“If you want special results, you have to feel special things and do special things together. You can speak about spirit, or you can live it.”

Jurgen Klopp

By Brad Carlson

No matter if you ended your playing season with a win (congrats on your State Championship!) – or a loss (the other 99.9% of us), your season truly ends with recognition at your Soccer Banquet.  Let’s have a  GREAT banquet!

Planning with your Captain’s Parents

The planning for your recognition banquet begins six months earlier with your Captain’s Parents Meeting.  Have this group of great parents coordinate and execute as much of the banquet as possible, leaving for you the crafting of the program for the evening to celebrate your program and especially your seniors (part 2).

When – After the State Tournament

Set the date frame, which is always following the State Tournament.  As a result this immediately sets the expectation that you intend your team to be playing in the State Tournament and goes along with setting a high standard for your program.  Accordingly, the week following the end of the State Tournament is best because it does not conflict with the beginning of the winter sports season for your multiple sport athletes.

Where – At the School or at a venue away from the school

Set the banquet location at the school if possible, either in the cafeteria or in the auditorium depending on the food and refreshments being served.  You can also hold the recognition banquet at a venue like a Community Center or Country Club. Price becomes an issue for some families to attend if held away from your school.

Why – Let’s celebrate our seniors and our soccer program

Recognize the seniors, no matter what team they played on.  Many of the seniors have played since they were freshmen, and many played only as high as the JV level.  Their experience is to be celebrated and recognized, as they have grown throughout their years with your soccer program physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Recognize all that have contributed to the ongoing success of your program.

How – The big decisions that will help shape the banquet and determine the price. 

·         Venue.  Important – Players do not pay.  Build their cost into the ticket price for those who pay or have your booster club pay for your players.

·         Food.  Sit down for dinner?  Catered or potluck?  Deserts only?

·         Decorations.

·         Senior Gifts.

·         Season booklets or placemats for the players.

·         Video presentation, any public media, or multiple presentations depending on your videographer.

·         PowerPoint presentation loop of pictures from the season

·         Other – let their creative juices flow!

As you can see, there are many elements that go into planning and executing a successful recognition banquet.  Many hands make light work.  The more help you get with “setting the stage” for your banquet, the more time you will have to put together a presentation worthy of your seniors, their parents, and your program.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post It’s All About the Recognition Banquet – Part 1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Learn – Shooting 5v5v5 Crosses on Goal

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Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Shooting 5v5v5 Crosses on Goal SSG appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Goal setting

Goal setting is an exciting topic. 

Athletes can set many good goals for themselves before and during the season. You want them to come up with them, not you set them so that they take ownership of them. You also want them to be measurable.

Soccer athletes want to improve on basic things, for example:

• Increase speed.
• Increase strength.
• Better first touches.
• Develop better balance and flexibility.
• Increase agility.
• Better nutrition.
• Become more explosive.
• Improved aerobic conditioning.

Notice what is not included. Things that they have no control over, like scoring 10 or more goals during the season, having 8 shutouts, never getting carded, etc.

I coached for over 40 years at the same High School, all but 6 of those years as an assistant. I coached for 5 different head coaches over those years. This medium-sized public high school is a frequent State Tournament participant and has won multiple State titles. Every year they are ranked in the Top 10.

Now each head coach was different. Each brought to the team their own “coaching personality.”  But the underlying coaching philosophy remained the same for all. How is it that consistent excellence has been achieved over these many years within this one program?

Choosing Team Goals

A common practice in most programs after choosing the Varsity players is for the coach to have a team meeting in which the players talk about their team goals for the upcoming season. The coach simply records the ideas from this “brainstorming” session on a whiteboard and then they talk about them as a team. At the high school I coached at, the current head coach of 11 years (my former assistant varsity coach and a former player at this high school) shared with me this season’s whiteboard.

If you cannot read the writing, here are the things that this particular team wants to focus on this season:

• Don’t lose at home
• Less than 5 total goals (given up over the entire season)
• Win State
• Score more than 1 goal per game
• 100% effort
• No red cards
• No Penalty Kicks (PK’s) against
• Master your craft
• Be positive
• Never give up
• No goals allowed on set pieces
• Be on time
• Work hard off the ball
• HAVE FUN
• Win 50/50 balls
• 3 assists each
• Good decisions off the field
• Be vocal

Setting the Vision

Every coach has a vision for what they consider their perfectly played game is. The coach’s job is to transfer that Vision to the players for them to execute. (Ralf Rangnick • How Jürgen Klopp transformed Liverpool and the key to being an elite head coach)

When you read this list you get a feel for what this coach, and the coaches who came before him, want the game his players play to look like. What do you notice about this list? What is the focus? What do you think their game plan is every time they take the field? Why do you think the opposition both loves – and hates – to play them?

Think of how strong you are in your own half of the field to give up less than 5 goals per season. Or how focused, trained, and disciplined to never give up a set piece goal. They do win almost every 50/50 ball. They do work hard and never give up, on the ball or off. Their game is played fast, with plenty of meaningful possession as they find a way to break lines of defense and attack for multiple goals each game. They encourage each other, not criticize each other when someone makes a mistake. They have fun!

A Mindset

It is a mindset that, regardless of the age or skill of the players that season, they know they will compete at the highest level in our State.

Part of setting goals is to have a system in place for you to monitor them. Not only for you and your coaching staff but also share them with your players. They are the ones that are making your Vision come to life on the field.

I have looked at a number of different team goal-setting systems. The one that I have chosen to use fits my personality the best and, I believe, gives our team a good snapshot into the things we want to accomplish during a game to help us be successful. It also looks very similar to the whiteboard list. HUM?

Match and Seasonal Standards

It is called “Match and Seasonal Standards.”  I have a point system that I use for each item, which yields an overall score as a percentage. It is difficult to get 100%, as it should be. But it has been done! We won, by the way 🙂

Can you envision a definite style of play?

How are we organized defensively? I vary my system of play depending on my personnel. But no matter what the system of play is, the basic concepts of pressure, support, and cover remain no matter where the ball is on the field. We defend as a team, and with passion. A clean sheet is always what we are looking for.

Do we build from the back? Hard to tell from these measurements. We encourage it, but it depends a lot on the personnel. If I have a keeper who can “pass” the ball with accuracy 70 yards, then I definitely will use that weapon to stretch the field. Building from the back now becomes much easier.

Are we looking for through balls? Yes, but first we want to play to our forward’s feet to create space behind the defense. Then using concepts like opening up, passing the way you are facing, over and underlaps, give and goes, etc. we use the midfield to find the spaces behind the defense to break down that last line of defense. This often occurs on the flanks. Hence, the emphasis on crosses.

How efficient are we on set pieces? We are always looking for areas in the game that other teams might not pay as much attention to. Set pieces is perhaps the most neglected area for many coaches. Just imagine a time when you can get equal numbers, or perhaps even numbers up when you have a chance to attack the goal. We take advantage of all restarts in the attacking end through repeated training. Everyone knows their job, and when executed correctly we create great opportunities to score. It has become a part of our program’s DNA. 

Set pieces win games, especially at the State Tournament level where every team has learned to play great team defense. And don’t forget the long throw. Last season we won the State Tournament Championship game with 3 goals on designed set pieces –  2 goals on long throws and one on a direct kick from midfield.

How good are we at defending set pieces? We zone on corner kicks. We have a forward set the wall. We practice our toughness and courage on shots into the wall and clearing high, wide and deep. We mark tight but give way slightly to remain goal side. We leave nothing to chance. And most importantly we work into our final half or three-quarter field scrimmage on a practice day live set pieces. Time spend on set pieces is never wasted.

Have a simple way to measure your standards, that gives you talking points at half-time. How many passes to forwards feet did we have? How many “good” crosses did we have? Did we come out flying in the first 15 minutes to pin them back on their own end and create chances for us? Were we so organized on our own end that we eliminated breakaways, won headers, cleared properly, and defended every set piece with courage and conviction?

Vision leads to success! 

When your players know what your priorities are, they become their priorities. They then start to see your Vision for how you want them to play the game. Then, when they execute it on the field and have success, it breeds confidence in themselves and their teammates.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Setting Your Match & Season Standards appeared first on MOTI Sports.

I experienced both sides of “everyone plays” equation when I was in high school. 

My football coach went to great lengths to include everyone.  He had only a couple of guys playing both ways, and he always found a spot on a specialty team for the younger players. 

My basketball coach, however, was more of a 6-7 person deep guy.  He thought nothing of putting a player in for the first time with 15 seconds left in the game just to give him “varsity” experience. 

I decided to adopt “everyone plays equal time” at all levels expect varsity.  At the varsity everyone plays significant time, although it might not be equal. 

What does significant time look like?

To help me answer that I am drawing on the example from Messiah College.

Messiah College is a Division 3 school in Pennsylvania.  From 2000-2010, its men’s and women’s soccer teams posted the best combined winning soccer record in the NCAA.  472 wins, 31 losses, and 20 ties. Few programs were even close. Seventeen Final Fours between them during this time. Eleven national titles. Unbeaten streaks measured not only in games, but in seasons. How do they do it? What’s their secret of success? 

Michael Zigarelli wrote a book called “The Messiah Method”.  It is a great, fun read with a lot of great insights.

Here are a few of the take-a-ways I had from the book.  I suggest you read this book.  I am sure you will have other insights along the way.

• Ask alumni to write letters to the current team about what they miss most.
• Captains and Seniors lead by example.  They are the ones that serve the team.  Get next year’s leaders to help. 
• Upper Class trains and accepts the incoming players.  Strength through Encouragement.
• Play deep into the bench.  30 minutes minimum per game if you are on the Varsity.  We have Starters and we have Game Changers.  We expect maximum effort when you are on the field.
• Team over individuality.  It’s not about you.  “Miracle on Ice” example (the Disney movie – the “Again” scene).
• Train in a way that genuinely makes a difference in the game.
• Use specific training by position.  Explain the choices (or let them self discover the choices if you have the time) and then let the players work out the choices in specific training.  Enable players to succeed by linking the training to the game.

There is a lot to unpack here, and much more in the book.  Today I’d like to focus on one of the bullet points:

• Play deep into the bench.  30 minutes minimum per game if you are on the Varsity.  We have Starters and we have Game Changers.  We expect maximum effort when you are on the field.

This goes right along with one of the tenants in my coaching philosophy, everyone on Varsity plays significant time.

To accomplish that I like to set as my roster goal 16 players (17 can work, 18 gets a bit more dicey).  That is 1 keeper and 15 out players.

I also keep in mind what classes these 16 players are in.  I like to have 2 or 3 at the most from the freshmen and sophomore classes combined.  Very rarely will a freshman make the Varsity (this may not apply so much when coaching girls, as they mature more rapidly than boys).  It is just too big of a jump physically for most freshmen, even if they are skilled.  The rest are juniors and seniors. 

Once you build your program with these numbers in mind you are never in a rebuilding mode, just reloading.  You always have a solid core of returning letter winners with significant varsity playing time.  So, in a typical year you might have 7 or 8 seniors playing Varsity, which leaves you with 8 or 9 returning players with lots of varsity experience plus those underclassmen who you called up for the Section and State Tournament run.  You just reload each year.

I do not place a lot of importance on who starts.  The players do, the parents do, but I do not.  Although we try very hard to get a goal early, the reality is that most goals are scored in the final 5 minutes of a half or of the game.  So, I want my best players on the field at the end of each half.

Now that means I need to incorporate some creative line up and substitution management.  The Captains always start, as does the keeper.  From then on, I like to rotate players a bit.  If you rotate the players into the starting positions, then they all “feel” like they are starters.  This is very important to them, so it is a good way to encourage and build them up.  It also prepares us for the inevitable – players going down due to illness, injury or sanctions.

When to do I substitute?  I never substitute a player after they make a mistake.  It is the mistake that they cling to until they get a chance to do something positive.  Instead, if it is their turn in the sub rotation to come out and they just made a mistake I will wait a minute or two until they had worked through it and done something positive, then sub.

I also like to substitute by the clock rather than by my instincts – on most occasions anyway.  I got this idea watching former U of M basketball coach Clem Haskins.  He would sub right at the 4-minute mark of the game and would go 9 or 10 players consistently into his bench.  So, I will begin subbing at the 10- or 15-minute mark, depending on the line up, and let the players who come off the field rest from 5 to 10 minutes before they rotate in.  That way everyone on the team gets a minimum of 15 minutes per half, with most everyone getting 20 per half or more.  This is a great way to build team unity, make everyone feel like starters, and alleviate any disgruntled parents 🙂

I like to have 3 players for every 2 positions.

Think about the most basic soccer system: 1-4-4-2

1 – Keeper

3 – outside fullbacks for 2 positions

3 – center fullbacks for 2 positions

3 – outside midfielders for 2 positions

3 – center midfielders for 2 positions

3 – forwards for 2 positions

The center of the field is where you need the players who can play under pressure.  These are typically your best players.  I like to have two very solid, experienced players and then the third can be a younger player that we are bringing along during the season who we have identified as someone who can handle the pressure and become a core person next year.

The outside players can be a bit more raw in their soccer abilities, but with a high upside.  By their senior year they may be ready to move to the center of the field because of the experience and confidence they gained playing on the outside with less pressure. 

This same type of substitution pattern can be applied to whatever formation you are playing fairly easily.

If I keep 17, then it might be that I have 4 outside backs, or 4 outside midfielders, or a second set of 2 forwards.  I can still give everyone at least 15 minutes per half.

This also helps us get through the regular season with less injury, more energy, and great team unity.

I encourage you to try it.  Happy players.  Happy parents.  Happy administration!  And with each player always doing their best and feeling good about their teammates, the scoreboard will show it.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Why Significant Playing Time Is Important appeared first on MOTI Sports.

“I’m not sure what you need first – the players believing or others believing in them – but in the end, both have to think it.” Jurgen Klopp

The first week of tryouts for any High School program is fun, exhausting, and memorable in many ways.

As the Head Coach, you spent hundreds of hours preparing for this first week of the season, and now you have come to the point of placing players on the teams in your program.

In the High Schools (2) I have coached soccer, I have never cut players. Neither have the three head coaches I have been an assistant for. Nor have friends of mine who coach at the largest schools in our State, having upwards of 150 players try out.

The reasons are simple.

• We remember why all these players chose to play soccer at our school – because it is fun, and they want to hang out with their friends. So, we want to give them that opportunity.
• We also understand the growth and maturing process of our athletes. The “off the radar” freshman might become an excellent player by their junior or senior year.

I personally like to keep the freshmen together as the “C” team if at all possible. There is really no advantage for a freshman to play with an older group of players (unless he/she is on the Varsity because of their skill). There are many social advantages to keeping the freshmen together on one team. Those advantages far outweigh, in my opinion, playing at a bit higher level. There is always an opportunity for the better freshmen to play at a higher level during the season.

I also like to keep the sophomore players together forming the “B” team. At his age you might start to see some players who are ready to play at the Varsity Reserve (VR as I call it, as opposed to JV – I just never liked the term JV) or the Varsity level. A “new to the game” junior might be placed on this team also, but not if I can help it. I like to keep them with their friends and classmates.

The Varsity Reserve is made up of junior and senior players who are not on the Varsity, with the occasional sophomore player depending on numbers.

I would never place an upperclassman on the “C” team, even if his skills would place him there. That is too much of a slam, and they might be too big and physical to play against freshmen competition.

If our numbers dictate adding a second “C,” “B” or “VR” team, then that is what we do. We do not cut players, and we want all players to play equal time at these levels. That might mean a scramble in the pre-season to find more games and perhaps another coach, but for our program it is well worth it.

At the Varsity level, I like my teams to consist of 16 players.  At a larger school I went up as high as 18, but that is stretching it. The reason I like 16 is because I can give all players “significant” playing time in each game. One Keeper and 15 field players is my goal roster to begin the season.

I also keep in mind what classes these 16 players are in. I like to have 2 or 3 at the most from the freshmen and sophomore classes combined. Very rarely will a freshman make the Varsity. It is just too big of a jump physically for most freshmen, even if they are skilled. The rest are juniors and seniors.

Once you build your program with these numbers in mind you are never in a rebuilding mode, just reloading. You always have a solid core of returning letter winners with significant varsity playing time. So, in a typical year you might have 7 or 8 seniors playing Varsity, which leaves you with 8 or 9 returning players with lots of varsity experience plus those underclassmen who you called up for the Section and State Tournament run. You just reload each year.

How do I communicate which players are on each team?

As mentioned above, I have set the president for freshmen and sophomore players concerning which teams they will play on. It now comes down to those VR and Varsity players (plus the freshmen/sophomore players you will keep on Varsity).

After a week of training together, sorting them out in Champions League games, and playing in a scrimmage at the end of the week where you have separated most of the VR from the Varsity, it is really about choosing between 10 or so players for 5 or so spots. The hardest part is communicating with those “bubble” players between Varsity and VR.

I have tried several ways over the years.

• Posting the list in the locker room on Monday before practice.
• Posting the list online through our website, or email, or team management system the Sunday following the scrimmage on Saturday.
• On the bus ride home from the scrimmage, talk to each player individually on the VR and Varsity teams and let them know which team they are on to begin the season.
• Have the players on both teams run an eight station “circuit run” around the soccer field on Monday. During the circuit run I pull out players and tell them which team they will be on.
• Gathering all the players together on Monday at practice, just like a tryout practice, and letting them know as a group which team they will be on. Then break out the teams with their respective coaches.

There is no “easy” way. No matter what method you use, it always leads to half a dozen players joyful and another half a dozen players really hurting. That is a major reason I like to have my VR coach sensitive to the emotions during this Monday practice. I also make myself available to meet with the players who are hurting during or after practice. Sometimes it takes a while for them to process their emotions.

Next time we will talk about finding a good substitution pattern for your games which gives all your Varsity players significant playing time. If you want to get a head start, check out some great advice in the book “The Messiah Method” by Michael Zigarelli. There are some terrific tips on team building, substitution, game day management, etc. from the winningest College Division 3 programs (Men’s and Women’s) in the early 21^st Century.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Assigning Players to Teams After Tryouts appeared first on MOTI Sports.

“Competition is key to developing players. The only practice environment in which you truly develop a player is a competitive arena. . . Competitive drive is not governed by innate ability, but by self-discipline and desire.” – Anson Dorrance

As a High School Soccer Coach, the one event every soccer player looks forward to each week is our Champions League competition.  Why?  It is fun.  It is competitive.  It’s rewarding for everyone.

Here is how the game works.

Players are divided into 5 teams (or 3 teams depending on the numbers).  Teams may consist of anywhere from 4 to 8 players and play on fields sized appropriately.

On the first day of play, players are divided into teams by the coach.  Try and make the teams as competitively even as possible.

Each team will play in 4 games (for 5 teams), playing each team once.  The length of the games is determined by the length of the class.  5 minutes is a good length of time.  Or you could play King of the field.  Field one is designated as the First field, field two is designated as the Second field.  The first round is played.  The winning teams then play on the “First” field, the losing team on the “First” field moves to play on the “Second” field.  The losing team from the “Second” field sits out.  The team on the sidelined comes in to play on the “Second” field.  You see the rotation that takes place.

Points are accumulated by the team according to how they do in each game.  I like to use the 7-point max system:  3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 1 point for every goal up to 3, and 1 point for a shutout.  If your team wins 8-0, your team would get 7 points for that game (3 for the win, 3 for goals scored and 1 for the shutout) and the other team would get 0.  If your team wins 4-2, your team would get 6 points (3 for the win and 3 for goals scored) and the team you beat would get 2 points (2 for goals scored).  If your team ties 2-2, each team would get 3 points.

After all the games have been played, each team adds up its total points for the day.  Those points become the points for each individual player on the team.

Here is where it takes a little work for the coach.  You will need to record the points for each player.  I start a little spreadsheet with the names of each student.  I organize them according to the team they played on.  Then I record their individual total points for the day.

The next day we play the Champions League, I sort the list of students by the total number of points they have.  I then go down the list and assign new teams to them according to their total points.  In that way the 5 highest point totals are all on different teams, then the next 5, etc.  It is a good way to mix up teams.

I do look at the makeup of the new teams.  I want the teams to be competitive, so I may adjust a player or two around.  I also make sure each team has a keeper.

Everyone plays a lot, everyone plays with other players in the tea, and the competition is amazing.  I like to call out the time when we get down to the last minute and then again as we get closer to the end of time.  It’s amazing how the kids will push to get that last goal 🙂

Here is what I find amazing.  Seldom if ever is the best player on the team the Champion of Champion’s League.  It is usually that very unassuming player who plays well with teammates, has enough skill and touch to be effective, and defends well.

I LOVE THIS GAME!  So do the kids.  It’s the best 30 minutes of the day.

Read another article about coaching – How simple can a practice be? How effective?

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Champions League or The Dutch Ladder appeared first on MOTI Sports.

“Competition is key to developing players. The only practice environment in which you truly develop a player is a competitive arena. . . Competitive drive is not governed by innate ability, but by self-discipline and desire.” Anson Dorrance

It’s been a great off season.  Here is where you should be BEFORE your first practice.

• You have met with your Captain’s Parents and have given them a laundry list of things for them  to do before and during the season.  Let them take as much off your plate as possible.  Delegation is hard for many of us.  The key is to follow up.  People will do what you inspect, not what you expect – even good people like your Captain’s Parents.
• You have provided times (twice a week for me) during the 2 months leading up to the beginning of the season where the players who want  to can do such things as weight lifting, speed and acceleration training, and ball skills training.
• You have provided your players with list of skills you want your players to practice during the summer so that when they come to training their first touch is solid.  I use the MOTI App, of course.
• You have met frequently with your Captains.  You have prepared them for their Captain’s Practices and have very loosely monitored (through parents perhaps) to make sure everyone is safe and having fun while preparing for the season.

I love training week, the first week of coaches training for the regular season. It is a blast, the kids love it, the parents love it, and the coaches love it! Why? Because we make this training week about competitions. We play games. We have contests. We work hard, play hard and rest hard. We have fun. And by the end of the first week, we will know which team each player will be placed on.

I look at training week as a part of try-outs, but try-outs are much more than just one week. I tell the players that try-outs are not just about your soccer skills. It is about how you treat your parents, your friends, your teachers. It’s about how you serve your community, how you apply yourself in your classes at school, and how you spend your free time.

For the Varsity, the whole regular season is a part of the try-out process. During the regular season we get to evaluate each player at practice and during games. To do that I play each player significant time each game (15-20 minutes per half).  Once we get to Sections and State, I tell them that playing time may change depending on the situation. The substitution rotation may also change from the regular season.

We have come up with 9 training sessions for the first week. The first session is called the SWC Pentathlon – 5 events testing their fitness and soccer skills. The players keep track of their own score card, earning up to 10 points per event. The top 8-point getters are the Pentathlon Great 8.

Each day we have a skill focus and another competition. The skills begin with a competition within each class. This forms the “Great 8” for that event. Then these 8 compete against each other for the championship. The events are:

• The “Golden Boot” for the best 1v1 player
• The “Freaky Fast” for the fastest player
• 4v4 tournament, playing with your training partner
• PK Shootout
• The Bronze Gloves for the best goalkeeper

And then, each day we play a little competition called “Champions League.” We form teams of 6-8 players depending on the numbers and play a series of 5-minute round robin games. The players accumulate individual points according to how their team does in each game. Then the next day the players are placed on different teams with different players and play again, accumulating points for that day. By Friday everyone will have played a series of short, small sided games with a variety of players and will have accumulated their own personal scores. The top 8-point getters are identified, and the top point getter wins the event.

What is particularly great about Champions League is that over the course of the week we can rotate players into playing against better competition and see how they do. In the end, the best players typically are at the top of the point totals – but not always! That is where the fun begins. This does, however, give the coaching staff a great opportunity to watch every player in the program compete and show us what he has on the field. It is hard to hide in Champions League.

We also cover attacking and defending corner kicks.  Set pieces win soccer games.  All three of our goals in last season’s State Championship final came off of set pieces.

Two – a – day practices for the first four days.  90 minutes in length with a break in between for refreshments and recovery.  Then a single practice on Friday, a scrimmage against another school or schools on Saturday, rest and recovery on Sunday, and team selections on Monday (first game is Thursday generally).  This gives me a chance to personally watch every player multiple times.

Practices are with the full program of players (70-100 depending), with the seniors / upperclassmen partnering up with the freshmen / new students for skills and stretching.  This is key for developing a program that the younger and new players feel a part of.  They learn how to become a part of a team that cares for each other and is willing to help each other succeed.

Key Points On Parents

Parents have been watching their kids play all their lives. Hopefully they love to watch them play. I encourage the parents to come and watch everything from tryouts to practices to games. However, I do ask that they first watch a video on YouTube by John O’Sullivan called “Changing the game in youth sports.” To show me that they have watched the video I have them text me these 5 little words from the video, “I love watching you play.” Then, they are welcome !

I have nothing to hide during tryouts. As a matter of fact, I love it when I see parents openly engaged in watching that first week in particular. I like to watch for them, walk over, and talk with them. Again, it is all about communicating with them, being open, and letting them see how much fun their child is having playing with their friends.

I make myself accessible in a variety of ways. My cell is published, as is my email address. I answer phone calls, texts and emails as soon as possible. I even spend one half of a game on the parent’s side of the field with the parents just to let them ask me questions and listen to me as I do some game analysis.

If you want further information on my first week of training, please feel free to email me at:

Brad.Carlson@MOTIsports.com

What until you see what I have for you next month – choosing teams and a “no cut” policy!

Read another article about coaching – Training Captains – Captains Practices

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post A Different Approach To High School Tryouts appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Character Development: Emotional Management

Part of the character development series for players, coaches and organizations. Become a better person and become better at soccer.

Watch the previous episode in the series here.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Emotional Management appeared first on MOTI Sports.

I have met twice with my Captains now as a group, once during the late spring/early summer and a second time in midsummer.  We are now a week away from Captain’s Practices.  This is a two-week period before the actual High School season begins when, in my State, the coaching staff is not allowed to interact with the players.  But the players are pumped and want to get some touches in, so the Captains run the practices.

Leadership Qualities

In this final meeting, I like to recap our last meeting, remind them again of the leadership qualities of a Level 5 Leader from the book “Good to Great” by author Jim Collins and how to work out those qualities on the playing field during the next couple of weeks with their teammates.

• Embody a mix of personal humility and professional will. 

• Display workmanlike diligence – more plow horse than show horse.
• Display modesty, are unassuming and understated.
• Fanatically driven with an incurable need to produce sustained results.
• Attribute success factors to others than themselves, but if things go poorly they take full responsibility.
• Set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation.

Now we will talk about soccer!  Some topics for discussion are:

• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What can we be the best in the State at?
• What style of soccer produces sustained positive results?

When these topics are fleshed out by them, they take ownership in them and it makes for us all to come together for the same purposes.  We will revisit these during the course of the season and fashion or practice sessions around them.

Notice that we don’t talk about systems of play, or players put in specific positions.  That will come later as we see who we have on the Varsity.  The key for them is to put together a vision for how they want their team and this season to come together.  Then we talk about how we start the process, which begins with their Captain’s practices.

These Captains are being placed in a position where they are in charge of 20-80 players with no adult supervision.  WOW!  CRAZY!  SCARRY!

Purpose

• Have all players come together as one group – our soccer program.
• Encourage the new players to our program and make them feel welcome.
• Let everyone have a safe and fun experience, while still working hard in a controlled environment.
• Come into the first week of training for the High School season with a high enough level of conditioning so that time can be spent on skill development with the High School coaches rather than physical condition.  We test the first day of High School training to assess the relative physical conditioning and skill level of every athlete.  This helps us get off to a good start during the first part of the season.

Safety

• Practice is outside during the heat of the summer. Make sure everyone brings their own water – no sharing of water bottles.  We want a healthy group coming into the season.  In addition, the Captains will bring a large container of water to refill water bottles.  The school is also open for water and bathrooms.
• These practices are in the cool of the morning and are 90 minutes long.  Players are free to take water breaks as they need them.
• The Captains learn about heat exhaustion and heat stroke, what signs to look for, and the precautionary measures to take.  Heat Stroke – call 911 immediately.  The safety of the players is always the primary concern.
• The Captains have a medical kit. 
• Ice is available in the school, or sometimes they will have a cooler with ice.
• No hazing of any type is tolerated.
• I work out a schedule with the parents of the seniors to make sure that at least one parent is on-site during these Captain’s Practices.

Conditioning

• Soccer Players Love To Run!
• The Captains learn about aerobic vs. anaerobic conditioning, what kind of running is best for building each type of conditioning, and what the work to rest ratio should be.
• We talk about the difference in physical abilities between a 12/13-year-old and an 18/19-year-old, and how they will have to adjust some of their long-distance runs to accommodate the players who are not physically able to keep up with some of the other players.  One way is to split the group into two parts, the new-to-the-program players and the returning players.  Have a Captain lead each group in their distance runs and adjust the pace to the group.
• Some of the running can be done with a soccer ball at their feet, which is more fun than just running.  However, I encourage a mixture of running with and without a soccer ball.
• The Captains have many options for running with and without a soccer ball.  Some of the most used runs are “Peal” or the “Australian” two-line run, “Snake” two-line run, and an Army cadence run (if your Captains are creative enough to come up with an appropriate cadence 🙂 and Man U sprints.  They can also play 1v1 to a cone for 30 seconds, then rest for 90 seconds.  If they go all out, it is exhausting!

Skill Work

• The players are all given access to the MOTI soccer app at the beginning of the summer, which contains 24 soccer skills.  We ask the players to all work on perfecting these ball manipulation skills before the High School season begins.
• The Captains review these skills daily with the players during Captain’s Practices.  I give them a number of simple activities they can do as a group to help them practice these ball control skills.  They also have a number of activities from their club soccer coaches which they are free to use.
• The returning players know that when the High School practices begin, we work on these ball control skills daily as they are the prerequisite for a good first touch.  If you want to play at the varsity level, your first touch has to be outstanding.

Activities and Games

• I encourage them to play small-sided games rather than 11v11 full field.  We want the players to have more touches on the ball and opportunities to score.  Half field 6v6 up to 8v8 works well.  They can even tighten up the field by playing the width of the box, which provides more pressure.
• Depending on the numbers, a fun game to play is “King of the Field” where three teams are involved.  Two teams play, the third team rests until a winner is determined, then the resting team replaces the team that lost.  If numbers support it, you can have two-half field games going on with a “winners” field and a “losers” field.  Play for 5 minutes, then move according to the score.  Add the 5th team to rest if numbers are up, or even a third field.  The key is small-sided, competitive, with lots of touches and action.
• Perhaps the most important part of playing games is dividing up into teams.  I encourage them to stay away from the Captains manually choosing players to play for their team.  Remember how much it hurt when you were one of the last ones are chosen!  I give them some other creative ways to divide into teams and to make each team competitive.

That is a lot for these new Captains to process and put into practice.  Fortunately, they have been in your program for up to four years or more, have had great Captains and leaders come before them to show them the way, and have us counsel them.

The First Week of Training!

Now let’s have a great first week of Coach’s Training, tryouts, and enter into our first games of the season prepared.  We will talk about that next when I share with you some ideas for your first week of the High School season.

Learn more here – Coach’s Corner: Developing Leaders

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Training Captains – Captains Practices appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports – Character Development Series: Relationship Building

Watch Development Series: Responsibility

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/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

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

Training High School Captains – Developing Team Leaders

“A player who makes a team great is much more valuable than a great player.”  John Wooden

The last time I met with my Captains, we had fun, played a game, and got to know each other over some food.  It was a great time.

Now I have had a chance to see them playing in other activities and have made a few connections with them during the past few months.  Let’s get together again and take a look at some of the characteristics of great leaders.

I like to use the findings from the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins as the basis for our discussion.  Briefly, here is what I will focus on from this outstanding book. 

Professor Collins and his research staff examined the performance of 1,435 publicly held “good” companies over a 40-year period.  They discovered 11 companies that consistently outperformed the market.  What did these 11 companies have in common?  The leadership qualities of their leader, which he calls a Level 5 leader.  In my case, these are the qualities I would like to see in my captains.

• Embody a mix of personal humility and professional will. 

• Display workmanlike diligence – more plow horse than show horse.
• Display modesty, are unassuming and understated.
• Fanatically driven with an incurable need to produce sustained results.
• Attribute success factors to others than themselves, but if things go poorly they take full responsibility.
• Set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation.

In this second meeting, we talk about each of these and how we can exhibit these qualities on the field during practices and games, in school, at home, with our friends, and anywhere else we are at.

I will use as an example Mike Eruzione from the 1981 USA Hockey Gold Medal Olympic Team.  He barely made the team, never played in the NHL, and yet was the Captain of the team!  Then I pull out the “Again” clip from the movie “Miracle” (the greatest sports movie of all time – well if you are from Minnesota anyway :).

I also use as examples our captains from the past few seasons – captains that they practiced and played with.  I like to point out the times when a captain did something that showed Level 5 Leadership.  For Example:

• After finishing his mile run, a Captain noticed that a couple of freshmen were not in good shape and were lagging far behind the rest in their mile run.  The Captain jumped back onto the track and ran alongside the freshmen for the rest of their run, positively encouraging them all the way.
• My first week of practice I like all my seniors to pair up with a new student during the first few days to get to know them and introduce them to our program.  They become training partners for skill work and activities.  They often get to know the incoming players a bit during Captain’s Practices the week prior, so they have an idea of the skill level of the incoming player.  What I loved to see was one of my Captains purposely seeking out a new player with very little soccer or athletic ability and welcoming the new player into our soccer and school community.  That new player found a home at our school and in our soccer program, and continued to play soccer throughout his high school years.

There are so many directions you can take this time with your captains.  Have fun with it.  Let them talk it out.  You, as a coach, do a lot of listening and ask some probing questions.  We want our captains to be intentional about who they are, what they do, and why they do it.  We want it all to come from their heart.

The food is good, the conversation is great, and we still have not talked much about soccer!  I guess soccer is like life.

Read another Coach’s Corner: Choosing High School Captains

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coach’s Corner: Developing Leaders appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Players are very often surprised that when I meet them first time that we don’t talk at all about football.”  – Jurgen Klopp

Now that you know who your captains for next season are, what do you do to prepare them for their leadership role with your team?

I plan on getting together 3 times before the season as a group.  I pick a public place where there is food – pizza is always a favorite – and we can take up a table for an hour or so.  I also ask an assistant coach or coaches to join us if they can.

Since our high school soccer season is in the fall, I set the first meeting in late spring or early summer.  The second meeting in mid July.  The third meeting right before Captain’s Practices begin (2 weeks before the start of the high school season for my state).

I will often bring a deck of cards or a board game to the first meeting just to break the ice a bit.  These captains love to compete!   We will play “Hearts” or “Spades”, or play a board game like “Apples to Apples” or “Clean Slate”.  These games are fun and even a bit enlightening!

The first meeting is all about getting to know each other. 

Along with having fun playing a game, I like to play “21 Questions” with each other.  I want to be open with them, just as they are with me and each other, so they can ask me questions also.  Here is a quick list of a few of the questions:

• Do you have a nickname?
• Cell phone number – you probably already have this.  But if you don’t  know, it is a good time to get it.  I only group text.  Or your school might have a message system within an App that you can use to communicate.  Safety, of course, is the biggest concern with any form of communication.  I make sure my other coaches are linked in to all communications with parents and team members.
• What is your favorite song or group or both?
• What is your favorite movie – or movies?
• What are some of your favorite lines from movies?
• Sports – What sports did you play growing up and at what level? 
• What is your soccer playing experience?  Years, teams, levels, etc.
• What Superhero do you most resemble?
• Volunteer – how have you volunteered in your community, soccer or otherwise?
• What is a favorite memory you have with a parent or grandparent?
• Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?  If so, what is her/his name, how long, where did you meet, fun things you like to do together, etc.
• Think of (or name) a teacher or coach that had a positive influence on your life.  Why? 
• Think of a teacher or coach whom you had a negative experience with.  What was it that they said or did that turned you off?
• What is the name of your favorite pet (or stuffed animal) and the name of the street of your home?  Put them together and you get your rapper name (or Super Hero name, MMA name, etc)!

I also like to go and watch them play, either soccer or any activity they are in.  It is fun to watch them participate in any activity that is important to them.  It is also fun to sit with their parents and get to know them better.  Then after the event, just say “Hi”, build them up about their performance and tell them how much fun it is to watch them play.

We are building a team together this year, just as all the captains and players before them built their teams and our program.  It takes trust, and trust doesn’t just happen.  Let us, as coaches, be intentional about how we get to know our captains, the leaders of our team.

Next time we will talk about leadership, using as our base the Level 5 Leadership as outlined in the book “Good to Great” by author Jim Collins.  We set the bar high for our Captains!

Read part one COACH’S CORNER: Choosing High School Captains article here.

View another COACH’S CORNER article here. – Put the Ball in the Parent’s Court

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coach’s Corner: Training Captains appeared first on MOTI Sports.

“Players that aren’t true leaders but try to be, always bash other players after a mistake. True leaders on the pitch already assume others will make mistakes.” Johan Cruyff

It is a blast choosing Captains and training them for my High School team. I like to impress upon them that this is their team, their friends, and their last high school season if they are seniors. Players consider it a great honor to be a Captain. Let’s help them to become the best Captains they can be.

What is your selection process?

Most teams have a voting process, where the current players – usually the current varsity players only – and the coaching staff vote for the captains for the next season. The Activities (or Athletic) Director also may have a say. 

I prefer to have the captains chosen before the end of the season banquet. It’s a great way to transition from this past season’s glory into the next season when the captains are announced. I give my current captains each an envelope with the name of one of the new captains along with a captain’s armband. They then open the envelope, announce the captain and give them their armband.

If you are a coach who is not connected in any other way to the school, your Athletic Director (AD) may have information about your players which you do not have. For example, is the candidate academically eligible? Or has the candidate been involved in an activity that would make them ineligible for any disciplinary situation? I am not a teacher in the school district, so I count heavily on my AD for guidance in choosing my captains.

Some schools require candidates to fill out an application with the school AD before they become eligible to be voted on by the team. I have found this helpful. It surprises me how, in some years, I have had to encourage some players to apply. It also gives me some further insight into my captains.

I encourage all of my returning Varsity players to apply, although I tend to lean towards senior class captains. There is nothing quite like senior leadership.

Once you decide on the process, you will need to determine how many captains you want. I personally like three captains. With injuries and substitutions, I always want to make sure that I have at least one captain playing at all times. Three seems to work best.

I also count on the parents of the captains for several duties during the season. Again, having at least three groups of parents involved with me helps to take care of the many “opportunities” to make the season special and relieves me of many seasonal tasks that I, as the head coach, need to oversee.

In the end, your captains become your greatest allies. They become your eyes and ears on the whole program. You seek their input and counsel. It is very hard to develop close relationships with your whole team. I focus on these three first.

Now getting to know them and training them to be good leaders is for another episode 🙂

View another COACH’S CORNER article here. – Put the Ball in the Parent’s Court

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coach’s Corner: Choosing High School Captains appeared first on MOTI Sports.

In my 40 plus years of coaching from U6 to U19 at the recreational, club and High School levels I can count on one hand the number of parent issues I have had.  The key – open communication.  Try these suggestions:

Personally engage with every parent and player through your teams method (management system, email, etc.)  Make it from you, with your contact information and encouragement to contact you directly.

Choose the number of players for your team so that they all will play significant time in each match.  For my high school team I like to keep it to 16 players.  I play equal time for as many players as I can, or at least 10 minutes per half if the size of my team is larger.

Rotate the starters.  Parents and players are not aware that most goals are scored in the last 10 minutes of a half or of the game.  Use that to your advantage.

Ask for volunteers for team parties, meals, etc.  Get the parents involved.

Post on social media.  Make sure you rotate the focus so that each player has a mention somewhere during the season.

Meet with the parents where they are . . . in the stands!  I like to spend at least one half per season in the stands sitting with the parents.  I allow them to ask me anything they want.  It can be about me, my family, my coaching style, our style of play, their child, their child’s playing time, etc.

If you are an open book to the parents, they will know that you have the best interest of their child at heart.  That is what a parent wants to know.  Give them as many opportunities as you can to express to you their thoughts and feelings.  The ball is in their court if you make yourself available to them.

View another COACH’S CORNER article here.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post COACH’S CORNER: Put the Ball in the Parent’s Court appeared first on MOTI Sports.

WH Passing Square Technical 1 – Tactical Drill

View the article Making Skills Stick here.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post WH Passing Square Technical 1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports – Character Development Series – Responsibility.

Watch the previous Character Development Series: Emotional Management

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Character Development: Responsibility appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Character Development: Emotional Management

Watch the previous episode in the series here.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Character Development: Emotional Management appeared first on MOTI Sports.

MOTI Sports – Character Development Series: Relationship Building

Watch Development Series: Responsibility

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/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

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

Personal Development in our youthful students’ need encouragement. Especially for young people to take action, how to be engaged, how to be focused, how to understand how improvement goals need to be established, how to fathom out how to initiate personal goals, then how to monitor and follow thru to a conclusion.

Character Development Series – Personal Development – MOTI Sports

Watch a previous episode in the series – Emotional Management

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

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

MOTI Youth Soccer Summit 2020 – Skip Gilbert CEO US Youth Soccer

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

View Ian Barkers presentation from the Youth Soccer Summit here.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post MOTI Youth Soccer Summit 2020 – Skip Gilbert CEO US Youth Soccer appeared first on MOTI Sports.

3D SOCCER DRILL – MOTI Sports Five Pass Drill available in the MOTI Soccer App, explained by Alan Merrick.  Helps players working on passing accuracy, layoff pass, diagonal and thru ball.  

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post 3D Soccer Drill MOTI Sports – 5 Pass Drill appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Learn more about Distance Learning with MOTI Virtual and the MOTI Soccer app for Teachers.

MOTI Sports Virtual Soccer Training

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/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post MOTI Virtual Soccer Training for Teachers appeared first on MOTI Sports.

JEFF VENNELL // MEMBER SINCE 1971

Coaches at all levels have to develop the skills to plan a practice session to effectively prepare their team for matches. United Soccer Coaches courses provide a good framework that coaches can utilize when considering what to practice, why the main topic of the practice is needed, and what methodology best presents a systemic approach to reaching practice goals to prepare their team.

It is assumed that coaches are cognizant of safety factors involved prior to every practice such as making sure the goals are secured and checking to be certain the field surface is ready for training.

Step 1—Select the Topic

Youth-level coaches can select their topic from their adjusted seasonal plan. If the team needs to work on dribbling this week, then the practice plan should include dribbling. Possibly alerting the team to worry about “how fast Nicole is as the opposing striker” or “what team will be the next opponent” is not important. More experienced playing level coaches base their practices on observation of the team’s last match:

• What did the team accomplish in the last match and where did they fall short?
• When does the team play their next match?
• Who is the next opponent and what challenges do they create for their team?

The focus of the practice session should be as specific as possible. The more clearly a coach defines their goal the clearer it will be for players.

The coach should consider the following questions when choosing what topic to select for a training session: Is the focus of the training session on individual exercises, groups or blocks (backs + GK, midfielders, attackers) or team (11v11 or a small-sided exercises that mimic the team shape)? Should the focus be technical or tactical? What players are involved from your team, the opposing team? How will the coach start and restart the exercises to get maximum repetitions? Don’t try to accomplish too many targets during the practice; generally, two to three is usually good.

Step 2—Organize the Equipment

Once a coach has decided on the focus of the practice, the organization of practice equipment is important—soccer balls, cones/disks/flags, vests, portable goals, etc. Practice should begin with areas already defined, soccer balls ready, vests ready for the team, and which players will be in which group during the starting practice exercise.

Remember the Mechanics:

• Are the exercises appropriate to topic?
• Exercise details:
  • Number of Players
  • Restrictions
  • Number of Touches
  • Amount of Time
  • number of Goals
  • Number of Balls

• Proper use of space (approx. 10yds/Offensive Player)
• Practice spaces—don’t share boundaries
• Logical progressions—increase pressure incrementally for technical topics, complicate the environment as the practice progresses
• Coaching position—generally outside

Step 3—Create a Learning Environment

What makes up a learning environment?

• Players learn better by doing, not just hearing
• Teach don’t talk; coaches should not lecture
• Show what you want vs. telling what you want; remember: retention is 70% visual

Step 4—Select your Coaching Methodology

• Progressive Technical—build pressure from none to full as quickly as possible
• Progressive Tactical—possession, direction, counter direction, two directions with full pressure from opponents
• Functional Technical or Tactical—in the area where the players are located in a match
• Phase Play—play between two of the thirds of the field
• Shadow Play—adding opposition as play proceeds

Step 5 – THE Practice Warm Up:

» About 15-20% of allotted time related to topic

» Rehearse—physical and psychological preparation for the practice

• Team is ready to go at full speed when completed

Main Activities:

• About 45-50% of allotted time; usually 3-5 exercises

Concluding Activity—Game:

• About 30-35% of allotted time

» Implement topic in match environment

• Games with restrictions as needed

COACH—Observe—Stops

Warm Down:

• About 5% of allotted time – stretch, low-level activity, reinforce coaching points

Coaching Actions During Practice Exercises:

• Don’t forget that “catching the good” is an effective way to reinforce correct play and choices
• Identify the problems and the teachable moments
• Freeze the action
• Correct the mistake with effective demonstration or review a correct picture
• “Painting the correct picture” focused corrections (30-second rule – remember: the longer a coach talks the less players listen)
• Rehearse—coach the player, not the exercise
• Restart with success “WHEN – ON”

Remember that feedback—the single most important variable in skill learning—must be valid, precise, and specific vs. non-specific and focused on performance.

The following is from Bill Beswick, a sports psychologist in England.

Successful Coaches

Successful coaches take players out of their comfort zone, individually and collectively, to somewhere they have not been before—REACH THE POSSIBLE!

A Good Coach:

• Coaches the Whole Player
• Is Organized—Sell vs. Yell
• Has Focused Practices
• Has Challenging Practices
• Has Players Set Individual Goals
• Allows Freedom to Fail
• Facilitates Learning
• Balances Work, Rest, Relaxation
• Balances Praise/Criticism
• Has Players Take Responsibility
• Establishes 2-Way Communication

Good Luck!!!

Reprinted with permission from United Soccer Coaches.  Originally appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of Soccer Journal. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/soccer-journal-issues/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post GOOD PLANNING, PERFECT PRACTICE: appeared first on MOTI Sports.

The MOTI Sports Passing Side Foot Skill explained.

Check out another skill: Outside Hook Turn Skill

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

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

Alan shares advice for elementary, middle school, and physical education teachers on how to integrate proper and effective soccer lesson plans into in-person, hybrid, or distance learning curriculum and teacher lesson plans.

Alan Merrick is 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.

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/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Soccer Lesson Plans For Teachers appeared first on MOTI Sports.

U.S. SOCCER FEDERATION RELEASES COMPLETE RETURN TO PLAY
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR “PLAY ON” CAMPAIGN DURING COVID-19

“PLAY ON” Phases Provide Guidance for Return to Full-Team Competitions;
Each Phase Should Be Implemented Only If and When Local Regulations Deem It Safe

U.S. Soccer has released the final phase of its five-phase PLAY ON campaign, providing coaches, players, parents, referees, and administrators with the complete return-to-play guidelines during COVID-19 to help ensure the safety of all participants.

PLAY ON was created to inform and assist in the process of organized soccer returning to play nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and is divided into five progressive phases, from Phase 0 (stay at home) to Phase IV (no COVID-19 related restrictions). With Phase I and II already released, Phase III has now been published at ussoccer.com/playon, providing the complete return-to-play recommendations as Phase IV is the return to normal soccer activity without restrictions.

While Phase III allows for full-team competitions to return, each phase of the return-to-play recommendations should only be taken if and when state and local COVID-19 regulations deem it safe.

“While we’ve now released our full return-to-play guidelines, it’s important that everyone first follow local and state regulations before taking any steps forward,” said U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer George Chiampas. “Different areas of the country are at different phases, or even returning to previous phases, as the entire country continues to deal with coronavirus outbreaks. Clubs and teams should take a slow and methodical progression between phases to make sure that all participants will be as safe as possible.”

PLAY ON includes a comprehensive Grassroots Soccer Recommendation Guide that provides all those involved in youth soccer – players, coaches, parents, administrators, and referees –important safety protocols to consider and implement at each stage of return to play. The guides also contain valuable information that can be applied to all levels of the game.

Phase I of PLAY ON allows for training in small groups, while Phase II provides for full-team training and the newly launched Phase III presents recommendations for the safe return and management of the full-team competition. Even in Phase III, COVID-19 prevention and response protocols, outlined in earlier Phases, should still be followed. Social distancing should be maintained when possible and teams are recommended to only participate in regional single-day events to avoid significant travel or overnight stays.

Each phase should follow sequentially, with Phase I suggested to last four-six weeks and Phase II three-six weeks before progressing to Phase III.

• Phase I Grassroots Soccer Recommendation Guide
• Fase I Guía de Recomendaciones de Fútbol Base
• Phase II Grassroots Soccer Recommendation Guide
• Fase II Guía de Recomendaciones de Fútbol Base
• Phase III Grassroots Soccer Recommendation Guide
• Fase III Guía de Recomendaciones de Fútbol Base

“Regardless of which phase a club or team is operating in, everyone should be prepared to take a step back and revert to an earlier phase if needed,” said Chiampas. “This can be in response to increased risk, cluster outbreaks, updates to public health guidelines, or an inability to safely maintain COVID-19 prevention and response protocols. It is important to remain vigilant and flexible as we prepare for every scenario. By prioritizing the safety of our soccer community, we can preserve the health of those around us and help ensure that our sport can remain a part of our lives at this time.”

For additional insight on the safe return to play, U.S. Soccer Coaching Education hosted a webinar with Dr. Chiampas earlier this summer that can be viewed here.

U.S. Soccer also encourages all players, coaches, parents, referees, and administrators to take the PLAY ON Pledge, an oath to stay informed and to follow recommendations from medical professionals, to be honest in their self-evaluation and to be responsible to themselves, their family and their communities.

Through PLAY ON, U.S. Soccer will continue to provide updates and resources to the soccer community as the summer continues, to help it navigate the challenges of COVID-19. Along with providing best practices in the detailed and in-depth recommendation guides, the PLAY ON initiative includes instructional videos, sample training exercises, infographics, and other resource materials. All the resources for the PLAY ON initiative can be found in a virtual hub at ussoccer.com/playon.

• Watch U.S. Soccer PLAY ON Five Phases of Return to Play
• Read Frequently Asked Questions about PLAY ON
• Take the PLAY ON Pledge
• View PLAY ON Tips and Graphics

Returning to the field after a long period off may add to the stress your body experiences while coaching. U.S. Soccer partner KT Tape® can help provide pain relief and support. KT Tape® offers a wide variety of products from kinesiology tape for a new ache or pain, or an ice/heat product for pre- or post-workout. Check out their latest deals at www.kttape.com and watch their video instructions to learn how to apply KT Tape® at www.kttape.com/instructions.

Reprinted with permission.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post US Soccer Return To Play appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Alan will share advice for elementary, middle school, and physical education teachers on how to integrate proper and effective soccer lesson plans into in-person, hybrid, or distance learning curriculum.

Alan Merrick is 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.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Soccer Lesson Plans for Teachers appeared first on MOTI Sports.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to enjoy the game we all love, and I know you’ve all missed it as much as we have here at U.S. Soccer.

As soccer starts up again in your community, we realize coaches like you may have questions about how to return-to-play safely, and keep the health & wellness of yourself, your players and your soccer families a top priority. While it’s a new, and at times uncertain, environment, we are going to navigate this together through knowledge, information and shared responsibility.

To support coaches of all levels as you return to the field, U.S. Soccer has created a new initiative called U.S. Soccer PLAY ON. Through PLAY ON, you can explore real recommendations and useful resources that will help you make decisions about managing your team, trainings, and ultimately, competitions.

U.S. Soccer has organized return-to-play considerations into five phases from Phase 0 (no organized activities; stay home) through to Phase IV (no playing restrictions related to COVID-19). Each phase includes a recommendations guide, infographics, and more to ensure that clubs and players have the opportunity to appropriately adapt and implement safety measures.

Phase I & II are currently published in English & Spanish for your use, with subsequent guides to follow.

• Phase I Grassroots Recommendations Guide
• Phase II Grassroots Recommendations Guide

These guidelines and best practices are intended for use WHEN AND IF your local authorities have deemed it safe to return to the practice field. U.S. Soccer is in no way endorsing holding practices or games in violation of any Federal, State or Local mandates. At all times, please defer to your Local and State public health authorities for specific modifications and/or alterations.

Soccer’s PLAY ON virtual hub: ussoccer.com/playon.

• Watch U.S. Soccer PLAY ON Five-Phases of Return to Play
• Read Frequently Asked Questions about PLAY ON
• Take the PLAY ON Pledge
• View PLAY ON Tips and Graphics

Thank you for all you do as a leader in this sport, and helping us PLAY ON safely, together.

Sincerely,
Dr. George Chiampas
Chief Medical Officer
U.S. Soccer

(Used with permission.)

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post USSF Return to Play appeared first on MOTI Sports.

By Alan Merrick & Brad Carlson

Coaches can use the new MOTI Return-to-Play Small Group Training Plan for FREE when using the MOTI Mobile App.

Coaches, now the MOTI Mobile Soccer Training App is here to let you learn important skills at any time and any place. Don’t have the MOTI Mobile app yet? Start by getting the MOTI Ready-to-Play Small Group Plan for FREE!

• Download the MOTI™ Mobile app Free from iTunes or Google Store
• Touch the link; I am new to MOTI Sports
• Enter your email address and promo code RETURNTOPLAY2020 to get our FREE Return-to-Play Training Team Plans

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/

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post 8 FREE Soccer Safe Distancing Session Plans appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Whether you are back to playing soccer, still in a restricted phase of play, or have cancelled soccer completely now is a good time to evaluate how you can grow soccer in your area.  Did you know that MOTI can help your Organization grow soccer in your area?  Let me lay it out for you, and you can decide if MOTI is right for you.

We all know that the base for a financially solid Organization is the U6 and U8 age groups.  If you can expand the number of players in these age groups, it creates stability within your Organization and prevents others from drawing players away from you in the older age groups.  The larger the base of U6 and U8 players, the more players will remain with your Organization.

MOTI Sports is uniquely positioned to help grow these younger age groups by:

• Providing FREE Foundation Foot Skills to all players through our App.  This is a perfect way to get players to practice their techniques at home during our time of social distancing.  It is also fun!  Check it out by simply downloading the MOTI Sports App from iTunes or Google Play Store.  Choose “I am new to MOTI Sports” and you are on your way – for FREE!
• Beyond the Foundation Foot Skills, players can add to their skills at home on their own time and level-up as they are ready with our Advanced and Premier Foot Skills.  This can all be done through an inexpensive ($1.49 to $1.99) monthly subscription so there is no cost to the Organization.
• Providing Coaching Plans through our App to give both new and experienced coaches step-by-step guidance for every practice and game-day experience.  These Coaching Plans are geared specifically to age groups and are ready once you are given the go ahead to play again.  This can also be done on a subscription bases at $80 per year, so there is no cost to the Organization.

As your young players improve their individual foot skills, their confidence begins to grow.  They experience success on the field, enjoy the game and want to continue to play as they grow older.

Your U10, U12, and U14 age groups will also grow.  You may find a demand for some players to play at a higher competitive level.  You have successfully grown your competitive pool of players and you will find that your Organization is the place where everyone wants to play.  Why?  Because it is fun to play for your Organization.  Your players have developed a great set of soccer skills beginning at an early age.  They have experienced success.  The word gets out – come play here!

Ah, but it all begins at the youngest level, those U6 and U8 players who are most often coached by volunteer parent coaches or high school players.  Wouldn’t it be great if those coaches and players were given the tools to be successful at soccer?

We can help you reach your Organization’s goals.  Let MOTI show you how.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Let’s Grow Soccer! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

This is the last in a three-part series on coaching children at this young age.  Look back to the previous months to view the first and second parts.

Introduction:

Children at these ages are being introduced to just how much FUN it is to play soccer.  By providing a safe and fun environment you can insure a positive experience for the children.

You are coaching because you care for children.  You may not even know much about soccer (well, not yet anyway), and that is OK!  What you bring to the soccer field as their coach is your personality!  Your enthusiasm for them will show through any misgivings you might have about your soccer coaching abilities.  Remember that these children may not remember what you teach them about soccer, but they will always remember how you make them feel.

To Pass or not to Pass?

Passing is a necessary skill in soccer.  However, you may find that at the U6 age level and younger it is a very hard concept for a child to grasp.  Remember that they are still very possessive of the ball and do not want to give it up.

Passing also takes a lot of decision making on the part of the child.  When is it a good time to pass?  If I have a clear path in front of me to dribble, should I dribble or pass?

If  you are coaching U6 children and younger do not get too hung up on teaching them passing.  Instead use games that focus on dribbling and control, advancing the ball with the dribble when there is an opening to do so, taking on an opponent if you think you can beat them with the dribble, and pass only if your way forward is blocked so you can give a teammate the opportunity to advance the ball.  You may need to train the parents of your U6 team also about passing, for you will certainly hear them yelling from the sidelines, “pass the ball” or even worse “kick the ball.”

Attitude and Behavior start with YOU!

Hey Coach!  Here’s a shock.  Your behavior needs to be GREAT!  You should not argue with anyone, including the referees.  Encourage every player, even players on the other team.  Build everyone up.  And don’t let your parents get away with bad behavior.  Be gentile but firm.

What does good behavior look like for the children?

• Play with your feet, not your hands.  This is a hard one at the beginning, as soccer is the only major sport where hands are not used as an integral part of the game.
• Play hard.  Run hard.  Soccer players love to run.  Running is so important to soccer that it is looked on as a positive attribute.  On a side note, because running is positive never use running as a consequence for bad behavior.
• Work together with your teammates.  Have fun playing with each other and against your opponent.  Then, at the end of the game, build each other up – and the opponent also!  Begin teaching them good sportsmanship.

What might negative behavior look like?

• What if the child does not do what I want them to do?  You will see this a lot with children who are not as engaged as you would like them to be.  Remember safety first and make sure they are not being harmful to others.  Then if a child does not want to become engaged in the activity, don’t push them.  Encourage them to play but do  not force them into playing.
• Sometimes you may have a child that is being harmful to teammates or others.  Hitting, pushing, negative language, etc. are all inappropriate in soccer (and in life).  If this occurs, it is best to stop the action and address it immediately through a calm conversation.  You may need them to sit with their parents to give them a chance to calm down.  You do not need any further consequences.  Just missing the fun of playing soccer is enough for them.

Remember to praise positive behavior, especially if it occurs after you have had to deal with some negative behavior.

Now here is what is so crazy about coaching soccer.  What I learned about coaching as I have gone through many soccer seasons and taken many soccer coaching courses, I was easily able to transfer over to coaching other sports.  As I coached middle school basketball and high school baseball, I used this same philosophy to create a safe and fun environment for the players.  Sure, the skill set is different, but the ideas of how to put together a training session remain the same.  And, of course, I always loved watching them play.

View part 2 of this Article on Coaching Children here

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coaching Children Ages U6/U8 – Part 3 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

A soccer module is being taught in elementary and middle school for at least one two-week session, and often two separate two weeks sessions every year.  What if these teachers, most of whom are not proficient at soccer, are given the tools to present to their students an all-encompassing soccer unit with measurable standards!

We have developed, with the help of Physical Education Teachers and experts in the education field, a great tool for teachers to use in their classrooms that is flexible, inexpensive, fun for the kids, and produces measurable results.

The MOTI One Teacher Soccer App For Educators has been designed specifically for the “new to the game” Physical Education Teacher.  The concept is simple – let the kids play while also learning the proper age-appropriate technical skills to allow them to be successful while playing.

By incorporating a study done by Weidong Li, Fatih Dervent & Xiuye Xie (2018) on “Soccer Techniques and Tactics for Third through Eighth Grade Students in Physical Education”, “Effective Classroom Management in Physical Education: Strategies for Beginning Teachers” by Grub, Ryan, Lowell and Stringer, Power Standards and Lesson Plans we have designed an App that, when shown to the students will teach them the proper soccer techniques.

The App allows the teacher to show the students the soccer skills for that day, listen to the expert coaching points in English or Spanish that go along with the skill, and try it right there with a soccer ball.  The players achieve instant success by seeing, hearing and doing the skill.  Then they take their newly acquired soccer skill on to the playing field to work it out in a series of small sided games. 

The teacher is given a suggested area set up for small sided games and skill work, done in such a way that everyone is active.  The Lesson Plan for the day outlines the complete time spent with the students including Safety, Equipment, Set Up, Power Standards, Learning Targets, Success Criteria and much more!

Check it out for FREE.  Download the MOTI App for FREE at your Apple App Store or Google Play Store by typing in MOTI Soccer in the search bar.  After opening the MOTI App, choose “I am new to MOTI Sports.”  Sign up.  Choose “Soccer Lesson Plan (for educator or teacher)” and you are on your way. 

Start your FREE Trial today!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Physical Ed Teachers, MOTI is for you! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

This is the second in a three-part series on coaching children at this young age.  Look back to the previous month to view the first part.

Introduction

Children at these ages are being introduced to just how much FUN it is to play soccer.  By providing a safe and fun environment you can ensure a positive experience for the children.

You are coaching because you care for children.  You may not even know much about soccer (well, not yet anyway), and that is OK!  What you bring to the soccer field as their coach is your personality!  Your enthusiasm for them will show through any misgivings you might have about your soccer coaching abilities.  Remember that these children may not remember what you teach them about soccer, but they will always remember how you make them feel.

Games, games and more games!

The children love to play games.  As they arrive at the field have them immediately engage in some type of game. 

• For younger children, it could be something like “Beehive” where they can show you their totally awesome dribbling skills. 
• For older children, it could be starting out with the first two players arriving playing a little 1v1 game.  Then when more players arrive, they are added to the game up to 3v3.  Then start another game so everyone is playing in a “small sided” game (SSG).
• Small sided games work best for all ages.  You want the children to get the most possible touches on the ball.  Keep your small sided games to no more than 4v4 if you can.
• At these ages, there are no goalkeepers.  Everyone is to play as a field player without using their hands.
• Check out the many games available on the MOTI app.  These are all age-appropriate for your team.
• Your club or organization may or may not have a “league” schedule for you to play against other teams.  If they do, remember that no score is to be kept (although the kids will all know it :).  Be careful as a coach that you do not get caught up in wins and losses.  Begin your training now to be a much bigger and better coach than that.  Look for small victories within the games and train your parents to also look for small victories.  There is nothing more a child wants to hear from their coach or parent than these little 5 words, “I love watching you play.” (John O’Sullivan, Changing the game in youth sport) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXw0XGOVQvw

Soccer Skills

One of your responsibilities as a coach is to help each child have fun.  A large part of having fun for a child is experiencing success.  You can help them experience success on the soccer field by helping them discover some of the basic tried and true soccer skills.

At these ages, there are about a half dozen ball control and dribbling skills and one very important passing skill for them to discover and have success doing.  You can help them learn these skills by using the MOTI App either at practice or at home (if their parent will download the free app).

Every practice you should plan on having a game where the children are given a chance to show you how great they are getting at learning their soccer skills.  Lots of praise and encouragement is in store for them, especially when you see them execute one of these skills in a game situation under pressure.

This is what makes coaching so much fun!  When you see something you worked on in practice being executed by a child in a game situation, you know that you are doing your job.  That is when you get excited as a coach.

Next month we will discuss passing at this young age and behavior issues that may arise.

Learn about Coaching U10 players here

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coaching Children Ages U6/U8 – Part 2 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

40 years ago, Al Michaels gave us this unforgettable call in the final seconds of the USA / Soviet Union Olympic Hockey Game.  Sports Illustrated named the “Miracle on Ice” the top sports moment of the 20^th century.

In celebration of the 40^th anniversary, our local sports stations have interviewed several players from that Gold Medal-winning USA Olympic team.  Recently I heard an interview with Rob McClanahan.  What I found of interest was what he said about his personal preparation for the August USA tryouts.

Rob was a former player of Head Coach Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota.  He knew that for him to make the USA Olympic Team though he would have to elevate his game far beyond what it had been in college.  He said that he spent the summer lifting weights 3 times a week, doing dryland training 5 times a week, and shooting the puck 200 times a day.

Repetition

Sir Alex Ferguson, legendary Manchester United coach and soccer genius, writes in his autobiography:

“Good coaching relies on repetition.  Forget all the nonsense about training programs to keep players happy.  The argument that they must be stimulated by constant variety may come across as progressive or enlightened, but it is a dangerous evasion of priorities.  In any physical activity, the effective practice requires repeated execution of the skill involved.  Why do you think the greatest golfers who have every lived devoted endless hours to striking the same shots over and over again?  Yes, I know golf, where the ball always sits to be struck, is so different from football that technical comparisons are foolish.  But the link is the need to concentrate on refining technique to the point where difficult skills become a matter of habit.

. . . David Beckham is Britain’s finest striker of a football not because of God-given talent but because he practices with a relentless application that the vast majority of less gifted players wouldn’t contemplate.  The practice may not make you perfect, but it will definitely make you better and any player working with me on the training ground will hear me preach the virtues of repetition – repeatedly.”[1]

 Sir Alex Ferguson preached it; Rob McClanahan practiced it.  And the lesson is as old as time.

“We are what we repeatedly do.”  Aristotle

Let MOTI help your players and students learn the correct soccer skills and tactics.

[1] Alex Ferguson with Much McIlvanney, Managing My Live:  My Autobiography, (Coronet Books:  London), 2000, p. 137

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Do you believe in Miracles? YES! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

This is the first in a three-part series on coaching children at this young age.

Introduction

Children at these ages are being introduced to just how much FUN it is to play soccer.  By providing a safe and fun environment you can ensure a positive experience for the children.

You are coaching because you care for children.  You may not even know much about soccer (well, not yet anyway), and that is OK!  What you bring to the soccer field as their coach is your personality!  Your enthusiasm for them will show through any misgivings you might have about your soccer coaching abilities.  Consider this:  these children may not remember what you teach them about soccer, but they will always remember how you make them feel.

Preparing Your Team

Help your team (and their parents) come prepared for practices.

• Make sure everyone has a soccer ball.  They should all be bringing a size 3 soccer ball to practice (size 4 is used for 8-12-year old’s, size 5 for 13 and up).  You will notice that they may be very possessive about “their” ball.  For that reason, we will play games where they get to play with their own ball a lot.
• Players MUST wear shin guards at every practice and in every game.
• Cleats are not necessary.
• Have children bring their own water bottle or drink to practice.  No sharing of water bottles or team water bottles for health reasons.
• Your club or organization may provide you with some extra soccer balls, cones, and perhaps training vests (pinnies).  You can use the cones for goals if needed.
• Once you hand out their uniforms you will find that they love to wear them to every practice!  That is awesome.  They all want to be a part of the team.
• Find a “Team Manager” to help you with communications throughout the season, providing refreshments during breaks (like fresh fruit), and helping the parents to get to know each other.

Let’s Talk Practices

The key to running a fun and successful practice is to make it FUN!  Soccer is one of the easiest sports to make fun for children to play in.  Here are a few helpful suggestions.

• Keep your practices to no more than 60 minutes.  Even at that, you will be experiencing short attention spans.
• Start your season talking about your team name.  Come up with a team cheer.  Have some fun with these moments.
• When you talk with children, make sure you get down to their level so they can look you right in the eyes.  If you are outside, you should face the sun.  These tips help them concentrate on you.
• It is more fun for everyone to be playing at the same time.  That is why we discourage contests and games where the children stand in lines and must wait to participate.
• Be positive in your approach to coaching these children.  Give them lots of praise when you see them having a good touch or a good thought.  Sometimes they have a good thought, but their execution is poor.  Rather than criticize them for their poor execution, praise them for their good though and attempt.
• If you notice a specific child having a hard time with skill, at this age it is better to address the whole group rather than single out the individual child.
• Ask guiding questions rather than giving them specific answers.  For example, help them to figure out why it is better to pass using the inside of their foot rather than their toe.  You can even come up with catchy phrases like “say NO to the toe.”
• Children at this age do not need to warm up and stretch.  They are born ready to play, so let them play!  There is no need to make them run laps or do sprints unless you want them to run to their water bottle which they will gladly do!
• There is, however, research that suggests most injuries to children playing soccer at this age occur to their upper limbs.  FIFA 11+ Kids has developed a warm-up procedure for this age group which improves dynamic balance and agility skills.  You can download a poster with several easy to do exercises to help young children with their balance, agility and learning how to fall.
• Less talk and more play are always a good strategy.  Get them moving.  Try and wear them out with fun activities and games.
• Plan your practices ahead of time.  Come prepared with more fun games for them to play than you think they can play in 60 minutes.
• If you find that a game you are playing is too difficult or the kids are just not into it, then skip it and move on to the next one.  Find something that they will get engaged with and have fun doing.

Next month we will talk about what type of content to include in your practices.  This will be FUN!

View part 2 of this Article on Coaching Children here

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coaching Children Ages U6/U8 – Part 1 appeared first on MOTI Sports.

You just got talked into coaching your first soccer team.  CONGRATULATIONS! 

Here are FIVE tried and true suggestions for you.

Be Positive

If you want players to come to practice, respect you, have their parent’s respect you, the other coaches respect you, and – yes – even the referees respect you . . . be positive.  Look for little “victories” with each player and compliment them when they succeed.  Success breeds success.  Sarcasm and negativity will tear a player down rather than build them up.

Make Practice Fun

Kids love to play soccer.  That is why they signed up.  But for many of them they may have the idea that practice is not fun (which they probably got from practicing another sport :).  NOT SOCCER!  Make practice fun by planning your time together, make sure everyone has a ball, engaging them immediately when they arrive, play a lot of games and work in the skill work within the games, and build them up when they think or do good things.

Rotate Players Through All Positions

Your season is just a small slice of your players soccer life.  Who knows where this adventure might lead them?  The more experience you can give them playing a variety of positions will help them develop into well rounded soccer players.  Remember though to put players into positions where they can be successful.  For example, if a player is still struggling when put under pressure then put them in a position on the field where they will be under less pressure – for example as an out back, outside midfielder or outside forward.  That is not a negative on the player, it is just good coaching.

Play Players Equal Time

Whether your team is recreational or competitive, all players and their families chose to participate so that they could play in the games.  Let them all play and keep to as close to equal playing time as you can.

When To Coach And When to Watch

Good coaches use their training time to coach, helping their players discover the game.  Success in practice leads to success in the games.  The biggest joy you can have as a coach is when you see a player execute in the game something that you just practiced.  And when you see THAT, you let the player (and the teammates) know it by building them up.  Coach during the practices, watch and build up during the games when you see good thoughts and good execution of what you practiced.

Now the great adventure begins!  Have fun and enjoy the season.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post New to Coaching? What to focus on. appeared first on MOTI Sports.

A soccer module is being taught in elementary and middle school for at least one two-week session, and often two separate two weeks sessions every year.  What if these teachers, most of whom are not proficient at soccer, are given the tools to present to their students an all-encompassing soccer unit with measurable standards!

We have developed, with the help of Physical Education Teachers and experts in the education field, a great tool for teachers to use in their classrooms that is flexible, inexpensive, fun for the kids, and produces measurable results.

The MOTI One Teacher Soccer App For Educators has been designed specifically for the “new to the game” Physical Education Teacher.  The concept is simple – let the kids play while also learning the proper age appropriate technical skills to allow them to be successful while playing.

By incorporating a study done by Weidong Li, Fatih Dervent & Xiuye Xie (2018) on “Soccer Techniques and Tactics for Third through Eighth Grade Students in Physical Education”, “Effective Classroom Management in Physical Education: Strategies for Beginning Teachers” by Grub, Ryan, Lowell and Stringer, Power Standards and Lesson Plans we have designed an App that, when shown to the students will teach them the proper soccer techniques.

The App allows the teacher to show the students the soccer skills for that day, listen to the expert coaching points in English or Spanish that go along with the skill, and try it right there with a soccer ball.  The players achieve instant success by seeing, hearing and doing the skill.  Then they take their newly acquired soccer skill on to the playing field to work it out in a series of small sided games. 

The teacher is given a suggested area set up for small sided games and skill work, done in such a way that everyone is active.  The Lesson Plan for the day outlines the complete time spent with the students including Safety, Equipment, Set Up, Power Standards, Learning Targets, Success Criteria and much more!

Check it out for FREE.  Download the MOTI Soccer App for FREE at your Apple App Store or Google Play Store and start your FREE Trial today!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Physical Ed Teachers, MOTI is for you! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Have you watched a youth soccer practice or asked your 5th grader about their soccer unit for gym class lately?  What are your observations?

I have, and as a lifelong soccer coach it scares me.  What I have been seeing in the classroom and on the soccer field is an emphasis on playing games at the expense of time spent on individual skills.

Now we all know that the kids, when asked what they want to do, will say enthusiastically “PLAY.”  Not surprising is it.  Playing is FUN, and that is why soccer is such a success with youth in and out of the classroom.

As I survey the soccer landscape for U10 and above (3rd through 8th grade) I am encouraged by the standards that are set for our Physical Education teachers while being equally discouraged by the standards seemingly set by our own soccer governing body in the USA – the USSF.  Let me explain my observations.

In education, the teacher is required to present a comprehensive lesson plan for each gym class module they teach.  Daily the teacher must prepare a learning plan which includes, but is not limited to, the following:  safety and equipment checks, integration of other core academic areas into the PE class, plan your time together to encourage engagement, prepare warm up and cool down activities, a presentation of basic skills and strategies, structured time for grouping students into teams to work out their basic skills and strategies, check for understanding and correct misunderstandings, and offer closure by reviewing key concepts and points.

WOW!  For me that sounds like a very well thought out soccer training session.  That was also the method I was taught to use when taking my USSF and USC coaching and diploma courses.  The problem is though, that most PE teachers are not versed in basic soccer skills.  So they will gloss over the presentation of basic skills and strategies and move right into playing games – which the students love!  The teacher is happy because the students are happy and they have a lesson plan that addresses most of the items they are asked to address.

In USSF driven soccer, the coach is being asked to take some educational courses which is good.  But the reality is that only those who have “heard the call” to coach soccer are driven enough to take the courses.  The course offerings now have also glossed over the presentation of basic skills in favor of a system where the players will (it is hoped) become well versed in the skills needed to succeed in the game simply by playing the game.

Where are they?  Where are the basic skills taught these days to our young soccer players?

Basic soccer skills is the cornerstone of MOTI.  Seeing the disconnect in education, we have developed a comprehensive soccer unit for Physical Education teachers.  Our Teacher App fills in the gap in their lesson plan by providing age appropriate skills that can easily be taught by even the novice PE teacher using visual and auditory aids.  Seeing the disconnect in USSF and their Play-Practice-Play model, we have incorporated age appropriate skills into their Play-Practice-Play practice plans.  All of this was done by Alan Merrick himself, so you can trust the content and the motivation.

And for those “new to the game” parent coaches, we have a wide variety of story book games for the younger players to advanced rondos and small sided games for the older players.  All designed to work with our basic skill techniques.

Where are they?  Where are the basic skills taught these days to our young soccer players?

They are here!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Where are the skills? appeared first on MOTI Sports.

There is an old Arnold Schwarzenegger film called “Kindergarten Cop.”  In it, Arnold becomes a substitute kindergarten teacher who barely made it through the first day!  He felt totally overwhelmed and under prepared.

That is how many of us begin our coaching careers – feeling overwhelmed and under prepared.  That anxiety can lead to fear, even before you take the field for the first time with your team. 

“It’s OKAY to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”  Mandy Hale

I am here to tell you that you need not fear! You, because you have volunteered, already possess the most important characteristic of a great coach . . . LOVE!  There is no fear in love.

It is your love for the kids that has driven you to coach, and it is your love for the kids that will drive you to become the best coach you can be.

“To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect.  You just have to care.”  Mandy Hale

Now the great adventure begins.  Increase your base of knowledge, and not just about soccer.  Get to know your players and their parents.  Do a little research on how to teach kids at the age group you are coaching.  Consider bringing into your time with the players some of the core values that will help them develop as young persons.  You are the teacher.  Soccer is the vehicle.  Make your time with the kids count for more than just playing a game.

The parents will immediately pick up on your heart for their children.  It is exactly what we, as parents, are looking for in our teachers and coaches – someone who cares about the development of our children as much as we do.  You need not fear the parents for they know your heart lies with the positive development of their child.

And it gets even better!  Think outside the box a bit and try to have something a little crazy and fun at each practice.  Have you ever played Super Soaker Soccer?  It’s the best way to end a practice when it is really hot out.

So let your imagination go!  Be creative.  Learn.  Teach.  Love.  And hey, have some fun out there!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Kindergarten Cop and Coaching appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Jϋrgen Klopp is a hot commodity these days.  You see him interviewed all over the internet.  He is a great interview, loves the camera and most importantly has some excellent advice for us novice coaches.

He was asked to give some advice to players and coaches.  Here is what he said, “The more you do with the ball – the more you play with the ball – the better you will get.  Nobody should think that any world class player recognized when he was 10 (years old) ‘there’s a ball.’  That makes it quite easy then for youth coaches, because we have to start with technical things . . . The first touch for example.  (If) the first touch is perfect – and everyone can train the first touch – then you have time to see what’s around you.  If you take 5 seconds to control this thing of leather (the ball) then everything has changed around you.”[i]

 I am a High School Boys Coach.  Our season is just beginning.  We have a mix of 9-12 grades with skill levels varying from “premier” club players to “I haven’t played since I was 8 years old.”  So where do I start?

I pair up my seniors with my freshmen and juniors with my sophomores.  Everyone has a ball.  And we begin – simply – on controlling the ball.  I yell out, “4 touch lateral motion” and they execute it.  The freshmen may not know it, but the seniors do and they teach the freshmen.  “Drag back turn.”  “Outside hook turn.”  And on we go.

This year I tried something a bit different.  Two weeks before training began I sent all of the players (or their parents for the incoming freshmen) an invitation to download the MOTI app with the foundation, advanced and premier soccer skills preloaded for them to view and work on at home.  I sent them an email to encourage them to check out the skills on the app and practice them before our training began because we would be working on them all season.

On the first day of training, at the first practice I pulled out my cell phone, talked about the MOTI App they all were invited to join and started calling out skills.  “Dribble at your partner.  Now show me your drag back turn with your right foot and dribble away.  Again, this time show me your drag back turn with your left foot.”  On we went.  Right through the foundation skills.

The next day we started the same way.  We went over the foundation skills and then added some of the advanced skills.  By the end of the week all of the foundation, advanced and premier dribbling and passing skills had been introduced and practice in a fun way with the novice players learning not only from the App but also from the veteran players.  Great skills.  Great team building.

Now here is the clincher.  I took a look at the analytics before the first practice.  Less than 20% of the team had looked at the skills on the App, and those were primarily my captains, coaches and senior leaders.  At the end of the week almost 80% had viewed the skills on the App.  Then I looked at the number of uses.  They guys who were really trying to make varsity had a ton of uses.  They guys who really didn’t care that much about making the varsity but just wanted to be a part of the program – at least for this season – not so many views.  And the non viewers where mostly the freshmen who did not have the invitation sent directly to them but to their parents!  Hum.

It shows on the field too.  Just like Jϋrgen said, it is all about the first touch.  Now my players have another tool to help them improve their first touch and I have another tool to help me evaluate my players desire to play at the highest level in my program.

[i] Soccer.com (2017) Jϋrgen
Klopp shares his secrets to coaching success [Video] Retrieved August 21,
2019 from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RENQCfI-EGg

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post First Touch Is Still King appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Watching the US Women’s National Team win the World Cup was a joy for me.  It was not just the victories nor the celebrations by the players and the fans.  It was the tremendous skill seen by player after player, all executing at such a high level and at such a pace.

It was Morgan’s Cruyff move for a goal verses Thailand or her laces volley verses Japan, Heath’s fake shot to the outside and goal verses Sweden,  and  Rapinoe’s inside of the foot no panic pass to the back of the net verses England that I loved to see.

And then on the biggest stage, the World Cup Championship Game, to see Lavelle sprinting at pace from the top of the center circle, executing a perfect scissors, fake right, goes left, hits an inside of the foot shot from just inside the box to the lower right hand corner side netting.  Awesome goal.

I wonder how all these National Team players learned to develop the basic skills necessary to play at this high level and at the pace they perform.  What do you think?

It is our belief at MOTI that the fundamental skills of the game can be learned by anyone, at any age, simply by seeing the skills, hearing the correct coaching points and practicing them in your own back yard or playground. 

Once that firm foundation is built, who knows what heights a player might reach.  Most importantly though the game becomes fun.  The confidence grows.  And who knows, there you might be some day on the biggest stage of all executing a touch or a move that you learned while playing sharks and minnows for your U6 recreational team, in your back yard or playground during recess.

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post US Women’s National Team Has Fun! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

My first coaching job was as an Assistant High School Soccer Coach.  Our local high school was beginning soccer as a club sport.  My best friend and I applied and both got the jobs.

We were both graduates from this high school.  He played soccer in college.  I had never played the game, although I had played many other sports.  This was going to be the start of a GREAT coaching ride for both of us.

We got together in the summer before our first season to discuss why we are coaching.  Up until then, I had never put much thought into it.  Here are some of the questions we asked ourselves to help us think through the kind of coaches we wanted to become.

Think back to your former coaches and teachers.  They are our role models, and you will become a role model for the next generation.  HUM?  Never thought of that, did you!

• What did you like about them? 
• What did you not like? 
• Did they know their stuff?
• How did they try to motivate you?  Did they yell, encourage, or a bit of both?
• Did they “practice what they preached” when you saw them in action or away from the sport?
• Did all players show improvement over the course of the season?
• Where practices and games fun for everyone, regardless of skill level?

WOW?  Now I was not so sure that I even wanted to be a coach.  The responsibility of molding young lives for the future became, for a moment anyway, a scary thought.

Then we put some action steps into our observations and, over time, massaged it into the way we coach.  It looks like this:

Mission:  To provide players, parents, coaches, and referees a fun atmosphere to enjoy the game of soccer.

Focus:  Fun, fitness and skill development.

We will help each player improve during the course of the season by:

• Providing a safe environment for players to play and enjoy the game of soccer
• Playing everyone equally (except on Varsity – all Varsity players will play significant time each game, but it may not be equal.  Certainly though, none of this “put them in for the last minute.”)
• Building self-control, which builds character
• Encouraging through positive reinforcement to achieve positive self-esteem
• Providing skill development at our practices and games
• Showing respect to yourself, your opponents and the referees
• As adults, providing a positive model from our lives
• Having FUN!

Our game philosophy then became simple. 

• Commit first to doing your best, second to team loyalty and third to the highest total on the scoreboard.
• Respect the contest, yourself, your opponents and the referees.
• Determine to enjoy the competition; doing whatever it takes for you and your opponents to have fun at what you are doing.

It’s been 40 years since we first sat down to figure out what we were going to do that initial fall season.  We started as a couple of guys who had a heart for teaching kids and a desire to help positively advance into adulthood.  We chose to coach soccer as the vehicle.  We continued our education (both of us are USSF “B” Licensed Coaches) so we could be the best soccer coaches we could be.  But I think the key was molding our time together with the players in such a way that they knew we were more concerned about them than anything else.

You may just coach for a season, or a few seasons as your child grows up, or coaching may become a life adventure.  Wherever you are at, we all begin the same.  Take some time to consider, now that you are a coach, what your coaching philosophy will be.

Coaching is a GREAT adventure!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post Coaching is a GREAT adventure! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

Here are a few tips from a seasoned coach:

Have your players arrive 30 minutes early (15 for younger players who are already cleated up, 45 minutes if they tend to be late).  The older players like to chat.  The younger players just want to run and play!

Use your time before you take the field to have your players get their technical touches in.  They can also do their stretching.  Remember to do everything as a team!  Build your team spirit.

You can use our MOTI Game Day Warm Up Plan as a template for your pre-game warm up.  It includes the off the field technical touches and stretches along with three on the field tactical drills:  passing in threes, a 6v3 rondo and a shooting drill.  For older and competitive teams I like to group my players according to position.  I will have my strikers pass together, my midfielders pass together, etc.  Have them warm up with the players they will be playing with on the field.

Rotate your captains for each game.  Have your captains for the game lead the stretching for the team.  This is a good way to build leaders.

Do a lot of building up and encouraging during your pre-game warm up.  Get their confidence high!

If you are playing with a keeper, then you or one of your assistant coaches should warm them up while the rest of the team is doing the passing drills on the field.  Remember that you are trying to build the confidence of your keeper, so be a good server of the ball to them.  You want all your players to have success.  Confidence and success in the warm-up leads to success in the game.

As you set your line up, make sure that your groups when you substitute are about equal in ability.  It will be much more fun for the kids.

Having said that, put the players that can handle more pressure in the middle of the field.  Put players who are new to the game on the flanks where there is less pressure.  Everyone will have more success.  The sign of a good coach is putting players in positions where they can succeed.

For the kids it is important for them to think of themselves as “starters.”  So, make sure you rotate starters every game.  Let them know that everyone on the team is a “starter.”  They all will feel better about themselves and you will see it in their performance.  Keep looking for ways to build them up!

Make sure everyone is playing equal time – or as close to equal as you can make it.  I can guarantee you that the parents know if their child is not getting the same amount of playing time as others 🙂 This will make your life easier with the parents.

If you are really into the competition part of soccer (even if you are not keeping score :), here is how I like to set my line up.  I think backwards from the end of the half.  I try and have my strongest group at the end of the half and at the end of the game.  Those are the times when most goals are scored.  So, if you have the opportunity to play around with your line ups (probably because of a shortage of players for a game), try working backwards and see what kind of results you get.  I think you will be surprised.  It also works in well with the “All Players Are Starters” philosophy.

Do you have a team manager yet!  You should 🙂 The kids love orange slices or watermelon at half time, or something cold at the end of the game.  Kids and food are always a good combination!  Ask for a Parent volunteer to coordinate this for each game.

When you talk to your players as a team, make sure you are the one looking into the sun rather than the players.  You will keep their attention better.  Also get down to their level so you can keep eye contact with them.

If you have team rules (like no swearing, no cut downs – only build each other up, be responsible, etc.) and you have someone break a rule DO NOT use running as a consequence.  Soccer players LOVE TO RUN!  It is a major part of the game and players should be encouraged to run.  Instead be creative with having them do something else that is quick and gets the point across – like 5 push-ups, 5 burpees, etc.  I like to stay away from sit up and crunches because their core is also such an important part of the game.  At the High School level, we do those along with running as part of our training.  For younger players though crunches are a good exercise for them to know and get used to doing.

Most Importantly . . . Have Fun!

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

The post It’s Game Day! appeared first on MOTI Sports.

As parents we all want our children to succeed.  We want them to have fun.  We want them to make new friends.  And we know the importance for their development to participate in extracurricular events like sports, music, theater, dance, chess club . . . whatever it may be.  A child’s social life is as important as their academic life for their development.

It is well documented that extracurricular activities increase self-esteem, improve social skills, lead to better grades, expand their worldview, promote the use of both sides of their brain – creative and analytical and more (https://www.theeducator.com/blog/role-extracurricular-activities-students-development/ Nicole Jackson, April 18, 2017).

Sports like soccer can be a key component in the development of your child.  Well done parents!  Getting your children involved in soccer is a great first step.

One of the many reasons I chose soccer over other sports and extracurricular events to coach is because the game is full of little victories.  When we look on as parents, we may see a ton of mistakes.  Ugly touches and questionable decisions abound.  But as a coach, what excites me is when I see a player successfully execute something in a game that we had practiced on.  And I make sure that all the players hear me as I praise him or her.

In soccer, the game begins and ends with simple touches on the ball.  Everything builds from there.  But if the foundation is not set, neither the players nor the team will feel like they are having much success.

Like anything worth attaining it takes time and practice.  But practicing the correct way is key.

My grandson chose to play the trombone in school.  The first year it was enough to just be able to play a few notes kind of right.  Getting the beat down was more important for him!  If he hit the right note it was a bonus. 

That thought for him carried over into his second year.  The beat was all important, not so much the notes.  Now, in this third year, he is starting to realize that it is a combination of playing the right notes at the right time.  As he does this, along with his section mates, his section and the band are coming together to make sweet music!  It is interesting that some of the band members practiced correctly from the start emphasizing playing the correct notes while some others, like my grandson, took a bit longer.

Children develop at different ages.  Teaching them correct fundamentals in whatever they are learning helps them in their development.  For soccer, you as a parent can help your child develop the correct fundamentals simply by spending time with them using the MOTI APP.  All the basic touches are there in a fun 3D motion capture APP with expert coaching points.  Your child can play around with the APP, see the skill, listen to the coaching points and practice it right there in your back yard or basement.  You can also see the skill and praise them at home as they smooth out their touches.

Then when you watch them practicing with their team or playing in a game, you both have something to look forward too.  Watch and see if that awesome touch you worked out in the back yard shows up in the practice or game.  And when it does, which I guarantee you it will make sure there is plenty of excitement and praise from the sideline! 

It’s the little things done correctly that make this game so much fun to coach and watch.  And who knows, when the stars align and enough good touches and thoughts happen, a goal might be scored:)

Brad Carlson

Brad has coached a variety of sports in the community, middle school, and high school for 40 years including coaching the MN 2021 Class A State High School Champion.  He has coached soccer from U6 at the recreational level to U19 at the club level and all age groups at the high school level, including 11 years as a head coach.  He holds a USSF “B” coaching license and USC diplomas.

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