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ZenFooty Blog Archive - August Do we even know what skill is? ZenMaster Says: "WATCH CLOSELY"l!!Published on Thu 08/28/2008 | 17 total comments So here we go. Does a player who can juggle 5,000 times have more skill than one who can juggle only 50? Does a player who can kick a ball a country mile have more skill than one who passes the ball along the ground at best? How about a player who runs faster than the wind while dribbling the ball? Are they skillful? Hmmm..and how about that cat who can throw the ball in to the goal mouth from half field, I'll bet we think that is skill....don't we? How about the kids learning all of the scissor stepovers and Cryuff moves...aren't they skillful? ZenMaster Says No, No and more No!! These are all technical competencies but none of them are skill. Skill is when a player is able to take their technical competencies and apply them in a game under the pressure of an equal or better opponent at the highest of decision and execution speed and obtain a desired result. Now that is skill. Everthing else is technique and until it is performed with an opponent in your proverbial shorts, it really doesn't mean doodoo. Soccer ball trickery (and keepy uppy) is fun to watch and to do...but effectiveness in match play is something else!! What say you? « comments » High School Soccer - Pushing future coaches out of the game Published on Sat 08/23/2008 | 50 total comments Hmmm so there are over 100 players trying out for the freshman and sophmore soccer teams in some areas and only 44 players get a spot. That means 56 players (who love the game) have to find something else to do even when soccer is their first choice. That stinks. I mean c'mon, think about it. What if only good looking people could get married? How would that make the rest of us feel? You see the area clubs do NOT have a league in flight during the fall to give these players a chance to develop (or more importantly have fun playing the sport they love). So the young boys and girls begin to fade out of soccer and, in some cases, out of sports. Not good!! While the winter and spring offer chances for the high school player to get back involved, I am afraid that sitting out 4 seasons during a player's high school career leaves them quite a bit behind even if they play in the winter and spring. Poof, there goes another batch of potentially great coaches down the tubes. To make soccer cultural, you must make it accessible to all and at all levels of competition. Exclusions are for the professionals and internationals. It seems to me that club soccer has built a collection of players too large for the high schools to handle yet the high schools are forbidding the players to play club in the fall (or spring for females) so the clubs shut down. There is something incredibly wrong with this picture. If the budget is not there to have enough teams in the schools, then kids should be allowed to play club in the fall. Oh, and by the way, college coaches are recruiting from the clubs...just ask them!! We should focus on ways for inclusion all the way through high school, college, and onto adult leagues after that. This will build our soccer future in mass! What say you? « comments » Wake up folks, soccer is not about positions!! Its about freedom and shape!!! Published on Sat 08/02/2008 | 26 total comments The next time I hear a 9 or 10 year old player tell me they only play "forward" or that they don't play defense because they are NOT a "defender" I am going to barf (or hurl as my 8 year old son would say it)!! When a kid says this, they are in a bad place; positioned perfectly to never learn how to play "total football." We simply can't have that here in the states...not in our youth programs anyway. Every player must learn to attack and every player must learn to defend; from wherever they are on the field. If your son or daughter is below U-13 and already seeing that they are only being played in one position in training and the matches, check into this because it is not good. There are some clubs that are fixed on winning games and others focused on developing players. The ones that are focused on developing players will rotate the players at least in training and often in games as well. Your child should learn how to attack as well as defend. Every position has an attacking dimension to it and every position has a defending role. Moreover, what happens when players switch positions in the game and don't know how to play their new roles? Coaches should be teaching shape and players should be learning how to play every role within that shape. Coaches should get away from fixed positions at the younger ages and show the children passing triangles and diamond shapes for spreading out the defense and sharing the ball? What say you? « comments » |
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