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ZenFooty Blog Archive - June Free agency kills loyalty…well, "Not Really" says the ZenMaster!Published on Fri 06/27/2008 | 10 total comments For many years, clubs have had the upper hand in soccer with regards to the player's salary and contract length. However, lately, as in American baseball, free agency (or the ability for a player to jump to another team before their option year or at the end of their contract) has created a great deal of movement of players and coaches throughout the professional soccer world. This has reduced the player loyalty to an individual club and increased the focus on moving on to the highest bidder. I believe this is great for the players and can be good for the clubs but its bad for the fans who become loyal to the club. Will the fans remain loyal to the clubs or will they start to follow the players? When C. Ronaldo leaves Manchester United, will the fans leave with him? and how about Ronaldinho when he leaves Barcelona? Will the fans follow? ZenMaster says, strangely enough, the fans do not follow the player, they stay with the club. Arsenal fans are a great example as they lost Thierry Henry and stayed right in the saddle with their Gunners!! What say you? « comments » It just dawned on me…Americans may not know what a soccer club is!! Published on Sun 06/22/2008 | 45 total comments We have all paid our registration dues and uniform fees, signed the volunteer schedule, sold our fundraiser raffle tickets and M&Ms, and have been the dreadful linesperson waving the flag. But do we really know what it means to be in a soccer club? Do we really have "club football" here in the states? Are we cultivating a true club environment with our youth structure. ZenMaster says NO! Are the players going to professional games together, attending the games of other age groups in the club, building lasting relationships, striking up pick-up games on their own, getting together for lunch outside of soccer, hitting the movie theater as a team, rocking the bowling alley as a group, ganging up on their coach at laser quest, teaching each other to skateboard (or ripstick), taking group skills lessons together, watching euorpean soccer matches and highlight films together, getting to one anothers confirmation parties, sharing their basements, XBOX, and Wii with team mates? Are they planning on being together for seasons to come? Does the club have mentors and club captains? Do they show up at the field on practice days even after the season is over ('cause that is what they do)? Do the teens come to the youth training sessions to help the young ones learn? Are mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters wearing the same shield whether they are on the team or not? The answer in the states is often NO! So the ZenMaster must ask: Will YOU buy or build YOUR club experience? Buying the experience means joining the best team regardless of the shield. Building a club means developing a strong foundation behind the shield YOU believe in (during good seasons and bad). How wonderful it would be to have a child "grow" with a club. Is your player on a team or is your FAMILY in a CLUB? What say you? « comments » What can we do to become much better players? Published on Sat 06/14/2008 | 20 total comments With the proper bodyguard next to me, I mentioned to a promising youth player this week that she must double the quality of her game every year in order to remain competitive for higher level soccer. She looked back at me, rolled her eyes (you now how kids do), smiled, and then said: "You are losing your mind ZenMaster..but..OK, we will just need to do more training!!" Cha-ching!! Cha-ching!! I love this kid already!! No, just kidding...its not the money!! Expecting that answer from her, I told her we need to do "Different Training." The skills we are developing will put her on par with all of the very good players (seems good enough, right?....wrong!). It will not create the separation to make her a GREAT player. Now its on to: "What can a child do to perform the usual things unusually well AND perform unsusual things?" How can she instinctively and creatively deceive defenders, create new spaces to play in, find openings to receive a ball where they never before existed, and make great players out of others?" I find myself recommending fun variations on basic children's games such as: Freeze tag footy, Marco Polo soccer, match my move (follow-the-leader), one-v-three (keepaway) in a small grid, soccer golf (lefty), sharks and minnows (sole roll), shadow dancing, and other appropriate yet silly things for a 9 year old to be doing. "Having fun with it," as Sergio, my U-16 coach says. Perhaps this is one of the missing elements from our cookie cutter players? Who shimmies and shakes anymore? What say you? « comments » Can you handle the Breakfast Club? Its worth a shot!! Get fit with ZenFooty!! Published on Sat 06/14/2008 | 16 total comments From 8:00AM to 9:00AM every weekday morning you will hear the booming voice of ZenUnited's U-14 coach and ZSA Fitness Director Dean Fukar leading a pack of inspired young soccer players and adults through a variety of footspeed and fitness activities. No its not military boot camp, its ZenFooty's Breakfast Club. The participants range in age from 6 years to 46 years old and come from area soccer clubs such as the Hinsdale Hawks, Eclipse Select, ZenUnited, Darien Dynamno, Downers Grove Road Runners and area communities. Dean pushes the bright eyes and bushy tails through agility drills, magic square sprints, shuttle runs, and much more. He also participates right along side of them!! Afterwards, the kids stay on hand to play a pick-up game or a friendly match of World Cup for yet another hour while the ZenMaster conducts private skills training for future stars on the opposite end of the field. It is two hours of great fun, fitness and sportsmanship!! You would do well to get your children and yourselves out for some of this ZenFooty summer fun!! We are at Ty Warner Park in Westmont Illinois!! If you don't watch out, you'll get into shape, make new friends, and get a nickname from the ZenMaster, who is a participant and a big fan of coach Dean's inspired leadership!! Come on out!! What say you? « comments » We are developing a culture of "corporate soccer"…...and it stinks!! Published on Sun 06/08/2008 | 29 total comments So hot shot (parent)....did your kid make the A, B, C, or D team? And just how do you explain the difference to them? Will the A team get better trainers, play more tournaments, get more attention, develop faster, or be the showcase for the club? Have you been pressured to sign on the dotted line and submit a non-refundable deposit with the threat of someone behind you taking your kid's spot? If so, then welcome to corporate soccer. You have now entered the realm of the macro-club or mega-club. The soccer factory. Did you get a number at your try-out or did your trainer call you by name. Did he or she carry a clipboard around with dozens of names and numbers or did he participate in the try-outs, perform demonstrations, closely watch the kids touch the ball, and use their imagination. Did he assist the kids during the try-out or did he simply make notes and "evaluate." Does the coach know your parents, brothers and sisters? If not, welcome to corporate soccer! You would think the impersonal approach that parents experience in the corporate world turn them off to this type of treatment for their kids. Child development is individual; its personal. The "Win" is the progress, the fun, the many little interpretations of the game...not the outcome, not the affiliation with a corporate name and definitely NOT a state ranked U-10 team. We are losing sight of the beautiful game with our focus on wins, losses, rankings, and "A" teams. Every player has something to offer and the game should have somethig for every player. Factories are for processing food and material goods - not our youth. Soccer is an art and and a freedom of expression. I say we lay off the pressure, build every little heart and mind individually, and turn on the encouragment and inclusion. What say you? « comments » |
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