One fortune cookie after another – in my brain – was just cracked open and its contents written down. Totally free-flowed and not second guessed. Winning is important. Possession is the optimal, if not the only, way to develop a player to their potential. Possession significantly increases your chances of winning consistently at all levels […]
Education
23 Goals and 14 Assists – This Player is Legit!
Uh … no. Don’t ever cite to me a player’s goals and assists … as if that were proof of player quality. Do that, and you expose just how much of a newbie you are. What was the quality of their goals? What was the quality of their assists? How many goals should the player […]
Our U12s vs FC Dallas [Video] – Surf Cup 2012
The video below is a compilation of every 5-touch sequence (minimum) from both teams, along with the game’s goals. This is what the leading possession soccer in the US looks like at U12. Be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel, along with our blog.
This Must Be Unprecedented! Not One … Not Two … but all 3 Surf Cup Titles!
A clean sweep is what it was. All three academy teams – U10, U11, and U12 – which Brian overseas, took home the hardware at the prestigious Surf Cup. Not a bad start to the new season. The 10s are beginning to show some signs of keeping the ball and combination play. The 11s have […]
Recruiting is The Right Thing to Do
The perception and values associated with the practice of recruiting depends on who’s doing the perceiving and the act itself – be it an organization, coach, player, parent, or whoever. This post will take the position of what every interested party supposedly wants. Development and a meritocracy. Right? Recruiting If the goal is to develop […]
5 Simple Words Stagnating Your Soccer Development
If you want to get closer to excellence you must eliminate the following from your vocabulary: Pace Unlucky Target [forward] Obviously [I, You, They, He, She, We] Deserve it These are the words of the status quo. They make you focus on the superficial, excuse you from responsibility, and brainwash you into the philosophy of […]
The 3 Main Cultures Influencing Soccer Development
They are one macro-culture and two micro-cultures. Big organizations The household The team Macro Culture This refers to the culture driven by large scale organizations. The most obvious are state governments. They dominate the rhetoric, implement policy, and execute the law. Neglecting the minority, these things combined funnel the worldviews and value systems of an entire […]
US Soccer Development Academy Coach Threatens Friendship
What follows was a text from the head academy coach at a US Soccer Development Academy club who we’ve known for … I don’t know … around six years. I won’t say who it is or when this happened, but it gives you insight as to the types of things that go on. Dear Brian, […]
Staged Positional Training Commences
June 16 marked the beginning of our position-focused training sessions. Of course most sessions we run have positional play development going on. But this is different with respect to focus, and magnitude. What I’m talking about here is segregating the players by time. It’s not uncommon for the pros to do this (ie defense shows […]
The American Soccer Community Hates Spain
Maybe not the individuals … or maybe so (think of all the shit that’s said about Busquets). But moreso, it’s what they represent. They have been exposing all of American soccer shortcomings and fallacies in a way that’s unprecedented. What they’ve been doing has gone against what the American rhetoric has been for decades. They […]