Beautiful Soccer: Creating Passion and Confidence in Young Players - Softcover

Marquez, Ryan; Werner, Doug

Softcover

ISBN 10: 193593743X ISBN 13: 9781935937432

Verlag: TRACKS PUB, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Exploring the role of coaches and parents, this book emphasizes the importance of team identity and a team mindset and presents the necessary foot skills and tactics to help young soccer players both perform better and have more fun. As youth soccer becomes increasingly popular, coaches often gloss over individual improvement in order to win, relying on rigid systems and a few elite players to carry a team. This impairs player development and kills the joy of the game&;so how can adults make competitive soccer better for kids? Addressing that very problem, this book outlines basic patterns of play that young players can use to advance the ball and illustrates innovative techniques that will help improve any team. Moreover, this book advocates a soccer culture free from the fear of failure; instead, players, coaches, and parents are encouraged to foster confidence, passion, creativity, and the desire to try and keep trying.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ryan Marquez is the head soccer coach for Bonita Vista High School and the Crusaders Soccer Club of San Diego. He played competitively since the age of nine and is a fully certified and licensed soccer coach with more than a decade of coaching experience. He lives in Chula Vista, California. Doug Werner is the author or coauthor of all 11 books in the Start-Up Sports® series, including Skateboarding: Legendary Tricks. He lives in San Diego.

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Beautiful Soccer

Creating Passion and Confidence in Young Players

By Ryan Marquez, Doug Werner, Cristina Martinez Byvik

Tracks Publishing

Copyright © 2012 Ryan Marquez and Doug Werner
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-935937-43-2

Contents

Introduction, 
Interviews with Coach Ryan, 
The Problem, 
Mission, 
Adult Roles, 
Ideal Program, 
Team Identity, 
Skill, 
Juggling, 
Against the Wall, 
Moves of Deception, 
Chaining Moves, 
Sample Session, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

The Problem

We don't realize that the more our kids are skilled, the more they can benefit from systems and the more we can bring out of a system. We need to fully commit to skill sets even though there may be a price to pay.

We develop kids that show immediate talent and everyone else is sort of filling space.

We are not preparing kids for the long term — five to ten years. We are preparing kids for this Saturday.

Is there a problem with competitive youth soccer in the United States? The main thing is the structure. In the U.S., coaches are judged by how many wins they get this season.

Success is based on immediate results? Yes, immediate results. By contrast, European coaches are judged by how many players they groom for the professional levels. For us, it's winning right away. We are not preparing kids for the long term — five to ten years. We are preparing kids for this Saturday.

When you say kids, what ages? In Europe and South America, development can start very young. Like 7, 8. The very serious stuff is probably 14 and up, but the younger kids are already getting base skills.

You have one or two kids learning a lot and all the other kids learning how to play it safe.

Development lags here in America because our professional league is not yet established. Our leagues are starting to grow, but it's going to take time. Our professional league has been around 18 years or so, but it's taken time for them to grow youth leagues, to create academy teams.

Why aren't most clubs developing to the next level? The biggest problem is that coaches and the club are judged by the next game.

Are coaches looking for kids with the natural talent and then just getting them the ball? Often there are kids that have a little more talent. And on some teams, players are asked to feed those talented kids the ball while everyone else plays a little safer. You have one or two kids learning a lot and all the other kids learning how to play it safe.

It's sort of have a star system, a kiddie star system. To an extent.

We develop kids that show immediate talent and everyone else is sort of filling space. Because Saturday is such a big deal. That's why a lot of coaches put organization first and skill second. You can organize players and make it work for the time being, but teaching a skill takes repetition over a long period of time. It might be years before a kid performs skill sets well. Right now, coaches think they don't have years. If he doesn't keep winning, his team is going to explode. Parents and players are going to leave. So a coach organizes.

So the number one thing lacking in youth soccer in the United States has been a lack of skills? Yes, a lack of skills. Let's look at our highest levels. Look at the national team — the best we have. When they play physical teams, like Ghana, there are big problems. Ghana has big guys and they are just as athletic, if not more athletic than us. We cannot use our skill to play around them. You can see our guys panic just like the little kid on Saturday who kicks it out of bounds or forces a bad pass or makes a bad collection.

Even at the higher levels there's a lack of skills? I would say so. Big, strong and speedy are not the only answers. Barcelona is one of the best teams right now and have players well under six feet, but they have this smooth technical ability where they can play big, strong guys. They are able to compensate with their skills and savvy.

Skill and savvy can compete with fast and big? Yes. To be sure, if you are small, you still have to be able to move fast. I mean, it's just the reality. But fast with no skill won't work. You must have the technical ability to keep the ball close. Otherwise they are going to bump you off the ball.

Skill is something that no one can take away from you. It's an asset a player can learn — that skill, that coordination with the ball. And I think that's where we're missing out. You take tennis lessons but do not learn the tactical side at first. It's just how to do the basic things like how to hit forehands and backhands.

But so much of our soccer training doesn't emphasize skills. We want our kids to play like professionals right off the bat. We start teaching them tactics that are important down the road, but it's not a skill set. If you don't have the skills to create something out of that organization, then you're limited. Our soccer culture is all about being organized. Being fast and strong. But now what? What happens when everyone catches up with organization, speed and strength?

Skill is something that no one can take away from you.

Take skateboarding. It isn't cool to simply be the fastest skateboarder in the world. Push, push, push and wow! You got to here in ten seconds! That's not so impressive. But say you do a move. You get creative. You do a trick no one has ever seen. That's different. That's cool. That begins to build a culture attractive to kids. And I think that's something we are missing out on. The Win Now mentality is taking away from the Passion Now.

Parents and some coaches give lip service to skill development. Yeah, sure. I want my kids to dribble. I want my kids to have skills. But what happens when a given player has trouble executing during a game? If the player keeps losing the ball during a dribble? Those same parents and coaches scream, "Kick it long! Get it outta there! "every time he or she gets the ball. Now this kid has lost everything. Yeah, she's turning the ball over, but the only way to get better is to keep at it.

They don't say you can't ever drive if you have trouble at first. You just learn to get better!

When you learn how to drive a car, you're not a perfect driver as you begin. There's some swerving, stopping and starting and the like. But if you keep practicing, you become competent. You become a good driver. They don't say you can't ever drive if you have trouble at first. You just learn to get better!

American soccer culture needs to change. In Europe there are rules that say parents must stay in a designated area during games and curb what they say. They have this section cut off where all the parents have to sit and are permitted to say very few things. They actually give them words they can say! This is happening even in England, where soccer is their whole world.

And that's a good thing? Keeping the parents quiet? I think it can be a big help. But I think the better solution is having the coach create an atmosphere that facilitates learning and that the parents and kids buy into. If that doesn't happen, if the coach is not strong and effective at developing this atmosphere, things will fall apart. But if everyone — club, coaches, parents, kids — buys in, it creates this atmosphere that's about learning.

But if just one of those pieces is missing, it can be...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: TRACKS PUB
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 193593743X
• ISBN 13: 9781935937432
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar