In a recent article in the “National Soccer Coaches Association Journal,” I was fascinated by a paper that spoke to one of the most destructive trends in youth soccer, and that is the tendency for parents to “chase the next big thing.”

The NSCAA article is about how kids are constantly being moved by their parents from one club to another looking for some kind of advantage over the next child in the race for coveted college scholarship money. In the process, the child is put under tremendous pressure at a very young age with a common outcome being, not a college scholarship, but a young person who eventually loses his/her passion for the great game of soccer. Parents of these young children chase the next best training method; parents chase the best teams, or the club that is in vogue at the time while the friendships and relationships that were built with teammates and coaches in their neighborhood club are lost in the shuffle. Furthermore, they may be leaving a club that is actually meeting the child’s needs in search of greener pastures.  

Parents who are chasing the next big training method should know that the best training method for youth soccer players includes the Coerver Method. Every country in the world develops their youth soccer players with this method or something that closely resembles this method. The Michigan Fire stresses Coerver Method at every age group. Many of our coaches have been trained in the Coerver Method while earning a Coerver Youth Diploma. Consumers all over the country are being convinced regularly that there is some new way of training that will make your son/daughter a star when reasonable people understand that becoming a star is the result of having a passion for the sport, having a God given talent, hours of practice, having a first rate work ethic, being coachable and learning the skills necessary to solve difficult soccer problems.

Parents often chase the best teams. This is a mistake on a number of levels. First off, at the youth level the team that wins the most isn’t always the most skilled or best coached team, but simply a collection of the biggest and strongest kid in the age group in the area. Over the years, I have seen so many of the teams that were unbeatable at young ages plateau and get passed up by teams of late developers who were truly the better soccer players all along. What is more important is that your son/daughter plays for a coach that is developing in your child a love of the game while at the same time nurturing that child’s passion. In a document produced by the United States Soccer Federation called, “Player Development Guidelines for Coaches” it is stressed that, “it is always nice to win, however, that should never be your focus at the younger age groups (under 14).” In fact, the best development comes when you are playing for a team that wins roughly half of its games. If your son or daughter is the best player on that team, then moving to another more successful team will rob him/her of an opportunity for them to emerge as a leader and will rob him or her of the opportunity to raise the level of play of those around him/her.

As a Director of Coaching, I hear many of the concerns of our soccer parents. Some concerns are valid; some are not. I would encourage our parents to try to relax and enjoy watching your child play the great game of soccer. What you should know is that we have at Michigan Fire qualified coaches who are trained in the best methods for developing players. We have competitive teams in every age group, and we have a club that compares favorably with any club in the state in terms of what we have to offer your son or daughter. 

The Michigan Fire Juniors is committed to the technical development of every player, and is offering a very unique opportunity for our U10-U12 players of both genders with a new program for this spring. The new program is called the TOTAL (Technical Obsession To Advance Learning) Technical Hour and is offered at our 28^th Ave training fields four nights per week, Monday-Thursday from 4pm-5pm each day. This allows our U10-U12 players to get in some extra training specific to their technical development before their regular team training.

We expect most players will choose to come on one or both of their normal training nights, however players are allowed to come on off nights, also. Training will be lead by our Technical Director Dan McAllister and our new coach David Wood with the assistance of other MFJ’s coaching staff, and some of our older club players. Players will NOT need to register for any of these TOTAL Technical Hour sessions. Each player must bring their own soccer ball, water bottle, and an excellent work ethic.

Technical skills are the foundation of every player’s future, and players simply can NOT touch the ball too often. Most American players do not spend enough time on these necessary skills in team practice or individually on their own, and consequently are often unable to play at the speed the game demands as they advance. Ball Mastery, or Technical Precision is a life-long journey of making the ball do exactly what the player needs under increasing pressure and at every increasing speeds, yet it is the most fundamental and foundational part of every players “tools.”

TOTAL Technical Hour – 28^th Avenue Fields

Monday thru Thursday from 4pm-5pm beginning April 8!

Kristin Englehart, Girls DOC

The teams that I have coached know all about “training on your own.” This is one of the first lessons that I teach my teams.

I made my first premier team (Santa Rosa United) and fell in love with soccer when I was 12 years old, although the only reason that I made that team was because of my speed. I was way behind the curve compared to my teammates who had grown up as one-sport athletes, training year-round and preparing for premier soccer. I remember my first team practice like it was yesterday. We worked on passing patterns, and I was so focused on my first touch that I wasn’t able to remember the patterns. Since I had decided that I wanted to go as far as I possibly could in the sport, I had A LOT of catching up to do. So began the next ten years of training on my own. 

Our Technical Director, Dan McAllister, has already posted some amazing resources under “Technical Training” on our MFJ website that you can use to help plan your individual sessions. I highly encourage you to use these resources. I think it could be helpful for you to get a glimpse of what this may actually look/feel like on a daily basis.

Quite honestly, none of the games, tournaments, practices, lectures or team meetings taught me as much as I learned through training on my own. Based on my own experience, here are some tips for training on your own:

1) Know WHY you’re training. Your long-term goal will be the only thing that gets you out there some days.

2) Make a plan for your training and stick to it. 

3) Don’t make excuses. I trained before school. I trained in hotel parking lots when we were on vacation. I trained on Christmas day. Every day counts!

4) It’s not glamorous. I worked on dribbling cuts and turns in my dark and dreary garage on winter days. I would reach for that last touch when juggling, and the ball would knock my dad’s tools off the wall, crash into trashcans and land behind bikes and lawn mowers. I once did a 25 minute training in the corner of an airport terminal while waiting to board a plane! 

5) Push yourself. Set goals during the actual training session as well. For example, I wouldn’t allow myself to go back in the house before I broke my juggling record. I had to hit a certain amount of targets when working on shooting and finishing, or I would run sprints. 

6) Use a wall! This was the BEST thing that I did for my game when growing up. You can use a handball court, a racquetball court, a garage door or a brick wall. Work on 1 and 2-touch passing, receiving balls out of the air, turning with the ball and more!

7) Lastly, of course it’s hard.  It can be boring, repetitive, even painful. The trick is pushing past that. You’re working toward your goals and dreams!   

‘The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching.” - Anson Dorrance

F.C. Joga Bonito's very popular Christian Soccer Day Camp is now available on the Lake Michigan Shoreline AND Grand Rapids. This camp model is designed to provide serious Spiritual training as it pertains to athletics (and life), as well as exceptional soccer training from highly experienced and licensed coaches and staff. With Nationally licensed coaches, college coaches and experienced college players, we aim to provide some the finest coaching they will receive at any camp. Combined with a very strong emphasis on what God says about our performance, preparation, and respect for the game, we share with the campers much more than "being nice." 

F.C. Joga Bonito is dedicated to providing a complete camp experience with fun and learning from a staff that truly cares. Our training is modeled after successful national and international methods. With a goal of "Training the mind for soccer intelligence, the body for soccer implementation, and the Spirit for Eternity."

Camp Highlights:

Coach/Camper ratio of 1-10 or better!

Professional, Highly Accomplished, Christian Coaching Staff

Camp T-Shirt and Quality Soccer Ball.

Excellent Indoor & Outdoor Facilities & Auditorium.

Testimonies, Bible Study, Worship.

World Cup Games-World Class Training.

Player & Parent Closing ceremonies.

Lunch is Included - FREE

FREE CAMP DVD - It's AWESOME!

Camp Fee $275 Includes LUNCH at Both Locations

$50 DISCOUNT to Michigan Fire Juniors players for the Grand Rapids Camp location. This discount is available on the registration website.

LAKESHORE CAMP (click)              GRAND RAPIDS CAMP (click)

July 15-19, 2013 - 9am-5pm             July 29-Aug 2, 2013 - 9am-5pm

Western Michigan Christian HS         Cornerstone University

F.C. Joga Bonito's website can be found here.

* The club will be attending the April 20 & September 14 games together. Save the dates!