The Soccer Sidelines: Recent Episodes
David Dejewski
Join Coach Dave on the sidelines as he brings you in on what’s going on behind the scenes and the stuff that really matters in youth sports. Understand the game, development, and ways you can support your young athlete at home!
I had just earned my first coaching certification in the grassroots game and was still proud and amazed by how much I had learned. Standing in the foyer of one of my player's homes, the mother of this player took in my happy chatter about what I had done and the plans I was making for her son and the other players in the upcoming season. Her head tilted a little to one side and her face struck a pose that looked like she had just sucked a lemon. "Why would you DO that for rec?" she asked. I will never forget that sour face. Or my disappointment and surpsise.Sour faced woman with closed body postureI was looking right back at her with what was probably a similar face... Well, mine was a face that probably went through a metamorphosis through surprise and puzzlement before it achieved a similar sour pose. "Why would you NOT do that for rec?" I asked. "The age band and range of motivations in the grassroots game is broader than we find on select teams. I never know who is going to show up and it's hard enough to make the most of our time when I know who's coming in advance. The more we know about reaching kids where they are, the more fun they're likely to have. There is so much we can do..."I could see that my logic and excitement was well buried under the grassroots game label. This mom had a daughter who played select travel soccer and was surrounded regularly by others that bought into labels and marketing hype. The fundamentals of youth development, the statistics of how many kids actually play soccer in college or at a professional level, and the challenges facing a coach supporting the grassroots game were not going to get me anywhere that evening. What I discovered in my training to be interesting and even profound was considered pedestrian in that foyer that evening. It was time for me to take my lumps, shut my mouth, and move on. What is the Grassroots Game?The grassroots game is often referred to as recreational soccer or "rec" for short. Distinguishing characteristics of this form of the game include, but are not limited to:No tryouts neededInexpensive (under $200) seasonal fees50% play time guaranteeLocal practices and gamesEmphasis on life lessons, age appropriate development, and funHigh levels of VolunteerismInexpensive uniform kitsThe grassroots game sounds pretty horrible, right? Sarcasm intended. If you're a parent or a coach and you're scratching your head about how the grassroots game can get a bad name, stick around. I'll give you some reasons, but if you are scratching your head, then excellent! You know how I felt that night in the foyer. That mom made me think. Is there something I missed about the way I was thinking about this game or was she missing something? You decide. Why the Sour Face for the Grassroots Game? In three words, marketing, ego, and investment. Here's the deal: Grassroots or Recreational soccer is no where near as profitable as select or travel soccer. Follow the money and you will find prettier everything - fields, uniforms, training equipment, backpack bling - even labels. There are some behind the $17 Billion youth sports industry who know your weaknesses. They know you want your kid to be associated with words like Elite - possibly the most over used word in the expensive brands of soccer. They know you're going to feel pressure from fellow parents. "Where does your kid play?""My kid plays for XY Elite!""Oh wow... that's so cool!"It's a rush for many - parents, coaches, and administrators alike - to get to the top of a hill. Don't ask me to show you the hill because most of it is imaginary. But make no mistake: Competition is equally as real for adults in this game as it is for the kids - sometimes competition among adults is even more intense. My son qualified to play on select travel teams. He did and he enjoyed his experience, but when asked if he wanted to "move up" and play for "White" or for "Blue" teams - the next rung in a hierarchical ladder of good, better,
Returning to youth sports is something we all want to see happen - the sooner the better. Let's get ready for the fun to come!
At long last, it's time to try to get back to the field. What we're returning to looks very different from what it used to be like before COVID-19, but it's a start. In this episode, let's talk about who's returning to play, how we're returning to play, and take in a good example of return to play guidelines.
Is it Time to Return to Play? In the World:
German Bundesliga says that it returned to play May 15th English Premiere League announced that it will return to play June 17th The Italians Serie A announced that it will return to play on June 20th. The French have announced that they will not be returning to play in the near term
In the US:
NWSL announced on May 27th that it will be returning to play with a 25 game tournament that starts on June 27th. USL Championship Board of Governors voted to return to play - target July 11th The MLS is targeting early July to return to play while they work through a number of obstacles I talk about in the show.
It looks like the time is now to start stepping carefully back onto the field - with restrictions I talk about in the show that are described in the document in the resources section of the show notes below. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Resources
Cadeaux, Ethan, and NBC Sports Washington. “NWSL Announces Return to Play with 25-Team Tournament.” NBC Sports Washington, 27 May 2020, www.nbcsports.com/washington/soccer/soccers-back-nwsl-announces-return-play-25-team-tournament. Butler, Alex. “Soccer Return: Messi, Barcelona to Play June 13; Ronaldo, Juventus on June 22.” UPI, UPI, 3 June 2020, www.upi.com/Sports_News/Soccer/2020/06/03/Soccer-return-Messi-Barcelona-to-play-June-13-Ronaldo-Juventus-on-June-22/8021591181655/. Gardner, Hayes. “USL Championship's Vote Is Promising First Step in Return to Play.” Journal, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 June 2020, www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/soccer/louisville-city-fc/2020/06/04/loucity-fc-usl-championship-announces-return-play/3146931001/. Baxter, Kevin. “MLS Players Union Ratifies Agreement Clearing Way for Return in Early July.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2020, www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2020-06-03/mls-players-union-agree-to-return-to-play-plan. “Arizona Soccer Association Return-to-Play Guidelines.” Arizona, www.azsoccerassociation.org/arizona-soccer-association-return-to-play-guidelines-/.
Connect with me: https://thesoccersidelines.com/connect/What are solidarity payments, why do we have them, and how do they work? Do they work at all in the United States? Let's talk through a use case.In this episode, we share some recent news, then jump into the concept of solidarity payments. Specifically, we talk through the case of DeAndre Yedlin, featuring Crossfire Premiere, FIFA, USSF, and the MLS. At the end of this episode, I hope that the concept of solidarity payments (and training compensation) are a little more clear. May 27, 2015 - Shah Alam, Malaysia: Tottenham Hotspurs play the Malaysian Selection soccer team in a friendly match at the Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia. The English Premier League football club is on their Asia-Australia tour.COVID-19 Impact on the GameWPSL and ODP have both suspended their summer programming & are looking forward to the Fall. Expect to see more delayed openings and Summer impact across the US. As the country re-opens, it will likely be uneven and state or regionally based. The game of soccer is a social game. Not only do we have 22 players on the field, but we have active and very social sidelines. Part of the joy of the game is playing and chatting with others in concentrated fields and sideline environments. It'll be impossible to do social distancing with players and nearly impossible to social distance on the sidelines. Kids are at home and many are not working out regularly. A big question in my mind as a coach, is how can we keep our kids engaged and active? This is when super coaching and parental support can play a big role. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageWhat is Training Compensation?From MLCSoccer.com: "Under the FIFA Regulations, when a player registers as a professional for the first time in a country other than the one where he did his training, the club with which he registers is responsible for paying Training Compensation to every club that contributed to his training, starting from the season of his 12th birthday through the season of his 21st birthday. Additionally, Training Compensation is due on a player’s subsequent international transfer through the season of his 23rd birthday to his immediately prior professional club."These exist as a way to incentivize youth clubs to do their best at developing players, to invest in the development environment, and to earn some rewards for the effort. The US system is largely paid for by parents, sponsorships, and charitable donations. Is it fair for US-based clubs to also get training compensation and/or solidarity payments? Is this "double dipping" or getting paid twice to develop youth, or is this a system we should consider embracing - possibly phasing out high family costs? What are Solidarity Payments in US Soccer?From MLSsoccer.com: "Under the FIFA Regulations, any time that a professional player is transferred (whether on a temporary or on a permanent basis) from a club in one FIFA member association (i.e., a federation) to a club in another federation during the course of his contract, up to five percent of the transfer fee is to be withheld and paid by the club receiving the player proportionally to the club(s) involved in that player’s training during the years between his 12th and 23rd birthdays. Unlike Training Compensation, which is only paid for players who have not yet reached the end of their age-23 season, Solidarity Payments will be due for the duration of a player’s professional career, any time he is transferred between federations while under contract and a transfer fee is paid."What are Your Thoughts?This is an issue with lots of arguments and interesting positions. Any time money is at the center, things like Training Compensation and Solidarity payments are going to be contentious. Is it time to embrace a more European style of funding the game? Should we consider instead Norway's model?
In this episode, post a thank you sign for essential workers, host a MASKquerade, and check in on the DA and ODP. From senior graduating without a prom or even a formal graduation to players finding new homes after being displaced from the DA, I cover several topics in an informal discussion format made specially for these Pandemic times. Share Your Wisdom with High School Seniors! I'm asking you to help me assemble an audio mosaic for 2020 graduating high school seniors. Would you wish them well? Offer them wisdom from your own experience? Visit the tab above, click the orange button about half way down the page, and leave a short comment or wisdom. I will assemble our comments together for our graduating seniors and post a Bonus episode just for them!
If you don't want to leave a voice message, write me instead! All of my contact info is listed on this page. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Our MASKquerade Photo Shoot
6' of separation? No problem! Wear a mask in public? No problem! We managed to put together a 2020 prom photo shoot in the midst of a global pandemic!
These young ladies looked great and they had some fun with the default theme of the year!
Masks are in fashion this year, and hopefully won't be back for any future prom season, so why not embrace the situation as it is and make it fun?! There was a lot of giggles and laughter under these masks. We even had some fun with a jail theme!
Is ODP Still a Thing? Yes! ODP is still producing world class players who are emerging on the world stage. If playing soccer on a US Olympic team is your thing, then it's definitely worth a look! What's Going on With DA Players Since the DA was shut down, some have opted to raft together and start a new league called the Girl's Academy (GA). Others have decided to join ECNL. Others will go on to join US Youth Soccer and/or the Olympic Development Program (ODP). The key is to stay humble and keep playing! Essential Employee Gratitude Project Update After several meetings, our Club's project leadership team has decided to create signs with open space on them. Families will be encouraged to contribute to our fundraising effort and "sponsor" a sign or multiple signs. Families will be encouraged to decorate the signs with messages of thanks and to post thee signs throughout our community in thanks for essential worker's service.
Any additional money collected will be turned into meals for essential workers in various favorite locations around our community.
What kinds of projects are you workin on in your community? Please share some of the good ideas you're seeing and tell us how it's going!
It is official. US Soccer has shut down the US Soccer Development Academy effective immediately. This is officially due to "...extraordinary and unexpected circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic...” but SoccerWire and other news outlets suggest that there is more to the story.
Rumors, articles, social media, and blog posts have been circulating for days. Let's talk about it.
Rumor is Confirmed On April 11th, 2020, SoccerWire carried an article titled: "Opinion: COVID-19 provides US Soccer opportunity to shut down Development Academy." This hit my Twitter feed first, and as you know, I almost reported it to you in Episode 124, but I held it back because at that stage it was still a rumor. I couldn't find any solid evidence that this was definitely going to happen and didn't want to use this show to spread rumors. We talked instead about being critical about the news we're seeing today.
It's no longer a rumor. One hour after I published Episode 124, US Soccer announced that it was closing the US Soccer Development Academy for good. The reason they cited in the letter they released was "...extraordinary and unexpected circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic...”
I've been around too long to believe the publicly released reasons for just about anything of significance going on are the whole story. There is always more to things than the public story. So I started to dig in.
Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Contributing factors to closing the US Soccer Development Academy The SoccerWire article lists four potential reasons for shutting down the US Soccer Development Academy (DA). I've listed them here for your convenience, but be sure to read the full article for the rest of the story and context.
The Girls DA has never taken hold as the nation’s most elite league, and has recently been losing very strong clubs back to ECNL. Having talent split between two leagues is definitely inhibiting development of the most elite players, and there is no solution in sight for getting the best players and clubs in the same environments anytime soon. This would solve that problem overnight. The Boys DA has become more a story of Major League Soccer run, cost-free academies; and then the best of the rest for years. While the top boys’ talent plays in the DA if there’s a club near their homes, every year U.S. Soccer makes some type of adjustments to the competition structure and schedule. And MLS clubs have long been rumored to be on the verge of staging a break-a-away league all their own anyway. Cost – U.S. Soccer spends around $9 Million on the DA’s per year, and gets little but grief for most of their investments. With an all new management team at the top of the Federation, and the very real likelihood of an 8-figure financial settlement on the way with the U.S. Women’s National Team, cutting bait now would remove a lot of distractions and sure up what may become much-needed cash in the coming years, before the expected windfalls of the 2026 World Cup. Equality – Reference the issues with the Girls DA lagging far behind the boys’ version in their efforts to consolidate talent. These are modern times, and U.S. Soccer has struggled greatly in the court of public opinion over their treatment of the women’s game. I cannot imagine a world where U.S. Soccer could shut down the Girls DA and not do the same with the Boys. It has to be all or nothing if it’s indeed happening.
The 2019 Split On August 9th, 2019, USSoccerplayers.com reported in an article titled "US SOCCER ADDS ANOTHER ISSUE WITH DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY SPLIT" that the USSF was splitting the DA into two tiers: a red upper tier and a blue lower tier, and resulting in 44 teams being demoted. The move was described as a way to even out an otherwise uneven playing field in which some DA teams were getting crushed and others were dominating. This split caused a lot of stress throughout the system,
There are two big things worth paying closer attention to today: 1. the great things people are doing during this crisis. 2. The proliferation of bad, incomplete, politically motivated, or deliberately incorrect information being shared all over our news outlets and social media channels. Gratitude changes everything - handwriting on a napkin with a cup of espresso coffeeSome Great Things Are Being DoneDavid Barbour from FC Copa is a listener of the show and has responded to episode #122 that I did three weeks ago titled "What can we do during the COVID-19 Crisis?" Listen to David talk about what he and the folks at FC Copa are doing to support their community during this pandemic crisis. Jen Anderson, Nabil Chehab, and Matt Kendall from the Damascus Soccer Club are spearheading an essential worker thank you campaign that includes signs, fundraising and meals for those putting their lives on the line for us so we can have essential products and services. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageSegment Two: Bad Information and RumorsI was nearly duped into delivering you a rumor instead of factual news. It made me reflect on the proliferation of bad information, mis information, and disinformation. This is a big problem when it is fueled by fear, greed, and politics. We're in an election year. We are steeped in fear about the virus and a growing fear about the economy. We are surrounded by wolves trying to make a buck off of our fear. Now, it is more important than ever to be critical about what is being said, who is saying it, what their motivations may be, and what is not being said. ResourcesBoehm, Charles. “US Soccer Adds Another Issue with Development Academy Split.” US Soccer Players, 9 Aug. 2019, ussoccerplayers.com/2019/08/us-soccer-adds-another-issue-with-development-academy-split.html.
A big thanks for essential workers and a caution about information being shared in the public today.
Human history is like a book with many chapters. Every generation writes their piece and leaves their mark. Some chapters are uneventful and boring. Our chapter is not. The early part of the century brought us the Spanish Flu, the Golden Age, World War I, and the Great Depression. The middle of the century brought us World War II, the Holocaust, The Desert Fox, Vietnam, America's first orchestrated coup of a foreign country, Woodstock, free love, and bell bottoms. The later part of the century brought a break from the Gold standard, the S&L crisis, The Tax Reform Act, NAFTA, Desert Storm, bank failures, Cabbage Path Kids, and the a presidential impeachment. So far, the 2000's have brought Y2K, 9/11 , more Desert Storm, more coups, global warming, the 2008 mortgage crisis, another impeachment, BREXIT, bank failures, the Patriot Act, and most recently, a black swan called COVID-19. COVID-19 is unique in that it has profoundly impacted the entire world and it was utterly unexpected by world leaders, markets, or working citizens everywhere. This one event is likely to leave its mark on the world for generations to come. Our kids and grandkids will be talking about the Global Pandemic. We're making history, and the decisions we make and actions we take now matter. The World is Changing for "Good"Of course, we see lots of bad stuff going on. First off, a global pandemic that has the characteristics of COVID-19 is bad. Being locked up in our homes and restricted from socializing is bad. Not being able to work and bring in income is bad. But you don't need come to this show to talk about the bad stuff. It's everywhere. Even where things are not that bad, the fact that humans generally don't like change amplifies the bad in the changes we're experiencing. It is possible to find some good stuff if we look. For every negative, there is a positive (and vice versa), because nature exists in balance. I've listed at least five things that are changing in our world. I suspect each of these things are changing for good. Of course, I recognize that they will change again sometime down the road, but there are some things that exist in different form before COVID-19 and after COVID-19. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageFive Ways the World is ChangingSocial Distancing and the behaviors discovered and refined during social distancing are here to stay. We're not going to stay 6 feet from one another forever, but we will be thinking about vectors of transmission and about new ways of connecting will stick around. Technology is taking amore prominent role in our lives. The learning curve for adoption of some technologies like video conferencing is forced upon us. This will mean more of this technology in the future - along with the behaviors (like telework) that are enabled by these technologies. We're finding community again! Community becomes a lot more important when we need one another. At times like Global pandemics, information exchange, social outreach, and appreciating one another are all going up. The environment is getting cleaner! People are seeing fish in the water in Venice! The sky is turning blue again! The fact that we're not rushing around so much as the world is changing is having a positive effect on the environment. Families are being stress tested. Some families are buckling under the pressure, but many families are finding new ways to appreciate and support one another. Always two sides to every coinOne the one side, we're seeing the negatives of the fact that the world is changing: forfeiture of human rights and privacy, death and pain from disease, financial ruin for many families and small business owners, etc. On the other side, we can find gratitude in having a family, in finding new ways to connect, and in appreciating one another like we used to!
Having a global pandemic on the loose is a scary thing under any circumstances, but limit social interactions and keep people from congregating and we're facing double trouble! Humans tend to raft together in times of crisis. This behavior kept us alive when we came down from the tree and faced off against predators. People all around the world are asking themselves: what can we do during the COVID-19 crisis?
In this episode, let's talk about some of the cool things going on and maybe stimulate some thinking around how we can weather this storm a little easier.
What we're facing The challenge isn't just with the virus. There are financial implications for everyone. There is social isolation at a time when humans are used to coming together. There is a lack of exercise options, major changes in routine, fear mongering on the TV, and kids who need our positivity at a time when positivity seems to be in short supply.
Add to this genuine concerns that people have for loved ones who may be in a higher risk category, and the situation becomes all-pandemic, all-the-time discussions - which leads to fatigue.
The multiplicity of the challenge means a range of secondary effects like depression, getting out of shape, and emotional damage caused by stress. Not great for strengthening the immune system! Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Some cool things people are doing As we wrestle with the question, what can we do during the COVID-19 crisis, some thought leaders are stepping up and making a difference in our communities.
Lauri Lane from the Potomac Soccer Club is bringing professional soccer players online to interact with kids in the club. Steve Knapman from the Potomac Soccer Club has created a season-long development program that kids can do from home. John Dingle from Soccer Source 360 has his kids doing landscaping jobs and making their home look beautiful. Rick Watts of St Mary's Soccer Club took his camera, a tripod, a ball, and his son out back to record a series of exercises that kids from his club can do at home.
Each of these projects bring fitness, connection, and value into an otherwise dark situation. Local leaders all over the country are stepping up to do their part and help community keep life going! What can we do during the COVID-19 crisis? Ask yourself and really think about it for a few minutes each day: what can we do during the COVID-19 crisis? Think about this question in terms of yourself (it's important to be a little selfish and give yourself the gift of fitness and stress relief), in terms of your family, and in terms of your community. If you can think of and implement just one idea - good or bad - you might not only make someone's day better, but you may inspire others to do the same. The biggest super power that humans have is community! Please share! I want your idea to help inspire others to try the same. Our community here at The Soccer Sidelines is growing every week. It's full of smart, caring, motivated people who might just pick up your idea and make it real in their community. A little sharing goes a long way.
As you think about what we can do during the COVID-19 crisis, remember that there are lot's of us who would love to know (and maybe try) some of the things you're doing to keep fun in the house!
We are surrounded by all talk all-the-time about COVID-19. But what can we DO now to make our new normal lifestyle a little more enjoyable for our kids and for our member families?
When bad news is filling our air waves and social media apps... when we're locked in our homes, faced with empty shelves, overflowing with toilet paper, and feeling a little down, we sometimes need to look at the bright side. In this episode, let's talk about the positives of a global pandemic!Making Lemonade out of LemonsLife throws some bitter stuff at us sometimes. Whether we're playing soccer and get a bad bounce in a pass or we're sitting at home avoiding public gatherings during a global crisis, the skill of making lemonade out of lemons gives us power. It allows us to tap positive energy, be creative, and quench our thirst for life - hardships and all. This year, we're suffering form a global response to a new virus that seems to be infecting every country in the world. It's a bad flu, basically. It's called COVID-19. And it's triggered fear, uncertainty, economic hardship, and frustration around the world. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page What are Some Positives of a Global Pandemic?It might seem strange to think there are positives of a global pandemic, but there are two sides of every coin. The side we chose to see can make all the difference in our ability to cope and persevere when things get hard. Our lives are being disrupted. Is disruption always bad? I am arguing that it's not always bad. Sometimes, a disruption in our regular routine is exactly what we need to reset. Sometimes downtime is productive. Sometimes, not fighting traffic can be a gift. Assuming you chose to see the positives of a global pandemic, here are some things we might talk more about:Extra manpower and incentive for Spring CleaningRead more booksSee family again when they're home from schoolTake a pause from hectic everyday life and reflect on what really mattersBipartisan politics have no place in a global crisisGet projects one that you've been putting off - ordering product for renovations, SEO, building a courseFewer cars on the roadA realization that we still need one another The best of us are popping out and offering to help neighbors: shopping, food and TP drives, running errandsPeople are getting educated on medical basics like washing hands, transmission vectors, etc. The general IQ of the television we're watching is going up, less mindless entertainment and more contentOur resilience is showingThe best in people comes out in the worst of timesMany interesting and key conversations are teed up for us to have with our kidsHave More Positives?I don't think this list has to be exhaustive for the point to be made. There are many positives of a global pandemic. To see them, we simply need to look. I've got comments open on this show's Website, on our Facebook page, and on Twitter. Have you got a few extra minutes? How about sharing a positive that you've experienced (or will experience) as a result of this global pandemic? Personally, I think this kind of conversation is a nice needed break from the regular stream of news the networks are continually sharing.
If our goal is to deliberately expose our kids to Character Development coaching this season, then we need an actual plan. We can't leave it to chance that our kids are going to understand the hidden life lessons youth sports teaches. Teamwork, work ethic, perseverance, sportsmanship... these are all multi-syllable words to kids without concrete examples. In this post, I'm going to walk trough an actual 8-week character development coaching program that you can print out and put to work in your club in about a week. If you're not a coach, listen in because this isn't just about coaches. If you want your kids to understand the lessons and remember them, the lessons need to be called out and rewarded. This episode will give you more to celebrate than a scoreboard win. We will discuss the what, the when, and the how of coaching Character Development in a standard single season of youth sports. Let's talk about it. Getting StartedThe program I've laid out in this session has a communication component, a fundraising component, a reward component, and a method for getting it done during an actual eight or ten-week season. For the big picture program overview, please see episode 119 titled Have-a-Ball Character Development Program. Episode 119 describes the 7 steps to follow to set a program like this up. I include some costs and budgets, communication, and source of funds recommendations. In this episode, I'm fast-forwarding into an 8-week soccer season and lay out the pre-game, game day, and post game activities that coaches and parents can follow and support across your entire club in order to make this character development program work. I'm including a downloadable .pdf in the show notes for this episode, so you can have a tangible copy of the program, including recommended coaching questions and a section for reflection after each character lesson. If you're worried that you already have your hands full with trying to teach the basics and you simply won't have time or bandwidth to be deliberate about coaching character development, then this is where I promise you the program is really simple. I'm using standard coaching methodology you should already be familiar with. The only thing you need to add are a few meaningful questions (I provide some concrete examples), a reward mechanism (like a custom game ball or a patch or a mention in your organization newsletter), and the discipline to follow through each week with what's laid out. If you can do these three things consistently, you will no longer have to guess about the lessons your players are learning. You'll know exactly what you're doing and when. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageThe Character Development Coaching Program On One PageWe have to keep it simple. One page is all you need to understand the full 8 weeks of a program like this. Most of what we'll be doing is stuff that's already happening every day - most of the time without being recognized. All we need to do to be intentional about Character Development, is to drop some key questions as seeds, keep our eye out for emerging behaviors, and reward them. Whether you chose to use a custom ball as I did in Have-a-Ball, you give out patches, or you simply recognize players in a public way, the important part is that you make Character Development a deliberate part of your youth sports experience. You can download a copy of my one-page 8-week Character Development Program by simply telling me which email to send it to. Simply tell me where to send it. The WeeksI've divided the season up into 8 weeks - each with their own Character theme: Work EthicTeamworkAccountabilitySportsmanshipRespectEmpathyCouragePerseverance Each of these character themes have a definition, weekly pre-game activities to incorporate into practices, pre-game (practice day) sample questions, Game day activities, and a place for your own comments and reflection.
We need practical ways to bake character development into our youth sports programs. In this episode, I talk about one that I recently implemented in my own club and some of the ways that you can implement a similar program in yours. Being Intentional About Character DevelopmentDevelopment is a long game. It's not something that gets done in one session and it's not something that is already baked into and coaching licensing programs that I've taken yet. It's one thing to say that a character development program is already a natural byproduct of participating in youth sports, but it's another thing all together to say that we are being intentional about it. Sportsmanship is going to be learned by kids through participation in youth sports, for example. But the word Sportsmanship can be preceded by "good" or "bad." Kids are going to learn good sportsmanship and/or bad sportsmanship. Which is the one we want them to learn? How about respect. Kids will learn about respect for the Rules, Officials, Opponents, Teammates, and themSelves (ROOTS). But what will they learn? If yelling at referees is allowed, for example, then on the point of respecting referee's, the message is "we don't have to." The key to good coaching is being intentional about development. Whether we have a plan for developing foot skills and set plays, or a plan for developing transferable character skills, plans matter. Plans converted into action matter more. Let's talk about being intentional about practicing a character development program, and what that might look like on a soccer field. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageCatch Them Doing Something Right!In the book, The One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, the authors talk about this concept of "catching them doing something right." It's a play on words and it's meant to highlight a management approach meant to get the most out of employees, but I've found the concept works great on a sports training field. Basically, it requires us to know what we're looking for in terms of examples of positive behavior, then go on the hunt to find and reward that behavior. In practice, this concept behind this is pretty simple. Let's say we want to develop a players first touch into space. We build up a session plan with that theme and by the final open play activity (where you're no testing for knowledge), you notice a player who had a bad first touch has improved their first touch into space. Well, bingo! That's what you were looking for! You post practice huddle might include specific praise for that player, mentioning the action you noticed as evidence of improvement. Giving praise in a public way accomplishes two big things: The player you're speaking with and about will know that you were watching and that you care. It'll make them feel good about themselves, and probably provoke a smile. Everyone in earshot (players, other coaches, officials, and/or parents) will know what you're developing and can play an important role in supporting or promoting that development. The entire ecosystem is on notice, after your praise, of what really matters in your environment. Have-a-Ball Character Development ProgramWhat follows is a seven step process for putting your Have-a-Ball Character Development Program into practice. This takes some coordination and some pre-planning, but it's not that complicated. Step 1:Partner with a company that can provide custom balls that kids really want Step 2: Partner with parent and or local businesses to "sponsor" your have-a-ball character development program. This means they provide the financial support you need to purchase the number of balls you need. Step 3: Purchase 1-2 balls per game for the upcoming season Step 4:Segment your season into themed weeks. For example, Week 1 = Hard Work, Week 2 = Teamwork,
On February 12th, 2020, the players association representing the men's national soccer team made a public statement that sends shock waves through the United States soccer community. If we are to believe the statement they made, it effectively draws back the curtain on previously confidential negotiations between the United States Soccer Federation and its professional players. At best, this statement hints to the inner workings of United States soccer and suggests some ways in which leadership can improve the system. At worst, their statement cripples trust and condemns our system as deeply flawed. At the very least, it draws people like you and I into the debate around discrimination and fair pay. Let's talk about it. A Tipping Point (The Lawsuit from USWNT) On March 8th, 2019, the United States Women's National Team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer in federal court. This lawsuit, case number 2:29-CV-01717, is a class action complaint, 25 pages long, brought by current and former members of the US Women's National Team with the help of the legal firm Winston & Strawn LLP. It alleges violations of the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The USSF discriminates against Plaintiffs, and the class that they seek to represent, by paying them less than members of the MNT for substantially equal work and by denying them at least equal playing, training, and travel conditions; equal promotion of their games; equal support and development for their games; and other terms and conditions of employment equal to the MNT.
USWNT
The lawsuit "seeks an end to the USSF’s discriminatory practices, and an award to make Plaintiffs and the class whole, as well as to provide for liquidated and punitive damages and all other appropriate relief."
It might help to understand this dispute as one between employers (USSF) and labor (the USWNT in this case). The WNT is presenting themselves as employees of USSF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. They represent that they receive pay and a series of benefits from USSF such as coaches, trainers, nutritionists, doctors, massage therapists, etc. To give you some context around staffing, at the USSF annual general meeting (AGM) on the 14th of February, USSF revealed that the USWNT has a staff of 35 people caring for 23 players.
In addition to staffing, the class action reveals the USSF provides other benefits like deciding the number of games that will be played, where they will be played, practice fields, locker rooms, game surfaces, exercise equipment, scheduling times, transportation, and more.
The WNT claims that USSF provides centralized management and control, that the women require equal skill, effort and responsibilities as their male counterparts, and that the women have "Achieved unmatched success in International soccer leading to substantial profits for the USSF as employer."
Some stats the WNT cite include three World Cup titles and four Olympic Gold Medals. They point out that they were three-time winners of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Team of the Year Award, and Sports Illustrated's Athlete of the Year. They're ranked number one in the World, a position they've held for ten out of the last eleven years.
They claim to have generated "substantial" revenue and profits for the USSF. This is a claim I questioned as I read through the materials in preparation for this show. As President of a 501(c)3 nonprofit myself, I know it is not legal to generate profit in the pure sense. For your information, what we might call "profit" in the nonprofit world is usually classified as "retained earnings." In other words, money generated must be recycled back into support of the mission - something I may talk more about at another time.
There are several references in this class action to "profit," "net loss," and "net profit" that I hope can be better clarified with the help of an actual nonprofit accounting professional.
Happy President's Day 2020! Big news in the world of US Soccer this week. Full episode coming soon after the holiday. Get ready!
None of us are perfect parents. Let's talk about a parenting and work promotion tool that is within your reach. Improve your parenting and your career!
This episode was inspired by another great sideline chat. This one was between myself and a soccer day on the side of our futsal court last weekend. His son is looking at playing for more than one soccer team at the same time in the Spring. He was asking me about it & it reminded me of you, of course. You should hear what we talked about.
We talk a lot about multi-sport kids and the advantages kids can have by rounding out and improving their overall athletic IQ, but how about those kids who love soccer and want different experiences from different levels of competition and/or different groups of friends? What is a Multi-Team Kid Both my son and daughter were both multi-team kids. They played for more than one team each season. My daughter played on two teams at the same time. My son played on three. They got something different from each environment.
A multi-team kid is a kid who plays for more than one team in the same sport at the same time. Many of you should be cringing when I say this, but it's not uncommon. It's also not without its risks. What follows will be a discussion about some of those risks, the rewards, and what families and coaches should consider when dealing with multi-team kids. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Why Would Kids Play on More Than One Team? A lot of it comes down to friends. Kids have friends on other teams that play in other leagues. They connect with one another in school. They say things like "You should come play with us. We have fun!" Kids hear about different styles, different experiences, and they want to go where their friends are and try new stuff. This is all very natural.
Other reasons to play on more than one team might be to find new challenges. Many kids love to play in a relaxed environment where fun and friendship rule AND in a more challenging environment where a crispy through pass is received by a competent player who can use it to the team's advantage. I'm not saying that either is more or less fun or that there are not competent players in recreation or classic programs. I'm merely pointing out that there are multiple reasons why players might like to play on more than one team.
For some, it's about exposure. Though I fear this is too often more of a marketing gimmick to attract parents willing to pay big bucks, than it is an actual opportunity to be scouted. Clubs, coaches, or parents move kids from platform to platform hoping to find the right platform so their kid can have the best chance of being discovered. While discovery is possible, see my episode describing US Soccer's alphabet soup for reasons why this might not be the best strategy. Considerations As a coach, I want to be clear right out of the gate that playing on multiple teams in the same sport in the same season has risks. It can be made to work, but there are things we need to think about. Going down this path will require additional communication and in some cases, checking with your medical professionals.
So what are the risks?
Overuse Injuries: rest and variety are important to the human body. Injuries occur when we perform the same task over and over again. Running too much can lead to shin splints, tendonitis, hip pain, back pain, and even fractures. An exclusive focus on one sport (one set of similar actions) doesn't allow other supportive tissue structures to form. This, combined with repetitive stress placed on the same structures without adequate rest can result in injuries. These can be serious enough to take a player out of the game - or worse. It's important to avoid overuse injuries. Confusion: at the younger ages - below 13 - specialization really shouldn't be the primary focus, but for 13 and above, kids are starting to identify with positions and will begin to take deeper dives into those positions in terms of what skills and attributes those positions need. The coach often has some input as to where players fit toge...
I was minding my own business, eating my lunch alone at a table when two women asked to join me at my table. The conversation that would unfold for the next hour or so went way beyond my expectations.Before I went to this convention, I thought that gender bias in the game was mostly as a thing that didn't have any real effect on my life. Today, I can't stop seeing it everywhere - I mean everywhere. In this episode, I want to talk about women and gender bias in the game and in life. What is gender bias and how is it affecting not only the women in our world, but the men, our children, and the entire game. I don't know if this episode is more for my men or women listeners, but I promise you, it's worth paying attention to. Let's talk about it. What is Gender Bias?Unfair difference in the way women and men are treated.Understanding the definition of Gender Bias is easy. But I think actually understanding and appreciating gender bias in real life and the effect that it has on us - men, women, and children alike - is a whole other ball game. I've known the definition of gender bias for years. But as with most hot button issues, I didn't think it applied to me, so I honestly just considered it one of those many social problems that someone else was better at dealing with. I was wrong. As a manager of employees, I felt like I always stood ready to address a gender bias or sexism issue if it ever came to my attention, but it rarely showed up explicitly. When it did, I was there to do my part in dealing with it, but honestly, I thought it was another of those issues that the media and social pressures were blowing out of proportion. There is so much noise about groups being unfairly treated these days, they're enough to make anyone curl into the fetal position and cry uncle. So... I live my life and put the noise on ignore. Again, I was wrong. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageMy History with Female Gender BiasAs with most things, I think it's useful to know where I'm coming from when I talk about this. My perspective is likely different from yours because my exposure has been different. I'm a 6'2" man who's had many successes in life. I've climbed to the top of several career ladders. I have a great family. I don't fear walking alone at night. And I have had what I believe are many healthy professional relationships with women employees, peers, and supervisors over the years. My mother is a feminist. She grew up with four older brothers in New York, and from the stories she told me, her life was a testosterone heavy environment. My uncles were scrappers. Gender inequality affected her profoundly, and to this day, she and my sister are pretty adamant about the idea that whatever men can do, women can do better. To them, it doesn't matter what. Women can pretty much do anything better than men. As a boy and later as a young man growing up, the continual refrain became pretty annoying actually. I felt like I got it already and wondered what they wanted me to do about it. I never felt like pay inequality or glass ceilings made sense. I won a lot of work related awards and I've been beaten by women who were clearly better the job than I was and genuinely celebrated their success. As a Treasurer and member of the board of directors for a fire department I was a member of as a young man, I was the lone voice advocating for two women to join the department in the late 80's, early 90's when women were boxed out of the fire service.I spent a lot of my life working in operational environments, and I treasured having a female partner. I'll talk more about that in a few minutes, but to me, male/female partners were more balanced; a yin and yang working together in harmony. I was medical operations and I found that we reached and connected with more humanity together than we ever could as single sex teams. I felt that gender bias was not my problem.
I'm trying to find way to deliver perhaps one of the most important life lessons that youth sports can teach. I want to help people transition from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. In this episode, I'll explain the differences between the two, how they each manifest on the pitch and in real life, and share some ideas I have so far. I want your input here, so if something I say strikes a chord with you, please use one of the many avenues I've given you to connect with me at https://thesoccersidelines.com/connect/. Let's talk about fixed vs growth mindset and how each of these can have profound consequences on our own and our children's ability to succeed in youth sports and in life. Why Two Mindsets?Very simply, I'm referring to a body of work done by a Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, Ph.D in a book titled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. If you have not read her book and you find what we're talking about today interesting, I welcome you to use the link I put in my show notes to pick up a copy and read it. That link is my Amazon Affiliate link, so you'll contribute like five cents to the show, but every penny counts. Dr. Dweck's work really resonated with me because after being exposed to the concept, I was immediately able to see the two mindsets in my own two kids at home, and in the kids I was coaching on the field. I tagged myself as a growth mindset kinda guy, and found her work provided me a very useful mental framework that I could use to categorize just about everyone in a few short minutes of getting to know them.Understanding fixed vs growth mindset is really about understanding how people view themselves. Do they see the world as a fixed immovable object that they need to navigate, or do they view themselves as in control over creating the world they live in? Once you know how people view themselves and the world around them, you have a vital piece of information in hand regarding how they are going to respond to challenges. As a parent or as a coach (or as a manager), it's important to know where people are so we can get a better sense of what we need to work on in order to help them realize their full potential. From there, we can tailor our own behavior, tone, what we talk about, how we talk about it, etc in such a way that appeals to the people we're trying to connect with. It also helps with patience if we understand where certain behaviors are coming from. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageWhat is a Fixed Mindset?The first mindset she calls a "fixed" mindset. She will go into much more detail in her book, but at a high level, those with a fixed mindset are likely to believe that they are who they are. They came into this world with a set of skills, personality, character, and intelligence, and they need to discover it. The key here is a focus on discovering what is already there. If people with a fixed mindset discover that they are good at something, they run with it. It's great! If, on the other hand, they discover that they are not good at something, they "know" to avoid it. They wonder with every new experience: "Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?..."If you've coached kids with this mindset, you'll know that it takes a lot of effort to convince them to get on the ball at home if they need improvement. They assume they're not good, so there isn't a lot of point in working at it. Many with a fixed mindset would rather move on and try something new - to see if they're good at the new thing. If they are, they pursue that. If they're not, they take a personal hit to ego and keep searching for the thing they are good at. Fixed mindset players and adults are, in my opinion, more challenging to work with. Coaches want players who are "coachable." This means that they take criticism, suggestions, and feedback,
Sure we have bad sideline behavior, but should we blame parents? What else is at play in our world today that might lead to poor sideline behavior?
I don't think I could have anticipated in 2017, that three years later, you and I would be celebrating our third holiday season together. Whatever your favorite way to celebrate the holidays are, I'm hoping that for you it's full of family, good health, giving, and gratitude. There are a lot of ways to celebrate the holiday season, but I think they all serve to recharge our batteries for the Winter season ahead. Let's come together with our loved ones, bask in the warmth of a fire, warm food, good company, and memories I hope are positive for you. If you have memories that are not so good, let's do something to make one good memory this year we can build on next year. Parents doing piggyback to their children in countrysideFor me, I'm grateful for all the stories, tweets, emails, phone calls, and sponsorships that bring us together around the stuff that really matters for our kids and our families. As a listener of this show , you reaffirm your commitment and inspire me every week to spend the 5-8 hours it takes to produce a show and deliver it to your mobile phone, home listening device, or computer. I'm in this more than 110 episodes now. I'm finally starting to get comfortable. I'm making more and more contacts with you, and I'm starting to see some momentum build up around the things that we talk about every week. I'm not alone. There are great people trying to make a difference all around. Just check out my followers on Twitter. I've seen some really great stuff there, and I never thought I would be on Twitter or or like the kind of interactions I see among my Twitter followers. We're going to take a break for now and spend time with family. I'm hoping that you're doing the same. Please enjoy the holidays! This is the stuff that really matters! Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageTalk with you again when we return!
Individual development vs organized team sports - let's explore swimming vs soccer and the ways we support our youth in each environment.
Crafting your soccer experience have a place in the future of youth soccer. Imagine the stuff you want without the stuff you don't need. #nopaytoplay
How do you get from wherever you are in the youth soccer ecosystem to the Olympics, a National team, or a professional team? How do you make the most of your experience and come away happy that you participated? As simple as this question should be to answer, it is anything but simple. The array of options and thousands of spin offs that exist today are confusing even to those in the business of youth soccer full time. In this episode, I am going to confuse you temporarily while I lay out the scope of the Alphabet Soup problem, then Im going to try to simplify some things so you can sleep tonight. I apologize in advance for the spaghetti network of nonsense I'm going to throw at you, but if you can tough it out, my hope is that you'll have a better picture of the US soccer landscape and maybe make some more informed decisions about the future for your kids as they(and you) explore this awesome sport. Let's Back Up and Take it From the TopAt the top of the soccer pyramid is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Under the Umbrella of FIFA, 3.6 Billion fans from 200 countries participate in one of six "Confederations." It was founded in 1904; headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland; and is governed by an elected president, a senior vice president, a secretary general, and 7 vice presidents. They are elected by the FIFA Congress which consists of a member from each of the associations that are part of the organization. The total number of participants is 25. They make the top strategic decisions like which nation will host the World Cup - which is held every four years. The Congress also has committees like the finance committee, fair play committee, ethics, rules, and referees. The six confederations include: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) - the South American confederation with 10 members and founded in 1916 in Argentina. The Union Des Association Europeenes de Football (UEFA) - mostly the European region with 55 members and founded in 1954 in SwitzerlandThe Asian Football Confederation (AFC) with 47 members and founded in 1954 in ManillaThe African Confederation (CAF) with 56 members, founded in 1957 in Sudan Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) - the Pacific Island confederation with 1966 after Australia and New Zealand were rejected by the AFC. Australia left to join the AFC in 2006. And the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) with 41 members including the US, Canada, Mexico, and others, founded in 1961 in Mexico City Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageInside the United StatesSince this is a US-based podcast and I am part of a leadership team that runs an affiliate member of US Youth Soccer, I'm going to deep dive into the US system. Just know that the US is one of 41 members of CONCACAF - though it could be argued we're one of the biggest players in this confederation. The US became an original member of CONCACAF on September 18, 1961. A bit of background you should know about is 1. the US didn't always follow FIFA 100%. That changed in 2010 and we now follow FIFA. 2. Canada, Mexico, and the United States are hosting the World Cup 2026. The last time we hosted a World Cup, the MLS was born, so many in the US are expecting positive disruption in the US Soccer Landscape in the next 5-6 years. United States Soccer Federation (USSF)At the top of the United States soccer pyramid is a 501(c)3 nonprofit governing body; headquartered in Chicago, Illinois; referred to as the United States Soccer Federation or USSF. It was founded on April 5th, 1913, and acquired provisional FIFA affiliation on August 2nd, 1913. The US became a full member on June 27, 1914. USSF also has a relationship with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. Under US Youth Soccer,
How is it even possible for parents or coaches to navigate the alphabet soup of clubs and leagues in soccer? Let's explore together...
Flame out or burn on for a lifetime of passion for movement, teamwork, and healthy living? This seems to be an essential question facing young families today - even though most hardly think about it. Personally, I think sports (and support of sport) has a place in our lives from early age on through geriatrics. Let's be real... It's more fun at any age to do something physical in the context of games or group fun than it is to grind away at the treadmill day after day. Given what we know today about the statistics of youth sports, it seems we can do better at keeping kids interest in sport. Let's talk about some numbers, some conclusions, and some recommendations that you can put into play today. Photo by: Jarek Tuszyński / CC-BY-SA-3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]The Youth PictureThere are a lot of sports to choose from. Cheerleading is up 18.2% from 2008 with 775,000 kids playing. Track and Field is down 10% from 2008 with 307,000 kids participating. Soccer is down 3.3% from 2008 with 2,200,000 kids playing. While many sports are down from 2008 participation levels, many others are up - with a huge exception: kids are leaving at earlier ages. The average age of last regular participation for the game of soccer is 9.1 years old. 9.1 years old!! Kids turning 9 are just starting to get introduced to the real game. Why are these kids leaving before they ever really get started?!Across all sports, kids are leaving by average age of 11. Just a few years ago, it was reported that 70% of kids in the US were leaving youth sports by age 14. Now it's 11?! What the heck is going on? Are these kids not having fun anymore? According to the latest Aspen Institute's Utah parent survey - reportedly not. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageWhat is Going On?!The top reasons cited in the reading I've done include the following:Specialization too early. Kids just want to play and have fun. Even if they're good at a sport, most kids want a chance to play other games. Multi-sport kids last longer in youth sports than single sport kids. Something to think about as we pull another few thousand bucks out of our pockets for super clubs and sexy uniforms. Too expensive. Cost is a factor. When mom and dad are always talking about how much youth sports costs (cause it costs a lot!), it puts pressure on kids. Youth sports becomes a job with expectations. They get plenty of that from schools. They don't want more from their play activities. Pressure from the sidelines. Speaking of pressure, let's face it... our sidelines are becoming a nightmare. Parents and coaches yelling like they're going to have a stroke if their kid doesn't win, or pass, or stop the ball, or make perfect set plays, or get's knocked down in the run of play. We all want our kids to be successful, but making mistakes and learning is a huge part of the youth game. Unforgiving sidelines make that impossible. Kid's don't want that. Professionalization of youth sports. When youth sports become more about winning games and entertaining the sidelines, well... you've heard me talk about this a lot in the past. The game ceases to be about the kids. This is their time. Sidelines need to leave them alone to enjoy their time. And It's Not Just the KidsI'm a coach, an administrator, a 501(c)3 board chairman, a parent, a business owner, and a podcaster. I can speak from experience. Sometimes, I've had enough and need a break. Everything except for my business revolves around youth sports - from January to December. I'm sure you can relate! When we're running every weekend to get kids to games and swim meets. When we're working in the off season to secure permits, take inventory, repair equipment, set strategic direction, execute contracts, etc. etc. etc.; a rainy day might seem like a blessing. Vacations are too few and far between even when we're NOT involved in youth sports.
In this episode, we continue the dialog about bad apple officials, introduce some practical ways we can be intentional about coaching character, and share a warning story about a lawsuit against a JV baseball coach that dragged on for 7 years and cost $75,000 for telling a player to slide into third base.More Bad ApplesA continuation fro last week's discussion, a listener writes in about his experience as a coach with a bad referee, an assistant coach's bad behavior, and parents that ultimately threatened the refs in the parking lot. This story serves to highlight the need for higher quality communication between parents, coaches, and players. When communication breaks down, assumptions get made, and feelings get hurt. Let's keep the dialog going! Share these shows with your community and help the rest of us keep the dialog going. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageRewarding DevelopmentHere are a couple of ideas you can use to help make coaching character intentional: 3x5 cards with development goals written on them. In this case, we pass out cards to parents on the sidelines and ask them to help us track stuff that actually matters (beyond the scoreboard). Listen to the show to see where I got the idea from and how we might use it. Ages 3-18Have-a-Ball. In this idea, we purchase game balls for every game in the season. We segment the season into weekly themes. Each week, we publish the theme of the week to coaches and parents. At the end of each game, we bring coaches and players together and give the game ball to the player(s) who best represent the character subject for the week: respect week, sportsmanship week, teamwork week, empathy week, etc. Ages 9 and above. Suing Coaches for CoachingThe article in the resources section below is a must read. Imagine coaching as every other coach does. A player gets hurt during a game, and you spend the next 5 years + $75,000 in legal fees to ultimately secure an innocent verdict. Your crime? As a 3rd-base coach, you told a player to slide into 3rd base. The player took a bad slide and broke their ankle. That break turned bad so parents sued. What might this mean for youth sports in general? What might it have meant if the coach was found guilty? How manny more lawsuits would end up in court - tying up coaches and clubs for years - simply for making a call as a coach that parents didn't agree with? What can we do to improve communication and discourse around youth sports? ResourcesPoliti, Steve. “He Told a Kid to Slide. Then He Got Sued.” He Told a Kid to Slide. Then He Got Sued., 12 Nov. 2019, https://www.nj.com/slide-trial/.
We have good eggs in every community and bad apples that ruin it for everyone. In this episode, we talk about listener-provided examples - one of each.We have stories like this going on all over the world. I would love it if you sent me one or two that I can use on the show. This stories inspire people or serve as warnings, and they keep the focus on the stuff that really matters in youth sports!A positive example of a coach strengthening 5-year-old players with encouragement Bad ApplesOur first story came from a tweet earlier this week. A listener of this show wrote me:"I’d love your thoughts on this. Today, I experienced a broken child because a referee was saying negative things about him during the game; one statement in particular that he was trash. What would be your response? How should this be handled?Dr. Timeka Cline - Principal of an Elementary School in GeorgiaHow ridiculous is it for a referee to call a player "trash" in a game. I know many referees who would find this a violation of trust and respect. I can't imagine any adult considering this acceptable behavior. This referee need to be reported to their Assignor and to league officials. In the episode, I describe my full advice to Dr. Cline. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageGood EggsEvery community is full of good eggs. There are many more good eggs than bad apples. In this case, a soccer parent from my own club wrote me with the following:"David,A few weeks ago, our 5-year-old son Christian, had a rough game day. He felt like he couldn’t get to the ball, thought nobody wanted to play with him, he kept saying “I can’t do this”. My husband, Christian’s older sister, and I kept cheering him on, asking him to keep trying, to help his teammates because they needed him, to no result. He looked really sad, he cried, it was just a bad day. His coach was incredibly patient and observed, tried to engage him as much as he could. Christian wasn’t responding to it. That coach never gave up on him even for a second. He showed compassion, encouragement and understanding, and finished that day still showing Christian that he was an important person there. It just wasn’t a good day after all, but we thanked him so much for trying so hard to help.We know kids are resilient, but nobody wants to see their kid having a sad day. The following weekend, it looked like that same coach was ready for Christian. We noticed he put some strategies into practice that were really engaging. He had Christian (and all other players) doing designated tasks such as kick starting a few different times. He was fun, funny and also addressed the players by their names. They loved their goal celebrations, and there was Christian, at this time running, passing, and scoring, with a smile on his face. He looked confident, happy, and all because that coach, that volunteer coach, put a lot of energy into helping him, and was able to bring him out of his little limbo. We naturally thanked him again, to which he responded “See? Much better, right? I knew he would”.I wanted to bring to your attention how much our family appreciates that volunteer coach. Each family has their our stories, the behind the scenes, the challenges, and having that one person, a volunteer, who legitimately believes in your child, will always have a major impact. Not only on a Saturday 5-year-old soccer game, but as he grows and builds his character based on the impression that coaches like his coach left that day. (See attached picture - the coach with the team - Christian is on the far right) (See photo above)With gratitude,Ty"
This episode is about winning more youth soccer games. Everybody wants to win, right? So how specifically do Clubs, coaches, and teams ensure the wins? Continue on with me as we explore several ways in which you can win more games. These are tips and techniques that I have personally witnessed and are widely in use, but rarely talked about for the gotta-win club, gotta-win coach, and gotta-win youth soccer parent. Go Team!What is Winning? Winning youth sports games and in life is top of a lot of American agendas. And why wouldn't it be? If we have to spend all of the crazy money we spend to get on a youth sports team, to pay for our coach, on all the gear - and let's not forget about all the time we've invested in driving to practices and games, team parties, and sometimes messing up the car with other people's sweaty, dirty kids when it's our turn to car pool. The investment we make better pay off. Do you agree? We better see some wins on the scoreboard or we as well have saved our money and played in some Rec program or not played at all.In this episode, I'm going to share a number of ways that you can win - starting next season or even next game. If winning is your thing, then this episode is for you. These are practical tips. This is not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. Let's jump into the stuff we need to know and do right now. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageFirst Things FirstThe first thing we need to do to win more games is to set our sights firmly on winning. Having a bigger number on the scoreboard than our opponent needs to be front and center. There are multiple ways to accomplish that larger number, so we have to forget about this Kumbaya campfire marshmallow development nonsense. It's a numbers game. We have only so many kids in our community. We need to find the best ones, get them on the field, teach them how to win, and take our show on the road to bring some butt kicking to anyone who tries to stand in our way.Go the extra mile. Games are good to win. In fact, we MUST win, but winning games is not enough. We have to remember the big picture. It's about winning consistently. We need to string wins together to make our winning track record. We need to climb over the corpses of any other team in our way as we climb the standings ladder. At the end of the season, our names will be on the trophy. If Johnny, Sam, or Jane can't cut it, bench them. Let's face it, I don't drive the kind of car that I drive to the parking lot every Saturday so we can go home a loser. We come from a winning family. We drive a winner's car. We pay winner's prices to play. We play on winner's fields. Have you see our uniforms? Those are winner's uniforms, baby. Race car stripes down the sleeve because we're fast like race cars. If you don't know me and have never heard this show before, then hopefully, you're shaking your head, getting ready to turn off this bonehead, and go listen to something else. But you know this story is real. It's happening every day across America in youth sports. And if I want to attract parents to pay obscene amounts of money, I'm going to dangle the golden carrot in front of you. I'm going to convince you that your kid is a winner when he or she is on one of my teams. We're awesome together - especially when you pay a few thousand dollars to buy awesome stickers for the back of your car. Yeah, I may be acting out the worst among us, but there is truth between my sarcasm. The truth is: if we want to win games, we need to put winning over development. As a coach, there are plenty of games I could have won. I know how to win games. It's not hard. I don't even have to have good players. I just have to play against teams that have players who are worse than mine. It's all relative, right? Let's talk about a few other ways that I can win youth soccer games. I hope you can appreciate sarcasm. Gotta Look Good!
Twice this week, I was asked by parents - each from opposite sides of the country - about how to improve the competitive mindset of their children. One dad is father and coach of a 7-year old in California. The other is a mother of a 9-year-old in Maryland. In this episode, I will share the questions and their context and do my best - with the help of a couple of friends of mine - to address these listener questions.
There is a lot of stuff in this episode, so make yourself comfortable while we explore the question of aggression, confidence,and the competitive mindset.
Self Confidence word cloud hand sphere concept on white background. Setting the Stage with The Questions First of all, shout out to listeners of this show! You always inspire the best episodes with your questions and comments, so thank you for sharing! Don't sleep on the SpeakPipe integration I have with my Website at https://thesoccersidelines.com/connect/. SpeakPipe a cool tool that I pay for that gives you a simple press-to-talk button on your mobile device or computer where you can leave me voice feedback, ask questions, etc. I can't think of an easier way to communicate.
My first question came last Sunday at 10:30 PM Eastern from Paras. Paras writes from California:
Hi,I am a dad of soccer kid who will be 7(born Nov 2012) years old next month.. I played lot of soccer and other sports in Asia during my school days. I today train my son and is also in U8 academy at local club in California.. My son skills, strength and pace is good for his age.. Besides U8 ,I enrolled him for a rec program for 2011/2012 , which was for two months at local club just to get games exposure . I noticed in these games that he was not aggressive (positive aggression) which may be because his cognitive is in developing phase ... He has a feeling that older kids will be hard on him and do something negative.. The club should have conducted the games for U8 only rather than 2011/2012.. His games with U8 kids are good.. Can you please share your experience on how can kids develop the mindset to overcome this? I am using strategy like watching with him European soccer leagues and talking /discussing with him about how players are being strong with the ball, soccer drills, motivation. Paras Tiwari The Soccer Sidelines Listener Community My second question came to me in person during one of my Culture Walks this weekend. Culture Walks, you may recall from very early episodes back in 2017, is what I do as Club Officer to walk the sidelines of my games every weekend, evaluate coaches, connect with parents, and in general support and maintain our club culture. Conversations from my Culture Walks inspired this show.
This soccer mom in this case is wife to one of our assistant coaches, very involved with multiple sports with her kids, and generally active in the youth sports community. She asked about her 9-year-old & was wondering what she or her husband can do to improve their child's "aggression" on the pitch.
Her child plays in a recreation league, in an age band that included 9 and 10-year olds, and has played for a few years in our Academy program for younger players, ages 3-8. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Unpacking the Issues Paras' question is actually several great questions, relevant statements and assumptions rolled up. They deserve some unpacking as we dig into what's going on here. First for context, we're talking about a 6-year-old player. Per United Soccer Coach standards, this is a Stage 2 player. Next, we're talking about a child born in the 4th quarter of the year. See last week's episode #102 about Relative Age Effect (https://thesoccersidelines.com/relative-age-effect-in-youth-soccer/) to understand more about why this is important. His son will son be 7. His player has a mixture of academy and recreation games experience and Dad noticed that his son is not as aggressive in the game environment as he...
Relative Age Effect in Youth Soccer is a bias that highlights the attention we give towards winning vs development. At its worst, it can be cheating
Travel tournaments can be full of excitement and fun. What are the pros and cons of travel tournaments for our players and families?
I'm hearing some variation of this over and over again: "My kids looked forward to playing varsity soccer in high school, but they (or we) have been disappointed with the experience." Why?
In this article, let's explore the downside of the varsity experience and what we can do about it. The Varsity Experience Summary Where we live, our Varsity players play 12 games in 6 weeks. After tryouts, selected players get a few weeks of preparation, then a rapid fire schedule of games and practices. There are playoffs at the end and teacher-coaches along the way. Kids play in front of their peers for school pride. Wins are lauded during the school day. Losses lamented. Cheer leaders turn out to fire up the crowds and all manner of fast food is sold, along with $5 tickets to get in.
Games are lunchroom, hallway, and even the occasional class time discussion. In other words, varsity sports are very much part of the fabric of the school and everybody knows about them. To get on a varsity team is a big deal. Cultures for each sport evolve each year. Everyone knows the "Lax boys," the "soccer players," the "football players," and the swimmers. Everyone knows how the various teams are doing, and even if a student is not a player on a team, it's often school yard conversation about what happened at the last game, who beats who, and what players are the play makers. To be on a varsity team in high school means a certain amount of celebrity.
Youth sports in high school is meant to be "an extension of the classroom" with a focus on developing "the whole child." In our area, this is made clear through pre-gam announcements before every match. Have a listen to this:
Listen to this opening announcement from earlier this week. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Challenges Faced By High Schools Out of the gate, I have to admit that although I coach and parent kids of High School age, I am not a High School teacher or coach and I am not privy to the internal politics and budget constraints of high schools in general. I have some very specific experience that I am extrapolating to a bigger picture. My experience as the coach of high school players, as a father of high school students, as the host of this show who reads and listens to feedback from listeners, and the weekly reading I've done on the subject (found in the show notes for every episode) informs my opinion. My opinion doesn't represent every situation. Your situation may be different from what I describe here. These issues are in no particular order: Staff Shortages I spoke with athletic directors, coaches, and teachers from several schools. They are unanimous about the fact that there are not enough people around who are willing to coach. At least not around here.
"We're lucky to get anyone to take the job. It pays $15/hour. It takes up a lot of time. And it's a thankless job that comes with a lot of parent hassles." said one person who I spoke with two weeks ago. I heard similar comments from several different people in the last two weeks. I got a sense from those discussions that "we'll take anybody. "
I want to be clear about something. I'm not saying that if somebody steps up and takes a job that no one else wants, that the person who stepped up is somehow lesser quality than the person who wins a job that has stiff competition. I'm a fan of taking on jobs that nobody else wants. For the right person, these kinds of jobs are pure opportunity gold. When a hard working, creative, visionary type person steps up and takes on a job that nobody else wants, they often have an opportunity to turn it into whatever they want. The right kind of person can break paradigms, overhaul an antiquated system, bring value beyond anyone's imagination...
However, when someone takes the job to avoid doing another job, just because they need the $15/hr, because they're not qualified to do anything else,
Physical exercise like playing soccer is preventative for many disease processes. Diseases brought about by obesity, for example, are often prevented or avoided through regular physical exercise. It's ironic, therefore, that physical activity itself can cause injury too. As with all things: too much of a good thing can be bad for us. Being or getting physically fit isn't something we can rush into. It's a process. Staying physically fit means subjecting our bodies to controlled stress over time. If we over do it, we can hurt ourselves. If we do too much too fast, we can hurt ourselves. If we don't learn to maintain a more physically fit body that is subjected to regular controlled stress, we can hurt ourselves. Let's talk about it. JRR007 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]Injury Prevention in Youth Soccer - TypesInjuries in youth soccer come in many forms. If you've been listening to this show for long, you know that I gather a lot of things under the safety umbrella: Physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual predation, physical injury, etc. For this episode, let's narrow the focus to avoiding physical injuries due to overuse, over stress, or subjecting athletes to situations where either their bodies or their support system is not prepared. Further, let's break physical injuries into a few sub categories, including:Too much, too fast (coming up off the couch after a long summer of inactivity)Overload (not maintaining balance between stress and recovery)Internal injuriesEquipment and Environmental situations Overuse injuries brought about by stacking similar body movements from different sports on top of one anotherAs always, I'm not going to merely describe each of these five physical injury hot spots, but I will attempt to provide some solutions that you can use to prevent injuries for your soccer players. PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageToo Much Too FastNot all kids are created equal. As kids get older, their natural flexibility starts to decrease. I'm pretty sure every listener of this show is painfully aware of decreased flexibility that comes with age, but it might not be common knowledge that this decrease in flexibility can start as early as Junior High School. It's true that most kids are still more flexible than most adults, but bones begin to harden, muscles and sinews stretch with the rapid growth of bones and support structures, and additional stress on the body in the form of additional weight all become contributing factors and good reasons for coaches and parents to start paying attention to fitness, stretching, and whole body conditioning early on. I coach high school kids between the ages of 14 and 18. I worry about making sure my players don't get hurt - particularly early in the season before their bodies have a chance to adjust to what amounts to an increased level of activity for most of them. A summer of sitting on the couch seems more and more common these days. It used to be that kids were outside playing street hockey, kick the can, kill-the-guy-with-the-ball (a form of tag), kickball, swimming, frisbee, stick ball, and all manner of creative outdoor games kids use to love. We have a real issue today with kids literally sitting on the couch if they're not being directly instructed to physically play. This makes the Too Much Too Fast problem a real concern. Without adequate pre-season conditioning, players are at risk for stretching, tears, pulls, and even metabolic problems (that I'll talk more about in a minute). Perhaps equally as important, players who's bodies are not prepared for the rigors of a soccer match won't enjoy the match as much. They won't play as well because they're in their head worrying about being gassed. Or, they find themselves facing an early injury they end up wrestling with the rest of the season, or a season-ending injury that takes them out of the game all together.
The job of being a coach requires men and women who pursue this craft to know the kids they're working with. Different age groups have different needs. They have different communication styles and differing abilities to understand the game, one another, or even instructions given them.
Most coach's training programs parse development into physical, mental, emotional, and psycho-social buckets. Today, I'm going to talk with you about age-appropriate mental development. Lest you think this knowledge is just for coaches, I assure you that if you're a parent, you'll benefit as well. I personally believe that every parent would benefit from coaching training & if such a thing as a license to have kids ever became a thing - let's hope it never does - but if it did, I would want parents trained in coaching kids at all ages. The stuff we learn as coaches is stuff that often takes parents years to figure out. We learn the hard way as parents and the stakes are highest with our own kids. A coach works with all types of kids, at all stages of maturity.
There are Stages of Development Before we start talking about mental development, it helps to be able to frame it in terms of the ages I'm talking about. I base the stages of development in this article on the United Soccer Coaches Player Development Diploma Course. If you're a coach and have a deeper interest in this material, courses taught by United Soccer Coaches het two thumbs up from me.
Understanding development across a continuum of 15 years from 3-years-old to 18-years-old not only helps a coach or a parent relate more effectively with kids, but it helps to make the experience more fun. It's frustrating to kids when they are shown material that is too advanced for them. It's boring to kids when they are shown material that is too young for them. Find that goldilocks perfect practice session is a whole lot easier when you understand the development needs of each age group. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
Let's Look At Mental Development in Each of the Five Stages In the toggle table below, I share some thoughts about each age group within a development stage. My thoughts are by no means exhaustive on the subject. In fact, I'm thinking I could do a separate podcast for each of the elements we consider, but for this one, I'm going to stick as closely as possible with mental development. It's really impossible for me to prevent some bleed over into psychosocial or even physiological aspects of development, because they do affect mental development, but I trust you'll have patience. Stage 1 Kids (3-5-years old) Young players at this stage have short attention spans. They are starting to understand visual instructions, but they tend to do better with concrete demonstrations of what they are expected to do. While many are still "parallel playing" an unaware of team dynamics like passing and group movement, they are starting to become aware of one another and the fact that other people have ideas and emotions.
Kids at this age are beginning to become more cautious. They understand there are things in the world that can cause pain and they proceed accordingly. They have wonderful imaginations and can be super spontaneous and creative.
In our program, we disguise "lessons" in the form of games. To teach movements like hopping, we might have them pretend they are bunny rabbits escaping from a fox, or we might work on coordination by playing body part tag with a ball (When I say Crumpet, touch the ball with your elbow!). Stage 2 Kids (6-8-years old) Kids in this age group still love games and imagination. Their attention span is becoming a little longer but it is inconsistent. They can focus on one task longer (not as many changes in activities). These kids talk a lot and ask a lot of questions. Their interests change frequently. They learn quickly. They like to try new activities,
Support the Show (https://thesoccersidelines.com/go/)Access to affordable youth sports is at risk. It's facing extinction in communities all across America. I'm afraid that too few people understand how precarious the situation is. In this article, I share two very personal stories that I hope illustrate the problem as well as some solutions. Volunteers Keep Costs Low and Provide Access and AffordabilityWithout Volunteers, the cost of youth sports easily jumps to 10x what it would be with volunteers. Those who are volunteering are burning out. Too many jobs are being piled onto the few volunteers who are willing to help. For volunteers, it's death by a thousand cuts. Each new little thing that needs to be done - doesn't get done unless the already overloaded volunteers take on more work. This has to change or there won't be anyone left to serve. PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageResourcesBrian Barlow's Offside Facebook PageVolunteer Jobs that Support Kids
Support the ShowFinishing in the game of soccer is a string of a complex series of actions and thoughts that end with a net rattle. The finishing mentality follows a flow, from the goalkeeper and defenders through the midfield, to the player taking the shot. Each player in the chain processes a three-part Do loop over and over again in the course of a single attack. As coaches and parents, we can strengthen our player's ability to process the game and bring an effective finishing mentality to the game.The Finishing Mentality Extends Well Beyond the Opponent's Third(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Danielle Johnson)Some might say that a good finish starts in the back field. In the context of game day, I would agree with this. A good finish is a flow that's built up from the back field - payers reading cues in their environment, making decisions about those cues, and acting on them based on how they interpret those cues and how they judge their own abilities. I would take it one step further back from the game day field though and say that a good finishing mentality starts well before game day. It's something that is made of interpretation skills, confidence (or lack of confidence), and abilities as developed in family and player units both on the pitch and off. Every player carries whatever they have with them - both good and bad - into a game. If they believe it's okay to make mistakes, to be the person who doesn't score, and that they can be creative without judgment in front of their family and friends, they are much more likely to to the right thing or attempt seemingly impossible acts of creativity and courage. If, on the other hand, they are judged as not being worthy unless they sink an asteroid ball into the back of the net, dribble through 5 defenders, or take an over-the-head bicycle kick shot into the upper corner off the cross bar, they're not likely to rise to the occasion. What we do and say in practice, how players interact with one another and come to learn one another's cues, and what we say to players at home - they all make a difference when it comes to that game day shot on goal. Get the first part right, and kids can be kids. Get it wrong and they can choke on pressure or fail to find their own confidence. PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageThe Finishing Mentality is About More than Kicking a Ball in the NetA great finishing play requires a string of thoughts and activities pulled together in concert. Capturing the ball, supporting ball movement, re-capturing the ball, timing pressure and runs, creating space for teammates to run the ball through - all of it is part of the finishing play. Every player - on the ball or off the ball - is contributing in some way to a good finish or a miss. Assuming you accept this to be true, the question becomes: what can we do before game day to support the finishing mentality? It's not all on the coach, on the player, or on the parents. It's on all of us in the player's ecosystem. Think I'm zooming out too far? Consider how a player might play in light of a recent family crisis. Don't think coaches notice that stuff? Of COURSE we do.Finishing also includes reading cues from the environment, interpreting and making decisions about those cues, and acting on those cues in a way that either contributes to the finish or detracts from it. Teaching players to read cues, to make good decisions, and to frame the context of their actions is something that takes time and practice. It also takes support from home. A Lesson from EVOC ClassEVOC stands for Emergency Vehicle Operator's Course. I used to teach this to police, fire fighters and EMS personnel when I was int he military. It may seem like an odd thing to talk about in the context of a finishing play in soccer, but it has relevance. While teaching professionals how to drive in high pressure / high adrenaline environments,
My team came to me two years go with the goal of playing varsity soccer. Today, my team makes up half the varsity bench. They didn't pay thousands!
There is a good reason to standardize the training environment for kids in their development years. Do you know what the US Youth Soccer standards are?
Support the Show and our Mission
Dealing with loss in life can be a profoundly life-changing experience. Learning to deal with loss on a smaller scale before the big life-changing losses affect our lives is a way for us to learn some basic things about staying positive, turning negative experiences into positive ones, and more. In this post, I share some deeply personal experiences that have changed lives and how they relate to lessons we can help our kids learn on the youth sports field.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay Learning About Loss in a Scale Model of Life If you've been following this show for any length of time, you know that I consider youth sports to be a proxy for real life. Youth sports are a safe place to learn essential life skills. The lessons learned in this environment are lessons that really matter when life serves us much harder losses later.
This past week, my 17-year-old daughter and her friends lost someone dear to them. A friend to some. A boyfriend to one. A mirror of their own mortality for all of them. In this sad real-life situations, lessons learned earlier in teamwork, friendship, coming together to overcome challenges came into focus. When kids learn how to deal with life's hardships early, they are much better equipped to deal with them when they inevitably arrive. PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
A Personal Story Dealing with Loss I fell in love with a young woman when I was in college. It was a comfortable relationship. We both found comfort at the end of the day in one another's company. We shared pizza, hours of overnight conversation, and a bond that I believed deep down would lead to marriage at some point way down the road. Everything felt right with her. She and I would always be close. She was killed in a car accident on the side of Dannemora mountain in New York.
Her death had a profound effect on the rest of my life. I was fortunate enough to find love again, but the journey I set out on soon after she died lasted for a very long time. I became a volunteer fire fighter, an EMT, a Navy Corpsman, and set out to put myself as close to death as I could get - to save as many lives as I could, and at some level, come closer to being there for the woman I wasn't able to be there for on that cold day in November. Making Lemonade out of Lemons The rest of my life was created through a series of decisions. A lot of good came from this loss because I chose for good to come of it. I suppose I could have easily gone the other way and never realized the joy my family brings me or the good things I've done for others.
[tcb-script type="text/javascript" src="https://rch.evsuite.com/player/aW1hZ2VzLWFuZC13b3Jkcy5tcDQ=/?responsive=1&autoResponsive=1&container=evp-TOE3OBJI8D"][/tcb-script] Learning Starts Young There is a big difference between losing a loved one and losing a youth sports game, but many of the fundamentals are there:
How do we react and process loss? How do we lean on others (or not) when we face difficult times? How do we empathize with others (or not) when they are down or need our help?
We teach our kids how to deal with life in layers. With each new level of complexity, our kids learn to process wins, losses, good times and bad. They learn about the essential ingredients that go into making good citizen adults. They watch other adults for signs of volunteerism and community focus, for how they treat other adults, and how they should react to life themselves when they are older. Youth Sports Provides the Perfect Training Field If you cold create a safe space where kids can be exposed to the range of emotions and situations they will be exposed to later in life, and you made it a fun and healthy place to hang out, you'd have the youth sports environment. Careful planning and management of the youth sports space gives us a unique and powerful way to teach life lessons - including dealing with loss.
I've spent the last two years and 90 episodes talking about the stuff that really matter in youth sports and hoping to help you understand and appreciate the game and better support your player(s). Now it's your turn to connect here: https://thesoccersidelines.com/connect/Your challenge is to use any of the connect options and tell me a story about your life! Tell me about your athlete, your team, your club, or your own youth sports experience! If you can't think of anything to say about someone else, tell me which is your favorite from the last 90 episodes and why. I can't wait to hear and read your story and get to know more about you! PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageResourcesConnect via PatreonConnect via SpeakpipeConnect via TwitterConnect Via FacebookConnect via Email
It's Easy to Support this ShowYou would not dream of suiting up and taking on the New York Giants by yourself. I don't care if you're the biggest and strongest dude on the planet. You're going to die. Literally. I have found in my lifetime of working in corporate America and in business that the same is true off the field as it is on the field. No employee or CEO is going to survive long in business without a team. The stronger the team, the better chance the individuals on that team have of winning. Strength of a team comes from places few people know to look. If you've never considered where to look for team strength, you may be surprised by some of the things I'm going to say today. For experienced coaches and business people, get ready to smile. In this episode, I hope to shine a light on a few things that most people don't consider important. However, those in the know understand that without this, your chances for success go down a lot. Join me for a few minutes as we talk about the whole team and why you're important - no matter how popular or well known your contribution is. You're ImportantAs a listener and maybe as a Patron of this show, you're important. It doesn't matter if you have a background in soccer or not. What matters is your desire to contribute and your willingness to be part of a team that is working together to bring value to the community. I've had some interesting discussions this week. In one case, a fellow by the name of Richard reached out to me via email and text. He's a long-time, 30+ year coach and former President of the Club I am currently President of. He's coached at high schools, at colleges. He's run our club for a couple of years, and he carries a lifetime of wisdom and passion for players and the game that is refreshing for me to experience. I think anyone who has invested real time and energy into developing kids is infected with the desire to do more. It's just so satisfying to see the effect we can have on the world when we choose to give to others. Coaching is all about helping people to realize the best version of themselves., and when they do, and we're lucky enough to witness it, there is little else that compares to that feeling. Despite the huge value that Richard brings to the world, he was President at least three President's ago. Coaching has changed. Community demographics have changed. The competitive landscape has changed. And I certainly bring an emphasis to the Club on both the business back end - as an investment banker and consultant to other businesses, I naturally gravitate towards the infrastructure, to risk mitigation, to creative financing, and to long term strategy that I don't imagine many people really care about. But I love it! Richard and I were sharing perspectives - both old and new - when I noticed that he looked a little out of his element. Website conversion rates, using a financial statement to get a picture of operations, and creative financing techniques are not just not something he had reason to dig into in his former roles. You can't blame him, right? Most people will die a happy death without ever having explored these subjects, but they are a real and regular part of my vocabulary and thinking. I got the sense that he was almost apologetic that this wasn't his thing. He clearly has a ton of value to bring, but in different ways. My brain jumped the rails a little during our lunch conversation. I was at first a little surprised by what i saw in his face, and I brought the conversation where this episode is hopefully going to bring you and I. You. Are. Important. PLEASE: support the show and/or join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageSupport the Show You Are HereLike players on a soccer team, once kids get old enough to have mastered the basics, and start specializing - we're talking about around age 14 - everyone has a different role to play. A good team doesn't have 22 Strikers.
Youth sports in the US is dying, not because the business model isn't working, but because it is working too well. It's drawing in $17 B at what expense?
If you think coaches are not paying attention in youth sports, don't. They are. Things like being reliable matter. If you think I'm talking about just consistently hitting a crispy seam pass through defenders, I'm not. I'm talking about a players ability to make an honor commitments. Seemingly little things matter: being late to practice or games, not keeping promises to show up at a special events, failure to follow through with a promised email or not responding at all. Players need to learn how to sweat the small stuff, because if it comes down to two players: one who's always reliable, communicates well, and follows through - or one that doesn't - the one that is reliable gets the money. Let's get behind the scenes and learn what's going on with the people who support our players. Reliability by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock ImagesBeing Reliable In Youth SportsFor young athletes, being reliable is one of those things that youth sports provides great opportunities to learn. I think most coaches would agree that we don't expect kids to understand the importance of reliability right away. Learning this lesson is something that moms and dads can help with a lot - once they understand the opportunity and know how to tap into it. By the end of this episode, you will. More importantly, you'll know why it's so important for our kids! They may be missing out on some great opportunities for silly reasons. There are many ways to define reliability in youth sports. Being fit and being able of running the full period of a game is one way. Fitness is something all coaches are looking for. It's also something that isn't going to come entirely from the practice or game environments. After say, ages 12 or 13, if the only fitness a kid gets is at practice, they're going to fall behind. Having reliable skills in a game environment is another way. As a coach, I've had players I know are consistent on the field and some who seem to bring a different player every game. I've heard some players tell me they're going to do something in a game and I've watched with delight as they did it. I've had other players tell me they're going to do something in a game and I've gone home afterwards wondering why they said that. Reliability is important and coaches come to rely on certain players to anchor the team strategy or informs the playing formation. unreliable field players need contingency plans. A coach might find themselves thinking: if this player is on today, then A. If they're not on today, then we need to do B. Reliable players on the field make a pretty big difference in the overall experience. Now you may have expected me to say something about reliability on the pitch, but what I'm about to say when we come back may come as a surprise. Don't worry when you hear this. The good news is that moms and dads can have a direct and profound effect on player reliability on the pitch and off - in youth sports and in real life. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageReliability Off the Pitch in Youth SportsCoaches are looking for solid people for their soccer teams, but let's not stop there. Employers are looking for solid people to work for their companies. See where I'm going with this? The youth sports environment is a great learning environment. Kid's will do well to do their best to learn reliability while the adults supporting them are still understanding about mis-steps. Employers are not so forgiving. The reality is, coaches can lose patience too. This should never be in the sense that players get lesser treatment on the soccer pitch, but there are a lot of things that happen off the pitch that are affected by player reliability. It's well known in the coaching community that coaches tend to go above and beyond for players. We spend so much time thinking about and working towards making players successful, that when we see a good chance to help someone, we jump on it.
Imagine yourself sitting at a table. You're at a nice cafe in Paris. You're drinking a cup of fresh brewed coffee, eating your favorite breakfast and watching people walk by. People watching can be fun. We all do it. All the different sizes, shapes, colors, personalities, voices... it's not a half bad way to spend a morning in Paris.
Imagine someone you know walks by. You know their family, their dog, what they do for a living, their sense of humor. You know a lot about this person. You think they're funny. They have a signature move you've seen a hundred times. The whole feeling of the scene changes, right? You expect something. Maybe you rooting for their success and want to hear what brought them to the city of love.
You just transitioned from passively watching a sea of people to jumping emotionally into that sea. You're invested now. There is a story here. Watching a soccer game is similar. You can be a passive spectator, or you can get so much more out of it. Today, I'm going to help you get more out of the game. I'm definitely going to help you appreciate this latest Women's World Cup. Let's talk about it. Watching the Women's World Cup 2019 I have to give a shout out to Volkswagon this year for sponsoring a series called "One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories." You can find this series on Youtube spread all over with other "related videos" sprinkled in between, or you can just go to this week's episode of The Soccer Sidelines and find them all stacked neatly together in my show notes. Yes... I did that for you, and I hope you appreciate the effort.
If I'm being honest, I really enjoyed the process. It took me some time, but each video in the 23 video series features a personal interview with each player that runs right about 3 minutes long. What that means is that in a little more than an hour, you can get to know the personal back stories and see the individual personalities of each of these World Class Women soccer players. The interviews are low key. The give the feeling of being up close and personal with each player. And I guarantee that you'll see the Women's National Team in a whole new light when you're done.
I started collecting these videos for you before the game against Sweden, then I watched the Sweden game and found myself rooting for our women in a way similar to the way I've only rooted for the youth teams I've coached.
I wanted Rose Lavelle to do well and I felt inspired myself knowing that she was inspired by her youth coach. I wanted Crystal Dunn to believe in herself as a player and have the world show her how much she means to the game. I wanted Ali Krieger to love and enjoy her comeback story. I imagined Tierna Davidson dreaming about being an astronaut and wondering how she must feel now playing soccer on the world stage.
If you're a coach, you know what I'm about to say. When you know the personal stories of each of the players in front of you, you're watching a lot more than the score board during a game. You're rooting for the people and their personal stories. You want each one of those players to be successful and you realize that success means something just a little different for each one.
The games I watched in the lead up to the Women's World Cup made me literally stand up - I couldn't sit down. When Kelley O'Hara got hurt in what I assume was a concussion on Sunday, I felt like I should be running out onto the field and picking her up - as I've done so many times with my own players. It is gut wrenching to know that a player you know as more than a jersey number got hurt.
What I'm trying to say is this: whether you're watching a youth soccer match or a professional game, the more you know the players as people, the more likely you are to:
respect the game and the empathize with the people playing it (that goes for referees too!) walk away from each game with more than a scoreboard win or loss enjoy a much deeper personal emotional ride with every touch in a g...
Skills, fitness, physicality... It's all important. And it's often an athlete's Character that helps them make the cut. Character matters.
Become a PatronWhen you're moving with the current, you can afford to relax. When the current is flowing opposite of the direction you want to go, you may have to paddle like crazy. A mental image of yourself in a canoe on a powerful river is useful for understanding how time can affect the outcome of a match - or even of a practice. Learning how to manage the clock is one of those things we learn from youth sports, and it's one of those things that really matters. Let's talk about it. The Many Clocks in SoccerI'm betting that you thought that I would be talking about managing the clock during game time. Of course, I'm going to talk about that in a minute or two, but I wouldn't be giving you the full picture without first showing you a few more of the clocks relevant to a youth soccer career or explaining how good clock management translates into real life. After all- we're not just about winning youth soccer games here are we?The first clock is the Development Clock. As a youth soccer expert, you know that the clock in the United States starts at age 3 and runs until age 18. Every season, different things are relevant to kids as a result of their physical, mental, and emotional maturity. I've spoken about this in many previous shows that you can find on this site, so I'll move on to the next clock. The second clock is the Registration Clock. It may not seem like it matters when you register, but as Club President who's served as Director for programs, Registrar, and Treasurer, it does. Late registrations are a nightmare for clubs and they curb a club's ability to be creative about programmings. The sooner your club knows how many players of what ages they will have, the sooner they can start the search for qualified coaches, reserve the fields, make contracts with referees and order equipment - to name a few things. We all do our best to guess what we're going to be working with, but I can say with confidence that late registrations have definitely affected the quality of programming and additional support that players could have had, but didn't because the clock ran out of time. The third clock, I will call the Fuel Clock. By fuel, I have to combine food and water. Whether an athlete is leading up to a practice or a game, timing fuel and hydration is important. I've often talked about the raisin-in-a-shot-glass effect. Drop a raisin in a 5 gallon drum of water and pull it right back out again, and all you have is a wet raisin. Drop that same raisin in a shot glass of water and let it soak overnight, and it'll plump back up like a grape. The body's cells work in a similar way. Hydration needs to start slowly the day before a match or a practice. Taking in water slowly over time has a much more positive effect than slamming 32 ounces before running out onto the pitch. The slow method will properly hydrate our body's cells and give us plenty of temperature regulation and energy. The slam method will just slosh around in our stomachs, give us a tummy ache, and get dumped right back out again through our kidneys. Food timing is important too. Heavy proteins are great maybe after a match to help with recovery. But before a match, fast acting carbs are a better fit. Stop eating two hours before a match or a practice to ensure the intestines can finish their work and the blood your muscles need is available. The fourth clock I'll call the Recovery Clock. This is one of the most overlooked and least talked about clocks in youth sports, but it's super important. Practice and games cause fatigue and break down muscle and connective tissue. Rest gives the body a chance to rebuild - hopefully to an even strong state than before the event. Professional teams going on the road will often try to pick up some road matches before the big event. Coaches want players to get accustomed to the rigors of games stacked one after the other without adequate rest. Playing without recovery has a profound effect on a team's performance,
Soccer offers students many benefits as they mature through the development years, but benefits of soccer don't stop there. In this episode, we explore how the game of soccer can connect us with 3.5 Billion fans around the world and create networking opportunities in situations far removed from the soccer field throughout life.
Soccer is Big Everywhere! Soccer is the biggest game in the world! Between the players and the fans, you're more likely to run into someone who knows and loves the game of soccer than any other game in the world.
250 Million players world-wide in 200 countries 12 Million players every year in the US 3.5 Billion fans around the world
The biggest single sport in the United States is American Football - which has 400 Million fans. This hardly comes close to the numbers of people we find in the game or supporting the game of soccer. You can travel to more than 200 countries, pick up a soccer ball, kick it, and it's GAME ON for you and those around you. Benefits of Soccer Beyond the Pitch The chances of you running into someone who is somehow affiliated with the game of soccer are significant. Whether you're a soccer parent, an adult player, a former youth player, or a rabid fan who rides the busses around Europe to follow your favorite team, there is a good chance you're going to share the game with someone in just about any room you walk into - for life!
If networking is all about finding common ground, knowing, liking, and wanting to get to know others, then the beautiful game is a great addition to the professional's toolbox. Discussions about the game transcend language, age, race, and can almost always draw a smile. Try kicking a ball to someone's feet and see how they respond! Benefits of Soccer as a Universal Language The rules of soccer are universal. It doesn't matter what culture you come from, what language you speak, or what problems you wrestle with, the benefits of soccer can help us win together in the game of life! Resources
“Top 10 List of the World's Most Popular Sports.” Topend Sports, Science, Training and Nutrition, www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm.
If you haven't heard it yet, there is a new training methodology in soccer town called Play, Practice, Play. It's not really new. We've been doing it in the context of US Youth Soccer for more than a year now and you'll find correlation with an article titled Teaching Games for Understanding: A Comprehensive Approach to Promote Student’s Motivation in Physical Education published in 2017 (see Resources below for full citation). But it may be new to you. I know it's still new to many who are just coming into the sport and it can have a profound impact on how we look at the game. Let's talk about play, practice, play; what it means to players, coaches, and parents; and what effect it has on the way we look at the game.Practice Matters!As a former multi-sport athlete, the thing I remember the most and perhaps the thing that had the biggest effect on the rest of my life was practice. Games were fun and they certainly gave us a chance to measure progress being made in practice sessions, but practice is where the most growth and development happen. It's where we learn to work as a team, where we get the most guidance on work ethic and behind-the-scenes tips on how to play and improve, and where sweat is forged into gold. As a coach, I put a lot more time and attention into practice than I do into games. I tell my players that they own the games. I own the practices. I make the most difference as a coach on the practice field. That is my classroom. Games are players chance to show what they've learned. It makes sense to spend time thinking about practice & trying to find the best practice experiences that we can if we want to become better at the sport we love. It makes sense to emphasize practice if we want to maximize the development experience that youth sports gives us both on and off the pitch. This is what US Youth Soccer did when they re-designed the practice methodology. Play, Practice, Play vs the Four Phase SystemPlay, Practice, Play is now built into every grassroots coach's training education under US Youth Soccer. For coaches (and players) who have been around for a while, this new system of training stands in contrast to the older Four-phase system. It used to be that we were trained to deliver a warm-up phase to get bodies in motion without injury. That would be followed by three additional phases of training - each one progressively more complex than the last one, and all of them united around a common theme. An example of a common theme might be a focus on moving as a unit during a defensive phase of play in the defensive third. A progressive series might include warm ups, defending 1v1 down four channels, then defending 2v2 down two channels, then defending 4v4 down one channel, etc. In the fourth phase of this style of practice, we might execute a scrimmage with the hope of seeing the methods taught in training being used on the field in a game-like environment. This is a coach or curriculum based approach to training. It's designed to progress players through a series of increasingly more challenging scenarios so that at the end, players have hopefully acquired new skills relative to the main theme. this is the way I coached myself for several years and it's still being used in the more competitive training environments. There is nothing wrong with it, but modern thinking is that we lost a lot of players as a result. Especially in the grass roots programs, motivations to come play are not as focused on on structured development. Fun is a huge motivator. The four phase method of structuring training has more of a "work" based structure that Play, Practice, Play. Play, Practice, Play, on the other hand placed emphasis on game-like scenarios and fun. It's structured to put kids into game-like situations as soon as they show up on the field. The first phase of training is labeled the "Play" phase. It's the first thing that players are greeted with when they arrive. The thinking here is that if kids have "play" to ...
How eager would you be to allow a surgeon to cut you open and remove your gallbladder if that surgeon never watched a surgery before? Not very, right? You instinctively know that performing a physical skill is easier if you've watched someone else do it first.
Likewise, if you want to learn to play music, it helps to listen to music. Most athletic skills are the same way. These skills are not life or death like in the surgery example, but the principles are the same.
There are benefits of watching soccer, from watching pro games on TV to watching games in person. There are benefits from watching soccer in person that you can't get from watching the game on TV. In this post, I'll share a few personal stories of games that happened these last two weeks and share what the experts say about the simple act of watching games. The Inspiration Behind This Episode My wife volunteered as field marshal for a tournament here in the Mid-Atlantic area this past weekend. This was her first time doing this. She was a little intimidated going out the door that morning, but when she came home, the one thing she wanted to talk about the most was the quality of play she saw on the field. The two teams she watched came down from Massachusetts and New Jersey for the 40th annual Potomac Memorial Tournament right here in my back yard at the Germantown Maryland Soccerplex Complex.
She was impressed by the level of play of these two teams. She had never seen such passing, such ability to hold their shape, such possession, teamwork and skill. She talked about it for several days and told my son and I that we would have loved to watch those games. She's right. I know the value of watching games and by the end of this episode, you will too!
When I started learning how to be a youth soccer coach, I did what I had always done in the business world and in life. I sought out people who had been doing the thing that I wanted to do - and learned from them. I talked with anyone who would talk with me. I met with coaches who were willing to show me the secrets of coaching young soccer players. I visited my local soccerplex and watched dozens of youth games. I attended every practice for other teams my kids played on with a notebook in hand and took notes and drew diagrams. I took courses, read books, and watched professional soccer on TV. I immersed myself, found coaches and styles I liked, focused the questions I sought answers for in books, then returned to the field to test my new working theories.
I don't expect you to embrace the same level of game analysis that I do, but like my wife, who's never played soccer in her life, the benefits of watching soccer - in this case a good game - moved the bar in her mind. She now knows what good quality soccer looks like and she understands more why it's called "the beautiful game."
I want you to enjoy this sport as much as my players do. I want you to have the same "ah-ha" moment my wife did as field marshal this last weekend. If you haven't already had that moment, I have good news. It's probably closer than you think.
What Are the Benefits of Watching Soccer? One of the benefits of watching soccer is that it gives you a base vocabulary to draw from. Just being around the game, you'll come to know the touchline, the 18, the penalty area, the corner, the timing, the difference between a touchline and a goal line. If you pay attention, you'll get sight pictures of an inside-of-the-foot pass versus an outside-of-the-foot pass. You might understand why, at practice, your coach is playing games with the kids that emphasizes inside-of-the-foot, outside-of-the-foot, and laces. You will notice the difference between a legal shoulder vs a foul from behind. You'll start to see things that you never knew were there and maybe start to see the value in the age-appropriate training that coaches are trying to promote.
Next in our lineup of benefits of watching soccer,
Whether you're a coach, a parent, or an interested observer, you bring more than your lawn chair to a game. You bring your ability to spot leadership, form a thought about that leadership, courage to share your thoughts, and an ability to express yourself. These are powerful tools!Accidental leadership may not even be noticed by the person leading or it might be attributed to something other than reality. But when you see and recognize leadership in action, it's awesome! This is something that gets me excited after three decades of leading people and after ten years of coaching. Are you cultivating leadership around the game? How I Define Accidental LeadershipI've been in the leadership game for a long time. I've mentored many leaders from complete newbies to seasoned veterans who have been leading others for decades. Some of what we do as leaders is learned. Some of it comes from who we are - whether we realize it or not. Accidental leadership happens around us all the time. People are doing things that bring others together, that help people overcome challenges, and that help others become the best versions of themselves. Many times, accidental leaders don't even know that they are having this positive effect on the world - or they attribute the positive things going on around them to other things besides their leadership. This phenomenon of having positive leadership effect, or not intentionally acting as a leader, and perhaps not realizing what they are doing is what I call accidental leadership. This Episode Inspired by Coach EmilyThis past week, I brought together half a dozen of my coaches - mostly from my 11U recreation program. Two of these coaches are doing their first season in recreation. Two have a few seasons under their belt. One is a veteran. We came together to solve a problem. The teams were wildly unbalanced this Spring and scores of 10 - 0 were all too common. We were working through the process using one of my favorite problem solving models:What's the problem? What are the causes of the problem? What are the potential solutions to the problem?What is your (our our) recommended solution to the problem?We were brainstorming our way through the discussion and Emily brought up that she had her 11 year-old recreation players teaching her 9-year-old recreation players certain skills. She saw this as a positive for her team and the reason why her team gelled so nicely on the pitch. She told the group that a father from the opponent's team commented on her's teams cohesiveness after a game and asked her what her secret is. Emily was convinced it was her 11-year-olds. I asked her to describe how she ran her practices. She, a teacher by trade, not having much experience with soccer, explained that she set up some friendly competitions. She told her players that whomever is able to do the skill they were training the best would be able to teach the others how to do it. Her 11-year-olds most often got the skill first and then took great pride (and had fun) demonstrating the skill for others, then guiding them through improvement. To be clear, there is a very valid reason to use players, assistants, and/or trainers to help demonstrate a skill during practice. As coaches, we are not likely going to be the best at demonstrating every technique that teams need to learn. For some of us, soccer wasn't our sport. For some of us, it's been decades since we've played. For some of us, the idea of dropping a bicycle kick shot on goal makes us wince. Using talented players, bringing in players from older teams, bringing in volunteer coaching assistants or trainers... all of these have their place in a good season. However, that's not exactly what was going on here. Teaching others how to do a skill was clearly framed, in Emily's example, as a reward. But she was establishing culture. Encouraging her players to do their best, seasoning her practices with friendly competition, and creating an environment where players were rew...
Putting the ball up in the air... should be do it, or should we keep it on the ground? Choosing what to train in youth soccer and when to train it is a combination of science and art. US Youth Soccer gives us some useful guidelines, but how closely we follow those guidelines requires a look at individual players, team strategy, club strategy, and even individual coaching philosophy. Let's explore the vertical game in soccer! Why Talk About This? This episode is dedicated to coach Rick Watts and the excellent coaches of the Saint Mary's Soccer Club in Maryland. Rick is a listener and member of our Soccer Sidelines community. He's also the VP for Recreational Soccer at Saint Mary's. He sent me a question last week - Thanks, Rick! - along with an email exchange between he and a few of his coaches. They were exploring the vertical game, when to use it, if they should use it, etc.
In this exchange, coach Dave, one of Rick's coaches - presumably from his recreation program - asks "(I) Want to clarify a rule with you for U8 girls. It was my understanding that we are supposed to keep the ball on the ground due to the shortness of the field we play on. We played a team last week that kicked in the air the majority of the time. I mentioned it to the coach and his response was that’s how soccer is played. I just want to make sure of the rule so I can teach my girls the right way to play." "(I) Want to clarify a rule with you for U8 girls. It was my understanding that we are supposed to keep the ball on the ground due to the shortness of the field we play on. We played a team last week that kicked in the air the majority of the time. I mentioned it to the coach and his response was that’s how soccer is played. I just want to make sure of the rule so I can teach my girls the right way to play.”
Rick's response to Dave reflected his experience and some very specific statistics he's been keeping on the game. He asked for my thoughts on the subject and suggested that this might make a good subject for a podcast.
Well, first, thank you Rick for sharing this idea! I agree that this makes a good subject for the show, and I think this is a great question to help illustrate some important principles of a developmental style of coaching - as well as give us some insight into how we think about what we teach. What is The Vertical Game in Soccer? Put simply, we're talking about putting the ball into the air. This could be a long punt from the goalkeeper, a chipped pass over the heads of pressuring defenders, a high diagonal long pass over a group of players, or a high cross from the wing or as a corner kick into the box.
Big Punts or "goal kicks" from the goalkeeper
Chipped or Lofted Pass
Lofted Cross to Change AOA
The above illustrations show a few examples of the vertical game in soccer. There are many variations to this, of course, but the simple explanation of the vertical game is that the ball is played in the air as part of the game tactics. The objective may be to change the angle of attack, move the ball into space behind a pressuring opponent, or maybe to give teammates an opportunity to score. The opposite of the vertical game would be playing the ball on the ground.
The vertical game in soccer has a well known effect on the game and individual team strategies. In the February 27, 2019 match between the US and Japan in the She Believes Cup, Ali Wagner was chatting with JP Dellacamera about the vertical game as being one of the strengths of the US Women's National team.
The US Women's National team demonstrates one positive example of the vertical game being employed in a meaningful and productive way.
Ali Wagner and JP Dellacamera from Fox Sports One Should We Play a Vertical Game or Not? The discussion that Rick and his coaches are having is whether or not to play a vertical game. One coach, Dave, was saying that he thought the club policy was to use the "buildup lines" and play out from the back - primarily ...
In every group, there are the "insiders.' If you're one of them, you can often tell the difference pretty quickly. If you can't tell the newbies from the insiders, chances are you're one of the newbies. There is nothing wrong with being a newbie, of course. We've all worn that title at some point. But today I'm going to help you advance from the rookie ranks, help you understand some of the more subtle things worth knowing about the game, and at least make it seem like you've been around the game a little longer than the time it took you to walk from your car to the sidelines. The "Offsides" Foul is Actually the "Offside" Foul I didn't figure this one out until I started hanging out around referees. I had coached for years calling this the "Offsides" foul. In fact, although I corrected the title and show notes to reflect the proper name for this foul, I recorded episode #18 titled "The Offside Rule Explained" calling this foul by its wrong name. I could fix the text, but I couldn't fix what I said when I recorded the show. If you listen carefully, you'll hear my blunder. This foul is discussed in more detail as Law #11 of the 17 laws of soccer described in the FIFA rules. It's arguably the most complicated law of the game & one of the hardest to spot correctly. Newbies, wanna-bees, and know-it-alls can often be heard yelling at a ref for calling this foul incorrectly. This is something true soccer insiders might find amusing if it wasn't so ignorant and disruptive. Most people yelling at the ref about this call are not even in a position to see the call - even if they knew how to call it. This call is full of nuances like:
an offside foul is made at the time when the ball is kicked hands and arms don't count a player can be in an offside position and not draw an offside foul a player can draw an offside foul without ever touching the ball some judgment on the part of the referee is both allowed and encouraged
True soccer insiders know to leave opinions about this particular foul to the judgment of the referee team. There have been many times as a coach where I thought I saw an offside (or missed an offside) foul, but I wasn't in a position to see it properly. I keep my mouth shut - and I know the rules. My alternative is to don the yellow uniform and run the field as an assistant ref. Don't get caught yelling about this one. It's a sure sign you haven't been around long enough to know how to evaluate the game. There Are Many Different Size Soccer Balls I do a show-and-tell every single season for parents in the sidelines and this one never fails to get some "Oh wow" comments. True soccer insiders know that soccer balls are numbered. The most common sizes of soccer balls we see on a youth pitch are sizes 3, 4, and 5. Like everything in the youth game, balls are sized to be appropriate for the size of the players using them. In our academy, which serves kids from 3 years old to 8 years old, we use a #3 ball. Players jump up to a #4 ball when they turn 9 and continue to play with that until they are 13. Once they turn 13, they move up to a #5 ball. Then, when players strive to get really good, they will sometimes seek out smaller balls and go back to working with a #3, a #1, or even a tennis ball to practice juggling with. The smaller surface requires more precision for older players. They know that when they work with a smaller ball, they will have more control when they play with a #5 ball in a match. I go into much more detail about the different ball sizes in Episode #43 titled "Different Soccer Ball Sizes." I even include photos for your viewing pleasure in the show notes. And I throw in some information for you about the Futsal ball - often confused by people who are not true soccer insiders as a #4 soccer ball. Find the ball that's right for the age of your player and don't be one of those newbies who show up with a #5 ball for their 4-year-old's first practice.
All birds have to leave the nest or they will die. Our kids have to find their own lives too. They are going to leave. It's not a matter of if they will leave. It's a matter of when AND how well prepared will they be when they do. Letting our kids go is a challenge not only for parents but for coaches too. We know and like these kids. For all of us, parents and coaches alike, they represent our hope for a bright future and by the time they leave, we might consider them our friends. We've shared history together and there will come a time, very soon, when they start a history that doesn't include us.Like any skill, letting our kids go is a process that starts earlier than most people think and it takes practice for most of us to get better at. The ever-changing challenge of Letting Our Kids Go Did you notice that I said it takes practice to get better at letting go? I didn't say it takes practice to master. At the time I recorded this, I leave room for the possibility that the skill of letting go can be mastered, but I don't know of anyone who has mastered it. Letting go isn't a binary thing. There are degrees of letting go. Letting our kids go off to school for the first time might be one example. Letting them cross the street by themselves might be another. I pulled my car over and cried the first time I dropped my oldest child off at a daycare center. Not only was I letter her go in the care of another person, but I was letting go of the notion that the stay-at-home parenting style I saw my mother doing would be a possibility in our family. My kids would never know that. We were inviting surrogate parents in to watch over them during the day so my wife and I could work.I personally believe we are forever learning to let go, and the challenges aren't necessarily harder as our kids get older, but they are definitely different. As a parent, once you think you've overcome one form of letting go, a whole new way to let go presents itself. I suppose we'll be learning how to let go until the moment we die. Even then, we'll be facing the prospect of letting ourselves and our loved ones go in a whole different way.
Detachment Parenting - The Start of Letting Our Kids Go In the context of youth sports and parenting (or coaching) our way through the youth sports "window" between 3 yrs old and 18-years-old, letting our kids go has a specific meaning. As parents, we must learn to detach from our kids so they can have a shot at making their own mistakes (nature's best teacher) and living their own lives. Kids who are sheltered from adversity or never allowed to make mistakes will enter the world weak and unable to effectively deal with risk or adversity. This is one of the big reasons we created the youth sports platform in the first place - to give kids a safe platform where they can be challenged, makes mistakes, and overcome adversity. Building a foundation with our kids is important. This is referred to as Attachment Parenting by Dr. Carl E Pickhardt Ph.D. Learning how to let go and empower kids to live their own lives is called Detachment Parenting.If the child psychologist, Carl E Pickhardt, is to be believed, the detachment parenting phase begins when kids turn nine years old. He says we start letting our kids go this early! Of course, we're not tossing them the car keys when they turn 9, but we can let them go play a game and make their own decisions! We can encourage our kids to get involved in some of the decisions that affect them in life, then supporting their decisions to the extent possible - assuming, of course, that safety is under control. Letting our kids go is something we need to practice. It will not come naturally. From the time our kids were born until they were 8 years old, we pretty much do everything for them. We even pick out their clothes. Once they turn 9 though, it might be time they can start picking out their own clothes. Even if they look ridiculous to our more mature sensibilities,
In Episode 34 I first revealed our partnership with Global Image Sports and the Stoke City Potter. I interviewed Andy Foxall from the Stoke City Academy after we spent a few days together running the Maryland ID Camp together. Then in Episode 40, I talked about taking my kids to Atlanta for the National Soccer Camp. In this episode, number 76, we complete our journey through the system with an international youth soccer tour in the UK. This is the last episode in the series. In it, I will reveal the last piece of the puzzle after having gone through the entire system with both of my kids. I will take you inside both the Boy's international youth soccer tour experience and the Girl's international youth soccer tour experience.Have you ever wondered what happens after you come through one of our ID camps?. A Recap of the International Youth Soccer Tour ExperienceBecause you may be just joining the show in this episode, I'll give you the real quick highlights so you know the background. In 2017, I started talks with Global Image Sports. These guys are like brokers between US clubs and International Clubs. Their mission is to identify kids in the US who would like an opportunity to compete nationally, and/or ultimately train with world-class academy coaches overseas. They have partnerships with many top teams in Europe. They partner with Clubs like mine, and with our help, start the process of identifying talented players who would like to experience soccer around the world. I don't know exactly why I received the first call I did, but our Club has been around for 31+ years. At some point in our history, I'm told we had relationships with DC United and with Washington Spirit & ended up on somebodies list. Apparently, it's a good list to be on because it lead to our becoming the only partner club in the state of Maryland. In December of that year, I flew down to Atlanta, met with Stoke City executives - where I first met Gareth Jennings (their Academy Director at the time) and Paul Lakin (the Stoke City COO). We closed our deal and we were off to the races. Gareth hosted some in-person coach's training with Club leaders/coaches from Georgia, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Texas while we were there so we got to experience first-hand what our kids would be getting from Stoke coaches. In June and July of 2018, we ran an ID camp (see Episode 34) and a development camp. Stoke City Community Trust coach, Daniel Johnson even marched with us in our annual parade. It was a positive year all around, though for Club administrators, I have to admit that we lost money in year one putting this together. Our marketing was still young and we were not well known in the international youth soccer camp business. The ID camp cost well under $200. For that money, we gave players either 3 or 4 days of training with world-class coaches we flew over from the UK and a t-shirt. The coaching was superb and if players had nothing more than this experience, I think it was money well spent. The top 20% of the players at ID camp were invited to compete in the GIS National training camp at the Darlington School in Rome, GA. These camps lasted for a few days each, cost $635 per player, and came with two high-quality training kits, a ball, room and board, and several days of world-class coaching. Entire teams of Academy coaches flew over for this event and for the first time, we started seeing the confluence of the many training Academies like Stoke City, West Ham, and the Wolverhampton Wolves. In my case, both my son and daughter qualified - along with one other player from my High School aged team, a handful of other kids from other clubs who came to our Maryland camp for the experience. Check out the video recap I posted in the show notes from Atlanta. Everyone had a great time. As a coach, I was invited to a coach's training symposium while I was there and got some more excellent in-person coaching instruction from Gareth Jennings for the second time.
Mental Health in Soccer runs deeper and more silent that most of us have given much thought to. In this episode, I share my thoughts and research after a discussion with a mental health nurse in a UK training camp, then I share three things that we can do as parents or as coaches to help our kids manage some mental health issues before they become issues.
Youth Sport is bigger than any player. We do our best to let them go and let them play when they're on the field. That's a good thing. But coaches only get kids for at maximum, 2 or 3 hours at a time. Parent drive them around, pay for their access, eat and play with them at home, share their perspectives and experiences every day.Family Playing Football In Garden TogetherParents also make up the bulk of the volunteers for any club. Parent engagement is a key component of every program. If parents are not connected with what's going on. If they are not on board with the development program, then that development program is already in trouble. What is the problem with parent engagement and what can we do to make the youth sports experience better for everyone through effective parent engagement? What's the Problem With Parent Engagement?There are two main problems with parent engagement in youth sports:it's really hardit's really importantRemember back to when kids played bumble bee ball? 3, 4, 5, and even 6-year-olds all chasing the ball around like a swarm of bees. The kids had no idea of the rules. Everyone just wanted to kick the ball. In the younger ages, they were not even aware that they had teammates. They played next to one another in parallel play as opposed to with one another as a team. It was great fun!Parents stood around the field - usually all the way around the field if they could. Cameras were out. Smiles were on every parent's face. Parents were engaged and they were having fun! Fast forward 5 or 10 years and we see a very different picture on the sidelines of some soccer fields. Parents red in the face, yelling cheeseburger comments at the top of their lungs. Yelling at the referees. Kids shrinking with embarrassment. No, this doesn't happen at every soccer field. I hardly ever see it on my Club fields, but when I travel just a few miles, I can find it in abundance. What happened? At some point, kids seem to have advanced in their knowledge of the game and in their connection to the stuff that matters in youth sports. Progress over perfection, I always tell my players. But parents were left out. They have no developmental goals to anchor their passion for their kids. They don't celebrate the passback or the sportsmanship or the respect they gave to other players on the field. They celebrate or fail to celebrate one thing: the scoreboard. The scoreboard is the one thing that everyone can see. "What's the score?" parents ask as they wander down on the field and set up their chairs. "How's our team doing?" they ask. They mean this question in terms of what the scoreboard says. The typical response is "We're up by one," "They're killing us," or "We're doing great... it's 3:1." Would it be odd if parents came down and said "How's Chris doing with her game today? She's looking good. Is she enjoying the fitness?" Or "Hey! I saw Jason pick that kid up when I came down. He's really getting this sportsmanship concept out here!" or "Ama just never gives up out there! It's great to see her spirit really bloom out there on the field!"Of course, there are more practical reasons to have a good parent engagement program. 1. without it, we risk treating parents like taxi drivers and wallets instead of the development partners they are. 2. They have questions that need answering and it's best for everyone if they enjoy the experience as much as possible. Without our parents, folks... youth sport goes away.What are the Causes of the Parent Engagement Problem?I believe we're missing out on some of these really great conversations because we've failed to bring parents along when it comes to the real reasons for youth sports. All parents want their kids to succeed, and in the absence of any relevant markers for success, they use the scoreboard as the proxy. A win means their kid is a winner. A loss means their kid can do better next time. We miss the point!Parent engagement is an added layer of overhead to many organizations.
Not enough kids have access to the game. Language barriers, cultural differences, and financial paywalls are leaving significant numbers of kids on the sidelines. How big is the problem and what can we do about it?
"What do you remember about the best coach you ever had?" John O’Sullivan asked. He had passed out yellow sticky pads to all tables in the room and asked us to write down our top five characteristics- one per sticky. He stood in front of a room full of coaches, team managers, and a few other invited guests as he spoke. What he would reveal to us in the next five minutes would become an “ah ha” moment for many in the room and a lesson for you to think about the next time you're on the field of play. List Five Qualities of the Best Coach You Ever Had On March 6th, 2019, I received a generous offer from the Potomac Soccer Association in Potomac Maryland to attend their annual coaches dinner as a guest. Laurie Lane, the Executive Director for the Club reached out to me - honoring a practice of connecting with her community that I have come to admire. She and her leadership team spent some money to bring John O'Sullivan, the Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project, out from Oregon and she knew how much I've been inspired by his work. The evening didn't disappoint. The food was good. The company was invigorating, and the Keynote speaker, John O’Sullivan, was inspiring as always. He gave us a few minutes to write down the top five qualities we each remember from our favorite coach or coaches. “What things really stand out for you?” He asked. "What do you most remember that made them great?"When he was done, he pointed to two walls on either side of the dinner hall. The room was well lit so the light tan walls stood on either side of us like towering empty white boards. This should be interesting, I thought. Brainstorming, maybe. I wonder how he's going to sort these answers. There were easily 60 people in the room. That's at least 300 stickies by my count. I looked around as the last of my fellow dinner guests - most of them coaches and team managers - put down their pens. Lists complete.
John O'Sullivan (right) and I (left)
"If your sticky has to do with your coach's knowledge of the sport, the techniques, the tactics,” he said “place your sticky (on the wall to my right).” "If your sticky has to do with your coach's ability to connect," he continued, “this is the stuff like emotional intelligence, the connection, caring..." listening, inspiring, and other soft skills that don't have to do with knowledge of the game, tactics, or game strategy. "stick it on the wall to my left."
Within seconds, the throng of people moving to the soft skills wall made the point loud and clear. The "connection" wall that had nothing to do with knowledge of the game, with tactics, or strategies was soon covered with yellow stickies. The "knowledge" wall that had to do with the stuff that traditionally gets taught in coaching courses had some stickies, but there was no comparison. If I had to guess, the ratio looked like 4:1 in favors of coaching soft skills.
"Do we notice a pattern emerging? he asked. The message he was sharing with us became clear in a very physical and visible way. Coaching Skills Beyond the Credentials Skills centered around caring, listening, and passion seemed to top our list that evening, but it was clear that most items on the "Connection" wall, the stuff that this room full of adults remembers most about those who influenced them in life, had to do with making deep personal connection, supporting and inspiring people vs the technical elements of the game.
If this little impromptu exercise is repeatable (the fact that John has done this all over the world suggests that it is) and if there is something to be learned here, it is that good coaching is about a lot more than teaching X’s and O’s. It's about love, caring, trust, connecting, communication, etc. Dual Meaning for Parents As a parent, I'm looking at these two walls and drawing two big conclusions:
- 2.
I might be meant to coach even if I don't know the technical details of the game yet. If I have the things found on the yellow sticky "Connecting"...
It's time to promote social and emotional skills, but how? A team of experts spent the last two years exploring this and have a report worth reading.
Play up and play down situations happen every season in youth soccer. In this episode, we talk about the who, what, and why of the play up and play down scenario.
Supporting kids in our soccer clubs is more than coaching or being the snack parent. Volunteer jobs that support kids range from cleanup to marketing, to managing awards to organizing BBQ's. Community Clubs are powered by volunteers of all kinds!
There isn't a polo shirt, a certification, or a hat with a badge that make someone into a good coach. Whether you're trying your hand at coaching yourself or you're a parent looking to find a good coach for your child to follow, here are 10 things that separate good coaches from bad ones. Safety is a Coach's Primary Job Before we get into any of the more nuanced or sophisticated things that make up a good coach, we have to acknowledge a youth coach's primary role. All other things can be mastered, but if we fail to provide a safe environment, we fail.
The safety envelope includes safety from sexual predation, safety from bullying, safety from environmental factors like weather or metal stakes poking up from the ground, emotional safety, and even safety from negligence. A soccer coach, for example, has a responsibility to get educated about header rules, ball sizes, concussion awareness and protocol, youth protection, first aid, and age appropriate activities. Coaches need to come prepared with parent phone numbers in their clipboard and an ability to activate emergency medial services and authorize care if a player gets hurt. Clubs should have medical treatment waivers signed and on file. Coaches should carry these in their clipboards or otherwise have them handy (like in the car).
At no time should a coach knowingly expose a child to risk. This means not leaving them at the field alone when mom or dad is late for pickup. It means ensuring two adults are around for youth protection purposes and kids don't wander off to porta-potties or off the filed without a buddy or responsible adult who remains within visual range.
Coaches should be required to have background investigations on file, and a minimal education in coaching fundamentals, concussions, and youth protection. And they should be expected to keep their training up to date on an annual basis.
Clubs should be enforcing safety rules and parents should be paying attention to club policies, helping out where necessary (as in when two adults should be present) and holding coaches accountable for keeping safety at the top of their priorities. Care About Your Players This one may seem obvious, but unfortunately, it's not always. First, when someone is new to coaching, there is a lot to think about. Session planning, work/life balance, how and when to use the various pieces of equipment, etc. It can be overwhelming. Coaches must remind themselves often - especially in the beginning - that they are there to support and develop players and their families.
Caring about players means remembering to say hello when they come on the field and say goodbye when they leave. It means asking how they are doing and getting to know a little about the off-field lives they lead. It means making an effort to get to know the parents and understanding the dynamic that forged each young player's spirit. It means taking an interest in their lives.
Caring about players means doing everything possible to make yourself the best coach you can be.It means embracing the idea that they deserve the best version of yourself. In pursuing the best version of yourself, you're giving them a powerful example to follow - so they will pursue the best version of themselves as well. I'll talk more about this later, but I can't emphasize it enough. Learn and Develop Faster Than Your Players "A river rises only to the level of the lake that feeds it."
- Author Unknown
Kids are growing and evolving - usually pretty quickly. If you're with a team for a while, you need to be growing along with them. That means reading, taking courses, attending live training, finding a mentor, watching other games - generally, it means making an effort to understand the coaching craft and to become the best coach you can be.
Kids are watching. They pay attention to the actions of the adults around them. These adults provide blueprints for living that kids try on for size.
We're in trouble. Diseases related to obesity are riding into our communities at an alarming rate. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer... all on the backs of fat cells. Last Monday, the American Cancer Society released a report on a study published in The Lancet Public Health that examined 12 obesity related cancers between 1995 and 2014. They found a disturbing trend in adults between the ages of 24 to 49. Obesity related cancers - cancers that usually affect older adults in their 60's and 70's, are hitting Millennials to such a degree, that it's actually outpacing the medical progress we're making against those cancers. In other words, we're losing the battle. They found that the risk for colorectal, endometrial, pancreatic, and gallbladder cancers was about double the rate that baby boomers had at the same age. A CNN article titled For Millennials, cancers fueled by obesity are on the rise, study says explains "Millennials are on their way to being one of the heaviest generations on record.""Obesity during childhood actually is a major predictor of adult obesity"Dr. George ChangOncology Surgeon, MD Anderson Cancer CenterConclusion: recently published articles and trends are sending us a dire warning: Get kids off the couch. Get them from out from in front of video games. Give them a fun reason to put down their cell phone and start interacting with the physical world and other humans around them. Let's take a look at the arguments.What's Going On?In short, we're getting fat. We're also getting sick and spending a lot of money because of it. The source cited is the 2007 Forbes article "World's Fattest Countries", written by Lauren Streib and dated February 8, 2007, using 2007 data from the World Health Organization Author: Mike HaltermanWhat's Causing This?The World Health Organization says very simply:"The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been:an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat; andan increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.Changes in dietary and physical activity patterns are often the result of environmental and societal changes associated with development and lack of supportive policies in sectors such as health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environment, food processing, distribution, marketing, and education."I won't go into all the reasons why we're struggling with obesity, but the usual round of suspects are featured all over the internet and in the news. Poor nutrition, environmental concerns (bad stuff getting into our food supply), and lack of exercise are the main villains. Basically, our kids are spending more time on the couch, head's down on their phones, and not eating well. The antidote seems pretty simple: get out and play! But instead of seeing more kids getting involved in youth sports, we're seeing fewer. Participation Rates in Youth Sports Are FallingI'd like to call out a recent article published in Forbes magazine by Seth Everett on December 25, 2018 titled Youth Soccer Facing New Challenges in Battle For Kids' Waning Attention. Seth references a study by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. They revealed a 14% decline in the percentage of kids from 6-12 years old who are playing soccer. Tom Farrey, the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program told the New York Times in an article titled Youth Soccer Participation Has Fallen Significantly in America that soccer has lost about 600,000 players. Looking at both articles, it would seem that both the pay-to-play phenomenon, the lack of good nutrition, and a more sedentary lifestyle are things that you and I can target right now to help us get ahead of this.
For many players, playing soccer for their college is a dream. This article is about how to get there. Below you're going to find a collection of video and linked resources that will get you well on your way to:Understanding the processGetting your plan togetherKeeping you and your athlete safe from ego and from predators who would love to use that take your money Get to Know the NCAAWhether you're interested in soccer, football, swimming, basketball, or some other sport, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a good place to start. There are plenty of paid services that would happily insert themselves (for a fee) between you and the NCAA, but why use a middle man? The NCAA publishes the rules for how and when colleges can make contact with athletes, it has guidance for coaches, it's realistic about the academic and athletic requirements an athlete must meet in order to be eligible, and it even offers a checklist and an elligibility center to help you navigate the process. Get to Know the ProcessThe more you know about the process that get's an athlete selected (or rejected), the better prepared you are to navigate it. Just as i would never recommend jumping on a rubber raft and trying to run the Colorado river without a map and some careful preparation, I would not recommend putting in to the river of athletes trying to get a spot on a college team. The odds do not favor the unprepared. You need to know, for example:What life is like for the coach you want to go play for. How many days per week does he or she get 100+ emails from students just like you who want to play on the team? What is likely to get the coach's attention in a positive way? What are the rules for contacting colleges or for colleges to contact you? How often and how can you legally communicate?What kind of academic and athletic performance is expected at the schools(s) you want to go to? Hint: you can be the greatest athlete, but if you don't have the grades that meet the school standards, then your chances of being cut just went up!What are legitimately helpful services and those that just take your money?How do you make yourself look good on paper and on film? What is a highlight video? The down selection process is meant to reduce huge numbers (tens or hundreds of thousands of candidates) down to a handful of final picks. It's meant to be brutal. If you're not familiar with the rules, but your competitor is, who do you think is going to have a better shot at surviving that? If there are two slots available on a team you're interested in and there are 1,000 applicants, your chances of getting one of those spots starts at 2/1,000 or .2%. Not 2%. 2% - like less than 1%! Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to do everything you can do from your sophomore year through your senior year to improve those odds. You need to know that schools are going to be looking carefully at some key points:Ability - do you have the athletic and academic ability the school needs? Athletics aren't just about kicking a ball into the net. They include composure, ethics, leadership, attitude, and perseverance. Academics need to be at or above school standards or buy bye...Do they have a spot on the roster? If you're the best keeper in the world and the team needs a striker, you're out. If the team needs a box-to-box midfielders #8 and you're lightning fast on the wing but can't keep it up for more than 20 seconds, you're out. Schools will be looking to fill their needs. How well can you complete your questionnaire? If you're in the running, you'll likely be getting a questionnaire about half-way through screening. If you don't turn that in, the answer is easy - you're cut. If you turn it in and it looks like a kindergarten student sneezed with a crayon, you're cut. If your answers are thoughtful and accurate, you might get to move on. Can you handle the phone? For many kids today, talking on the phone has been replaced by texting o...
Competition is a natural ingredient in the process of strengthening hearts, minds, and bodies. Without competition and struggle, we miss out on valuable opportunities. The question in this episode is: Why do we compete? What's the end game? Is it to play on the world stage or is it to create stronger healthier adults? In this show, I discuss two valid perspectives: youth sport as a way to compete globally, and youth sport as a way to create strong adults in whatever field they chose. In the end, the answer you like best is up to you. Life without Struggle Makes us Weak Struggle is sometimes seen as a bad thing. The reality is: without struggle, we would all be weak. We struggle against gravity every day - perhaps the simplest and most obvious form of struggle imaginable. Astronauts deprived of this simple form of struggle lose bone mass and become weaker. When they return to earth, they have a hard time even standing up and walking around.
Competition in youth sports creates a struggle in a controlled environment. Kids of similar size and skill compete against one another. They're strengthening one another at an important time in life. They're strengthening their bodies, their minds, and their hearts. If they're allowed to struggle and compete in a safe environment, they come out winners no matter what the scoreboard says. What's Your Reason for the Struggle? I think we each answer this question in a unique way. For me, I don't suspect I'm going to push many of my players onto the world stage to compete in the World Cup. If it happens, it'll be a great twist of fate and a stroke of luck. But it's not my real why. For me, strengthening kids to become solid good citizen adults is the end game for most. As one who grew up in the business and work world, I know how valuable people who understand teamwork, sportsmanship, respect and empathy are. I know many who have a good grasp of these characteristics got them from competition as kids in youth sports.
It's a fun mental game to ask and answer the question for yourself: why youth sports? To have fun is great, but is it enough to have fun or is there something more to it? Progress over Perfection I frankly don't care if my players win every game or win any game. As long as they make progress and come away from the sports experience understanding how to make progress in life, then I think we've done our job. Self discipline, perseverance, a drive to succeed, an understanding of the power a team can bring to problem solving... all of these are worthy pursuits in the youth sports environment. Daniel Workman's Podcast - Soccer Works I've linked to the podcast that Daniel Workman has produced below. He has strong opinions about the purpose of you soccer. His reason is tightly coupled to our ability as a nation to compete on the world stage. I don't disagree with Daniel and I recommend listening to his thoughts about US Soccer.
I also think that if he's right, it's more important than ever to be clear about why we're doing what we're doing. If we're doing what we're doing with these kids to produce World Cup players, then we may need to change our focus to work more on the national structure issues. If, like me, you see value in what we're doing despite the fact that most kids aren't going to get to play in the World Cup, then be clear about that too.
I recommend you have a listen to Daniel's show and form your own opinion. Share your opinion with me, of course at podcast@thesoccersidelines.com. I'd love to hear it! Resources
Workman, Daniel. Danielworkman.com, www.danielworkman.com/soccer-works/. Podcast Program
There is so much more to watching a soccer game than watching the player with the ball. Come along with me as we explore some of the history, the formations, the styles, and the 99% of the game that is played without the ball. Come away with a better sense of the game and how you can appreciate watching your kids play the biggest sport in the world.Chances Are You're Missing OutSoccer is much more than kicking a ball. It's about shapes, coordinated movement, positions on the field, timing, cultures and history. In this episode, I take you on a high level walk through history, the role that culture plays, into formations or "system's of play," and how we might either assemble a strategy or appreciate a strategy when we see one. The resources included in this episode make good reads. Technical and historical accounts of the game will help you to appreciate the world you step into when you play or watch the game of soccer. ResourcesLink, Daniel, and Martin Hoernig. “Individual Ball Possession in Soccer.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0179953.Wilson, Jonathan. Inverting the Pyramid: the History of Football Tactics. Orion Books, 2018.
Many mammals cooperate, but most stick to cooperating with relatives. Human beings are different in that we have learned to cooperate with people we don't know. This has made all the difference in our evolution. We're genetically wired for cooperation, but our ability to cooperate is weakening. Some of the essential ingredients we need in order to cooperate are disappearing. Where we used to rely on one another to learn skills and pass on knowledge, we now have Youtube. Where we used to make friends face to face and suffers ups and downs of relationships, we now click from one group of friends to another. Loose connections are replacing deeper connections and as a species, we are becoming isolated from one another. In order for humans to be motivated to cooperate, we need to need one another. With our basic needs being met or institutionalized, we simply don't need one another so much. That is showing itself in lack of volunteerism, people loosing patience, loyalties becoming extinct, and our diminished ability to take on real problems. Whether we're talking politics or local projects, when humans loose our ability (or desire) to cooperate, our effectiveness drops and our problems grow. The Age of Monkey MenI'm not trying to be sexist here. I just like the way "Monkey Men" goes together. I'm referring to our Pliocene ancestors. Once upon a time, some scientists argue, we lived in trees. Trees provided safety from predators. This kept us alive, but in order to get the fruits (literally) of ground living, we would need to learn how to solve the predator problem. We our humanoid ancestors learned how to cooperate, there was virtually nothing we could not do. Those ancestors of ours could take down a mastodon. Out ability to cooperate has served us well ever since.Technology is Replacing Our Need to Need One AnotherMy dad taught me to sweat pipes, put up drywall, and do basic electrical work. I looked forward to teaching my kids these skills. In fact, I filled my head with all kinds of skills I looked forward to passing down. Then came Youtube. The harsh reality is that my kids don't need me to teach them this stuff anymore. 30 minutes with YouTube and they could learn just about anything they want to learn. Our traditions of passing on knowledge from one generation to the next is evolving. I'm not saying the old ways are dead. There are still things - particularly in the way that we behave and the way we love one another - that can't yet be learned from Youtube, but a lot of the old standbys: how to change a tire, how to fix a toilet... it's all a click away. Bonds are WeakeningThe truth is, we still need one another to solve big problems. When your school redraws the district lines or something in your community becomes a hazard, we need to come together. Groups still solve problems better than individuals. I'm not referring to bigger groups being bullies. I'm referring to bigger groups having more intellectual capital, more resources, and more ideas. Maybe more people to click on Youtube videos and learn stuff. The problem is, we're not learning the art of coming together the way we used to before Facebook "likes", Twitter retweets, and other clicking behaviors. If I agreed with you, that could be a big deal. It might require a real sacrifice instead of clicking a forward button or the like switch. It might mean getting messy and being there for you at a time that's awkward or inconvenient. I couldn't simply "unfriend" you if I no longer like your message. Breaking bond - the bond we need in order to cooperate with one another, is becoming very easy. Some Problems are Too Big"Objects in this mirror are closer than they appear." The saying illustrates an optical illusion that happens when we look through a mirror that is angled to show us a wider image that we would normally see with our own eyes. Technology lets us see a ton of things that humans before us could never see. Even through the statistical reality is that violent...
It's time to take our youth sports character successes home! Moms and Dads are invited to come off the bench with me for this episode!Connect with me at podcast@thesoccersidelines.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSoccerSidelines/Real Wins Happen in Real Life!It's important to win. We should never be satisfied with losing. The drive to win pushes us. Being on a winning team helps us gel and feel good about ourselves (or maybe we win because we gel and feel good about ourselves - but that's a different discussion). But there is more to life than winning soccer games or topping the standings chart. Carrying a force of character we developed in the crucible of youth sports is maybe more important than winning a game against the city orange or red team. Real wins for a youth sports program happen when kids absorb the lessons that youth sports are meant to teach. When a kid grows into an adult that strives to build a team and win at the game of life, youth coaches and parents can smile. We've achieved our goal. That's a win!Resources“7 Qualities Of A Good Employee and Candidate (According to Research).” Jibe, www.jibe.com/ddr/7-qualities-of-a-good-employee-and-candidate-according-to-research/.Sundheim, Ken. “15 Traits Of The Ideal Employee.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 Feb. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/kensundheim/2013/04/02/15-traits-of-the-ideal-employee/.“20 Top Qualities That Determine a Great Employee.” Cleverism, 20 Feb. 2018, www.cleverism.com/20-top-qualities-determine-great-employee/.Simonovich, Joe. “Qualities of a Good Employee: The Top 50 Signs To Look For.” Corporate Essentials, 16 Aug. 2018, www.drinkcoffee.com/qualities-good-employee/.“14 Admirable Attributes of a Great Employee.” The 6Q Blog, 7 Dec. 2018, inside.6q.io/attributes-of-a-great-employee/.Ducoff, Neil. “Twelve Characteristics of a Great Employee.” Strategies, 8 July 2013, strategies.com/twelve-characteristics-of-a-great-employee/.SEEK Limited. “7 Traits of Great Employees That Prospective Employers Look for - SEEK Career Advice.” Seek Career Advice AU, SEEK Limited, 26 Oct. 2018, www.seek.com.au/career-advice/7-traits-of-great-employees.Coleman, Erin. “The Top 6 Qualities of a Good Employee.” Benefits Bridge, 27 July 2018, benefitsbridge.unitedconcordia.com/the-top-6-qualities-of-a-good-employee/.“How to Be a Great Employee: Top 25 Traits and Characteristics.” WiseStep, 11 June 2018, content.wisestep.com/great-employee-top-traits-characteristics/.Emerson, Melinda, and Melinda EmersonMelinda F. Emerson. “8 Habits to Become a Successful Young Entrepreneur » Succeed As Your Own Boss.” Succeed As Your Own Boss, 13 Nov. 2017, succeedasyourownboss.com/8-habits-become-successful-young-entrepreneur/.“Walt at the Bat: Watch This Video About Disney's Baseball Legacy.” D23, 27 Mar. 2018, d23.com/walt-disney-studios-baseball/.“Steve Jobs Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, Advameg, Inc., www.notablebiographies.com/Ho-Jo/Jobs-Steve.html.Graham, Bryan Armen. “Abraham Lincoln Was A Skilled Wrestler And World-Class Trash Talker.” SI.com, www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/02/12/abraham-lincoln-was-a-skilled-wrestler-and-world-class-trash-talker.Brooke-Marciniak, Global Vice Chair of Public Policy at Ernst & Young Beth Brooke-Marciniak, Beth. “Here's Why Women Who Play Sports Are More Successful.” Fortune, Fortune, fortune.com/2016/02/04/women-sports-successful/.“Making the Connection: Women, Sport and Leadership.” EY Women Athletes Business Network, 2014. http://carleyuden.weebly.com/uploads/4/1/4/1/41411035/women_in_sports_infographic.pdfNeighmond, Patti. “Benefits Of Sports To A Child's Mind And Heart All Part Of The Game.” NPR, NPR, 1 July 2015, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/07/01/418899249/benefits-of-sports-to-a-childs-mind-and-heart-all-part-of-the-game.Sports and Health in America. NPR, 2015, Sports and Health in America, media.npr.org/documents/2015/june/sportsandhealthpoll.pdf.[tcb-script type="text/javascript" src="//rch.audello.
Pay for play is unequal. It’s unfair. And it’s hurting youth sports more than it’s helping. Pay to play in youth sports has been a thing for at least 10 years. It’s a bad thing. And it’s something you should be aware of no matter what sport your kids are playing. Listen to the show for details about what's wrong with pay to play in youth sports and how we might fix it. What is Pay to Play in Youth Sports?Pay to play shares one characteristic no matter what context it’s being used in. Pay to play in youth sports = limited access. Essentially, what this amounts to is those who have money can play. Those who don’t have money can’t afford to play. Talent takes a back seat in this discussion. The pay-to-play system as a system that is overpriced, creates a dysfunctional commitment, prohibits some real talent from participating, and is a driving force behind declining interest in youth sports in America. I would add that it’s causing irreparable damage to the character of our country.Costs of Playing Sports Per Child Per YearClick on the sport you want to see average and maximum costs for. LacrosseAverage: $7,956 per yearMaximum: $17,500 per yearHockeyAverage: $7,013 per yearMaximum: $19,000 per yearBaseballAverage: $4,044 per yearMaximum: $9,900 per yearSoccerAverage: $1,472 per yearMaximum: $5,500 per yearAmerican FootballAverage: $2,739 per yearMaximum: $9,500 per yearBasketballAverage: $1,143 per yearMaximum: $5,150 per yearSource: Barone, Emily. “The Astronomical Cost of Kids' Sports.” Time, Time, 24 Aug. 2017, time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/.Three Things Wrong with Pay to Play in Youth SportsPay for Play in youth sports Means Youth Sports is OverpricedPay for Play in youth sports creates Dysfunctional CommitmentPay for Play in youth sports is a driving force behind the decline in participation in youth sports in AmericaPaying thousands of dollars for a sport that requires open space and a ball is crazy. Even if one makes an argument based on the cost of superior coaching, standards don't really exist to judge the quality of a coach. Just because a coach has a certain credential does not mean that they are good. Bad coaches (or coaches that aren't in the game) take teams out for practice every day in America. With maximum costs for some sports coming in at almost $20,000 per year, something is wrong. I've done the math for my region. There are lots of opportunities to reduce costs in the system!When we put a dollar into an investment, we become much more emotionally invested in the outcome of that investment. This is human nature. When families are spending upwards of 10% of their total income to pay for youth sports for their kids, the emotional investment in the outcome (usually as it pertains to the score board, often becomes dysfunctional. Seeing fully grown adults yelling, stomping, cheating, and acting like fools is now part of the youth sports experience. Are they too emotionally invested? Might this have anything to do with the fact that they just skipped a mortgage payment to be there? The increased pressure and decreased access to youth sports is driving a decline in participation. When sports were free, every public open space was filled with kids running around doing fun stuff. Kids naturally want to run, throw, chase, yell, and giggle. They work on their core, their coordination, their problem solving, and they keep off the body fat. Today, we don't see many kids playing outside. They're on couches playing video games. This has to change. Three Solutions to Minimize Pay to Play in Youth SportsSolution #1 - Bring the focus back on what really mattersSolution #2 - Sharpen our pencilsSolution #3 - Increase Access to youth sports - including free play opportunitiesBringing the focus back on what really matters gives us a way to measure success of the youth sports environment in ways beyond the score board. Ideally, since the youth sports environment is designed to give kids a safe environment to practice respect...
The bottom line up front: it's normal for kids and parents to experience conflict during the process of letting go. Kids are genetically wired to create conflict - no matter what you do or how you do it - so that they can achieve a more grown-up state of autonomy, independence, responsibility... all the things we want them to have as grown ups. If you know what's coming, when it's coming, and maybe a few strategies for managing yourself through the process, you may have an easier time. A Detachment Theory See the resources section below for links to the original articles. There is a lot of good material there. Dr. Carl Pickhardt is a psychologist who talks a lot about parents working their way through the adolescent process. He answers the question about what is adolescence for? His one word answer: Detachment. The Five Psychological Engines the Drive Adolescent Detachment
Separation for the sake of independence Here the adolescent desire is for more social independence of parents as the young person begins to build a social family of their own. Now there are more conflicts with parents over time spent with peers and time spent with family. “No, you cannot spend the day with friends when your grandparents are here for a visit.”
Differentiation for the sake of individuality Here the adolescent desire is to establish a new and unique Identity. Now there are more conflicts over which expressions of individuality are okay and which are not. “No, I don’t care what ‘everyone is wearing,’ you cannot go to school dressed that way.”
Expansion for the sake of growth Here the adolescent desire is to explore new worldly experience and assert a larger older presence in the family. Now there are more conflicts over what one is old enough or not old enough to do. “No, you cannot stay up as late as you want.”
Opposition for the sake of autonomy Here the adolescent desire is to operate more on one’s own authority. Now there are increasing disagreements and conflicts over living on parental terms or living on adolescent terms. “No, you cannot elect to stop doing chores.”
Responsibility for the sake of maturity Here the adolescent desire is to freely make decisions and take the consequences. Now there are more conflicts over what decisions one should be held accountable or not accountable for. “No, we will not give you an excuse for delaying and having to turn your project in late.”
From Dr Carl E Pickhardt, Ph.D. See Resources below for links to his articles and where you can find his book.
What we can learn from information above is that there is a very natural process at work when kids separate. Often the conflict we experience with our kids is not rooted in a lack of love or in whatever the surface conflict appears to be about, but in the natural action of kids learning to be independent, autonomous, mature, individual, adults. Viewed from this lens, some of the conflicts we experience with our kids can be seen as both useful and healthy. Easier Said Than Done As an intellectual argument, it can be pretty straightforward to acknowledge that separation behaviors exist, that they are healthy, and that we support them; but when we are on the receiving end of a comment like "I don't want you to care!" our feelings can be hurt. Knowing what's going on by itself doesn't relieve the pain we feel as parents who love our children more than anything else on earth. Some Ways to Practice Dr Pickhardt and many of the other authors I reference below can offer better recommendations than I can about how we might overcome the negative feelings that inevitably come to the surface as our kids separate from us. We're not going to get it right every time. We will make mistakes, say things we don't mean, be harder on ourselves than we should - and SO HAS EVERY OTHER PARENT! From my perspective, it's equally important to cut yourself some slack as a parent and a human being, as it is to support your child. You love your kid.
Before you know it, your young athlete will be walking out the door for their first year of college. This comes fast! It’s important to realize that our kids are only on loan to us for a short period of time. Here is one way to make the best of it!Know Your Child's Development WindowThere are clear development windows for all sorts of things from walking and talking to understanding how to navigate mixed gender social situations. A youth athletic coach is focused somewhere within the period of time between 3 years old and 18 years old. Each age grouping has it’s own development focus that is determined by a mixture of factors including physical maturity, emotional maturity, and mental maturity. Tables have been drawn up by development experts to show coaches what activities, intensities, time duration, communication styles, rules, safety factors, and equipment are appropriate.Since every individual is different, coaches for a given age group will often review the development tables for 1-2 years on either side of the age group they will be coaching. Programs differ in the range of players they serve as well. So for example, a travel program has a tryout and sorting function before a given season, and therefore has less variability per team. Recreation programs, by contrast, are open to everyone of all abilities, so they tend to program a wider range of variability and flexibility into their development plans.As a parent or a coach, knowing that we only have 15 years to work with, and that each years has a specific developmental focus, should put the youth sports window of opportunity into clearer perspective.US Youth Soccer Player Development PyramidNot To WorrySome concerned parents have become aware of this development window and the fact that there is a specific focus for each age group and wondered out loud to me whether their child has already missed some important developmental windows and therefore will never be great at the sport they are exploring. I’ve taken players on at 14 years old who have barely touched a soccer ball. There was a learning curve, of course, but they didn’t have any less fun.One thing to remember: those guidelines are just that: guidelines. It’s important for a coach to know when kids are parallel playing, for example, so she doesn’t frustrate herself trying to get 4 year olds to understand game strategy. It’s important for the coach of a 15 year old team to understand that hormonally driven social dynamics are at play so he doesn’t embarrass a player in front of his friends and turn him that player away from the game.While it is true that players who play more and play longer are generally more competitive players, we mustn’t chose NOT to play soccer because we fear the other kids are too far ahead. Work ethic and nature will both take their course and in the end, can have a really excellent effect on a young person’s life.Being in Tune With Your Child's Development CycleIt’s one thing to be aware that there is a development window, another to be aware of what each stage of development is focused on, yet another thing all together to be proactively supportive at each stage. If your coach is trained to know these stages, he or she may be able to share some information with you as to how you might best support your player. If he or she is not trained in the various stages, you can send me an email at Podcast@TheSoccerSidelines.com, tell me the age of your player, and I’ll send you a copy of a development table so you can look it up for yourself.I would first advise any parent to open a dialog with the coach and find out what the development plan is. On my teams, I look at 1-2 years on either side of the age group I’m coaching. I take note of the items I think we’re going to be able to work on given the 8-10 week training cycle we’re in and the strategy I hope my team to adopt, and I start there. After the first practice, I refine the plan. After the first game,
The crucial difference between an elite performer and one who is good is often not visible to the casual observer. Having a good Mind Game can make all the difference! "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Mark Twain Author
It Doesn't Matter the Setting It really doesn't matter what sport your child wants to play. It doesn't even matter if they want to play sports at all. Athletic competition is just one way kids work on their mind game. Athletics to academics... even hobby and job performance are all influenced by our attitude. The approach we take to practice, to games, to winning, to losing, and to making mistakes isn't entirely extrinsic - influenced by what happens to us. It is influenced more so by how we see the world.
Two people can see exactly the same situation. One will see adversity and impossibility. Another will see opportunity and excitement. Nothing about the environment may be different - other than the way these two people either naturally perceive the world - or choose to perceive the world. Perception makes all the difference. As a Swimmer When I was a kid, my primary sport was swimming. I had a coach who pushed pretty hard. Day one tryouts included swimming for one mile. Anyone who failed to swim the mile, who touched the bottom or who touched the side in any way other than for a flip turn was cut. As the season unfolded, he threw all manner of physical and mental challenges at us.
I remember practices where he would stand himself in front of us in a pool area that was well over 80 degrees, tell us that it was cold in there and raise goose bumps on his skin. He played mental games with us: "You're not a man," he used to yell, "until you've puked in the scuppers and kept swimming!" He would challenge us to races, then change the rules as the race kicked off. He would fill the air with the smell of warm fat pretzels - hot from the bakery, set us against one another and tell us whomever out lasted everyone else in suicides (a never ending string of overlapping sprints across the pool) who earn a hot reward.
The point of his games were not lost on us. We knew he was breeding us to not only be competitive, but to win - and to like the feeling of winning.
I remember having to sit next to my team mates on the benches with my eyes closed. He would hold a stop watch, run us through a starter sequence, and tell us to raise our hand when we were done with our mental race. It was remarkable to all of us how close our mental "imaginary" race was to our actual race times. He sent us home with homework to run our races over and over again in our minds while trimming time off our best time.
"If you can see it in your mind," he used to say "you will do it in the pool." Our coach was big on improving the mental game.
Later in life, I discovered that swimming - the act of putting one arm in front of the other over and over again for 4,400-8,000 k yards twice per day, six days per week, would be perfect mental training for things later in life. We literally learned how to tuck our heads, settle in behind another swimmer, and push our bodies with our minds. There were no distractions in the pool. Just bubbles and surges of power coursing through our muscles - for hours. In the Military The military has had more than 200 years to perfect the mental game. Sure, basic training will strengthen the body physically, but being a sailor, a soldier, and airman, or a Marine is a way of thinking. It's being able to to the right thing when your body is too tired to do much of anything. It's about being "all-in" to the point of death when the situation calls for it. It's about being able to overcome basic human instinct, to not sleep, to be capable of things most people have been taught to avoid.
The mental aspect of basic training plays s huge role in turning boys and girls into men and women. In turning civilians into fighters.
Stand OutsSometimes, a really good referee just stands out in the crowd. It's more than the calls. There is a comfort and synergy on the field, a connection with players and coaches, a message that carries on the wind that says to everyone: "we're in good hands." I met a set of referees this weekend that I take great pride in introducing. This team earned a "reffie" from me this weekend & reminded me how important it is for us to see and recognize referees when we meet them on the field. They really do make a difference. Meet Debbie O'Connor, Zemery Dennis (HS Student), and Joan Suarez, our awesome referee team this weekend!What's a Reffie?A "Reffie" is a selfie taken with referees. The term was first coined, to my knowledge, by Brian Barlow of Offside. You can find his Brian on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/youreoffside/.Brian started a campaign to bring awareness to bad sideline behavior, obnoxious parents and coaches, and the plight of referees. Having reffed as a guest Assistant Referee (AR) on a few occasions and having coached hundreds of games, I agree with Brian on this point: We owe our referees some love and respect. For me, this weekend was an excellent example of why. Why the Reffie?This weekend, we took our 03 travel boys into Virginia for the Mid-County Fall Classic Tournament hosted by the Northern Virginia Soccer Club. The tournament was fun. The teams were pretty evenly matched. And we did pretty well - finishing second overall in a 1:0 loss in the final match this afternoon. Of course, our boys were superstars and players and parents both went home feeling pretty good. Everybody is going to be sore on Monday after 4 games this weekend, but I think I'm safe in saying we all had fun. Travel tournament situations bring teams together from all over the country. We co-own two tournaments ourselves and we see teams form up and down the East Coast from Canada to Florida. Imagine seeing all the different license plates int he parking lots. Hearing the Northern and Southern accents as you walk to the field. There is a sense of excitement at these tournaments that you just have to experience to understand. There is also a tendency for some parents to act out. People are a long way from home. They can yell and be noisy & they know they'll go home the next day and possibly never see whomever they yelled at today. I heard some whoppers this weekend. Parents ripping into referees. Yelling coaching instructions - most of it nonsense - on the field. People just acting like they didn't care very much about how they looked to the rest of us. I know some of the referees this weekend took beating. But every so often, you see something really special. I did not know the referees who's photos I posted above. I had no reason to believe the game they were about to officiate was going to any different than any other game I've seen. I zipped up my jacket against the 30 degree temperatures, checked my stopwatch, and settled in for 2 35 minute halves - fully expecting to to be annoyed by yelling parents and hoping that our players would find their rhythm and have a good game. Enter Debbie O'Connor - the Center Ref. The AR's, Juan Suarez, and Zemery Dennis had already put their stuff down, had their huddle, and taken up their positions on either end of the field. I heard Debbie's voice for the first time. I didn't catch every word she said, but there was no mistake that every player on the field and the parents along the sideline could hear her. "Boys... this is a playoff tournament game and I expect to start and stop this game on time." She began. It wasn't so much what she said. It was the fact that she said anything at all. She had clearly communicated to everyone on that field that she was in charge, that she would clearly communicate expectations, and that this game was in good hands. Her attitude was confident, playful, and no nonsense - all at the same time. I could tell immediately that there wasn't going to be...
I'm literally typing with hunt and peck, and getting ready to head out to the Emergency Room (ER) as I produce this episode. Lot's of good information here about soccer injuries, but I don't have a lot of time to chat this week. I'm taking my own soccer injury to the doctor this AM. I should have been seen last week when the injury first happened, but I fell victim to what many of us do: I had a game to coach. My team "needed me." And I put my injury aside - hoping it would go away. My injury didn't go away. My hand grew fetter and uglier with bruising all week. Pain hung on and I continued to "tough it out." What a goof!Yes! I know it takes an average of five hours to get through the Emergency Room. No, I don't like using the emergency room if I can help it. Two kinds of people use the Emergency Room, I've told myself over and over again: those who really need it - in which case, GREAT! And those who don't need it, like to whine about little things, or are trying to get around the regular scheduling system.I committed long ago to not being one of the latter types of people. As a former emergency medical technician and Navy Corpsman, I saw many of each kind of person, and I thought the latter type was a strain on the system and frankly a pain in the butt. My pendulum swung wide the other way, and today, I need to be dying or getting ready to lose a limb to go to the ER. I became a really bad patient. Taking a Preventative ApproachI'm still not a fan of using the Emergency Room as an outpatient clinic, but I do think its usefulness extends beyond life threatening crisis. There are times when we're just not sure about something. An injury could be minor - and hopefully it is, but it could be something else. If the something else could turn into something that needs much more aggressive treatments (like surgery or hard core antibiotics), and if the clock is ticking - in other words, things could get worse if we put them off - then the prudent thing to do may be to get checked out. My own visit to the ER fell into the latter category. At first, I thought my thumb injury was something simple like a strain. A splint and some TLC over time would give me a full recovery. As the swelling went down and I saw anatomical structures in places where they should not be, It dawned on me... maybe I dislocated my knuckle or broke something. If I let this go and it heals in that position, I will lose mobility permanently unless I get surgery to correct it. The next ortho appointment I can get will be in 2-3 weeks... I better get checked out. Many injuries we see on a soccer field are like this. It often makes good sense to treat an injury with first aid, monitor it for a while, and seek medical attention if something doesn't look right as it heals. Other injuries, like potential concussions, need to be seen by medical professionals right away - even if we don't see any obvious evidence of injury when it happens. Obviously, there is a wide spectrum of circumstances that have to be taken into account with each injury, but my point is this: consider a preventative approach in your thinking. Sometimes, "ruling out" something more serious and preventing an injury from getting worse is worth the effort of going to see your doctor - even if it turns out the injury was minor and will heal itself. ResourcesAdvanced Solutions International, Inc. “Preventing Soccer Injuries.” Statistics, www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Soccer_Injury_Prevention.aspx.Quinn, Elizabeth. “The Most Common Soccer Injuries.” Verywell Fit, Verywellfit, www.verywellfit.com/common-soccer-injuries-3120651.Drdavidgeier. “Soccer Injury: Six of the Most Common Injuries Soccer Players Suffer.” Dr. David Geier - Sports Medicine Simplified, Dr David Geier, 3 Nov. 2018, www.drdavidgeier.com/common-soccer-injuries/.Ready, Game. “Game Ready Blog.” Top Physical Therapy Trends of the New Year, blog.gameready.com/blog/what-are-the-most-common-injuries-in-soccer.
How Would You Deal With a Bad Referee?I had occasion to find out how I would deal with a bad referee this weekend. It didn't go as well as I would have liked What would you do if you were faced with a bad referee situation? What is a Bad Referee?If you've been following this show for any real time, you know I usually side with the referee. They've got a really tough job and I think as a general rule, we put way too much pressure on yellow or green shirt-wearing officials. However, there are times and circumstances that call for our action. In this article, we will explore one that happened to me this past weekend. I think it's wise to start by defining "bad referee" a little. Being unclear about this point can get us into trouble. When I say "bad referee," I don't mean a referee who makes a call I don't agree with. I'm not a referee. I'm not qualified to judge the abilities of another referee. What little bit I've walked in the shoes of referees (mostly as an assistant referee running the sidelines or as an unofficial referee of a scrimmage game in my in-house league), I've learned I don't want the job. It's HARD!The number of things a real referee needs to keep track of is amazing to me. They not only follow the rules, have to anticipate, position themselves at the correct angles, have to read a confluence of actions - but they have to do it all in seconds and make a call. Believe it or not, a lot of a referee's call is not merely about fairness, but also about safety. An event that might not draw a yellow in one context, might draw repeated yellows in another. When a ref senses that he or she needs cooler heads to prevail - or to slow a game's momentum, or to nip a growing problem in the bud before it blossoms into an injury later in a game - he or she uses judgement and experience to guide them and interpret the game in a way that results in not only a fair outcome, but a safe one. Safety on the field for a referee is a priority.I suppose when I use the words "bad referee," I'm referring more to a bad set of circumstances that leads to ineffective referees. The calls they make are less important to me than the fact that they are making calls and keeping the game clean, within generally acceptable rule boundaries, and with good margin of safety for my players. As a coach and soccer parent, a string of injuries is a good indication that something is not working with the referee "system." A "referee system" in the context of this past weekend, refers to three referees in an 11v11 full sided HS aged game. What Happened to Inspire this Episode?Injuries, as I mentioned earlier are my first and best clue that something is not working with the referee system. We left the field on Saturday with 4 player injuries. Most of them were from cleats leaving cuts and bruises on my players legs and, in one case, his mid-section. Injuries like the one you see to the right are pretty common in the game of soccer. They can be accidental (most of these are) or deliberate - this one likely was. You can see the marks from cleats showing where the offending players stomped the injured player's ankle. This one left a nice bruise. The difference between accidental and deliberate is one judgement a referee is called upon to make. When injuries like this end up on a player's mid section, there should be greater suspicion that deliberate aggression is going on. The next clue for me is bad behavior. Physically benign, but offensive behavior like cursing in a way that is hurtful or disrespectful to other players or officials raises my eyebrow. When I see cursing and injuries stacking up, my hair begins to bristle. This is stuff I expect referees to be on top of - and coaches to be on top of for their respective teams. Let's Add a Few More IngredientsMy team was playing in a High School band age group. This means kids can be anywhere from 14 to 18 years old. In this particular game, most of my players were 15 years old,
What Makes a Winner? Can you lose a game and walk away as a winner? There is ZERO question that a youth player can be a winner when the scoreboard reads in favor of the other team. Let's talk about how player can leave the field as winners - even when the score board says otherwise. A Sample GameLast weekend, we played against a team and walked away with a scoreboard win. In our case, the scoreboard win was also a morale booster because we've been playing numbers down against some pretty strong team this season. The win was just what we needed to restore some confidence and remind us that we know how to play. The other team was pretty discouraged though. I could see it on their faces as they left the field. I asked the other coach if I could address this team. Just so you coaches out there know, this isn't something I usually do, but I had a good chat with the other coach during the game and given the time and place, it felt like the right thing to do that day. I shared an observation with the other team's players. A few of them never gave up. To them, the score didn't seem to matter. They kept giving it 100% the entire game. As a coach, I am so impressed when my own players do this that i thought it might be a good learning moment for the other team. "You guys gave my team a good run today." I said "Thank you for giving us a good fight." "I saw some of you guys not giving up throughout the entire game." I continued. "You guys kept going 100% all the way through. As a coach, that really impresses the heck out of me. It doesn't matter what the score board says. Today, you guys who stayed strong and kept going until the end are walking off this field as winners. I appreciate when I see a winner's spirit on the field. You guys who kept at it have that winner's spirit!" I thanked the coach for an opportunity to speak to his team and left. The Winner's SpiritI've seen this winner's spirit on the field on both winning and losing teams for years. It doesn't look like kids dancing around after the scoreboard shows a higher number. In fact, it often looks like grit and determination, a smile and a genuine handshake from a player (or a coach) on the side of a team that just lost. As a coach, I'm looking for the winning spirit at practice. It shows itself in how well our players commit to being there. Are they pushing through the beep test? Are they engaging 100%. Are they making mistakes and allowing themselves to move past them? I personally think what I see in practice is important. It's the first chance I get to see what kind of spirit each of my players has, and how hard they work in practice is usually a good indicator of how hard they will work in games. I believe the winning spirit comes out best when the score is stacked against us. I'm looking for players who don't quit. The ones who push even harder when the scoreboard is stacked against us. When I hear players calling a "new game" or a "Zero/Zero" when the second half starts and they take on the game with renewed energy - those players are lions! It's easy to dance around and be happy when you're winning. But to pick yourself up and go all in when you're down... that's NOT easy. When players pick each other up instead of beat one another down, they are showing leadership. When players start verbally abusing one another, by contrast, pointing fingers, or blaming the referee, they are losing in more way than just on the scoreboard. Taming the LionI suspect that if a lion tamer were to tell his or her story about taming lions, they would probably talk about how each lion has their own personality. Ideally, we want there to be the heart of a lion in every player. As coaches, we want players to be able to draw on their own strengths and spirit on the field and use that energy when it counts. It's a delicate thing to connect and draw out the best form each player. Some require a stick. Others require a carrot. Some require a mixture of carrot and stick.
In the Line of FireThis past weekend, I was asked to be the Assistant Referee (AR) for my son's 2003 travel game. I'm not a referee, but on this day I had just come from a game and was wearing my coaching uniform. We look like race cars on the field and stand out from a mile away - especially since our club colored are red, black, and white. I was hard to miss. One of the AR's didn't show for the game and the Center Referee (CR) caught me before the game. My son's coach, bless his heart, pointed me out to him before the game as a possible substitute for the missing AR. I came to enjoy my son's game and ended up holding a flag and running up and down the field. Time to make the most of it, I thought. You need to know that I'm not a licensed referee. I have taken a course in officiating games, but that makes me a coach with a course in officiating. It doesn't make me a licensed referee and it certainly doesn't give me the right to make official calls at a soccer game. This last point is one that I'm glad to say the CR emphasized when he handed me the flag. I was to help him to see when the ball goes out of play, but calls like the offside call - one that has many moving parts (See episode #18 - The Offside Rule Explained) - was a call that he would make. This pre-game substitute AR speech is something I've heard before when I've been volunteered to do this job & I'm grateful for it. Watching a game with referee eyes is hard enough. This speech takes the pressure off a little, but as you'll learn in a minute, doesn't stop parents from throwing criticism. During our initial conversation, I could see that the CR got the sense that I might understand the calls well enough to help out, but he didn't know or trust me yet - so, as I would have done myself, he put some restrictions on. He did, however, tell me that if I think there MIGHT be an offside infraction, that I was allowed to hold my flag 45 degrees down as a HINT for him. He would make the call. The first half went by pretty well. I could see he was supporting what I was telling him about what I saw. He called me over for the second half, corrected my flag signals, and gave me a little more freedom to signal him with things I was seeing on the field. My head hurt when I was done. In my head, I was watching every touch of the ball - saying to myself "Out on white... out on blue... out on white. Out on blue..." with every touch - just in case the ball went out of bounds. I was terrified of raising my flag in the wrong direction when I saw it fully cross the line - or missing who it went out on all together when I did raise my flag. As a point of reference, I keep stats on my own games. In yesterday's game - the one that we played just before I came to watch my son's second game, we recorded 340 first touches in the first half, 409 first touches in the second half - for a total of 749 first touches in that game. My stats keeper had an emergency call during the first half, so some of our first touch stats were missing and I know that not all first touches get recorded properly even in the best case scenarios. What I was watching as a proxy AR wasn't just first touches. I was seeing first, second, third, knees, bumps, side-swipes, and ricochets off of shin guards. Whomever touches the ball last before a ball goes out of bounds on the touchline (sidelines) loses the chance to play it back in, so every little touch counts. Then I was watching the offside line - running up and down the sideline - staying even with the second to last defender (not including the goal keeper), watching and/or listening for the kick/pass and checking player positioning to determine whether or not a player was in an offside position at the time the pass was made - and if they materially impacted the play. I was a volunteer. I was intently watching as many details as I could manage. And I was missing out on watching my son play. But I was there. Enter - THAT Parent"What game are YOU watching, Ref?!
Being Cold is No Fun It's amazing to me how many parents I see every year on the sidelines who are unprepared for the weather. I expect this from my teenaged kids, but when I see full grown adults shivering on the sidelines, I think I need to do an episode on this subject. There is no good reason for you to be cold on the sidelines of a soccer field. The weather will adjust the way you dress for it, but warmth is your right. Teeth chattering is probably not encouraged by the American Dental Association. And blue finger tips are not attractive. Weather is Relative There is a big difference between running around in 50 degree temperatures vs sitting on a cloth chair in 50 degrees. Your activity level make a huge difference in how you feel at a game. If you're sitting still in 50 degree weather, be prepared to be cold. If you're running around in 50 degree weather, you're probably grateful to have things a little cooler.
A wet 50 degree day is much colder that a dry 50 degree day thanks to the added evaporative effect of wet clothing against the skin. Windy days can penetrate layers. Hill tops or large flat surfaces like a soccer field with no wind break can amplify the wind effect.
Take this stuff seriously. People can and have suffered hypothermia in 50 degree temperatures - especially when they're wet from sweat or other bad weather like rain or snow. Taking Care of Players Players have special needs. Here are a few thoughts on players:
Benched players will be colder than players who are actively running. Wet (sweaty) players will lose any heat they have quickly and can suffer shivering cold easily if not cared for on the bench Goalkeepers will likely be colder than field players - especially if they are not seeing much action. Injuries are more likely when players are not warmed up and their muscles, ligaments, and tendons are not activated before strenuous play Wet balls slap and hurt! Slippery wet fields make players prone to injury. Players are wearing light weight wicking clothing in most cases - regardless of the weather Dehydrated players don't have as much fluid in their bodies to circulate and keep them warm as hydrated players
Here are some things that make cold days a little more manageable for players:
Proper warm ups are important. It's not good to take human bodies form cold and stiff to full on game-like activities levels too quickly. I suggest having players show up a little earlier on cold days. Get the soccer cleats on. Get some activation exercises like lunges, opening-the-gate, closing-the-gate, high kicks, etc. going. Next, move players into some activities that encourages touches on the ball: rondos, passing exercises, etc. Don't forget about your goalkeepers! Keepers need to be loose and limber, gloves warmed up, bodies warmed up, etc. Hydrate well the day before a game. This is true for every game, but it's even more important when players are going to be exposed to extremes in weather. Water helps the blood to circulate - which helps to keep the muscles well fueled and the body thermostat in good working order. Have a blanket for the bench. Benches can be pretty cold and they will suck the heat right out of players if they're allowed to sit on a cold bench for a prolonged period. Keep players who are getting ready to go in warmed up. Make them do jogs or high knees down to the corner flags and back. It's never a good idea to let people sit and get cold. Better to warm up through moving, than by huddling up under a blanket and getting stiff. Though a blanket is better than not having one. When players come off, have them sip some water. We need to keep replenishing the body with fluids to keep the kids hydrated and moving. Keep an eye on your goalkeepers during games. Any player that's not working hard will cool down quickly and start getting stiff. This is when injuries happen. Keep everyone loose and limber.
The Adventure of CoachingI think most parents come into the world of coaching out of a love for their own kids and a desire to support them and provide well rounded learning experiences wrapped in fun. If we consider the world of grassroots soccer, by that I mean non competitive travel or select soccer, we see kids coming together from all backgrounds and skill sets - all out to make friends, become and stay active, learn some new skills, and have fun. Fun is the number one draw for kids into youth sports, and fun is what a lot of parents hope to provide. In this post, I'd like to talk about some of the stuff that's not talked about in coaching courses.I want to talk about the stuff we think about before we ever get to coaching courses. I want to talk about you and the stuff that can't be easily quantified. Before you step up for the first time, you might want to know: would I make a good coach? What's the time requirement? What if I fail and the kids don't like me? What if I don't know anything about the game? Will my kids accept me? How can I be a good coach? Would I Make a Good Coach?Obviously, this is very personal question. If you've never coached before, you probably don't know the answer. I came from a military background. There were not many kids in that environment. And I didn't start with the military until I was a bit older. 24 yrs old to be exact. I was the old man in training. Before that, I was in college with other college kids. I had my own business and I was making a lot of money for my age. I was having life experiences that were far removed from children and I was perfectly happy there. After the military, I went to work in corporate America. I climbed the ladder through middle management and into the C-Suite. I managed hundreds of employees, millions of dollars worth of projects, and had made all the kinds of transitions outlined so well in the book: The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company, by Ram Charan and Stephen Drotter. I was leader in those environments - but those environments were for adults. Kids to me were scary. I had no experience. I didn't have any great examples to draw from. And I thought I'd be really bad at dealing with them. When I had my own kids, I didn't have any choice anymore. Kids are kinda everywhere when you're a parent. You definitely can't avoid them - or all the bugs they bring home from daycare and school. Sickness on school cycles year after year was par for the course. Coaching kids when mine were really little was about the farthest thing from my mind. I was happy to get in a nap every so once in a while. When my kids expressed an interest in trying youth sports, I was a big fan. I swam, played hockey, lacrosse, soccer, ran track, wrestled, did gymnastics and martial arts in college... My memories of youth sports - working together as a team, pushing past weakness and discomfort, or even just putting one arm in front of the other for 4-8,000 yards twice per day every day with nothing but bubbles from another swimmer's kicking feet in front of me - those things, the perseverance, the teamwork, the sense of achievement after working hard - those things got me through many rough spots in life. I wanted that for my kids. When my kid's coach needed help, and I saw that the experience my kids were having would be better if I stepped up. I stepped up. I picked up the stop watch, tracked time, donned a title "Assistant Coach," and eventually managed the bench. In the early days, I struggled to remember my own experiences as a player - as if my experiences as a player would help me now as a coach. But I realized after a while, that playing and coaching are two very different things. Coaching requires organization. I had learned organization. Coaching requires good communication. I had learned communication. Coaching requires empathy and insight. I had learned empathy and insight. And Coaching required that I set aside my own ego,
The Reason We CompeteCompetition between human beings has been around a long time. Paintings in the Lascaux caves in France, it is believed, show images of sprinting and wrestling around 15,300 years ago. Similar paintings and sculptures show humans participating in sports like wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, and archery in Mongolia, Libya, Japan, Iraq, Egypt, and Greece. Arguments have been made that competition was originally used as a way to sort out who might be fit for service. Some people have shown that sport has been used to teach lessons about life and in the development of basic human skills that the human race needed in order to survive and thrive. Being up close and personal with youth sports for many years - both as an athlete and as a coach, I believe youth sports is a great environment to push one another to be better. We challenge one another to be the best versions of ourselves possible. Competitors bring their best "game" to the game, pit them against one another, and learn a lot in the process. Youth sports is meant to be a safe environment first and foremost. After our kids are safe, it's about issuing challenge and answering that challenge. Where Does The Challenge Come From?Challenges in youth sport are not limited to the obvious. Sure, our opponent challenges us to bring the best of ourselves to the field of contest, but how about the challenge that we issue ourselves? Swimmers are often challenged to beat their own times. Challenges, in fact, come from all around us. If we have a coach, our coach challenges us. As kids, our parents challenge us. We challenge ourselves. Our opponents challenge us. Spectators challenge us. The weather challenges us. History challenges us. All that challenge, when delivered in a safe environment, makes us stronger. When we rise to the occasion, we feel good. When we attempt to overcome a challenge, even if we don't succeed, it exercises our mind, body, and spirit. If we try over and over again - eventually, we will either succeed, or at the very least, become a lot stronger. The Role of Our OpponentIn the days of gladiators, final competition ended with the death of one or more of the contestants. The best or most lucky survived. The purpose of the contest was not development or strengthening of the contestant. The purpose was entertainment. Two or more gladiators fought for the entertainment of the crowd - and some may argue to provide an outlet for the crowd and satisfy a natural human blood lust. The purpose of youth sports is to strengthen our young people's minds, bodies, and spirits. We care equally for the children on both sides of the contest. We do our best to match children so that contest will be as fair as possible. The objective is not to kill the other team, but to give the other team a solid challenge and force them to tap all of their strength and wisdom - to maybe stretch the other team so that at the end of the day, both teams go home tired, smarter, and stronger than what they were when they came out in the first place. Viewed from this context, our opponent actually brings us a gift to every match. They bring the best of themselves - which hopefully forces us to leave the field a little better ourselves. If our opponent didn't show, we wouldn't have a game. If they didn't bring their best, we wouldn't have a good game. If they do show and they give it everything they've got - win or lose, we benefit from that experience. Gratitude For Our OpponentThe fact that we're walking off the field as better versions of ourselves after every good match is an awesome thing. It is for this reason that we feel and express gratitude for our opponent, for the rules that make our game safe and fair, the the officials that make sure the rules are followed and safety is highest priority, for our teammates for joining us in the effort, and for ourselves for the effort we gave both on and off the pitch. Done right, everybody wins - literally everybody - no matter what t...
What is so Important About Commitment?Commitment makes The Soccer Sidelines "Important Stuff" list across all categories: parents, players, coaches, and volunteers. Commitment is a basic building block of the foundation for every youth athlete and is something that each member of a community - from parents and coaches, to organization leadership and volunteers - all have a responsibility to model and promote. If you're wondering - how can a volunteer influence a player's understanding of commitment, just consider the volunteer who fails to show up for an important job like washing team pinnies. Every player will literally be clothed in the stench of a failed commitment. Don't think they won't notice that some adult didn't follow through on their commitment to wash those pinnies. Commitment is something that is so ubiquitous in the youth sports environment, that we often fail to recognize it as an important actor in the shaping of our player's character. Commitment as a PlayerFor many players, youth sports may not be their first exposure to the concept of commitment, but it may be the most profoundly personal experience with it. The first time a youth athlete experiences lactic acid buildup in their muscles usually comes with being physically and mentally tired, they may be surprised when coach tells them to get some exercise to help them feel better. Players get a chance to practice commitment every day in youth sports - in both big and small ways. From getting out of bed on time to feeding and hydrating themselves, to supporting team mates, players start to understand the meaning of being "all in." They stand a much better chance of absorbing this message if we are intentional about communicating it - both at home and on the pitch. Youth sports may be the first environment where players get to exercise their commitment to something bigger than themselves. Committing to a team, to fellow players, to their own development as a way to support their team as opposed to as a way to make themselves look better, or to the game of soccer in general are all examples of this extra level of commitment in action. I recently had an opportunity to ask a few of my high school aged players about commitment and what they are committed to. A small group of my players did not register in time to get placed on my team. In one case, the player said he registered, but didn't. The second case, Dad wrote me a note asking for his son to be placed back on my team. In the third case, the player wrote me a note explaining why he missed registration and why he wanted to play. In all three cases, I was looking for clues as to what the player was committed to and how committed they are. The first player just faded away. It seems that the registration process was too hard, so he gave up trying. The second player was absent as well. His dad was doing all the talking so I got no sense of what the player is committed to. The third player wrote me several paragraphs about why he was late and why we was trying to get back on the team after registration had closed. To paraphrase his comments, they were about being committed to himself and his own fun. I was looking for evidence of commitment to his team mates, to his coach, or to the game of soccer - I only found commitment to himself and the fun he thought he would or would not have. I can tell you as a coach and as the President of a Club, if a player shows up with a commitment to his team, the sport, his team mates - in short - something bigger than him or herself, I would move mountains to support that player. When all I see or hear in terms of commitment are proxy commitments from parents (who may want their kid to play more than the kid does) - when I see a half effort and then a fold, or if I see the main commitment is selfish, I'm not terribly motivated to go above and beyond. Now, I might still help, but it's the kids who show that they have commitment to something greater than themselves who really g...
Don't Miss or Underestimate This! Something powerful happens when a group of good people come together around a common goal. Bringing character, development, and fun to kids in our community not only benefits the kids, but brings adults together in really positive and powerful ways. There are more than two teams on the field for every practice and every game. If we underestimate the team team of parents, the teams of coaches, or the teams of volunteers and staff that make these activities possible, then we’re missing out on a super powerful resource - and possibly some awesome friendships. The Teams Contributing Most of the attention on a soccer field is directed at the ball. Coaches and those who understand the game tend to zoom out a little more and watch players shapes, movements, and timing. Referees are watching for compliance, energy levels, safety, and fairness. But if we zoom out even more, individual parents, groups of parents - and zooming out even more, club and organizational leadership, come into focus.
Parents chatting with parents Volunteers working with volunteers Coaches working with assistant coaches - and maybe other coaches check Club leadership working with parents and volunteers check Coaches working with parents and volunteers check More...
Opportunities to forge positive relationships around the game are not limited to those wearing uniforms. The opportunity for parents and other volunteers to come together and create value for one another are limitless!
Friendships extend form the soccer field into other areas of life. Synergies and community building can grow in many directions. What Happened On Our Fields To illustrate this phenomenon, I draw on experiences I had this past two weeks with my Club Academy. Our Academy serves kids from 3-8yrs-old and is structured around large group practices once or twice per week depending on the age, and games once per week. Planning for the season started many months before and opening day was two weeks ago.
Opening day is always awkward. There are new players, new parents, new coaches... no one really knows what to do or what is expected, so people stand around, see one another, and look for some direction. Everyone wants to fit in and everyone is hoping that they and their kids will have a good time on this new season adventure. This season was no different. What's Happening Here? Enter your text here... Your Heading Here Enter your text here...
Physical literacy in kids comes from a healthy range of activities. Each activity exposes athletes to new physical vocabularies. The best...
Who Cares? "How's the weather?" is a common conversation opener, but when I hear it, I brace myself for a boring discussion. I get it. This is important stuff though. People have been hurt or killed, and thousands of games get cancelled or delayed every season. I've heard parents and coaches complain about a closure or delay and I understand that too. We came to play soccer, not sit in our car or worse - go home without grass or turf jammed in our cleats.
An effective policy is one that keeps players and spectators safe, and protects the fields from damage.
It's Just Rain... I hear this one a lot. A little rain never hurt anyone. While probably close to being true, a little rain might hurt a field. Well... the rain actually just softens up the field most of the time. It's a stampede of 14 to 22 pairs of cleats running across the field that causes the damage.
Soft grass fields can be damaged easily. Cleats kick up clumps of grass. Mud slicks and holes are left where the grass used to be. Those slicks and holes grow. They become trip hazards, slip hazards, and ankle twisting hazards. The pool with water which hides their depth and bend player's knees backwards when they misread the terrain.
Rain by itself ins't much of a threat. It makes the ball wet. It makes a ball slap hurt more than usual. It can get in a player's eyes and cause them to misread a header or slip and slide into another player. But the rain itself isn't much of a threat. In fact, one may argue, rain and mud makes the game even more fun! At least that's the way we looked at it when we were kids.
Rules about playing on damaged fields have evolved over time. Today, playing on a damaged field is something we try to avoid. In fact, we try to avoid damaging the field at all. This way, we get a full season of play time out of it.
Keep in mind that when fields are closed for rain, it's for safety of the players and protection of the fields. In our area of the country, the general rule is if there has been 1/2 inch of rain or more on a field in the previous 24 hours before an event, the fields are closed. Our County government makes that rule. What's the rule like in your part of the country? Thunder and Lightning on Soccer Fields Whether we see lightning or hear thunder, it really makes no difference. You can't have thunder without lightning, and either one means you're in a bad spot if you're on a soccer field.
What do they tell you in lightning storms? Get away from trees because the tallest thing is more likely to be struck than things that are low to the ground. Experts teach us to seek shelter, minimize our exposure, minimize the damage.
Take it from a guy who's done CPR on a full grown man who had the misfortune of 50,000 volts of electricity through his body. High voltage and the human body don't mix! Think overcooked turkey and the smell of burnt hair here. Freaked out? Good.
On a soccer field, the players and spectators are very often the tallest thing on the field next to the goal posts. That's like having 8-22 lightning rods running around.
The illustration above, done by Ted Slampyak for The Art of Manliness, shows you the best position to assume if you're caught in a storm.
And don't go for the goal posts in case you're thinking that it's safer near them. Lightning spreads out across the ground when it strikes something like a tree, a goal post, or a human crouched in lightning position. That's why experts also have us spread out 100 feet between people - so if one gets hit, the others might still survive!
The right thing to do here is clear out! Get off the field. Get into a car, a concrete bathroom house, a nearby building... Just about any shelter is better than hanging around in the open on a soccer field.
You should stay clear for 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder or strike of lightning. Anything less than 30 minutes and you might still be close enough to a storm to get struct by a bolt.
Making Lemonade out of LemonsThose with the power to take anything that is thrown their way and turn it into something positive truly have the power to save the world. When instead of seeing lemons, we see lemonade - when instead of seeing failure, we see opportunity, we rise above the common person and become invincible. Power is not in the illusion of control of the world around us, but in our ability to perceive the world around us in a healthy and productive way - no matter what comes our way. Youth Sports provides one of the best environments for young people to come to understand the power of perception - and as a consequence, the power of resilience. Getting knocked down and getting back up... experiencing failures and celebrating victories... Learning the relationship between the work we put in and the impact it has on our bodies, our minds, our spirit, and our team... Youth sports gives us the gift of thousands of teachable moments. We just need the ability to find and activate those moments to score in life in a big way. By Photographer unidentified. Retouched by TimofKingsland. [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEdmund HillaryMountaineer and ExplorerIt's not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves. You're Either Winning or LearningAs a general rule, we're not all that much different from one another. Most of us have the same basic human abilities to adapt to our environment. We've adapted to life through many ages - from pre-historic cold through plagues - from under the seas to the top of Mount Everest. We ask questions of ourselves, throw our spirit against a thing which seems at first insurmountable, and over and over again, we emerge as winners or we learn. As a people, we never lose. We just try again. As a person, we each have that spirit within us. Nelson Mandela, after being badly beaten and thrown in jail for 27 years for his part in leading revolution in South Africa, became perhaps one of the world's most recognized leaders. Evidence of his resilience was shared with the world in one simple quote: "I never lose. I either win or I learn." If a man like Nelson Mandela can emerge after 27 years of fighting from a jail cell and declare to the world that he can "never lose," we have the power to emerge from a bad play or a bad game of youth soccer without being defeated. Where to Find Resilience on the Soccer PitchI don't think resilience comes naturally to everyone. Some kids tend to give up and walk away when things get tough. I do believe, however, that resilience can be learned, and if the environment is set up in such a way as to recognize and promote resilience, it can be absorbed by everyone who participates. Youth sports is going to provide kids lots of opportunities to practice resilience. Every time something doesn't work as planned, they get to practice. Every missed shot, every lost tackle, every time they step on the ball and pull a Charlie Brown, they get to practice. The key, I believe, is in what happens immediately following the opportunity to practice. When a player whiffs a ball and pulls a Charlie Brown (this happens to everyone), coaches and parents have a choice. Do we make it okay? Do we celebrate the whiff as a right of passage and something the player was "finally" able to do - meaning that they are maturing as a soccer player? Or do we cringe and send a signal that the whiff experience is embarrassing and should be avoided at all costs?The way we set up our environment on the pitch and at home make a big difference in whether a child is going to be willing to attempt a hard thing a second time - or tell themselves not to try. Trying again is a key ingredient in resilience. Our OpportunitiesOpportunities to teach / learn resilience on a soccer pitch are everywhere. I always assume that stuff happens off the pitch before kids ever show up. They may have had a rough day. Home life might not be the best. They may have had a fight in school.
The Confidence ChallengeOne afternoon during a practice session, the mother of a young girl on my team approached with a request. "Can we do something about my daughter? Her confidence is low. Her sister plays at home and her confidence is growing. This is causing some conflict at home and I want to see both daughters enjoying themselves." I love when parents approach me like this. I lifted my clipboard and pointed to an empty space. "See this space?" I asked. "I use it to remind me of things I need to keep an eye on. I'm going to write her name here and from now on, we're going to work deliberately on her confidence." For the next several weeks, I paid special attention to what this young lady was doing. I ignored her curves away from the ball. I ignored the arms that flew up in defense when she came within 10 feet of an opponent. I searched with intention to catch her doing something right. I went out of my way to repeatedly point out when she did something right. Slowly, her fear seemed to subside. Two games later, she was playing right midfield, got the ball and almost accidentally broke through the first line of our opponent's defense (their midfielders). She stopped in surprise and looked my way. Both thumbs went up and I yelled with a big smile "Your Doing Great! Keep Going!"A moment later, she broke through the second line of our opponent's defense (the defensive line). She was now between the defensive line and the goal. Only the goal keeper stood between her and a score. She lost her nerve and punted the ball away to a team mate who was attacking far post. The team mate controlled the ball, drew the goal keeper and returned the pass to this young lady. The ball hit her in the thigh and went in the goal. She scored her first goal ever!!My bench came aline. They all stood up and screamed like crazy people. This young lady forgot I was even there and looked in the direction of her parents who were also out of their chairs at this point on the opposite sideline. Her face exploded in a smile and she jumped in the air from an uncontrolled enthusiasm. Her team mates - the rest of my team who was already on the field burst in a chorus of cheers and encouragement. This moment would likely be a moment when this young lady found confidence. It would be a moment she would remember for a long time to come. It was time to cross her name off my clipboard. I smiled and drew my line with a satisfied grin I could not myself control. "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.Dale Carnegie - WriterFinding ConfidenceConfidence can be a tricky thing. Too much breeds arrogance. Too little handicaps us. Ultimately, the finest form of confidence comes with humility wrapped in a comfort in our own self worth and abilities. It takes effort to achieve. It takes belief to inspire action that leads to effort that leads to achievement. Inspiring confidence is one of the things I love the most about coaching in youth sports. Learning to be confident is one of those things I believe serves us throughout life - well beyond the soccer pitch. Two ArchetypesKids, I have found, come in two varieties. There are probably more that have been classified by experts, but to my eye, there are two big ones that stand out. The first archetype is the one that believes that skill comes through effort. This type of player is easy to coach. They understand that wherever they are on the skill spectrum is a function of how much effort they have put in. To move further up the skill spectrum, they simply need to put in more effort. If they slack off, the know they will slide down the skill spectrum. The correlation between skill and work is clear in their minds. They respond to constructive feedback. They are more likely to say "I will..." or "I can..." and less likely to beat themselves up for not having a skill mastered yet.
National Soccer Camps offer a channel for kids interested in soccer to pursue higher levels of competition, gain exposure to many coaches (often world class coaches), a chance to build unique memories, and to gain exposure on a much larger stage for those interested in college or professional soccer careers. This experience is not for everyone, but for those it serves, it can be a life changer. Our club, the Damascus Soccer Club in Maryland, formed a partnership with Global Image Sports (GIS) and the Stoke City Potters Academy in England to bring camps like this to players in the Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and DC region. Several kids came though our first camp this summer. A handful of kids qualified. I traveled with them to Georgia as they completed their National Camp experience. What follows will give you an insiders' look at the process we went through to bring National Camps to our region, to play through them as a player, and to coach through them as a coach. Getting To CampGetting to a National soccer camp is a process. The big steps are (open the tabs to see the bullet points within): Laying the GroundworkGetting the player readyGetting the agreements into placeGetting the Club readycheckEstablishing session planscheckGetting fields reserved, equipment and support staff into placecheckMarketing and communicationscheck Executing on logistics like airport pickup, housing, food, safety, etc.check Customer service / problem resolutionHosting ID CampBringing in coachesField setupcheckAge groupingsManaging sessionscheckSun and youth protectioncheckSignagecheckField cleanupcheckEquipment storagecheckWeather contingenciesInitial Performance and EvaluationcheckTechnical / TacticalSimple to complex trainingcheckBall handlingcheckRecognizing spacecheckGame intelligencecheckPhysicalcheckSpeed and agilitycheckPsychosocialOff-the-field elements like sportsmanship, attitude, and fitnesscheckEmotionalcheckWho really wants to be here?checkComposurecheckApplying and increasing pressureSorting checkContext specific activitiesSelectionMost of the same elements found in Initial Performance and EvaluationEmphasis on what was established (what to look for) in step 1 Top 20% from the state levelPayment and TravelcheckInitial ID camp starts the process and this should be $200 or lessEveryone who gets an invitation pays to get to National ID camp. Expect between $600 - $1,000.Travel and lodging for parents and guests is not includedLogistics for getting to/from public transportation like airports or train stationscheckAdditional road trips before or after campPerformance and EvaluationcheckTechnical / TacticalSimple to complexcheckBall handlingcheckRecognizing spacecheckGame intelligencecheckPhysicalcheckSpeed and agilitycheckPsychosocialOff-the-field elements like sportsmanship, attitude, and fitnesscheckEmotionalcheckWho really wants to be here?checkComposurecheckApplying and increasing pressureSorting checkContext specific activitiesSelectionMost of the same elements found in Performance and EvaluationEmphasis on what is needed at the next level (what is needed to play in development or academy) Top 5% from the national levelGetting a single player to a National camp like the one we just participated in takes a a team of people several months to coordinate. It can take years, depending on local competition, for coaches and players to get individual players ready to compete effectively for the slots available. The process from a player's perspective is pretty simple. 1. Get into shape and have the desire to compete. 2. Find a Club in your area that's hosting a camp 3. register 4. Pay special attention to those non-technical items like attitude, sportsmanship, work ethic, etc. 5. Show up and give it your all!From a parent's perspective, recognizing and supporting desire in your child is probably step one. This means getting them into club or school practice and play environments, driving, paying the bills, shopping for gear,
Measuring performance is one of the best ways to ensure consistent improvement. Let's talk about keeping statistics that really matter in youth soccer
Choosing a "Boot" at The Soccer Store Don't let the word "boot" raise an eyebrow! Soccer cleats are also called soccer "boots," "cleats," "football boots," and even "soccer shoes." These are all the same thing. I'll use them interchangeably in this article. For newer parents, having a lot of names for the same thing creates only the first bit of confusion. Sorting through the differences between indoor and outdoor cleats, futsal shoes, American football cleats vs baseball cleats vs soccer cleats, metal studs vs plastic studs, leather vs synthetic shells, turf vs grass, and even lace placement can make a pre-season shopping trip a confusing one. Let's shed some light on the world of soccer cleats and make your shopping trip to the soccer store a little easier! Indoor vs Outdoor One of the first things to trip up a well meaning soccer parent is the concept of indoor vs outdoor. A shoe labeled as a soccer shoe at big box soccer store X might in fact be a soccer shoe, but the important question to ask here: for what surface?
Soccer and it's variants is played in the dirt, natural grass, on "turf" and other synthetic surfaces, on hard surfaces like tennis courts, and on wooden courts. The one question that cuts through the noise is: on what surface (s) will we be playing?
Dirt and natural grass surfaces break down and need studs to grab onto them. Without strong longish studs under the boot, players would slip, slide, and collect injuries on the field - especially when the surface is wet.
Indoor surfaces are typically flatter and harder. They may be concrete, wooden (as in a basketball court), or made of synthetic materials like astroturf. For these surfaces, we won't be needing those long hard studs. In fact, those studs will be dangerous and will cause slipping and/or damage to the surface itself. It's best, in these cases to use a flatter shoe - a gum based sole or a short studded turf shoe if playing on turf.
Blades, Studs, Gum or Rubber, and Turf
Choosing the correct sole of the shoe is the most important first step. Blades and molded studs are the two choices for outdoor. A philosophical debate is common around which is better, but an article written for Soccer.com provides a pretty good discussion of the two.
In short, blades are argued to provide greater traction and speed, while studs provide greater stability (i.e. fewer injuries) and quicker release time.
On the indoor side, wooden courts love the grippiness of a rubber or gum sole. These have the added advantage of not leaving any scuff marks for volunteers or staff to have to clean up later. Many indoor wooden courts (frequently used for futsal) have rules against using shoes that will leave scuff marks because of the mess they leave behind.
Turf shoes typically have molded short studs or small blades on the sole. These are the middle-of-the-road between full sized (soft surface) cleats and no-stud (wooden surface) gum soles. These shoes provide good grip and stability on synthetic turf surfaces without causing damage. Turf shoes are not great, however, for use outside on soft surfaces like natural grass and dirt. Parents often mistake turf shoes for outdoor grass cleats. This leads to slips and falls - and an increase in injuries. Metal vs Plastic Molded Cleats Some leagues do not allow the use of metal cleats. The main reason cited is usually because of the increased risk for injury. Metal cleats also tend to be a little longer since they are stronger and less likely to break. This means that metal cleats dig deeper into the surface and can damage fields more than their shorter plastic cousins.
Metal cleats can be more expensive than plastic molded cleats. We see them used more often in older youth or adult leagues where players are old enough to hold onto the same pair for longer periods before growing out of them.
Metal cleats can often be removed and replaced whereas plastic modeled ones can not.
The World Cup is Coming to AmericaThere isn't an American soccer player who isn't already talking about and thinking about the World Cup in 2026. The excitement such a world-class event will bring to our continent is huge! That said, there is also a lot of thinking going on around not only how do we get our US team into the next World Cup, but what we have to do at home to bring our game to the next level. Discussions are already underway and escalating in some very positive ways. Keeping in mind the mistakes made in the US Men's soccer community over the years (more on this later), I propose that we're going to win if we need to come together. If we can identify the best of what American soccer has to offer and create something new that serves a much larger population - rather than arguing which is best and/or charging the cost of kidneys to play - we will produce a cohort of players that are every bit as good as the best players found elsewhere in the world. 1Different Training Methods and Tools Are AvailableSoccer training is a mixture of art and science. Ignoring cost for the moment, selection of a soccer training method is often driven by these (number) things:What resonates well with parentsWhat resonates well with playersThe age of the playerThe location and generally accepted cultural norms for that area or ClubThe goals that each coach brings to the craft & the challenges he or she is trying to overcomeThough parents are often not aware of the various methods and tool available, their perception of what should be done has a big impact on the selection process. If a parent doesn't see what they expect, they can pull a player out of a program and place them in a program they think is more "soccer-like." We see this all he time. Some methods / tools can take longer than others, but also have a profound impact on development of a given player.The same is true for players. If a player has a pre-conceived notion of what they should be getting from soccer training, and doesn't like the particular methods being offered, they can lobby for a change to a program that is more in line with their expectations.A more command or directed approach layered on top of fun soccer-like games may be more appropriate for younger players than for older players. By contrast, older players may respond better to active learning and guided discovery as opposed to a more directed approach. Geographies seem to develop their own style. I think this has a lot to do with the people living in that area. I could write an entire article about the pressures that different cultures put on soccer development, but I'll save that for a future episode. Methods and tools have different names and entire schools of thought have been built around each. Getting to know each of the methods and tools available can be a daunting task - especially when, like me, a coach believes in implementing more than one for player development.Here are some of the more common methods used to train soccer players:Guided Discovery - coach guides players through problem solving using carefully crafted questions that lead to self discovery Controlled Repetition - continual touches on the ball, practicing through repetitionPlay, Practice, Play - recently added to Youth Soccer's program, this involves playing in a game-like environment, breaking for practice sessions for a particular skill or skills, then returning to game-like conditions to develop and test for understandingcheckTask focused - players are expected to master a specific skill and can do so at their own pacecheckProgression - single themed practice session with progressively more complex skills introduction - one building on the othercheckCommand - directed learning initiated by the coach involving explaining a skill, demonstrating and skill, and allowing players to practice the skillcheckActive / Interactive Learning - the player is actively involved in their own learning, not passively participating.
A National EpidemicWhat I'm about to share with you is a problem of National consequence. I'm not exaggerating! Producing this podcast, acting as Club President, and coaching, I tend to be reaching out and connecting with a lot of people. I'm hearing the same story from all corners of my world. Bad sideline behavior is a having a crushing effect on youth sports! What is Bad Sideline Behavior?Bad sideline behavior is typically rooted in good intention, fueled by emotion, unsupported by education, and has a negative impact on the development environment we're trying to deliberately create. Rooted in good intention: I don't think any parent or coach wakes up on the morning of a game and sets out to ruin the game environment. They might wake up with a mixture of excitement and/or anxiety. They want the kids to do well. They hope for a positive outcome. Fueled by emotion: it's not rational for a fully grown adult to open their mouth as wide as it will go, to spray spit on the grass and spectators in front of them, and scream "KNOCK HIM DOWN!" at the top of their lungs - as if anything less will result in a gory death of a loved one on the battlefield. Yet, we find fully grown adults doing this every single season. Unsupported by education: For me, adults who exhibit bad sideline behavior have a big red strobe beacon flashing over their head with a siren that screams "I'm not educated!," "I don't know why we're here!," and "No-one ever taught me how to properly support my kid!!" It's like walking into a fine dining restaurant wearing flip flops and no t-shirt. A part of me feels embarrassed for them and really wants to help, but I realize that in the heat of the moment, there aren't a lot of brain cells functioning right then. If I address an issue in the moment, I have to speak to the amygdala. The rational person inside is still at home - hopefully listening to this podcast!It has a negative impact: We typically talk about negative impact in terms of what it does to the kids. There is no doubt in my mind that negative sideline behavior affects kids is really bad ways:It slows down kid's thinking. Kids make an average of 2 decisions per second in a game. When they have to process instructions or criticism from the sidelines, they literally slow down. It teaches kids that their environment is not a safe one to make mistakes inIt makes kids overly critical of their own and other's performancethumbs-downIt gives kids negative examples to follow (they will end up doing the same thing to their own kids)thumbs-downIt sucks fun from the game like a black hole sucking planets form the cosmosthumbs-downIt teaches kids it's okay to bullythumbs-downIt overwhelms kid's experience - forcing them to pay attention to yelling and screaming vs one another and having fun with friendsthumbs-downI could go on!!It could be argued that even if you don't give a hoot about developing kids and you're focused entirely on winning games (not something that we promote at The Soccer Sidelines), that the following sideline behaviors are not helpful. They are distracting to players, detracting from their ability to play the game, and ultimately have the opposite effect from the way they were intended. From CoachesJoystickingBeing a bullyCheatingcheckYelling at or being critical of officialscheckMaking the game about the coachcheckNot being supportivecheckUsing foul or inappropriate language or body languagecheck Allowing parents to coach the kids from the other sideFrom ParentsYelling InstructionsYelling at other kidsWaiving arms and pacing up and down the sidelinescheckYelling at or being critical of officialscheckUsing foul or inappropriate language and/or body languagecheckApproaching playerscheckSitting on the wrong side of the fieldcheckTalking with kids after the game and criticizing coaches, officials, and/or other players Bad Behavior Further DefinedCoaches Joysticking: Joystick coaches, it is said, imagine themselves as master manipulators of their te...
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."PlatoPlaying Soccer Can Cost Money and TimeWhile "the Beautiful Game" can be played with just a ball, a flat surface, and bare feet; in the US, we tend to throw in paid coaches, paid referees, field fees, travel fees, uniform fees, and we need to pay someone to organize all of this stuff into leagues, publish schedules, etc - then we throw insurance on top of that, specialty trainers, athletic trainers, and in some areas - even golf carts to get VIP's from point A to point B. There are also play-level steps to think about. A recreation program in my Club costs $135. Classic level of play costs between $250 and $350. And Travel programs typically cost between $1,500 and $4,000. These extra costs cover much more expensive fields, more expensive uniforms, more expensive coaches, tournaments, more expensive league fees, etc. To some families, access to new play options, nicer fields, nicer uniforms, etc, can quickly become cost prohibitive. Kids in the US either cap out at a certain level of play or drop out all together as a result. Those who stay on and pay more money quickly find out that travel means more time, travel fees, the cost of food and fuel on the road, and lost opportunity costs taken from other activities that they no longer have time for because they're traveling. Taken all together, playing soccer can present a number of difficult challenges to overcome. Overcoming challenges is the focus of this episode. Overcoming the Money ChallengeMoney (or lack thereof) is a real challenge. For a family used to paying under $200 for a season to double that fee in the very next season can seem a bit much. To go from an under $200 recreation season to an over $2,000 travel season in one season - a 10x increase in fees - not including travel fees - can seem like a deal breaker!It doesn't have to be a deal breaker. My Club has implemented several ways to help kids play. You're Club may have implemented some of these or more. It makes sense to look into it. ScholarshipVolunteerPayment PlansFundraisingScholarships are funds raised - usually through philanthropy - by Clubs and other organizations to support players who can not afford to play. In our club, these funds are collected during registration and/or drives, are earmarked for scholarships, and are given out to players with demonstrable need (eg - free and reduced meal plans at school, death in the family, etc)Many clubs rely on volunteers to keep costs low and get everything done from registrations and uniform inventories, to marketing and Web design. If you have talents, good organization skills, or even a lot of passion, there is a good chance your club can find a place for you. It's worth looking into the idea of working off some or all of your club costs. Volunteering has the added benefit of helping you sleep at night and setting a good example for your community and the kids in your club. Some clubs have set up payment plans. While a payment plan may cost you a little bit more in the end, making smaller payments over time can make it easier to digest a larger payment over time. The opposite of reducing costs is increasing revenue. This is an equally valid way to create money you can use to help defray your personal costs. In some cases, it can be possible to negotiate a deal whereby you get a percentage of your fundraising efforts. I'm happy to pay our Club members a fee for selling our fundraiser apps. If your club doesn't have such a program, reach out to me by clicking the button below that says "Please Make Me a Fundraiser" and we might be able to set something up together where you can sell fundraising apps for your own Club or for The Soccer Sidelines. This option is only valid for US citizensOvercoming Time and Transportation ChallengesTime and transportation are no less real a challenge than money. Families can be shocked by the fact that they can spend more time in the car than their kids do o the field Traveling just o...
Partnering with Stoke CityIt's taken months to put together a partnership with Stoke City Potters and Global Image Sports. This past weekend, we realized a major benefit from that partnership: an ID camp for kids throughout the region. We got rained out for part of the camp, but the camp continued - even when wet. Camp LocationsCamps like ours are happening all over the United States. Hosted by one Club per state, these camps give kids a chance to get in front of world class coaches and get recruited. Kids who get picked up from one of these camps go to the Nationals in Georgia - where they get reviewed by several EPL Academy coaches and offered the opportunity to come play for the development or regular academy in England. Andy FoxallAfter spending three days with Andy Foxall, U14 Boys coach for Stoke City Academy, we talked for a bit in the car of the way to the airport. He's off to a camp in PA, but before he left, we talked about things like what Stoke is looking for, and how players can improve their skills. Stoke City Community TrustStoke City F.C & The Premier League Kicks Project
North America Won The Bid for the 2026 World Cup!
What Did We Win? The United States, Canada, and Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup. This will be a 48 team World Cup - a global phenomenon - with 80 games played in total. 60 games will be played in the US. 10 games will be played in Canada. And 10 games will be played in Canada. North America won this bid by a FIFA Congress vote of 134 to 65.
What North America won, however, is much bigger than the humble numbers above suggest. For the soccer community and the sports community in general, this is huge! Soccer is the most popular sport in the world! We just dropped the tailgate and invited fans from all over the world to come party with us!
The hype, commentary, and spending that will go into making this event remembered around the world will infuse tremendous energy into North American Soccer - and it couldn't have come at a better time! After not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, this is exactly the shot of adrenaline that the Untied States needs to reenergize our love for the sport.
Alexi Lalas 1994 World Cup (Played in the US) / Soccer Analyst for Fox "This gives us a beacon."
What This Win Means for Youth Soccer The last time the US hosted a world cup was in 1994. That one event played a role in the establishment of Major League Soccer (the MLS). The MLS started in December of 1993. Events like the World Cup have the potential for inspiring tectonic shifts in the soccer landscape.
As a nation, we can expect an explosion of soccer interest and participation. The press is going to be talking about the upcoming games. Sponsors are going to be vying for advertising space and tailoring their ads to have a soccer theme. Kid will be learning about new heroes and wanting to get on the field and show off their new skills. American's Sports Interest Landscape in 2014 Source: The Harris Poll - See below for link
In a recent interview between Colin Cowherd and Alexi Lalas (see below for link), Colin cites a more recent Harris poll that shows the interest landscape has changed. Football, he says is 30% today. Basketball and Soccer are now 11%. I was unable to find the source he referenced.
An event like the World Cup is bound to have a profound impact on youth sports. We can expect to see memberships going up, video games coming out, fields being improved, clothing item sales going up, and more. What the Financial Impact? The US promised FIFA an $11 Billion profit. The event is expected to generate $14 Billion in revenue.
To put this in perspective, a last Superbowl 51 was reportedly breaking records at generating $ 392 Million in ads shown during the game. Merchandise reportedly generated $88 Million in merchandise revenue, $82 Million on food, and $710 Million on alcohol. All of these numbers combined are still only a fraction of the money that the US is predicting will be generated by the 2026 World Cup.
If consider the additional revenue generated in multiple cities for TV rights, local entertainment of visiting fans, and the hype and excitement that will be created by contact with so many party goers, the financial impact of this event is even higher! What Cities will Host Games? Mexico
Guadalajara (Estadio Akron): Capacity: 46,232 (Expandable to 48,071) Mexico City (Estadio Azteca): Capacity: 87,523 Monterrey (Estadio BBVA Bancomer): Capacity: 53,500
Canada
Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium): Capacity: 56,302 Montreal (Olympic Stadium): Capacity: 61,004 (Expandable to 73,000) Toronto (BMO Field): Capacity: 30,000 (Expandable to 45,500)
United States
Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium): Capacity: 71,000 Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium): Capacity: 71,006 Boston (Gillette Stadium): Capacity: 65,878 (Expandable to 70,000) Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium): Capacity: 65,515 (Expandable to 67,402) Dallas (AT&T Stadium): Capacity: 80,000 Denver (Sports Authority Field at Mile High): Capacity: 76,125 (Expandable to 77,595)
It Goes Back Thousands of Years If you wanted to be a medicine man (a Shaman) you couldn't get there without some help. You needed to be recognized by your community as a Shaman before you could officially call yourself a Shaman. Someone else would have to see the Shaman in you and name what they saw. Your community would give you the title. In this way, you would know that you have earned it.
No matter what your passion - being an artist or a shaman - being recognized by the people you serve as the thing you strive to become is the most truthful way to earn a title. Business leaders who take a title not given are not respected. Earn the title you seek.
The truest joy of being a coach is realized when you see the love and admiration you feel for your players reflected back to you in their faces. This principle holds true for any job or calling we pursue. When you see it come back to you, you have achieved a deeper level of success than any piece of paper can bestow. The truest joy of being a coach is realized when you see the love and admiration you feel for your players reflected back to you in their faces. David Dejewski, Coach
This phenomenon of finding the reflection of your positive energy in the faces of the people you serve is not limited to coaching - although I believe coaching to be a great example. Nor is it an endorsement of narcissism - of an ego driven need to see more of ourselves in other people.
The phenomenon I am hoping to communicate involves delivering something of value to others through service and a form of love for them. When this is reflected back, it's in the act of taking on the best of what you have to offer as their own.
In my case this past weekend, I heard a few speeches from my players and got to read a card they all signed. Without prompting, my players told me that they heard what I was trying to teach them. That soccer is bigger than a game. That life lessons are all around us if we can see them. They showed that lessons I was trying to teach found their way into who they are and who they will become.
Playing Next to One Another vs With One AnotherIt takes human beings a few years to figure out that there are other humans in the universe. When kids are young - in the earliest years of soccer development - kids do what's called parallel play. We witness this phenomenon as kids playing next to one another as opposed to with one another. This happens with all soccer players in the beginning. They're head's down, searching for the ball, watching their foot make contact, seeing what happens to the ball, etc. I probably see this phenomenon the most among developing players and it's one that I'm most sensitive to.I'm sensitive to it because it isn't limited to 3-6 year olds. New players coming onto the pitch go through a period of individual play just like young kids do. If we don't deliberately make corrections to help players become aware of one another, bad habits can form. Parallel Play - Two young girls playing next to one anotherIt takes some evolution, some comfort on and around the ball for players to allow themselves the mental bandwidth to lift their head and see other players - let alone recognize how another player's movement is related to their own movement. Lifting player's heads is an early step towards connecting players together. A Few Ideas to Help Lift Player's HeadsCall out the number of fingers a player is holding up before passing the ballSurround the working player with 2-3 players wearing different colored vests. Pass a ball to a working player while simultaneously calling out a color they should pass to. Force the player to lift their head, identify the target color, and make the correct pass. Face two players against one another and give them a 40 yard runway. One runs backward while the other runs forward. The forward runner is the attacker. The backward runner is the defender. Instruct the defender to match the attackers movements while focusing on hips and shoulders. Add a check over the shoulder to a third player or a coach holding up a number of fingers. The defender must slow the attacker, mirror their movements, and be aware of the number of fingers being held up behind them. Lifting a player's head helps that player to see other players, but to truly realize the power that can be unlocked by playing with one another as a unit, players need to first establish good team (connecting) habits, then experience the benefits of working together to accomplish goals (pun intended). Once a few players start to see the value in the team approach, we hope they either have or can develop the leadership skills needed to bring the rest of the team onboard. Coach's ContributionBesides establishing an environment conducive for learning the power of the team approach, the coach's influence can extend onto the game pitch - for better and for worse! In a case where a coach deliberately seeks to recognize and reward good team dynamics, the team approach to soccer can be enhanced. But what does a counter productive strategy look like? I've seen coaches - many coaches - get focused on putting the ball in the net and not pay enough attention to how the ball gets put in the net. It's forgivable when parents do this, in my opinion. They are not expected to have the training or bigger picture. "Shoot!!... Shoot!!" coming from a parent sideline sounds much less destructive to the game to me than it does when it comes from the coach's bench - especially when the players are prepped for it. Don't think me too simple to realize that there is a time for shooting and often the window to get off a good shot is closed down quickly. Sometimes coaches need to to prompt a player to take advantage of the moment and not lose it. But there is a difference between yelling "Shoot!!... Shoot!!" to an attacking player inside the 6 who just beat a goalkeeper, two defenders are closing ranks, and the keeper is getting back to his or her feet; and "Shoot!!... Shoot!!" from the 40 yard line with two open attackers in the middle, no pressure,
Mom and Dad's investment in soccer is not just money. It's shopping for stuff, replacing stuff, cleaning stuff, picking up stuff, vacuuming the lawn of dead grass and astro turf bits that multiply in corners, cleaning scuff marks from car footwells, cleaning scuff marks from walls, scooping up a never ending tide of water bottles, and patching up boo boo's. It's choosing not to do something we want to do in favor of driving, fighting traffic, sitting (or sleeping) in parking lots, talking with people we don't necessarily like and wouldn't choose to hang out with, getting rained on, shivering under blankets, and rooting till our voices crack for movements we don't understand. Some do, of course, but many moms and dads don't really understand the game. Providing a better understanding of the game and the soccer ecosystem is, of course, one of the reasons The Soccer Sidelines was created.And, in the interest of fairness, it's not just the soccer moms doing all of this work. I see a lot of both moms and dads on the sidelines over the weekends, but I suspect it's the soccer moms as a general rule, who tend to find themselves doing a lot of this. I might make reference to "soccer mom," but I'm really referring to anyone who takes on this role. Motherhood is a great honor and privilege yet it is also synonymous with servanthood. Every day women are called upon to selflessly meet the needs of their families. Whether they are awake at night nursing a baby spending their time and money on less-than-grateful teenagers or preparing meals moms continuously put others before themselves.Charles StanleyThe BurdensIf the first step to fixing a problem is admitting that we have one, then I think we have an opportunity to admit a few things here. Mom's and dads might not consider what they do a burden. Our kids are, after all, the whole reason we get to wear the parent title, and being a parent is not something any of us would give up. The activities we do for our kids, however, are not always as enjoyable as they could be. I'm not going to make a claim that when you're done listening to this episode, that you will suddenly enjoy sleeping in a parking lot, but I will do my best to at least frame some of our burdens in a way that is easier to accept. AppreciationThe first of the burdens I'd like to draw attention to is simultaneously one of the easiest ones and one of the hardest ones we can address. The soccer mom uber is under appreciated. It's not hard to say "thank you for driving me," or "thanks for taking me shopping," or "thanks for cleaning up the mess I left today." However, it is hard to remember to say those things - especially when no one is going to remind us to do so. A "thank you..." goes a really long way. Sometimes, it's all that is needed to show appreciation and give mom or dad the energy to get up the next day and do it all over again. Never underestimate the power of gratitude!If you are one of my listening audience who doesn't stand a snowball's chance in a broiler of ever getting a thank you, I have a gift for you. Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for paying the bills. Thank you for registering on time. Thank you for driving; for doing the shopping; for sacrificing your car; for cleaning up pounds of dirt, grass, and astroturf; and for cheering for our kids to succeed. Thank you for doing the research to find this or that, for putting up with people you don't like, and for cleaning up wounds. Thank you for doing the laundry, making sure kids drink plenty of fluids, and that bellies are filled with food. Thank you for smiling when you know you don't want to. Thank you for freezing in the cold and sweating in the heat. Thank you for choosing our kids over reading a good book, riding your bike, or swimming laps. Thank you for being the person on the sidelines who makes it all happen!VolunteeringThere are two main ways to run a program. The first is using paid labor (and paying a lot).
We have experienced a lot of rain this past week and a half. We were able to get games in last Saturday, but practices were all called off this past week. As we wind down the end of the Spring season and look forward to the summer, many Clubs are facing several months of no soccer program. With kids sitting under shelter this week - many in front of video games, and we look at potentially 3 months of soccer down time, it got me thinking about what we can do to improve our game off the pitch. The Magic Doesn't All Happen on The PitchSome people may believe that soccer players are forged under the watchful eye of a coach and a plan. Real soccer players know, however, that great soccer players are forged in the moments between practices and games. Skills don't come in 90 minute increments 1-3 times per week. Practices are where we get the basics and have a chance to work with our team, learn team strategies to apply during games, and correct bad habits. It's the stuff we do at home and in our free time that makes the biggest difference. We control our own destiny. Doing the "Just One Thing" ThingThere is always one thing we can be doing to improve.I think I picked this concept up from my days in the military. I call it "just one thing." It reminds me that no matter how bad the circumstances, there is always one thing we can do to improve our situation. Prisoners of war find themselves in unimaginable hardship situations. If you've read or heard stories from people who have had to endure really bad things, there is a common thread among those who survive: they are always focusing on the one thing they can do to improve their situation. Think about the last long car ride you took. I'm talking about 300 miles or more - the distance many American cars can travel before needing to get some more gas. It takes hours of sitting in a car seat to get to the next waypoint. Sometimes, something as simple as shifting your foot, putting on cruise control and stretching, or slipping a rolled up jacket behind your lower back can make a big difference. When you're driving tired, opening a window, taking a sip of something cold, turning on some music, or listening to a good book on your mobile device can be huge. Little things are sometimes just what we need to make things a little better. If our goal is to be a better soccer player, what little things can we do to improve our game when the weather keeps us off the field. Five Things We Can Do on Bad Weather DaysExerciseExercise is always good for improving your game. Do stuff you've done at practice or try some stuff you don't normally do. The possibilities are endless. Soccer players can sometimes neglect upper body training. 50 pushups per day are a great way to help balance the body and develop upper body strength. Jumping rope is great for developing fast twitch muscle and aerobic fitness. Core work is awesome for soccer players. The stronger the core, the stronger everything else will be. Watch a Soccer GameWatching soccer games - pro games, college games, local high school games - these have long been lauded by the coaching community as an excellent way to improve your soccer IQ. Watching games with commentary gives you a birds-eye perspective of what's going on. You get to see techniques and strategies that have taken years to perfect - something to strive for. Maybe you'll spot some things you'd like to try on your own when the weather clears. Maybe you se something you'd like to talk with friends about. Play Wall BallPlaying against a wall is an awesome way to improve coordination, accuracy, and reflexes. As a coach, I've often prescribed this to older players who started playing a little late and need to catch up with their foot skills. Those who actually find a wall and work on always come back noticeably more skilled. This is good for any soccer player who wants to improve a little - no matter what the age or skill level.The game is played against any surface by simply kicking the ...
Who is Youth Sports For?Sometimes we forget one of the most important elements in youth sports - who everybody is working for. It's not the coach, the Club President, mom or dad... it's our future. It's our future expressed by, shaped by, and executed by our children. I don't mean to suggest that kids have the knowledge or sophistication to tell everybody what to do in the youth sports environment, to modify or enforce the rules, or should be allowed to control the ways things are going - at least not in an explicit way or across the board. I am providing a thesis that that there is a meta message that runs through a youth sports environment that is deeper than the construction of a soccer session, a team record, or the way age brackets are mapped out or advanced. We are using our collective skills and experience to create an environment for our kids that will allow them to absorb critical life skills with the hope that they will carry those skills into the future. The youth sports environment is not designed to be a babysitter. The soccer field is not a place to drop our kids off and keep them entertained while we run errands or go take a nap. Youth sports was designed as a way for our generation to invest in our future. It's an approach to add value and realize yield on an investment in the human race. It's a deliberate and sophisticated learning and value add platform. Coaching and Parenting Is Like FarmingI'm not an authority on farming, but I have my stereotypes. I see farmers as experts in making things grow. They grow crops and raise animals. Our lives literally depend on their ability to work with nature and be good at what they do. So it's from a position of respect that I offer the analogy. Nobody - not most ordinary people anyway - really knows what to do with a seed or a package of seeds that hasn't been identified yet. If we don't know what a seed is or what it will become, we don't know what it needs to survive, right?I'm betting that if you hand a skilled farmer a package of seeds, the first question is going to be where did this package come from? Some of what seeds will become is the result of the adult plants that produced them. The farmer wants to know: what am I working with? As a coach, this is usually one of my first questions too. Planting seeds is a lot different than raising humans though. Humans are more complex. Looking at a set of parents isn't always a good indicator of what a young human is going to grow into. Kids can be completely different from their parents. We don't get to choose who our kids will become. It's not completely random, but it can seem random. If we take a random seed problem to a farmer, he or she will probably tell us that we just need to plant the seeds to see what grows. We need to provide fertile soil, some amount of sunlight, and fertilizer from time to time. The PH and moisture of the soil, the amount of sunlight, and the types and quantities of fertilizer all vary depending on the type of plant we're trying to grow. Sometimes we think we're planting one thing, and another thing starts to grow in its place. Such it is with humans. If a skilled farmer wants whatever he or she is planting to grow strong and healthy, they need to adapt the conditions to give whatever is growing the best chance of survival. If a farmer sees tomatoes coming up, they know they need stakes and scaffolding to support the fruited branches. If they see citrus, they know they will need lots of sunshine. If they see mangos, they know they will need warm and moist soil. "Our job in youth sports is to get our players off to a strong start. We want them to have the best possible chance to survive and thrive once they are on their own. Our kids will carry our future in directions we can not fully prepare for. We need the sophistication and maturity to tune in to what our kids want and need, find a way to give it to them, and get out of the way. " David DejewskiCoach and Club PresidentThe point here is ...
Who is Responsible for Safety in Youth Sports?
Players Parents Coaches Referees Host Org
Pre-Season
checkBe sure to be fit enough for the stresses of youth sports on the body and mind. If you need help addressing any of these items, seek help from a parent or coach.
In-Season
checkHydrate the day before youth sports activities. Not only will you be able to maintain your body core temperature better, but you will help to prevent injuries, and keep your energy level high. See Episode #6 _The real and profound impact of dehydration on performance. checkProtect your team mates and your opponents from injury. This means not doing anything that could put another player at risk. checkRemove anything that might get caught or cut another player. checkWear all safety equipment as required or recommended by your club. checkPick your teammates up during games and practices. There is no good reason to let a fellow teammate get down on themselves for making mistakes. We all make mistakes - that's part of the growth process. If we're not making mistakes, we're not learning at our full capacity. Celebrate when others make mistakes - it shows that they are trying. checkCommunicate with parents and coaches. Don't assume everyone else will get stuff done for you. checkRecover when needed - from after events - from after injuries - from whenever a head injury might be suspected.
Pre-Season
checkGetting physicals checkRegistration checkInsurance information checkWaivers signed
In-Season
checkGetting physicals, registration, insurance information, and waivers signed checkTransportation (including youth protection and in-transit safety), drop-off or stay? checkBeing "on-call" during events incase help is needed. checkPurchase of proper safety equipment. checkBe there at pickup time. checkFollowing rehab procedures. checkHelping encourage stretching, sleep, nutrition, and hydration.
Pre-Season
checkGetting registered, background investigations, checkEducation - make sure you know what is age appropriate, the appropriate 17-laws for your age group, sports medicine/ first aid, nutrition/hydration... checkPlanning for emergencies - know where the hospitals are and how to activate EMS - most people would just dial 911, but in some areas, EMS can't treat minors without parental consent. Do you know your area's laws? checkSetting up the coach's clipboard: roster, emergency contacts, medical waivers and conditions, emergency procedures for venues. checkPre-season parent meeting
In-Season
checkPre-activity field safety check checkPre-activity player safety check - are they healthy? former concussions? Hydrated? wearing safety equipment. Not wearing unsafe items (casts, jewelry, etc) checkCarrying the coach's clipboard to every activity. checkEnsuring YPT and physical security for all of your players. Enlisting the help of parents. checkKeeping an eye out for player's welfare (hydration status, physical injury, emotional stress, parent interventions, concussion protocols) checkMaintaining supervision and safety for all players until relieved by parent or guardian.
Pre-Season
checkEducation checkMentoring checkFitness checkExperience checkJudgement
In-Season
checkOnce the referee arrives, they have control over the venue, game, and surrounding activities. This continues for the duration of the game. checkSafety checks of field and conditions. checkSafety checks of players. checkIdentifying others with leadership roles: AR's coaches, managers checkApplying good judgment when enforcing the rules to manage the pace and aggression of the game.
Pre-Season
checkField selection, collecting and distributing registration info, purchasing/repairing equipment and fields, documenting and publishing standards, setting up and communicating league rules,
This is About Your MissionFundraising is about finding more fuel for your club or organization. We simply can't do what our mission calls us to do without money.As a youth sports club, a school, or a not-for-profit, even if you think you're all set, the reality is: there are people we could and should be serving, who we can't reach without capital.In the USA, youth clubs are funded primarily through membership or registration fees (bottom up). Some clubs get sponsorships, many do fundraisers, some offer additional clinics and camps. Every Club needs money for one really good reason: not everyone who should play can afford to pay. There is a lot of talented kids out there that we really want playing soccer, but they can't afford to pay even modest fees. In Europe, the big networks fund football (soccer) clubs. Money flows down from big pipes into smaller pipes and eventually ends up in the form of subsidized play, resident camps, and so on. In the USA, money flow up from individual wallets. That means some just can't afford soccer. How Are Organizations Raising Money Today?Our options are limitless. The strength of our imagination is the only limiting factor - and that can be stretched by exposure to new ideas. What kinds of ideas do you have for fundraising? Please leave a comment in the comment's section below so everyone can benefit from our collective experience. David DejewskiCoach / Club President / PodcasterHere are a few ideas that I've run across over the years:IdeaApproximate $ ValueAdditional BenefitsAsk Members for DonationsVaries - based on financial well being of donors and perceived strength of the missionCan be an opportunity to deepen relationshipsCar WashA few hundred dollarsTeam building and funCamps / ClinicsVaries, but start at $10 / player+ relationship and skills building+ possible new opportunities for players + strategic alliances to bring more value / resources to the mission. Custom Balls and GearPennies to dollars per item+ get more gear that people will use + promotional materialSpiritWearVaries on items - tens to thousands+ promotion and prideTournamentsVaries by type and region - hundreds to tens of thousands+ promotion of the sport+ fun for kids and parentsAgreements with local restaurants$150 - $250 per 2 hour block+ easy+ potential gathering placeMulch Sales$5k to $20k depending on organization and local market+ hard work+ lots of logistics+ team buildingCandy, Popcorn, etcSpread on each item - usually pennines to a few dollars per sale+ easy to understand. + get's members out into the communitySelling Discount Subscriptions to local and national business specials and discounts$1,500 - $25,000 - depending on organization size and participation+ relationships with local businesses+ good will in the community+ savings for members+ exposure in local economy+ ease of sales via text, social media, email, and face-to-face+ reporting and tracking of progressAsk members for donationsCar WashCustom Balls and GearSpiritwearTournamentsAgreements with local restaurantsMulch SalesCandy, Popcorn, etcSelling Discount Subscriptions to local and National Business specials and discountsSee the full table with approximate dollar value and additional benefits on an iPad or a computerGet Your Own Fundraiser Manager PlatformBuilding Good Will in the CommunityAll organizations need to get along well with others. If you run a not-for-profit, chances are you have a collection of people who support your cause and want the best from the community around them. By bringing the best that local businesses offer to your membership, both your membership and local businesses should benefit. With a fundraiser like this, you are doing a service in your community by promoting a healthy economy. The more people use the discounts we've served up for them, the more money they save on things they would normally buy and the more revenue local businesses will realize. This is a win for you (you get to keep 70% of the sale of each sub...
Defining Competition in Youth SportsCompetition should be managed like a prescription drug. It's really great for creating certain chemistries, but there should be warnings on the label. Mis-use or overuse of competition can be bad for your health. In this article, we explore the concept of competition in youth sports and share some perspectives from both sides of an ongoing argument. Competition by itself is neither good nor bad. It is simply defined as the activity or condition of competing. It's how we frame competition and how we implement it that makes the difference between constructive competition vs destructive competition. As with all things, we have choices. Taken in moderation and in the proper context, a wide variety of the things we sample in life are healthy. Apples are good for us, but eating a dozen in one session will give us a stomach ache. Non-steroidal anti inflammatory medications can reduce swelling and pain, but ingesting a bottle at one time will kill our liver. Making a soccer match competitive can push every player on the team to perform at their best. Making that same match too competitive or make it competitive off the pitch (between parents and coaches), and feelings can get hurt, bad behaviors can be brought out, and kids can be driven from he game altogether. It is our responsibility as adults to understand the differences between healthy and unhealthy competition - and how to communicate competition (to give it context). We have to place and maintain a healthy wrapper of safety around our players to ensure we don't introduce unhealthy competition or messages into the mix. A dad booming across the field to "Take that kid out!" or someone exhibiting celebratory behavior when a player from the opposing team gets hurt: these are two examples of unhealthy competition and unhealthy messaging that can negatively affect our kids.Car rides home can be equally toxic. When mom or dad is bad mouthing the referee or the coach, building excuses for a loss or pointing fingers for something that didn't work out the way we wanted - each of these behaviors contribute to an unhealthy dynamic that our kids can and do pick up on and internalize. They carry those behaviors forward in life and can become overly critical of others, of themselves, and/or fail to take responsibility for their own actions. checkDrives us to learn at a faster rate and perform at a higher levelcheckTeaches us to bring our best effortcheckHelps us to manage nervescheckTeaches us not to fear competitioncheckTeaches us to take riskscheckTeaches kids how to cope when things don't go their waycheckHelps kids with goal settingcheckTeaches kids good work ethicscheckTeaches kids to play by the rulescheckTeaches kids to win and lose with gracecheckTeaches time managementcheckCompetition can build self-esteemcheckCompetition can teach commitmentcheckBuilding esprit de corpscheckCompetition can help kids to perform better in schoolcheckUnhealthy Performance PressurecheckInappropriate feelings of superioritycheckSelf esteem tied to sport performancecheck Deep diving into one sport can limit exposure and athletic IQcheckOveruse injuriescheckLosing the "fun" in sport, ultimately driving kids away from athletic activities by their mid-teenscheckPoor examples of sportsmanship. Showing kids the wrong way to behavecheckObjectifying players for the sake of sideline entertainmentcheck"Adultizing" kids well before their timecheckIt can lead to demoralizing or bullying behaviorcheckDelusions of scholarship opportunitiescheckStrained relationships with parentscheckMore focus on "WHETHER" kids win vs "HOW" kids winThe positives work when we, as adults, get deliberate about framing competition in a healthy way. If the coach or the parents are too focused on whether or not kids are winning, rather than HOW they are winning, the scales begin to tilt in the negative direction. ""Wake up out there!," "What's wrong with you?!,
Being able to connect and empathize with teammates and our opponents is a powerful skill that youth sports helps us to develop. In this episode, we talk about learning empathy through youth sports - what it looks like, good examples, bad examples, and some things to look if you're coaching character development in your program. Too often, we overlook the lesson of empathy through youth sports as soft or less valuable than other lessons, but as we'll discover, this can be one of the more important lessons our kids can learn in the youth sports environment. "Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another"- Alfred AdlerWhat is Empathy and why is it so important in life?How does youth sports help kids to develop empathy? How do we deliberately create an environment where empathy can grow?How can Empathetic kids and parents improve the game of soccer and elevate the sport?"Empathy, which implies a shared interpersonal experience, is implicated in many aspects of social cognition, notably prosocial behavior, morality and the regulation of aggression."Jean DecetyCenter for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of ChicagoEmpathy as a Key IngredientAnyone who has worked for someone else for any length of time understands that there are differences between "bosses" and "leaders." Totally task oriented, overlooking the human elements - if the person in charge lacks empathy, employees are often miserable. It is said that when people are dissatisfied at work, they leave their bosses, not their jobs.There is a difference between the "Boss" and the leader: Empathy. Taken to the extreme, a lack of empathy is seen along a spectrum of personality disorders from narcissism to antisocial personality disorders. We might make an argument that Empathy is one of those traits that act like social glue that holds people together in communities. It allows us to experience other important emotions like respect for others and remorse when we've done something to hurt someone. People leave managers, not companies."Marcus Buckingham, Author and Speakerhttps://www.marcusbuckingham.com/The Advantage of Learning Empathy Through Youth SportsYouth sports helps kids to develop and mature Empathy. From the first time they take a knee at a soccer match in respect for a fallen colleague, to each time they encounter the natural coupling of a win and a loss, kids mix and journey with one another through literally thousands of events each season.Practices offer chances for kids to see one another push themselves - or not. They get to choose whether to offer encouragement when a team mate is down, or run past them. They see one another when they are making mistakes and may be feeling vulnerable. Kids can choose to taunt and belittle one another into action, or they can choose to lift one another to greatness. Kids take cues from the adults in their lives as to how they should behave. In the learning process, they try different adult examples on for size. They might try yelling at one another, calling out "wake up out there!" or "what's wrong with you?!" Or they may choose to take the shot every time, or to intentionally pass the ball to a team mate who needs to build a little confidence shooting on goal. Often, the kids show demonstrate Empathy on a sports field are the ones who bubble up to the surface over time as team leaders - even when they are not the most technically gifted player on the team. Kids can choose to taunt and belittle one another into action, or they can choose to lift one another to greatness."David Dejewski, Coach and President of the Damascus Soccer ClubWHAT DOES Empathy - OR LACK OF Empathy - IN YOUTH SPORTS LOOK LIKE?Positive ExamplesJunior, a high school player, puts his arm around an opponent after a game who is clearly upset and says "you guys are getting much better - you’re going to beat us one of these times.
A low single digit percentage of kids across all youth sports are going to go on to play their sport at the collegiate level. If these are the statistics, then kids need to be in youth sports to get much more than a scholarship or a simple athletic experience. I've been arguing for several years now that youth sports is an ideal platform for creating thousands of teachable moments, but we need to be more deliberate about it. We're going to get so much more from youth sports if we deliberately mine the experience for life lessons than if we simply allow it to happen through serendipity. What Does Integrity - or Lack of Integrity - in Youth Sports Look Like?Positive ExamplescheckKevin, a high school player, commits a handball foul in the opponent's penalty box. The referee calls a foul on the other team (he didn't see the play well). Kevin admits to the referee that it was he who should draw the foul. checkA Club parent receives a uniform kit they hadn't paid for. They go out of their way to call the Club and arrange for payment to be made. checkMaking Commitments and Keeping ThemcheckStepping over a piece of trash on the field, then deciding to go back and pick it up because it's the right thing to do.checkShowing up on timeNegative ExamplesBlood DopingCheatingLyingDoing things behind the official's backbanIntentionally causing Injury to another because you can get away with itbanStopping at level 10 during beep test when you know you could go furtherbanSecretly (to everyone else but that one person) Not Shaking Hands After a MatchbanSaying one thing and doing anotherbanAlways being latebanMaking excusesbanPretending to be sick or injuredRewardsImmediate Verbal RecognitionTeam Bench ChatsEnd of Season Party AwardstrophyClub AcknolwegdmentstrophyClub Leaderboards for IntegritytrophyNewsletter ArticlestrophyPatches to Wear on Spirit-wear or Uniform ItemstrophyLetter or Email to ParentstrophyAbility to Wear a Captain's Arm BandtrophyOther Bling for Season Over-all Integrity award (like a custom ball, headband, or juggling training tool)How to be deliberate about Developing integrityClarify the PrincipleGetting clear about the specific behaviors you want to celebrate in the youth sports environment is a critical first step. Getting this in writing empowers your organization to get it into parent manuals and coach's training. Clarity around the subject of integrity will mature over time, but step 1 is to just get started. Look for OpportunityOnce the picture is clearly written down and baked into coach's training and parent guides, we need to be on the lookout for example behaviors. Identifying them and not taking them for granted is an important step. Once we recognize these behaviors in the youth sports environment, it's time to act. Reward BehaviorCoaches and parents should be empowered to take action to reward behaviors spelled out in step 1. This may be through immediate verbal rewards, patches, or even submitting email about the behavior so it can be recognized in newsletters and at end-of-season parties. The point is to reward the behaviors we want to see more of. Be ConsistentConsistency is the thing that gives a development program like this life and longevity. Consistency across coaches, between parents, and over time is needed or the program can devolve into a spaghetti mess of loose threads. Getting this in writing and reviewing it annually is a great way to ensure consistency. A Culture of Accountability - The Partner to IntegrityAs much as we sometimes don't like to admit it, human beings aren't the best at being honest or committing to a course of action. Take a look at gym membership numbers between the months of January and June for evidence of this. Millions of people make and break New Year's resolutions every year. We do pretty well, however, when we help one another out. Two or more people who commit to the same thing or to each other have a much better chance of sticking with their promises.
Concussions may as well be called "the invisible injury." They happen to an organ which is completely enclosed by bone and usually covered by hair. It's hard to see a concussion - and consequently, it is often underestimated. In this episode, we describe concussive injuries, put them in context of soccer related activities, explain how to recognize them, how to respond to them, how the sport is working to minimize them, and some specific things (and equipment) that you can do or buy to help protect the young athletes in your life. Concussions OverviewKnowingA concussion is like a bruise to the brainTypically invisible to the lay personCaused by impact of the brain organ with the inside of the craniumClassified as Major, Minor, and Sub-ConcussiveCan accumulate over timeCan be seen by microscope even when not found by an MRI or CT scanRecognizingSigns vs SymptomsWitnessed eventDazed or stunnedClumsy movementAnswers slowlyLoses consciousnessMood, behavior or personality changesNausea VomitingHeadache or pressureBothered by light or noiseSluggish, lazy, foggy, or groggyConfusion, concentration or memory problemsReactingRemove child from the fieldKeep child or teen out of play the day of the gameHave child or teen seen my a health professional experienced in concussion evaluationAsk health care provider for written instructions for returning to school and returning to playResources:1“Cumulative Brain Injury Develops From a Variety of Sources.” Autonomic Advantage, www.autonomicrecovery.com/brain-injury-accumulates-from-a-variety-of-sources/.2“Is Soccer Really Safer Than Football? Concussion Experts Aren't So Sure.” Traumatic Brain Injury, www.traumaticbraininjury.net/is-soccer-really-safer-than-football-concussion-experts-arent-so-sure/.3“Female Soccer Players Suffer the Most Concussions in High School Sports.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 14 Mar. 2017, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170314081533.htm.4Boddy, Jessica. “With Concussion Risk In Soccer, Headers May Kick It Up A Notch.” NPR, NPR, 1 Feb. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/01/512848122/with-concussion-risk-in-soccer-headers-may-kick-it-up-a-notch.5Purchase a HALO 3 Protective Headband (Use code "Damascus" for 10% discount at checkout) http://unbouncepages.com/damascus_combo/
Cross training into soccer from other sports or into other sports from soccer... Parents often ask if it's a good idea for kids to cross train. In this episode, we go into some of the pros and cons of cross training as youth athletes.
Some topics we consider include overuse injuries, strengthening of different muscle groups, and athletic IQ.
This episode made me sad to have to deliver, but this is a subject that is important to talk about. Better now than after another child is abused. Violations of youth protection result in pain that can last a lifetime. It's important to talk about the pain that's already happened, but it is equally important to talk about making it harder for this kind of abuse to happen in the future.Today's kids are tomorrow's victims - unless we do something to prevent that from happening.In this episode, we reveal the system that we put in place to prevent abuse in our Club. Learn how we do it, and share what best practices you may be aware of.In this Episode[spp-timestamp time="01:08"] Framing my perspetive on Youth Protection[spp-timestamp time="01:38"] Assumptions: Predators are on the Hunt[spp-timestamp time="03:06"] Predators are (and have been) among us[spp-timestamp time="03:46"] Our 4-step process for protection[spp-timestamp time="03:54"] Step 1: Creating and being clear about the rules[spp-timestamp time="04:22"] Two-deep leadership[spp-timestamp time="04:48"] Use the school system[spp-timestamp time="05:13"] Darkness to Light[spp-timestamp time="06:21"] Leverage other clubs[spp-timestamp time="7:02"] Mandatory items for all coaches and adult volunteers who work with children[spp-timestamp time="07:24"] National Centers for Safety Initiatives (NCSI)[spp-timestamp time="08:24"] Getting arrested vs creating a record[spp-timestamp time="10:48"] After the offense[spp-timestamp time="12:21"] Background checks alone are not enough[spp-timestamp time="14:06"] Step 2: Communicate often with parents and coaches[spp-timestamp time="16:08"] Counseling players safely[spp-timestamp time="18:41"] Two-way communication[spp-timestamp time="20:04"] Step 3: Reinforcing the rules as often as possible[spp-timestamp time="21:58"] Step 4: Review the rules each year during annual planning[spp-timestamp time="23:14"] Prevent the news from happening (Summary)ResourcesFeinstein, and Dianne. “Text - S.534 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017.” Congress.gov, 14 Feb. 2018, www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/534/text.“National Center For Safety Initiatives - Protecting Vulnerable Populations.” National Center For Safety Initiatives - Protecting Vulnerable Populations, www.ncsisafe.com/.“Homepage.” Darkness to Light, www.d2l.org/.
Making college affordable is something we'd like to hear more about. In this show we tap insider knowledge and review 5 financial models that do that!
Arguably the most difficult and most argued about call in all of soccer, the offside rule has given plenty of sideline enthusiasts, coaches, players, and referees alike a lot to talk about. In this episode, I will break down the four conditions that must be satisfied to result in an offside foul, give you the one timing component that makes all the difference, and share the difference between being in an offside position and drawing an offside foul.As much as I'd like to say that after listening to this, you will be an expert at spotting offside fouls, I can't. It will still be confusing and it will still be dependent upon variables - including the referee's perspective and opinion - that will be impossible to get right every time. At least you'll know why this call is so hard, and can explain it to your fellow enthusiasts when it becomes a point of contention.Quick Reference Links:[spp-timestamp time="01:26"] The most difficult call to make[spp-timestamp time="02:05"] Rule #1 - When the Ball Is Kicked[spp-timestamp time="03:30"] The Last Line of Defense[spp-timestamp time="04:00"] Being in an offsides position without committing a foul[spp-timestamp time="04:28"] Condition #1: The opponent's half of the field[spp-timestamp time="05:06"] Condition #2: Nearer the opponent's goal than the ball[spp-timestamp time="05:40"] Condition #3: Nearer the opponent's goal than the second to last opponent[spp-timestamp time="06:29"] Condition #4: Participating in the Active Area of Play[spp-timestamp time="07:16"] Scenario example 1- simple scenario[spp-timestamp time="08:42"] Scenario example 2 - added complexity[spp-timestamp time="09:42"] How can a player participate in the active area of play?[spp-timestamp time="10:09"] Not even touching the ball and drawing a foul anyway[spp-timestamp time="11:13"] Summarizing[spp-timestamp time="11:57"] Just having some fun with an even more complicated scenario[spp-timestamp time="13:36"] Want to argue with the referee?
How can we tell where in the soccer system our child should play? In this episode, we look at behaviors you can find at home or on the field that tell us where our kids want to play. Should we move them into a more technical environment, into a more social environment? Which is best for my kid? Let's explore that question...There is a wide range of programs available as we discussed in Episode #16. The challenge is figuring out which one is right for our family. Money has a voice in our decision. If spending more than $200 isn't something we're prepared to do under any circumstance, then a Classic or Select travel program is probably not a good option. If money is not an issue, then the real drivers should be our children.There is nothing "less" about a recreation experience. It's just different. If your child is proving themselves to be a more technical player (I discuss this in more detail within), then they might enjoy the opportunity to play with other technical players. If they are using soccer primarily as a platform for cross training, social engagement with friends, fun, fitness, and for something to do besides video games, then a recreation soccer program may be exactly the right choice.If your player has a ball at their feet every day and loves perfecting their crispy through pass, and your family isn't prepared to spend more than $200, then the best option may be a recreation program, coupled with being more selective about the coach (s).It bears mentioning that many recreation coaches are accomplished, credentialled, and good at drawing the best from a team of players. There are many that work as a volunteer or for very little compensation.Ask your coach what their coaching philosophy is. Ask them about their season plans and what kind of goals and culture they strive to develop on their team. In the end, it takes some looking and listening to find the best fit.The one thing I would stress is not to simply look at one option, then quit. A positive experience can make a lifetime of good memories and form healthy habits that last a lifetime.
In this episode, Part 2 of How Much Does It Cost To Play Soccer, we dive into the programs available. We reveal what each program costs in the area we live in, and what you get for the money you pay.
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Anyone new to the game of soccer - or interested in exploring hat's possible - will find this episode useful. While there is no single answer to how much does it cost to play soccer, this episode will give listeners a good idea of the range of what's out there.
[spp-timestamp time="00:00"] Introduction
[spp-timestamp time="00:48"] The range of programs available
[spp-timestamp time="01:26"] Pickup Ball
[spp-timestamp time="03:30"] Academy
[spp-timestamp time="03:48"] Parallel Play At the Youngest Ages
[spp-timestamp time="05:04"] Cost for Academy
[spp-timestamp time="05:12"] Transition Academy vs Academy - Moving kids into Team Structures
[spp-timestamp time="06:07"] Transition Academy
[spp-timestamp time="06:59"] What you get for Academy or Transition Academy for the money
[spp-timestamp time="09:20"] Getting parents involved in Academy
[spp-timestamp time="10:22"] Overhead Expenses
[spp-timestamp time="11:08"] Playing Recreation
[spp-timestamp time="11:42"] Field Costs
[spp-timestamp time="12:19"] Recreation Equipment and Support
[spp-timestamp time="12:36"] Coaching Credentials and Compensation
[spp-timestamp time="15:01"] Recreation Uniforms
[spp-timestamp time="15:48"] Recreation Tryouts
[spp-timestamp time="16:25"] Playing Classic Soccer
[spp-timestamp time="16:52"] Classic Coaches
[spp-timestamp time="17:20"] Introduction of Trainers
[spp-timestamp time="18:05"] Classic as a Bridge to Select
[spp-timestamp time="18:58"] Classic Uniforms
[spp-timestamp time="18:26"] Meeting Tournaments in Classic
[spp-timestamp time="20:00"] Increase in Consistency of Players
[spp-timestamp time="20:44"] Playing Select Travel
[spp-timestamp time="21:45"] Coaches Credentialling and Compensation
[spp-timestamp time="22:16"] Select Uniforms & Blood Kits
[spp-timestamp time="23:10"] GotSoccer Points
[spp-timestamp time="23:37"] "Psuedo" Select
[spp-timestamp time="24:19"] Wrap up and Look Ahead to our Next Episode
Soccer families that understand the economics of the game early will make better investment decisions over time. It's possible to just "follow the crowd" and see where it takes you, but you'll spend more time and money this way than you need to. By understanding what's involved in costing a soccer experience, you'll go in with your eyes wide open.
This episode is part 1 of a two-part series that talks about the soccer experience. We will introduce the variables here so that next week when we talk about the range of soccer experiences available, you'll better understand why one experience costs more or less than the other. In the episode immediately following these two on cost, we'll talk in more detail about how we can choose the soccer experience that's best for our own family.
Be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you get all three when they are released!
Sticks in a bundle can’t be broken but sticks taken singly can be easily broken. Same applies to people.
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One of the most potent superpowers any team has is Unity. In this episode, we talk about creating unity on the field, amplifying it at home, and using Unity as a measure of a game's effectiveness.
Sometimes, we just need a simple and effective way to introduce the concept to players so they will understand and be able to apply it. Moms and Dads need a simple message to reinforce at home. Players need a vocabulary that they can use to focus one another on the field on the concept when they need to. "Bindle of Sticks" has served my team[spp-timestamp time=""]s for several seasons now and easily deserves credit for much of my team's success.
The concept is so useful that players will easily take this with them when they leave the pitch for the last time. Employees, adults, families, and even business owners employing the Bundle of Sticks philosophy are better of for knowing it.
How many different ways can you apply the Bundle of Sticks (B.O.S.) philosophy in your life or in the lives of your players? I'd love to hear about how Bundle of Sticks has helped in your neck of the woods.
[spp-timestamp time="00:44"] Unconventional Wisdom
[spp-timestamp time="02:27"] Pre-Season Ritual
[spp-timestamp time="02:58"] Introducing Bundle of Sticks to Players
[spp-timestamp time="03:42"] Origins of Bundle of Sticks
[spp-timestamp time="04:24"] The Effect of Bundle of Sticks
[spp-timestamp time="05:43"] Coaching Bundle of Sticks from the Bench
[spp-timestamp time="06:46"] Players Who Play Individual Ball
[spp-timestamp time="07:20"] Average Players Frustrating Better Players
[spp-timestamp time="07:58"] Cowboys Mess Teams Up
[spp-timestamp time="08:22"] How do we Train and Tigger the Bundle of Sticks Method?
[spp-timestamp time="09:38"] Reinforcing the Meta-Message on the Pitch and Off
[spp-timestamp time="10:00"] Bundle of Sticks Trigger During a Game
[spp-timestamp time="11:35"] Finding B.O.S. in Professional Games
[spp-timestamp time="12:32"] Bundle Breaking Down
[spp-timestamp time="13:49"] Call to Action, Summary, & Bringing B.O.S. Knowledge to Your Team Resources Referenced in this Episode:
“The Father, His Sons, and The Bundle of Sticks.” Fables of Aesop, 28 Mar. 2017, fablesofaesop.com/the-father-his-sons-and-the-bundle-of-sticks.html. Stick Bundle Image. Brooklyn Museum [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Inspired by an article written by Fred Bowen of the Washington Post titled "Athletic Ability is just a part of success in sports," we hear what 5 high school coaches are looking for from players beyond athletic ability.
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We also hear about what Tom Statham from Manchester United's Youth program has to say about essentially the same subject.
Time and again, we hear that what separates the good from the great is Character. Coaches from high schools to the pros are echoing this message over and over again: talent isn't enough. Youth wanting to participate - whether in higher competitive level soccer or in life in general - must develop core character skills around sportsmanship, teamwork, empathy, leadership, and more.
In this episode, we review multiple coach's input and talk about being intentional with development of character. Resouces Mentioned in this Episode:
Bowen, Fred. “Athletic Ability Is Just Part of Success in Sports.” The Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2017, www.highbeam.com/doc/1P4-1973275117.html?refid=easy_hf.
Maltbie, Reed. “#39 Manchester United Youth Coach Tom Statham Discusses Two Decades of Watching Young Players' Unique Pathways to the Pros.” Changing the Game Project, 11 Dec. 2017, changingthegameproject.com/39-manchester-united-youth-coach-tom-statham-discusses-two-decades-of-watching-young-players-unique-pathways-to-the-pros/.
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So much of the tournament experience happens beyond the pitch. Building esprit-de-corps, enjoying local food, experiencing the hotel, and checking out many different game and coaching styles are just a few!
In this episode, we explore two real-world soccer tournaments that are hosted in the Maryland area. As co-owner for both of these tournaments, David shares some insights on the value of tournaments and how to prepare for them by setting a budget, a plan for the area, and making registration deadlines well in advance.
In the early part of the year is the perfect time to think about what tournament activities you want to include in your Club or team experience. These present great opportunities to brush the rust off before the Fall season or put a polish on a team after a few months of hard work. Jump to: [spp-timestamp time="00:27"] Tournaments are fun!
[spp-timestamp time="01:15"] Team Bonding
[spp-timestamp time="01:56"] What is the tournament experience like?
[spp-timestamp time="04:29"] Coming in from out of town
[spp-timestamp time="04:41"] When are the tournaments used as examples?
[spp-timestamp time="04:46"] What if I'm local and won't be competing?
[spp-timestamp time="05:04"] What does it cost and how do I get there?
[spp-timestamp time="07:23"] Getting Registered
[spp-timestamp time="08:06"] Wrap Up Resources / Links I promised:
“Tournaments.” Damascus Soccer Club, www.damascussoccer.org/tourneys. “August Cup Tournament.” Homepage, www.augustcup.com/. “Rush for the Cup Tournament.” Home, www.rushforthecup.com/.
Youth Sports is a rallying point in the community for many families. In this episode, we look at a real-world scenario where a family in trouble reached out to a Club, and the Club came through. More than 15 volunteers delivered a FUNd-raising tournament that raised 4 digit donations and sent a message loud and clear to kids and others of how powerful community and youth sports can be in support of families.
After the crowds go home, the final scores are tallied, and our youth athletes leave the field for the last time, it's on to real life. Whatever education they were able to pick up; coupled with the tools they got from their youth sports, home life, volunteer, and other club activities; are all that our kids have to dress themselves with as they enter the workforce.If former players have a good grasp on the most important things: teamwork, initiative, drive, work ethic, empathy, positive self-talk, self-discipline, etc. they are going to have a noticeable advantage over peers who don't. They going to handle stress better, use mistakes as teachers and not be demoralized by them, collaborate better, rise faster in the ranks, etc. If we accept the premise that youth sports add value in the form of life skills to our kid's lives, then we have to consider how we might go about being intentional about developing those skills. Leaving them to serendipity seems to me a weak position to take on something so important.The question is How. How can we be intentional about something that happens inside our player's hearts and minds? A lot has been written about the physical impact on young bodies by sport. In this episode, we explore a good article published in June of 2013 in the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine titled Youth Sport: positive and negative impact on young athletes. The Author, Donna L Merkel, did some research and found, for example, a strong correlation between youth sports and health. She speaks about the positives such as youth sports effect on reducing the obesity problem in our kids, how it decreases the risk for a number of diseases like heart disease and diabetes. And she mentions negatives like increased risk for repetitive or overuse injuries and the damaging psychological effects of being exposed to parents that place too much emphasis on winning.She does mention lifelong lessons, but the treatment of this aspect of sports is lighter - almost in passing. She says: "It appears that an emphasis on fun while establishing a balance between physical fitness, psychologic well-being, and lifelong lessons for a healthy and active lifestyle are paramount for success." The lifelong lessons she calls out are related to a healthy and active lifestyle. I've not yet found a great deal written about the more mundane life lessons that I think youth sports equips our kids with.This isn't uncommon in studies. The development we're hoping for is te kind that will help our young people become successful in life no matter what they do: bankers, teachers, public safety... We want superstars who understand teamwork, empathy, cooperation, and integrity.How do we get intentional about this kind of development? That's the key question to answer, right? Leaving something this important to serendipity doesn't make sense to me. What are some practical things we can do to pull this level of foundational development from the shadows and into the light?In this episode, I tell you what I've done so far, and I invite you to leave a comment - either in the comment section of the podcast app you're using to listen to this program. In either case, I want to hear about what you or you're Club is doing to make character development an explicit part of your youth sports experience.For me, I wanted our program to be as explicit and easy to use as the United Soccer Coaches 5 stages of development model. USC has tables we can point to. We can print one out, put our finger on the age we’re working with, and scroll down the column to find all of the skills we’re supposed to be working on in that year. As a coach, I find this really helpful for planning and as a reference.Why don’t we see sportsmanship, respect, or empathy on a chart like this? Why can’t I run my finger down and column and find exactly what I’m supposed to be working on to help my players develop solid character skills I know they will need when they enter the workforce?
Please connect with me here: https://thesoccersidelines.com/connect/. You're the reason I do this!Please support the show here: https://thesoccersidelines.com/go/. Every dollar counts!Shortly after picking up my first futsal license, I thought to myself: I've been coaching futsal like I've been coaching outdoor soccer for three years! How many others have the same questions I did? Maybe you have been asking yourself what is futsal? In this episode, we get to know the game and pass one your knowledge and new found insights to those in your life who have some to love the game or use it to enhance skills for the outdoor game! Know exactly what is futsal in the next 29 minutes. The game of futsal looks like a simple game of soccer on an indoor court, but there is more to it than this. In this episode, I break down the game of futsal and will compare it in some ways to the game of soccer. When you’re done listening to this episode, you’ll have a good idea what futsal is from each of the main perspectives. History of Futsal [Time="00:03:11"]:Learn about the history of futsal – a game that has been around since 1930. The name Futsal is actually a combination of words from the Spanish and Portuguese FUT comes from the word Football as in European Soccer, and Futsal.com says the abbreviation SAL comes from the French or Spanish words Sala or Salon. No matter what we call it, the idea of kicking a ball around indoors = fun. Many moms would agree, however, some changes to the ball go a long way in preventing broken windows.The game of futsal has many similarities to soccer. Both games are played with the feet. No hands. And both games are played in a rectangular playing area with the objective for each team to put the ball in the opponent’s net. However, there are a lot of differences between the two games. Let’s break them down a little bit:Surface [Time=”00:05:42″]:The playing surface that futsal players play on makes a big difference in the speed of the game and in the way players receive and pass the ball. In outdoor soccer, the surfaces come in some form of turf or grass. These natural and even artificial surfaces have a profound effect on the ball movement. When a player is on natural grass fields, for example, normal bumps in the ground can make a ball’s behavior unpredictable. A little bump can bounce a ball in any direction at the last second or two before a player takes a touch. Playing on natural fields demands that players open larger surfaces to the ball in order to be confident that they will make contact and influence the ball’s direction.Grass itself slows a ball down. It creates friction. The peaks and valleys of natural grass fields and the grass slowing effects are minimized on artificial turf fields, but even turf fields offer more resistance than a wooden basketball court. The surface of a wooden basketball court is very consistent, and this changes the way a player takes their touch on the ball. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon pageUsing the Sole of the Foot [Time=”00:07:17″]:In outdoor soccer, we teach to use the inside of the foot, for example. In futsal, we teach players to use the sole of the foot. Older or more sophisticated players in soccer will sometimes use the sole fo their foot to control the ball from a pass, but this is more of an exception than a rule. In Futsal, using the sole of the foot is more the rule. The sole of the foot, in this environment, provides more control and less bounce.Playing Area [Time=”00:08:02″]:The size of the playing area is much smaller in futsal. A Soccer field is anywhere from 70-80 yards wide and 110-120 yards long. A futsal court in the US, by contrast, is between 16 and 27 Yards Wide by 27 and 45 yards long. Smaller areas mean more pressure on the ball, less running into large open spaces with the ball, more passing, and a lot more short touches / close-in controlled movements with the ball.
[spp-player] The throw-in is a basic maneuver that all soccer players, parents, fans, and coaches need to be familiar with. There are rules for the throw-in: where they are relevant, body position, physical position relative to the field, the movement itself, what other receiving players can or can not do, whether offsides rules apply during a throw-in. It's equally important to know what happens if the rules are violated, and what happens if the ball goes into one of the nets from a throw-in.
In this episode, we reveal the ins and outs of the throw-in. Being familiar with this common play action will help anyone getting to know the game to appreciate the game more.
Foot placement Distance from the touchline Drawing the ball up over the head Distance field players must maintain from the player throwing in Penalties for violation of the various throw-in rules Offsides rule during a throw-in The longest throw-in
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
“Soccer Throw-In.” The Soccer Bible, 20 June 2014, www.football-bible.com/soccer-info/soccer-throw-in.html.
My first day of coaching started off, literally, in a lawn chair on the sidelines of my kid’s soccer game. The coach’s assistant, a dad of one of the kids on the field, couldn’t make the game. The coach, another dad of one of the kids on the team, needed someone to keep the time. I didn’t realize that one needed to keep time at asoccer game, but I agreed to help out. Besides, I thought it might be cool to be on the coach’s side of the field with a stopwatch, and I figured… how hard could this be?The answer to any question involving the word "should" really depends, as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland so cleverly points out, on where we want to go. Where we want to go isn't limited to the World Cup. In fact, so few soccer players will end up playing in a World Cup, that it's hardly worth talking about.We're not focused on college scholarships either. According to ScholarshipStats.com, the odds of playing sports in college in any division are 13:1. For Division I, odds drop to 87:1. The odds of going pro are 835:1!So if we're not focused on the World Cup, college scholarships, or going pro, what are 450,000 boys and 388,000 girls playing High School sports for? Why are there over 3 Million youth soccer players in the United States?The answer is bigger than scholarships or pro opportunities. It has to do with character development, skills development, and fun. Tell me what human being is more dedicated to Character and Fun for kids than a mother or father? The skills development piece can be outsourced or learned, but the rest of what a youth coach is primarily focused on comes along with the parent title. This makes moms and dads ideally suited for coaching in the youth soccer space - with the caveat that they invest some time to understand the coaching craft. Coaching isn't something that comes without study, and the old paradigms of what a coach was when the current generation of parents grew up has evolved.Then we have the memory making benefits of coaching. Coaching provides powerful memory-making opportunities that last a lifetime.I remembered my father being assistant coach for my little league team. I know now that he wasn’t particularly good at baseball, but he was out there on the field with me, and even though I personally hated baseball, I enjoyed looking over and seeing my Dad out there with me. It made me feel good to know we were doing something together. He’ll always be there in my memory - larger than life. Playing catch with him was about the only thing I liked about baseball - and it had nothing to do with the ball or the game.Fast forward a few decades, and I’m watching my kids on the soccer field. From the coach’s side!I literally couldn't figure out how to make my cell phone countdown on a 7-minute timer, but I was coaching. My kids noticed that I was part of their world - right there in the trenches with them. Memories of my father were strong with me that day. I was giving that gift to my kids now. Pretty cool.Last season, we launched our transition academy. This is a grouping of kids who are 7 and 8 years olds. They’re transitioning from an academy style of play - where all the kids basically parallel play in a big group - to a more team structure. We introduce rules of the game, coaches, individual fields for games, scores, team Web sites… the whole nine.Our Club is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization. We’ve paid a few coaches, but our fees are so affordable to the community that we can’t afford to run the Club without volunteers.I asked for four parents to raise their hands. Four dad hands went up. I asked them to stand in a special place. They would become our new coaches - at least for the day. Then I asked for four more hands raised. a few moms and a dad raised their hands. I set them up in a slightly different position. They would be our new timers.I put all the kids in a row on a line, sorted them into four teams, matched kids with their parents,
In this episode we're going to talk about dehydration effects on athletic performance. Dehydration decreases mental and physical performance both on the field and in school in dramatic ways. Not staying hydrated, for example, cut performance by nearly 50% in laboratory studies for patients who were just walking!Dehydration affects the body and the mind in many ways that extend well beyond the soccer field. Listen to find out how dehydration decreases mental performance in school, decreases endurance, and can lead to significant medical problems.
What's the problem? One study I read showed that 70% of high school football players were dehydrated before practice even started. This affected not only their performance on the field, but also in school, and had a significant negative impact on their health. A strong correlation exists between hydration and learning performance - both in the sports environment and in school. It turns out, our brains and even our immune system needs plenty of water too!
Water makes up 50-65% of the average athlete's body weight. When we're dehydrated, it's kinda like driving a car without oil. The lack of proper hydration for lubrication, circulation of blood (for thermal regulation and nutrient distribution) makes it difficult for our bodies and brains to function, and that leads to early fatigue. Please: support the show and join our community as a Patron through my Patreon page
What are the general effects of dehydration on athletic performance? Dehydration creates the following conditions:
Reduction in blood volume (blood flowing around the body) Decreased skin blood flow (meaning we can exchange heat efficiently in the cold or the heat) Think about the radiator in your car. Our core temperature goes up Decreased sweat rate Increase rate of muscle glycogen use (our muscles burn sugar faster) which leads to fatigue
When thinking about the general effects of dehydration on athletic performance, it helps to know that these effects are compounding. As our core temperature goes up, for example, stress on the body increased, which increases the demand for more "coolant" water. Performance test results Let's look a little closer at the effects of dehydration on athletic performance. In a study referenced below in the resources section, scientists took a group of subjects through a test. The asked each of them to complete a 140 minute walk. In the table below, you can see the results of that test in terms of completion rates.
Dehydration %
Completion Rate
Comments
3% Dehydrated
100%
Everybody completed 140 mins
5% Dehydrated
88%
12% could not complete the test
7% Dehydrated
25%
75% stopped after 64 minutes!
When subjects were dehydrated to 8%, they were only able to complete only 55 minutes of the test. This should speak volumes about the effects of dehydration on athletic performance! Emergent effects of dehydration Dehydration is well known for creating additional, more obvious effect on athletic performance and on our well being. If left untreated, this progression can lead to hospitalization and even death. Conditions like heat exhaustion and heat stroke might be in your athlete's future if we're not watching for the warning signs such as:
Headache Thirst Muscle cramps Weakness Nausea Irritability And even goosebumps!
It's important to remember that athletes are going to dehydrate even further from wherever they start activities like practices and games. So if an athlete shows up already 3% dehydrated, they can be 5-7% dehydrated by the end of the activity. Remember that our hydration status changes along the way. At the end of a practice or a game, for example, our athletes can be in pretty bad shape if they started off dehydrated in the first place.
Being dehydrated also reduces out ability to tolerate high core temperatures and it reduces maximum cardiac output. This means the heart can not pump as much oxygen and fuel deliveri...
Mistakes are a part of life. When we stop making mistakes, it usually means we stop trying to do anything. Without mistakes, we stop growing and we encourage those around us to stop growing. So why are we so bitter about our mistakes?In this episode, we talk about the value of making mistakes in youth sports and how we can send an empowering signal to our kids with the right message.Youth sports allows us the gift of creating thousands of teachable moments in a safe environment. In this episode I share some practical tips for what to say to kids (for parents and for coaches) when we come across mistakes.Those of us who make more mistakes, improve a lot faster. We grow faster. And we give ourselves permission to be human.A Young Man Learning to Shoot
Understanding the system of play being used in a soccer match provides a whole new layer of appreciation for the game. There are four things we need to consider when choosing or evaluating a system of play:1. The team makeup. How well suited are each of the players for various positions around the field? What does each player bring to the table in terms of speed, work rate, knowledge of the game, tactical awareness, control, etc?2. What we can train. We don't always have the luxury of training multiple systems of play. Maybe the players are still learning the basics. Maybe the team would be confused. Especially in a recreation league, we often have to choose the best fit for a given team - even when, depending on how we mix players on the field, one group may be more effective in a system other than the one we chose. We chose the system that best matches the abilities of our players.3. The maturity of the team. A young team may be best introduced into the 11v11 format through "a flat four" A.K.A. a 4-4-2. A more mature team that has mastered the basics of the various lines may be ready to play in a different system - perhaps migrate to a 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1.4. Specific tactical strategies. Here, we consider both the skills of our own team and the strengths/weaknesses of our opponent. A strong attacking team with good penetration in the 4-3-3 might be countered by shutting them down in the midfield with a 4-5-1, for example. This pulls one or two players into the midfield to act as the first line of defense or as a dominating center field presence that makes it difficult for the more aggressive 4-3-3 to penetrate - easier for slower players to get back on defense.At the end of the day, the game can be appreciated on a whole new level when we see the systems of play in action on the field.In this episode, we walk through a few examples and leave our listeners with a better understanding of the concept of Systems of Play.
Striking a balance between under and over challenging players on the soccer field can mean the difference between a good experience and a bad experience. Too much of a challenge can lead to frustration. Too little of a challenge can lead to boredom and a lack of engagement. We call the sweet spot being "Age Appropriate."
Knowing what is age appropriate and what is not is something that changes over time as we get smarter about human anatomy and physiology. We now know, for example, that kids advance their skills more quickly when they play more small-sided games. We know that little craniums are not very good at taking repeated hits with a soccer ball until they mature (thus no heading in the younger ages).
Coaches credentialing courses from United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as NSCAA), US Youth Soccer, and others do a good job of helping coaches understand what is age appropriate and what is not. But how about coaches or parents without credentials?
Can parents and coaches inadvertently make things more difficult when they don't understand what is age appropriate vs what is not?
It makes sense that a coach who runs practice sessions designed for 9-year-olds might have trouble containing players who are 12 or 14, right? Of course... many will not be having fun because they are bored.
The same would be true for parents or coaches who want to push too much too fast. Putting 10-year-olds on a full-size field normally reserved for 11v11 play is kinda like putting kids in an ocean in a canoe. Everything is big and scary to them. Players can be frustrated that they can't run that far or kick the ball hard enough.
Rules in soccer exist to keep players safe during games: header rules, field size rules, ball size rule, etc - are all safety rules first. Staying within age-appropriate boundaries also makes the experience a lot more fun!
We touch on "play up" and "play down " situations here because it's relevant, but we'll cover this subject in more detail in a future episode.
You can learn more about keeping things age appropriate through US Youth Soccer and United Soccer Coaches (U.S.C). Resources Mentioned in This Episode http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/search/?keyword=age+appropriate
https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/
Culture affects everything about the youth sports experience. In this episode, we will explore the two primary cultures found in youth sports: the Entertainment Culture and the Development Culture. Which one you chose or create depends on the outcomes you want.In an Entertainment culture, attention centers around the game. Practices are preparation for games. Games entertain the sidelines an establish team track records. A good day = a win. A bad day = a loss. After game speeches are often centered around X's and O's - what went right and what went wrong.In a development culture, attention centers around the youth. Practices and games create thousands of teachable moments that we the system makes best effort to capitalize on. Mistakes are celebrated as stepping stones to growth. A win = physical, mental, emotional and/or core character growth. After game speeches are often centered around Johnie and Joe's - what we learned today across the spectrum.We've got some great episodes coming up that are going to dive deeper into the subject of culture, college scholarship opportunities, what to look for on the pitch, from coaches and Clubs, at home, and specific things we can do to make sure that anyone who looks at us knows that we're just a little bit different. We do well. We play hard. We work hard. And we place emphasis on the stuff that matters.Resources Mentioned in this EpisodeYouth Sports as a Development Zone by Jim Thompson: https://youtu.be/cHSbb_w2V-ETedx Talks: Changing the game in youth sports by John O'Sullivan: https://youtu.be/VXw0XGOVQvwThe One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard "Catch them doing something right."
In this first episode, we introduce you to the podcast. The Soccer Sidelines is about bringing parents, players, and coaches together around the most important aspects of the youth sports experience. And we don't mean winning games.
Youth sports allows us to create thousands of teachable moments in the context of a 15-year window. This is where kids are most open to learning and development - physically, mentally, emotionally, and in terms of core character.
The goal of this podcast is to boost our enjoyment of the game and of the gift we have in our children. We hope to help parents, players, and coaches to make the most of the development time we have with our kids. We hope to enable families to launch kids into the world of adulthood with a solid toolbox of life skills.