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ZenFooty Blog
Calling All Parents - Get Your Kid Practicing
Published on Sat 10/03/2009 | 6 total comments
I'm tellin' ya right now folks, whatever we are doing its not enough!! I have surveyed at least 20 kids this past week at training and asked them if they are practicing on their own in between training sessions. The answer is a tentative...."Yes, a little." When I ask them if they are really telling me the truth, they say...."Not Really." If you are looking to develop real skill, players need to practice relentlessly; 10,000 hours through their youth development years. And we MUST understand that practice is DIFFERENT than training. Training is where you learn how to play the game, practice is done away from the training pitch and it is where you PERFECT YOUR GAME. There are little cues that tell me whether players are practicing on their own or with a friend in between training sessions. The cues include: Is their ball showing more wear, are their shoes showing more wear, are they excited about showing me a new move they made up, do they know the skills from the last few lessons perfectly, do they have soccer stories to tell me from practicing with others, and so on. We can NOT expect the miracle to happen on the training pitch....it needs to happen on the practice pitch when nobody else is looking. I can remember training alone for 4 and 5 hours at a time in the rain, driving a wet soccer ball against the wall from 10 yards away trying to spell my name on the wall with the wet circular impressions the ball would make. The lonely practice pitch is where champions are built!! What say you?
Tags: Practice, Training, Champions
Reader Responses
 | Chuck Goranson says:
Mon 10/05/2009 9:37:22 AM
| | I agree 100% and I wish I could find the motivational factor
that could help make it happen. I coach a U12 girls team
that plays at a relatively high level and we have been
fortunate to do pretty well. Our ball skill is average, the
time the kids, on the whole, put in "on the side" is minimal
based on my communications with them but on the pitch the
girls play with a lot of passion which keeps them in games
or allows them to win the majority of them.
My team specifically is very busy with a multitude of
activities. At times, i wonder how they can even make my
training sessions most of the time. My question is, when is
it time for kids to dedicate themselves to something? I
agree that kids should be well rounded athletes. But for
me, I would rather be great at something than decent at a
lot of things. I do not believe my teams personal training
habits will change until they answer this question.
Honestly, I think each kid on my team knows the answer for
themselves personally...but the parents on a whole have
their own vision of what is best for their child. Who am I
to say I know best?
When I was a kid...I was a sports nut. I would play any
sport available, every available minute of the day. I was
pretty good at everything...but did not become great at
anything. Knowing what I know now...I wish I would have had
a better vision for my future.
In the end, I am not sure that kids don't practice just
because of poor habits (surely a part of the problem
though). I think there is a lot of pressure on good young
athletes to spread themselves too thin and be good at
everything. Parents want their kids to have every
opportunity available. But is may be a case of too many
opportunities early on that eliminate the best opportunities
in the future. Love to hear your thoughts. | |
|  | ZenMaster says:
Mon 10/05/2009 4:43:55 PM
| | Hey Chuck!! I get your thinking and I know that its hard
not to give chances to kids to try everything. BUT somewhere
around age 11 or 12 a call has to be made. Does the kid
have a love for something over something else? Do they have
the passion? If so, its time to put the focus on. Waiting
any longer and your child is at a competitive disadvantage.
Especially in soccer. There are too many players, who are
extremely talented, working so very hard that the
part-timers won't have a chance. Players have to feed their
gift. We need to find some level of "Crazy Committed" in
how we support our players as parents. Its got to feel
crazy!! Chuck, I would say you get it!! | |
| | ZenMaster says:
Tue 10/06/2009 8:45:22 PM
| | He Yall!! Are we out practicing and this is what we are not
blogging? What sal all of you about training? | |
|  | Linda says:
Thu 10/15/2009 12:57:37 AM
| | I like your drive Zenmaster....but exactly what age were
these 20 kids you surveyed ?...maybe not all the kids who
play or join your club are in it for the same reasons you
are.....I agree that we do need to get the kids out doing
something productive rather than playing video games or
watching t.v or internet....i'm just not sure how club
soccer works....do you join club when your serious about
making a career out of it?...i don't mean to sound
dumb.....i just didn't grow up know too much about club...we
had house league, traveling team and select teams.....But
that was WAY BACK IN THE DAY...its even confusing to me
now...cuz its all different levels. | |
| | Chuck Goranson says:
Thu 10/15/2009 7:57:42 AM
| | When I started my team 2 years ago, I was dealing with 8 and
9 year old girls. Their reasons for participating were very
different then versus now. It was a social group back then
with relatively low expectations. Now, at the U12 age, we
still have some girls in it for those same reasons I
believe. but the majority have begun to take the game
seriously and want to improve. For me, competitive
soccer/sports should be just that. If you are not devoted
and willing to work hard, you may not be hurting yourself
due to your own personal goals and reasons for
participating, but you could be holding back your fellow
team mates who are. In my opinion, once you get a little
older, it is time for each child (with the help of their
parents) to decide where their heart really lies. There are
plenty of recreational leagues to accomodate the social
element of the sport. And if they are not really practicing
at home...maybe their heart isn't really in it...regardless
of what we want to think as parents. To be honest, life is
different these days and I can remember throwing a ball
against my front porch steps for hours and hours. maybe it
is because I loved baseball...maybe it was because I had
nothing better to do? I like to believe it was a burning
passion inside of me. | |
|  | ZenMaster says:
Thu 10/15/2009 8:09:12 AM
| | I often think that I am over the top when it comes to a
player's for practice in between training sessions. The, I
went to pick up my son from a friends house and as I
approached the home, I heard someone practicing the piano
inside. This person was doing scale after scale, arpeggio
after arpeggio, major scales, minor scales chromatic scales,
you name it. He was really practicing like a professional.
I loved it so much I stood outside for 5 minutes before I
rang the doorbell just to listen to the boy practice. As it
turns out, it is one of my private training students. I
wish they would all practice their soccer the way he
practices the piano!! Then they would be maestro of the
soccer field!! | |
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