Street Games in the Neighborhood

A big part of my soccer traditions are related to rivalry, we all have heard of Milan vs. Inter or Manchester City and Manchester United, Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, etc.

However in my childhood, there was a big Rivalry, the kids from my Neighborhood will constantly play versus a neighborhood nearby, not only for the pride but also for the awesome privilege of drinking a soda, having said that let me explain, the losing team would have to buy the winning team sodas.

The field was the street which means the game had to stop every time a car would drive by, the goal was made with two rocks and very often no matter what the score was the game was decided by a golden goal. READ MORE

COACHES CORNER: The Merry Merry Month of May?!

There might be a poem and a song that declares it to be so, but I mean, is it really? I understand somebody decided to place Mother’s Day smack dab in the middle of it to make us feel like it is “our” month but I think many of us, especially us “Soccer Moms” might wonder why. May feels like it sends schedules into overdrive and moms right to the edge.

So many activities to juggle. The band and choir concerts. The end of year school projects and parties. Remembering which kid needs to be at which field in which uniform as seasons kick into high gear. READ MORE

MOTI Website Tip: Using Analytics

Using Analytics as a Coach to encourage watching Foot Skills and Drills.

Now that the season is underway, there are several methods of looking at your team’s usage of the system and increasing it. Remember even if players cannot practice every day, every time they watch and visualize in their head “the strike they are making on the ball and the form they are using” or the “movement and passing in an activity” the more they are learning the game.

Alan Merrick reminds coaches how easy and fun it can be to use the Announcement Board and create a small competition among players out of viewing and practicing the Foot Skills. Each practice there is a bottle of water given to the player with the most views and touches! READ MORE

Soccer Club Dynamic Warm-Up

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done with motion, there are many benefits from conducting a correct warm–up and many more negatives from staying with outdated ideas like static stretching.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

Soccer in our Culture and Family

Let me start by mentioning my love for Mexican powerful Club America, the reason? Well, it all goes down to when I was a little kid.

My Uncle used to make a Carne Asada (BBQ) every Sunday so we could sit and watch the team play.

I am not from Mexico city I was born and raised in Juarez Mexico, but it became a tradition to sit every Sunday and enjoy with my uncle and Neighborhood kids to eat and watch Club America soccer games.

With the soccer season finally kicking in, let us enjoy this moment and make wonderful memories, from the moment you sit in front of the TV with your kids wearing your team colors, to the moment you go to the soccer fields and cheer for your Kid. READ MORE

Parents – help your children have success

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). READ MORE

Just how Far are you Behind?

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