Hi All,
I hope you're all surviving the cold!
Barry
1. coach training
2. fall training
3. MYSA/USSF coach training
4. MYSA Winter Symposium
5. Referee update
6. website of the month
7. article of the month
1. winter training
I hope your team's Jan/Feb training is going well. Many of
our teams are participating in the Marc/Melissa Sutton training. This
training is focusing on key technical aspects of the game on which all players
need work. This is a new training plan within the club, so please let me
know how it is working for you and your team.
2. coach training
Don't forget that in addition to training your team, there is much
that all coaches can learn from Marc Sutton. You should have received
handouts of the drills. You can also learn by observing how Marc works
with players. Be sure to ask questions if you have them!
3. MYSA/USSF coach training
New license/certificate classes have been
announced, though none of these are in the immediate area. There may be
one more round of classes before the season. Also, we are working on
bringing a Y module class to VUSC. Watch for more news!
4. MYSA Winter Symposium
The Winter Symposium is just a few weeks away! Get there if
you can!
http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/
5. Referee update
I always recommend that my players get certified as refs.
It's good for coaches too! Players trained as refs: learn to see the game
from new and different angles; get an appreciation for the "big
picture"; and, rarely argue with the refs of their own games! Plus
it's great money for kids.
The procedures have changed this year. Ref candidates must
signup, pay and take their test all online before attending a clinic. The
clinics will be entirely devoted to teaching and practice.
See http://www.minnesotasrc.org/
for more info.
6. websites of the month
http://www.textmarks.com/
http://www.joopz.com/
These are free online tools that allow you to create and maintain texting lists - so you can page or text a group of people
at once. Could be very handy for last minute practice or game location
changes!
7. article of the month
The Arizona Republic All Rights Reserved The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
SECTION: SUN CITIES/SURPRISE COMMUNITY; KIDS AND SPORTS; Pg. 6
HEADLINE: 10 WAYS TO MAKE KIDS QUIT
BYLINE: TOM KUYPER, Special for The Republic
Research shows that approximately 70 percent of all kids who participate in
youth sports will drop out by the age of 13. Here are my top 10 ways that
parents and coaches contribute to this statistic:
1. Persuade your child to play only one sport. Specialization in youth sports
has become very popular. Year-round club sports with year-round commitment and
financial obligations have caught the eyes of many parents. The pressure to be
good, and the time spent with practice and games, creates burnout. Burnout
ultimately leads to quitting.
2. Yell a lot. Get on the referees for every bad call. Get upset with your
child's coach and complain a lot about playing time. Embarrassing your kids in
public will help them to become one of the 70 percent.
3. Become all-consumed. Spend hours on the phone plotting out your child's next
few years. Find new teams for them to play on if things don't go just your way.
Plan out their weekends for them, including extra practice
time.
4. Become the self-appointed, personal statistician. Success to some parents
means numbers on a stat sheet. Performance-based approval is too much pressure
for kids. It is so important that our kids are affirmed by their efforts and
character. False expectations and previous statistics can become guidelines
that somehow say failure if comparable results are not produced.
5. Place family time as a second priority. No more hanging out in the back yard
playing silly nonsense games. You have drills to work on. And, remember your
percentages were down last game, so we have some work to do. Playing Marco Polo
in the pool can wait.
6. Talk about the importance of a college scholarship on a daily basis. Kids
are perceptive and pick up on your motives. If you want to build up pressure
for a long time, this one will do it.
7. Make sure it's all about winning. If you lose sight of the real important
things to be learned, then life skills get overshadowed by misplaced values.
Youth sports are a ready-made platform for learning commitment, teamwork, hard
work, sportsmanship, and how to win and lose. These are the things that the
kids take with them for the rest of their lives. Not many adults can even
remember what place their third-grade baseball team finished in. It's the heart
issues and role modeling that stick around forever.
8. Take all the fun out of it. Studies show that kids play sports to have fun.
One of the most simple but profound things a child said to me during an
interview was that she played sports because it was supposed to be fun, and if
it wasn't fun, then she asks herself why she would even play.
9. Use punishment to try to correct a mistake. I see too many coaches who use
push-ups as a corrective tool for missing free throws. Practicing more free
throws is the answer. Instead of running laps for striking out, how about spending
that time with more batting practice?
10. Make practice long and boring. Being creative is a valuable ingredient. Do
drills in a way that the kids are all moving and having a good time. Make sure
there are always scrimmages and game time.