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ZenFooty Blog Archive - February Does Foosball Help Your Soccer Game - ZenMaster Says YesPublished on Sat 02/28/2009 | 5 total comments If you have ever watched a person play foosball who also plays soccer you will see remarkable similarities in their style of play (and their desire to win). Foosball is a tabletop soccer game where 2 or 4 players operate a team of 10 wooden or plastic players attached to metal rods. You get a keeper, two defenders, five midfielders, and three forwards. These players are maneuvered by turning the handles attached to the rods to either pass or kick the ball into the goals (which are small rectangles on either end of the table). You have probably seen the game in arcades, house parties, or even have one at home. Here is why this game can help youth players. First, if you do not have pressure on the ball, you will get scored upon. Good players have wicked hard shots and if they are not blocked, the next thing you hear is a ping in the back of the goal....that is the ball in your net. Second, you have to see through the defense when you are passing and shooting. Since your view is from the top, you can see where the midfielders and defenders are and find the angles to play through. This helps a youth player understand the placement of his team mates in the gaps and between the lines of the defense. Third, when a player is blocking the opponent with first defender pressure, he must also position the second line of defense with his left hand in case the first defender gets beat. This is especially true for the player who is playing in the back position. All of these concepts apply in the real game. Most of all, Foosball is best played at high speeds to outpace the reaction of your opponent. When you do this, your chances of scoring are much greater!! Learning how to do play quickly, with control, on the tabletop game and they transferring it to your outdoor game is a real plus for the kids!! What Say You?? Can you Foose?? « comments » The Player Away From the Ball Needs Training Too!! Published on Mon 02/23/2009 | 8 total comments Skills, skills, skills, we all are working hard on skills this winter. Being a private trainer, I think this is fantastic!! I love the growing commitment to making players better by improving their "Ball Mastery." But what about the things they do away from the ball to help their team. Should these be classified as technical soccer skills also? Could they ever be sold to parents and players as skills to learn in a private training setting? Unfortunately NO!! Parents and players can clearly see a player improve through the upgrading of their technical skills. However, it is harder to see the improvement in their game intelligence and work away from the ball. Oddly, many players spend 90% of the time in a game without the ball and 10% of the time with the ball (perhaps even less with full sided teams). Therefore the work off of the ball is arguably more important and certainly done more often. Sadly (and I can speak for the coaches I have watched across from me for the past 3 seasons), the coaches are all watching the ball as well which makes it hard to learn what the other players are doing and how to develop them. The ZenMaster proposes that we consider training programs to teach the players (and coaches) the technical aspects of playing away from the ball as intensely as we work on the foot-skills of players on the ball. For example: How to get between the lines of the defense, how to adjust your angle to the ball carrier and find an open seam, how and when to make the diagonal run, which nonverbal cues to use with each of the players on the field, or how to determine when to check vertically or on an angle to the ball? These are all key technical-tactical elements of the game away from the ball that an individual must know. Without these, the child is not a complete soccer player but merely a ball skills hobbyist. Think about it, when is the last time you spoke to your child about the way they check to the ball or the diagonal running that would make them a more threatening player. I think this stuff should start early in the careers of youth players so it is natural instinct when they play at the higher levels. One must know how to get into a quality position to receive the ball in order to acheieve a quality experience with the ball!! What say you? Does your player know what to do off the ball and do they know how to practice these skills? « comments » What is The American Sport: Soccer or Baseball? Published on Mon 02/16/2009 | 16 total comments With 19 Million children and adults playing soccer in America these days, it’s hard to imagine the sport not becoming the new American preference. The question then becomes, has it passed baseball? Has it truly dethroned the great American Pass-time? ZenMaster says NO!! Not by a long shot and not on all levels. It is true that the growth curve for soccer is indeed steeper than baseball and that the youth programs have burst by leaps and bounds. However, there is an unfortunate maturity issue with the sport of soccer in terms of overall talent development and an even bigger issue with adult appreciation and continued investment in the game. Simply put, as long as an adult has a child in the game, they will participate in soccer. Once that responsibility is completed, there is less interest in the game and very little ambition or commitment to US professional or ameteur soccer "live." Likewise, the level of participation of experienced non-parent volunteer coaches remains very very low. Go ask any club if they have any highly talented non-parent volunteer coaches involved just because they love the game. Very few!! Now, what seems to happen to the former players? Where do they go? Many players get involved as coaches at the collegiate level but this is probably 10% or less of the total population. Many get involved in high school soccer but there are limited jobs. Therefore, most go into another professional industry and when they have kids, they get back involved. I often worry that our passion for the sport is a function of convenience and not of consistency. Therefore, I am unsure this will become the Second Great American Pass-time. I certainly hope it does!! What say you? « comments » My Kid Is Learning New Skills....Why Doesn't She Use Them In The Game? Published on Wed 02/04/2009 | 8 total comments So you have done the private training, bought the skills ball, entered the juggling contest, and even watched your child do some fantastic moves in training activities and in the basement! BUT....When it comes game time you DON'T see the moves? Where is the linkage between learning these skills and using them? The players seem to be going back to the same old stale moves? Clearly the player is getting great training (imagine ZenMaster patting himself on the back at this point)! So there must be a missing piece to this puzzle! ZenMaster says that there is!! It is called "Carry Over." Carry Over is when a technique learned in training becomes a skill that is used in a game under the pressure of competition. To make this happen, a player needs opportunities to apply his newly developed techniques in small sided games to gain experience using that skill in context. Learning the technique is only part of the battle. Learning the timing and location of where it should be used in a game situation is another part. A third (and perhaps most important) part is having the SELF CONFIDENCE to actually try the technique under pressure in a game. Most players regress to their OLD RELIABLE moves which become more and more predictable and less effective over time. The ZenMaster says that if you expect to become a great player, you must learn how to fail productively! This means playing in pick-up and other small sided games and trying out your new techniques. Too often the American desire to win at the youth level invades the need for exploring and using new techniques. Coaches and trainers must facilitate 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, futsal and other small sided pick-up games and find ways to reward players who are applying their new learnings and expanding their game. This will build the confidence needed to try these skills in full match play. What say you? « comments » |
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