- As players move into the 10-11-year-old group, they are getting stronger and their biological, psychological and motor spheres are more ready for learning—their bodies and minds are starting to sync.
- They are curious and passionate learners who can start to handle more in terms of feedback.
- This age group is also more capable of learning a variety of new skills as well as a variety of simplified soccer games played with 3-4 players.
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PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE YOUTH ACADEMY:
AS WE MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF OUR CLUB, one criterion is the number of players who are capable of and desire to play at the high school, varsity, college or professional team levels. This requires years of well-planned and well-executed training. The foundation for this longevity is built in the Youth Academy.
The research shows that many young athletes in North America stop participating in sports after age 13. The reason? They start too soon, play too often, and try and train too hard. We think it’s also because coaches and parents with unrealistic expectations (looking for instant gratification and quick results) are consumed with winning at all costs. It’s quite common for coaches and parents of young players to be impatient, expecting great results prematurely. Sadly, the result is burnout and a child who says, “I’ve had enough!” We want to avoid that.
THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS: Developing skills in a sport as complex as soccer takes time. If young kids see the sport as a social activity — something fun to do with friends — we believe they will develop the tenacity and perseverance to be in it for the long-haul. When the acquisition of new skills is FUN and EXCITING, kids stick with it.
PLAYER DISPARITY: Among young players size and strength create disparity. Bigger players get better results. As players get older, skills become the differentiating factor. Our objective to give young players the skills — developed over time — they will need to realize their potential, make a contribution to their team and have fun with the game when they are older.
SKILLS vs. TACTICS: If size is the advantage among young players and winning is the goal, a coach must rely on power and size to win. Why? Because these are the only tactics that have a chance of succeeding. We think this is backwards. That’s why the Academy puts so much emphasis on skill development — ball handling, perception skills, decision making, creativity, coordination and managing the parameters of space and time.
RISK TAKING = GROWTH: In any sport and especially soccer, experimentation — testing and trying new things — is the key to skill development and growth. The ideal playing environment then, is one in which young players are encouraged and inspired to take risks and make mistakes. In games this involves encouraging kids to be independent thinkers who don’t rely completely on instruction and commands from the sideline. This means coaches and parents have to redefine failure for the kids. Taking a risk, trying something new and making a mistake should be seen as a step toward mastery rather than a source of shame. However, if the primary focus is on winning we create a playing environment where the fear of failure prevents coaches and players from taking risks. In the more relaxed Youth Academy, players feel like they have a safe environment to be risk takers.
COACHING CRITERIA: In the Youth Academy we are not concerned with win-loss records. We look for coaches who are passionate about the game and want to instill that passion in young players. What does this look like? It’s players who are inspired to practice on their own, assume responsibility for their own growth and development, and take the initiative to engage in “Street Soccer” or creating their own games with other players.
Second, we look for coaches who are patient and have a long-term perspective. They buy into the Academy philosophy and they know what they need to do today to prepare players for the next level of play — high school, college or professional soccer.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT: The Youth Academy was created to inspire a passion and love for the game in “youngers”, create a foundation for skill development that “youngers” will need when they are older, and develop “bench strength” within the club.
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WHAT OTHER EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY:
We think Horst Wein, an expert on youth soccer and author of Developing Youth Soccer Players gets it. We recommend the following article to you as well as a four-part interview with Horst that is posted on YouTube:
Horst Wein
Author, Developing Youth Soccer Players
and Developing Game Intelligence in Soccer
Ten Requirements for Developing More Creative Players
- Declare war against the 11 vs 11 game:
Games like mini football (3vs 3, 7 vs 7) offers the adequate frame (in terms of space, number of players, ball size and weight) for children to express their creativity and inspiration in a more healthy environment: an environment which does not involve the stress of 11 vs 11 game with adult orientated rules.
- Use more games and fewer analytical exercises
Training should happen in the same context. Statements such as 'the game is the best teacher' must be rediscovered and considered in the planning of all training sessions where drills predominate.
- Let the kids play without correcting them permanently
When playing, it is not necessary for the young football players to know the specific learning objectives of a practice. The learning objectives are important for a coach but not for the players. Players should frequently have the opportunity to just play, or play just for fun, without having specific learning as a main objective. We should not forget that one essential part of the game is it's unpredictability. This explains why the game is so fascinating for kids.
- Children should have the chance to play in all positions and reduced space
Young players should have the opportunity to play in various positions in order to discover the roles and functions that these positions characterize. Experimenting with play in different positions stimulates creativity. The problem of positional experimentation would be solved since a competition with fewer players in a reduced space (such as 4 vs 4 or 3 vs 3) stimulates creativity whilst the full game, on a regular soccer field, only tires the young players out physically and intellectually, limiting their creative play.
- Only those who love the game can be creative individuals
When children play, they should have fun and be excited by the game. If young players do not identify themselves with the game proposed by the coach, the creative capacity will remain dormant. The more that players enjoy the game and the ball, the more that playing stimulates the development of a creative way of interpreting football.
- Give players the opportunity to make their own games and rules
The coach should modify the rules of the game initially proposed. Also from time to time, the coach should give the players 10 minutes to play freely and to do what suits them best. This could be done at any part of the session. Once young players are familiar with the coaches style, not only will their imagination and fantasy grow but also their sense of responsibility, personal initiative, their daring to improvise and to be creative. Also the potential leadership qualities of some players in the group may flourish.
- Dare to risk and improvise without fearing the consequences
Young players who accept the ball as their friend and do their own thing are frequently more creative than those who accept the coaches demands. They should be allowed to improvise their play and take risks without fearing the potential consequences of having committed a mistake. That is why young players should practice and play as often as possible without the presence of coaches (including private trainers) in the park, garden etc.. A coach's absence allows the players to feel more comfortable, to explore their innate potential without the fear of getting criticized when committing mistakes.
- Place more importance on training on the right hemisphere of the brain
Once children enter school, the left hemisphere of the brain *where logical thinking, mathematical reasoning and verbal expression are located) is mainly the one getting stimulated. Students are often asked to solve tasks along the guidelines created by their teacher without being allowed to contribute something of their own. Nevertheless, the development of creative potential needs a systematic stimulation of the right hemisphere of the brain. That is why in school, as well as soccer training, 'open' tasks are needed more than ever that demand young people be creative and find a solution on their own to any given problem.
Instead of being the sole agent in the teaching and learning process, most of the time the coach should transfer the responsibility of the situations he or she generates to young players and ask them, through systematic questioning, to solve the problems. A true master in coaching never gives them the answers to problems but helps the players find and discover them on their own, guiding them to the correct results. The well structured simplified game of soccer itself must become the teacher itself, not the coach.
- More creative coaches mean more creative players
Coaches should do the following things:
• While training, coaches should not always punish the mistakes of the players, since this will restrict the players from taking risks and prevent creativity, fantasy and imagination from flowing.
• In the training sessions more time and space should be allowed for players to experiment with new moves that occur to them spontaneously. A more informal environment, football in the street or beach helps to develop more creative players.
• Any flash of creative behavior should be recognized by the coach who should do everything to encourage the player to be different and to look out for different solutions, raised by the players themselves, to the problems inherent in soccer.
- The soccer environment is an enemy of the young players creativity
Most of the young talent grows in an atmosphere that is noticeably hostile towards creativity. On soccer fields, young players are dominated by instructors, who allow relatively little freedom of movement and decision making; the opinions of the young player is not taken into account. Many coaches think for the players instead of allowing the players to think for themselves and show what they are capable of. When these young players reach the age of 15, it is obvious they will face serious problems if they are requested to make their own decisions, since for many years, they have been trained to execute only what the adults have told them.
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TO LEARN MORE FROM HORST WEIN CHECK OUT THESE INTERVIEWS:
Horst Wein Interview - part 1 of 4
Length: 10:03
Horst Wein Interview - part 2 of 4
Length: 10:19
Horst Wein Interview - part 3 of 4
Length: 10:06
Horst Wein Interview - part 4 of 4
Length: 8:55
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