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Beyond the Bench Barr

Beyond the Bench – Q&A with Sonja Barr | Beyond the Bench with Brandon Stemwedel – Podcast

Beyond the Bench is a MOTI Sports production that takes a deep dive into important youth sports topics each month. Each episode includes interviews with generous guests that share their perspectives on issues from a life “Beyond the Bench” as youth sports coaches, administrators, and more.

Host Brandon Stemwedel has the privilege of talking with Sonja Barr. Sonya opens up about the struggles and triumphs of her childhood as a Soccer Goalie, through her days playing at the high school, and college-level leading to coaching at the collegiate level. READ MORE

MOTI Support Bot

Introducing the MOTI Support Bot. We are proud to announce that the MOTI Soccer app now includes a built-in Chat Support. The Support Bot was developed to assist you, while using the app, with app support and to help you out when you may have questions or general soccer queries.

Just press the ? (question mark circle button) and select from the options provided or start with a one word search and then add words as needed.

You can also access real-time help from MOTI Support, when there is a live agent available. READ MORE

Making Skills Stick

The chance of that skill you just introduced to your team at practice finding its own way to game day is slim. So, now what? Some tips on how to bring those skills to life and make them stick!

  • Emphasize: Choose one or two skills to focus on each training session. After players have learned to do a skill without pressure, incorporate it into the rest of that training session (and the next one!) and give them opportunities to try it in game-like situations. Remind players before the end-of-practice scrimmage or prior to a game that you are looking for a certain skill. Challenge them to spend 10 minutes working on the skill at home between practices.
  • Encourage: Players need extra incentive to try something new and something they might not find immediate success with. Give a certain skill extra weight/points for that practice or put a restriction on their play that they need to do the skill before they can shoot or score. Keep track of how many times players do a certain skill during a game.
  • Praise: In the early stages just trying is a success and should be highly praised! Verbalize and show excitement around your observation of attempts and fully executed skills to the other players, to the individual as they are substituted off, to the whole team at half-time or to a parent and player as you walk off the pitch after the final whistle.
    • READ MORE