Tonight we have our coach education session for the Spring 2019 volunteer coaches.

The volunteers are a huge asset to recreational sports, and put a lot of time and effort in to making the youth game a fun and enjoyable event for everyone.

We have a volunteer coach pathway that will support the volunteer coach from U6 up to our oldest age groups. Starting out the volunteers are supported by our high school players. It’s not just the parents and players that are important in development, our coaches both volunteer and qualified are also an important part of the development process.

We hope that you all say a huge thank you to the coaches when you see then.

Age appropriate development is quite often reduced to just the birth year of a player. When we only assign players by their birth year we are only considering the chronological age of the player. Different ages include – chronological, biological, relative age, and training age, four variations on an individuals area of growth and maturation.

First we need to understand what is the difference between growth and maturation.

Growth is the physical and quantifiable process in development. An example being the change in height., you get physically taller and is measurable.

Maturation is the development of individual and behavioral characteristics through growth. Generally, less quantifiable and is more emotional, and intellectual, where organisms grow within structure. An example, brain development resulting with an ability to handle more complex tasks.

Playing up is often a very broad phrase we use, and the reason for doing so is quite often for the wrong reasons. Playing up an age group is not as simple as the ‘best’ player or the ‘biggest’ player moving up in to an older age group, there are considerations to be made for all pillars of the players long term development.

Technical/Tactical – a player may be technically good and capable of individually playing with older players, but are they tactically as aware as older players who have more playing experience?

Physical – a bigger player may need to be more challenged technically so needs to play with players of similar physical makeup, this will show their reliance on their size. Is this player though at a same rate of maturation as the others of similar size and body shape?

Psychological – a player who is going through their stage of Peak Height Velocity can find themselves now playing with bigger players if moved up an age group, but during this rate of growth can be going through a difficult period with their technical ability. As the body changes they need to be able to adapt to their bodies movements. The psychological damage of a lack in confidence and now not being able to compete can be very detrimental.

Social – players playing up with older players can miss out on important social interactions and can be exposed to inappropriate social environments. It is a very delicate situation when players can also miss out on necessary social experiences with other players of same chronological age, and this social development can be key to long term future of the individual in to adulthood.

The youth soccer environment is an incredibly difficult environment to be able to properly implement playing up and down for the benefit of the player, as a result of the win at all cost mentality, and tournament/league emphasis on chronological age ‘champions’. This is another example of how development and winning philosophies cannot coexist.

At Fremont YSC we will do out best to address all of these considerations through our structure and long term development model, through practice set up with club training, and the progressions through the age appropriate curriculum’s. For further information click on your age specific presentation on understanding age and player expectations –

• Expectations – U9 to U12
• Expectations – U13 to U15
• Expectations – U16 to U19

An interesting article from Changing the Game Project – https://changingthegameproject.com/child-play-dos-donts-moving-kids-older-age-groups/?fbclid=IwAR1H0RqeGOK5BC1fP80WWim3Xwig1pwdxWy_a9qXrlcCk-dxIJ1oorIWc7c

As we enter the spring season we also head towards end of year exams for students, with a huge workload from the schools.

The majority of children are enrolled in to and participate in multiple programs, creating a scheduling nightmare, and a conflict of what to put the most effort into. Sadly the ‘Fear of Missing Out’, has lead to organizations and programs expecting greater commitment to their cause, and children are now finding it harder than ever before to balance everything.

When you have youths put all their focus in to one discipline they will burn out, suffer with stress, and will find themselves not developing holistically as a well rounded individual. Participation in sport helps youths as a stress relief (if in the correct program and with good support around them), as sports should be fun no matter what the long term goal is. Sports will also help with much needed life skills, and having these skills practiced in real time through sports. Leadership, integrity, resilience, and communication are all vital to getting ahead in life, and are all key parts of playing sports.

When school work increases, it’s important for players to manage their time and find balance, being able to work to schedules and timelines, being efficient in how they spend their time, and finding a way to relieve stress. The following graphic should help with the busy exam time while playing sports.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Positive Coaching Alliance coach education session.

Parents focusing on how they can best support their youth soccer player.

We would also like to thank Danielle Slaton (@daniellevslaton) for presenting an incredibly informative workshop which was a great interactive experience for the parents.

Parents got to work in groups to discuss what they felt was most important for their child when participating in sports. To follow up the parents are to do the same task with their child at home to see how their answers compare, we look forward to hearing from the parents what the results were.

A great introduction to the workshop was emphasizing the need for us as adults (that includes coaches) to see ‘the bigger picture’. We are far too focused on the youth game to only look at the scoreboard (that’s the adults game), and not look at the process and the individual ‘wins’ involved in youth sports. It’s important that we define what winning is, and it should be the day to day improvement of players as they follow the long term development pathway. Winning a game is not bad, it’s great, but if we are to do what is best by the youth player, it needs to be through the correct process and doing it the right way. Winning also needs to involve the life skills that can be learned and how we are making great individuals of the future and not just excellent soccer players. Leadership, resilience, teamwork, and integrity, are all vital life skills we needs as we get older and enter the adult world of careers and family.

PCA is supporting youth sports bu having a positive influence on the environment and culture of youth sports, and nothing outlines the issue we have in youth sports as this paragraph from the “Second Goal” parent workbook,

‘Professional sports is a business whose goal is making a profit by entertaining fans. That usually requires a winning team, which leads to a win at all cost mentality. Unfortunately, professional sports and the media surrounding it have become powerful to the point that youth sports too often mimics professional sports.’

Sadly and all too often occurrence at youth sports events are adults (parents and coaches) throwing hats, knocking over chairs, and screaming at officials (often teenagers who are officiating). Not only does this make for an environment where players are now dropping out at a rate of 70% by age 14, but a huge problem with having enough officials for games (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share).

Danielle emphasizing the importance of honoring the game.

During the 2019/20 season we will also be hosting player and coach education through PCA, and we look forward to having PCA back with us for those events. In the meantime, throughout the season we will be publishing posts on some of the key elements of being a ‘second-goal parent’.

For more educational information and useful resources make sure to visit our article page, https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/interesting-articles/

This Monday is Presidents Day, therefore no practice due to the observed holiday.

Learn more about President’s Day at the following link – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington’s_Birthday

One of the biggest challenges for parents and coaches it trying to see the game from a child perspective and understanding how sports are different from business and technology.

To start with, sports are always influenced by and have big impacts on business’s, politics, and more recently technology, but this is at the senior level largely. Youth sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and that has had its effects on the youth sport.

To take it deeper in to the day to day world of youth sports, we look at how the adults view the world. The world is now largely technological and continues to advance through algorithms and systems.

Taken from a Jonathan Wilson article from the Guardian… Justin Smith, author of Irrationality, discusses the baleful effects of the modern urge to quantify everything. Algorithms and systems, he notes, make life safer and more efficient but there is a cost. Once somebody becomes a set of data, they become a commodity. “This financialization is complete…”

It’s understandable how parents and coaches can then struggle to remove themselves from this modern world and work place model and watching their kids playing sports. We see winning as the simplest form of an algorithm of a player must be good if their team wins, or even a good team. However, we forget to look at the human, and the individual. Or, when we do look at the individual, we try to understand their performance by statistics.

“The tech companies’ transformation of individuals into data sets,” Smith says, “has effectively moneyballed the entirety of human social reality.” That is a trend that extends beyond managers, to scouts, agents, journalists and fans, many of whose interactions with football will have been conditioned by Football Manager or FIFA, in which players are literally bundles of statistics.

When looking at the individual it’s important to break it down as follows when concerned with player development –

• Technical – is the player comfortable on the ball, and willing to compete in a 1v1 situation. Dribbling has become a lost art.
• Sociological – does the player interact well with other players, coaches, and show respect to referees.
• Psychological – is the player open and unafraid of making mistakes, but willing to try new skills on the field.

All these point towards a developing player in the correct environment, irrelevant of scorelines and statistics. Youth players need the human approach to understanding the pathway they are on.

We have a huge belief in education, there are so many moving parts to a youth players development and experience, that it is so important for coaches and parents to keep educating themselves so players get the best experience – https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/interesting-articles/

Coach Education

Already in the 2018/19 season, our Fremont staff have been participating in courses from a number of sources –

• Football Association Wales, UEFA
• La Liga Methodology, US Club Soccer
• United Soccer Coaches
• United States Soccer Federation

This gives Fremont YSC the best possible opportunity for continuing to provide players with the needed environment for them to continue to improve but also love to play the sport.

The same theme continues when attending these courses and as a staff discuss our experiences. It is still a problem with parents placing so much emphasis on winning games in youth soccer and the playing bracket. Players need to be in an environment where they can be nurtured for their individual level. A club where coaches are educated and put the player first above any other factor, with an understanding of all the developmental pillars (technical/tactical, psychological, physiological, and sociological factors).

We are still awarding players for their chronological age with their league titles and tournament trophies, and still we insist on having 2 games or more in 1 weekend. More consideration for the individual needs to be made, and patience with those players who are late developers, whether by biological age or sports age.

Congratulations to all the coaches who have continued with their education, and we are always happy to speak with anyone about our experiences and education.

Please use our website as a resource to help with your education in youth sports.

Happy Holidays to everyone, we are now on our short winter break, and we wish everyone a fantastic festive season.

Now is a great time to relax, recharge, and we’ll see everyone back on the field in the New Year. You can still reach the staff, but we will be spending time with our families, so will get back to you when we get the chance.

Safe travels if heading out of town, and have lots of fun.

Fremont Youth Soccer Club Partners with Positive Coaching Alliance to Benefit Youth Athletes

12/4/2018, Fremont, CA – Fremont Youth Soccer Club has established a partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national non-profit developing “Better Athletes, Better People” by working to provide all youth and high school athletes a positive, character-building sports experience.

The partnership provides Fremont Youth Soccer Club access to PCA’s training for coaches, sports parents, student-athletes and administrators, comprising live group workshops, online courses, books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson and additional online resources, such as e-mailed follow-up tips and reminders.

PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 youth sports organizations, schools, districts, conferences, and park-and-rec departments to create a Development Zone^TM culture, where the goal is using youth and high school sports to develop Better Athletes, Better People, Thompson said. “We look forward to working with Fremont Youth Soccer Club to create the best possible experience for the youth athletes. Our research-based materials combine the latest in sports psychology, education and practical advice from top pro and college coaches and athletes that help improve athletic performance while also ensuring kids take life lessons from sports that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.”

Dai Redwood, Executive Director of Fremont Youth Soccer Club said. “Fremont YSC has for many years been a player centric program, focusing on the true development of a player in an environment where players can be creative, problem solvers, and good human beings through life experiences in youth sports. Our philosophy is that education is for all, including not only it’s players but also the parents and coaches. An official partnership with PCA gives us a great opportunity to provide workshops and continued education for everyone at the club.”

The workshops are scheduled to take place throughout 2019 for parents, players, and the coaches.

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) develops BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE through resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, administrators and student-athletes. In addition to more than 1,800 free multimedia tips and tools at www.PCADevZone.org, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver more than 20,000 live group workshops, along with online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.

PCA resources, which have reached more than 8.6 million youth, strive to transform high school and youth sports into a Development Zone^® culture, where the goal is to develop Better Athletes, Better People and the following become the prevailing models in youth and high school sports:

• The Double-Goal Coach^®, who strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports
• The Second-Goal Parent^®, who concentrates on life lessons, while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing
• The Triple-Impact Competitor^®, who strives to impact sport on three levels by improving oneself, teammates and the game as a whole.

PCA gains support from a National Advisory Board, including National Spokesperson and 11-time NBA Champion Coach Phil Jackson, and many other top coaches, athletes, organization leaders and academics who share PCA’s mission.

For more information about Fremont Youth Soccer Club, please visit www.fremontyouthsoccer.com