of this method claim that creativity is developed at the expense of the team.

I believe that until the kid doesn't have a confidence on his/her skills to beat an opponent on 1 V 1 that doesn't make sense to make a pass.

"A team needs to be a solid unit, but like most Brazilian players, my instinct are to express myself, to get forward adn play with panache. That is my blood. For me, technique and intelligence are more vital than physical strength"
Robinho

Weekly Les Bleus News

2008-10-03T07:55:00.004-05:00

Philosophy and Commitment
As independent coach, I am trying to establish my own culture free from local club politics. Families involved in youth soccer are being asked to pay a lot of money, travel a lot and we don’t even sure that the coach will develop the player.

MOTIVATION

As today, our kids are young and need to get the proper techniques in soccer. We are still developing a player. Players must love the game and want to play for themselves not their parents or siblings. Players and parents should appreciate that to fulfill individual and team potential it will require a willingness to learn, a commitment to practice, and a desire to work harder than our opponents. Players should acquire the right technique before the age of 12-14 years old. After it is too late to correct it. It is almost like golf!

MEASURING PROGRESS
Short term success will not be measured by winning games, or scoring goals. Individual skills, proper technique used at the right time, effort and combativity will create a complete athlete. The team will learn a style of passing, movement and team possession play that will require a great deal of thought and patience and that will create complete all round players.

Finally
Have fun practicing and playing together
Help each player reach their full potential
Develop individuals who respect each other, rules, officials and opponents
Create well balance players who understand the game
Develop a positive and supportive parental group who have fun together

Relax

2008-09-18T20:32:00.004-05:00

Relax...
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.
While observing youth matches over the weekend I was reminded of the over-coaching that so many youth coaches do during a match. Micromanaging a soccer game is very difficult to do as the action changes so fast that by the time a coach finishes a sentence of instruction the situation has changed. The ball has moved and so have all of the players, so the information is likely now useless. A coach yelling out general reminders, such as move up to support or recover to defend, is fine. It is the step-by-step instruction coming from coaches and many spectators does that is in fact harming the players.

With young players, 12-years-old or younger, the comments made are actually a mental distraction. This means the player no longer is focusing on the match but instead is trying to hear and act upon what is being yelled by the adults. Move this to the teenage level of play and now the tactical reaction by the players is too slow.

If they have come to rely on instructions from the touchline then they must be able to hear the instructions, filter out the extraneous parental comments from the coach’s comments, process the information, make a decision and then act upon it.Odds are very high that this process is too slow for that player to now make an impact on the match.

Players must be able to think for themselves in order to act fast enough in a match. The player who is hindered by the coach to rely upon the coach during a match is doomed to never be more than a reaction player. A reaction player is the one who just reacts to what just happened.

We want the American player to be an anticipation player. This is a player who can read the game and can then anticipate what may happen next. This is the player who can think one or two moves ahead of the action. This is a player who is now more likely to become an impact player!When a coach yells frequently during a match the coach then doesn’t know if the players are communicating among themselves. That intra-team communication is crucial to success. Players that do not talk to one another will always be one step behind the opposition. A coach who is quiet during the majority of the match is one who can hear

IF the players are talking.Then the coach can asses what the players are saying. Is the talk positive and tactically useful? If not then the coach can address that to a small extent at half-time or the end of the match and then more thoroughly in the next training session. Some coaches who make the change from over-coaching to a match appropriate level of coaching will find initially that the players do not talk because they are not accustomed to doing so. The coach had been doing all of the talking and the players were largely silent.Now that the coach is saying less, the players need to fill in the blanks and most will not be in the habit. Here the coach must show patience and allow the confidence to speak up during a match to grow with the players. This begins with the coach saying little during the scrimmage at practice so that players may take the lead in communication. Too many of our players do not speak up during a match, but many have not been able to get a word in edgewise over the monologue from the coach.

So here’s the bottom line… I don't think being quiet is good neither. But I realized that it is impossible to resolve everything during a game. That is my job to encourage them, motivated them and push them during a game but to try to coach during a game, it is too late in my eyes.

What do you think?

For the kids

2008-08-15T15:29:00.001-05:00

www.nikesoccer.com

Article in the Star

2008-07-31T10:23:00.002-05:00

There were an article on Wed. July 30 in the Kansas City Star Newspaper, talking about soccer. I thought I will comment a little....
(title)
Soccer players driven by dreams

The American market is huge for soccer. There are 4 millions registered male players. While these kids are often clumsily trained and lack creativity by Europeans standards, there are nearly as many of them as there are people in Ireland.

In their view, the U.S. system of developing players is broken. It is oriented around affluent, suburban teams supported by parents and organized clubs. They are puzzled by the emphasis on winning trophies and make money.

The system is based on who can afford to pay for their kids. We have some organizations that make a huge profit and don’t give anything to the kids. FC Porto is club at Johnson County, who believe in teaching core skills above all else and give scholarship to some of its players.

Why can Wizards sponsor scholarship? Why do we have to travel? With 4 millions of players, do we have enough talents? And it is not at 16 years old that you are going to develop a player but when they are 10. But until we get a sponsoring system that profit is not involve, clubs or organized programs will still emphasis on winning.

Wizards against Columbus

2008-07-22T21:29:00.002-05:00

The Kansas City Wizards stretched their unbeaten streak to five games Thursday with a thrilling 3-3 tie against the Columbus Crew in front of a national television audience on ESPN. Kansas City and Columbus combined for five first-half goals, the most in MLS this season. Newly signed forward Josh Wolff then converted a late game-tying goal in his first match back with Kansas City.

That was the highlight of the game. Finally we were glad to see Josh Wolff replacing Sealy who went to San Rose and scored for his first game.

Now we still have a big issue! How do we lose a lead in 12 minutes? How is it possible? If I was Cerner I will start to ask the coach what is going on!!!!

Wizards beats Red Bulls

2008-07-11T10:51:00.003-05:00

Jimmy Conrad scored his career-high and team-high fourth goal of the season and Davy Arnaud tacked on his first goal of the season as the Kansas City Wizards edged the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, Thursday in Major League Soccer play from Kansas City's Community America Ballpark.

That is the highlight of the night!

Hartman: he was one of his good day but I don't know if he lost his voice or what...there is no communication between his defenders.
Harrington: the best blue for me! He controls the left back and plays very well with Lopez
Sealy: I am going to try to stay calm... but he can't pass, he can't jump and he can't run. Why do we bother?
Morsink: one thing we can say, he is better than Savagnin! Did not create much but he was there when we need him.
Conrad: always doing his part! Good thing we have him!
Trujillo: I think he is still looking for his marks but he is working a little harder than mr Sealy.
Lopez: he is interested to watch. He seems that his back hurts because when he is running, he makes small steps but when he explodes, wow he is fast. Without him there is no team.
Espinoza: came at the 63rd minutes - exchange with Lopez and Lopez went to take Sealy spot. As soon as he was on the field, Reb Bulls came on the left side... I don't understand!
Well I will stop here because it is very pathetic to watch this team or maybe I should not call it team because we can see there is some tensions between the players, some frustrations. I don't see Wizards going too far if the coach don't start to think differently!

Juggling

2008-07-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

Ball control is an essential component of soccer. Players with good ball control carve up the field with exciting dribbles and cuts, while those without it often lose the ball to their opponents. Although it's simple, juggling is one of the best ways to improve ball control. It only takes a few minutes of training a day, but it produces noticeable results.
Step1 Pick the ball up and hold it out in front of you.
Step2 Drop the ball to your feet or thigh and kick it back up into the air. Use the base of your big toe to make contact with the ball.
Step3 Catch the ball with your hands after kicking it once. This is the basic movement behind juggling.
Step4 Drop the ball to your feet again and kick it twice before catching it. You can use the same foot for both kicks or you can alternate feet. Alternating is a good idea during training, because it strengthens your weak foot.
Step5 Count the number of times you kick the ball up before it hits the ground. Practice juggling until you can beat your record.
Step6 Master the basic juggling technique before trying more advanced moves. There are dozens of freestyle soccer moves that build on this basic technique, but you need a solid training foundation to do them well.

Watch TV

2008-05-07T08:58:00.002-05:00

I know that sounds crazy but during the month on June, there is the EURO 2008! You can find the schedule at http://www.livesoccertv.com/euro-2008/

I will recommend that you watch some games! We can try to get together if you are interested!

Group C is the most difficult group! Even during the world cup they never had a group like this one! Watch them! Spain, Portugal and Germany are also very good team.

My pronostic: France wins against Germany! 2-1

Street Smarts

2008-05-06T19:39:00.002-05:00

Well well! Last week I asked everyone to help me in order to make your kids to play more soccer at home! And I said that the environment here is different than where I am coming from.

Most top youth soccer clubs in the United States seek to win. In doing so, they often sacrifice individual player development.

The absence of street soccer leads to a key difference between American youth soccer and other nation’s program. Around the world, young soccer players come from all socio-economic backgrounds and play all the time. The defining characteristic of street soccer is that it is not organized and they can develop their creative tendencies and become more clever with the ball.

Here, most of the boys are playing so many different sports that soccer is not their priorities. As a consequence, the mantra of playing for the team and achieving results is imposed much earlier in American youth soccer than it is around the world. Teamwork and results are important aspects of the team sports and of American culture in general, but these elements should be secondary to individual player development at the youth level of any sport, including soccer.

The street soccer environment or playing with your kids is crucial for developing youth soccer players. It enables them to try new things and be clever with the ball while having fun. So I have been teaching more technical and tactical formula but that works effectively for us because we are playing with good athletes. That is why, I am trying to encourage everyone to play with creativity, effort and good technique at home or on the field.

If we are here this summer, let’s play together for fun! Parents & kids together. Just for fun.

Mental Toughness

2008-04-21T06:44:00.002-05:00

Another weekend - Another good performance from all players! My U6 girls had a great game too! Do all my players have mental toughness: some have it. Some don't.

Can we teach toughness?

There are practical and simple ways for coaches to enhance the mental touhgness of their players.

One of the first challenges is getting the athletes to learn from themselves as they progress self awareness in the foundation of learning and development. Athletes need to develop self confidence by using their skills.

The work that I am doing with skills helps your child's self confidence on the field, giving them the ability to hold the ball under pressure until the point where they either pass or shoot. Through my program, players learn to take risks, challenge and develpop foot skills.

Well, that is what I am trying to do!

Games

2008-04-07T12:48:00.002-05:00

I am very happy and proud for our boys to be able to play like that. As you are aware, these kids are starting to put everything together!

They are starting to use their skills, even Jack! Did you see his scissor? Fantastic!

Junior played incredibly well! Charlie also. And it is important for the players to have fun, and they do!

As you see, we are working more on the formation. I used to say "find the space..." today I am saying "can we fix the mess!"

But their confidence are strong. They tried to beat their opponents! Fantastic! Using their skills!

Hopefully they will continue to improve! Ok, I depends of me! Thanks!!!!

BECKHAM

2008-03-27T14:31:00.002-05:00

David Beckham has no intention of waving farewell to England after reaching 100 appearances.
The Los Angeles Galaxy star, who reached the milestone Wednesday night, maintains the wave he gave when he walked off during England's 1-0 loss to France was just an acknowledgment of the standing ovation that even the French fans gave him.

What do I think about it? Well, you may not follow it!

Beckham is 33 years old! Yes, he is working hard! Yes, he is the best in the world of what he is doing, controling the game and giving the best passes but he is still 33!

"The most important thing for me was to prove my fitness and I felt that I did that. I felt very fresh and a lot better than I thought I would," he said after playing 62 minutes at the Stade de France.

He is not running as much as he used too, he is not as fast as he was, and he is not playing in a league as strong as European league. So can he play in 2010?

I am saying: Let it go! Come on! Can you realize that you are 33? Yes! You are a good player and you are the best of what you are doing! But there are younger kids who need their chances!

Thank Beckham for your game and passion... But Zidane stopped and others...Now can you imagine if Zidane was coming back?

Spring Season

2008-03-03T07:17:00.002-06:00

Spring Season is starting!

Your kids are participating in sports for multiple reasons, the most prominent among them being developing physical competence (learning and improving skills), attaining social acceptance and approval (be with their friends) and enjoying one's experiences (having fun, doing something interesting).

Parents also influence children's perceived competence or beliefs about their ability in sport. Therefore, I will ask you to help your kids to do their homework!

Juggling! Juggling! Juggling!

Please motivate them! Challenge them! We bought a kick ball and they never used it! My son doesn't! Neither his sister! But I am re enforcing juggling. Julien has an average of 15 and he did once 30. Camille has an average 25.

So please, insist to motivate them!

Thank you!

My goals

2008-01-25T13:40:00.001-06:00

Wenger's philosophy of the game

Arsenal uses a 4-4-2 system. Wenger is constantly working to refine this system on the levels of both group and team tactics.
The team's defence is very attack-oriented. They attack their opponents early with a midfield press that alternates between a diamond formation and a back four. This tactic represents a calculated risk that the coach and his players are willing to accept (since most of the players are English and French, they have been playing without a sweeper since they were children).
· Wenger demands aggressive, ball-oriented defence from his players and cultivates it with lots of practice games in tight spaces. When Arsenal gets the ball, its attack is very forward-focused. Square passes and runs parallel to the endline are to be avoided.
However, contrary to the "typical English" playing style, Arsenal relies mainly on short passes in the opposition's half - until they get close to the goal, where every player is encouraged to take risks and go for the goal with confidence and determination. Errors are allowed, but playing carelessly and losing the ball is forbidden.

· Wenger places special emphasis on communication within the team. Every exercise is accompanied by shouts and commands that are loud and clear - aggressively so, if the situation requires it - and successful plays are greeted with cheers and applause. Players are expected to be actively engaged with one another and to cooperate in building team spirit, morale and enthusiasm for the Arsenal style.

The reserve team: Training methods and objectives

The reserve team coach's main responsibility is to prepare players for the professional team, and he works closely with the head coach to do so. Before every session, they discuss which reserve players should practice with the professional team. This, combined with the players' academic responsibilities, means that sometimes there is no practice session for the reserve team. On these days, their coach assists with the A-team's session, which keeps him up to date on their exercises and training concepts.
The reserve team plays in a round robin against the other Premier League youth teams. Since the idea is to give all youth players maximum exposure to match play, this tournament does not include scoring, advancement or relegation. In spite of this, all the teams try hard and keep up a fast pace, because these matches have a high prestige value for them.
Wenger always observes these matches, which helps motivate the players even more.
Training methods and concepts for the reserve and youth teams are almost identical to those of the professional team:
· positional play without opponents
· group and team defence tactics
· coordination training
· games in tight spaces
· games on one goal.

Summary

Whether this club scores a major international victory or not, their coaches are definitely on the right track with their current approach. Wenger has provided Arsenal with a solid soccer philosophy. And instead of just talking about the importance of a close connection between the pros and the youth team, Arsenal has created one.
At Arsenal, like any other big professional club, the pressure to succeed is great. Fortunately, this is one club that seems to have infinite patience and confidence in the work of its head coach and his team.

Coaching philosophy

During the week leading up to the match with Valencia, Arsenal had only four practice sessions. Moreover, some of the foreign players were required to play for their national teams, and a number of players participated in a match with the reserve team.
Wenger always gives his players the first day off after matches. He believes that mental
regeneration with family and/or friends is more important for his players than the customary regeneration run, which functions more as physical regeneration and has no proven training benefits.
The team normally does not meet until the second day after the match. Practice sessions always start at 11:00 am. A relaxed practice atmosphere is very important to Wenger, which is why he requires his players to arrive at the training camp one hour early, so they can mentally prepare themselves for the 90-minute session ahead, at leisure and without stress.
Two days before a match, practice lasts only 60 minutes and typically focuses on set plays and short-term exertions (like sprints and shooting) that require lots of takeoff power.

Team-building
During practice, Wenger demonstrates the same excitement and engagement he requires of his players. The mood is positive and light, even though all the players are intensely focused. Since practice sessions are frequently closed to the public (including journalists), everyone involved can play "naturally." When asked about the potential difficulty of working with so many so-called "stars," Wenger replied:
"It isn't difficult at all! Without cameras, journalists and kibitzers, every player can be natural, and no one has to put on an act. So everyone interacts normally. Problems only arise when the media is constantly present."
Arsenal holds only one press conference per week (every Friday).
The team gathers together for lunch and the break (massage, etc.) that follows. Afterwards, players are allowed to leave the training camp. Altogether, they spend four to five hours "on campus" every day.

Practice schedule and exercises
Every practice session is informed and shaped by observations from the previous match. However, we can sketch an outline of a typical session:
· Warm-up takes place indoors and consists of cycling, soccer tennis and strength exercises. Strength training exercises are determined at the beginning of each warm-up and led by a fitness coach.
To help determine the direction of individual fitness training, endurance and speed tests take place throughout the season as necessary.
· The main session starts with small games focusing on attack tactics: short pass combinations, moving up from the backfield, and 1 v. 1 situations on the goal. Alternatively, this part of the session may also focus on technique, coordination or speed.
· Players then move on to practice positional play and finishing, as well as individual and group tactics such as the back four, defensive play for midfielders and attackers, offsides situations and defending in 1 v. 1 situations.
· The session concludes with endurance training: primarily practice games, occasionally running without the ball.
According to Wenger's training concept, these methods are essential for successful tactical play (compact defence, forward passes, short pass combinations).
For exercises focusing on attacking play, Wenger uses fields designed according to his specifications. This allows players to approximate the tactics they expect to use in the next match and the required techniques more closely. Since a smaller field speeds up the game, players are forced to deal with intense time and opposition pressure.
Training with practice games

While Wenger delegates plenty of work to his two assistant coaches, he still takes on the majority of the responsibility for training himself. He discusses the schedule with his assistants before each practice session. This structured planning and the division of labour it requires makes a difference that shows.
· Whether it is a complex tactics exercise or a simple speed exercise without the ball, Wenger pays close attention, analyses results and makes corrections as needed. In this way he shares with players his optimism and confidence that the same mistake will not happen again on the next try. Though the pace is intense and concentration is essential, players are still supposed to have fun at practice. Wenger yells out encouragement and gives each player clear commands and instructions during the exercises.
Typical games and exercises to teach individual, group and team tactical play are introduced during the practice sessions. Coordination and technique exercises also show up on a regular basis.
· Players practice the flat four with 4 v. 4 or 5 v. 5 games on one goal.
Note: Sometimes the players themselves request this exercise at the end of a week, to help solidify their defence tactics.
· 8 v. 8 exercises on one goal focus on cooperation between the back four and the midfield.
· 9 v. 0 positional games on one goal (without opponents) help players reinforce and solidify passing and running patterns.
· 8 v. 8 exercises on two goals (in a half or two-thirds of a field, always extending across the entire width of the field) let players practice moving the attack forward.
· Coordination training and technique combined with speed round out the program.

Youth training
Coaching philosophy
In England, every professional team thinks of itself as an "Academy" or training centre, so 17- to 19-year-olds are already practicing in a professional context.
Classrooms are available in the administrative section of the complex for academic instruction, which takes place twice a week, supervised by part-time teachers. Team eligibility is based on individual performance more than age, so a 17-year-old could easily be playing on the 19-year-old team.
Every year during the professional championships, the 18-year-old team competes for the FA Cup, which is one of the highest awards in English youth soccer. The reserve team provides "backup" for all the other teams. The best players from the younger teams are integrated into this team in practice sessions and during the reserve season.
While the coaches are not required to follow a strictly defined training concept, they are expected to use systems and tactics compatible with Wenger's conception as described above.

The coaching team

To promote communication between the head coach and the youth coaches, all coaches are asked to arrive at the training camp early in the morning. Wenger's position is "first among equals:" He has the final word on any decision, but he is always available for dialogue and mutual exchange of ideas with the youth coaches. He is also responsible for signing promising new talents, and he maintains close contact with the head of talent scouting. The younger teams are not included in this system. Instead, they answer to a youth coordinator, who oversees scouting and signing new talents in cooperation with the relevant coaches

Happy Holidays

2007-12-27T08:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays to every one!

Some of our team players are playing at the Rush Academy. On Friday 7, December Dylan, Jack, Jake, Julien and Logan were playing against U10 boys.

Once again, they played very well and they had great support from some dads! And they won!

I won't say any names!

I just received the registration form for Spring Soccer. Please let me know by January 9th if your son is planning on returning to the team. The team roster needs to be turned in by 1/29/2008.

The cost will be $64 and games start the weekend of 3/29/2008. (After Spring Break this year).

Thank you!

End of Season

2007-10-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

I want to thank every one for their support this season . It was not an easy decision for me to let go of my son . I have been coaching him since he was 4 years old!

For 4 years! And it is even more difficult to let go when I see great plays like at our last game! I saw Dylan dribbling the ball, going full speed, and I screamed "scissors" because he had to beat his opponent. Instead of doing what I suggested , he made an incredible pass to Julien who was running on the side line. That was an incredible assist and play.

I didn't teach this to them! It represents the pure instinct of great players and teamwork. I hope to think that my coaching inspired the players to be who they are today.

Again, thanks for all your support.

Making Demands

2007-10-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

We are almost at the end of our season and winter is at our door. My advice to you parents would be to work on perfecting technique, to focus on the continuing improvement of the individual player.

Your kid has been taught how to play every area of the pitch, not taught to play a specific role. They don't need to be taught a role because it is innate. Every player has a natural disposition towards one role or another but first they have to learn how to play everywhere.

I have seen some many teams, where the coaches are just there to win and their players never changed positions.

That is our responsibility to teach our players what the demands of the game are. That is why, it is a difficult game to play at the highest level. Today kids don't play until they arrive at training. They don't engage in any physical activity unless it is organized. I have a little time for each training session.

That is why, if you quit soccer for a while, it is difficult to come back quickly and be at the same level. I will recommend that your kids participate to the Rush Academy during winter.

More than physical

2007-09-13T08:28:00.000-05:00

In soccer, several factors combine to influence the performance of a team. However, the outstanding aspect that is obvious to a casual observer is the physical aspect, which is expressed in the fight for possession of the ball, running off the ball, dribbling, tackling etc...

All these demand a high level of fitness. On average, a soccer player covers a distance ranging between 8 to 14 kilometers during a match. That is why, I can't play anymore!

Apart from physical and techinal dimensions, the phychosocial dimension is vital in achieving good performance. Last night, I addressed them about responsability to bring their ball at practice, to be ready to train and learn, to master an effort as a team and stopped critized their teammates. The crying has to stop! I had too many kids crying these days.

The abilities of different players have to be molded together as well as their spirit. Of course, I am pushing dribbling and beat an opponent which does not help! And I am taking evaluation!

Maybe a party will help! Any volonteer?

Rush Soccer Club

2007-08-09T08:14:00.000-05:00

Good Bulbs or Bad?

2007-08-08T14:50:00.000-05:00

When Fox News ran a story claiming that compact fluorescent light bulbs are too dangerous because of their mercury content, some folks were understandably confused. Well, Sierra magazine's Mr. Green has plenty to say about that. Check out his latest Mailbag for the straight dope on CFLs -- including the one time it actually does make sense to leave your lights on.

Instruction

2007-08-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Coaching is not a science, but a craft!

Coaches must develop a familiarity with functional training if they are going to help players progress and advance in the game.

I have been involved in different teams, where I am helping to coach. What is too bad for the kids is that there are some parents who are still coaching but they don't know how to help the player make progress. They are trying very hard and give their time. And we are grateful for their help. But should we have a different organization for our players?

The problem comes from the past. Parents involved in football, basketball and baseball grew up with it. With soccer, they did not play and grow up with it. So how can they teach something that they don’t really know? I will never try to teach football or baseball! I don’t know anything about it!

Today we are seeing parents who played soccer during college and are coaching. So it is coming…

But even with experience, you have to learn how to teach. You need to have a methodology to help you to introduce the techniques …

That is why I took several training sessions in order to improve myself. So I am trying to become a better coach!

But it all comes back to the player! It is all about them first!

Humble

2007-06-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

I survived! I just finished my training at Parkville. I am certified NSCAA National Diploma. Five days running on the field with younger kids was a BIG challenge. It was hot, humid and they were faster than me! I am sore...

But most of it, it was a great learning experience. I thought, I knew some about soccer but really I did not! You could see some young coaches with great knowledge and great communication skills. One particulary, Andy. He is good. I just told him to smile a little more but compliment him a lot!

Anyway, I am glad I went to this training. I feel more confident about the game and how to communicate to our kids.

Coaching is not a science but a craft.

Great Performance!

2007-06-11T07:48:00.001-05:00

Les Bleus had again a great performance at Prairie Center 3 v 3 Tournament last weekend.

From left to right: Tomer, Isaac, Logan, Camden, Patrick and Julien.

Honestly, these kids are phenomenal! We had 2 practices but we could not have every one at the same time! First practice, we were missing 1 player and second practice 2 players.

So we arrived at 9am and I had to introduce every one! Of course, we had to play up!

So we play U9 when you know that they just turned 8! Of course, our first game was a nice introduction to reality! We played against these giants and we tied! 7 - 7

After our lifes started to get easier because the other teams were not that big! They won their games 6-4 and 6-1. So we had to play the giants again!

Wow, our boys fight like crazy. The giants were pushing and using their sizes. They even got a yellow card! So we lost 4-2 but with "panache".

Congratulations!

Champion League

2007-05-23T06:48:00.000-05:00

If you haven't watched Milan - Manchester United, I will recommend that you do it. I have it on my DVR.This is very educative and entertaining. It is 2 different styles of soccer. “Finesse against power”Personally, I love the techniques, the one touch ball.

The only difficult part of watching on TV is that we do not really see every move. Some of the observers of the performance of the US Men’s National team in the 2006 world cup felt strongly that one of the major weaknesses of the American was an inability to make creative and tactically astute runs off the ball. This is perhaps not surprising when one realizes that this is a characteristic of most of the play in our country at the youth level.

During this game, you could see Milan running off the ball and finalized by a goal, playing with flair and incredible individual techniques. One of the players, Clarence Seedorf is 30 years old. Watched is technique! Wow! Kaka is one of the best players in the world. No comments!If we watch the games and then talk to our kids about them the next day it might encourage them to become frequent viewers and more passionate by the game.

Want to come in my house and watch it?

Credibility

2007-05-03T08:02:00.000-05:00

Coaching credibility.... so important and yet so difficult to define. My philosophy is to stay myself. Staying true to my personality, as a coach, is the most difficult part of coaching.

So that is why, during last game, I made the best players in my roster played a little more. I was not going to loose against a team where the parents disrespect me and my team. When you know my team is better technically, and when we know that we are 2 graders playing against 4 graders.

I have not been focusing in winning at all, but last game, I was! So I know it is stupid to try to win at this level and we are recreational team but I am passionate, love the game and the kids.

This is my credibility!

Last Game

2007-04-23T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, well! That was a nice game! Not because we won against 4 graders 4-1 but because Marc and Dylan did so great moves!

Wow! That was a must! It seems that I am doing something good!

Question: should a coach instruct during a game?

The negative point to instruct is that it can be confusing for the player because they have to take their own decision. It is not like basketball where you can stop the game and talk about strategy. It is the only game where the player has to make his own decision.

What are your thoughts about it?

Picture Day

2007-04-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

Pictures for your Bgr 3 -4 is April 28 at 1:45pm. I will suggest that we meet around 2:10pm. If you have any questions or to confirm picture times call In Touch Photo at 816-765-5400

TV

2007-04-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

As you have seen on my calendar, I have posted some soccer events to watch on TV. I have taped some games from last week. Manchester United - Roma. Nice game 7-1! Wow, that was something - plus at this level, it is rare.

Anyway I just watched few minutes of another game and Rooney made a very classic goal. In French we will call it "but d'école" (school goal)

For your kids, that will be nice to watch it. There is no move but just a classic play away and boumm! So it is on Foxsoccer channel or on my DVR. I can tape it for you if you bring to me a tape on Friday.

Make up game

2007-04-18T06:43:00.000-05:00

Bgr 3-4 Div 8 Denis/Kemnitz rained out April 14 make up April 28 at 8:00am on Field D. We have 2 games this saturday... Be ready!

I need a volontary to take my place during the weekend of May 5? Anyone?

Pleasant Ridge Soccer team

2007-04-17T08:54:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!
Since I don’t have anything else to do in my life (ha-ha), I thought that would be nice to create our own website! ! You can post any comments or pictures.

I added our calendar with our games, juggling schedule, practice।

Feel free to add any comments.

Thanks
Laurent