Soccer 1:1

Parents and Friends,

Exciting news! We are running indoor winter training classes in San Francisco.

These will be futsal-based, for 1st and 2nd graders, and run for 12 weeks.

The sessions will be held at Moscone Recreation Center (Mondays) and Hi5 Sportszone (Tuesdays) and start next week.

Sign-up today!

Families these days are looking for options and want their child to experience different practice environment.

And practicing over the winter is a great opportunity to get touches on the ball, receive technical training, and get ready for the spring!

Supplemental training is the key to getting better.

Simply because the specific amount of practice time and technical training needed to improve is significantly underestimated in our local area.

For example the United Soccer Coaches player development curriculum for children in Stage 2 (6-8 year olds) recommends..

1. That the kids play 2 to 3 seasons per year
2. Participate in 40-60 training sessions per year training twice a week (100-120...

Parents and Friends,

The heavens opened for the closing ceremony and a rain-soaked France were crowned world champions for the second time with a 4-2 victory over Croatia.

It was a fantastic final and a great spectacle especially for any young kid watching for the first time.

It’s all over for another four years but we have the women’s World Cup next summer in of all places… France!

Some of the stand-out stats from the match were…

• Les Blues were the first team to score four goals in a World Cup final since Italy lost 4-1 to Brazil in 1970 and it was the highest-scoring since England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley in 1966.
• The six-goal tally matched the combined total of the previous four finals 2002 (2), 2006 (2), 2010 (1), 2014 (1).
• France’s Kylian Mpappe became the youngest player since Pele to score in the final and was named the tournament's Best Young Player.
• Croatia captain Luka Modric won the Golden Ball as the best player at the tournament....

Parents and Friends,

When traveling abroad you’ll see kids playing pickup soccer games everywhere and anywhere.

Pickup is essentially street soccer and all the youngsters need is a ball, some space and they’ll use their school bags, jackets etc. for goals.

Jumpers for goalposts!

It’s fantastic because they’re getting lots of touches and being creative in an environment where they’re free to express themselves.

That kids elsewhere are getting more touches on the ball outside of practice is something that’s not really acknowledged in U.S. soccer.

But it’s certainly one of the challenges!

That’s why I always encourage kids to TRAIN ON THEIR OWN and show them exercises such as passing off a wall.

Some players call this wall ball and these are my top 7 exercises for a great workout:

• Receive with the inside of the foot, pass with the inside of the foot.
• Receive with the outside of the foot, pass with the inside of the foot.
• Receive with the...

Parents and Friends,

When a ball is traveling at speed to a kid’s feet they will frequently let it hit their shin or kick it away first time.

It’s certainly alarming when a player wants to get rid of the ball!

Not to mention that they are displaying significant technical limitations and poor decision-making skills.

But it’s not a surprise because kids are often in environments where they are spending most of their time doing redundant drills.

They’re not being taught technique at every session.

And they’re not getting the touches they need to get to a comfort level that they can transfer to a situation such as a game.

It takes CONFIDENCE in your technique to get the ball under control quickly and keep it within playing distance.

But it’s under pressure that you’ll see poor technique exposed as players get overwhelmed.

The options for receiving a ball on the ground are the inside, outside and sole of the foot 

Using the sole has become...

Parents and Friends,

What is shielding in soccer?

It’s keeping possession of the ball away from a defender, a technique that doesn't receive much attention in the youth game.

But of course, there are many situations where a player has few options and must protect the ball.

Shielding is also a very CREATIVE way to slow down play and allow a defender to contain you while you are waiting for movement.

This generates time and space for support attackers to get into position before you pass.

In addition, you’ll see shielding being used in tight spaces on defense.

A defender will get into a battle with an attacker while shielding the ball out of play at the corner flag.

Knowing how to shield is key in soccer and that’s why I make it part of training sessions in our program.

But like any other technique it needs to be taught with the correct mechanics and lots of REPETITIONS!

Here are my top 7 tips for shielding the ball…

1) Make sure your body position is between...

Parents and Friends,

We’ve all observed kids struggling with the mechanics of shooting.

What you’ll frequently see is youngsters kicking the ball with their toe.

If they are scoring goals with that technique, it’s now a productive bad habit!

Shooting with your toe will only be successful at the very youngest age groups.

Striking the ball with the laces is the correct technique.

At Soccer 1:1 our players get the PERSONAL ATTENTION they need with the fundamentals.

On the field shooting is something we regularly do in finishing and combination play exercises.

Off the field the kids receive handouts on the mechanics of shooting to ensure they have a solid technical foundation.

Then weekly the players complete homework where they study goals from players such as Messi and Ronaldo.

In these goal reports they describe how and what occurred in the build-up play and the finishing technique used.

Here are my top 7 tips for shooting from long distance… 

1) The...

Parents and Friends,

We’ve all seen young players struggling with the mechanics of taking the ball from an opponent.

Trying to make foot contact with the ball to regain possession.

In soccerspeak we call this tackling.

New families who want help will frequently tell me their child is shying away from these 1v1 situations.

While the kids that do attack the ball often just run and attempt to kick it! 

Of course, 'get stuck in' can be great feedback for an adult soccer team but how do we actually get young players to tackle?

Like any other technique it needs to be taught by reversing bad habits, proper instruction and lots of REPETITIONS. 

There are three types of tackle: the block, poke and slide.

And our players work on these in sessions solely focused on defense.

These are my top 5 tips for the block tackle...

1) The non-tackling foot must be beside the ball.
2) Your tackling foot must be off the ground and directly behind the ball.
3) Execute the tackle using the...

Parents and Friends,

Thanks to all the families that attended our recent skills clinic!

I always like to hear feedback… especially from the kids.

One child said “everybody tried really hard”. They put in a shift!

Another comment was “it was fun, and I got a lot of touches in”.

That’s interesting because as we all know kids get bored very quickly.

They certainly don’t want to stand behind a cone waiting for a ball.

Unfortunately, kids are often in an environment where they are NOT getting touches.

There are too many stoppages, they are stuck in lines, listening to lectures or playing in mass scrimmages where they rarely have the ball at their feet. 

These elements tend to creep in when the emphasis is on team tactics and preparing for upcoming games and tournaments.

When that happens technical training and individual development take a backseat.

Kids will enjoy the game if they are given a solid technical base and are learning new...

Parents and Friends,

With new families interested in our training program there are there two prerequisites before they can sign up.

Those are a phone interview followed by a field evaluation.

I screen because unlike other training programs I don’t want to help everyone!

I’m looking to establish early whether the family really wants help.

Simply because I know the perfect fit is a COMMITTED family that really wants their child to improve.

When chatting on the phone the problem the player is having is nearly always technical.

The parent feels their kid isn’t getting the PERSONAL ATTENTION they need and help with their game.

And that’s never a surprise because players can display significant technical limitations despite having played soccer for years.

Especially if the child is coming from an environment that prematurely focuses on team success and not individual player development.

If the phone interview goes well the next step is the field evaluation with...