This week, in addition to the responsibility of coaches to deliver practice sessions to players, coaches were also completing parent meeting. These were to provide an opportunity for parents to meet their coach for this season, but to also provide parents with engagement on what expectations and objectives have been set, based on the current rate of development of the player, and also the current learning stage.

Coaches are currently involved in their internal coach education program, where the focus is on the framing of sessions for players, and the effect they have on the person through connection and not transaction. This is also important for how we engage with parents.

Parents

As mentioned in the parent welcome meetings, parents are always being told it’s their fault, or they are bad for youth sports; when the reality is it’s the organizations and adults in decision making positions which are causing the problem (coaches, directors, administrators). Just like how we should coach players, we should engage with parents through framing of the development pathway for the now and future, and having connections with the parents in how we can best support the understanding of youth development and how it differs to elite/senior levels.

The following podcast offers insight to how we as coaches and organizations can do better for the parents of youth athletes, and create a club environment where everyone can feel involved in the process. It provides some excellent thought provoking movements, with information beneficial to everyone involved in the youth athlete experience.

The Sport Psych Show, Creating a Parent Positive Environment – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sport-psych-show/id1434313037?i=1000533498938

• Parent Welcome: https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/parent-meeting-21-22-season/
• Parent Engagement: https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/parent/
• Interesting Articles: https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/interesting-articles/

Games Are Coming – https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/2019/09/games-are-coming/

This weekend sees the first game of the season for many teams, others will have their first game starting September 8th. Before we get started with the games, just a few reminders from our club meetings so we can all have a great experience.

Respect Officials: there is a shortage of referees greater than ever before. Without referees there is no soccer game on a weekend. Like the players, and the coaches, the referees are going through a learning process, they will make mistakes, so let them embrace their own process, and show them the respect players and coaches expect.

Respect the Players: this is youth soccer, a place for kids to play the sport the love and to be on a journey to improving their soccer ability and overall individual self. Many of our teams have been placed in to higher level leagues to continue to be challenged, rather than have comfortable seasons. Give them the time and space to adjust, improve, and find the solutions to their newest challenge. Remember, it’s about the player and their individual development: https://thecpsu.org.uk/resource-library/2013/my-magic-sports-kit/

For the 09 age group this will be the first time on a full size field. For many players the full size field is  still a huge challenge. Our recent education meetings covered the effects of age. Each individual is different whether chronologically, biologically, or with a different sports age from their experiences within sports.  This video is a great eye opener to how some players are effected due to their stage of age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Pc1vf_tlg

Framing the Game

We are all too focused on the outcome of a single game. Player development is a long term, non-linear, and messy journey, filled the moments of the now for coaches to provide support and guidance. ‘Joy sticking’ the player is not coaching, shouting and gesticulating like your Pep or Klopp is not coaching; allowing the players to experience the game, providing support at moments of high challenge and allowing players to be empowered to make mistakes and learn from their experiences is coaching. Having a clear framework in which the players clearly know the objectives of the game, desired objectives, and providing individual feedback, is coaching. The weekend game should be seen as an extension of the practice week, and not a test, or must win outcome. The game is part of the process.

Here is a reminder of where you can find the pre-season meeting information for each stage of development, Presentation and Videos: https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/parent-meeting-21-22-season/

Ultimately youth sports is a place where everyone should be able to enjoy the experience. When on the field be mindful of this, support all players and coaches no matter where they are from, be social with other parents, and show great examples of respect and patience towards referees.

Have a great season, we look forward to seeing everyone on the field.

This week is less of a specific review of the session content, as many teams used the club structure and environment to play in scrimmages as we get closer to the start of the season. These scrimmages were large sided games, replicating the game structure of their age group.

It’s important though that we frame these games appropriately. The scrimmages are not seen as tactical preparation for the season, or a warm up for the season, but an introduction to new players to the sport for greater understanding of the stoppages and restarts, and for those returning a refresher and game realism to what the Saturday environment demands. The games on a weekend should be viewed as an extension of the practice week, with framing of the objectives of a game around the individuals development, and not the strategy of tactics on how we are going to beat the opponents. These are two very different philosophies, one which is player-centric, focusing on the process of development and the individuals experiences; while the other is more coach centered, relying on an outcome of a game and with more concern for what the opponent will do, rather than being proactive about how we can support the individual players.

Coaching

In addition to last weeks excellent podcast on Play, and the role of Deliberate Play, the following podcast casts light over coaching as a profession, and the standards we should be held accountable to. For me, one golden nugget of insight is how learning is about change, yet we are reluctant to change in our coaching philosophies and practices and to stay with what was traditionally done. We preach learning, but are we actively involved in learning as coaches. Enjoy this great listen – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/way-of-champions-podcast/id1223779199?i=1000532727851

Week 3 is the start of the in-season, with sessions ranging from skill-acquisition, to physiological small sided games, and specific physiological age appropriate activities..

Session structure will depend on the objective of the activity. For younger players who will be in the optimal range for improving agility, speed acceleration, and deceleration, the activities will be short on total length, and with 10-15 second intervals, or constraints to where the player performs short bursts of sprinting through different directions.

Players in the later ages will have longer activities, more continuous in design, and will see the player hit top speed more than short bursts of actions. This design will challenge the aerobic conditioning of the player, replicating more of a game based situation, and activities lasting 12 – 16 minutes.

In a continuation of last weeks review, and different to what was planned for this weeks review, the following link is to an incredibly insightful interview with Jean Cote. Jean Cote has done an incredible amount of research in the importance of play and elite performance. We strongly urge everyone to give this a listen – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/way-of-champions-podcast/id1223779199?i=1000532070062  

Week 2 was the second and final week of our introduction to the new season, two weeks which focus heavily on the concept of play.

Play is as youth friendly as you can get. It’s dictate by the athlete, and encourages empowerment of the athlete as they are the decision makers within games, and nurtures confidence and self-motivation, as a desired outcome is not the focus, but process of learning through experimenting in game situations, and with freedom of creativity in problem solving.

Playing any sport should be fun, it’s not an occupation, but a hobby and a passion, and therefore a focus needs to be on the players having fun and importantly maintaining a motivation to keep playing, and staying physically active beyond their youth.

As part of our Parent Engagement, we are sharing with everyone a presentation on the importance of play, and the theory and research beyond the benefits of play, and the negative impact of treating a youth athlete as a ‘mini-professional’, or creating an ‘adult focused’ environment.

Going beyond the first two weeks of the season, our curriculum design continues to incorporate a high volume of play, and is structured around the individual player and their personal development.

Deliberate Play

Join us for our annual Fantasy Soccer Fundraiser.

Register Here –

Unlike raffles and donations which last but a few minutes, this fundraiser is a season long event, great fun for the soccer fan, and a personal experience battling out your soccer team of stars against those from across the world.

We don’t need a fancy new stadium without a name, and an empty trophy cabinet, we have Central Park and a couple State Cups! More than Spurs have won in my lifetime. So join us to be part of a great competition you have a chance to win in.

The winner at the end of the season will win a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate, and a Winners Post for finishing 1st place. (Arsenal fans can receive a complimentary participation certificate upon request!)

Registration – Participation is only $10’s, and will last the entire season, that’s $1 a month to show up our Fremont coaches with your soccer knowledge.

Fantasy Football