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Creativity, Visual
Creativity, Visual Friday
26Sep
Why there's overcoaching
Friday, September 26, 2008 at 01:37PM Let's say, for example, you told one of them to go bunt the ball like Chase Utley. Well, they have seen him bunt the ball so they have an idea of how he does it and what to do. Can we as soccer coaches tell our soccer players to place the ball like Thierry Henry or Wayne Rooney? Since our players have no visuals of the game they will play, then extra time is needed in practice to show them what you are trying to accomplish and how you should accomplish it. Thus it creates extra coaching time. It would be nice for me to show up in practice and tell my boys today we are going to cross the ball the way Gael Clichy did this past Sunday as he hooked up with Henry for the goal. However, I can't do this, so I need to run it at practice while they watch so they can have a visual.
Friday
26Sep
Gyau a killer blend of speed and flair
Friday, September 26, 2008 at 01:33PM "In America, they want you to play simple. But in Brazil, I got the chance to take on people one-on-one. That's helped me with my explosiveness today." In the past Phillip Gyau says coaches, including one in the U.S. system, tried bottling up his speedy son, telling him to give up the ball more and not dribble as much. For Joseph, it was like playing in slow motion. "I told Joseph, 'If you play like that, you will never have success,'" the father says. "Those players are a dime a dozen. You have to be a difference-maker. Go out there and just run at the defenders."
Tuesday
02Sep
Santa Ana, other cities clamp down on soccer leagues selling access to public playing fields
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 01:05PM The Little Saigon Soccer Assn. had everything it needed to get started: four teams, soccer equipment and a zeal for competition. But when the budding league tried to find a field to play on, the grassy lawns, soccer fields and baseball outfields were always taken. In the crowded core of Orange County, the demand was simply too high. So when an established league offered to give Little Saigon members field time for $150 a game, they jumped at the chance. And though they cringed at paying another league to use a public field, organizer Tuan Pham was told it was the only way they would be able to play soccer.
Wednesday
27Aug
U.S. under-15 girls dominate against U-17 powers
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 12:02PM THE U.S. UNDER-15 GIRLS NATIONAL team won by scores of 5-0, 6-0 and 4-2 against U-17 club teams at the 2008 Women's Nike Friendlies at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, Calif. Olivia Schultz of Minnesota's Bangu Tsunami scored in all three games.Christina Murillo of the Camarillo (Mich.) Eagles scored twice in the last games.
Wednesday
27Aug
Wednesday
27Aug
Monday
25Aug
Monday
25Aug
Sam Wallace: A simple lesson for English football, courtesy of Team GB
Monday, August 25, 2008 at 02:45PM Before England embarrassed themselves against the Czech Republic on Wednesday night we watched, rapt, as Britain's cyclists and rowers made the rest of the world look as mediocre as our own football team. And with these personal victories came stories about the people in charge of these sports. Of David Brailsford, the performance director of British cycling, dropping the women endurance cyclists he did not consider good enough. Or Jürgen Gröbler, the chief coach of British men's rowing, ruthlessly rearranging the personnel in his key boats.
Friday
22Aug
Getting 'match fit' the fun way
Friday, August 22, 2008 at 12:42PM But can players get fit enough for soccer by simply playing soccer? Unequivocally yes! If, the coach and players put sufficient demands into a training session much can be accomplished. Then both fitness and technique, and possibly tactics too, can be trained. This is called economical training.
Thursday
31Jul
The Richest Man In The World
Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 01:39AM Last night, my wife and I attended a wake. Our good friend, Mike, lost his father after a 4 year battle with cancer. When we pulled up to the funeral home, there were cars lined up for almost a mile. Over the past few days, probably close to a thousand people had come to pay their respects to Mike's dad.
Tuesday
29Jul
Where are the Special Players?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 01:42PM As I continue to watch all the various levels of our American soccer landscape, one disturbing trend is becoming more and more evident to me, and that’s the endangered special player. Without question, this country is developing and producing more good, quality players than ever before. Today’s players are more advanced at a much younger age than a decade ago, the number of quality coaches and youth clubs is up dramatically, there are so many events and tournaments where “the best can compete against the best”, players have unlimited access to top International and professional games on television like never before, we have more identification camps and youth national team programs than are truly necessary and we have an established and solidly-financed professional domestic league.
Wednesday
16Jul
Trying to Impress?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:10AM With so many great players out there, it seems impossible for coaches to be able to differentiate between those they want to recruit, and those they don’t – especially after only watching players for one or two games. But the truth is, coaches are looking for distinct aspects in a player that helps them determine potential and promise.
Wednesday
16Jul
Life at Chelsea's youth academy
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:07AM Dallas area youth star Alex Frankenfeld recently spent six weeks training at the Chelsea youth academy in London. The rising 8th grader at St. Mark's School traveled to London with his father, Bob, after impressing at a Chelsea training camp last summer.
Sunday
06Jul
'Unbelievable'
Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 11:03AM Doctors doubted Jennifer Manning would walk again after suffering a massive stroke. Barely three weeks later, the Stillwater soccer coach already has started proving them wrong.
Saturday
05Jul
Development Academy Finals Week to Be Broadcast Live on ESPN Networks
Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 09:47PM U.S. Soccer’s inaugural Development Academy season will finish on a high note during Finals Week with all eight placement matches being broadcast on ESPN Networks in an unprecedented 20 hours of coverage over two days. All eight Conference winners from each of the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will advance to the Finals Week, which will be held from July 12-19 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Friday
04Jul
Instilling Tick-tick
Friday, July 4, 2008 at 03:46PM "They lack rhythm," complained Lopes in his daily improving English. "These boys are big and tough and smart, but they do not have the grace, the touch, the tick-tick-tick of good soccer. But it will come. We have been doing this for 50 years in Brazil , and now we are giving it to you." He gestured, as if handing over an imaginary present, and a grin split his wide, expressive face.
Wednesday
02Jul
Young Athletes - Your Passion or Job?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 01:22PM "We made it to the State Quarterfinals for two consecutive years. This had never been done before in school history" I would say that's the crowning achievement of my career, . I've trained Olympic athletes. Highly paid professionals from various sports. National Team competitors from all over North America and Europe. But I have never been more honored or filled with pride than I was when I received a letter from the head football coach of a high school program I volunteer for.
Wednesday
02Jul
Can Soccer Unite A Nation?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 01:11PM Undeniably, however, no sporting triumph in this country's history has elicited as much passion - there can be no comparison, for instance, with the only other Euro victory for Spain, back in 1964, during the Franco dictatorship. There was more than sporting pride in the throngs that swamped Spain's streets and squares on Sunday night.
Thursday
19Jun
Tournaments & Hotels Working Together for Success
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 09:00PM Tournaments and hotels -- the proverbial love-hate relationship. Directors of tournaments with many out-of-town teams know they cannot live without the hotels, but many wonder at times exactly whose side the hotels are on. If your tournament is not using a sports housing service to handle the hotel responsibilities, and you are a Tournament Director that has a great relationship with every hotel you use in your city, consider yourself lucky.