Coach Alan Merrick reminds all of us at the end of a season or year and the beginning of a new season, why “Change” is so difficult to initiate. Every time we change something so it improves, maybe we could have waited.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 8 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick EP09 – Procrastination (Why Change) appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Our school educators are masters at encouraging and teaching our 30+ million youth to learn.

Imagine 30 million youth mastering their soccer foot skills!

Alan Merrick & MOTI have put together interactive Lesson Plans with 3D Foot Skill Training, so youth are learning exactly how professional soccer trainers teach soccer foot skills. Skills are divided up among age groups appropriately. All the Coaching points are demonstrated, so the students are receiving the very best demonstration of the skill in 3D from the MOTI Soccer App.

Download our MOTI Soccer App (Free) and experience how MOTI demonstrates and teaches foot skills to students using 3D visualization (also available in Spanish).

This Minute with Merrick is titled “Lesson Plans for Teachers (teaching soccer skills to students)” (1:45 minutes)

Watch the previous Episode 2 the Rabbit Hole

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
 MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – EP03: Lesson Plans For Teachers appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in English as he played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 where he played for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for The LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, and Toronto Blizzards, before returning to Minnesota to play for the Minnesota Kicks once again, and Playing for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team, the Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others and has been coaching youth players, and teaching coaches for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and the Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 5 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick: EP04: Let the Coaches Coach appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Bowtie Passing Drill – MOTI Sports – Soccer Activity Passing Square Bowtie

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Bowtie Passing Sequence appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Soccer Team Terminology – Minute with Merrick – Episode 8

Visit the Team Terminology terms page for key Soccer words and definitions.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 7 here

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Team Terminology appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Training Skills & Techniques for Young Youth Players

I was visiting with other senior coaches, and we were discussing the teaching of skills and techniques in training sessions. We were all in agreement that teaching skills & techniques have been forgotten at the young youth levels. Favoring having players and parents “think” they are having more fun just playing in a scrimmage. We all agreed skills and techniques need to be taught. What fun do the players have when the ball is taken from them, and the other team then runs away with the game?  

Why teach Foot Skills and Techniques at an early age?

Learning to control the ball correctly at a very young age is critical.

As the player matures and the game becomes competitive (it’s always competitive) there is no need for players to “re-learn” the skills at ages 11, 12, or older because they are already doing them correctly.  

We already know that visual learning is the key to youth learning skills and techniques correctly. If players can “See It” performed correctly, they can “Do It” with some practice correctly at an early age!

It is very discouraging to players when they’ve played recreational soccer for years and didn’t realize they were using bad skills or techniques.

What Movement is Best to Study?

In my experience, the best Skill and Technique movement to study is when it is “perfectly performed”.

I was asked to supervise and direct a series of soccer skills and techniques being “motion captured” with special equipment. 24-foot skills were performed using Motion Capture Recording Equipment which allowed the “exact human movement” to be captured.

This then allowed us, with the help of an animator, to illustrate with precision these techniques for both boys and girls.

What a marvelous result!

Players can then view these skills in 3D from any perspective or view they learn from. We know that the players are studying these perfectly performed techniques every time. 

Making this learning available to all, was the start of MOTI Sports for Soccer. 

Why is Motion Capture Important?

Motion Capture represents the “exact human movement” that soccer coaches want their players to replicate. 

It is capturing the balance and poise of the athlete controlling the ball through the movement.

The athlete can watch the motion from any perspective of the screen (top, bottom, right side, left side) and in turn, see the perfect movement to strike or control the ball.

Perfect Technique performed Perfectly

MOTI’s guiding principle is to provide every single player with “the perfect Technique and Skill performed perfectly” in 3D via our App on their mobile device.  Players are coached, from every perspective, through complete repetitions providing both visual and auditory instruction, maximizing sensory learning of the kinetics of soccer movement.

How many repetitions are needed? I know it is in the thousands of repetitions, however, experience tells me that when repetitions that are “done well“, lead to a disciplined repetitive technique and competency. Competency in ball-handling techniques leads to more touches in a game as teammates know they are making a pass to a solid player. Finally, more team interaction and touches during play lead to enjoyment.

The competitive nature of all sports is based on the ability and willingness of the athlete to drive their skills beyond what is expected of them. My hands-on experience has taught me only 2 out of 100 players have this kind of drive and focus. The ability to play the game of soccer is dependent on the skills or techniques that the player has, which is 80% of their learning. The other 20% are tactics of the game and the ability of the coach to teach the interaction between players.

A Balanced Approach to Coaching

There has to be a balance in our approach to coaching youth soccer players.  The pendulum in recent years has swung away from individual skill development and toward activities and games without guided individual skill development.  MOTI provides a middle ground – expert skill development combined with fun activities and games for the players to participate in.

So, when you are coaching, teaching, or handing out curriculum to players and parents, why not share training content that they can learn from and that will stay with them? Give players that “perfect practice” with Skills and Techniques that are “executed perfectly” making them “permanent“.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Why Perfect Practice makes Permanent appeared first on MOTI Sports.

As High School or College coaches, we often view this time of year as a season break! The season is completed, and summer is beginning, sure there will be summer camps and newly recruited players showing up for fall practice, but not much you need to do right now, or is there?

Remember new players will be showing up for Varsity Practice in High School or the newly recruited players for your college program in August.

They will all arrive with what techniques (foot skills) they have acquired, but usually not a complete complement of tools are in their tool bag.

Time will need to be spent reviewing and training them to use correct moves and techniques.

We came up with an easy-to-use group of 24 techniques that if mastered these players will be great.

Using our MOTI Soccer app, you can get players to practice through June and July on their own so that they will arrive with all the tools in their tool bag you would expect. You can monitor their progress and usage and see what time they are willing to invest in themselves and therefore your program.

You can subscribe to a Team Annual License and give it a try for under $30, put all your players on it, and now you can watch and see how they are willing to train.

Your Team Captains can be part of this process, helping players get practicing and encouraging them, while you’re respecting the no-contact rule!

Best Alan!

Read another coaching article – Coaching Smarter saving Time

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Preparing for Next Season appeared first on MOTI Sports.

An Athlete’s Built-in Stress Reliever – Episode 6

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in England, where played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 to play for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for the LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzard, and for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others, held youth soccer camps across the upper Midwest, and has been a guest clinician for USSF coaching school courses for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and the Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 7 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
 MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Athlete’s Built in Stress Reliever appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Young players need Structure

Young players need structure and an environment that allows them to succeed in their soccer skills development.  

Small practice areas – more touches

Therefore, Coaches need to set up small playing areas or grids. Coaches should use cones or pinnies/vests as boundaries, that give players visual reference points. This will reassure them of their surroundings.

The use of smaller working areas ensures players get as many more touches on the ball as possible. Players that navigate with a ball in a smaller area touch the ball more often. Getting all players moving around and being active with a ball is a great starting point. This should be a goal throughout the player’s lifetime participation in the sport.

The correlation between the number of touches on the ball and increased skill mastery is indisputable. The more touches, the better, never forget it.

Keeping it interesting

Coaches should continually change the activities in the grid setup to ensure that the needed ball repetitions do not become boring.

The objective is to have players from the age of 5 through 10 completely familiar with a minimum of 8 skills with the ball. Having them do the basic moves that are required to move, guide, and protect the ball in all directions.

By coaching with activities and techniques that accelerate their players learning curve, this age group can learn basic ball mastery.  

What Skills curriculum must-have?

A Skill curriculum is a must-have set of skills for these players’ foundation within the game.

Inside outside touches of both feet, inside-outside touches that then transfer the ball to the other foot side for continuous weaving of the ball from side to side.

Double touches of the ball on all foot surface going outside, outside to inside, inside, repeat on the other foot side.

These simple foot skills produce all the ingredients of great dribbling skills and ball manipulation.

Changing direction to either keep the ball in play or turn away from opponents is hook turns with the inside and outside of the foot.

The sole of the foot can produce a drag back motion to turn or control the ball. The sole of the foot can also produce lateral motion. This is useful to move the ball into passing lanes or preparation for clearing or shooting a ball.  

Teaching this Age Group the correct foot positions and shapes of the body is a must in ball manipulation.

Correct muscle memory and focused body movements are crucial for performance.

Where to spend training time?

Athletes who spend the time and effort learning these foundation ball skills will have the necessary level of proficiency to thrive in the game often making it a lifetime team sport.

Therefore, players who do not get these foundation skills will pass up on the more difficult aspects of the game. They often leave the game frustrated and despondent at the age of 13 and 14. You will see them as solitary joggers on the park trails or side of the road later in life.

Where players can practice?

Players can and should get 3D Animated foot skills for their Mobile devices and practice the plyometric foot movements of ball mastery at home.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post How simple can a practice be? How effective? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Smart coaching can be as simple as becoming better organized before the season by mapping out your practice plans for an entire season. Having a practice plan for your sessions gives you coaching content that can be easily accessed and ready for delivery to your team. Being organized and having a plan saves anguish, frustration, and failure in producing the quality training experience you want to give your players.

Consistency of content throughout the training season is key to instructing and demonstrating to players to become knowledgeable and engaged as a squad. Parents will appreciate the coach more when they see the organization, energy, movement, and meaningful activities. Players are having fun doing them.

Preparing practice sessions on the fly. i.e., in the car in transit to the practice is not a good idea and does not produce a meaningful experience for players, their parents, or the coach. Having some structure and purpose within your plan allows for productive coaching moments and growth, all within a calm and calculated learning environment. Hectic behavior from a coach in a learning and instructional situation does not resonate well with a squad of impressionable players.

All of these adverse situations can be avoided with Soccer Training Platforms in an App. Coaching content, coaching points, coaching concepts, and coaching ideas are available in your hand. They can be communicated through a set of earbuds when you need them most on the pitch. A volunteer parent coach or the young former player turned coach can deliver a solid practice plan with a positive outcome.

Board Members, Coaching Directors of Clubs Competitive and Recreational programs, sports administrators in Park and Rec, YMCA, YWCA, and small Soccer Clubs can now eliminate the dreaded 2 by 4 across the forehead after a season when they hear from parents and players that the coaching experience was less than stellar.

This solution is available now in a Soccer App that utilizes revolutionary software with Motion Capture 3D Animation depicting Skills & Drills needed to play good Soccer. The brain neurons of young players are lit up when they start to begin visually engaging depictions of skill sets and small-sided game activities.  The visualization players receive on how to make a foot move with the ball is available during an actual practice time or even better as ‘Home Work’ in the back yard, garage floor, basement, or even in front of a full-length mirror in the players’ bedroom. Players can ‘See it, Listen to it & Do It’ then they can replicate the perfect foot skill time and time again.

A well-charted Practice Plan for 6 weeks, 8 weeks, even 16 weeks with either one or two practices a week takes away any of the hectic, panic, or no time often associated with coaching in the youth environment.

With this coaching resource, the coach can share the digital content with players and parents to better prepare them all for the tasks the coach will be instructing them on. Again, any visualization players can see the learning curve. Just think how much time it saves the coach in verbalizing soccer concepts into the squad of players. An offshoot is the education of the parents who now are being exposed to the inner sanctum of soccer knowledge. Because of this, their appreciation of the game is heightened. This results in a changed behavior on the sideline as parents respect more skilled performances from their own players and others within the group.

Time saved because players see the practice activities before setting foot on the field can now be used elsewhere. For more repetitions of correct technique or working through activities already well established in the player’s mind.

Having content properly curated across age groups assists in the learning curve for coaches and players. To become a competent player layers of progressions that need to be worked on are delivered in the correct and orderly sequence of skill and technique building.

MOTI recognizes and is concerned that the statistics on the attrition of players playing organized sports is exceptionally high. 70% of players stop playing organized sports by the age of 14. I attribute that to athletes not being allowed to have exceptional coaching of the best techniques in an ongoing prolonged format early in their technique development.

With an App in their hands, soccer players can practice at home. Practicing the correct techniques with expert coaching prepares players for an enjoyable and successful experience on the field. By using the Apps analytics tool, individual players, coaches and parents can make themselves accountable for counting their steps, their repetitions, their Minutes doing skill moves, even their time spent looking at the content of the current ‘practice plan’.

Coaching smarter with MOTI technology allows players and parents to get a leg up on this shared visual knowledge of the game of Soccer. Technology is leading them to have beautiful outcomes of a successful play.  Helping to build camaraderie with teammates while learning how to cooperate and strive for an increased health activity while enjoying a growth capacity in a complex sport like Soccer.

Learn more from Alan with the Basic Principles of Play.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Coaching Smarter saving Time appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Single Scissors 1v1 Preview – Technical Training

Learn about another skill: Outside Hook Turn Skill

Get the Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
 MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Single Scissors 1v1 Preview appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Single Scissors Progression – Technical Training

Learn about another skill: Outside Hook Turn Skill

Get the Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Single Scissors v1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

by Alan Merrick:

Over my years (decades!) of observing competitive older players, I have seen that many often believe that because they played at a higher level as a youth, they will automatically continue (or just deserve) a place in the starting lineup forevermore. However, many of these players lack an understanding of basic principles of play that are a pivotal foundation to the game – and their growth and playing ability are hindered as a result.

Coaches need to do their part to introduce these principles starting with 10, 11, and 12 year old’s. We owe it to this age group to give them appropriate game understanding so that they can fully meet all the demands of the game later.

Principles of Play

A sample of simple principles of play that should be emphasized:

Deny the other team time and space and thus, the ability to play forward passes.

Attack every loose ball and never let the ball bounce. Allowing the ball to bounce gives less aggressive teams an advantage.

One-on-one battles are integral in a team’s ability to rule the flow and outcomes of any game.

Defensive clearances from their goal need to be high, wide, and deep. If there is any doubt, clear the ball and make sure it goes out of bounds, which allows the team to reset their shape and get players behind the ball.

Never clear the ball across your own goalmouth, it creates undue pressure and ultimately, bad outcomes.

Play to feet at every opportunity. Passes that lead a player invariably go to the opponent’s goalkeeper or out of bounds.

Players who can play one-touch stand out and can change the game. They know what they are going to do with the ball before it gets to them and have the vision, awareness, and technical skill to execute.

Always take up good positions for the first pass, anticipate the second and third ball and win them in order to gain and maintain possession.

Forwards should play both ways – they are the first line of defense and can create great goal-scoring opportunities by creating ball turnovers with good pressure on ‘their player’.

Coaches should utilize this time in the “off-season” to introduce these important concepts. Plan some sessions that paint the picture and offer opportunities to start conversations around these principles and help make kids more complete players over the course of their soccer careers.

View a Minute with Merrick – Let the Coaches Coach

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Basic Principles of Play appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Tactical Work – WH Box 6v2 Rondo – Activity

Check out another Drill – Rondo with Wall Pass and Overlap

Get the Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post WH Box 6v2 Rondo appeared first on MOTI Sports.

ReverseV 1v1 – New 3D models

This is one of our new 1v1 Skills with Adult 3D models. These will enable players to the the “how” this skill works in 3D defending the ball, maintaining possession.

Check out this skill with Youth 3D models: ReverseV 1v1 Youth

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post ReverseV 1v1 New appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Periodization for a High School Soccer Program in the Midwest

With the varsity high school soccer season crammed into a 12-week period having a strategic document prepared for the season will give your program a chance to succeed.

Time is a “premium” at the High School level of play. Rules and regulations must be adhered to. Preseason and allowable camps are well defined, and the Head coach is well advised to put a fully planned training process in place prior to the beginning of the season. The well-being of a high school athlete needs to be paramount in the coaching staff’s training model. There are going to be great divides between Middle School, Freshmen, and Senior players over the 5-year span which will provide an environment of challenging proportions and growth-spurt differences amongst the Student-Athletes.

With such a short season the task of improving the squad’s technical, conditioning, and decision-making attributes falls directly on the Head Coaches shoulders. Considering the shortness of the total season the Head Coach should be looking to accelerate the squad’s tactical understanding of the formations and individual roles and responsibilities which are the key factors for success. Decision-making, faster reaction times, players moving into positionings quicker, player motion with and without the ball; makes for better decisions in tactical situations. 

When you start working on the High School calendar the game schedule is when the first periodization information is to be entered. This is the template you’ll need, and you will start adding the following topics to the calendar; REST DAYS – PASSIVE RECOVERY – ACTIVE RECOVERY – MEDIUM LEARNING of GAME CONDITIONS – HIGH-INTENSITY ENDURANCE – SPEED of PLAY – PRE-GAME STRATEGIC SESSIONS like FREE KICKS & CORNER KICKS – CONDITIONED PROGRESSIONS and FATIGUE LEVELS. These topics simplify the Periodization of your individual sessions giving you structure and purpose throughout your seasonal campaign. With this type of insight, your training content will cover all the principles of play with appropriate exposure that will capture and excite your squad of players’ enhancing their endurance, intensity, recovery, and their competitive edge.

Break down your style of play; how do you want to build up from the back? What are the positional needs and specific play characteristics? In team defending, how to be compact, how to close-down players and force them either wide or to other teammates. Movement of the ball from back to front what patterns are you wanting to create with different services short and long passes, ball circulation, changing and switching play, overlaps, and players up.

This type of preparation brings all your players along the learning curve of what the game demands and helps them understand how they can all find success in the game.  Do your Periodization on the front end, and then enjoy the season of growth from all involved in your program. 

View Minute with Merrick – Lesson Plans for Teachers

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Periodization for High School appeared first on MOTI Sports.

DRILL – 4v4 to 4v4 Possession to Flank

Check out another drill: WH Technical Square Passing Drill

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post 4v4 to 4v4 Possession to Flank appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Tune Up Tips – Passing Side Foot Skill Breakdown #1 – Detailed Breakdown

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Passing Side Foot Breakdown appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Passing Side Foot – Inside Foot Passing – MOTI Soccer app – 3D Skill

Pasando el pie lateral – Watch in Español

Check out another skill: Outside Hook Turn Skill

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Passing Side Foot appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Minute with Merrick – Lesson Plans For Teachers – Episode 3

Watch the previous Episode 2 the Rabbit Hole

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Lesson Plans For Teachers – Episode 3 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Playing Out the Back – Team Shape Drill – This is a sample video captured from the 3D fully interactive MOTI Sports Soccer App. Over 300 Skills and Drills to choose from. Age ranges from U5 and up!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Playing Out the Back appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Dr. Ben Schwamberger and Panel of Physical Education Youth Soccer Summit

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Physical Education Panel – Remote Learning appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports – Character Development Series – Empathy

Watch previous episode in the series – Emotional Management

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Character Development Series – Empathy appeared first on MOTI Sports.

4 Touch Lateral Motion

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post 4 Touch Lateral Motion appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Minute with Merrick – Avoiding the Rabbit Hold – Episode 2

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 1 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Avoiding the Rabbit Hole – Episode 2 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Bowtie Passing Drill – MOTI Sports – Soccer Activity Passing Square Bowtie

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Bowtie Passing appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Soccer Inside Hook Turn Skill – MOTI Soccer Training – MOTI Soccer app

View the article Making Skills Stick here.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Inside Hook Turn Skill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Soccer 1v1 Soccer Training Drill – No keeper

1v1 with No Keeper – A great activity to promote the fun of being competitive taking the ball to goal being covered by an opponent. (35 seconds)

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI 1v1 No Keeper appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI WH Passing Square Technical Drill

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Passing Square Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Soccer Outside Hook Turn Skill

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Outside Hook Turn Skill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Youth Soccer Summit – Ian Barker – UNITED SOCCER COACHES

MOTI YOUTH SOCCER SUMMIT – Coaching and Educating in a Remote Environment: Maintaining the connection with parents, players, students & coaches.

View Skip Gilberts presentation from the Youth Soccer Summit here.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI Youth Soccer Summit 2020 – Ian Barker appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports – MOTI Soccer App – 5v5 Rondo Drill

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post 5v5 Rondo Theme Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Soccer app – Sole of the Foot Dragback Skill

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI Soccer App – Sole of the Foot Dragback – 2021 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Game Day for New Coaches – Episode 10

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 9 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
⚽ MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
⚽ MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Game Day For New Coaches – Episode 10 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Minute with Merrick – Episode 09 – Procrastination

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 8 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Procrastination – Episode 9 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The first episode of Minute with Merrick.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 8 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Soccer is Fun! – Episode 1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Visit the Team Terminology terms page for key Soccer words and definitions.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 8 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Episode 08 – Team Terminology appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Information and suggestions for the first time coach.

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post First Coaching Experience Suggestions appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Soccer is played at a frantic pace. Things happen quickly.

These single and uncomplicated instructions take the place of a long conversation with or from a coach or a teammate. Each word depicts an action that needs a calculated response.

KEEPER – The goalkeeper shouts this to inform defenders that they are coming off the line to take the ball – defenders cover to the side and behind.

Overlap – Initiated by a player passing the ball out to a wide-player (near the side of the pitch), and then links with that wide-player after running around the defender to the outside of the wide-player, to receive a pass from the wide-player creating a 2 v 1 movement.

Flank – On the side of the field depending on which way the player is facing.

OUT – Move up the field as a defensive unit leaving the opponent players in an offside position – a quick action.

SQUEEZE – Every player goes into a tight marking mode and is always done as a group effort nobody is open.

SIT – Informs a player to stay in that area of the field and take control of the game often midfield.

HOLD – Stay as a defensive unit, do not retreat back toward your own goal.

SAG – Come off and away a few yards from their player they are marking, time to think about how to give a little cover.

FILL IN – Go to the area of the field where a player has made a long run from and who will not be able to recover immediately.

Through – Where players are looking for a penetrating pass in the channels between defenders going to goal.

CLOSE DOWN – Deny the opponent any space or room to play, the immediate need is to limit the opponent player an opportunity to play a forward ball, make them play a square ball, and give no other passing channels or options.

BITE – This is encouragement for players to make a tackle usually from a player behind who is able to cover.

ORGANIZE – Talk to each other, regain the shape of the team, multiple players look around to mark and stop the opponents.

GOALSIDE – Place yourself and other players between the opponent and your goal slow down the opponent with the ball looking to gain time as a team.

PICK UP – Take initiative and mark their players.

RUNNER – One of the opposition players is making a run from midfield, a dangerous player who needs to be picked up.

TARGET – A command that is advising the player in possession to play the ball to a forward target player to start an attack.

EARLY BALL – Minimum number of touches to get the ball forward to target players, or into the danger zone across the face of the goal. Needs to be a penetrating pass, but not a big through ball that the goalkeeper can collect. A chipped flighted ball that drops behind the backline but has backspin so it just dies before the penalty spot. From the flanks, it is a wide player or a full back doing an overlap and before they get level to the top of the penalty box send a firm curved ball that flashes across the face of the goal between the 6-yard line and the penalty spot even top of the box if the defenders are keeping a high line. These types of deliveries are called ‘killer passes’ because they are so dangerous for defenders and goalkeepers to cope with and create the best offensive chances.

THIRD – Associated with a 3^rd player in a sequence of passes who makes a dynamic run into space, this player’s effort needs to be rewarded with a good pass as it springboards your team in offense.

SOLO – One v One situation going forward it gives the player the momentum to take their defender on to beat the player and go past to either go solo to a goal or get into a great passing situation to produce an ‘early ball’ to players in a better position to score.

ON DECK – The front players should be looking to make runs into the penalty box and get between the goalpost hash marks, near and far post, the weak side forward diagonal runs into the box to cover an over hit early ball. This type of run, when timed to match up with a wide player who is looking to serve an early ball across the face of the goal between either the top of the box or the six-yard line depending on how deep the server is and how advanced the runs have been made, the other early ball, is still between the penalty spot and six-yard line. A good service is going behind the last defender on the side of the delivery and has enough bend on it to straighten and flash across the face of the goal and is far enough from the keeper to handle the cross.

MAN ON – You are under pressure and about to be challenged. No panic, but you need to make quick decisions. Limit your touches of the ball in defensive areas play quickly the way you are facing keeping possession, move the ball quickly and decisively in midfield getting a ball into target players, and then getting the return pass releases the pressure. Forwards need to play under this pressure try and lure a defender to you so you can hold and retain the ball and shield it and with a quick release pass, use the space the defender who put you under pressure came from.  Hare and Fox games are fun.

TIME – You have no players around you or about to be challenged. Concentrate on the ball, get it under control early and use the extra time to punish the opponent by getting your head up and finding teammates, first with a look for an early ball or penetrating forward pass to feet.

NEAR – This is a body language signal where you place your hand palm up at the side and it represents a low ball to feet toward the six-yard box for a first-time finish on goal, find me I will find your service.

FAR – This is a body language signal where you raise your hand above your head to signify you can make a run to the far post, find me I will find your service.

CHANGE – Time to switch the play to the other flank, there will be open players and it will force the opponent to do a lot of running and even allow us to perform an overlapping run and get an early ball in across the face of their goal.

TWO TOUCH – Use the first touch to control the ball (i.e. to the side forward or turn) then pass or shoot.

FIRST TIME – Pass or shoot without any control or touch always think of accuracy on the pass to feet – on the shot hit the goal frame.

STEADY – Keep control of the ball, maintain possession, play the ball around and go and support. Play quickly but stay calm and in control – no real need to penetrate the opponent let players get into position. Slow the game down if the opponent has just made things a little hectic and your team needs to regroup and get your shape back.

TURN – No opponent players are close or behind you turn 180 Degrees and face up the field and select the best pass, which is likely a target player to feet.

BREAK – Go wide the full-backs and wide midfield players get both of their heels on the touchline; you see the entire field and give the most width that is available to our team.

All of these single words go to make a cohesive team terminology understanding of what is happening with in a game.  They are intended for each player to digest and try and install this communication across all positions and every game situation.

When you hear multiple players giving this advice on how to best succeed in a game you witness comradery, teamwork, and a general improvement in, group and individual performance and cooperation.

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app to improve your skills:
⚽ MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
⚽ MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Team Terminology appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Movimiento lateral de 4 toques

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Movimiento lateral de 4 toques appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Life Lessons through Sports

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in England, where played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 to play for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for the LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzard and for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others, held youth soccer camps across the upper Midwest, and has been a guest clinician for USSF coaching school courses for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and the Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 8 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Episode 07 – Life Lessons appeared first on MOTI Sports.

An Athlete’s Built in Stress Reliever

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in England, where played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 to play for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for the LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzard and for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others, held youth soccer camps across the upper Midwest, and has been a guest clinician for USSF coaching school courses for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and the Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 7 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick – Episode 06 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The Playing Out the Back Team Drill from the MOTI Soccer app, explained by Alan Merrick.

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Out the Back Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

New Coach? What now?

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in English as he played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 where he played for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for The LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzards, before returning to Minnesota to play for the Minnesota Kicks once again, and Playing for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team, the Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others and has been coaching youth players, and teaching coaches for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 6 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick Episode 05 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The Cruyff Move from the MOTI Soccer app, explained by Alan Merrick.

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post The Cruyff Move appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. Alan’s professional career began in English as he played for West Bromwich Albion as well as the English Junior National Team. He played for 10 years in England, before moving to the United States in 1976 where he played for the Minnesota Kicks. His career as a player also included playing for The LA Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto Blizzards, before returning to Minnesota to play for the Minnesota Kicks once again, and Playing for the US National Team – Team America. He coached the in-door NASL Team, the Minnesota Strikers for 6 years, and the University of Minnesota Men’s Club Team for over 20 seasons. Alan helped start the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association with others and has been coaching youth players, and teaching coaches for over 40 years. Alan holds coaching licenses in England, the USSF A License, and Canadian Coaching License.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 5 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick Episode 04 – Let the Coaches Coach appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports is seeking licensed Youth Soccer Coaches.

Are you an experienced licensed Youth Soccer Coach? Use this link to send us an email with your Soccer resume attached. We will contact you with more details about becoming a MOTI Virtual Soccer Coach.

This is a contracting job opportunity for Coaches to make money in their spare time teaching Soccer virtually.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Youth Soccer Coaching Jobs appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Alan shares advice for youth soccer players, parents, coaches, and fans of soccer during these “Minute with Merrick” episodes.

Alan Merrick is MOTI’s Director of Soccer Content. As an international soccer legend both as a professional player and coach, Alan now dedicates his time to teaching the sport with MOTI Sports’ 3D Mobile Soccer Training Platform.

Watch Minute with Merrick Episode 4 here

Get the MOTI Soccer Training app:
MOTI Soccer for Android: https://motisports.com/google-soccer-app/
MOTI Soccer for iOS: https://motisports.com/apple-soccer-app/

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Minute with Merrick Episode 03 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Who would have predicted the level of chaos that COVID 19 has brought to the World. The effect of this pandemic and the shutdown has been catastrophic in scope and size. For one minute let’s look at the devastation it has created for Youth Sports, soccer in particular. COVID 19 has forced youth soccer clubs to schedule, reschedule, stay at home, go on hold, completely shut down, to be on stand bye. Then a glimmer of hope with directions of how to return to play and the phase after phase of wait and see.

Little did I know 6 years back when I got involved with MOTI Sports that several of the MOTI Organization pillars of the team, player, coach, and parents would be a natural solution for what has befallen youth soccer and how to maintain the development of young players.

MOTI is part of the new future where student-athletes learn techniques and personal skill sets via a remote device, then congregate for some practice time as a team for a rehearsal for a game-day experience. With MOTI you get Animation in 3D Training Sessions and all the relevant coaching points. It comes with Motion Capture and the ability to watch all the content on a live screen that can zoom in and zoom out, rotate, and view from any perspective.  It even has an element of virtual reality (VR) where you can select a player in an activity and watch the action from that person’s viewpoint.  

The MOTI 3D Soccer Training Platform design gives teams, players, a player in the singular, coaches, teachers, students and parents all the content, tools and bells and whistles they need to have a continuum of “learning the game from the neck up.”

It is structured to be distributed via a free App from the IOS or Google store for smartphones and tablets. The distribution in this format allows all single and multiple members to be connected and able to see a pre-selected and curated curriculum that is age and gender-specific, eliminating guesswork and ensures coaching consistency for skills and drills.

Having Training Sessions preloaded by the Club, School, Association, or a single coach proactively prepares players and coaches for great constructive practices.  These sessions can be preprogrammed to be available to everyone on the squad or team, which will allow an absent player to never miss a single teaching moment.

The format of MOTI 3D Soccer Training Platform is engaging, it improves and automates existing coaching tasks and lets all using it saves valuable time as it is always available for review in your hand wherever and whenever you need it. Playing the content is easily done once you have downloaded it onto a device.  Best of all no internet connection or data plan is needed once viewed.

The 3D Animation and Motion Capture gives a complete breakdown of important visual and auditory clues found in the game. Remember 95% of humans are visual learners.  School children are learning math, science, and languages on computer and tablet screens, so why not all aspects of Soccer?  I believe getting to see the entire practice plan and the skill development assets will reduce the learning curve, prepare players for practice, and sharpen them in their approach to game time encounters.

Engaging the parents by having them review the skill elements will help them grow in their knowledge of the game and what is expected from their child.  They will now be looking for a good first touch, combination passing, good control of the ball on the ground and in the air, 1v1 encounters, and players trying out their moves and abilities to go past the opponents.  Gone will be the days of parents hollering out “boot it.”

MOTI has a comprehensive skills development content library that players are encouraged to spend time on at home.  This is where players can do a workout for themselves guided by Motion Capture sequences of all the moves needed to play the game. Give the game back to the young player, the concept of ‘Home Work’ being on their own if need be, doing it for themselves, showing initiative, and learning to love ball mastery.

This concept of ‘Homework’ is an ideal lead in to what is part of the “Be safe – Stay in Place” regulations.  Those young players who took the opportunity to download the MOTI Foundation Skill package for free during the early stages of COVID 19 now have an accelerated understanding of the touches on the ball.  They have also received a fitness boost and a healthy dose of exercise while physical distancing.

Clubs who have adopted the MOTI 3D Soccer Training Platform can communicate through the Announcement Board on the Apps Dashboard, encouraging their players and parents to get their workouts completed and making them personally responsible for development.

The analytic function allows Clubs to monitor the amount of time and the content being viewed by players and coaches.  To increase utilization, a coach by making it into a game among a single player, a squad of players, or a whole age group across a Club or Organization.  Remember that analytics show no favor, just statistics of time, content, and the desire to pick up soccer knowledge.

Having analytics makes the player more accountable for their development.  As little as 15 minutes each day produces impressive results (simple math 365 days X 15 minutes is 5,475 = 91 hours of activity on necessary ball work). Having a ball at the feet of the player while getting ball mastery and muscle memory of repetitive action is the best form of development.

In short, the MOTI 3D Soccer Training Platform and the App it is distributed on provides many solutions to the soccer communities’ needs now! MOTI is easy to set up, is user friendly, and has all the bells and whistles needed to run successful development content for young players.

Be proactive and look at this revolutionary Training Platform.  It is available now and is so very affordable you will be surprised and thankful you spent the time researching this program.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Soccer Solutions 101 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

COVID-19 is not going away from all we are seeing.  As cases of outbreaks and peaks continue to rise in many parts of the country, and we gain more knowledge about the virus, we all face a lot of uncertainty in our planning for the next three months at least.

MOTI Sports does not have all the answers.  We are all looking for the best and most reliable information right now.  One thing that MOTI has discovered is that the MOTI MOBILE free App is a readymade solution for young aspiring soccer players.

They can download the ‘free app,’ get the free 8 Foundation Skills, watch them in 3D and enjoy a whole new experience of watching skills in a MOTION CAPTURE format.  This form of delivery shortens the learning curve and fills the neurotransmitters of the player with visual and audio prompts to practice in a perfect environment. 

Get your players to practice at home, safely perfecting their dribbling and ball manipulation skills. This can take place in the back yard, the garage, the basement even in a bedroom. These basic skills, all 24 if the player chooses to Level-UP and continues through the Advanced and Premier Levels, build and maintain the personal skill sets that all good players need to be successful while playing soccer.

Your player’s future starts today. Get the MOTI MOBILE APP and get started.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post COVID-19. The New Normal. appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Relax! Your search for Soccer coaching help via the internet has all been done. MOTI has curated, sorted, indexed, digitized, inserted progressive foot techniques, converted content into 3D Animation and paired it with Soccer Skills captured in Motion Capture for even more clarity. All of this through MOTI’s OneCoach.

The following information will guide anyone through a Soccer Training Platform. MOTI has set the benchmark for training and engaging youth soccer players, all while giving new volunteer coaches the confidence and direction to move their new soccer tasks forward with success.

The whole intention of this OneCoach example is to give you a hands-on demonstration of how the Mobile App can be the solution for any new volunteer coach. It can even organize an experienced coach who might run short of time before scheduling their session.

The Announcement Board is designed to get you primed on the age and gender you have selected to coach. Next, go to the instructions on understanding the system further down in the Announcement Board and try the MOTI 3D Practice Plan.

In the Welcome Practice Plan look to watch the “Quick Start Coaches Video.” This will guide you around the MOTI Training Platform.

The Plan Library (found by touching the Hamburger Menu in the upper-left-hand corner of the screen on a phone) will expose coaches to a curated set of 12 practice sessions of sensible and appropriate content for the age that was selected at sign up. Also, in the Plan Library is a lesson plan with the age appropriate foot skills for Players and Parents to review and a Practice along with the Game Day Warm up Plan.

The Coach will want to add his players and coaches to the Roster.  Through the Roster you can invite your team to download the MOTI App for themselves.  Once they download the App, the whole MOTI world is open to them!

Players who can pull up the Foot skills on the Smart phone or Pad are ‘Golden’ and will be more likely to be engaged by 3D content in their hands when they need it. What a solution MOTI is to be able to do Skill Homework in isolation if needed with a renowned Personal Professional Soccer Trainer providing appropriate instruction at their fingertips……Brilliant.

Getting into the MOTI OneCoach program is extremely easy.  Just go to https://motisports.com/ and click on the Coach tab.  Sign up on-line, then download the MOTI Mobile FREE App on your tablet or phone for easy access anywhere.  

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post New to Coaching Soccer. MOTI has you covered! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

A very basic move. This is a beginning Dragback Turn Technique that is key to developing ball-handling skills. This should be one of the first 4 skills new players learn immediately as they start learning the game.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI™ Foot Skill – Dragback appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Of all the pillars of player development, the two that separate an exceptional player from a good player are the level of Vision and Awareness.

Vision is the skill of seeing things quickly and in some instances before they happen in the game.

Awareness is a combination of feeling and recognizing opportunities to make and execute plays faster than opponents.

In team sports like soccer where interactions with team members are integral to ball possession, vision can be as simple as having your head on a swivel checking in every direction for clues as to what the opponent is doing and what you and your teammates are doing.  It allows a player in control of the ball to serve the pass to an open player, perhaps starting a possession sequence that could lead to scoring goals. Vison can also include a player not with the ball moving into open spaces, placing them in a situational dominance of defenders, making their opponent unable to match their pace of play and movement.

Awareness is not only a special skill; it is almost a second sense where the player does several mindful calculations of multiple facets they see within the game.  They process it against other experiences they have had in practice and games in a nanosecond, leading them to make decisions of actions to force an advantage on their opponent, always looking to gain some dominance within the game.

Awareness can come from many experiences in sports.  I recall many personal times when I utilized coaching points given to me in a rugby training class and applied them to soccer games.  I got insights on an opponent from running cross country in school meets by reading the stride, gait and the body language of a runner in front of me, allowing me to pick my time to advance past them.  I picked up game clues on opponents from Tennis, Squash, and Basketball to the point where my awareness in soccer was a dominant force for me, driving my performance levels in games and allowing me to play for seventeen years professionally.

The awareness soccer players need is generated by peripheral vision, looking and seeing out of the corners of their eyes.  The soccer player is constantly taking screenshots, checking distances between players, assessing speeds of players, hearing footsteps and their breathing, measuring the field and conditions of the playing surface, the weather, etc.

On a personal note, I got into a habit of always checking out the opponent during game warm-ups.  I would develop an awareness of the traits of as many of my opponents as I could.  I would look for the player’s physical attributes.  Do they have left-footed players that can change the dynamics of service into the penalty box? How far does the goalkeeper throw, punt or goal kick?  What kind of matchups will we have on corner kicks and set plays?  I worked out in my head the best configuration for my team to win.

As a player or a coach awareness of your own player’s qualities is always the priority.  Know the range of play of your team, their speed of play, their ability to take players on 1 v 1, what service are they able to execute, etc.  Know their strengths and weaknesses and work within those qualities.

Have an awareness of how players are reacting throughout the game, determine the game status for each player and the individual challenges they are facing.  Some players with awareness become solid leaders and can give guidance, verbal prompting, and encouragement to their squad.

Offensive Awareness is seeing fast breaks and transitional opportunities to attack your opponent.  This is done with quick decisions and clinical execution of passes by those in possession.  Remember this rule does not just apply to forwards who are deemed to have awareness, every player in every position can have very positive attributes towards a team’s success by showing game awareness.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another buzz phrase that is flooding the Education and Technology World and it is exciting to see that it is converging into Sports. A form of AI is now amongst the features of the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.

The accelerated information MOTI users can gain by watching the animation in the 3D Animated Practice Plans is huge. The visualization of seeing where players make a calculated pass and then follow that up with a meaningful dynamic run to support and back it up is available within the MOTI Mobile App.

Players and coaches can now ‘Switch On’ the trailers and tracers and get immediate feedback and complete sets of movement clues on how the game of soccer is meant to be played. These clues and visual directives place the viewer in almost a state of ‘Virtual Reality’ enabling them to rehearse the action.

Directional alterations of the screen are easily manipulated with pinch and drag finger movement or by using the joysticks to view from any angle or perspective. You can even break the action down frame by frame.  This self-selection enables the viewer to maximize the experience to their own best learning environment and preferences. 

MOTI is capsulizing the needed building blocks of a soccer player, giving them clear uncluttered views of how to practice correctly from the first time on.  Practice alone does not make it perfect within a player, practice makes it permanent.  The more perfect the technique during practice the more the player eliminates the repetitions needed to groove muscle memory of the brain and the fast-twitch muscles that propel soccer players.  I think it is time we embrace technology into soccer for as ‘Perfect a Practice’ as we can get.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Vision and Awareness appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The 6 versus 3 (6v3) Rondo Variation Drill – Girls. This drill is an excerpt from the MOTI Sports Soccer Training Platform. Get the MOTI Soccer app to be able to interact with 3D Soccer skills and drills.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI™ 6v3 Rondo Variation Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

I was asked last week how MOTI can help me understand the game of soccer when I watch broadcast games on TV.

Go to the MOTI Sports Activities and look for the simplest ball movement like ‘passing in pairs’ and you will witness two players facing each other delivering a ball back and forth.  This setup and format are the backbone of the game of soccer and deserve your observation as a key element to building one’s understanding of soccer excellence.

The next progression is to see the inclusion of a third player, then the fourth. With this spectator directive, your observations can now turn to the flow and effectiveness of possession and sequences of passes to move forward against the opposition. Possessions by a team will settle the game’s momentum on how a team is set up to take advantage of a perceived weak point and exploit that weakness.

MOTI has numerous sequences of passing elements in our ‘Library of Content’ where there is one group having numbers up against the other group, sometimes the difference in make-up can be one, two, three even four players less.  These situations and activities are called “Rondo’s”.  Rondo’s are an integral exercise performed at all age and development levels.  Rondo sessions are very economical training and educational format.  Both offense and defense can be instructed in their own time. 

Coaching schools invariably emphasize not to confuse young players with multiple phases all at once.  Remember, MOTI is not video.  It is 3D Animation distributed on a ‘gaming platform’ so it clearly shows the content of Rondo especially when the special effects of ‘Trailers’, ‘Tracersand ‘Paths’ of ball and players are turned on. This view gives all the clues and insight of where the ball and players travel, allowing you to compare play as seen in full glory each week while watching the English Premier League, the USA Major League Soccer, German Bundesliga, Mexico LIGA MX, Dutch Eredivisie, Italian Seria A, etc. 

Enjoy the choice and the power that coaches and players are discovering by manipulating the screen of a portable fully mobile format.  The ability of all users to be a director/producer of content is available and recommended in the MOTI Platform. Use the joystick to rotate, zoom, change your elevation and break the game down frame by frame.  With this type of total power over the viewing of content, you determine your own level of learning environments and engagement, where accelerated development is attainable.

The beauty of MOTI is that it is all visual learning with auditory guidance.  You are immersed in duplications of actions and activities in glorious 3D Animation and Motion Capture via revolutionary technology.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post How to watch and learn Soccer appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Metacognition is “cognition about cognition”, “thinking about thinking”, “knowing about knowing”, becoming “aware of one’s awareness” and higher-order thinking skills. The term comes from the root word meta, meaning “beyond”, or “on top of”. Metacognition can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or problem-solving. There are generally two components of metacognition: (1) knowledge about cognition and (2) regulation of cognition. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition)

Ok – a big concept to grapple with.  Let me try to break it down as it applies to soccer training and development, and where MOTI can assist. 

There are two key parts of Socratic teaching, questioning, and metacognition.  They work in synergy to help players think critically and develop skills for lifelong learning and self-reflection.  Socratic questioning prompts players to question their own beliefs and assumptions and to test connections between their beliefs and the situation at hand.  Metacognition assignments invite students to reflect on their own thinking and learning, which deepens learning and improves retention. 

Most Soccer Clubs have players who can kick a ball, have a decent first touch, cooperate well in a team environment, have mobility and are competent athletes.  All the main characteristics desired to be an excellent Soccer Player.  So, what is the problem?  Why aren’t their game performance levels rising and could this be an indication of why a Club is losing 50% of their membership at the U14 levels?        

Does your club have a tool for measuring ability and performance?  Do your coaches have a detailed curriculum that clearly demonstrates a path and an expectation for each player and team to attain, that is specific to gender and age?

Maybe your coaches at training pose questions multiple times within a practice to ascertain player knowledge and comprehension of soccer.  Some players get it, while many may not, even if their answer is primarily based on recall or an inferred clue in the question.  Sound familiar?  It should because this is exactly how the United States Soccer Federation is instructing its Grassroots Coaching Pathway in their Play-Practice-Play format.

All coaches and parents should be looking for ‘Curious and Brave Soccer Players’.  Players who have and will continue to work on improving and broadening their Skill and Ball Mastery.  Not only doing this in their team meetings but also at home, by themselves or with a buddy or sibling. 

The stats are there for us to embrace and change collectively wanting to keep soccer players active past 14 years of age in soccer.  60% of parents identify with Free Range parenting which delineates some rules and guidelines, at the same time giving more freedom and parameters to discover and explore in the Real World.   A high percentage of parents have read child research giving credence to the notion that unstructured play and self-discovery assist in the levels of a child’s creativity. 

The same goes for learning to be a soccer player and athlete.  With “metacognition,” coaches, parents, and teachers can expose themselves to the MOTI Soccer Platform where the skill sets, the activities, the motion capture and expert coaching points all work hand in hand to cater to short-circuiting the learning curve with the key elements for ‘Perfect Practice’ not just ‘Neanderthal’ kicking a ball around and running in circles.

Having players listening in to the coach and other players while getting instruction, then sharing their thoughts and ideas during a practice reinforces the thinking within the group and also gets players to make visual connections and responses to each other at a totally different level of engagement, leadership, and maturity at any age.  This environment and content produce a guided learning experience where players get to utilize the nonthreatening soccer field classroom.  

Players are not only thinking, but they are also learning how to retain information.  This allows them to take these small-sided tasks and activities into the vast area the big field thrusts them into when they scrimmage.  The coach and all players are facilitating collaboration, enjoying productivity, vocal leadership, empathy and strategies of good habits that will last over time. 

I know from firsthand experience that good soccer players can be produced using 3D visual and auditory learning techniques.   Observing, practicing and then executing perfect application of a skill, and witnessing how it relates to the larger game and team play elevates player knowledge, game understanding, game awareness, intuition, and self-esteem.  Think MOTI “metacognition” or  MOTI “thinking about thinking” as a solution in helping players to improve.   The MOTI Soccer Training Platform offers members of the squad an opportunity to listen to their inner voices as they look at the 3D animated practice sessions and 3D motion capture of the skill elements needed to become an accomplished soccer player.   Students of the soccer game using the MOTI App can not only view the activities and skills, but they also end up reciting key coaching points.  Unlocking the content of the game breaks this complicated game down into its building blocks that can accelerate both player’s and coaches’ understanding of this complex and demanding sport.  

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post What can make our Soccer players improve? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Volunteer Parents are the lifeblood of every Youth Soccer Club or Association.  They make the organization work and determine the short- and long-term success of the youth soccer club.

My experience and understanding of youth soccer are that most organizations lose up to 50% of their volunteer base predominantly in the coaching ranks each year.  By stopping a revolving door of losing these coach volunteers the Club can enjoy coach and management experience with continuity. Clubs need to offer age and gender specific programs that fit the organizations culture to make volunteer coach experiences rewarding and enjoyable, so they will sign on for another year or even more and continue to volunteer.

In the recreational level so little is offered as support to the volunteer coaches.  One hour of training at the start of the season is never enough.  Volunteer coaches quickly get overwhelmed, frustrated and unrewarded.  Retention and proper support of recreational volunteer coaches will transform the experience and grass roots fun that players and coaches should associate with Soccer.

Volunteer coaches need to have all the tools at their disposal to create a safe soccer learning environment.  Very often coaches need a line by line curriculum in their hands so they can follow tasks in order of their group’s development stage.  Many coaches immediately feel the pressure of curriculum materials and feel overwhelmed.  They never get off square one.  These coaches need well curated curriculum that is easily implemented and is relevant to the age and ability of their squad of players. Volunteers have the best intentions but will often not be able to find the time to develop curriculum materials and practice plans that are meaningful to their players’ needs. 

New technology is now available where coaches and players can have age and gender specific 3D animated soccer curriculum in their hands via our MOTI App.  Learning ball skills during a practice is imperative.  Players can see their peer group doing ball manipulation and gain experience under the watchful eye of their coach.  Now players can also take initiative by practicing these moves and skill sets at home, allowing them to enjoy the health and physical gains in an athletic event using their own initiative, personal desires and disciplines.

Clubs should recognize the efforts of all their volunteers.  Everyone enjoys positive feedback on their hard work.  Recognizing coaches is imperative to maintaining the coaching ranks within the organization and improves the coach retention. 

Have parents write a note, send a card or text to the coach thanking them for their time and effort  during the season.  Make sure to mention the positive impact this season has had on their child and their family soccer experience.  Each note is rewarding but collectively they speak volumes.

Some clubs have an end of season awards banquet which should be focused on all the members who have contributed time and immense effort.  Getting an award as simple as a Certificate depicting the Success of the Season in front of all the other volunteers strengthens the culture and size of the Club.

Remember teams are very self-centered during a season being myopic with a single focus.  Congregating with all the other age groups and volunteers brings all members in connection with the community.  Making the coaches feel valued and integral to the Club’s success will generate loyalty and many more hours, weeks and years of volunteering.  Volunteer coaches seeing and mingling with other coaches who are getting recognized for multiple facets of coaching experience helps build the Club’s culture.  It also makes coaches return to do even more good work for the good of the kids and the game.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Volunteer Parents are the lifeblood appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Watch the MOTI Five Pass Drill here.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Five Pass Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

At this age the coach’s task is to provide the opportunity to play soccer.  These students have minds and bodies that are like sponges and we need to keep their attention.  The instruction can be directed at the development of the entire player, their physical, cognitive, social and psychological needs.

Remember U10 players are still children not adult players, their attention span is getting a little longer than last year but still not fully developed.  Their motion is gaining in balance and strength but not yet fully developed.  Psychologically U10 children are becoming stronger in understanding how to cooperate and share with others.  Boys and Girls are beginning to develop at different speeds, girls getting their growth spurts a little earlier.  Motor skills overall are becoming more refined.  Muscle memory is very elastic and receptive to good instruction.  At this age player memory is absorbing content as fast as it can be delivered and players are able to think ahead because they can tap into new information they have recently experienced.  

 A love for the game starts to come when students have fun, players see their accomplishments and their own level of skill begins to grow.  Creating an environment where students are praised for their efforts will boost their confidence and will help each player to gain respect amongst their peers.

As players experience mutual respect, the bonding and enjoyment of their fellow team members magnifies their feel of appreciation and pride gained during a season of play. These players will reflect back in time as to when they were turned on by this great game and what an opportunity their coach gave them to benefit in many life lessons that will give them good footing later during their life in the real world.

During the first meeting of the season the coach will need to conduct an organizational meeting where the coach, like it or not, has to educate the parents on how to behave as a parent during the season. The first topic the coach needs to address is why young players want to play soccer – because it is Fun!  That then grows into an appetite for the game that develops into self-esteem and self-worth as their skill and experiences are developed.  Players always talk about their team mates as they learn to cooperate and have good social interactions.

The coach will have to inform parents of the team’s expectations of their behavior.  Parents can support their child by watching their efforts and giving positive body language.  A player looking over to the side line and seeing their parent continually on their cell phone is not ‘Support’!  Spend the entire game watching your child.  Actually tell your player that you enjoy watching them play and mean it!  That is support!

Parents should not be coaching from the side line.  It is counterproductive and very confusing if the information is different to what the coach has just informed players, especially tactically.  Parents should always give positive feedback to their player and talk up the good things that happened:  the pass, the control, the effort.  Parents should stay away from the won-loss record and focus on each game building upon the last output.  For instance the number of consecutive passes, the shots on goal, the counter attacks, inter player communication, etc.

As the parents and players become more instructed into the correct coaching philosophies, parents can ask and develop their soccer understanding with the major topics to be found in the game.  Teaching points and moments in the game come from Attack which is broken down into penetration, one and two touch play, support, mobility, range and shape.  On the other side of the game Defense teaches pressure on the ball, cover, balance, support, shape and distances.  

These nuances of the game can be focused on with individual players then collectively with the team.   You can open up conversations that include team shape in attack and defense, the tasks and roles of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd attacker, and the tasks and roles of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd defender.  Then move into observations on the speed of play, and the transitions between offense and defense.  To complete the analysis you can discuss the positional play of players with and without the ball during the entire game.

Coaches are responsible for facilitating a positive coaching environment so players can have fun and get feedback that promotes development in accordance to their individual needs and standing in the game.  Enthusiastic coaching is always preferred and promotes activities and experiences that are positive and geared toward players achieving success within the game.

Learn about Coaching Children U6 – U8 here

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Coaching U10 Players (and their parents)! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Are you a new coach involved with Soccer for the first time asking – What do I do now?

What follows will give you enough pointers to begin coaching and give you a solid foundation to plan practices, identify and teach relevant soccer skills that will hopefully lead to bolstering your involvement in and ultimate enjoyment of the great game of soccer.

Soccer is a game of great skill and technique if it is to be played correctly and enjoyed immensely. When first starting out it is important, as a coach, that you not try to instruct the new player too much at one time. In the initial stages of development your concentration should be focused on having your players familiarize themselves with fundamental ball handling techniques. It is important that young players learn to control the ball with different body surfaces such as feet, thighs and chest. Being able to comfortably juggle the ball on all surfaces of the body is a natural progression to close ground control. Creating positive practice environments, especially during the beginning sessions, and allowing players to experience the many moves and technique skill sets together as a team is vital. Only with perseverance and repetitions will players attain the feel and touch required to have maximum control of their body and the ball.

Encourage players to work on their own, doing practice routines at home in the back yard, garage or anywhere that can handle the wear and tear. This only accelerates the learning curve. There are really no shortcuts, nothing magical, just practice, practice, practice. However, having the MOTI 3D Technical’s in the player’s hands on a mobile device and being able to go frame by frame or watching it from any angle or perspective keeps them engaged for longer periods of perfect practice.

Before starting any coaching session, always keep in mind your objectives by going over your Coaching Philosophy. Practice plans should be planned in detail prior to walking on the field. The MOTI plans give each coach wonderful content to be used in its entirety or as a template for adjusting content.

All practice time should have as much activity and enjoyment as possible.

Keep ALL players active and involved.

Do not lecture.

Put more time into viewing the activities so that clarity of the content is easier to demonstrate and more touches on the ball is achieved.

Teach skills over all aspects of the game, find rewards for players who spend more time working on the Technical Skills at home. The MOTI Analytics’ allows you to monitor the viewing time of each player on your roster.

Concentrate more time on individual skill development rather than tactics.

Make coaching corrections calmly and precisely, having regard for the individual player.

Treat all players as equal and coach the talented and less talented player with the same enthusiasm.

Do not over-coach from the side-line during games.

Make your players’ involvement a positive athletic experience.

The aim of the player is always to have fun and as much enjoyment as humanly possible. The aim of the coach should be to work within their player’s capabilities and create an environment of positive practice time to develop more skillful soccer players.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post New Coach? What do you do now? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Smart coaching can be as simple as better organization prior to the season using a mapped out plan for an entire season. Having a practice plan for your sessions gives you a body of work that can be easily accessed and be ready for delivery to your team. Being organized and having a plan takes away an awful lot of anguish, frustration and ultimately failure in producing the education goals you aspire to.

A coach’s consistency of content throughout the season is key to instructing and demonstrating to their players that they are knowledgeable and engaged with the squad of players. Parents from the side lines will appreciate the coach more when they see energy, movement and meaningful activities that players are embracing and showing fun emotions while doing them.

Preparing a practice sessions on the fly- i.e. in the car in transit to the event is not a good idea and does not produce the meaningful experience for players, their parents and to you the coach. Having some structure and purpose within your plan allows for productive coaching moments and growth, all within a calm and calculated learning environment. Hectic behavior from a coach in a learning and instructional situation does not resonate as an ideal trait to present to a squad of impressionable players.

All of these negative situations have now been eliminated with Soccer Training Platforms that are in an App in a Mobile format. Coaching content, coaching points, coaching concepts and coaching ideas are now established and available in your hand or communicated through a headset where you need them most on the coaching field of play. Now the volunteer parent coach or the young former player turned coach can have all of their fears and wishes for solid practice plans delivered in a curated organized format prior to the season, or in an emergency, half way through the season to turn their experience into a positive outcome.

Board Members, Coaching Directors of Clubs Competitive and Recreational programs, sports administrator’s in Park and Rec, YMCA, YWCA and small Soccer Clubs can now eliminate the dreaded 2 by 4 across the forehead at the conclusion of a season when they hear that a coach was less than stellar and parents and players had a negative outcome of content and delivery from their respective coach.

This situation can now be totally eliminated and forever dodged because the solution is available now in a Soccer App that utilizes revolutionary software that has Motion Capture 3D Animation depicting Skills needed to play good soccer. The brain neurons of young players are lit up when they start viewing these visually engaging depictions of skill sets and small sided game activities.  The visualization players get on how to do a move with the ball are available during an actual practice time or even better as ‘Home Work’ in the back yard, garage floor, basement or even in front of a full length mirror in the kids bedroom. They ‘See it Do It’ and can replicate it with audio clues of ‘Perfect Practice’ in their ears.

Having a well charted Practice Plan for 6 weeks, 8 weeks even 16 weeks with either one or two practices a week takes away any of the ‘hectic’, ‘panic’, or ‘no time’ often associated with Youth coaching.

With this coaching resource the coach can and should share the digital content with players and parents to better prepare them all for the tasks the coach is instructing them on. Again the visualization players can gain accelerates the learning curve, just think how much time it saves the coach in verbalizing soccer concepts into the squad of players. An offshoot of all of this is the education of the parents who now are being exposed to the inner sanctum of soccer knowledge and because of this exposure their appreciation of the game is heightened to realize just how difficult and demanding the game is for young players, this results in a changed behavior on the side line as they respect more skilled performances from their own player and others within the group.

The saved time that the coach has because players are seeing the practice activities before setting foot on the field can now be used for more repetitions of correct technique and actual activities that are already well established in the player’s visualization of action and movement.

Having accurately curated content across age groups assists in the learning curve for coaches and players so the layers of progressions needed to be a competent player are delivered in the correct sequence and in an order of skill and technique building. Moti recognizes and is concerned that the statistics on the attrition of players playing organized sports is running at 70% of them stop playing organized sports, by the age of 14 years old. I attribute that to athletes not being given the opportunity to have exceptional coaching of the best techniques in an ongoing prolonged format. With an App in their hands when they need it, soccer players can ‘self-play’ and gain the satisfaction of gaining ‘self-esteem’ from doing it their way, and on their time. By using the Apps analytics tool, individual players, coaches and parents can make themselves accountable for counting their ‘steps’ their ‘repetition’s’ their ‘Minutes’ doing skill moves, even their time spent looking at the content of the current ‘practice plan’.

This is just another instance where MOTI technology can make not only coaches ‘Smarter’ but it allows players and parents to get a leg up on this shared visual knowledge of the game of soccer. Technology is leading them to have beautiful outcomes of successful play.  Helping to build comradery with team mates while learning how to cooperate and strive for an increased health activity, while enjoying a growth capacity in a complex sport like Soccer.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Coaching Smarter Saving Time appeared first on MOTI Sports.

On the top of the list from all of the surveys, studies, and reports from the Medical professionals is the word FUN as they describe what young soccer players are searching for in the game. It is pretty easy to make the game of Soccer FUN! Here are some of the ways.

Breaking down what makes them pulsate and be engaged in Soccer we find that building a skill set with the ball is very satisfying and enables them to grow and develop in the game.  Learning how to give energy and gain stamina during practice builds inner self esteem leading them to trying their hardest while active in the sport, in both practice and games.

Having measurable progress in ball control and ball maneuverability catapults the player into wanting more FUN, getting rewards by increasing the number of repetitions or doing a dibbling activity a little faster on the stop watch boosts confidence, and sets a bench mark for how to set personal goals while having FUN. Seeing self improvement because of FUN extracurricular activities at home on their own is very rewarding and bodes well for them to do other tasks as self starters.

In Soccer one of the biggest take a ways for young players is how to cooperate, and interface with other players and the coaches.  Players get FUN being paired up with all squad members at some stage of the season and will see body language and human idiosyncrasies of others up close and in person.

Young players learning the rules and regulations of the game build a base line of discipline that gives them further insight on FUN and how to act and react with team mates and opponents during games. Sportsmanship and respect to others is FUN and fully expected in all facets of Soccer player activities before during and after practice and games.

Soccer has so many FUN facets compared to other sports and gives players lots of variety of movements.  In running it can be short bursts of 5 yards to defend a player, or a full length of the field attack to score on a breakaway. Short passes, long passes, ground passes and air passes. Control with either foot, using the inside, outside, sole and even the laces on top of the foot. Then the air balls can be controlled with the foot, thigh, chest and head. Learning goalkeeper skills allows all athletes to use upper body motion for catching high balls or diving skills to stop a shot into the corner of the goal.

Players can draw FUN positive outcomes in their soccer activity when parents have beliefs of their child’s participation in soccer as an organized physical activity and they support it with positive comments made by parents in the home or to and from practices and games.

Coaches need to be conducting practices that are correctly curated and tailored to their player’s physical and developmental level, not just their age.  If the team is learning and trying new things, they are likely to make a lot more mistakes as they gain experience. Encourage them to try new things & encourage the effort even if it doesn’t work. Examples: “Great try; Keep it up,” or “Good idea; try it again.”

Never punish or scold a child for lack of ability. Keep their heads up. All you can expect them to do is their best. Measure each player’s performance by their personal improvement & effort, and not by comparing them to someone else.

Always show positive encouragement and instruction of your players. Never use negative criticism, hostility, abuse or anger.  These are things you do not do.

Cheering or applause when the other team makes a mistake is bad sportsmanship and never allowed. Cheering or applause when the other team makes a great play is a good gesture.

Never criticize the referee or talk to the ref during the game. It is a tough job. There should be no yelling or conversation between a coach and the other team during the game.

Deal with disruptive players from your own team. Nip it in the bud, correct them and get their parents involved if needed. Deal with disruptive parents of your team. Again, nip it in the bud, correct them and tell them that behavior is not acceptable. Hopefully a representative of your parent group is versed in the Parents And Coaches Together (PACT) initiative and can be an ambassador and Champion of the sideline on your teams’ behalf. All of these ideas bring a discipline and feeling of safety that every young player needs to feel at ease about and allows them to have more FUN.

Parents need to be observant and have a role here to monitor what is being asked of their player and if they are developmentally prepared. If not, can that parent help their player with some ‘Homework’ of remedial skill sessions to catch up thereby removing frustrations from their players’ experience?  The quality time a parent can share with their child is invaluable to connect and share a FUN hour or two.

Coach and parents should continually monitor the FUN level. Do not let overbooked schedules and unwarranted pressures take the FUN away. Most players just want to go out and play.  That was their original plan, make sure they are showing signs of progress in the game.  Their skill sets should be gaining in number and execution, their soccer personality is developing,  and above all they show signs of sheer FUN and enjoyment, showing a strong trust and belonging with their team mates.

 Having camaraderie within a squad of players is a whole bunch of FUN just within itself.

Count how many times I used fun and you will find it was not enough!  Keep on adding FUN to every aspect of this wonderful sport and create environments where your soccer players enjoy FUN Soccer to the fullest.

Learn about Coaching Children U6 – U8 here

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post FUN in Parenting, FUN in Coaching, FUN makes Happy Players. appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Last month we took a look at different team formations for youth soccer, getting yourself organized and how to organize a coaching session.

This month we will take a look at some foundational Tactics and Systems of Play.

Tactics and Systems of  Play

Simple Principles of Play

• Support
• Width
• Depth

Taking just those basic principles, how does one put together a system of play?  Let’s start.

            GK

            CB

            CM

            CF

It looks like a fair start – a backbone to a team. The spine of the team is not only its foundation it is imperative for all aspects of the game offense and defense start and finishes down the middle.

How do we get support?

               GK

            CB  CB

            CM  CM

            CF  CF  The backbone now has a buddy system installed side front and back!

How do we get width?

                           GK

            RB       CB  CB      LB

            RM      CM  CM     RB

                         CF  CF

This now gives balance and synergy, solid strength as a starting point and reference to all other movement of players.

How do we get depth?

                          GK

            RB     CB    CB     LB

            Correct distances

            RM     CM    CM     LM

            Correct distances

                      CF    CF  

This 4-4-2 System shows a method to maintain balance and always have a buddy system in place. All that remains is dynamic runs and service of the ball.

The shape of the system changes upon regaining possession of the ball and players making runs past opponents and in the future with the ball

I believe you will find that the best tactics and formations come from team balance, adequate support, and a simple understanding of the principles of play.  There is a need for accurate passing and an understanding of the demands of the game.  Have fun making it work for your squad using MOTI to increase learning opportunities for your players and yourself.

View the Tactics and Formations article part one.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post TACTICS AND FORMATIONS from MOTI – Part 2 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Style of Play – Team Formation Recommendations

Playing small-sided games is recommended throughout the soccer community for ages up to U13.  Small-sided games allow the players to maximize their touches.  This will allow the players to improve their skills, confidence, and comfort on the ball, develop intelligence with and without it, promote faster decisions, and develop partnerships within the team.  And most importantly, it makes the game more fun to play!  It’s a good thing you have them practicing their MOTI skills. ?

Below are the recommendations from the USSF for the number of players playing in the small-sided games. Your association may have you playing with different numbers of players in your small-sided games. 

1. U6 through U8, we recommended that you play 4v4 without goalkeepers. We recommend you use a 1-2-1 or 2-2 style of play. For the 1-2-1, one player protects the net, two players play mid-field, and one player plays forward. For 2-2, have two players playing each half of the pitch.
2. U9 through U10, it is recommended that you play 7v7 with goalkeepers.  We recommend you use a 2-2-2, 3-2-1, or 2-3-1 style of play. Learning to stay connected is the key both in attack and while defending.
3. U11 through U12, at the 9v9 (with keeper) level of play we recommend a 3-2-2 style of play, ensuring that players always have a counterpart or ‘buddy’ to play to, to support while in possession, to cover on defense, and to interact off each other at appropriate angles and distances. This cooperation works in both offense and defense.
4. U13+, having the above concepts installed at an early age, makes players a good transition into the 11v11 game.  MOTI uses the defensive back four – as flat as possible with two central defenders dropping for each other, prompting the fullback to tuck in and provide cover and depth: Midfield four, two central midfield and two wide, and two target players as a starting point.  Advancing a midfield player or two gives us much flexibility to change the team’s shape to suit the game’s demands. Coaches, players, and teams should also be familiar with playing a 4-3-3 style of play with both a narrow front three and one wide front three. Coaches must experiment with formations and tactical concepts to suit game situations and the squad’s personnel.  Flooding players into areas to take advantage of or secure moments in the game is part of the journey and development of experience.  Be brave!  Take chances.

How do tactics and structure affect Your Team?

I believe that tactics and formation structures help minimize inaccurate passes and improve players’ field-of-view, resulting in better ball control and more significant time of possession while encouraging players to support each other; systems of play can also protect/hide less experienced players.

Sweeping Statement – Let’s get into the fray of proving it.

This session is intended to help your organizational skills, getting you familiar with the MOTI App.  Tactics and formations can only be implemented by organized coaches!!

Organization is a two-fold concept:

    (1) Self-organization         (2) Organization of a coaching session

(1) Self-Organization:  Before communicating coaching ideas to players, the coach must thoroughly understand the concepts. There are many sources to gain this knowledge.  I encourage you to investigate the MOTI Soccer Training Platform and use the Age and Gender-specific practice plans that can navigate you to conduct great sessions with engaged and aware players on your squad.

(2) Organization of Coaching Sessions:  MOTI has an expansive library of available session plans but is also flexible enough for you to develop personalized plans. If you set up your sessions, several questions must be asked as you create each training session.

• What is the theme, and what am I trying to teach?
• What field area will be needed?
•  How many players will be present?
• How can maximum transfer of training occur?

Realism

All practice is artificial to a greater or lesser degree.  The maximum transfer is gained when the practice is more realistic.  Five factors help ensure realism:

1. Off-the-ball activity – What are players doing when not possessing the ball?
2. On-the-ball activity – What are players who possess the ball trying to accomplish?
3. Targets/Direction – What are the Targets (either other players or objects, such as goals) players should be looking for?
4. Supporting players – Creating passing opportunities or denying lanes for passing?
5. Opponents – How does what a player does affect their opponent?

Having practice sessions in your players’ hands on a digital device gives them many opportunities to view, review, and analyze the Tactical activity and the review Techniques (Skills) needed for success.

Observation

Observation is aided by:

1. Good organization
2. Knowledge of key factors of successful performance.
3. Ability to recognize the absence of these significant factors in the coaching session.
4. The ability to concentrate on the topic at hand.  Avoid distractions staying focused.
5. The Animated 3D content gives everyone content clarity and deeper visual understanding.

Observation must be done QUICKLY.

1. To rectify a fault immediately.
2. So that the situation has had little or no time to change.
3. So that the player can recall the fault immediately.

Instruction

“Think before you say anything.”

If the function of the coach is to communicate, then he/she must be understood.  Players’ understanding comes from:

1. What the coach does
2. What the coach says
3. What the coach organizes
4. How the coach demonstrates
5. Recognizing situations, familiarity, and experience.

Demonstration

The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is accurate in soccer coaching.  MOTI was developed to magnify the ease of visual coaching points to unwrap the inner workings of the beautiful game. The demonstration must be:

1. Accurate
2. Effective
3. Realistic

Remember, players will attempt to reproduce what they see.

Progress

The decision as to “when to progress” is dictated by the player’s ability under varying degrees of work pressure.

Evaluation

To what degree was the session successful or otherwise?  Why or why not? Possible changes for the next session. Next month, in part two of this article, we will dive deeper into the tactics and systems of play.

View the Tactics and Formations article part two.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post TACTICS AND FORMATIONS from MOTI – Organizing Your Practices appeared first on MOTI Sports.

All Soccer pre-game or practice activity soccer warm-ups should be done with motion, there are many benefits from conducting a correct warm–up and many more negatives from staying with outdated ideas like static stretching. Much research has been done and it has shown over and over again that dynamic warm-ups are much more beneficial to an athlete prior to competition than static stretching. The dynamic warm-up can also assist in increasing a player’s overall level of ability as it aids in the player’s muscle memory, coordination, footwork, and overall agility and mobility. There is a place for static stretching and it is usually after a game or exercise to massage some the lactic acidity out of muscles.

A correct warm-up needs to increase blood flow and get the heart rate pumping at a faster rate. Soccer athletes need good circulation and increases in muscle and blood temperature, conducting a dynamic warm-up will help jump-start the cardiovascular system to appropriate levels for performance. The dynamic exercise also gets the brain working to concentrate on body motion and produces a focus for the impending tasks once the game starts. With this motion, the entire athlete’s body is activated including the Nervous System because the motion demands increased muscle and body control, awareness and coordination. As the body is warmed in this fashion the range of motion within muscles and joints they are protecting increases, this range of motion will decrease potential injury. The dynamic warm is likely to assist your players to produce the explosive energy and power needed to increase their abilities in the game.

The Dynamic warm–up is a form of stretching done while the body is in motion, it asks for quick stretches for short bursts. The idea of this stretching is to keep the players moving to increase body temperature, while increasing flexibility. Some of the exercises can be very ballistic and will assist in promoting the player’s ability to produce explosive power while still maintaining coordination, muscle memory and also control of their body.

The exercises used in the MOTI Sports Soccer Club warm-up are all soccer specific and are pivotal in reducing injury; all movements are well tested in their efficacy as warm up components. A gradual increase in demand is needed during the warm-up period the player’s body needs to get warm before too much is asked of it, the intensity of the work up should gradually increase during the session to include several flat out speed sprints of different distances.

Many of the best movements during a Soccer Dynamic Warm Up are multi-directional stutter steps with 1-2-3-4-5 steps. Rhythmical players who have this plyometric step sequence are usually found to have better ball handling skills, first touch, ability to change direction and pace of play.

The movement during the dynamic warm-up is best done across the width of the penalty box 44 yards on the large field; it should be done with players either stretched out from half way line to the top of the box or in pairs following each other. Try and stay out of the penalty box areas to avoid wear and tear on this high traffic zone of the field.

These moves and more can be found in the MOTI Soccer Training Platform and accessed by using the free MOTI Mobile App

Here are samples of appropriate moves:
Basic skip
Basic skip with arms clapping (above the head, out in front of face)
Basic skip with arms hands touching the chin and down
Basic skip with arms going backward looking to clap or touch behind the back
Basic skip with then a side shuffle step to the left then out to the right repeat
Jog with all the same arm movements as above
Jog with one leg coming up quickly with thigh parallel to the ground (single leg sprint motion)
Jog with one leg coming up entirely parallel to the ground like a hurdler
Jog touch left hand to the ground/ right hand to the ground/both hands
Jog call of # 1 is left hand to the ground #2 is right-hand #3 jumps in the air (header style with heading motion)
Jog high knees
Jog clap hands underneath hamstrings
Jog slap inside of your foot – right hand to left foot/left hand to right foot single stride set up
Jog slap the outside of your foot with the same hand
Jog backward
Jog backward with a slide step in each direction
Jog kick heels to touch backside or hands placed on players butt
Jog to the command of ‘1’ touches the ground with both hands
Jog to the command of ‘2’ is left-hand touches the ground
Jog to the command of ‘3’ is right hand touch the ground
Jog to the command of ‘red’ which is a jump off the left foot
Jog to the command of ‘blue’ which is a jump off the right foot
Jog to the command of ‘white’ which is a jump off both feet all jumps mirror a heading of the ball
Forward Shuffles where you open hips lift the leg high to the outside then rotate hips stepping in a 45-degree step over motion plant foot in neutral position repeat with the other leg
Hip crossover where player swings leg high upwards and inwards, rotating on the forward leg and pivoting on the planted leg, the player ends up facing the opposite direction. Repeat with the opposite leg.
Carioca is the regular cross over getting players to swing their arms gets even more rotation and flexibility
Carioca ‘TAPioca’ with very short steps and also very wide steps ‘WIDioca’ are both good alternate exercises
Walk skip kick leg high across the body – length of kick can be altered to be a side-foot volley, a goal kick a sharp strike on goal all working on correct technique
Side to side shuffle facing each other – need to go in both directions so leading foot changes
Side to side reverse so back to back – can be changed by the leader of the pack or coach
Side to side as above but with arms swinging crossed on chest past each other above the head
Side to side then chest bump with a partner directly in front of each other
Two-step run – skip and kick leg across body repeat from the other side
Two-step run – skip lift the trailing leg up and to the outside like a hurdler repeat each side
Two-step run – skip and lift the front leg back with thigh parallel to the ground
Forward Lunge left foot right foot
Forward Lunge left foot with an upper torso twist at the waist left and right repeat the right foot lunge
These can all be found on the MOTI Soccer Training Platform and accessed by using the free MOTI Mobile App

Special exercises’ ideal for the Women’s program with ACL Injury prevention;

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Soccer Club Dynamic Warm-Up appeared first on MOTI Sports.

So how far are you behind in what you set out to be your best season yet?  Whether a Player, a Coach, an Assistant Coach, a DOC, a Board Member a Soccer Mom or Dad, all your best laid plans may not be in sync to the in-climate weather.  Who can plan for late April Snow and all the rain and water logged fields the country as a whole is suffering from. It seems like everyone is over-scheduled and spare time is hard to make available. With that said the soccer season is upon us all, so we go into true focus on the tasks on hand. The most important topic to give time to is the team training program. This is where the biggest impact can be made on player development and growth. Do a check now as to where your portfolio of practices stand, have your looked them all over, are you making adjustments and tweaks to refine them so that you understand the flow of every practice? Can you make a visualization of the activities, the dimensions of field size and player numbers? Do you have a good grasp of the coaching points and coaching clues you have to unleash insight and player awareness with your squad? Have you taken time to review your player activities in the off season/winter? Have you been able to asses any players increase of skills, addition of moves and individual betterment on ball mastery? Are you able to access all of the coaching notes and curriculum you are going to utilize this season in a mobile fashion?  Were you able to get a moment to write down any anecdotes, funny sayings, inspirational quotes and words of wisdom? Have you decided how to communicate with your squad post practice and pregame, and what are you likely to use as a theme to encourage, prompt, cajole, all naturally as age and development opportunities reveal themselves. What have you done to improve your Coach Preparation and Clarity of Coaching Points? Does your team have coaching continuity when the assistant coach has to run practice and maintain discipline and content within the session?

This laundry list of questions I have posed can all be answered with new mobile technology, saving time and getting pertinent soccer curriculum to players, parent’s, coaches and Board Members. This age and gender specific information has all been curated so that the Practice Plans and Skill Techniques go in a sequence that allows incremental developmental layers so players get more enjoyment and satisfaction from the game. Skilled technical players will stay in the game as they can easily navigate the next progression level because of the groundwork done in their informative years and then into their teen years. Start trusting technology as many schools around the USA are teaching Science, Mathematics, Languages.  Learning Sports, in this case Soccer, from a screen is inevitable and is this generation’s preferred method of learning. They are engaged and their brains are now wired to receive and absorb this visual smorgasbord of soccer skills and tactical movement, X’s and O’s are a thing of the past and do not start me on 3 ring binders with schematics.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Just how Far are you Behind? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

I was so fortunate to be coached by some pretty established and notable coaches during my 26 years of affiliation as a Player and Head Coach in the Professional Game these coaches rose to the top ranks of coaching and became National Team Managers and Coaches. Here are some of the names, their backgrounds and their status within the Soccer World as I learned from their tutorage. I played in three countries England, Canada and the United States of America.

I represented England in the 1968 Junior World Cup in Lyon France. The coach was Wilf McGuiness, a Manchester United staff coach who worked extensively with the English Football Association.  He was possibly the youngest coach I ever had, and his playing career was cut short by an injury. The next National Team Coach I rubbed shoulders with was Don Howe when he was named coach/manager of West Bromwich Albion in 1971 thru 1975.  Don coached the England National Team under three different managers in 1981 with Ron Greenwood then Bobby Robson and was an assistant under Terry Venables from January 1994 thru 1996.

My next coach in 1975 was Jonny Giles who not only coached, but was player coach of the Republic of Ireland from 1973 through 1980. Coach Giles was an accomplished midfield player who was able to dominate the game and set up goal scoring opportunities galore.  Giles was tough as nails and typified a very workmanlike approach to the game where he never backed down and was always looking to set his team mates up with excellent service of the ball.  He even scored 115 goals himself while playing for Leeds United.

Jumping across the Atlantic Ocean in 1976 got me to Minnesota where I played for the Minnesota Kicks.  It was in Minnesota that I started to take coaching courses and get Coaching Diplomas to bolster my English Coaching Badge that I got when I was 18 years old.  I subsequently got my USSF B and USSF A licenses.  I also worked up the coaching ladder taking NSCAA Diplomas to finally getting their highest coaching level, the Premier Certification  

I left Minnesota in 1979 to join the LA Aztecs which got me exposure to another National Team Coach, Rinus Michels, the famous Dutch coach of the Netherland’s notorious Clockwork Orange group named after their success in the 1974 World Cup.  Rinus played his entire career at AFC Ajax, where he is credited with the invention of ‘Total Football’ in the 1970’s.  He was named Coach of the Century by FIFA in 1999 and in 2007 the Greatest Post War Football Coach by the London Times.   France Football ranked him at No.1 on their list of the 50 greatest football managers of all time in 2019. He had 4 stints as the Manager of the Netherlands National Team and also coached Ajax in two stints but also Barcelona and the LA Aztecs in 1980 where I had the privilege to play for him.

Claudio Coutinho was my next coach at LA Aztecs 1981 when he took over the coaching duties when Rinus left to coach FC Koln.  Coach Coutinho coached the Brazilian National team 1977 thru 1980.  Unfortunately I only got to work under Coach Coutinho during preseason when I left the Aztecs to go play for San Jose Earthquakes with Jimmy Gabriel as coach.  

On to Canada where I joined Toronto Blizzard in the North American League for the 1982 season.  Bobby Houghton was the coach at Toronto who went on to coach China 1997 thru 1999,  Uzbekistan in 2005 and India 2006 thru 2011. Coach Houghton was probably the most organized coach I played under, his practice sessions worked like clockwork and had excellent content that were designed to set his style and formational shapes into the group of players.  Bobby also encouraged me to take the Canadian Coaching License which helped broaden my coaching scope and the understanding of teaching methodology.

From every one of these fine men who coached at the very highest National Team level, I owe a huge thank you for the education and guidance I learned and gained from playing under them. I also played for, in order, Jimmy Hagan and Alan Ashman – West Bromwich Albion, Derek Dougan – Kettering Town, Freddie Goodwin and Geoff Barnett – Minnesota Kicks, Alex Pringle- Pittsburgh Spirit MISL, I have the best of memories of all of these great coaches and mentors.

The aforementioned coaches gave me all the ‘clues and understanding of the game’ that has served me well.  I took notes, I observed, I was engaged, I was a sponge for information.  It helped be through my 17 years of professional play and I proved to be a good student and eventually a student of the game.  I coached at the  professional level for 5 seasons, have coached youth soccer,  including my own children, high school, Minnesota State Men’s and Women’s teams, and a Men’s University program over the last 20 years.

If I have to choose which one coach influenced me the most I would select Rinus Michels.   I spent hours in airport concourses, on flights, in hotels,   at meal times while on road trips, where I would camp out with Rinus and mine him for his insights and knowledge of the game.  Rinus was a formidable man who was very confident and had an aura that intimidated most of the players.  He scared most if not all members of the LA Aztecs players in 1980 the year I played for him.  I had none of those underlying feelings so I was able to capture many minutes going into hours picking his brain of soccer knowledge.  Rinus was very easy to understand in his demands of players in game situations. Keeping it simple – it was find space for yourself to play in while giving passes to feet of your team mates.  Play the game quickly – invariably the first instinct was the best choice to find an open player, the priority was always to maintain the ball and keeping the ball in your possession.  If your team has the ball, the opposition is negated.  Rinus manufactured players by giving them tasks that they could perform, because the practice rehearsal gave them all the key elements needed to succeed.  He always gave instructions that were easy to understand and never caused any doubt as to their intent.  . He gave reassurance and structure that was attainable and doable by all players in all positions.  Every player was well informed and versed in their role and duties within each game. This detail made all players accountable and responsible for their individual and collective success in each game.

‘Total Soccer’ is ingrained in my soccer make up and my psyche is fine tuned into thinking that the game can be played with a certain style where players should have flair and be able to make the game exciting. One thing to remember whenever you watch a game is that statistics tell us that no player has the ball in possession any more than 3 minutes in a 90 minute game. That being the case each player must know in advance what they need to be doing in the other 87 minutes that make up the game. The impact players naturally take up key position in defense midfield and in the final third while going to goal. Inserting yourself into a game and being affective while not touching the ball is an art and requires a combination of game management, experience, intelligence, awareness and discipline. I saw Coach Michels manufacture players with manipulation, guile and fear during my time with the Aztecs. Every player knew their role, their tasks, their individual undertakings, and their collective contributions to their team mates. Poor performance or a slump by the team was not acceptable under his watch and in Rinus’s case the entire team would be punished with incredibly severe training loads that would leave players getting sick and with sore muscles loaded with lactic acid that took several days to recover from. The overriding theme was for players to compete against the opposition producing the work rate necessary to win a game and dominate your opponent, to win the small battles within the game as needed. Players were on notice that no energy could be saved during the actual game or the consequences’ of a slump in effort would be dealt with one of these Draconian workload sessions. The fear of having to do one of the ‘slump trainings’ was scorched into everyone brain and got all players on the same page. That page was giving ‘Total Effort’, ‘Total Motivation’, ‘Total Concentration’, ‘Total Focus’, ‘Total Execution’.  Rinus was famous for his ‘Total Soccer’ nickname while coaching the Netherlands National Team in the 1974 World Cup. I learned what, ‘Total Soccer’ was, and to this day I mirror many of those aspects that emanated from this great coach.

The tactics that prevail when looking at “Total Soccer” is capsulated in a mentality that your team is superior to the team you are playing. Your players are prepared to work harder than the opponent and your star players have flair and flamboyancy that will push you over the top. ‘Total Soccer’ gives you the ability to be able to meld the long direct passing game with the short passing game.  Blending formations are also part of the ‘Total Soccer” formula. The ability of players to function in multiple positions, players who understand interchanging positions starts to get the opponent’s heads spinning and creates a disorientation of their assignments thus starting to give your team an edge in the form of momentum and hopefully territorial advantage.  

Blending formations during a game is a way to provide solutions of using the inevitable spaces that appear with good ball movement and clean crisp passing. There are so many variations in formations so think of it as a concept that is ever evolving during any game confrontation, the key is which set of players or which individual can utilize the movement to dominate space and the opponents they find there.  The best explanation of “Total Soccer” is to visualize it as each player is supported always by one player with two other players striving to connect with them by rotational or gyratory runs which relates to players making overlapping runs or darting forward runs into space opened up by players coming short to be a set up player.  The offensive stages of this ‘Total Soccer’ requires incredible physical output –  the sprinting and dynamic movement is grueling but to top it all the same influences need to be used in the defensive duties. Players have to be two way players – they need to destroy the opponent, if needed, while getting the ball back and when in possession they need to have wonderful techniques with the ball, be creative, be an athlete, be focused, be intelligent, be sharp – to develop meaningful possessions and attacking superiority.

I am telling you all of this insight into the game because Rinus Michels is no longer with us, but his legacy is still available for coaches and players to emulate, copy and plagiarize because that is what we do in soccer.  We find clues, game understanding, good sessions, things of interest, techniques and then we put them to use in our coaching files.

In my last three years of working for MOTI Sports I have been utilizing as many of these soccer content concepts.  I learned from all of these coaching geniuses. Techniques are central in players’ development and having Motion Capture Techniques in your players hand can be the physical catalyst for players to get the correct foundation into the game, thereafter giving your players the lifetime enjoyment in the finer points of the game.  The MOTI Soccer Training Platform is full of clues, I am hopeful it will in turn assist players, coaches and parents alike in understanding “Total Soccer” oh yes and make Rinus a happy spirit.  Get your fully mobile MOTI Soccer App and have a piece of curated Soccer knowledge on your tablet or via a smart phone and have soccer power in your hand. And Yes, soccer knowledge can be passed on! 

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post What did I learn? When did I learn it? Can it be passed on? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

First of all this revelation is going to be short and precise.

Practice makes Permanent! Think about those three words with this statement it refutes the normal message of Practice makes Perfect. So how can we now merge the two concepts and make a statement like Perfect Practice makes Perfect and Permanent! Just a play on words but the outcome become less clouded in its last form. If you practice and you are not doing it correctly and you continue to practice that way your skill sets are going to be less than stellar. This is why practice needs some structure and it also needs precise coaching points and ideas that provide clarity for both coaches, players and parents as a bonus if they can be engaged.

Motion capture gives perfect renditions of the movement needed to conduct the actions that are needed to train the eyes and body to have ball movement, ball mastery and ball control. 3D Animated training sessions shown on a gaming platform (not Video) allow players, coaches and parents to see the first pass and movement of players all the way through to the final motion. In a complicated exercise like this where 10- 20 -30 passes and multiple player movements can still be followed in 3D. Watching the complete session gives all viewers a complete perspective of how the session works and runs.

So player’s coaches and parents can have a ‘Perfect’ perspective of session content that can be replayed in normal time or one frame at a time enabling absorption of subtle intricacies of the game.

MOTI Sports Soccer Training Platform allows the ‘Perfect Practice concept’ to be made as a permanent visual reference point for all ages, gender and levels of play within the game. 3D and Animation is revolutionary and available now!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Practice makes ????? What ? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Having the ability to manipulate a soccer ball is so important for young players to work on. It is impossible to work up the ladder of Soccer if the basics of ball movement skill sets are not in place. Being able to keep a ball close to your feet and anticipating the balls next revolution is paramount in gaining later enjoyment from this complex game.

From a young age, ball manipulation with all surfaces should be sought by all players, and a goal of all coaches. Being able to stop the ball with the sole of the foot is one of the very first successes players will accomplish. This is good because it will enable players to keep the ball inside of the field markings and it will also stop players from running into the opponents, another good thing. Developing building blocks and forming a foundation from which to succeed will entail adding inside and outside touches of the foot.

An ideal task is to have players do a four touch routine that goes, outside touch, inside touch of the same foot then use the outside of the other foot to make a third touch and the forth touch is the inside of the foot bringing it back to the starting position.  The ideal touches in this description are lateral touches so the player stays in one line for all touches, going to the side and not moving forward. This will prove to be invaluable later when defending opponents are present. The player in possession does not want to close their maneuverability spaces down and give defenders help. More complex progressions can include having two and three touches on each surface, moving up to 8 and 12 touches all going laterally.

The turns are with the sole of the foot using a drag back and a 180-degree switch of direction. Others include inside of the foot hook turns and outside of the foot hooks turns. These alone give a solid base as far as ball skills go. Once these core skills have been ingrained in players the plyometric foot movements learned will facilitate more complex approaches with the ball.

Moving forward with the ball is one of the easier tasks. All the player does is turn the foot in approximately 45 degrees and strikes the ball with the 5^th Metatarsal (or the pinky toe of the foot) and strike the ball forward. This will be the fastest form of dribbling and also the most challenging because defending players and field dimensions will call for cutting and stopping of the ball to avoid collisions and loss of control of the ball. Being able to turn with the ball helps in navigating the obstacles found during the game.

Developing abilities to beat players such as the Mathews Move, the Maradona Spin Turn, the Rummenigge, the Cruyff fake cross, fake shot across the body and pass will all start to be easier tasks for players to add to their tool box. 

It is important to know that players do not have to be equal in ability from the right side to the left side of their bodies, but having one dominant foot that can keep track of the ball is key.  So while being ambidextrous is a wonderful idea, getting there will be nearly impossible for 99% of players. Do not stress out over it. Having one foot that is trained and competent will assist in the enjoyment and fulfillment within the game.

This is just a short idea on how a curriculum can be designed and curated to have the best holistic effect on player development. Coaches that do not have the ability to demonstrate these skills should look at the MOTI Soccer App that has an extensive library of 3D Animated Techniques that can be used as a development tool for both players and coaches.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Why Soccer Skills are So Important appeared first on MOTI Sports.

A New Year & Time for A Prediction: New Technology Will Continue to Change & Enhance the Sports We Love

The articles, magazines and reporting that flash across my desk, computer and phone are screaming at me about technology and the ways it will impact how sport is going to be consumed, played and coached. Following are some of the technologies that are going to influence watching, playing and learning sports in 2019.

The printed ticket for any sporting event has become nearly extinct, replaced with a barcoded impression or picture on your smart phone or a PDF sent to your email for you to print and produce at the event. I think they call it mobile ticketing or biometric verification – new technology that is searching for a stable nomenclature that has been embraced by everyone. It is upon us and only took the first few months of 2018 to gain acceptance.

Last year also saw sports streaming services, with new technology and band width being launched by every outlet and media company that had a server. Do you think the cable companies are looking over their shoulders as they see their dominance erode? In 2019 you can bet that streaming services will morph into an even bigger presence and even more sports options will be on the menu. It has been reported that niche sports can be expected to thrive while gaining respect and popularity because streaming services are sure to gain even more traction and build a following.

Since the May 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court that opened up legalized gambling, states across the USA are looking at regulations to make gambling more accepted and commonplace. It appears that sports betting kiosks could be part of the scene found in stadiums everywhere, perhaps with Las Vegas as the starting point using existing betting apps technology and interactive mobile game platforms. There are now new startup companies building corporate headquarters and then using their technology to find and farm data so that they can deliver fantasy and betting experiences to fans.

Washington State has approved Biometric Identification to buy alcoholic beverages in the Seattle sports stadiums. So the technology that TSA is using at airports around the country to keep us safe is now finding its way to stadiums, where fans can gain entry into games with a fingerprint scan. Facial recognition technology is sure to follow once regulators in more states allow it to expand.

As a former high school soccer coach and college coach, I get at least one email per week trying to get me to buy wearable vests. A new technology, they tell me, which will give me all of the data a player generates during a practice session or during a game. The devices also have GPS to show all levels of motion and work rate to track players strain and recovery. The professional leagues have only had this type of technology for a couple of years, but now every athlete has the ability to have this information, as costs have dropped drastically. Technology companies that are making massive inroads into health care monitoring with sensors that look like a watch giving alerts when a heart rate is too low or too high. Similar monitors that count how many steps you have taken, your sleep patterns. Apple has an ECG device in a watch which can be taken by a user placing a finger on the top of a watch for only 30 seconds.

In the process of creating a revolutionary new 3D Animation Technology to help coaches and players understand the game of soccer, the development group of MOTI Sports had to solve all sorts of problems – including how to put together a soccer training platform that could be used by players as young as 5 years old and coaches across the spectrum of experience. To help players understand soccer skills, Motion Capture Technology was used, which allows players to watch movements from all angles and perspective. Rather than use old video technology, the development group used a complex gaming technology platform that allows smart mobile devices, such as phones and tablets to provide screen manipulation of rotation and zoom in and out. This new technology is in the category of ‘Immersive Technology’ that engages users to stay on the device and produces an energized learning environment for soccer development. If you are involved in soccer in any capacity, start looking at technology – let it help you! Don’t let the new technologies intimidate you and cause you to get stuck with some of the same old ways. The seven worst words a coach can use is “it’s the way we’ve always done it”. I am a living example of an “old dog learning new tricks.”

I predict 2019 to be a new start on soccer player development: use 3D Animated Technology to help all your visual learners…there are certainly a lot of them!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post New Year & Time for A Prediction appeared first on MOTI Sports.

This is a road to destruction and inevitable failure for many players. The pressure results in ‘real anxiety’ and loss of perfection produces a downhill spiral. The warnings are now being broadcast by therapists and the psychologists that this quest for perfection and 100% plus performance is producing anxiety, deepening depression and leading some athletes to suddenly quit on the spot. It has been reported that millennials are continually getting messages that they must achieve perfection. The millennials and Gen Z generations are the athletes that are the most critical of themselves that we have ever experienced.

Social media Facebook and Twitter add to the pressure of belonging and having ever increasing stats and performance records. Studies have already documented that athletes who show signs of not making decisions and continually setting goals that seem farfetched and unattainable are athletes that are hindered and need some help.

Players need to be continually brought down to earth with doses of reality talk, and reality checks, the grounding renews the base level of understanding and allows for new growth in the game. It is ok to accept a little failure to gain inner strength and use that experience as a healing method to cope with natural pressures within the game.

Doing your best, giving your best effort, playing smart, using your experience, being fit and athletic, showing your skill set, setting realistic goals, making good decisions, working for your team mates need to be the messages that are continually given to our soccer players. We want them to know that if you only have 75% in the performance tank we are all cool with that, especially if it means they make Soccer a Lifetime Sport for them to enjoy as an Adult.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Why do players leave the game appeared first on MOTI Sports.

When coaching the very young player or a player very new to the game, one must gather all of your faculties, your organizational skills, and your nurturing instincts, in order to maintain a positive practice environment. There is nothing quite like seeing the grin on the face of a young player who has just completed a skill element and see the satisfaction of accomplishment beaming across their entire set of teeth.

These young players may lack physical strength, power and range but they are there to enjoy the game as they develop their coordination, gain a repertoire of technical moves, and confidence with a ball. They will quickly build some muscle memory from their very astute imitation and visual memory instincts. At this age they play for themselves and are very egocentric. As a coach, you give them some boundaries – cones, some supervision, do some demonstrations of moves or guide them to a 3D animation skill library. Coaching points should always be motivational and a boost to their effort. Encouragement drives them to develop quickly so that basic techniques are assembled in all the players so that introductory games and exercises bolsters their motor skills.

The introduction of small sided games 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 ensures that they are all getting huge numbers of touches and opportunities to dribble, control and pass the ball. This is a great time to gain Coaching knowledge that focuses on teaching techniques specific to the player’s position while moving from offense to defense to learn the game. When teaching and coaching at this age you must take into account all of the physical, physiological and physiologic aspects of each stage of childhood and adolescence. Remember a young person is not a small adult and one should always treat each individual appropriately.

There is a need to make a distinction between growth and development characteristics’ with a very positive and encouraging practice environment that nurtures all players and allows them to grow in the game while having fun and enjoyment. So the training session you are trying to produce goes a little like this:

• Player with ball in a one on one duel
• Focus on a repertoire of technical moves and confidence on the ball, coordination skills and technical moves using all the surfaces both feet, chest and thighs.
• Introduce variations on simple exercises
• Introduce dynamic movement, rhythm and ultimately getting up to full velocity
• Have players get their heads up to develop creative offensive minded play and consistent efficacy of pass and movement
• Increase speed of play on execution and making the correct choice from options in front of them
• Training through progressive practice plans, exercises including drills, technical exercises and playing in small sided games to ensure as many touches as possible.

Implementing these coaching techniques may bring you as much joy as the kids get from having a smile across their entire face for every practice session and game they play in.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post The Joy of Coaching at Multiple Levels – Part 1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Keeping your eye on the ball as the Keeper also means understanding the capabilities of yourself and your opponent.

Opponent:
As the Keeper is watching play develop and what amounts to be the “invasion” of the mid-field, and the defensive half, it also means the need to understanding the opponents passing successes & capabilities, their ability to change the point of attack, their control play to maintain possession. .

Watching and understanding their player positioning as they approach is critical to understanding where the Keeper needs to position to defend appropriately.

In the scenario below the White Forward on the left of the screen, just successfully did an overlap on your left defender, so the logical move is to defend against the immediate threat and protect the near post.

(Goal Follow View)

(Keeper View)

In the blink of an eye – the attacker can transition the threat from the left side of the pitch to the right with the proper strike on the ball, leaving the defender out of position to defend. Note the very fast service and ball movement from the left to the right side of the field below.

(Goal Follow View)

(Keeper View)

The time needed for a foot moving shift toward the threat and defending of the keeper needs to happen in a fractions of seconds, or the result is the Goalkeeper being out of position to defend the crossed ball.

One of the reasons Goalkeepers tend to take more time to mature into the game is that visual coaching clues and learning could only be obtained on the pitch through repetition, but now they can improve their game knowledge through 3D simulation. Watching, learning and understanding the keys to “Threat Assessment” over and over again is what makes visualizing with MOTI’s Soccer Training Platform Mobile App invaluable to fast tracking the learning curve of Goalkeepers.

Click the image above to watch the Keeper’s Perspective

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Keeping your Eye on the Ball – Keeper “Threat Assessment” Training appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Learning the Game

If we could provide only high level coaches to the younger age groups the development game would be literally turned on its head. So many more players would develop their appropriate skills sets providing them the foundation to go forward and play at the highest of levels. I have seen and been involved in camps where players are coached like an assembly line plant, good staff coaches give expert instruction for a week. The players respond well in the conveyer belt stations where skills are demonstrated, broken down and coaching points are attached for clarity and comprehension. Players do get a respectable skill set installed in that environment, but it is quickly dissolved once the camp is complete and that classroom is removed, only a few, a very few retain the required knowledge as their connection to the coach resource is gone.

One of my favorite mantras is ‘Practice makes Permanent’ NOT ‘Perfect’. These initial practices that young players are involved with can often burden them to do remedial sessions to correct or erase their exposure and absorption of counterproductive incorrect soccer instruction.

Young players need much time to grasp the complexities of ball control and mastery mainly because they tend to take five steps forward and three backward or vice versa which completely throws development for a loop! In the early stages of development players find themselves with invariably inexperienced volunteer parent coaches. While these coaches are the lifeblood of soccer growth in the USA these recreational coaches are cajoled into coaching with the threat that if a coach does not come forward in the next few days the Club will have to disband this team. These coaches get one hour of instruction at the start of the season and thrown into the volunteer soccer cauldron. While they do a great job of giving players a positive experience with high fives and postgame treats they invariably know little or nothing about the technical needs and tactical spectrum of the full game.

Learning to play requires correct learning environments that nurture a players love, respect and comprehension of the makeup of the game. The informative years of ‘learning to play the game’ need the crucial four pillars of the game. 1) All ball control and ball mastery. 2) All ball striking techniques. 3) All physical attributes. 4) All aspects of mental fortitude, these make up my pillars of the complete player. Mental preparedness for every element of a practice session and ultimately a season should be one of the keys for individuals, the squad and the coaching staff.

Learning to play the game entails producing good habits and layers of self-discipline so players can survive at the next level, age or standard of play.

In the early stages of the game young players are just looking for fun, comradery, group acceptance. As the skill sets get developed other focus centers arise. Players look for satisfaction from performance and results. The player starts to take the game seriously and the layers of game understanding start to support the next level of play. When players start to take practice and the game to heart and devote themselves to it, the foundation becomes sturdier and stable.

Becoming a Player

In small sided games players can get a concentrated dose of experiences that prepares them for success and failure, it allows young players to educate themselves on how to win and also losses. There are often fine lines of difference between the two, so getting an education on wins and loses prepares and rounds out players for the trials and tribulations of later years of soccer experiences.

At this stage they add more disciplines like self-reflection on performance, they start to understand the difference of always giving perfect performance and not athletic effort during a game. The game revolves around what a group of players can do at the level they encounter and play at it at any given time in the season. Soccer players need to live with the adage ‘Results reflection what you can do with what you know – it has no interest in how you learned it or experience it!’ You have to play in the present and produce your best play, think that you are only as good as your last game, your last pass, your last run and your last decision.

Learning to win is a player characteristic, almost a skill, which comes from competitive practice. Players who can be placed on a small sided team game and learn how to compete and find a way to win are the game changers that rise to the top. Player character is developed in these small sided games where the score does matter. Players need to be accountable and have the ‘metal’, ‘the backbone’, ‘the desire’ to get the job done, always maintaining that winning mentality. The better players are mentally prepared for every event that transpires in any game or in any session. The most successful players I encounter have always been the hardest workers the ones who run the extra yard, the hustling player. ‘Work Rate’ is an element that any player can develop it is not in ‘Genes’ it is not a God given talent it is a mindset. A developed talent from sheer self-will and effort. Simply put if you want to be lucky, work hard with your skill set from an early age, continue to refine your ball control and ball mastery it is the ultimate foundation for any ‘Player’ always maintain your focus.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Learning to Play and Becoming a Player appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Why do they play? “To hang out with friends.”

How do they learn the game? “By playing,” “from watching it on TV and going to (MLS) games” and “seeing older players at tournaments or in high school matches.”

Who inspires them? “The professionals and (their) coach.”

Young players love to love the game – to score goals and play in drills and games where they get to express themselves. They often show up time after time because their friends are teammates and their teammates become lifelong friends. They look up to professionals but the professionals are “out there” but their coach, who is right in front of them day after day, is usually their most immediate and consistent role model.

With this type of adoration from young players it is imperative that their coaches up their own game – show up prepared and ready to inspire.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Through the Players Eyes appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Why does US Soccer ignore “Recreational Soccer” training, their largest talent pool?

Recreational soccer (6 – 12 year old players) typically is organized and run by parent volunteer coaches whom receive an hour or two training at the initiation of the season. Often training involves reminders of how to handle medical, or weather emergencies as well as concussion detection and having the “two” adults at all times policy for parent and player safety. Ball handing techniques are relegated to 30 minutes of orientation for the parent coaches and sometimes 1 practice for players. This is almost universal across the US.

In recreational soccer, during a game scenario, if a skilled player passes the ball to an unskilled player and then the ball is turned over, often the skilled player will seldom pass to the unskilled player again. The reality is if players remained unskilled the sense of satisfaction goes down and they leave the game (by age 12) of soccer as boundless other opportunities exist for our youth. However, given a bit more training in the form of foot skills or techniques, the ball that is passed when controlled and returned to a team member, raises confidence in a young player dramatically and they stay with the game.

I’ve heard that the cost of training those players is too expensive. I’ve even heard it will cut into the private training revenue of one academy coach! The financial reality is that the typical recreational player generates a net $60 (net is the fee, less insurance cost, medical kit supplies, t-shirt, participation award, etc.) a season toward the organization overhead. If that player receives training they generate an additional $60, less the training cost, for a second season. So investing in training actually enhances the revenue to the soccer organization. Long term then a player staying with the recreational program over a 5 year period (U6 – U10) will generate (in this scenario) $300 or more towards the organization, less the cost of training.

Training recreational players & parent volunteer coaches on how to control the ball with techniques or foot skills correctly does not need to be expensive. But often the problem is that the trainer, teaching the foot skills is only there for one or two sessions, and if players understand it, great, but if they don’t they tend to be left behind in the team pecking order. Yes, even U6 players have their own pecking order. There are mobile alternatives that are now available to soccer organizations that can remain with the player and coach throughout the season.

The recreational soccer pool is 3 – 4 times the size of the competitive pool, it’s time to invest in them to generate greater numbers of players entering the competitive pool.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Ignoring Recreational Training? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The modern game is changing and every head coach, assistant coach, player and parent needs to take notice. How are all these integral elements and branches of the game embracing the new challenges and performing tasks and meeting demands to keep the game moving forward?

The global game of soccer has seen massive changes in how the game is presented to consumers. When satellites were able to broadcast
International games across the world in the early 1980’s right into homes, the convenience to watch the beautiful game created changes. I had a 12 foot span dish in my yard and was able to scan the world and receive live feeds of soccer games, enabling me to conveniently observe and learn so many vital nuances of the Worlds game. Rush forward to today, and in a relatively short span, technology allows us all to watch this spectacular display of World Soccer Skills from an 18 inch dish or a cable service. One step ahead of that is the ability to stream games and content from the Internet into a laptop, iPad, tablet or even a smart phone, making mobile watching a reality. Every game watched is a building block to understanding the complexities of the game and is an educational tool not to be missed.

Your day to day life has changed for the better with all the Mobile Apps
that are available to make your life easier. Soccer is no different. Now
Soccer Apps are there at your fingertips to enhance your education and sort available information into manageable and accessible files.

The new norm in schools is to have all the student’s course and year of
curriculum in a iPad or Tablet. Books and paper are no longer being used. If this is the new educational norm why wouldn’t we want our soccer players to have the preferred dissemination of soccer Techniques and Practice Plans in their hands so they can learn from the ‘Neck Up’ and be better prepared and organized going into practice.

Looking for good practice sessions and solid content from the internet can be daunting and so time consuming. You will find you do not have enough time to view, review, catalogue and select age and gender specific content that shows appropriate progressions and meaningful coaching points with refined curriculum. Video is cumbersome and is so ‘Old School’.

If you had the time to invest in researching the techniques you need to
have each player develop at each age group, how many videos on the internet would you have to screen? How many hours would that require?

Would you be acquiring another video series that players and coaches would embrace and utilize? Then you need to pair up the necessary tactical information to activities to reinforce the techniques you want players to learn. How many hours are you willing to spend, or more to the point, do you have time in your schedule to devote to that type of exhausting endeavor? Now you need to assemble this so players and coaches can view them in the proper sequence and use them in their sessions. How will you accomplish that? Then of course the question is, can you monitor whether players and coaches are using the materials you devoted hours to researching, gathering and distributing to them.

This is a full time commitment to training content development that is a
complicated platform.

“There are solutions available for handing this process that can save you hundreds of hours. I work with just such a company. MOTI Sports does it all for you… or as much as you want” and keeps it simple.

Having the ability to have Techniques and Training Sessions in a gaming
platform where you can use a mobile device, smart phone or tablet to zoom and pinch the screen activity. This format allows frame by frame viewing of 3D Images and activities to enhance the experience and engagement of the user. Visual information with voice over coaching points shortens the learning curve for both players and coaches. Having Technical Skill Elements in Motion Capture where you can zoom, pinch, rotate to any view and perspective, viewing from above is really close to virtual reality. From below, you can see all the Plyometrics of foot prints and ball movement, try that with video.

The MOTI App has analytics that give feedback to players, parents and Club DOC’, and Administrators allowing tracking of how much time each player has spent logged on to a Technique or Practice plan, This can be a validated true reflection of how prepared the player is for practice and game performance. The concept of doing soccer practice at home can now be a reality and monitored. Spending 15 to 30 daily minutes in a home basement, the garage, in a yard or a bedroom can be reviewed and used to determine the true interest and dedication to improvement each player has. Paper practice sessions are obsolete, now replaced by hand held or pocketed devices. Technology and the game of soccer are blended and ready to show you Animated 3D sessions. Pleasing and clear depictions of the beautiful game illustrate the progressions and beneficial curriculum, presented in gender specific dynamic Practice Plans. By the way, the MOTI Sports Practice Plans are really just templates and can be fully adjustable and can be easily customized and modified with new drawings, video and other media.

I have seen firsthand the engagement my Grandkids have with iPads and smart phones. This is their preferred method of entertainment and education. Give these players the 23 Techniques of Passing, Dribbling, Control, Ball movement and the moves that show how to beat and go past players, and we have them engaged and visualizing the intricate details of every key development aspect of Soccer.

Handle change by going to look at MOTIsports.com or give me a call at
612-867-0390

Best of Kicks
Alan Merrick

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Soccer is Evolving: How do you Handle Change? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Coming Up for Air

“So much to do so little time” is a much-used statement from Directors of Coaching and Recreational Directors this time of year. As we come to the end of May 2018 the preseason and team set ups are all complete, the schedule changes and field conditions have been resolved. It would make sense that the DOC should be coasting along and be in a “Good Mood”. Not so! You can be guaranteed that in every Club there are several teams that are unhappy with their new coach. This puts the DOC in front and center in getting those teams calmed down. Additionally, the DOC is doing some remedial education, tweaking of scheduled practices so they can be present and in the hands of teams. If the DOC is already coaching one or even two teams within the Club, time management becomes a nightmare when practice & league game schedules get even more entrenched in conflict of each other.

While helping design the content and seamless delivery of the MOTI Soccer Training Platform I recalled my experiences as a DOC and was determined to engineer components that help in Club DOC Management. The Practice Plans while complete and ready to use out of the box, are really templates and guides for the DOC to place their personalized preferences into them via drop and drag action from the Media Library. The system gives the Director all options to impart their “Style of Play” throughout Practice Plans and therefore, the Club. By having a digital formatted practice plans that can be loaded and scheduled in the DOC’s downtime in June, then the often hectic and frantic Club Team Management can be done calmly accomplished with professional care and consideration.

The Directors of Recreational programs have appreciated the curriculum development considerations MOTI has on file; they have found it fits into their unique challenges. Recreational Directors are always scouting for and recruiting coaches throughout the community. They are always thankful for the volunteers who come forward. But, then the Rec Director also hit a wall when volunteers stop coming forward and the coaching demand is greater than the supply. Then they have to strong-arm parents, who find themselves shanghaiing unsuspecting parents into being coaches, by sending out the notice “if no volunteer comes forward to coach we will have to abandon the squad”.

In most cases a warm coaching body comes forward, but too late to attend the scheduled Club coach training Murphy’s Law takes over again. Getting these last minute coaches up to speed is paramount on the “tasks and jobs to do”. The MOTI App gives a complete session of training content that has been designed with sound curriculum progressions that are mobile on all smart phones and pads. The Coaches Quick Start video inside the app gives complete instructions to begin using the system. The sessions have all the visual and auditory coaching points for very fast orientation into coaching principles.

If you are a DOC, a Board Member, or a Coach consider MOTI in the next two months of June and July, wouldn’t it be nice to spend just a few hours setting up the entire program for this Fall season? The MOTI Sports 3D Soccer Training Platform has a complete program at your fingertips, one that engages and helps train all of your players, coaches and their families.

Use the MOTI™ Sports 3D Soccer Training Platform to get rid of some of “the coaching Chaos” that you find yourself in. Embrace 3D Soccer Training Technology that it is here now, by implementing it and accepting it into player and coach development. I keep on hearing “It’s not what technology can do; it’s what you can do with technology”. This technology is “awesome” it is “phenomenal” it is now up to you to show what you can do with technology, that is going to be amazing, save you lots of time and allow some calm breathing!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post The DOC and Recreational Director Survival Code appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Coaches: Ever changing weather patterns can present major challenges to your spring practice times! In some areas, practice fields won’t be ready to play on until the end of May! Overcome the weather by giving your players Home Work! Players need to be creative and find a square yard or larger in their home, bedroom, basement or the garage. Assigning MOTI Skills from the Library of Technique Skills challenges them to fiddle with the ball and build familiarity, emphasizing close control and ball manipulation. The skills needed for development are all in the palm of their hands which they can view in 3D and then try, emulate and master. It also allows coaches to monitor the players time on the MOTI App and see how active and prepared their individual motivation is. Think of it as being on the virtual field.

Here are some MOTI Sports ideas to save the season and maximize the time you do have for practice, as we strongly recommend that you encourage and enable your players to get those touches on the ball on their own time.

Consider assigning homework. As you schedule the practice plan for the players, put a note up on the Announcement board telling the players to:

• Practice each 3D Foot Skill on their own time, so they have performed the individual skills 100 – 200 + times each before they get to the next organized practice. We suggest younger players do 100+ repetitions, while 200+ repetitions for older players are recommended. This work load will help form good habits and the skills will develop much faster. Following the precision of the MOTI motion capture ensures ‘perfect practice’ references, promoting natural player movements even faster. Practice makes Permanent – Perfect practice makes Perfect – Don’t be confused!
• Recommend that players watch each 3D Drill 5 times so they can visualize which foot skill they would be using in the drill as they move through each rotation and progression in their head.
• Remember visualization creates a great learning environment.
  It is well documented, that time on task and practice repetitions increase skill mastery. Using a simple backdoor step from the garage or the front door step can act as a player home rebounder, returning the ball in a 1 – 2 passing movement. Or better still have them find a neighbor or a parent to pass back and forth with.

The MOTI App will always be there to act as a go to resource giving visual reassurance to the student and audio referencing the correct technique and execution.

If MOTI can provide solutions to you in the Spring just think what it can do for you All Year Round!

Maximize your practice time using MOTI’s 3D Soccer Training Platform.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Making the most of Spring – never mind the weather appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Spring and the Birth of a New Era in Coaching using Visual Technology – “Watching the Game”.

Virtual experience is the new key to shortening and shaping the learning curve for Soccer Coaches and Players. Instead of watching unimaginable hours, even years of game footage, or live matches, a new option is available through mobile 3D animated content. Think of a Soccer Session in your shirt or hip pocket at all times via a phone or tablet.

The Modern Game demands coaches and players to increase their understanding of the important ‘small elements’ of the game. These elements, like good technique and positioning are the glue that enables Speed of Play, Cooperative Input, Cohesive Interactions, and Synergies of Offense and Defense. A shared virtual learning experience can produce both individual player and team organizational speed and execution of tasks on the soccer field, even before taking the pitch. If that virtual learning is a Soccer Training Platform that has soccer ideas, concepts and theories melded into an intuitive, organized, curriculum, which is age and gender specific, it can be an instrumental aid for all participants in the Modern Game.

Make better Soccer decisions! Place yourself in a position where you can make yourself and people around you more successful, improve your game understanding and competitive edge from Recreational to the highest level. Don’t be scared or timid about the ‘Birth of a New Era in Coaching – try using Virtual Technology and share with your Director of Coaching, your Board of Directors, your Team Coach, Players, and Parents. No one wants to be stagnant and everyone wants to have fun.

Having a streamlined Soccer Training Platform that has real time collaboration and fast operational efficiency is available now with MOTI Sports! Welcome to a New Era in Coaching with Accelerated Soccer Education for both coaches and players.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Spring and New Era of Coaching appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Young players need structure and an environment that allows them to succeed in their soccer skills development.  To that end coaches need to set up small playing areas or grids made with cones or pinnies/vests that give players visual reference points of boundaries that reassure them of their surroundings. Smaller working areas also ensures players get many more touches on the ball as they navigate the designated soccer pitch. Having all players moving around and being active with a ball is a great starting point and should be desired throughout the player’s lifetime participation in the sport. The correlation between the number of touches on the ball and increased skill sets is indisputable, more is better and never forget it. Activities in the grid set up can be continually changed to ensure that the needed ball repetitions do not become boring. The objective is to have players from the age of 5 through 10 completely versed in a minimum of 8 skills with the ball, having them doing the basic moves needed to move, guide and protect the ball in all directions. This age group can be transformed with appropriate activities and technique that accelerates their learning curve of ball manipulation and a foundation of ball mastery.  The following curriculum is a must have skill set for these players foundation within the game. Inside outside touches of both feet, inside outside touches that then transfer the ball to the other foot side for continuous weaving of the ball from side to side. Double touches of the ball on all foot surfaces going outside, outside then inside, inside, repeat on the other foot side. These simple foot skills produce all the ingredients of great dibbling skills and ball manipulation. The next skill set is one of changing direction to either keep the ball in play or turn away from opponents these are hook turns with the inside and outside of the foot. The sole of the foot or cleats can produce a drag back motion to turn or control the ball, the sole can also produce lateral motion to move the ball into passing lanes or preparation for clearing or shooting a ball.  At this age group teaching the correct foot positions and shapes the body needs to succeed in ball manipulation is most important.   Correct muscle memory and focused body movements are crucial for performance. Any athlete who has spent time and effort learning these foundation ball skills will have the necessary level of proficiency to continue and thrive in the game often making it a lifetime team sport. Players who do not get this foundation will pass up on the more difficult aspects of the game leave the game frustrated and despondent at the age of 13 and 14 and you will see them as solitary joggers in later life.

Players can now get 3D Animated foot skills for their Mobile devices and practice the plyometric foot movements of ball mastery at home.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post How simple can a practice be? How effective? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Decisions, decisions, decisions !!! That is the name of the game in soccer
administration. US Soccer is making decisions on who the next President is
going to be to catapult and develop the game forward at all levels. That
person will make a decision on who the next Men’s National Team coach will
be.

MLS just made the decision to finally allow David Beckham’s franchise to
happen in Miami. In the Youth Club level new boards of directors are
settling into new positions and roles making decisions, while Coaching
Directors are busy making decisions on team selection, league placement,
and team coaching assignments.

Decisions made now need to be calculated and well informed as they affect
the future of the game. The next generation of soccer players are the ‘Gen
Z’ these are kids growing up learning Math and Science, Reading and Writing
in the ‘Virtual World’ on Smart Pads and Mobile devices that have more
power, memory and applications than the first Moon Shot computers all those years ago.

Perhaps the decisions made at the Club level need to reflect how the
development of players can be influenced by technology. Today, learning Soccer Skills and Tactics can be placed in every soccer players hands, visually
engaging them with the correct moves and instruction. If schools can do this, why wouldn’t Clubs use this format to engage players in Soccer, the Sport they are excited about.

Players in this generation have the technical tools and ability to be
wizards of game situations, understanding progressions, and how play is
developed. Today’s players,  because of their acute capacity for visual
perceptions of ‘Soccer’ get 3D Animation into their hands and help create
the next Generation of Messi’s, Renaldo’s, Pele’s and Best’s.

That “Decision” is in your hands.

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Visual Referencing and Learning the New Norm appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The MOTI style of play can best be described as ‘TOTAL SOCCER’ each component is intertwined and produces another completion of the games jigsaw board or building block foundation. The MOTI style of play was introduced to many of these concepts by some of the World’s best National Team Coaches and Club Coaches at the Professional level. One of the MOTI staff played for 7 different National team head coaches. This MOTI training program is dedicated to all the good people in the game that have influenced, mentored and helped guide the MOTI coaching staff in an attempt to understand the game. We are all still learning from the game and will update and modify these TOTAL SOCCER renderings. We hope these ideas assist you along your path. MOTI is available to personally go over these concepts and assist you in problem solving.

Whenever you are ready feel free to make contact with MOTI Sports and let the FUN begin.

‘Total Soccer’ has an emphasis on intelligent movement, versatility of positions, switching in and out of defensive positions, pressure on and around the ball. This system of TOTAL SOCCER play has many facets. We are continually looking to refine the tactical procedures and increase the fluidity of this Total Soccer style. Space and creation of it are pillars of the style. Simple soccer is by far the prettiest style to watch, but playing it is complex and very difficult. Total Soccer is a style that takes the game to the opposition, is very proactive and attack minded. The focus is on how MOTI teams are playing and creating problems for the opponent to solve. Getting outside full backs to think like wingers and add wide options in the attack is one key. Overloading of the flanks and superior service into the penalty box will produce offense and goals. Getting three and even four players into the penalty box to anticipate the service from the flank crosses increases the success rate of scoring and gets the opponent on the back foot and always under pressure. Creating a ‘Buddy System’ a player always looking for the next pass with each component of zone play will produce many opportunities to make a man up 2 v 1 situation. Players at all age groups will be able to capitalize on the advantage of this initiative and dominate other teams’ efforts. We challenge MOTI Coaches to be continually on the lookout for this overload creation of play and use it as a ‘principle’ in all areas of the field.

This style of play will take several years to implant and create a legacy of improved competitiveness and player development. Start Now!!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI Style of Play appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Are you a new coach involved with Soccer for the first time asking – What do I do now?

What follows will give you enough pointers to begin coaching and give you a solid foundation to plan practices, identify and teach relevant soccer skills that will hopefully lead to bolstering your involvement in and ultimate enjoyment of the great game of soccer.

Soccer is a game of great skill and technique if it is to be played correctly and enjoyed immensely. When first starting out it is important, as a coach, that you not try to instruct the new player too much at one time. In the initial stages of development your concentration should be focused on having your players familiarize themselves with fundamental ball handling techniques. It is important that young players learn to control the ball with different body surfaces such as feet, thighs and chest. Being able to comfortably juggle the ball on all surfaces of the body is a natural progression to close ground control. Creating positive practice environments, especially during the beginning sessions, and allowing players to experience the many moves and technique skill sets together as a team is vital. Only with perseverance and repetitions will players attain the feel and touch required to have maximum control of their body and the ball.

Encourage players to work on their own, doing practice routines at home in the back yard, garage or anywhere that can handle the wear and tear. This only accelerates the learning curve. There are really no shortcuts, nothing magical, just practice, practice, practice. However, having the MOTI 3D Technical’s in the player’s hands on a mobile device and being able to go frame by frame or watching it from any angle or perspective keeps them engaged for longer periods of perfect practice.

Before starting any coaching session, always keep in mind your objectives by going over your Coaching Philosophy. Practice plans should be planned in detail prior to walking on the field. The MOTI plans give each coach wonderful content to be used in its entirety or as a template for adjusting content.

All practice time should have as much activity and enjoyment as possible.

Keep ALL players active and involved.

Do not lecture.

Put more time into viewing the activities so that clarity of the content is easier to demonstrate and more touches on the ball is achieved.

Teach skills over all aspects of the game, find rewards for players who spend more time working on the Technical Skills at home. The MOTI Analytics’ allows you to monitor the viewing time of each player on your roster.

Concentrate more time on individual skill development rather than tactics.

Make coaching corrections calmly and precisely, having regard for the individual player.

Treat all players as equal and coach the talented and less talented player with the same enthusiasm.

Do not over-coach from the side-line during games.

Make your players’ involvement a positive athletic experience.

The aim of the player is always to have fun and as much enjoyment as humanly possible. The aim of the coach should be to work within their player’s capabilities and create an environment of positive practice time to develop more skillful soccer players.

Set your practices for small areas and small sided games and activities.
The full game of 11 v 11 is far too complex a format for the young players to learn in.

Far too much information is available and the young player can be mesmerized by this overload of game impulses. In a small area with fewer numbers of players, coaches are able to manipulate the practice period to better absorb soccer information. This also helps ensure more success in bringing to the player’s attention relevant coaching points for team and individual improvement. The player’s involvement in this format is increased, giving the player many more touches of the ball and exposure to the appropriate game situation.

Being able to look at the MOTI Practice plans and review it before and after the practice in slow motion or even frame by frame gives even more understanding of the workings of the session and the overall game. Remember that players have different speeds of learning and the MOTI App gives flexibility in the learning curve.

Activity needs to be foremost in the practice session. It can be two fold in that because of high demand for fields space, associations and clubs generally have two practice sessions per week usually of one hour each. This practice time must be used to the optimum. This means the session must be well planned and as realistic as possible. Your players must be totally active throughout the session. Using the MOTI App and practice sessions on their mobile devices before practice prepares them and cuts down and in some instances removes the set up and explanation time.

Practice sessions should have a flow pattern. Start off with a related warm up to your session, with progressions, that transition into a realistic small game and full game situation by the conclusion. Your players will develop faster when they have reference points at the beginning of the session, having the MOTI App to see, hear and do the session prior to practice helps them through the progressions of the session as smoothly as possible. As soon as you sit your players down and start “Talking” soccer to them, 50% or more will turn off or mentally wander away from the tasks on hand and the session.
Starting a session and playing environment needs you to outline and define the space and boundary to be used this is another advantage of seeing the 3D animations on the MOTI App (i.e., cones and existing field markings can be incorporated) .

Outline and define the objectives and goals of the session to the players, (i.e, defending, attacking, passing and shooting techniques) Select teams and alignments quickly (use vests and bibs to distinguish opponents or groups).
If you have not used the MOTI App to give your players a visual insight into the session, you must do a quick demonstration, and give a few key points verbally. Send your players off to practice quickly. The practice will help them perfect their skills – listening does not!

Aim to change the environment you have set so your practice can progress to a realistic game situation ( i.e., with goals for both teams’ offense and defense, perhaps shots on goal for forwards, counting the number of passes for defenders)

MOTI cannot emphasize enough that practice has to be enjoyable, if the player comes away from practice with the thought of sit-ups, push-ups and running laps, or what might be regarded as punishment, he or she will be less likely to return next time.

Don’t be the coach that turns kids away from the game – using tools like the MOTI App make the practice fun!

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post MOTI Welcomes You to Coaching the Game of Soccer appeared first on MOTI Sports.

With the failure of the US Men’s National Team not making the World Cup in Russia the focus by many expert pundits from around the World are questioning the quality of player developed by the USA system. The USA is not the only Team/Country to fail to get ticket to Russia take power house Nations like Italy, the Netherlands, Chile plus 100’s of others who came up short. When the USMNT lost to Trinidad and Tobago the defeat matched up to many unlikely combinations of results that blanked the USA out of the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986. The 2-1 loss to the CONCACAF Hexagonal Groups bottom team sent the USA into 5^th place and elimination. One of the many questions being posed is how can we improve the quality of the game in the USA. ESPN and Gabriele Marcotti tries to give 7 points of reference on espnfc.com with a great piece called ‘Understanding why the US failed to qualify for the World Cup an outsider’s point of view’.

My initial response is that the US Soccer management group, administrators, coaches and players who were selected to get the men’s program into the World Cup hit the perfect storm of events that thwarted all of their collective efforts. Yes changing the head coach half way through the campaign definitely hurt the process. Bruce Arena did a terrific job until the last game. The depth of the player pool ready to play for the National Team has never been this solid. The domestic interest and support of the National Teams has never been more intense or knowledgeable. My perspective is that the glass is more than half full, I would hope that the next coach will be American raised, have a complete understanding of the history of the North American soccer culture. His leadership will need to mold the vast supply of super athletes into a unit of experienced game savvy, intelligent, energized soccer warriors that have been shown how to get the job done!

The first task is getting the correct person in place who has and shows the courage to tackle this ‘huge’ undertaking. There are several individuals who have the credentials, not many, but several who fit the bill and have the experiences needed for success. US Soccer leadership will certainly have a big say in what and who comes to the forefront, once they get that correct, many of the pieces will fall into place.

Nothing changes if Nothing Changes!!

Just to keep you thinking what do you think went wrong?

What areas do you believe need to be improved to ensure the USA gets back into the next World Cup and to make player development in the USA match up to those aspirations?

Alan Merrick

I provide content, curriculums, topics and detailed coaching points to the MOTI Soccer Training Platform.  I am pleased that a product like MOTI Soccer Training Platform is now available to all players, coaches and soccer enthusiasts.

The post Is the sky falling on Soccer Development in the USA? appeared first on MOTI Sports.