So it’s your first game this season tomorrow, and you are worried because you are moving from 4 v 4 (U7) to 5 v 5 (U8) or 8 v 8 (U8 & U9)?

By coach Dan Stratford

I often hear “I can’t get my girls to spread out.” Or “We play bunch ball.” Or how do I get them to play position?

Here is what you need to do to be successful your first few week-ends of fall youth soccer:

Why not call the them “Four Rs of early season coaching”…

Relax:

The first thing you need to know most every one of your opposing coaches are having the same struggles you are having. The ones that are not struggling are the ignorant ones who have been recruiting teams since their son or daughter was 5 and they think that trying to win a regional or national championship at 7 years of age is a good thing to do.

Realize, Remember & Reinforce

Realize that the game is another opportunity for the players to learn. While you do not want to over coach them, you can help them continue to discover soccer during the game by encouraging them to do the following. Remember what your priorities should be:

In order of priority…

Encourage them to go get the ball. Yes, marking up is good, but I would rather struggle with getting a kid to mark up because he or she is trying to go get the ball, than have a player mark up and just stand there because they don’t really want to go get the ball. So let’s make sure our players are willing to go and fight for the ball before we start telling them to mark up. Marking up will improve gradually as time goes on and your opponents get better at passing. If your opponent’s U8 team is already really good at passing, well, “shame on them” for focusing on the wrong things and “good on you” for focusing on going to the ball, dribbling & shooting.

Encourage them to control and dribble the ball…
Controlling the ball and losing it is better than kicking it to the other team. Encourage them to keep the ball and go for goal, or at least keep the ball to dribble away from trouble as they are looking to pass or shoot.

Shoot!
Encourage them to shoot whenever they have the chance. Help them discover their goal scoring opportunities and not be afraid of going for goal.

Passing?
Sure, as they get older encouraging passing becomes a necessary and vital part of the game-but even the object of soccer is to score, not to pass. Passing is absolutely necessary higher levels of the game, but would you have wanted to be the one who had been yelling at Michael Jordan, Coby Jones, Messe, or Ronaldinho to pass the ball when they were little?  So as they get older encourage them and teach them to spread out and pass, but not too early or it will inhibit their opportunity to learn to get the ball, dribble and shoot.

No matter what…
Encourage effort, reinforce even the smallest successes, without being patronizing (if that is even possible with the little guys). Encourage and challenge, encourage and challenge, encourage and challenge, encourage and challenge…
If you follow these steps, you can sleep well at night knowing you are doing the right thing-even if you “lost” the game.

by Soccer Fit Coach Dan Stratford

After the Soccer Fit class I taught today I spotted a pick up soccer game across the street. It looked like they had an odd number of players so I asked if they could use another player and they said “sure!”.

Turns out it was the Denver Street Soccer Group and I was able to put a face with name Eric Fulton of FC Denver who was there. I also got to meet Brandon Sejera who I think is one of the people who run the Denver Street Soccer group. If you are looking to play some pickup soccer find them on Facebook b y searching “Denver Street Soccer” in the Facebook search bar.

I played for about an hour, and had a great time. I strongly recommend it for anyone looking to play some pick-up soccer. This group of guys and gals was very encouraging and welcoming.

Pick-up soccer is quite a bit different than our Soccer Fit group fitness classes. If you want to play pick-up or league soccer, I recommend joining Soccer Fit in addition to pick-up and/or league play because it will help you get in shape, improve your skills and help you enjoy playing soccer more.

Compared to Pick-up soccer games, Soccer Fit is a much more intense hour of fitness with the ball. At the end of class you will be very tired and will have burned more calories because you will have a coach pushing you and challenging you the whole time. Since you have a ball during nearly all of the Soccer Fit classes you will get many more touches on the ball than you will have in a pick-up soccer match, which will help you improve your touch.

At the end of a Soccer Fit class in just an hour I burn over 1,000 calories and feel completely spent. I have lost 14 pounds over the last 2 months mostly teaching classes, which helped me enjoy the pick-up game today much more than I would have back in June.

Conversely; there is a different kind of intensity involved in a pick-up game or league play that you will not get in a Soccer Fit group fitness class. While we mimic some game situations during our fitness class, since we do not scrimmage you will not get the spontaneous mental and physical pressure you get by playing against another player or team.

The non-contact nature of Soccer Fit also means you are as likely to get hurt as you would be in any other group fitness class-which is about a zero. Your chances of injury in a game or pick-up increases significantly-especially if you are like me and have a hard time playing at only 80-90%%! Having stated that; when I played pick-up with the Denver Street Soccer group the group was pretty laid back and while we bumped into each other a few times it I felt pretty comfortable that I would not be injured. Being 44 years of age and having had 4 ACL reconstructive knee surgeries (2 on each knee) this is a concern for me.

One thing I enjoy about the Soccer Fit classes is that I can get fit doing something I enjoy without re-injuring one of my knees.

If you are up for it I recommend you play in pick-up games and league soccer if it fits into your schedule and you are not prone to injuries like I am. Taking a  Soccer Fit class 2-3 times a week will significantly improve your fitness level, skill level, reduce your chance of injury and increase your enjoyment playing in pick-up soccer and/or soccer league play. Adding Soccer Fit to your soccer league or pick-up games 1-2 times a week will also improve your overall fitness and skill level.

If you are looking to play pick-up soccer don’t forget to check out Denver Street Soccer at this link: Denver Street Soccer Facebook Page

Of course you can always signup for our Soccer Fit classes at our Meetup page here: Soccer Fit group fitness.

Here are some other Denver Pick Up Soccer Programs:

• Denver Street Soccer Facebook Page (mentioned above)
• Coed Soccer for the Denver Metro Area
• Pickup Soccer Denver on Facebook
• Denver Pickup Soccer fanatics
• South Denver Pickup Soccer
• Denver Pickup Soccer City Park
• Football (soccer) in The Park
• Monday Night Pickup

“What is so brilliant about teaching age-appropriate soccer to young boys and girls is that when it is done right it accomplishes the three most important goals in coaching/teaching children at any age:

1. It develops the child’s self-esteem.
2. It develops the best soccer players.
3. It creates a fun learning environment, therefore perpetuating the desire to play soccer.

Soccer is one of the few sports that is a natural fit for accomplishing all of these goals at any age, thereby creating not only successful soccer player/athletes, but successful people who enjoy being active, being challenged and enjoy learning. When you turn the focus towards winning a soccer game, especially at the younger ages, you are creating an environment that is destructive for the child’s development. Of course a strong desire to win is injected into every stage of development, but it’s more about being a winner than winning a game. After all, you can win a game and still be a loser, and you can lose a game while being a winner.

A determined coach may be able to teach a group of 6 or 7 year olds through hours of training, focus and motivation to spread out and pass the ball for the upcoming 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 game. As a result they may win a few games playing that way, but the players will have lost more than they will have gained. They will have lost the opportunity to develop the individual skills, self-esteem and mental toughness they will need later to be successful. It will have taken longer for them to learn less, and they will miss out on the opportunity to learn what they can get really good at while they are younger: creativity, dribbling, aggressiveness and shooting/instep driving the ball.

At the ages of 4-10 I would much rather see players going to get the ball, fighting for the ball, winning the ball, dribbling and trying score than spreading out and passing. They may win fewer games, but they will be better prepared to enter into competitive soccer at 11 and older. Surely the child will gradually begin to spread out and incorporate teamwork from the ages of 7-14 if they are in the right environment, but to force them into this style of play in an attempt to win a soccer game is detrimental to their development.”
-Coach Dan Stratford

More on coaching young players in the next post.

Coach Dan Stratford is one of the owners and coaches for Denver Soccer Fit. For more information on Dan visit our Soccer Fit Coaching Staff Page

FUN!

So what is the best way to get and keep kids motivated at any age?

Make sure they have fun.

There are many other developmental principals we need to consider, but first and foremost we must realize kids play to have fun.

There is no “but also…”, however, there is an “AND also…”

We also need to realize that youth sports is about finding fun ways to develop “people” from young children and young adults into adults who will enjoy learning, enjoy being challenged, be confident, successful and have solid interpersonal relationship skills.

How do we do this fun ways to develop “people” from young children and young adults into adults who will enjoy learning, enjoy being challenged, be confident, successful and have solid interpersonal relationship skills.?

We first need to understand children and their stages of development.

From a psychological development perspective, this article by Dr. Freigang provides some excellent guidance in the the mental development of 6 year olds (and younger) Dr. Freigang is a sport scientist working with the U.S. National Team in Sport Psychology.

“The key issue for children under six is positive self-esteem. Children will play the game longer, try harder and overcome obstacles if the environment is conducive to building self esteem. The concept of “self” is learned, not by winning games, but by facing progressively difficult challenges. Earning success promotes higher levels of self-awareness, stronger self-image and self-confidence. The child up to the age of 6 is focused primary upon developing the self. At this stage all experiences should allow the child to fully engage the physical domain within the child. It would be destructive to make tactical demands on a six year old when they don’t have the cognitive ability to comprehend the concept. “The make believe” ability of the child’s mind is dominant at this stage. Most interactions of the make believe world can be unitized successfully in the very small sided game. Every touch can be a resounding success. Youngsters have very short attention spans and can’t stand hearing verbal descriptions of observations from a coach. Too much verbiage and the moment is lost. Players like to move and require constant opportunity to be successful. The under six player is developing a central nervous system that requires general movement with little refined skill. It’s OK if a six year old cannot bend a ball at 40 yards, it’s not in their abilities to master such a demand. If we try to teach this demand we waste time and destroy the child’s motivation. The world of a six year old revolves around the imaginary victories they create in their realities. This is a normal phase and should be encouraged with corrections and criticisms held to a minimum. Given the correct environment the children will find a way to play. When levels of demand are to abstract in the full 11 v 11 game (tactics) or the physical demands to challenging the result is anger, helplessness and ultimately dropout”

Goal #1: Develop Self-esteem:

“The key issue for children under six is positive self-esteem. Children will play the game longer, try harder and overcome obstacles if the environment is conducive to building self esteem. The concept of “self” is learned, not by winning games, but by facing progressively difficult challenges. Earning success promotes higher levels of self-awareness, stronger self-image and self-confidence.”

So how does this apply to practice sessions?

First of all; meeting each child at their mental & physical level and abilities. Creating an environment where they can learn in a fun and positive manner. This does not mean “coddling kids” but challenging them & teaching them by putting them in an environment where they can become aware of their own abilities, discover new ways of moving their bodies, interact with the ball, and others players. It means encouraging them and challenging them to grow and learn new things. Then encouraging them and challenging them again and again.

Tell them they are awesome a hundred times and ask them “can you do this?” another hundred more.

This is easily done with soccer if as a coach you take away the emphasis of winning the upcoming game, and focus on…

1. Games that involve each child with their own ball for an entire hour long practice session.
2. Encouraging, teaching and challenging with fun games focused on dribbling and shooting.
3. Stay away from pressuring them and expecting them to “spread out” and “pass the ball”.
4. Teach with games that allow them to play and discover new skills.
5. Ask them questions to help them discover the answers as often as possible rather than telling them what to do.

And guess what? The players will have more fun. It is a win-win-win for everyone-even if you “lose” the game in the coming weekend because the opposing coach spent his or her time teaching his players how to pass, or because they had a better team.

Forcing players to stand in line, stay in position, “spread out”, “stop doing this” or “stop doing that” will NOT help them develop the self-esteem, creativity or the skills they need to enjoy the game or life to its’ fullest.

Goal #2 Develop “Self”- To NOT do this is actually destructive to the child.

This key point Dr. Freigang made cannot be overstated: “It would be destructive to make tactical demands on a six year old when they don’t have the cognitive ability to comprehend the concept.”

That’s right: destructive.

Would it be destructive to a child’s development to focus on making certain your child could walk at 6 or even 8 months, even if with hours of pressure training and work they would be able to do so? Many would say “yes”. Why? Because the hours you would spend pushing a child to do something they are not or should not be ready to do would be:

1. Potentially emotionally traumatic for the child.
2. Potentially physically traumatic for the child.
3. Take away from the other things they should be learning and discovering that were age appropriate and developmentally appropriate for the child.
4. Would not give the child any advantage later in life, and may in fact cause some sort of physical or emotional disadvantage.

When you force passing and team tactics onto children as old as 6 years of age you are being destructive to the child’s development as a soccer player and as an individual, because you are:

1. Taking away the opportunity for them to develop the skills they will need to be successful later.
2. Likely stifling or damaging their self esteem.
3. Giving them a false sense of security by enabling them to win games when they are young without developing the skills, self-esteem and creativity they will need later to enjoy exponentially more success at the game.
4. Teaching them that winning in the short run is more important than being the best you can be in the long run.

Bottom line is that if you spend time teaching 6 and under kids how to “pass” the soccer ball with the appearance of proficiency, you are doing more harm than good for the kids. At worst it is destructive, at best it is opportunity lost.

What should you be working on with children 6 years of age and younger exclusively?

1. Individual skills:
2. Dribbling
3. Shooting/instep drive passing the ball.
4. Challenging
5. Aggressiveness or Assertiveness

• Don’t teach them the inside of the foot pass until they have mastered the instep drive shot/pass, and you need to wait until 8 or older to teach the inside of the foot pass.
• Don’t work with them on “spreading out”, 2 v 1 or 2 v 2.
• Don’t work with them on team passing concepts.

I cannot overstate this: Every minute you focus on passing and teamwork with 6 year olds is a waste of time. You might say “but they get better at passing”. They might get better at passing, and with enough time spent on passing they will get better at passing, but at what cost? You are wasting precious time they could have been working on their self-esteem, creativity, dribbling & shooting skills.
At 6, psychologically and physically 6 year olds benefit the most from learning how to dribble and shoot. Every second you spend teaching them how to do something else (in soccer) deprives them of the opportunity to learn what they can learn the quickest, and from learning what will benefit them greatly as they get older and need the dribbling and shooting skills needed to successfully play the game, and enjoy the game.
This is why we have them play 3 v 3 with no goalies at the younger age. So they can enjoy playing and touch the ball as often as possible. So they can gain confidence with the ball. So they can learn to be aggressive and challenge for the ball.

Children 6 and under (and even players 4-6 years older) need to have the ball at their feet for nearly the entire practice session.

Obviously when you have competitive games like 1 v 1 or a 3 v 3 scrimmage you will have 2 or 6 to a ball, but before you do these games, spending literally 80-99% of the practice with each child having their own ball to train with is what you should be doing if what you want is to do the best for your children.

Anything else is potentially detrimental to their development.
You can do this through loads of fun games that get progressively more challenging and competitive while remaining fun for the kiddos for a solid hour.
What games you should you play?
Come back for the next post on great soccer drills for 4-10 year olds.

If you know of any other adult indoor soccer league programs please post it here in our comments section and we will add it.

Thanks!

• Apex Field House Indoor Soccer Facility
  • 5724 Oak Street
    Arvada, CO 80002
  • Contact: 303-431-9600
  • Apex Indoor Soccer Website
• Bladium
  • Contact Soccer Director
    2400 Central Park Blvd
    Denver, CO, 80238
  • Contact: Kathy Travers at 303-320-3033 Ext 1005
• Arapahoe Sports Center
  • Address:
    7300 South Fraser Street
    Englewood, Colorado 80112-4296
  • Contact: 303-617-3988
• Denver Sports Center
  • Address:
    5555 West Evans
    Denver, Colorado 80227-3713
  • Contact: 303-985-1322
• Rocky Mountain Sports Center
  • Address:
    2180 East 112th Street
    Northglenn, Colorado 80233-2203
  • Contact: 303-254-5425
• Carroll Butts Athletic Park
  • Address:
    4201 west 94th Avenue
    Westminster, CO 80031
  • Contact: 303.650.7672
• Foothills Sports Arena
  • Address:
    3608 S. Kipling Parkway
    Denver, CO 80235-1210
  • Contact: 303.409.2444
• Colorado Clash
  • Address:
    5280 Smith Road
    Denver, CO 80216
  • Contact: (303) 513-1429 ‎

Click here for Denver adult group fitness classes

If you know of any other  adult soccer league programs please post it here.

Thanks!

• Denver Kickers
  • Adult Athletic Director: Klaus Degler 310-467-6559
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
  • Nate Stahlecker at 303-727-3521
• Moved On Soccer League in Highlands Ranch
  • Visit their Meetup pages here: MovedOnSoccer
• Front Range Coed Soccer League
• Visit their website here: FRCSL

Click here for Denver adult group fitness classes

Follow a link below for more information on…

• Adult Outdoor Soccer Leagues in Denver
• Adult Indoor Soccer Leagues in Denver
• Adult Pick-Up Soccer in Denver

Benefits of playing soccer as an adult:

Many men and women in the US played soccer at some point in their lives. Even if you didn’t, you can enjoy soccer as an adult.

The multiple indoor soccer leagues, outdoor soccer leagues & pick-up soccer leagues provide opportunities for men and women on men, women or coed soccer teams.

Playing soccer can help you lose weight and feel better because it improves aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance and it strengthens and tones your legs.

Best of all, it can be a very fun social experience. The result is that you will improve you overall health and meet people.

Avoid Week-end Warrior Injuries

One of the challenges of playing any sport as an adult once a week or less is that your chances of injury increase significantly. Exercising at the gym a few times a week, or running a few times a week can help you avoid injuries, but they may not be enough. Our Soccer Fit classes help you train specifically for soccer so you will learn how to play soccer better and train specifically for soccer. This will increase your enjoyment when you play soccer and help prevent injuries.

Click Here to Find out more about our Soccer Fit group fitness Classes