YTS Parents,
I was able to take in several YTS games this Sunday at WRAL and enjoyed watching the kids play and compete. It really is a great environment out at WRAL when the kids are playing, the coaches are coaching and the parents are enjoying watching their child play. I have fielded several questions over the last few days about the coming months and the spring so I am going to try and answer them. As always if I fail to answer a question you have don't hesitate to contact me.
1. Indoor training at Net Sports:
The 9's will train on Wed (technical work only) , the 10's (technical work only) will train on Thursday and Friday is a double session. The first hour on Friday is for the 9's and the second hour is for the 10's. This is something new that we did not do last year. Friday's will be FUTSAL Friday's. Following a short warm-up the kids will play FUTSAL for the remainder of the session. This will allow them to compete in a small-sided competitive environment.
There is no cost for this program and we hope that all of the players in our program can attend. Players cannot wear cleats at the indoor sessions as we will playing on the all sports court. The indoor sessions are a nice change of environment for the players in particular when the weather gets colder.
I realize the early start maybe difficult for families. However this is the time that is available for us at Net Sports.
2. Training Calender
Again the dates for Net Sports are on a previous blog post. November 14th is the last week of regular training outdoors. We start our winter training (indoor training) the week of Dec 5th. There will be a few more changes to our training locations as the last week we can use Cedar Fork is Oct 24th. More to come on this!!! As soon as things are finalized I will communicate with each of you.
3. Spring Teams
There is a possibility teams will change for the spring season. As a staff we will meet at the conclusion of the fall season and determine what if any changes we need to make. Again we are always looking to make things better for the players. Sometimes parents disagree with the changes we make but our ultimate goal is to help the players improve. We will of course let players know if changes are made. Overall the games thus far this fall have presented our teams with competitive challenges. This is important regardless of the final score. Again I want the kids to always display a winning mentality.
4. Jersey Night
This is a night we would like to have the kids wear their favorite soccer jersey. They can of course wear their CASL jerseys. It helps create a fun environment for the players.
Friday October 21st - U9 's
Tuesday October 25th - U10's
5. Registration Fee for the Spring of 2012
An early reminder each returning player for the spring of 2012 must re register for the spring season. This fee is $170.00. You will not need to register for the spring season until mid December. Of course my hope is that all players will want to return. Again this is just a friendly reminder so you are prepared when the email gets sent out.
6. Winter Indoor Leagues
There are several options available to players in our area. I sent a flyer via our team managers last week about indoor options at Net Sports. Playing on an indoor team is entirely up to each individual family. My advice is to follow your son/daughters desire to play on a team. Sometimes a little break can be a good thing. Again this is your choice. We will not form YTS teams or have our coaches coaching these teams indoor teams.
7. Player Evaluations
Each player will receive an evaluation. I have not set the date for this yet but once I do coaches will be informed and evaluations will be handed out to each player. If you have questions about your son/daughters evaluation then you will need to contact your son/daughter's coach.
Thanks for reading. Hopefully you didn't fall asleep.
Paul
Paulf@caslemail.com
CASL Youth Training System (YTS)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Happy Friday
YTS Parents,
Again my apologies. My posts same to get later each week. I will get an email out sometime next week about some training updates. In the meantime information about our winter training is below. All of the sessions below will take place at Netsports. The link with info about Net Sports is below:
http://www.netsportsnc.com/index.php4
The first session of the week we will be technical work with the players with very little playing- Wed for U9's and Thurs for U10's. The Friday session each week will be all playing - Both U9's and U10's. Our current plan is to set up futsal courts for the kids to show up and play for the duration of the session. We feel this balance will be great for the players. One session where the focus is solely on technique and the other session when the kids can just play and compete. I will send more information out nearer the start date about other logistical information. I am sending this out now so you can plan accordingly.
We will start this program the week of December 5th. (5 week program 2 weeks in Dec and 3 weeks in Jan)
December 7th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
December 8th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
December 9th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
December 14th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
December 15th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
December 16th - U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
Week of Dec19th- OFF - No Training
Week of Dec 26th - OFF- No Training
Week of Jan 2nd- OFF - No Training
Start back up Week of Jan 9th
January 11th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 12th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 13th - U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
January 18th- U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 19th- U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 20th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
January 25th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 26th- U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 27th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
Should you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Paul
Paulf@caslemail.com
Again my apologies. My posts same to get later each week. I will get an email out sometime next week about some training updates. In the meantime information about our winter training is below. All of the sessions below will take place at Netsports. The link with info about Net Sports is below:
http://www.netsportsnc.com/index.php4
The first session of the week we will be technical work with the players with very little playing- Wed for U9's and Thurs for U10's. The Friday session each week will be all playing - Both U9's and U10's. Our current plan is to set up futsal courts for the kids to show up and play for the duration of the session. We feel this balance will be great for the players. One session where the focus is solely on technique and the other session when the kids can just play and compete. I will send more information out nearer the start date about other logistical information. I am sending this out now so you can plan accordingly.
We will start this program the week of December 5th. (5 week program 2 weeks in Dec and 3 weeks in Jan)
December 7th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
December 8th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
December 9th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
December 14th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
December 15th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
December 16th - U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
Week of Dec19th- OFF - No Training
Week of Dec 26th - OFF- No Training
Week of Jan 2nd- OFF - No Training
Start back up Week of Jan 9th
January 11th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 12th - U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 13th - U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
January 18th- U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 19th- U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 20th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
January 25th - U9's - 4.15-5.30pm
January 26th- U10's 4.15-5.30pm
January 27th- U9's 4.15-5.30pm U10's 5.15pm-6.30pm
Should you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Paul
Paulf@caslemail.com
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Happy Thursday!
YTS Parents,
I apologize for getting this post out a little late this week. Below is an interesting article about nutrition. We some times take for granted that nutrition/diet etc is not so important for our younger players. Clearly that is not the case. The sooner we teach our young soccer players good nutritional habits the better.
I hope you enjoy reading the article and good luck this weekend with our games.
Four Common Myths About Nutrition Among Soccer Players
Dr. Donald T. Kirkendall
By Donald T. Kirkendall, works with U.S. Soccer's National Teams
There are more myths that coaches, players and parents may be following, but below four of the more common myths are dispelled. By following the nutritional guidelines below, players, coaches and teams can put themselves in an advantageous position before the match starts.
Myth 1: Game performance is not affected by what you eat.
Virtually every study on athletic performance for both team and individual sports shows that a diet rich in carbohydrates improves running performance. However, nutritional research from the 1970s to present day still show that soccer players choose a diet that is approximately 40 percent carbohydrates, 40 percent fat and 20 percent protein.
What is discouraging is that in the very early 70s, the Swedes conducted a study that showed soccer players with low muscle fuel (glycogen) walk about 50 percent of the game. Even 30 years later, a study showed that more than half of a national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup thought food had nothing to do with their performance. The bottom line is that players eat what is put in front of them.
The more carbohydrates an athlete eats, the more endurance he or she will have. This means that when the end of the game approaches, the player will be able to run faster and longer if he or she consumed the proper amount of carbohydrates.
Myth 2: What you eat after the game does not matter.
At games and tournaments around the country, players will sometimes eat the worst post game snacks possible including soda, sweet drinks in soft packaging, potato chips, candy bars and fries. Everyone who has ever been to a soccer field on a weekend has seen this.
Muscles are most ready to receive a fresh supply of fuel during the first hour or two directly following exercise. The smart coaches and parents supply food that will start refilling muscles with carbohydrates at just that time.
A proper supply of carbohydrates is needed. It can come from a carbohydrate replenishment drink or other foods like bagels with jelly, pretzels, raisins or other dried fruit. This is even more critical between tournament games when the time between games is even shorter.
Myth 3: A diet is good as long as an athlete gets enough protein.
While most every survey of the athletic diet shows that players get all the protein they need from food, there is a problem. The vast majority of protein is consumed in conjunction with fat.
Marbled meat, ground beef, and fried chicken all are examples of protein that is combined with lots of fat. Red meat should be trimmed of fat, and ground beef should be very lean. Chicken should have the skin removed before cooking.
One place protein isn’t commonly found is the immediate post-exercise meal. A little protein helps in storing new fuel in the muscles faster than when there is no protein. Players can try to figure out a protein source after the game or drink a carbohydrate replenishment drink that contains protein.
Myth 4: Your body is the best indicator of when to drink; Mother Nature knows best.
For most mammals, it is OK not to drink until thirsty. However, the thirst mechanism of humans operates differently than the average mammal. In fact, the human thirst mechanism doesn’t even kick in until a person has lost about two percent of body weight from sweating. At this level, a decrease in performance begins to become evident.
Players should drink before starting the game, every 15-20 minutes during play if possible, and at halftime. Make sure the team has drink bottles along both sidelines and in the goals so players have easy access to fluids during stoppages of play. Don’t forget that playing in the cold is also dehydrating, so drinking fluids is just as important in cold weather.
Overall, it is important for the well-rounded player to keep an eye on what they eat and drink in order to get results on the field.
As always if your have questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me at paulf@caslemail.com
I apologize for getting this post out a little late this week. Below is an interesting article about nutrition. We some times take for granted that nutrition/diet etc is not so important for our younger players. Clearly that is not the case. The sooner we teach our young soccer players good nutritional habits the better.
I hope you enjoy reading the article and good luck this weekend with our games.
Four Common Myths About Nutrition Among Soccer Players
Dr. Donald T. Kirkendall
By Donald T. Kirkendall, works with U.S. Soccer's National Teams
There are more myths that coaches, players and parents may be following, but below four of the more common myths are dispelled. By following the nutritional guidelines below, players, coaches and teams can put themselves in an advantageous position before the match starts.
Myth 1: Game performance is not affected by what you eat.
Virtually every study on athletic performance for both team and individual sports shows that a diet rich in carbohydrates improves running performance. However, nutritional research from the 1970s to present day still show that soccer players choose a diet that is approximately 40 percent carbohydrates, 40 percent fat and 20 percent protein.
What is discouraging is that in the very early 70s, the Swedes conducted a study that showed soccer players with low muscle fuel (glycogen) walk about 50 percent of the game. Even 30 years later, a study showed that more than half of a national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup thought food had nothing to do with their performance. The bottom line is that players eat what is put in front of them.
The more carbohydrates an athlete eats, the more endurance he or she will have. This means that when the end of the game approaches, the player will be able to run faster and longer if he or she consumed the proper amount of carbohydrates.
Myth 2: What you eat after the game does not matter.
At games and tournaments around the country, players will sometimes eat the worst post game snacks possible including soda, sweet drinks in soft packaging, potato chips, candy bars and fries. Everyone who has ever been to a soccer field on a weekend has seen this.
Muscles are most ready to receive a fresh supply of fuel during the first hour or two directly following exercise. The smart coaches and parents supply food that will start refilling muscles with carbohydrates at just that time.
A proper supply of carbohydrates is needed. It can come from a carbohydrate replenishment drink or other foods like bagels with jelly, pretzels, raisins or other dried fruit. This is even more critical between tournament games when the time between games is even shorter.
Myth 3: A diet is good as long as an athlete gets enough protein.
While most every survey of the athletic diet shows that players get all the protein they need from food, there is a problem. The vast majority of protein is consumed in conjunction with fat.
Marbled meat, ground beef, and fried chicken all are examples of protein that is combined with lots of fat. Red meat should be trimmed of fat, and ground beef should be very lean. Chicken should have the skin removed before cooking.
One place protein isn’t commonly found is the immediate post-exercise meal. A little protein helps in storing new fuel in the muscles faster than when there is no protein. Players can try to figure out a protein source after the game or drink a carbohydrate replenishment drink that contains protein.
Myth 4: Your body is the best indicator of when to drink; Mother Nature knows best.
For most mammals, it is OK not to drink until thirsty. However, the thirst mechanism of humans operates differently than the average mammal. In fact, the human thirst mechanism doesn’t even kick in until a person has lost about two percent of body weight from sweating. At this level, a decrease in performance begins to become evident.
Players should drink before starting the game, every 15-20 minutes during play if possible, and at halftime. Make sure the team has drink bottles along both sidelines and in the goals so players have easy access to fluids during stoppages of play. Don’t forget that playing in the cold is also dehydrating, so drinking fluids is just as important in cold weather.
Overall, it is important for the well-rounded player to keep an eye on what they eat and drink in order to get results on the field.
As always if your have questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me at paulf@caslemail.com
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Happy Tuesday
YTS Parents,
I hope you all had a good weekend. Below is a link to a video that is also under the Parents Library on the Blog homepage. Please take a few minutes to watch the video. As always our goal via our posts is to make each of you think about the role you play as a parent of a child playing sports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFsF0Z9EKDg
On a different note young players need to spend as much time with the ball as they can. Below is a video attached on Cristiano Ronaldo in a little juggle off against a former youth soccer player at Arsenal FC. Juggling can help develop good technique and overall comfort level with the ball. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_pO8TznfeY&feature=related
We look forward to a good week of training.
As always any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.
Paul
paulf@caslemail.com
I hope you all had a good weekend. Below is a link to a video that is also under the Parents Library on the Blog homepage. Please take a few minutes to watch the video. As always our goal via our posts is to make each of you think about the role you play as a parent of a child playing sports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFsF0Z9EKDg
On a different note young players need to spend as much time with the ball as they can. Below is a video attached on Cristiano Ronaldo in a little juggle off against a former youth soccer player at Arsenal FC. Juggling can help develop good technique and overall comfort level with the ball. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_pO8TznfeY&feature=related
We look forward to a good week of training.
As always any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.
Paul
paulf@caslemail.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Happy Tuesday
YTS Parents,
I was able to watch some YTS games on Sunday and enjoyed very much watching our teams compete against other NCCL teams. The conditions were perfect. For the most part the games provided our players and teams with challenges and tests that will assist in the overall development of the our YTS players. I know the kids loving playing on Sunday's!
Some reminders/thoughts from my end:
1. Please make sure your child brings both uniforms to the games. It is always good to have both colors in case there is a conflict.
2. If you child cannot attend a game please let your team coach know. This is very important. Our players can play on different teams so we have a good amount of flexibility if a team is short on a player or players.
3. For the most part we don't have full-time GK's on our teams. As a result we ask that the kids take turns playing in goals. As parents we ask that you support this. It helps the kids learn a great deal about the position and they will develop a respect for the position. This is very important. I have had a couple of coaches tell me that parents have told their child their son/daughter is not allowed to play in goal. Unless there is a medical condition we'd like to see all of the kids take a turn. The great thing is the score is not important in the grand scheme of things- unless you make it important.
4. While we don't focus on winning soccer games we still want the players in our program to compete and develop a winning mentality both on and off the field. For some players this comes naturally. We encourage the players to compete during all of our training sessions and games. Establishing this mentality is important long term for the players. They must be willing to compete. Learn how to compete first then they can learn how to win. Please understand the order in which this process must occur. There will be plenty of time to worry about winning and of course losing as the players get older.
5. We have a great staff in place in my mind. With that said I still heard too much coaching going on from the sideline over the weekend. Comments like, shoot, pass, dribble, etc are not necessary. Let the players make there own decisions. Not matter how frustrating it can be on the sidlines let them make their own decisions. Just like when they are at school.
6. We do have Gk training once a week for our YTS kids. Matt Brown our newly hired GK coach works with the U10's on Tuesday nights and the U9's on Friday nights. These sessions are to help the players that attend learn some very basic skills about the position. We try to rotate which players attend these sessions unless a player is set on being a GK.
7. I am finalizing our winter training program and hope to release this shortly. We will train in Dec and Jan. I appreciate your patience as we work behind the scenes to set things up.
Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime.
Thanks for your continued support and enjoy watching your son/daughter play the beautiful game!!
I was able to watch some YTS games on Sunday and enjoyed very much watching our teams compete against other NCCL teams. The conditions were perfect. For the most part the games provided our players and teams with challenges and tests that will assist in the overall development of the our YTS players. I know the kids loving playing on Sunday's!
Some reminders/thoughts from my end:
1. Please make sure your child brings both uniforms to the games. It is always good to have both colors in case there is a conflict.
2. If you child cannot attend a game please let your team coach know. This is very important. Our players can play on different teams so we have a good amount of flexibility if a team is short on a player or players.
3. For the most part we don't have full-time GK's on our teams. As a result we ask that the kids take turns playing in goals. As parents we ask that you support this. It helps the kids learn a great deal about the position and they will develop a respect for the position. This is very important. I have had a couple of coaches tell me that parents have told their child their son/daughter is not allowed to play in goal. Unless there is a medical condition we'd like to see all of the kids take a turn. The great thing is the score is not important in the grand scheme of things- unless you make it important.
4. While we don't focus on winning soccer games we still want the players in our program to compete and develop a winning mentality both on and off the field. For some players this comes naturally. We encourage the players to compete during all of our training sessions and games. Establishing this mentality is important long term for the players. They must be willing to compete. Learn how to compete first then they can learn how to win. Please understand the order in which this process must occur. There will be plenty of time to worry about winning and of course losing as the players get older.
5. We have a great staff in place in my mind. With that said I still heard too much coaching going on from the sideline over the weekend. Comments like, shoot, pass, dribble, etc are not necessary. Let the players make there own decisions. Not matter how frustrating it can be on the sidlines let them make their own decisions. Just like when they are at school.
6. We do have Gk training once a week for our YTS kids. Matt Brown our newly hired GK coach works with the U10's on Tuesday nights and the U9's on Friday nights. These sessions are to help the players that attend learn some very basic skills about the position. We try to rotate which players attend these sessions unless a player is set on being a GK.
7. I am finalizing our winter training program and hope to release this shortly. We will train in Dec and Jan. I appreciate your patience as we work behind the scenes to set things up.
Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime.
Thanks for your continued support and enjoy watching your son/daughter play the beautiful game!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
An interesting article below. I might not agree with every point but it makes for an interesting read.
Monday, Oct. 4, 2010
Champion coach Albertin Montoya puts winning in perspective
By Mike Woitalla
On a sunny September Sunday, Coach Albertin Montoya watched his Gold Pride players, including the magnificent Brazilian Marta and U.S. world champion Tiffeny Milbrett, celebrate the WPS championship after a 4-0 win over Philadelphia.
The dominating final performance followed a regular season in which the Gold Pride averaged nearly two goals per game and played such entertaining and effective soccer that longtime reporter on the women’s game, Scott French, declared it the best women’s club team ever.
Thanks much to Marta, the Gold Pride played soccer worth paying to watch. So as Montoya, out of the corner of his eye, watched his players bask in the glory, I asked him why the USA isn't producing Martas. After all, this country has more girls playing and more resources dedicated to female soccer than any other nation. Shouldn't we be seeing many more highly skillful, exciting players?
“We’ll need to talk about youth soccer,” said Montoya.
Montoya is also a longtime Northern California youth coach for girls and boys. He and his wife, Erin, a former collegiate star and pro player, run the Montoya Soccer Academy and coach at Mountain View Los Altos SC, for which Albertin also serves as technical director for under-8 through under-14 boys teams.
“The biggest problem at the youth level is the emphasis on winning,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s in our genes or what, but there’s so much desire to win at the ages when player development should be the emphasis.
“The first thing I tell parents is, ‘You want to win at U-8, U-9, U-10, U-11, U-12 -- you’re at the wrong club.
“We’re here to develop players to where, hopefully, by the time they’re U-14, U-15s, they’re playing at a high level, where if we do our job, winning will be a byproduct and we’ll compete for state championships.”
At the U-14/15 level – when the college showcases begin – MVLA teams do get results and win championships. And it sent 14 players to the girls youth national team program in the last seven years.
“These players might not be winning at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 – but that’s not what it’s about,” he says. “We’ve lost some good players in the past because their parents wanted to win at U10, U11.”
The challenge is to convince parents that at the early ages the focus should be on individual technical development – not scorelines. Montoya even advocates against playing league ball at the early ages.
“I don’t want our teams at U9, U10, U11 to play in the league,” he says. “I want to just have in-house 4v4s. It’s difficult because parents say, ‘We want to play different teams. We want to travel.’ I say, 'Believe me. You’ll have plenty of time to travel and drive when they’re 14, 15, 16. You don’t want to do it now when they’re U8, U9, U10.'
“We have enough players in our backyard. Let’s play 3v3, 4v4. But the parents want to play other teams. So I said, 'OK. We’ll do it in the fall.' But in the spring we’re not going to play anywhere. We are going to continue what I believe in. They’ll get more touches on the ball.”
Like most close observers of the women’s game, Montoya sees that the USA has depended too much on athleticism – being stronger, faster and quicker:
“When you watch the U-17 and U-20 World Cups you see the technical ability of the Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans, the Brazilians – you ask, ‘Why can’t our players do that?’ We have the athletes and I think it does go down to the early youth level where there’s so much emphasis on winning.”
When Montoya coaches his pros, he wants them to play like Barcelona or Spain. To rely on skill, creativity and possession.
“Once they realized they could play that kind of game … When you have the ball – they enjoy it that much more,” he says. “As soon as we lose it, we try to win it right back. And when we get it back, then identify, ‘Do we do a quick counter or do we keep it and let them chase for a while?’”
With his youngsters, it’s all about developing the individual skills that will enable them to play a possession game later. That, he says, is a bigger challenge for American youth coaches, whose players don’t watch as much soccer as, for example, Brazilian children. So coaches need to demonstrate more and do more skill work – and encourage dribbling during games even it if means the risk of losing the ball and giving up goals.
“My U-9 teams -- I haven’t even told them to pass it yet,” says Montoya. “I want my right back to dribble six players. I want my left back to dribble five, six players. I want my center back to do the same thing. My center-mid, my forward. Every single one of them.
“So we get 9-year-olds who are doing spin turns like Marta does. They’re doing step-overs. And I want that. I encourage that at every single position. And every game, they’ll start at a different position.”
Montoya doesn’t mind if a young player loses the ball because she keeps dribbling and the other team exploits the error for a goal. In fact, he “bribes” his players to try dribbling moves during a game. Giving them a small prize if they pull off a step-over move or a “Maradona” during a game.
“When a U-9 player touches the ball once, passes, touches the ball once, passes. How much are they developing?” he asks. “Teams may look well organized when they keep their players in the same positions – the positions they’re strongest at. But what separates players at the highest level is doing magic with the ball. So dribbling needs to be encouraged early on. The organized tactical stuff should come later. I tell the parents don’t tell the kids to pass the ball.”
When strong athletes are encouraged to strike the ball into space and run after it – coaches may start winning. But these players suffer later because they’ve been encouraged to use their athleticism instead of their skill or their savvy. When they're older, says Montoya, they have a certain style – but’s a power, direct syle.
“When they’re 13, 14, 15 -- there’s even more emphasis on winning and a coach is even less likely to work on developing the player,” he says.
But Montoya sees that parents are starting to understand why the scorelines shouldn’t be considered so important.
“It’s all about educating the parents,” he says. “And fortunately there is a generation of coaches coming up now who have played the game at a high level. But we need to make sure those coaches are working at the younger age groups and that they have developing players as a priority and not winning games.”
(Mike Woitalla, the executive editor of Soccer America, coaches youth soccer for Rockridge SC in Oakland, Calif. His youth soccer articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.)
Monday, Oct. 4, 2010
Champion coach Albertin Montoya puts winning in perspective
By Mike Woitalla
On a sunny September Sunday, Coach Albertin Montoya watched his Gold Pride players, including the magnificent Brazilian Marta and U.S. world champion Tiffeny Milbrett, celebrate the WPS championship after a 4-0 win over Philadelphia.
The dominating final performance followed a regular season in which the Gold Pride averaged nearly two goals per game and played such entertaining and effective soccer that longtime reporter on the women’s game, Scott French, declared it the best women’s club team ever.
Thanks much to Marta, the Gold Pride played soccer worth paying to watch. So as Montoya, out of the corner of his eye, watched his players bask in the glory, I asked him why the USA isn't producing Martas. After all, this country has more girls playing and more resources dedicated to female soccer than any other nation. Shouldn't we be seeing many more highly skillful, exciting players?
“We’ll need to talk about youth soccer,” said Montoya.
Montoya is also a longtime Northern California youth coach for girls and boys. He and his wife, Erin, a former collegiate star and pro player, run the Montoya Soccer Academy and coach at Mountain View Los Altos SC, for which Albertin also serves as technical director for under-8 through under-14 boys teams.
“The biggest problem at the youth level is the emphasis on winning,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s in our genes or what, but there’s so much desire to win at the ages when player development should be the emphasis.
“The first thing I tell parents is, ‘You want to win at U-8, U-9, U-10, U-11, U-12 -- you’re at the wrong club.
“We’re here to develop players to where, hopefully, by the time they’re U-14, U-15s, they’re playing at a high level, where if we do our job, winning will be a byproduct and we’ll compete for state championships.”
At the U-14/15 level – when the college showcases begin – MVLA teams do get results and win championships. And it sent 14 players to the girls youth national team program in the last seven years.
“These players might not be winning at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 – but that’s not what it’s about,” he says. “We’ve lost some good players in the past because their parents wanted to win at U10, U11.”
The challenge is to convince parents that at the early ages the focus should be on individual technical development – not scorelines. Montoya even advocates against playing league ball at the early ages.
“I don’t want our teams at U9, U10, U11 to play in the league,” he says. “I want to just have in-house 4v4s. It’s difficult because parents say, ‘We want to play different teams. We want to travel.’ I say, 'Believe me. You’ll have plenty of time to travel and drive when they’re 14, 15, 16. You don’t want to do it now when they’re U8, U9, U10.'
“We have enough players in our backyard. Let’s play 3v3, 4v4. But the parents want to play other teams. So I said, 'OK. We’ll do it in the fall.' But in the spring we’re not going to play anywhere. We are going to continue what I believe in. They’ll get more touches on the ball.”
Like most close observers of the women’s game, Montoya sees that the USA has depended too much on athleticism – being stronger, faster and quicker:
“When you watch the U-17 and U-20 World Cups you see the technical ability of the Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans, the Brazilians – you ask, ‘Why can’t our players do that?’ We have the athletes and I think it does go down to the early youth level where there’s so much emphasis on winning.”
When Montoya coaches his pros, he wants them to play like Barcelona or Spain. To rely on skill, creativity and possession.
“Once they realized they could play that kind of game … When you have the ball – they enjoy it that much more,” he says. “As soon as we lose it, we try to win it right back. And when we get it back, then identify, ‘Do we do a quick counter or do we keep it and let them chase for a while?’”
With his youngsters, it’s all about developing the individual skills that will enable them to play a possession game later. That, he says, is a bigger challenge for American youth coaches, whose players don’t watch as much soccer as, for example, Brazilian children. So coaches need to demonstrate more and do more skill work – and encourage dribbling during games even it if means the risk of losing the ball and giving up goals.
“My U-9 teams -- I haven’t even told them to pass it yet,” says Montoya. “I want my right back to dribble six players. I want my left back to dribble five, six players. I want my center back to do the same thing. My center-mid, my forward. Every single one of them.
“So we get 9-year-olds who are doing spin turns like Marta does. They’re doing step-overs. And I want that. I encourage that at every single position. And every game, they’ll start at a different position.”
Montoya doesn’t mind if a young player loses the ball because she keeps dribbling and the other team exploits the error for a goal. In fact, he “bribes” his players to try dribbling moves during a game. Giving them a small prize if they pull off a step-over move or a “Maradona” during a game.
“When a U-9 player touches the ball once, passes, touches the ball once, passes. How much are they developing?” he asks. “Teams may look well organized when they keep their players in the same positions – the positions they’re strongest at. But what separates players at the highest level is doing magic with the ball. So dribbling needs to be encouraged early on. The organized tactical stuff should come later. I tell the parents don’t tell the kids to pass the ball.”
When strong athletes are encouraged to strike the ball into space and run after it – coaches may start winning. But these players suffer later because they’ve been encouraged to use their athleticism instead of their skill or their savvy. When they're older, says Montoya, they have a certain style – but’s a power, direct syle.
“When they’re 13, 14, 15 -- there’s even more emphasis on winning and a coach is even less likely to work on developing the player,” he says.
But Montoya sees that parents are starting to understand why the scorelines shouldn’t be considered so important.
“It’s all about educating the parents,” he says. “And fortunately there is a generation of coaches coming up now who have played the game at a high level. But we need to make sure those coaches are working at the younger age groups and that they have developing players as a priority and not winning games.”
(Mike Woitalla, the executive editor of Soccer America, coaches youth soccer for Rockridge SC in Oakland, Calif. His youth soccer articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Happy Wednesday
YTS Parents,
I hope you all had an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. I will be sending out an email to team managers later today that will count as the educational piece for the week. Below are some reminders as the players prepare to play their first game of the season.
1. Before the opening weekend I wanted to address a few things about the games and our philosophy on competition and games at the YTS level. The first and main point is that RESULTS DO NOT MATTER at this level. Our job at YTS is to introduce competitive soccer to these players, our job at YTS is NOT to win games, in all honesty, we do not care about the results. We do recognize that winning is part of a positive experience for the kids, but ultimately we want our kids to improve and enjoy the experience. As a parent you are very important to this. Your demeanor on the sideline has a huge impact on your kids and the game itself. We ask that you encourage and cheer for your kids in a POSITIVE way, that is all. Please do not yell at your kids in frustration or try to coach your kid from the sideline. Only the coach is to give instructions about the game, your job is to encourage. Please enjoy watching your child play and his/her team play.
Just as YTS is an early stage of soccer for these kids, it is also an early stage of refereeing for our officials. They will make mistakes. Do not complain or yell at the referee. Not only is this something we do out of respect to the referees, but it also has a huge impact on your child. If you yell at the referee he/she will think it is ok to yell at the referee. There should be no reason at all to communicate with the officials at anytime.
2. In short enjoy the game, be a good sport, set the right example for your child and represent our club in the right manor.
3. Always check weather hotlines etc before you leave for a game. Never assume a game is on, or off for that matter.
4. Make sure your son/daughter has both sets of uniforms for each game and of course they bring their soccer ball and plenty to drink.
5. Please arrive to games on time. I recommend being at the field 30 minutes before kick-off. If in doubt arrive early. Better to be early than late!
As always if you have questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Good luck this weekend!
Paul
paulf@caslemail.com
I hope you all had an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. I will be sending out an email to team managers later today that will count as the educational piece for the week. Below are some reminders as the players prepare to play their first game of the season.
1. Before the opening weekend I wanted to address a few things about the games and our philosophy on competition and games at the YTS level. The first and main point is that RESULTS DO NOT MATTER at this level. Our job at YTS is to introduce competitive soccer to these players, our job at YTS is NOT to win games, in all honesty, we do not care about the results. We do recognize that winning is part of a positive experience for the kids, but ultimately we want our kids to improve and enjoy the experience. As a parent you are very important to this. Your demeanor on the sideline has a huge impact on your kids and the game itself. We ask that you encourage and cheer for your kids in a POSITIVE way, that is all. Please do not yell at your kids in frustration or try to coach your kid from the sideline. Only the coach is to give instructions about the game, your job is to encourage. Please enjoy watching your child play and his/her team play.
Just as YTS is an early stage of soccer for these kids, it is also an early stage of refereeing for our officials. They will make mistakes. Do not complain or yell at the referee. Not only is this something we do out of respect to the referees, but it also has a huge impact on your child. If you yell at the referee he/she will think it is ok to yell at the referee. There should be no reason at all to communicate with the officials at anytime.
2. In short enjoy the game, be a good sport, set the right example for your child and represent our club in the right manor.
3. Always check weather hotlines etc before you leave for a game. Never assume a game is on, or off for that matter.
4. Make sure your son/daughter has both sets of uniforms for each game and of course they bring their soccer ball and plenty to drink.
5. Please arrive to games on time. I recommend being at the field 30 minutes before kick-off. If in doubt arrive early. Better to be early than late!
As always if you have questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Good luck this weekend!
Paul
paulf@caslemail.com
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