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ZenFooty Blog Archive - January Hey Buddy....What's In YOUR Backpack...or shall I say...Kitbag? Published on Fri 01/30/2009 | 11 total comments OMG Folks, having looked at hundreds of soccer backpacks; I think I have seen it all!! Melted snickers bars, moldy socks, forgotten French fries, shin guards that reek to high heaven, Chuck-E-Cheese tokens, shiny rocks, fruit roll-ups all rolled-out, PSPs, iPODs, phones, Nintendo DSs, mini plastic animals, gum (chewed and unchewed) and so on. I know there is more....BUT the question is: "What SHOULD be in the Soccer Backpack?" First of all, let's refer to it by the proper soccer term; the kitbag. In your kitbag should be proper footwear and related accessories such as: Molded shoes, studded shoes (for older players), turf shoes (for hardpan and older turf), flats, and post game Sandals to relieve the feet. You should be packing an extra pear of dry socks to use after a wet game or to change over on tournament days. Your bag should have an extra shoelace, mink oil, and a popsicle stick for cleaning the mud off on wet days. A small tube of Vaseline for covering the odd blister or waterproofing your boots on very wet days. An extra stud kit complete with a wrench is also in order for the players who wear six studs on the wet pitch. So, are we done with feet? Not by a long shot! Pack a “wet and dry” to towel off your feet after the games and between tournament games if you are changing socks. Slip in a nail clipper which can double as a file for the front studs on new turf shoes (which often can cause a trip). Don't forget your sweet spots. Moving up the chain to the shins, always pack the shin guards and a light weight pair for a friend. As to your ball, you need to always pack a regulation ball with a skills ball beside it for training and small pick-up games on the side. A hand-held mini-pump is required because ALL balls lose air in change of temperature and pressure. Drop in an extra needle because these things bend and break (especially when someone else is using your pump). Drop in a dry cotton t-shirt to change into after you play and two (one light and one dark) if you can remember. Don't forget your alternate game jersey and training suit! A dry washcloth is always of use as you can drip your cold water on it and use it as a cooling cloth during a time out or break in training. Save room for two sources of fluids. Cold water and an energy drink. Water alone won't get you back all of the required electrolytes and too much of the energy drink alone is not the best hydration answer. A healthy snack which can be sustained in a hot bag over time is also a great idea. How about a mini-cooler of watermelon cubes or frozen grapes (my favorites), an energy bar or healthy trail mix? Oranges and bananas work but watch the shelf life inside the kitbag...things could get ugly over time!! Most of all, the Kitbag should have your personal goals and reminders on a 3x5 card so that you can look at them before and after training and the game. These are the things that you want to accomplish. After all, the goodies in the Kitbag are all designed to help you become that awesome player you set out to be. Even if soccer is just for fun, being prepared is a good idea!! What have you seen in the Kitbags and what do you think should be in there? What say you? « comments » What Happened to Attacking Soccer? ZenMaster Wants It To Come Back!! Published on Mon 01/26/2009 | 12 total comments Possession, possession, possession!! All I see are players trying to hold possession. Nobody is taking risk and trying to beat their man!! What happened to taking players on and beating them on the dribble? What happened to the vertical passing to targets? We have fallen so much in love with the safe possession dribbling and the support passing that we have forgotten to penetrate!! Can you say BORING......Soccer is an Invasion Focused Sport!! Players must learn how to gain territory vertically up the field using diagonal passing and speed dribbling. We must play defenders out of the game using the dribble or diagonal passing through the lines of defense (not always around). Support players must get into the attack by overlapping and being an option forward...not always from behind!! Target players up top must demand the ball to feet and to space!! Sharing the ball aimlessly around the perimeter just to keep posession does little to achieve the outcome. If anything, it will lull your team to sleep and before your know it, you are defending a surprise counter attack. In this day of low pressure defenses and possession based offenses, I can see why people get bored watching a soccer game. I say "Take It To Them" and play attacking soccer. Counter attack whenever you can!! Optimism builds confidence!! When you play possession soccer, play it with a purpose...to find a penetrating pass to a player making a threatening run!! Let's train our players to play with optimism and go vertical!!! What say you? « comments » Are You Any Good? ZenMaster Says: Get Out of Town and Find Out! Published on Fri 01/23/2009 | 8 total comments Hey folks, looks like some of the players around here are getting pretty good with their ball skills. Some even look as though they could play beyond high school. Do we REALLY know? How do players in Northern Illinois rate against players in other regions of the country? How about other areas of the world? Many of our high school varsity players have not even played any meaningful soccer outside of the greater Illinois, Wisconsin, or Northwestern Indiana area. So how would they know? That's just it!! They don't know how good they are. ZenMaster says its time to get our players out into the rest of the country. Not just on a tournament basis but on a tour basis. You see, the tournaments are flashes in the pan and you are in and out in a couple of days. ZenMaster recommends that teams go on tour and play 5 - 10 different elite teams in another region of the country. This will give the players and parents a deep look at their talent level. Imagine a week of soccer in St. Louis against the best Busch and Scott Gallagher club teams in your age group. Imagine a trip to New York where you play the ethnic teams from New York City, storied programs from Long Island, the clubs in Westchester and the upstate powerhouses in Syracuse, Albany and Rochester. Maybe the kids also go see the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta and play a match there? Think about a trip to Virginia, The Carolinas and Georgia. Go against great clubs along the way in Richmond, Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia and Atlanta. And don't forget Texas!! Get yourself down to Dallas/Frisco, Houston, Austin and San Antonio!! See some real Footy!! And if this doesn't float your boat, then go up and down the west coast and compete against the teams in LA, San Francisco, San Jose or maybe up to Seattle. Find out who you are as a team and how you really stack up. Not just in tournaments where you hope to be effectively matched up....but in friendlies where you can select a quality opponent and gain some great understanding of how good you are against a region. Hey, why not take the crew to Europe every other year and see how you stack up there against some of the academy teams!! Get the answers early on how god you are and then make your soccer investment decisions accordingly!! What say you? « comments » What the College Coaches Are Looking For - Complete Players Published on Mon 01/19/2009 | 20 total comments I asked college coach after college coach at the National Soccer Coaches Convention in St. Louis: "What types of players are you looking for?" The reponses were remarkably consistent: Beyond the quality of play on the field, these coaches want QUALITY PEOPLE. They are very defensive to the outstanding high school or club player who won't go to class when they get to college. Coaches are unsupportive of the fantastic dribbler who talks back or disrespects their parents. They are disinterested in the player who has to have his parents make the phone calls and write the letters to the college coaches for them. They have no time for the impressive goal scorer who does not get the concept of "team play" or helping in the community. You see, as our young players begin thinking about playing elite level soccer in college or beyond, they must understand that being quality human beings has become the priority. This stems from the large number of good, very good, and excellent players in the market today. No coach wants to waste a good scholarship on a "hot dog" who is hollow inside and can't become a quality young adult in addition to a great soccer player. What separates a good college candidate from just another great young player is CHARACTER. I realy like these guys and gals!! They are truly building great leadership athletes....and it starts with their recruiting!! What say you? « comments » What is this futsal thing and will I get anything from it? ZenMaster Says Yes Published on Sat 01/10/2009 | 14 total comments "Oh Yea" baby!! You will get tons of value from futsal!! Just look at You-Tube and you will see the very best players in the world playing, and loving, futsal. Ronaldinho, Robinho, Falcao, and Henry have all played it and mastered their skills on the court? Some on the hard sand in an outdoor setting! So what is futsal? Well, simply put, it is 5-a-side soccer (4 players and a keeper) played on a court with out of bounds lines, a smaller (and slightly weighted) ball, goals about the size of field hockey goals and some basic field markings for the penalty areas and penalty shots. Teams play about 20 - 25 minute halves and pick-up games go all day (and all night) long. Players wear sneakers (or nothing) on their feet. When you watch the futsal videos on the web, you will quickly see why the ZenMaster holds training in the racquetball courts and in the traditional gym. The greatest Brazilian players (and world players) perfected their skills on the fast, smooth surface with the undersized soccer balls. Playing small sided games on the smooth surface with limited space to play can help build the technical skills of any player over time. With so many touches, the players build a relationship with the ball. In any given hour, a player may be touching the ball 3,000 - 4,000 times as compared to a simulation of outdoor where they are getting the ball 12 - 17 times per game resulting in about 60 touches. Some say its just not soccer and is more of a distraction that creates bad habits because kids just want to try out tricks. I say nonsense!! Futsal helps the players "Skill-Up" their game! What say you? « comments » |
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