Thunder Academy Thoughts-Part 1 The Key Development Time
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 01:36PM The most important time for a player’s skill development is between the ages of 5-12 years old. Until recently that age group has been largely ignored. There have been pockets here and there that have taken an interest in these age groups but it has not been a state wide, or nation wide, focus and because of this we don’t have as big of a talent base to draw on as we could.
Have we been able to get by without this set up and can we continue to get by? That depends on your definition of getting by. I believe Minnesota should be able to put out, at the minimum, two nationally competitive teams in each age group.
The twin cities population of 3,054,637 places it 16th in the nation for Metro Area Population.1 However, if we are just going to break down the number of players registered with each State Association, Minnesota ranks 3rd in Region II behind only Illinois and Michigan.
1) Michigan 84,358 (2006)2
2) Illinois 85,000 3
3) MN 79,000 4
4) Indiana 57,600 5
5) Ohio South 56,000 6
6) Wisconsin 56,000 7
7) Ohio North 55,000 6
8) Kentucky 38,970 (2006) 8
9) Nebraska 25,000 9
But having fewer players playing the game than other parts of the region/nation, or having a small population does not mean you cannot be a world power if you get the right training. The Netherlands has a population of 16,390,000 and Portugal has a population of 10,623,000. That makes them the 61st and 76th ranked countries in terms of population in the world.10 Despite their lack of numbers they still produce some of the top quality players in the world year after year.
If we can focus our efforts at the younger age levels by putting the kids in an environment that is both fun and challenging, we will be able to produce many more top level players in our state.
It all starts with the youth. 'My personal take is that if we can get ages nought to 12 right then the rest will pretty much take care of itself,' Simon Clifford says. 'Make our own raw material better in terms of instinctive skill and attitude, things that can be coached and trained, and let the rest of the world try to keep up.' 11
This comes from the man who is changing the way the English think about soccer. "His aim, he says, was to 'make football more beautiful, more entertaining', by encouraging young players to imitate the flamboyant Brazilian style. Then it became about success, about proving he could push forward boundaries of excellence. Clifford appears to be delivering. His system has already produced four England and five Scotland internationals at junior levels.
If he can do that with no scouting or selection, he asks, imagine what he can do if he gets the most talented kids."12 Simon's ideas are so influential in England that he was asked by 1998 English World Cup Coach Glenn Hoddle how to make the National Team more Brazilian.
Normally this means that the US can't be far behind right? Maybe 10-15 years and we'll have someone come over here and tell us that we need to start younger. Then Minnesota will wait to see if it works somewhere else first and then begin to try it. Well enough of that. Let’s be the first ones in on this.
Minnesota 's style is the well rounded person. Yeah, you betcha, Minnesota loves the well rounded person. The person who does well in school, plays three sports, and still has time to go to the lake during the summer. That is great for the majority of people, but it is not for the players who want to play at the highest level. People who show a love for anything should be encouraged to do it as much as they like. If a child loves soccer by the age of 3 then we need to give him the chance to play it as often as he can. It is the same for a child who loves to read. You do not tell a child to stop reading because they are becoming too one dimensional. That would be silly. If you find something your child loves let them pursue it.
"It is like a musician, it doesn't matter whether he is English or French, the one who works more becomes better."13
I realize that the thought of playing only one sport may cause some culture shock, but I am not suggesting that they can only play one sport. Especially at young ages playing multiple sports is great for developing coordination, dexterity, and passion. These are all crucial things that can be developed by playing more than one sport. However, if you want to be great at something you cannot play it for three months, put it away for 9 months, play again for 3 months and then put it back on the shelf again.
Would a young pianist who shows promise and above average interest be allowed to only play piano 3 months of the year because her parents are afraid that she may become one dimensional? Not likely. She can still learn the violin, trumpet and cello if she likes while still being allowed to sit down at the piano and enjoy playing it year round. If your child truly wants to be great at soccer let her play as much as she can year round.
The best players in the world constantly talk about how they grew up with a ball. "I worshiped the dribble. As a child I did nothing but dribble. In the living room, between the furniture and the chairs, in the garden around my dog. I learned all about life with the ball at my feet." Ronaldinho14
The best thing that this merger will do for us is that we will be able to identify the kids who love to play soccer at an early age and offer them as many opportunities to play as we can. Right now if a young parent who has no prior experience in soccer goes to sign their child up to play they will go to the local community center or community club between the ages of 5-8. They are then placed on a team with a parent coach, in most cases, and they will be told to play. This format does not foster a love for the sport. Kids need to be taught how to play and be put in a situation where the coach can make adjustments so every player will have an enjoyable experience. The Thunder Academy can create that environment.
The Thunder Academy will put top coaches at the younger age groups to not only teach the youngest age groups proper technique, but to grow player's desire to become better. "A good coach needs to have vast knowledge of the subject matter and theoretical teaching knowledge as well as the third and perhaps most crucial intangible of effective teaching; "enthusiasm". Just as students can usually feel the teaching attitude around them , they are also very aware of the teacher or coaches attitude toward the subject matter. An unprepared or bored teacher conveys this attitude to the students and effects their performance. However, the teacher who is prepared and highly motivated gets the most out of his students as it is fun and exciting to be taught or coached by this individual."15 Top level coaches are able to work with young players in creative ways that stress technique and creativity at the same time. They show the kids how to make the ball work for them.
With the Bangu Academy we started targeting players who were 10-12 years old. One thing we've found is that, even at the age of 10, players can come into the academy and display a lot of athleticism but when we see them play with and against other athletic and high level players, their athleticism is not enough. They already have so many bad habits that they cannot do anything but kick the ball and run after it in the situations that require more from them. If we can target the younger players aged 5-9 years old we can create the proper habits and do it in a fun environment where the kids will leave a session saying "Look what I can do!" and then they'll go and work on it on their own. "The main thing we look for in young players is how skillful they are with the ball. How fast can he do things with the ball. It is not so important how tall the player is or how strong the player is at 11 or 12 years old. So we concentrate all the time on the basic interaction with the player and the ball." Sporting Lisbon.16
In Minnesota there are tons of players playing between the ages of six and nine years old but the issue is that they are not receiving good coaching. "If I want to be very blunt I would say the best coach at the club should be involved with the youth teams. That is the future of the club. "You need to start going with the best coaches with the boys from seven. That is when they learn the fastest."13 Totenham Hotspurs Director of of Football David Comolli preaches.
The major benefit with the Thunder Academy is that we will be targeting this age group with their professional coaches and begin to turn Minnesota into a place where top level players are produced. If things turn out right, we will have everyone working together to raise the level of all the players who love to play soccer.
1 http://www.proximityone.com/msa03us.htm US Metro Areas 2000
2http://usyouthsoccer.org/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=1150 US Youth Soccer
3http://usyouthsoccer.org/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=1145 US Youth Soccer
4 http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/about/glance.cfm
5 http://www.indianayouthsoccer.org/info.html Indiana Youth Soccer Association
6 http://www.osysa.com/NewLeague40.pdf
7 http://www.wiyouthsoccer.net/Forms/NewClubGuidelines.pdf Wisconsin Youth Soccer
8 http://www.nebraskasoccer.org/NewSite/Policies/Whatis.asp
9 http://usyouthsoccer.org/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=1147
10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population
11 http://www.gosportslife.com/youth-soccer/five-years-to-save-english-football.html
12http://www.icfds.com/content2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90&Itemid=125 Simon Clifford
13 http://www.gosportslife.com/youth-soccer/odds-against-england.html
14 http://www.gosportslife.com/listen-to-me-quotes/
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