Saturday, January 23, 2010

Soccer Corner Flags - Yes There Are Choices

Would you believe that you have different choices for soccer corner flags?

Different choices? Yes. But there is one thing standard about soccer corner flags. Their height. The standard height is 5 feet, or 60 inches, or 1.42 meters.

However, that is where the consistency of soccer corner flags ends. Let's look at what is available by working our way up from the ground:

Grounding

There are different ways to secure the flags in the corners of your soccer field. The type of field will help to determine what type of base that you need.


Straight in screw type stake. Just stick it in the ground. Good for hard or soft ground. The only issue being that they can easily fall over if you run into them.
T-type stake. This provides two separate prongs shaped like the letter U to push into the ground. Will provide a little more stability than the single screw type.
Angled type stake. This provides a couple of inches of offset between where the stake is stuck in the ground, and where the pole starts its vertical rise. It allows the flag to be right on the corner, but the stake to be outside the field of play.
Spring loaded. Contains a spring at the base for added flexibility.
Hollow plastic base. Can be filled with water or sand so they stay put. Good for indoor and outdoor use.
Weighted base for fields where you cannot insert anything into the field.Corner flags come in sets of 4 but can be purchased individually if you need to replace only 1 or 2. They can also be purchased in multiples of 4 if you need to outfit an entire soccer club or city soccer fields.

The Pole

Poles are usually made of plastic. There are 2 types of plastic that are normally used:


PVC plastic. Lightweight but breakable.
Acetate plastic. Will not break or shatter.Pole diameter can range from 1/2 inch right up to 1 1/2 inches for a World Cup quality corner flag set.

Carrying full size corner flag poles can be a real pain sometimes, even if you have a corner flag carry bag. So most manufacturers offer 2 piece and 3 piece poles as well. These 2 and 3 piece poles come with an internal shock cord so the pieces never leave each other. You don't have to worry about losing a piece of the pole.

Colorful Flags

Flags are always either triangular or square in shape. The flags are always bright, even neon in color. They come in a variety of colors with the most common being:


Red.
Yellow.
Red and Yellow checkers.
Black and white checkers.
Red with a diagonal white stripe.Do you even remember what color your home field uses?

Friday, January 22, 2010

Utah Youth Soccer - Serving the Needs of the Youth Soccer

Utah Youth Soccer Association is a non profit organization established to serve for the welfare of youth players. It is a non profit organization which serves as the governing body for youth soccer specifically in Utah. The association boasts its status as one of the largest organization for the sport. Since the organization is a charitable institution, the Board of Directors is composed of dedicated volunteers.

It is the objective of the Utah Youth Soccer Association to provide players of all ages the opportunity to develop their talents by providing support in terms of educational program and financial assistance for the deserving children. In addition, it also supports recreational programs for kids and teenagers. Moreover, competition programs are offered for the more advanced players in which they become part of the Olympic Development Program or ODP. This program aims to discover the best players available which can contribute in the success of the national team. Through this program, these players are given the chance to represent the state in regional and national competitions. Those players who were able to graduate from the program are entitled to become official member of the US National Team and take part in the World Cup championship games.

Through the untiring effort and commitment of its management and staff, the association continues to expand its membership and made numerous achievements for the welfare of the children in Utah. It was able to produce top caliber players and continues to search for more potential players and strengthen its national team.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Goal Setting For Soccer, Part 4 - Making a Schedule

You've got your SMART goals and you are well on your way. You've done more than 95% of soccer players (or athletes) have done. Yet there still are things you must do to help insure your success. The most important one is to monitor how you are doing. There are two ways to do this.

Making A Calendar

A calendar is the easiest and most important step. Let's say you have decided that you are going to run 10 x 100 sprints every day of the week for one month. You have set this goal so that you can be faster and in better condition for the upcoming season. You also decided that every night you would do 50 push-ups and 50 sit-ups.

You would make a chart, that would have eight columns across and three rows down. The first column would be for your goals. The top row is for the days of the week.

In the first column write your exercises.

It would look like this:

Exercises Mon Tue Wed Thr Fri Sat Sun

Run
Pushups
Situps

You would need four more calendars, one for each week of the month.

Keep this schedule where you can see it and it's easy to get to. On the refrigerator works as does in a place in your room where you can see it.

Each time you workout, you put an X in one of the boxes. You could also record the number of exercises done.

Grading Your Progress

Just recording how you are doing is great. I have found that kids (and adults too) tend to overestimate what they are capable of and willing to do.

In this case, there are 21 opportunities to workout. That might not be possible. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes. So the next step is to decide how many would be worth an A, B, or C. I believe in being an easy grader, so let's say

A = 16
B = 14
C = 12

Of course, you can choose any percentage you want. I don't believe in going lower than a C. If you're not doing at least a C level, then it's time to reevaluate your goals and motivations.

Making a schedule like this is crucial to keeping you on track for achieving your goals. Try it for one week or one month and see how you do. I guarantee you'll see positive results.

Be sure to read the next chapter on setting soccer goals.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Soccer Coaching - Soccer Coach

The good old days where the soccer coach can just go out onto the field and run some drills are long gone. With today's technology and techniques it is important to deliver a more organized and complete package to your team. This means a lot of work. This is especially so if you are new, or have not coached in a long while. So pull up your socks and get ready for a whole new adventure. In this report you will find a few tips to help you get ready to be the best you can be.

1. First on the list has to organization. Get an assistant or two if possible to help compile all the information needed. You can also use any extra help you can get from parents. They have sat and watched game after game and sometimes know the players better than the coaches. So ask for help! With all the extra hands you can also set up more drill rounds for the team.

2. To ensure the best players are on your team have them participate in a fitness test. Find out where the weaknesses are and what has to happen to correct or camouflage the problem. If there is enough practice time then you can work on the skill at a more personal level. Remember the team is only as strong as the weakest link.

3. How are your motivating skills? Are you able to bring your team out of the losing rut and into the winning zone? Have you asked your team what they hope to achieve both personally and as a team? Do they know their weaknesses? Strengths? How about you as the soccer coach? Are you aware of your strengths and weaknesses? It is the soccer coach's job to have both a mental and intuitive knowledge of their team.

4. Ask yourself what is your favorite part of soccer. Then ask your team. It might surprise you to realize that some of them actually have similar goals and dreams as you.

5. Practice, practice, and more practice. My grandmother never played soccer but she knew if you wanted to be good at something you had to repeat the action over and over in order to excel in it. You have to know the pitfalls and be able to counter around them. It takes a lot of work to excel in something. But the team spirit will rise high if you work together and achieve even a small dose of success.

6. Remember to have fun. Even though there is a lot of work to be done, don't forget to have fun along the way. Everybody will work a little harder if they are having fun too. It is especially true of children. A pizza night out will go a long way to improve the team morale. So go ahead and have a pizza night. Tomorrow will bring a new day and you can continue the work then.

7. Never let your position as a soccer coach go to your head. Remember why you want to coach and coach with your heart as well as your head and you will go a long way.

Monday, January 18, 2010

5 Mistakes Youth Soccer Coaches Make

Being a great youth soccer coach is not rocket science. You can do it, but you might need a bit of help to get off on the right foot. I've made plenty of mistakes over the years as a coach. Most of them weren't fatal, but having a good understanding of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them will help you have much more fun as you develop your own winning team of soccer studs.

5 Coaching Mistakes You Must Avoid:

Mistake #1 - The No Fun Coach

Members of the media call the NFL the "No Fun League" because the commissioner has outlawed
the celebrations and other things that really make the game entertaining. Unfortunately, the same
can be said of the majority of youth soccer coaches. Remember whom you are coaching.

Remember their age and think about how kids this age see things. Put yourself in their shoes if you can and always ask yourself "Would I have enjoyed this when I was a kid?" I'll give you a key hint here...Kids want to have fun playing soccer. They enjoy the game more when they get to touch the ball A LOT! They don't want to stand in line.

Mistake #2 - The Survivor Coach

The basic premise of the hit show Survivor is that a group of people are left on a deserted island to fend for themselves. They are given a couple of items when they arrive, but are not allowed to bring anything with them. I have witnessed numerous coaches that come to practice with that same philosophy.

They hardly bring any equipment with them at all. Fortunately, you don't need a ton of gear to run a quality soccer practice. With that said, having the right equipment can make all the difference between a losing team and one that gets better every single week. There are certain must-have items in your kit that so that you can go quickly from drill to drill and keep your players motivated and attentive. Be sure to bring plenty of balls and cones to every practice and things will run much more smoothly.

Mistake #3 - The Cool Hand Luke Coach

One of my favorite movie lines is from Cool Hand Luke where Strother Martin says, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Most coaches and parents have this same problem. Establishing a clear line of communication with your soccer parents can be the difference between a fun-filled season of soccer and a descent into the depths of hell. Soccer moms and dads can be your strongest advocates or worst nightmare. If you set up a good phone & email system ahead of time, you can bet that coaching your team will take less time, be less frustrating and be much more productive!

Mistake #4 - The Drill Sergeant Coach

Most of the drills that you find in coaching books take way too long to setup, don't hold your kids interest and have your players standing around too much of the time. Good drills should feel more
like games to your kids. Your team shouldn't spend all of their time waiting in line to kick the ball.
They should be actively involved in the drills, get lots of touches and be on the fast track to becoming better players. Look for drills that involve most of your players at the same time. Look for drills that minimize standing in line and maximize time with the ball at your players feet.

Mistake #5 - The Nutty Professor Coach

I am constantly amazed at the coaches I see that just show up with a bunch of balls, some orange
cones and NO plan. They either forget what they were going to do, or don't have any idea in the first place.

In order to get the most out of your weekly practices, you need a solid plan for each practice. Ever see a coach who's team is running around all out of control? If you don't have a plan for your team, they will quickly develop a plan for you. Players should move from drill to drill and spend the majority of their time actually playing soccer. Designing a good practice plan can take a lot of time, but it is worth it.

Make sure that your players get a good warm up, individual skill time, group skill time & group game time in each and every practice.

In Conclusion

What kind of coach do you want to be? A frustrated, pulling your hair out babysitter? Or a fun-loving coach that is developing awesome soccer players on a weekly basis?

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Dribbling Drills for Indoor Soccer

Dribbling Drills

Some soccer leagues play and practice exclusively indoors while others are occasionally forced inside the constraints of the gymnasium by inclement weather. Either way, there are many drills for indoor soccer that allow players to build on their skills such as dribbling, goalkeeping, and short distance passing.

These drills for indoor soccer focus mainly on dribbling, since it's a skill that doesn't require much physical space in order to practice. A good dribbler is not born overnight, but rather hones their skills for years by performing a series exercises daily. Try some of these drills for indoor soccer once players have a solid understanding of the foundations of dribbling in place and are ready to take their skills to the next level.

Beehive and King of the Hill

This first dribbling drill is called "Beehive". For this drill, mark off a square that allows for approximately 1 square yard per player. If the team has 20 players, the square should be about 20 yards long and wide. Each player has a ball and starts at a random point inside the square.

At the sound of the coach's whistle, players begin dribbling the ball around the square using proper dribbling technique for both inside and outside foot dribbling. The goal of the drill is to avoid the other players and maintain control of their ball within the confines of the square. Once players have a basic understanding of the drill, the size of the square can be decreased in order to increase the difficulty required for continued, controlled dribbling.

Next, here's another dribbling drill performed in a 20 yard square. To begin this drill called "King of the Hill" each player has a ball except for one player who is "it". At the sound of the coach's whistle, players begin dribbling their balls around the square while the player who is "it" tries to kick everyone's balls out of the grid.

There are a number of variations to this drill. Some teams play that once a ball has been kicked from the grid, that player must sit out for the remainder of the drill. Others play that once a player loses their ball, they join the side of the "it" player and attempt to knock balls from the remaining players in the square.

Attack and Protect and Shadow Dribbling

This drill, called "Attack and Protect" is like a combination of the previous two drills. It also takes place within a 20 yard square, and this time each player is given a ball that they must protect while simultaneously trying to kick the ball away from the other players in the square. Once a player's ball has exited the square three times, they are out of the drill.

"Shadow Dribbling" is a good drill for teaching players to keep their heads up while engaging in controlled dribbling. Divide the team into pairs, and give each player a ball. One from each pair will begin as the leader while the other is the follower.

The leader begins dribbling the ball while the follower follows the leader, also dribbling the ball. Encourage the leaders to change direction, pace and technique frequently. After a few minutes, have the players switch positions and repeat the exercise.