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

This week we returned for the 21/22 season.

The email will outline the sessions that have been completed and what the players worked on. We have a player centric, proactive curriculum which ensures the players will cover all the necessary mechanics, skill work, and give players a chance to be decision makers and creative players. Through the long-term development from U8 to U19, the players will pass through different stages and priorities as outlined in the program welcome meeting.

Week 1 is a fun week, it’s all about deliberate play – free play. Its the first time that some players will be meeting each other, the first time for some players in the program, and for some the first time kicking the ball for a couple of weeks. Al in all, a players favorite week!

As part of our Parent Engagement, we are sharing with everyone a portfolio of ten sessions from throughout the program. This portfolio will provide a deep level of insight into the ‘Why’, and with the ten session plans demonstrating the ‘How’.

Session Portfolio – The Why

It is with great sadness, that we learned of the passing of Victor Campos, following a cycling accident on the evening of July 4th.

Victor was an incredible kid, with a huge personality, and never short on moments to make you smile. Victor had been with Fremont YSC from the age of 7, being in our very first training pool, and along with his brother Michael, played with the 06 Boys up until the end of the 2020 season, when we had transitioned to online learning.

Victor was Barcelona, and Michael, Real Madrid, and for two brothers, twins, to be so close, it was always enjoyable to see that friendly rivalry between their preferred Spanish giants.

While Victor was an exceptional player, he was a brilliant human being.

It’s difficult to find words, it’s devastating, but our thoughts are with his parents and Michael. Please give the family time, space, and respect through this incredibly difficult time, but do not let them leave your thoughts.

Happy 4th of July to you all. Have a fantastic day with your family and friends, and travel safely.

Please maintain your social distancing, and wear your mask when out.

A big congratulations to Gavin Carvalho on successfully completing his USSF B.

A 12 month commitment to attaining the license, with many video taken for session footage, and multiple tasks and assignments completed throughout the duration of the course.

A huge credit to Gavin for being dedicated to his continued education, always looking to develop and better himself, in pursuit of providing the players with an optimal learning environment.

It is important for all coaches to be life long learners, just one key element in proving the optimal learning environment for the youth player.

Sadly, Nate Strain will be leaving us this summer.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with Nate during his time with Fremont YSC, and while working as colleagues, I would certainly consider Nate a friend. Nate has all the qualities of what it takes to coach at Fremont. Nate is incredibly humble, empathetic of others, and goes above and beyond what is expected within a coach’s roles and responsibility, he understands the culture of youth soccer and giving back to his community. Nate has been with us at Fremont YSC for over 8 years, an incredible stretch of time, which shows a great level of dedication and commitment.

Before the rumors of Nate taking the Spurs job start to swirl, Nate is moving to Utah, and we wish him the best of luck with his future, and he will always be welcome back.

Nate however does come with his faults by being an Arsenal fan. For that we can forgive him, as they are of no direct rival to any team the rest of us support, as they are forever mid-table mediocrity, lucky not to be in a relegation scrap… until next season anyway.

We wish Nate and his family all the best for their move, and he will always be welcome back to the Fremont YSC family.

Congratulations to this seasons winner – Christian Maine

In what was almost an identical repeat of last season, we finally do have our winner. With a comfortable lead going into the final weekend, it should have been over. But Senior’s player Arnav Rao, was having none of it, and played his bench boost on the final day. It was coming down to bonus points, and in the most unlikely of events, it was Arsenal defenders keeping a clean sheet that gave Christian the win. An incredibly strong end to the season for Arnav.

Growing up, Christian was not blessed with athleticism, and struggled greatly with a ball at his feet. That didn’t put him off, he always tried his best, but focused more on his academics and is today a scientist. He really should have put more effort into soccer! A die-hard Liverpool fan, Christian dreams of one day watching Liverpool from the Kop End, and belting out, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. While his athleticism and soccer knowledge lets him down, his academic prowess gives him a huge advantage when it comes to stats. When asked about his success, Christian answered, “Working from home helped me greatly, I’ve focused heavily on FPL while pretending to be on Zoom. I’ve spent most of my time reading up on XG, minutes per action ratios, and dangerous box action, but ultimately clicking select replacement for my transfers.” Congratulations Christian Maine