Soccer Coach in Northern VA - Ask me anything
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Anonymous
| When should a player who has been playing up begin to play at age? |
asksoccernova
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There's no "one-size-fits-all" answer here, but I'll provide some guidelines. This issue is very much on a case-by-case basis, playing up at U10 vs. playing up at U17 is a totally different ballgame.
Generally speaking, there are 4 "pillars of the game" that player can develop attributes in: Technical (skill) Tactical (decision-making) Physical Mental / Psychological (recently renamed psychosocial, which also encompasses social maturity and personality traits) There's also TIPS, from the Dutch, Technique, Insight, Personality, Speed When a player plays up an age group, there will be one or more qualities that player has which justified the move. Typically, a player could be moved up because of superior skill level and faster speed of play (not necessarily pure running speed) compared to their age group peers. There could be other reasons, but those are the big ones that stand out. The player also needs to have enough emotional/social maturity to be around slightly older kids. When the reasoning behind why the player is playing up in the first place starts to become a less compelling / convincing case, then it's time to see if they should move back to their true age group. Valid reasons why the player should be kept down at their age level after already "playing up" - The player is having a hard time keeping up with the rest of the team in any aspect of TIPS or the 4 pillars (could be something as simple as not socially mature enough for the group) - The progress of the age group below has accelerated to the point where that player is no longer way ahead of everyone (and is now a good fit on that team). - The player has some obvious "holes" in his/her game (which the other players at the older age group don't have) and the coach has already moved forward beyond that into more advanced areas... and the training curriculum in the age group below addresses those specific areas |
Anonymous
| i coach my 5-yo daughter with a few of her friends once a week after school (no games just pratices). what online coaching resources do you recommend for this year and next? |
Anonymous
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What are some drills, exercises my son can do at home while on winter break before indoor training starts in about a month?
U11 pre academy DA team. Would u recommend treadmill few times a week? Thx |
asksoccernova
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A few online resources for coaching young players -
There's a lot of information on here on different games to play: https://coachingamericansoccer.com/youth-soccer-instructional-coaching-manual/soccer-fun-games/ Good animations of fun age-appropriate drills: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYnyLSLLVu8bntd0Ph4V4DmWwBKtg6al4 Also, Arlington Soccer Association has good coaching handbooks for recreational soccer at younger age groups: http://www.arlingtonsoccer.com/other/coacheshandbook-u6-u8.pdf http://www.arlingtonsoccer.com/other/coacheshandbook-u9-u10.pdf You can also sign up on the US Soccer Digital Coaching Center - https://dcc.ussoccer.com/ and once you have created an account, go to the "resources" section and download the U6 and U8 Lesson Plan documents. At ages 5 & 6, I would suggest this format: 5m - warmup activity without ball 10m - warmup activity with a ball (emphasize foot skills - toe touches and beginner ball control moves, turns, inside/outside of the foot, changes of direction, very basic 1 on 1 moves) 15m - fun game #1 related to theme of the day 15m - fun game #2 (or do 3 games, 10 minutes each) 5 year olds - end with 15m of a goal scoring activity - there should be a lot of opportunities to shoot and score goals 6 year olds - finish with 10-15m of 3v3 scrimmages or just stick to the goal scoring activity if that is more appropriate for them |
asksoccernova
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For your U11 player with a DA program -
Definitely no treadmill... I don't think kids should even worry about any kind of pure endurance training until 9th grade at the very earliest. Order yourself a copy of "Soccer Fundamentals For Players and Coaches" by Weil Coerver, and have your son start working through each section. There are 5 sections in the book. Each section has 15 different ball control moves (so there are a total of 75 different moves in the book) 1) Controlling the body and the ball 2) Agility & Flexibility 3) Quickness with the feet 4) Feints (fakes) 5) 1v1 moves In one practice session, spend 10 minutes on each move. 3 minutes at "learning speed", 3m faster speed, and 3m as fast as possible, just round it out to 10 minutes. He should be able to complete 3 moves per session (30 minutes total). After 25 of these sessions, he will have worked through the entire book and will have greatly improved his foot skills. I actually recommend repeating each section twice in a row to really ingrain the movements into the long-term memory, which means 50 sessions to complete the entire book. Then repeat. This is great training for any player regardless of age or ability level. Scale up or scale down on the amount of time spent per move based on age and commitment/motivation level of the player. |
Anonymous
| At what age do you think it's important for parents to start paying attention to the coaching/club? I have a 5 year old who loves the game, whom all coaches and many parents to who see him always comment on his natural ability with the ball and intuitive sense of the game. Most important, though, is that he just loves playing. |
asksoccernova
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Thats great to see that your son is into soccer at 5! Here's what I would suggest in addition to playing in a recreational program (which is usually one practice and one game a week when in-season)
At 5 years old (U6) - In addition to the recreational program, sign him up for a "mini-kicker" program once a week, either the 3-5 year old age group, or if mature enough, the 5-8 year old group. At 6 years old (U7) - Sign up for a mini kicker program once a week for the 5-8 year old group if one exists, or skills clinic once a week (some clubs call it "Pre-Academy") At 7 years old (U8) - This is where you should actually start paying attention to the quality of coaching beyond just the emphasis on fun. Some clubs have a Crossover program, where U8s with higher ability levels play informal scrimmages against U8s from other clubs. Many clubs also have something called an Advanced Development Program, Advanced Development Academy, or some form of training once a week when the players are being taught new skills. By this age, he should start getting a feel for what it's like to play with and against other players with his same level of ability if he is above average. At 8 years old (U9) - This is the first season of competitive / travel soccer, and the teams are formed after the year of playing U8. At U9 there should be a professional coach in charge of the program. |
Anonymous
| Average price, per hr., for one on one training -u12. |
asksoccernova
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Personal recommendations / referrals are best to find someone good for 1 on 1 lessons.
Some coaches aren't permitted to train their own players for extra fees (depends on the club), but some are. Ask your kid's coach if they can do 1 on 1 sessions, or if not, ask for a recommendation from them. If you prefer to find someone on your own, try using CoachUp - www.coachup.com Inexpensive - $30 - if you look hard enough, you can find a very experienced former player (college/semi-pro) who has just started coaching or doesn't have all of their coaching licenses yet and has a lower rate Good value - $50/60 - for this rate, you should be able to find someone who is currently coaching high-level teams and really knows the standard for your player's age group and competitive level Expensive - $90/$100 - That person will probably be overqualified to work with your U12 player, but for that price they had better plan out every session and have some sort of reputation that justifies the $100/hr session. Maybe a former college head coach, MAYBE a well-known coach in your area that has a massive track record, or a former professional player who played in a top league in their home country (use your own judgment) and would show up instantly if you googled their name. |
Anonymous
. I would suggest lessons with two kids. Those worked well for us. Kids have to be friends and close in ability. It allows the trainer to focus on specific skills with each kid without having to also be active in a drill and speeds up doing things like collecting balls. Example: want to work on crosses. One kid can work on crosses while the other works on finishing and can retrieve balls to keep things moving. With two kids the trainer can be paid more but parents are in for less. (We paid a college kid $40 for 90 minute sessions). |
Anonymous
do you have other suggestions for coaching videos on youtube? i found the AS handbook to be quite useful, but the website and youtube link are pretty lousy, sorry. |
Anonymous
| Arlington or Alexandria U9? |
Anonymous
Its U9. Just find out about the coaches, the overall club isn't as important as the coach at this age. |
Anonymous
| Can you provide a list of the approximate ODP costs for a female (say 14U) player to go from VYSA northern district pool, to VA state pool, but then fails to make the Reg. 1 pool? My impression is that there are lots of costs that add up over the ~12 month period as you participate in the various ODP camps, friendlies, tryouts, etc. Please be as specific as you can remember, from the district tryout fee, the district training fee, and then to all the costs you pay once you make the state team and participate in all their events, including the camps/tryouts/scrimmages for the Reg. 1 pool. Again, assume the player doesn't make the cut for the Reg. 1 pool and her journey ends there until the next year when district tryouts start all over again. |