Pelham u11 Boys - Rugby and other sports

So, Thursday night I told my brother we were going to start his session with a little bit of rugby.  He wasn't sure if I was joking or not.

Some professional academies insist their younger players play other sports to develop the holistic athlete.

I also believe that a player's habits and ideas transcend all of the sports they play.  My middle son hadn't played hockey for 8 years.  He took it up again during the last year of midget house league.  Watching him play, I saw him pull every trick and tactic that he used on the soccer field, but on the ice.

By the same token, ideas that a player picks up in one sport, he will bring to the others.  If I brought a midget AAA hockey player to a pick up basketball game, you could bet he would be scanning the

The beauty of 9v9 soccer for U11 and U12.

There was a time when soccer people were thinking of moving U11 and U12 to 7v7 soccer.  That would have been too small. 

I remember when my boys were U11 and u12 and on a big field.  We did very good things but never had that one kid who could cover the field and physically take the game over.

Watching 9v9 has been a pure pleasure, as a technical coach.  I envision some of my old players and what we could have built on during those special years.

Relating techniques to recognizable situations in a soccer game.

Every coach has access to drills but not sure where and how those relate to a game.

The big question comes" What do I work on at training?"

Well, let's look at the game, then we'll build our training session.

"Every situation in a game can be broken down into a set of required skills and coachable chunks..."

If you are a very experienced coach, this may come across as overly simplified. 


Situation:
4-4-2.  Ball played into goalkeeper, right defender checks back and wide, GK rolls him the ball, he passes to a central midfielder who then passes to right midfielder.  Simple everyday situation.  What

The danger of "The Deal" when a new soccer player recruits you.

Winning is not a crime.  Wanting to win is not a crime. Recruiting is not a crime.  As a parent, wanting a better place for your child to play is not a crime.  Wanting to find another place to coach is not a crime. Let's all understand those points.  Good people have good reasons for a change.

I've had a lot of time to consider my position on recruiting.  I know people say I am not aggressive enough in recruiting and that it was my biggest weakness as a youth coach.  I take that as a compliment :)

When some coaches engage in heavy recruiting, I don't see them as bad people (although I don't like heavy recruiting).  But I do wonder

Maybe enjoying soccer as a parent is not that complicated.

Yesterday was a day I was dreading for a while.  Watching my old team play.

I coached Welland 1999 boys for 3 seasons (U11/U12/U13).  For various reasons, I did not return to coach, but my son is still playing.

Yesterday was their first competition.  I only saw tryouts in small chunks, but I did deliver two sessions for Coach John over the past 6 weeks.

Yesterday did not go how I thought it would.  I was thinking I would over-analyze everything, being frustrated, yelling instructions and seeing how the old players are doing and how the new players fit in, etc etc etc.

Instead, I watched from the sideline, had a blast with the other parents and enjoyed watching my son play without his father on the bench.   Chomping on my sunflower seeds, drinking my Timmy's (Green tea, black, bag out, in case it's your round...) being a wise-guy and cheering.  That was me.

The level of the games was "OK" at best, but they were all exciting.  The first game they drew 1-1 with a team that beat them 6-0 last week in a friendly.  Then they lost 3-2 in a tight game and lost the last game in penalty kicks after an exciting 2-2 draw. They played with a lot of confidence and intensity.

"Chomping on my sunflower seeds, drinking my Timmy's, being a wise-guy and cheering. 
That was me."

I have been just as relaxed watching my other son's senior high school games.  I could write a 200 page technical report on both teams (good, bad and ugly), but in this case, it's more fun and very easy to just watch and enjoy.  I don't think my wife and I discussed the games at all on the way home.

Enjoying myself is not only good for me, it's being fair to my children and their coaches.  Their coaches know that other parents ask me questions all the time, but I never engage in that kind of talk. 

I still coach a lot and do so with 110% of everything I have, but I intend to enjoy watching when my job is a parent.

If the game is not enjoyable at U14, they will walk away and do something else.  I intend to contribute to that enjoyment as much as I can.

I am proud of this program.  There have been 2 teams since U9 and both teams are still full.  Some players have come, left and returned and many have been there since U9.  Neither team is exceptionally strong, but some so called "power houses" have imploded around us over the years.  I hope the program stays strong until U18.

P.S.  Do not let this negate the fact that I do miss those boys.  :)