Team Notebooks: Writing to the Next Level - National Soccer ...

Soccer Journal • May-June 2008 1

2 Soccer Journal • May-June 2008

Soccer Journal • May-June 2008 

Published by: The National Soccer Coaches 

Association of America 

Editor: Dr. Jay Martin 

Edwards Gym 

Ohio Wesleyan University 

Delaware, OH 43015 

Office: 740-368-3727 

Fax: 740-368-3751 

Email: jamartin@owu.edu 

Managing Editor: Craig Bohnert 

Associate Editors: Mike Kennedy, Pat Madden 

Editorial Subcommittee: Ray Alley, Dr. David 

Carr, Dr. Hardy Fuchs, Mike Lentz, Alan Maher, 

Perry McIntyre Jr., Len Oliver, Dr. Ron Quinn, Tim 

Schum, Jeff Tipping, Frank Tschan, Jeff Vennell, Lang 

Wedemeyer, Dr. Doug Williamson 

NSCAA Executive Director: James Sheldon 

800 Ann Avenue 

Kansas City, KS 66101 

800-458-0678 • Fax: 913-362-3439 

NSCAA on the Internet: www.NSCAA.com 

To advertise in Soccer Journal, contact: 

Chris Burt 

Marketing Director 

NSCAA 

800 Ann Avenue 

Kansas City, KS 66101 

800-458-0678 • Fax: 913-362-3439 

Email: cburt@nscaa.com 

Printer: R.R. Donnelly, Independence, Mo. 

• • • 

Fees for NSCAA 

international membership 

To cover increases in postage rates, the 

following dues structure applies to members 

outside of the United States: 

Europe $100 • Asia $110 

North/Central America $80 

• • • 

SOCCER JOURNAL 

(USPS, 568-630, ISSN 0560-3617) is 

published bimonthly with one special issue 

in October by the NSCAA, 800 Ann Ave., 

Kansas City, KS 66101. Periodical postage paid 

at Kansas City, Kan., and additional mailing 

offices. Subscription information: $12 of the 

annual membership fee brings Soccer 

Journal to members for one year. It is just one 

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coaches). Postmaster: Send address changes to: 

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• • • 

Reproduction or reuse of this material 

in whole or part is forbidden without 

the expressed written permission of the 

National Soccer Coaches 

Association of America. 

Volume 53, Number 3 May-June 2008 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was part of the program at an open house at the NSCAA National Office 

on April 4. Taking part were (from left) NSCAA Vice President Randy Waldrum, Unified Government 

of Wyandotte County Commissioners Tom Cooley and Mark Mitchell, NSCAA Immediate Past 

President Steve Malone, Executive Director Jim Sheldon, Deputy County Administrator Doug Bach 

and NSCAA Vice Presidents Marcia McDermott and Paul Payne. 

9 

College Recruiting – Caution: Danger Ahead – In this issue’s “In My Opinion,” Frank Pace 

points out the perils of the growing trend of recruiting intercollegiate players at an earlier age. 

12 

Street Smarts – Roni Mansur puts forward the argument that “street soccer” helps develop 

creativity in players and describes ways the approach can integrate into our structured American 

approach. Focus: Coaching. Ages: Youth. 

20 The Man with the Smile – UEFA’s Andy Roxburgh gives us a glimpse of the man behind the 

smile, CSKA Moskva’s Valeriy Gazzaev. Focus: SJ Interview. Ages: All. 

24 

Language Barrier – In an exclusive Soccer Journal interview, author and sociologist Andrei Markovits 

examines why soccer remains outside the American sports mainstream. By Hardy Fuchs. 

28 

Team Notebooks: Writing to the Next Level – In the second of a three-part series, Dr. 

Richard Kent presents the next two sections of the notebook, Match Analysis II and Post-Season 

Thoughts. Focus: Coaching. Ages: U-15 and above. 

32 

Techniques for Managing Stress in Football – In this article from Insight Journal, the English 

FA’s coaching journal, the authors offer direction on how to cultivate the Individual Zone 

of Optimal Functioning. By Kimberlee Bethany, David W. Eccles and Gershon Tenenbaum. 

Focus: Coaching. Ages: U-15 and above. 

38 

Communications – A new feature in SJ gives readers the opportunity to provide their feedback 

on prior articles. 

42 

Five Favorite Practices – Part II of a three-part series featuring the favorites of AC Milan focuses 

on warm-up activities. Focus: Exercises. Ages: All. 

45 

Transition from the Back – This issue’s SJ Training Session comes from NSCAA Regional 

Technical Director Lang Wedemeyer and addresses transition from the goalkeeper through 

the backs to the midfielders. Focus: Psychology. Ages: All. 

47 

How to Play Striker – From the pages of Champions magazine come interviews with two of 

the world’s top strikers: Henrik Larsson and Ian Rush. Focus: Coaching. Ages: U-15 and above. 

50 

Soccer Shorts – NSCAA Vice President for Education Paul Payne looks at professional courtesy; 

Neil Hull talks about the motivation to play the game; Bob Graham wonders if soccer 

has killed its golden goose. 

3 The President’s Corner 5 Center Circle 7 Soccer Network 

On the Cover: Laurie Pells makes a coaching point during a State Goalkeeping Diploma 

sessions at the 2008 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore. NSCAA photo by Perry McIntyre Jr. 

NSCAA photo by Craig Bohnert 



Uniquely American 

Intercollegiate soccer plays an important role in player development 

As one prowls the blogs and message boards 

of BigSoccer.com and other soccer websites, inevitably 

the topic of college soccer comes up. Most 

soccer purists in the country take the position that 

college soccer is a detriment to the growth of the 

sport in this country and propose many alternatives 

that in the long run would be more beneficial to the 

development of U.S. soccer. 

Perhaps my viewpoint is biased since I played 

college soccer, coached at that level for 33 years 

and now represent an association that was 

founded by college coaches, but the bottom line 

is that college soccer is here to stay in the United 

States. It is not only going to be around for a long, 

long time, it is going to continue to improve. 

To begin with, attending college is a particularly 

strong element of our American culture. 

Soccer in this country has developed for the 

most part as a middle class activity. Almost 

every youth soccer player and parent dreams of 

a college soccer scholarship. Certainly the best 

players and their families dream of professional 

careers as well. However, following the pattern 

of most players in the higher profile sports of 

football, basketball and baseball, even the most 

talented youth soccer stars would consider an 

abbreviated stint at the school of their choice 

prior to a professional career. 

Obviously there is that special class of player 

that can become a star, become wealthy in a very 

short period of time and for whom sport is clearly 

the way to go. They should pursue a professional 

career at as early an age as possible. For most, life 

is much less simple and there is tremendous value 

to a college experience, education and degree to 

fall back on after their soccer career has ended. 

Besides the value to the individual who 

chooses this path, consider for a minute what 

college soccer has meant to the development 

of the sport in this country. Many would have us 

believe that it holds the sport back. Certainly it is 

not the model that the rest of the world follows 

to develop players. My view is that, although 

hindered by NCAA restrictions and academic requirements, 

soccer in colleges and universities 

has led the development of American soccer. 

Prior to the surge in college soccer in the ‘70s 

and ‘80s, there were almost no soccer-specific 

stadiums in the U.S. I’m not referring to the 

tremendous facilities that MLS is developing in 

major cities, but rather the smaller fields and 

stadia on virtually every college campus where 

soccer is sponsored as a varsity sport. We have 

hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller venues 

that fit the interest level and crowds at each of 

these institutions. Many of these easily would 

serve the purposes or surpass the facilities of 

lower level professional and semi-professional 

teams in other countries. 

At one time, almost all college coaches also 

had to teach classes, usually in the physical 

education area. Now most programs are fortunate 

enough to have not only full-time paid coaches 

but also access to the athletics department 

strength and conditioning staff and facilities, sports 

medicine staff and facilities, sports psychologists, 

academic support staff and others to help them 

survive, develop and excel in the college sports 

and educational environment. 

Add to this the incredible push college soccer 

has given the women’s game. About 50 percent 

more schools sponsor women’s soccer than men’s 

as a varsity sport at the Division I level. More 

scholarships are allowed per team for women, 

making the odds of getting a scholarship much 

higher for a female player. Until the professional 

women’s league establishes itself again as the 

ultimate level to which a top player should aspire, 

college soccer clearly rules the roost. 

The short intense fall season is indeed a problem, 

with far too many games in that tight period 

between the end of the summer and the holidays. 

The off-season spring has improved in some ways 

for development of players, particularly in Division 

I, but players need games and the restriction in 

Division III that allows only one day of competition 

is much too limiting. Even five days of competition 

for the Division I programs is not enough. Serious 

players can play PDL or W-League in the summer, 

but that is not under the supervision of their 

by Al Albert 

regular coaches and often isn’t as professional 

as the college programs from which they come. 

It is indisputable that the NCAA has put a 

governor on how far and how fast college soccer 

can become an invaluable part of the player 

development system in this country to produce 

top players for MLS and teams abroad. However, 

millions of dollars in soccer-related aid and capital 

improvements have been pumped into the system 

by colleges and universities. This allows players 

College soccer is here to stay in the United States. 

It is not only going to be around for a long, long 

time, it is going to continue to improve. 

to go to school and develop as soccer players in 

very “professional” environments, albeit for not as 

long a playing season as desired. 

Apparently the limitations of the system have 

not prevented players from moving through and 

making it to the U.S. national teams and the top 

leagues in the world. Of the 18 players selected 

by Bob Bradley to play against Poland March 26, 

12 had played at least one year of college soccer. 

Several already have their degrees and I would 

imagine others plan to go back someday and 

complete their programs. 

What then could the future hold for soccer in 

colleges and universities I can foresee a day 

when college soccer games on television are 

as numerous as football and basketball events, 

with cable companies vying for programming 

opportunities. I can imagine College Cup crowds 

expanding dramatically if we can learn from the 

success of college lacrosse and bring together 

all elements of the game for an end-of-season 

celebration. 

The system we have now certainly is not perfect. 

We need more playing opportunities, a longer 

season and increased scholarship and funding 

levels. For now we will have to work patiently 

to build on what we have. The American setup 

is unique and although college soccer is limited 

in many ways, it clearly is going to be part of the 



y Jay Martin, Editor 

Cold Hard Facts 

Just how accessible is the college scholarship many are pitching 

In this issue’s “In My Opinion” section, Frank 

Pace contributes an article about the college recruiting 

process – the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Meanwhile, NSCAA President Al Albert dedicates 

his column to the everlasting contributions of 

collegiate soccer to the sport in this country. He 

suggests that college soccer has been a positive 

force in this country in spite of the perception that 

college soccer actually retards soccer’s overall 

growth in America. 

With reference to a four-part New York Times 

series by Bill Pennington about Division I athletics, 

my contribution to the discussion is a pragmatic look 

at the dream held by many young American players 

of earning a collegiate soccer scholarship. 

More and more players (and parents) believe 

it is worth investing several thousands of dollars a 

year on select clubs, uniforms, showcase tournaments, 

elite camps, recruitment services and even 

private trainers to improve the odds of landing a 

soccer scholarship. 

A recent survey of parents at the Jarosi Tournament 

in Columbus, Ohio, revealed that more than 60 

percent of parents view soccer at a “select” level as 

a means to a college athletic scholarship. 

The father of a local U-12 player recently 

removed his son from a private school the child 

had attended for eight years. The father plans to 

use the money he will save on tuition to pay for 

private trainers for his son with a goal of improving 

the chances of receiving a soccer scholarship. 

Advertisements for elite clubs, camps and recruiting 

services give the impression that signing on with 

them will increase chances for a scholarship. They 

seem to suggest that scholarships are there for the 

taking. A flyer from an elite club in Ohio, for instance, 

makes the claim that 80 percent of the club’s players 

receive soccer scholarships. 

College recruiting services routinely advertise 

that their service will improve a player’s chance 

of securing a college soccer scholarship. Alan 

Yost of the recruiting service NCSA said, “Every 

high school player who signs on with us expects 

a scholarship offer…every player!” 

A look at the facts paints a far different picture 

of soccer scholarships. Critics say that select 

clubs often inflate the number of players who 

receive scholarships. Many coaches throw away 

the information from recruiting services, preferring 

instead to use their own resources and go to many 

tournaments to watch players. Personal trainers 

have offered no data on the number of scholarship 

athletes they work with. So why do parents buy 

into the “scholarship sales pitch” 

While there is nothing wrong with using soccer 

to help a high school player get into one of the best 

schools – and perhaps get a scholarship – everyone 

involved should be realistic about the situation. 

A study in 1996 determined the following facts 

for the high school age soccer players: 

• There were 8,182 boys and 6,500 girls soccer 

programs. 

• There were more than 283,700 boys and 

209,000 girls playing high school soccer. 

• There were 51,066 boys and 37,620 girls who 

were seniors, played soccer and graduated. 

• There were 721 college programs for boys and 

736 for girls. 

• There were 4,326 spots available on college 

teams for boys; and there were 4416 spots 

available for the girls. 

• There were playing opportunities for fewer 

than 8 percent of graduating seniors. 

• There were 433 scholarships for boys and 806 

for girls. 

• Less than 1 percent of the graduating boys and 

around 2 percent of the girls received soccer 

scholarships. 

How’s that for a dose of reality But the good 

news is that in 2008 the situation is much better, 

right Not really. 

There are more scholarships available for both 

men and women. But there are many more players 

playing the game in high school. 

In Pennington’s New 

York Times series, he discussed 

the scholarship situation 

for all NCAA sports. 

According to him, “Excluding 

the glamour sports of 

football and basketball, 

the average NCAA athletic 

scholarship is nowhere near 

full tuition, amounting to 

$8,707. In sports like baseball 

and track and field, 

the number is routinely as 

low as $2,000. Even when 

football and basketball are 

included, the average is 

only $10,409. Tuition and 

room and board for NCAA institutions often cost 

between $20,000 and $50,000.” 

While the data compiled by the NCAA for the 

2003-2004 academic year dealt with all sports, 

let’s focus on men’s and women’s soccer. The 

article determined the following: 

• Only about 2 percent of all NCAA Division I 

athletes receive a scholarship. 

• There is no such thing as a four-year scholarship. 

All scholarships are renewable annually. 

• There were 330,044 boys and 270,273 girls 

playing high school soccer. 

• There were 2,357 scholarships for boys and 

3,964 for girls. 

• Those scholarships were awarded to 6,047 

boys and 9,310 girls. 

• The average award was $8,533 for boys 

and $8,404 for girls – that means the men’s 

scholarship covered only 39 percent of costs 

and the women’s scholarships covered only 

43 percent of costs. 

• Only 1.8 percent of high school soccer playing 

boys received a soccer scholarship; only 

3.4 percent of the women received a soccer 

scholarship. 

In the NYT series, Pennington quotes NCAA 

President Myles Brand as saying, “The youth culture 

is overly aggressive and while the opportunity 

for an athletic scholarship is not trivial, it’s easy 

for the opportunity to be exaggerated by parents 

and advisors. That can skew behavior and, based 

on numbers, lead to unrealistic expectations.” 

The statistics above suggest that there is one 

AN APOLOGY... 

Many people criticize the lack of geographical knowledge of the 

American people. Even our president has made some mistakes when 

asked about foreign countries and leaders. I felt that after living in 

Europe for a number of years and traveling extensively that I was, at 

least, above the “America mean” in terms of geography. Apparently 

not. In last issue’s Center Circle, I suggested that the NSCAA should 

invite coaches from Bosnia to speak at the Convention. The reference 

was to suggest that since Bosnia defeated England to move into Euro 

2008, coaches from that country would serve us better than the current 

number of English presentors. The problem It was Croatia who 

defeated England, not Bosnia!!! The remark was not intended to insult 

anyone, but to suggest that many countries in Europe have “caught up” 

to England in terms of international soccer. I suppose the good news 

is that at least a few people read my column! 


NCAA scholarship for every 145 men who played soccer in college. Joe 

Taylor, a scholarship soccer player from Villanova, said, “It is a huge dogfight 

to get whatever you can. Everyone is scrambling. There are so many good 

players, nobody understands how few get to keep playing after high school! 

If I had to do it over again, I would have skipped a practice every now and 

then to go to a concert or a movie with my friends. I missed out on a lot of 

things because of soccer. I wish I could have some of that time back.” 

It is important that parents and coaches know these statistics and realize 

how difficult it is to receive a soccer scholarship. Although getting a soccer 

scholarship is a long shot, there is some good news. Being a good soccer 

player may give an athlete an edge when colleges award academic scholarships 

and need-based aid. In fact, there is much more money available to 

soccer players for academic excellence than athletic prowess. An increased 

focus on academics will pay greater dividends than soccer excellence in the 

long run – it may also pay off on the short run. 

A recent study by the College Board Association of Princeton, N.J., determined 

that independent colleges in the United States award more than 

$10 billion in financial aid each year. This includes awards from institutional 

funds for scholarships, fellowships and trainee stipends. Add state and 

federal financial aid funding and there is in excess of $50 billion available 

for academic and need-based aid each year. 

The numbers say that soccer scholarships are relatively scarce. Should your 

players stop cracking shots and spend Saturdays cracking the books in a library 

instead Of course not. We know that soccer is a great game. It has an important 

place in the lives of your players, whether or not there is a soccer scholarship in 

the future. Everyone involved with soccer should just keep the scholarship issue 

in perspective. Your players should be playing for fun, fitness and the challenge 

of the game. If your players (and parents) are playing only to earn a soccer 

scholarship – maybe they should spend more time in the library! 


NSHOF puts soccer into new NYC Sports Museum 

The National Soccer 

Hall of Fame (NSHOF) 

has entered into a partnership 

with the Sports 

Museum of America 

(SmA) in New York City. 

The Hall joins more 

than 50 single-sport 

Halls of Fame, national 

governing bodies, museums 

and other sports 

organizations across 

North America as a 

Founding Sports Partner 

of the Sports Museum of 

America (SmA) 

Scheduled to open in 

New York City in May 

2008, SmA is the nation’s 

first museum to celebrate 

all sports under one roof. 

Filled with original films, 

state-of-the-art interactive 

exhibits/displays 

and an iconic collection 

of memorabilia, SmA 

will richly showcase the 

history, grandeur and 

significance of sports 

in American culture 

through great sports’ 

stories of courage, education 

and triumph. 

According to NSHOF 

President Stephen Baumann, 

the partnership 

will introduce a broad 

new audience to the 

thrills of soccer. 

“The National Soccer 

Hall of Fame and 

Museum is proud to 

partner with the Sports 

Museum of America 

in furtherance of our 

dedication to soccer 

in America,” Baumann 

said. “American soccer 

continues to extend its 

impact as a contributor 

to the world’s game 

and, of course, New 

York is America’s greatest 

international city. 

We expect our partnership 

will introduce 

many more individuals 

and families to the history 

and uniqueness of 

the ‘beautiful game’.” 

“The Sports Museum 

of America is extremely 

pleased to have the 

National Soccer Hall of 

Fame join our more than 

50 exclusive sports partner 

organizations to create 

the first comprehensive 

museum of sports,” 

said SmA Founder and 

CEO Philip Schwalb. 

“Soccer holds a special 

place in American sports 

culture. We’re a nation 

filled with soccer moms, 

families and kids. We 

look forward to sharing 

soccer’s tremendous 

legacy – from past stars 

of American soccer like 

Billy Gonsalves and 

Pelé to the newest Hall 

of Fame players, Mia 

Hamm and Julie Foudy, 

to the stars of tomorrow 

– with our millions of 

visitors.” 

Under the terms of 

the partnership, NSHOF 

will provide archival 

soccer materials, such as 

the 1973 NASL Championship 

Trophy, Michelle 

Akers Day Proclamation 

by the State of Washington 

and Hall of Famer 

Alexi Lalas’ New England 

Revolution jersey. Other 

memorabilia pertaining 

to the history of soccer 

and of interest to the 

projected one million 

worldwide annual visitors 

to SmA will be sent 

on a rotating basis. Likewise, 

joint promotional 

efforts will be undertaken 

by both partners, 

and SmA will make an 

annual donation to support 

the Hall. 

In addition to the 

artifacts and soccer 

memorabilia from the 

National Soccer Hall 

of Fame, SmA will also 

feature high-profile soccer 

artifacts such as Mia 

Hamm’s World Cup jersey 

and the sports bra 

Brandi Chastain made 

famous during the 1999 

Women’s World Cup. 

SmA is widely 

anticipated to be a 

vibrant new addition 

to the redevelopment 

of Lower Manhattan by 

significantly increasing 

commercial and tourist 

activity in the area. 

Request for Nominations for the NSCAA Board of Directors 

This is to notify the NSCAA membership of an upcoming 

election for the following positions on the Executive Committee 

of the NSCAA Board of Directors: 

• Vice-President for Awards and Conventions 

• Secretary 

The election will culminate Jan. 9, 2009. Election results will 

be announced at the Annual Meeting of the membership, Jan. 

16, 2009, in St. Louis, Mo. 

Any active or life member may submit one or more nominees 

for these positions to the Nominations and Election 

Committee, which then will select a maximum of three 

names per position based on the following criteria: 

• Current NSCAA member who has been a member at 

least five of the past eight years; 

• Ability to fulfull the duties in the job description that 

will be provided to the nominee; 

• Have served on the Board of Directors for a minimum of 

three years, been the chair of a standing NSCAA committee 

or council for a minimum of three years, been a member of 

the Academy staff for a minimum of three years or be able to 

demonstrate distinguished service to the sport of soccer. 

No person may be nominated for more than one position in 

a given election. Nominations should include a brief description 

of how the nominee(s) meet the aforementioned criteria and 

should be submitted to: 

Steve Malone 

Attn: NSCAA Nominations 

40 Mapledale Ave. 

Glen Burnie, MD 21061 

Nominations must be postmarked no later than May 31, 2008. 

Respectfully submitted, 

James A. Sheldon 

Executive Director 



College Recruiting 

CAUTION: 

DANGER 

AHEAD 

Photo by Perry McIntyre Jr. 

By Frank Pace 

There have been many famous firsts 

in sports. In 1913 Knute Rockne caught 

the first forward pass in a college football 

game (from Gus Dorais) to lead an unheralded 

Notre Dame team to a stunning 

victory over a powerful Army squad. In 

1947 Jackie Robinson became the first 

black man to play in a modern era Major 

League Baseball game. In 1961 Wilt 

Chamberlain became the first (and only) 

man to score 100 points in an NBA game. 

Well, move over, guys. Make room for 

Ryan Boatright of Aurora, Ill. This summer, 

Ryan became the first athlete to commit 

to a college before he had picked a high 

school. According to a story in the Chicago 

Sun-Times, word had “leaked out” that 

University of Southern California basketball 

head coach Tim Floyd had offered Ryan, an 

eighth grader, a scholarship after seeing him 

at an USC weekend camp. 

The boy’s mother said Floyd was 

“such a warm, nice man…you couldn’t 

have asked for anything more.” The 

newspaper reported that USC had beaten 

out Indiana and DePaul universities for 

Ryan’s commitment. Now that college 

was out of the way, the teen could concentrate 

on picking a high school. 

As ridiculous as the Boatright story 

sounds, Division I college soccer is not 

that far behind. This is especially true 

in the women’s game, where more than 

1,000 schools are jockeying for players. 

As a high school coach, I get very 

involved in advising our players about 

selecting a college. It used to be that I 

would meet with each player and her 

parents in September of their senior year. 

Three years ago, I moved those meetings 

to the spring of the student’s junior year. 

Now I meet them as 10th graders because 

college coaches are looking for commitments 

no later than the spring of the 

player’s junior year. 

The recruiting process has become 

so accelerated that players are committing 

before they’ve taken their SATs; the 

official visit has been become obsolete, 

and most high school college advising 

programs have been taken out of the 

decision-making process. At Flintridge 

Sacred Heart Academy in La Canada, 

Calif., where I coach, our college advis- 

ers often call me for updates on what 

our kids are planning regarding college. 

Commitments are being made before our 

high school advising process even begins 

for seniors. 

“It’s insane,” says Purdue women’s 

coach Rob Klatte. “Coaches are looking 

for access to players earlier and earlier, in 

ninth and tenth grades. This past summer 

I had people asking me what I was seeking 

for 2009. I told them I hadn’t even 

seen my ’08s yet. How could I possibly 

know what I would need in ’09” 

Because NCAA legislation prohibits offcampus 

contact with players prior to July of 

their senior year, some college coaches have 

begun recruiting club coaches to do their 

bidding for them. The majority of coaches 

still play within the rules, but in the new 

recruiting game there is an economic basis 

to recruit players from families of means. 

And players now need to recruit college 

coaches. To do that players attend summer 

camps (starting as early as ninth grade), 

produce videos and make unofficial visits 

nationwide. All these things cost money. 

At Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 

we have a system to help players with 


the recruiting process. I ask players to 

compile a list of schools they would like 

to attend. I provide an evaluation of the 

prospects of getting into a specific school 

based on their grades and the college’s 

published academic requirements. Then 

I provide a subjective assessment of 

their ability to play college soccer at the 

schools on the lists. 

In most cases we just look for a school 

where the kid can find the education they 

are seeking and play soccer. We’re shopping 

for a school, not money. Most the 

kids at our private school have grade point 

averages in the 3.3 to 4.0 range with a lot 

of advanced placement classes, so money 

often takes care of itself in the form of academic 

awards. Any money that comes from 

an athletic grant in aid is gravy. 

Then we reduce the list to one school 

where admission is likely based on the 

student’s academic record, another school 

where admission is possible and a third 

where admission is a stretch but where 

a good word from an impressed coach 

might sway the decision. 

If I think a player may have the skill to 

play at the selected schools, she is encouraged 

to attend summer camp at each of the 

schools so the coach has a three- to fourday 

look at that player. All that takes lots of 

money, not to mention time. 

And who gets hurt in this process 

The players. More and more of them will 

start falling through cracks. Players who 

can’t afford summer camps or premier 

club fees will not get the necessary exposure. 

Or the players who can’t afford the 

increasing number of “unofficial” visits 

will not meet the coaches. After all, how 

many summer camps or unofficial visits 

can one player attend 

“It’s all out of control,” says Kentucky 

women’s coach Warren Lipka. “We’re 

forcing 15-year-olds into making decisions 

that they just aren’t ready to make. 

Something has to be done. It’s not a 

healthy environment.” 

New Mexico’s Kit Vella agrees. “We 

need to slow everything down,” she says. 

“Picking a college should be a major decision 

in a student’s life. Students shouldn’t 

be pressured to decide on a college before 

they have done all their research. The 

decision needs to be well thought-out. 

It should absolutely include a visit to 

campus. It should not be about money, 

but too often with too many, that’s what it 

comes down to. The kids commit for fear 

of losing money.” 

What’s changed in the past five years 

More than ever before, coaches are 

expected to win. There was a time that 

all an athletic director asked of a coach 

in non-revenue-producing sports was to 

stay around .500, challenge for a conference 

championship every couple of years, 

graduate students on time and avoid 

embarrassing the university. For that you 

received a subpar salary, had to answer 

your own phones and drove one of the 

team vans on road trips. On the plus side, 

there was job security. 

Now, with the introduction of yearround 

intercollegiate, inter-conference 

and inter-city all-sports competitions 

such as Sears Cup or the Lexus-Gauntlet 

Cup, which pits USC against UCLA, 

the emphasis is on winning. With rising 

coaches’ salaries and improved facilities, 

expectations have increased. When a 

coach doesn’t win, someone needs to be 

made accountable, and it’s not going to 

be the athletics director. 

The one who loses in all this, again, 

is the player. Pat Britz, the NSCAA’s 

Division I Intercollegiate Programs 

Director and author of the book Athletic 

Scholarships for Dummies, believes the 

early commitments hurt the studentathlete 

more than they help. 

“Early offers don’t really commit the 

school to anything,” says Britz. “Yet, they 

take the kid off the market.” 

You’re going to see with increasing frequency 

coaches withdrawing offers that 

they made to ninth and tenth graders as 

those kids get older and someone better 

comes along, or the coach falls out of love 

with the player. Those kids will be out 

of luck. As one athletic director admitted, 

“NCAA legislation doesn’t recognize 

coaches’ promises to the students. The 

only thing that protects kids is the papers 

signed after the official signing dates.” 

The NCAA must address this. 

Recruiting legislation was the topic 

of a May 2007 meeting in Houston with 

Britz and 15 or so concerned Division I 

women’s coaches. “The general consensus 

was that we have to try something,” said 

Britz. “We need to legislate the problem. 

“Coaches at our Houston meeting 

indicated that they would be in favor of 

prohibiting all in-person contact between 

a college coach and player before Sept. 

1 of the player’s junior year,” said Britz. 

This would include all on-campus contact, 

including but not limited to coaches’ 

camps and unofficial visits. That would 

be a start.” 

Limiting roster size would be another 

positive step. A look at college rosters will 

show that some state schools are stockpiling 

35 to 40 players and hoping to find 

that one big-time player. It’s rare for any 

player ranked 30th or 40th on a team to 

make a significant impact later. 

Those players would have been better 

off making a more informed decision that 

could have led them to a quality Division 

II, Division III or NAIA school where 

they might have enjoyed the experience 

of playing college soccer. No college 

needs to carry more than 27 players. 

Most colleges travel with only 18 players. 

A third suggestion would mandate 

that coaches report in writing to both 

their athletics director and compliance officer 

all the commitments they have made 

to high school student-athletes. These 

commitments still would be non-binding 

legally, but at least the athletics director 

would be aware of moral obligations 

made on behalf of the institution. 

Finally, no coach should be allowed 

to make a commitment to a player until 

the student has taken the ACT or SAT 

test at least once, and the results of those 

tests are verified as being within range of 

minimum university requirements. 

Remember, there was a time that 

scholarships actually went to scholars. It 

still should be at least part of the process. 

It sure works in the Ivy League and at the 

Division III level. 

And think of it this way: With an 

additional season or two to evaluate a 

player, the coach also will make a more 

informed decision on who can and can’t 

play for their respective program. That 

will make them better coaches. 

I’m sure Ryan Boatright is a great kid, 

but please, let’s not follow the path of 

college basketball and college football. 

Once we head down that road, there is 

no turning back. 

Frank Pace is co-head soccer coach at 

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. He was 

voted Goalkeeper of the Decade at Jacksonville 

University 1970-79. He has been a 

member of the NSCAA for 10 years. 



Focus: Coaching ✪ Ages: Youth 

By Roni Mansur 

Why is now the time to bring “street 

soccer” to the United States 

In the aftermath of the 2006 World Cup 

in Germany, sports critics and pundits were 

quick to condemn the disappointing performances 

of the U.S. National Team. This 

after many of these same experts jumped 

on the bandwagon in 2002, prophesizing 

the dawning of a new era in American 

soccer after the U.S. side shocked the entire 

soccer world by making it to the quarterfinal 

stage of the tournament. 

Although the 2006 performance was 

widely characterized as an underachievement, 

it did unveil a larger symptom 

plaguing American soccer. This symptom 

was masked largely by the unexpected 

feats of 2002. Steve Cherundolo, the right 

back on the 2006 Men’s National Team, 

pinpoints this symptom: “I think on the 

whole, myself included, we weren’t clever 

enough on the ball; we didn’t create 

enough chances for our forwards.” 

This lack of cleverness on the ball or 

creativity is an intrinsic characteristic of 

the way soccer is played in the United 

States at all levels. At the professional level, 

only a handful of American players can be 

characterized as creative, and none of them 

perform consistently at the highest level to 

be considered a world-class creative player. 

Most of the creative players in Major 

League Soccer (MLS) are foreign imports. 

It is widely recognized that great strides 

have been made in U.S. soccer during 

the last decade; however, it is imperative 

that this symptom be addressed now, so 

American soccer has a chance to ascend 

to the next level during the next 10 years. 

The root of this symptom can be traced 

to the way in which American youth 

soccer players are coached and developed 

STREET 

SMARTS 

Proponents believe unstructured play will 

foster creativity in American soccer players 

and the absence of street soccer in the 

American youth soccer environment. 

The street soccer concept needs to be 

incorporated into the nation’s youth soccer 

coaching philosophy and methodology 

to help foster creativity and imagination 

as we develop our next generation 

of soccer players. Coaches can take steps 

to incorporate this concept into soccer 

practices and games. 

What is street soccer 

Street soccer refers to the various 

kinds of pickup soccer games played 

in parks, gyms and in streets and alleys 

around the world. The defining characteristic 

of street soccer is that it is not 

organized. Players show up at the “field” 

and two teams are formed from the players 

available. Two “goals” are set up, the 

goalposts often being made from t-shirts, 

bags, rocks or sticks. And, of course, 

a ball or representative round object is 

required. Everything else is negotiable, 

such as the boundaries and even the 

rules. There is no referee. There usually 

are no fans. There is no coach. It is soccer 

in its most basic and unadulterated form. 

How is the development of young soccer 

players in the United States different from 

that in other top soccer-playing nations 

There are several key elements that 

exist in the youth soccer structures of top 

soccer-playing nations. First, there is a basic 

structure that enables young people to play 

the game from age 4 or 5 though their late 

teens. This foundational structure typically 

is provided by local youth soccer clubs, 

school teams, colleges and universities. This 

structure, usually absent or fragmented in 

many of the developing nations in Africa, 

The defining characteristic 

of street soccer is that it is not organized. 

Asia and Latin America, now exists in 

American youth soccer. 

Secondly, the leading soccer-playing 

nations have an effective process to identify 

and develop top young players. In most 

of these countries, the youth academies 

of professional soccer clubs identify and 

recruit talented players from their local 

communities. Regional and national teams 

typically are selected from the pool of players 

in these academies. In the United States, 

the Olympic Development Program (ODP) 

selects regional and national level players 

from open tryouts, which typically draw 

players from the top local youth soccer 

clubs. These youth soccer clubs are independent 

organizations and not affiliated 

with any professional soccer clubs, colleges 

or universities. 

The key difference between the youth 

academies of professional clubs overseas 

and youth soccer clubs in the United States 

are the goals and objectives of the two 

feeder systems. Most top youth soccer clubs 

in the United States seek to win state cups 

and tournaments as early as the U-10 and 

U-11 age groups. In doing so, they often 

sacrifice individual player development. In 

contrast, there is a longer-term vision at the 



youth academies. Individual player development 

is the focus in these organizations 

because the primary objective is to develop 

each youth player as an individual in order 

to discover the one or two players who 

can progress to the next level and become 

professionals for the club. For instance, the 

goal of the soccer academies in England 

is to develop the next Steven Gerrard or 

Wayne Rooney rather than win the FA 

Youth Cup every year. 

Finally, young players in the top soccerplaying 

nations have sufficient opportunities 

to experiment with the game without 

adult supervision. In most countries around 

the world, pickup games and street soccer 

are a way of life, and these young players 

play soccer almost every day. This is where 

many of the developing nations make up 

for the lack of a formal structure. It is in 

this aspect that youth players in the United 

States are disadvantaged compared with 

their global counterparts. U.S. soccer experiences 

are almost always supervised and 

controlled by adults. 

What are the implications of the absence 

of street soccer in America 

The absence of street soccer leads 

to a key difference between American 

youth soccer and other nations’ programs. 

Around the world, young soccer 

players come from all socio-economic 

backgrounds. Young players face no significant 

financial barriers to entering the 

sport because they always can play street 

soccer with some friends as long as they 

have a ball and some space. 

However, because of the absence of 

street soccer in America, youth soccer is 

a primarily middle- to upper-class sport. 

Low-income families confront significant 

barriers to entry because it costs $300 

to $500 per year for a young player to 

play for two 10-week seasons with the 

local town team. The cost of playing for 

a youth soccer club ranges from $800 to 

$1,500 per player annually. 

Young soccer players from low-income 

families are excluded at a very early 

age, which is unfortunate; many of these 

players come from immigrant families 

whose home countries have a rich soccer 

culture. A further consequence of this 

situation is that it reduces the pool of 

potential players from which top talent 

can be identified and developed. 

As a result, the existing American youth 

soccer structure is supported largely by 

middle-class adults, who volunteer countless 

hours as coaches and spend a considerable 

amount of time and effort supporting 

their children’s interests. However, most 

of these adults did not grow up playing or 

watching soccer and only have a cursory 

understanding of the game. More important, 

most of them do not fully grasp the 

fundamental differences between coaching 

adult and youth sports. 

As a consequence, the mantra of 

playing for the team and achieving results 

is imposed much earlier in American 

youth soccer than it is in top soccer-playing 

nations around the world. 

And it typically is done at the expense 

of creativity, skills and independent 

decision-making, all of which are essential 

components of individual player 

development. Teamwork and results are 

important aspects of team sports and of 

American culture in general, but these 

elements should be secondary to individual 

player development at the youth 

level of any sport, including soccer. 

It is this difference that enables youth 

players around the world to have more 

time to develop their creative tendencies 

and become more clever with the ball 

before they learn to play in a structured 

team environment. It is much easier to 

encourage a nine- or 14-year-old soccer 

player to be creative than a 22-year-old. 

American kids are in no way less 

creative or less capable than young players 

in Brazil or Italy. It’s just that most of 

them don’t play soccer enough, and their 

only opportunities to the play the game 

are in a controlled environment where 

most coaches, intentionally or unintentionally, 

suppress their players’ creative 

instincts in order to achieve the best 

outcome for the team. 

Why should street soccer be considered 

and what are its benefits 

We have created a strong foundation 

and basic structure for youth soccer in this 

country, but in doing so, and in the absence 

of street soccer, we as adults have wrested 

control of the game away from the kids. 

Structure makes us feel more comfortable 

that real learning is taking place. However, 

the highly structured environment that 

exists today is not optimal for having young 

players learn the game of soccer and fall in 

love with it. It is time for us to give some 

of the game back to the kids. It is time for 

us to foster and encourage creativity, as 

coaches, parents and fans, by creating an 

environment where creativity and imagination 

flourish on the soccer field. 

Creativity is the heart and soul of soccer. 

It is what makes fans gasp in wonder 

The mantra of playing for the team and 

achieving results is imposed much earlier in 

American youth soccer than it is in top 

soccer-playing nations around the world. 

and amazement. Creativity is Ronaldinho 

making his trademark lightning-quick 

outside-inside move and leaving yet 

another hapless defender in his wake. It 

is Maradona dribbling past two defenders 

and slipping a no-look through pass 

to his fellow striker when everyone else 

on the field and in the stands thinks he is 

about to shoot for goal. It is the 10-yearold 

girl in Cambridge, Mass., making up 

her own spin move during a game. 

At the youth level, creativity draws 

young players to the game and makes 

them fall in love with it. If nurtured appropriately, 

it elevates the technical and 

tactical aspects of the professional game 

to a higher plane, to that point where it 

becomes “The Beautiful Game.” 

Creativity is difficult, if not impossible, 

to teach. It can only be encouraged 

by providing an environment that helps 

foster it, one that rewards risk-taking, 

imagination and inventiveness – an environment 

where creativity becomes almost 

instinctive. That means establishing a 

street soccer environment. 

Around the world young soccer players 

can be found kicking anything that re- 



sembles a ball every chance they get – alone 

or with siblings or friends. They come up 

with crazy moves to dribble past their older 

brothers and sisters. They go to the park or 

meet their friends on a quiet street to play 

after school and on the weekends. They are 

exposed to players of different ages and skill 

levels on a daily basis and learn how to play 

with and against them. They learn how to 

deal with other young players and resolve 

conflicts without adult supervision. They 

do this in an environment that is forgiving 

and relatively stress-free. Nobody remembers 

that you goofed up a crazy move if you 

make a great pass the next time you have 

the ball. Most important, there is no coach 

or adult yelling from the sidelines if you 

make a mistake. 

This street soccer environment is 

crucial for developing youth soccer 

players. It enables them to try new 

things and be clever on the ball while 

having fun. It gives them the opportunity 

to stabilize their skills, develop at 

their own pace and build confidence. It 

exposes players continually to solving 

soccer-related problems on their own, 

which helps them develop their independent 

decision-making skills through 

trial and error. But most important, it 

allows young players to enjoy the game 

for what it really is – a game. 

With a solid structure in place and 

burgeoning interest in soccer among 

young boys and girls, now is the time to 

incorporate the concept of street soccer 

into our youth development program. It 

is the missing element in the American 

youth soccer setup. 

What are small-sided games and what are 

some of their benefits 

The leading youth soccer organizations 

in this country – U.S. Youth Soccer, 

NSCAA and AYSO – have followed in 

the footsteps of the soccer federations 

of Holland, France, Germany and Brazil 

and taken steps to embrace and promote 

small-sided games for youth players. 

These organizations recommend that the 

11 v. 11 game format should be applicable 

only for players above the age of 

12; U-6 players should play 3 v. 3, U-8 

players 4 v. 4, U-10 players 6 v. 6, and U- 

12 players 8 v. 8. It also is recommended 

that these small-sided games be played 

on correspondingly smaller field sizes. 

Soccer and child-development 

researchers consider the small-sided environment 

to be developmentally appropriate 

for young soccer players. It creates a 

fun environment where kids are able to 

get more touches on the ball and, as a 

result, have more opportunities to score 

goals than they would in an 11 v. 11 

format. This increased participation also 

provides more opportunities for players 

to practice the key technical skills of 

dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting. 

In addition, players’ tactical development 

is accelerated; in small-sided games, they 

are presented with a variety of soccer-related 

problems more frequently and they 

have to make independent decisions. 

Furthermore, the smaller games also help 

develop the players’ mental skills. In 

particular, they teach players to maintain 

focus by not dwelling on mistakes that 

would distract them from being ready for 

their next touch on the ball. 

The move to small-sided games for 

younger players is a positive one, but it 

has not yet been embraced and adopted 

at the grassroots level in several states. 

How is street soccer different from small-sided 

games and how can coaches incorporate 

street soccer into American youth soccer 

The small-sided games concept offers 

many benefits, but it still represents activities 

that adults control and direct. This 

is the key difference between street soccer 

and small-sided games. In street soccer, 

there is no adult supervision. 

The first step coaches can take is to 

understand and promote small-sided games 

in local youth leagues so young players can 

have a developmentally appropriate environment 

in which to play soccer. They can 

take this one step further by incorporating 

the concept of small-sided games into 

coaching sessions instead of using old-fashioned 

drills in which players wait in line 

for their turn to shoot on goal or dribble 

through cones. All the techniques and 

tactics that are taught through drills can be 

coached just as effectively through smallsided 

games. In addition, using small-sided 

games in practice sessions offers several 

added benefits – they allow players to learn 

in more realistic and game-like situations. 

They have more touches on the ball and 

usually have more fun. 

The next step coaches can take is to 

adopt and promote street soccer within 

their teams and local communities. 

There are many reasons why it will be 

challenging to bring street soccer in its 

purest form to the United States, but 

there are several ways to incorporate 

the concept of street soccer into coaching 

sessions and methods. 

One such approach is to dedicate a 

portion of every practice to street soccer. 

Soccer and child-development researchers 

consider the small-sided environment to be 

developmentally appropriate 

for young soccer players. 

During this segment, the coach steps 

back and gives control of the game to 

the players, who become responsible for 

setting up a game themselves. The coach 

may even decide to bar players from 

using cones and pinnies for their games, 

instead allowing them to figure out on 

their own that their sweatshirts and water 

bottles make fine goalposts and sidelines. 

This approach can be discomforting 

for coaches accustomed to maintaining 

control and structure. It can be unnerving 

for a coach to take a back seat and simply 

watch the game, not say anything, make 

any coaching points or settle disputed 

calls. They may feel disengaged from the 

practice and feel that they are not contributing 

to their players’ development. 

However, this uninterrupted street 

soccer game is one of the most effective 

teaching tools available. As the saying goes, 

“the game is the best teacher.” In addition, 

coaches can take advantage of this opportunity 

to take a step back and observe their 

players in a non-competitive situation to 

better understand their strengths, development 

needs and interpersonal relationships. 



This approach likely will make many 

parents uncomfortable as well. As adults, 

we typically equate structure and control as 

necessary elements to learning, especially in 

the United States. As a result, coaches will 

need to educate parents about the benefits 

of street soccer and the need for unsupervised 

play to help foster creativity and 

imagination among young soccer players. 

These street soccer sessions also represent 

a great opportunity for the players 

to learn about ownership. The game 

they just set up and are playing truly is 

their own. The coach is there to tend to 

injuries, but nothing else. The coach may 

decide to join the game, but only under 

the condition that he or she is treated the 

same as any of the other players. 

Another potential benefit of this approach 

is that it teaches young players to 

become more independent and helps them 

learn how to set up a soccer game without 

adult supervision. This may seem trite, but 

most of our young players are unable to 

organize pickup games themselves. Their 

concept of playing soccer is either going to 

practice or playing a game, both of which 

are supervised by adults. 

Having our young players realize during 

practice sessions that they can easily 

set up and play soccer without any help 

from adults may encourage some to call 

their friends and meet at a field to play 

soccer after school. It’s a long shot, but 

with enough support and encouragement, 

maybe someday soon we will see 

some of our kids playing pickup soccer 

on their own. This is the probably the 

closest we can hope to get to a street soccer 

environment in the United States. 

What else can coaches do to encourage 

creativity among our youth players 

A street soccer environment needs to be 

supplemented by coaches who truly believe 

in and encourage creativity. It is easy for 

coaches to say that they embrace creativity. 

It’s like motherhood and apple pie 

– everyone agrees that it is the right thing. 

However, what this truly means is that they 

must be willing to make creativity a higher 

priority – even above the results of a game 

and the team’s win-loss record. The implication 

is that they must be willing to lose 

games as a team to encourage individual 

player development and creativity. 

In youth soccer, the physical and 

technical development of young players 

can vary considerably, even within a 

particular age group. For youth soccer 

coaches who are interested only 

in winning games, there is a tactical 

formula that works effectively for teams 

with physically dominant players. This 

involves playing long passes to a big and 

fast forward to create breakaway opportunities, 

which usually leads to goals. 

Although we should encourage effort and 

trying to win games, we also should be 

concerned about the manner in which 

players achieve their objectives. 

Coaches should not use tactical approaches 

that increase the likelihood 

of winning games at the expense of the 

players’ long-term development. Coaches 

who insist on using an approach that is 

too physical will be putting their players 

at a disadvantage in the long run, when 

opponents catch up in physical maturity. 

Players should be encouraged to play 

with creativity, inventiveness, effort and 

good technique, and they should be 

congratulated when they display these 

characteristics, even if the result on the 

scoreboard is a loss. 

Coaches also must understand that 

creativity can’t be taught, and that it 

only can be nurtured in an appropriate 

environment. Glimpses of creativity occur 

fairly often during youth soccer when an 

idea for a “crazy” move pops into a young 

player’s head and they try something new. 

Coaches need to understand that players 

usually will fail the first time they try 

something new. They probably will fail 

the next few times as well. Coaches need 

to be able to see what the players were 

trying to accomplish and encourage it. 

This approach requires a considerable 

shift in mentality for a majority of American 

youth coaches. It’s a potential roadblock 

that should not be trivialized. What 

this means is that when a player tries a 

no-look flick with the outside of the foot 

but totally misses the ball, the coach must 

recognize the idea and applaud it: “Nice 

try, you’ll get it next time.” 

However, most coaches rather would 

use such an incident to make a coaching 

point and instead show the player how 

to receive the ball and pass it square to a 

teammate to keep possession. In doing 

so, the team benefits, but that moment of 

inspiration and creativity is lost from the 

game. Intentionally or unintentionally, 

the coach has discouraged players from 

trying that move or anything similarly 

creative the next time a “crazy” idea pops 

into their brains. 

Bringing the street to America 

The need to encourage creativity at 

the youth level is of the utmost importance 

for the individual development of 

young soccer players. The shift in the 

philosophy and mentality of coaches 

to prioritize creativity over results, and 

not clamp down on it, is especially necessary 

because American children do 

not grow up watching soccer on television 

or at stadiums nearly as much as 

those in virtually every other soccerplaying 

nation. This puts them at a 

distinct disadvantage in terms of not 

being able to learn and mimic skills and 

moves executed by top-class players. 

What they are left with is their natural 

creative tendencies as kids, tendencies 

that must be nurtured. Coaches should 

consider the concept of street soccer as 

a means of providing an environment 

that helps achieve this objective. 

By incorporating street soccer in our 

youth-coaching philosophy, that 10-yearold 

girl from Cambridge who came up 

with the idea for her signature spin move 

while playing 1 v. 1 with her younger 

brother now has the opportunity to practice 

it on her teammates during the street 

soccer portion of her practices. Once she 

is comfortable with it at practices, she can 

try her move during an actual game. If 

she fails to execute it and falls down, she 

won’t be yelled at by her coach for losing 

the ball, but encouraged to try it again. 

She’ll continue to be encouraged by 

her coach each of the next eight times she 

tries the move and fails. She perseveres and 

on the 10th time she tries the move, she 

actually pulls it off. It becomes the move 

that her teammates try to learn from her. It 

becomes the signature move that she uses 

when she plays in high school and college 

and throughout her soccer career. And it 

becomes the move that one day she will 

teach her kids and grandkids. 

Editor’s note: Roni Mansur is a nationally 

licensed coach in the United States and 

has been coaching soccer at the youth level 

since 1999. A former collegiate player at the 

University of New South Wales in Sydney, 

Australia, he is the Director of Coaching at 

Cambridge Youth Soccer, an organization with 

more than 800 players and 70 coaches, in 

Cambridge, Mass., and coaches a U-11 girls 

travel team and U-6 boys and girls. In addition, 

he is a manager in the Strategy and Operations 

practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP. 


MAKE A NOTE: 

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AN NSCAA 

NON-RESIDENTIAL 

COURSE THIS YEAR 

Find a nearby course from the list below, or check NSCAA.com 

for the most up-to-date schedule. 

May 

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Contact: Chris Davidovicz, 704-564-4377 

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June 

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13 State Diploma, Danville, Calif. Contact: Fred 

Wilson, 925-759-6267 

19-20 Regional Diploma, Baton Rouge, La. Contact: 

Marvin Smith, 225-266-1395 

25-27 National Goalkeeping Diploma, Elmira, N.Y. 

Contact: Steve Mastronardi, 607-735-3216 

26 State Diploma, Sykesville, Md. Contact: Mark 

Milewski, 410-549-9607 

August 

2 State Diploma, Danville, Calif. Contact: Fred 

Wilson, 925-759-6267 

2 State Goalkeeping Diploma, Greensburg, Pa. 

Contact: Bill Urbanik, 412-491-2591 

2 State Diploma, Clayton, N.C. Contact: Kieth 

Jenkins, 919-359-0014 

2-3 Regional Diploma, King of Prussia, Pa. Contact: 

Tom Dobbs, 484-973-6065 

2-3 Regional Diploma, Clayton, N.C. Contact: Kieth 

Jenkins, 919-359-0014 

3 Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, Greensburg, Pa. 

Contact: Bill Urbanik, 412-491-2591 

To schedule an NSCAA Non-Residential Course in your area, 

contact your NSCAA Regional Technical Director (see our web site for a list) or call 800-458-0678. 


Focus: SJ Interview ✪ Ages: All 

The Man with the Smile 

Valeriy Gazzaev 

By Andy Roxburgh 

UEFA Technical Director 

He has an infectious smile, and he has 

much to smile about. Valeriy Gazzaev, 

the head coach of PFC CSKA Moskva, 

was a top professional player, has won 

many titles as a coach, and owns a share 

in a well. As a player, he won the European 

Championship at Under-23 (1976) 

and Under-21 (1980) levels, was a 

bronze medalist for the USSR at the 1980 

Olympic Games and lifted the Soviet Cup 

(1984) as a member of the FC Dinamo 

Moskva. He scored 89 goals in 283 appearances 

in the top Soviet league. 

In his managerial role, the former 

international striker (eight appearances 

and four goals for the USSR) has captured 

the Russian championship four 

times (once with Spartak Alania-Vladikavkaz 

and the others with CSKA Moskva), 

the Russian Cup three times (all with 

CSKA Moskva) and became the first Russian 

coach to lift the UEFA Cup (2005) 

when CSKA Moskva beat Sporting Clube 

de Portugal in Lisbon. 

The man from Vladikavkaz was Russia’s 

coach of the year in 2005, coached the national 

team for a short period and received 

the Order of Friendship and the Order of 

Honor from the Russian government. In his 

playing days, he was known as a wizard 

with the ball. As a coach he has produced 

many moments of magic and has become 

one of Russia’s most successful technicians. 

A participant in UEFA’s Elite Club Coaches 

forum for the last three years and a member 

of UEFA’s champions league technical 

study group in 2006 and 2007, he is the 

man with the smile. 

What was the reaction in Russia when 

you won the UEFA Cup 

Of course, this was a great success 

because never before had a Russian club 

won a European trophy. It was a big celebration 

and recognition for the whole 

nation. The president of the country 

gave us a reception in the Kremlin, and 

the reaction from everyone was amazing. 

We won because we had good players, 

a good president and a good coach [he 

laughs and the smile sparkles]. The commitment 

was total, and everyone did his 

job professionally. The key was balance 

– the balance between our Brazilian and 

Russian players allowed us to benefit 

from the qualities of each group. 

What system of play do you use with 

CSKA Moskva 

For all my career at CSKA Moskva, 

I have used the same system – three 

defenders, five midfielders and two 

strikers. The two wing backs have always 

done a great job both defensively 

and offensively. Since 2001, we have 

won many trophies playing in this 

way and my players like this system 

of play. The most important aspect for 

us is that we are very well organized 

and responsible in our defensive work. 

Everybody has his clearly defined job. 

The second key is having five in 

midfield, not just quantity but also 

quality. We can really build up the attacks, 

particularly with the use of our 

fast players on the flanks. The high 

level of our twin strikers completes the 

team unit and produces a system that I 

am very comfortable with. Last season 

in the UEFA Champions League, we 

scored 16 goals and conceded only 

four, so the system works for us. I find 

that three at the back is more secure 

because, first and foremost, they 

know what to do defensively and they 

remain in place, while a zonal four 

can become stretched and imbalanced. 

The latter has quantity, but for me the 

former has greater security. 

We focus on intensity because today’s game is 

very quick and high tempo. Therefore, my training 

is intense and close to the match situation. 

You have four Brazilians in your team. What 

are the advantages and disadvantages 

When we got our Brazilian players 

they were not famous. They were 

young boys when they came to us. 

During their time with us, they have 

matured into Brazilian national team 

players and now CSKA is the only 

team giving four players to the Brazilian 

national team. These players have 

great technical qualities. They are very 

professional and they are a big plus for 

us because we win many matches on 

account of their quality. The big disadvantage 

is that we lose them when they 

are away with Brazil. 

How would you describe your training 

methods 

Firstly, we focus on intensity because 

today’s game is very quick and high tempo. 

Therefore, my training is intense and 

close to the match situation. Of course, 

we do a lot of tactical work, together 

with coordination and fluid movement 

– these elements are combined. Usually, 

I incorporate the tactics we will use in 

the game. The physical aspect also is 

included, so it is a combined, complex 

approach. We do practical exercises on 

pressing, which are exhausting because 

they require everyone to work hard. I 

never hold training sessions for longer 

than one hour and fifteen minutes, but 

they are very concentrated and demand- 



ing in order to push everybody up to the 

match level. 

What are the tactical trends in Russian 

football 

I would say that the tactical trends 

are similar to those in the rest of Europe. 

Many use 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, but the quality 

of the play is not as high as the top UEFA 

Champions League teams. The only one 

who is not following the trends is me. 

Most of the clubs are playing cautiously, 

building from defense and playing counterattack 

– the aim mainly is not to lose. 

The next UEFA Champions League final will 

be in Moscow. What can we expect 

Firstly, I hope that a Russian club 

will be in the final. It is a great honor 

for Russia to get the final, and we will 

do everything to make it a big success. 

For the whole country and for the association, 

it is an important development. 

It will attract a great deal of attention 

to football, and I am sure it will be 

a well-organized, spectacular final. I 

agree with the decision to play on real 

grass, although the artificial surface in 

Moscow is good. The level of organization 

will be high, and Moscow will do 

its utmost to welcome everybody. 

Do you think a team from Russia is capable 

of winning the UEFA Champions League 

in the near future 

There has been a lot of investment in 

the game in Russia, including the infrastructure, 

and the competitive level has 

improved, with eight or nine top clubs 

of a similar standard. I believe that in the 

near future, we are capable of having a 

team in the final of the UEFA Champions 

League. It is really only in the last six 

years that we have become fully professional 

in Russian football. We now are 

experiencing a rapid development in the 

game. I think that in five years’ time we 

can have one of the top five championships 

in Europe. Now we are investing 

in quality players and top coaches are 

coming to Russia, so the trend is toward 

the top European level. 

Who were your favorite players and coaches 

I believe every coach should have his 

own way. We should not copy. Yes, I like 

Sir Alex Ferguson and I respect his work, 

but the key is to find your own way. Oleg 

Blokhin, whom I played with, was a great 

player, as was Lev Yashin and, of course, 

Valerii Lobanovskyi was an outstanding 

coach in the former USSR. 

Is there still a distinctive Russian style of 

football 

I don’t think that there is a Russian 

style of playing football because we 

have many foreign players and coaches. 

Of course, there is South American and 

European football, and we are part of 

the latter. Maybe there was a Soviet 

style, but now modern Russia does not 

have a distinctive way of playing. 

How do you handle today’s top professionals 

It is a big problem to handle top professionals 

nowadays, but I can deal with 

that. I am constantly working on psychology. 

I have intense discussions with the 

players, trying to make them understand 

that money is only part of the equation. 

They need to work for their name, their 

reputation. It is not an easy task, but I 

feel that I can cope. I am always touching 

the human aspect. They are football players, 

but their behavior also is important. 

They need to learn from their experiences 

because it will benefit them later in life, 

and I communicate regularly with the 

players on a one-to-one basis. 

Strict discipline in the team is a priority 

for us. It is the base. Then come the 

individual discussions and the personal 

development. Of course, you cannot 

make players from the outside (such as 

the Brazilians) love Russia, but you can 

get them to respect the traditions here 

and to do their job as professionals. The 

Brazilians love Brazil, naturally, so we 

experience a difference in mentality between 

our Russian players and those who 

have come from South America. 

What do you think are the most important 

qualities of a modern coach 

As a coach, you need to be aware of 

the culture that the players come from 

and react accordingly. There needs to be a 

very good relationship between the coach 

and the player, no matter their place of 

origin. The coach needs to be a strong 

character and a good psychologist. I read 

a lot and I prepare myself to deal with the 

various psychological problems. When 

the players think that the coach is not a 

strong character, then everything can be 

lost, even if he has all the tactical knowledge 

and an outstanding ability to read 

the game. 

Do you see a difference between Eastern 

Europe and the West in the approach to 

the game 

I think there is a difference between 

the East and the West. We in Russia 

have just started with a professional 

life, including the contractual duties 

of a player, dealing with the owner/ 

president, etc. All of this is new to our 

people, and the mentality is different 

in the East. But I see things changing. 

Gradually we are moving toward the 

same standards as those in the leading 

Western countries. However, I must 

admit that there is a difference today, 

although respect for the players and the 

coaches is going up and up. 

For you, what are the best and the worst 

aspects of football today 

For the last 100 years, football has 

been the most popular game, and I love 

it. However, some developments have 

disappointed me. I do not agree with 

the current interpretation of the offside 

law because many are afraid and therefore 

play cautiously. This is a negative 

trend in the game. Also, football is so 

popular that it can create jealousy when 

some get too much money or too much 

fame. From a positive perspective, I will 

never forget the emotion of winning the 

UEFA Cup. Winning and collecting trophies 

always is a wonderful experience 

in football, and the game’s appeal continues 

to grow throughout the world. 

What does the future hold for Russian 

football and for Valeriy Gazzaev 

I think that the future of Russian 

football is bright, and I see myself coming 

back to the national team one day. 

I would like to do something for my 

country. There is a boom in Russian football, 

with five new stadiums being built 

and support coming from the government 

and the private sector. People now 

understand the role of football in our 

society, so we see growth, also at grassroots 

level. Many of the stadiums are full, 

and the management around the clubs is 

improving. Our victory in the UEFA Cup 

even gave a boost to the activities of the 

football schools. The kids want to play, 

and they know after our success that Russian 

clubs are capable of winning. 

This interview was first published in The 

Technician by Andy Roxburgh and can be 

found at www.UEFA.com. 



LANGUAGE 

BARRIER 

In an exclusive Soccer Journal interview, author and sociologist Andrei 

Markovits examines why soccer remains outside the American sports mainstream 

The following is an interview with Andrei 

Markovits, author (with Steven Hellerman) 

of Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism. 

Soccer is the most popular sport globally, 

yet in the United States it is an also-ran 

behind basketball, baseball, football and 

hockey. Why is it different here Why is 

America exceptional In his book, Markovits 

offers some historically-founded explanations 

for this “exceptionalism.” He shows parallels 

with other U.S. deviations from the global 

norm, such as the absence of socialism. 

Markovits was born in Romania into a 

multilingual family. He attended secondary 

school in Vienna, Austria, before enrolling at 

Columbia University in New York, where he 

received a doctorate in 1976. He is a social 

scientist and professor of Comparative Politics 

and German Studies at the University 

of Michigan. He has published 19 books, including 

writings about one of his specialties, 

the comparative sociology of modern sports 

cultures. Former Kalamazoo (Mich.) College 

coach and current Soccer Journal Editorial 

Committee member Hardy Fuchs recently 

sat down with Markovits for an interview 

about the issues raised in this book. 

You were trained as a social scientist, and 

you write a book that focuses on soccer. 

What moved you to write on this topic 

I was born in the Western part of 

Romania and in the 1950s, my father 

would take me to watch professional 

soccer games regularly – the local squad 

playing against teams from Bucharest 

and others. Once, there was a big game 

against a team from Stockholm, Sweden. 

Once, I remember my father saying that I 

would remember the 4th of July, that day 

would be important in my life [It was the 

day Germany beat Hungary in Switzerland 

in a sensational upset during the 1954 World 

Cup – Editor]. 

In 1988, you published an article titled 

“Why Is There No Soccer in the USA” and 

answered your own question in 2001 with 

the book on “Soccer and American Exceptionalism.” 

The key word is “exceptionalism.” 

Could you paraphrase the title and 

summarize the agenda of the book 

Let me give you a little bit of a genealogy. 

As a sociologist, I use my eyes 

and ears as my tools. I remember being 

stunned by the fact that colleagues of 

mine in the States and around the world 

were quite similar, with one exception: 

the ones in America knew all the 

American sports icons but had no idea 

who Puskas and Helmut Rahn were. The 

internationals friends knew something 

about the American sports scene, and all 

of them knew everything about soccer 

worldwide. In 1986, I was teaching a 

course on a boat going down the Danube; 

it was the year of the World Cup in 

Mexico. I led a schizophrenic existence 

on that boat: during the day, I was on the 

upper deck with my American audience, 

chasing down the news between classes 

(this is before the Internet!) about how 

the Celtics had done against the Rockets. 

Late at night, I descended into the bowels 

of the ship and watched World Cup 

games at 1 a.m. with Ukrainian, Russian 

and Bulgarian sailors. We didn’t speak 

each other’s languages, but we understood 

one another because we “spoke 

soccer.” I returned home and wrote about 

this experience in the 1988 article. Later, 

in the late ‘90s, I was a fellow at the Wissenschafts-Kolleg 

in Berlin and decided to 

expand the article into this book. 

Between 1880 and 1920, in Western Europe 

and the United States, the major 

“sports languages” were learned. 

“Why is there no soccer in the USA” must 

refer to soccer as a spectator sport, because 

as a participation sport it is very 

much a success here. 

Exactly. But the people here don’t 

“speak soccer.” Ironically, the United 

States is the second oldest country after 

England with organized soccer. There 

were leagues here in 1891. The game has 

been “played” here for quite some time, 

but not “spoken.” That’s the dilemma. 

When the average American is asked why 

soccer has little appeal in the States, one 

hears a number of reasons: Not enough 

goals; no visible structure; no coaching 

during a game; no time-outs; it is a foot 

sport and somewhat “foreign;” the best 

U.S. players go overseas. Your comment 

All nonsense. It has everything to do 

with history. People here don’t mind lowscoring 

baseball games; in fact, the true 

baseball fans love these games the most. 

It has to do with what you learn growing 

up. Between 1880 and 1920, in Western 

Europe and the United States, the major 

“sports languages” were learned. My European 

friends find American sports bor- 



ing because they didn’t “learn” them and 

they don’t understand them. Once they 

speak these “sports languages” they don’t 

find them boring anymore. And it is the 

same with Americans. In general, Americans 

have not learned this language. 

Also, in this world of globalization, the 

Americans are the best in their major 

sports, and athletes from overseas want 

to play here, such as hockey players from 

Russia and Europe dreaming about the 

NHL. Conversely, and logically, American 

soccer players want to play in Europe. 

And they should. But the consequence: 

the best soccer is not played here. This 

conflict is not easily resolved, obviously. 

Encouragingly, MLS attendance is up, TV 

ratings unfortunately not. 

On occasion, another theory suggested for 

soccer’s second-class status here is that 

there is a conspiracy on the part of those 

entities that are heavily invested in the 

major U.S. sports, such as franchise owners, 

equipment manufacturers and media, and 

they are eager to suppress the rise of the 

competitor “soccer” that wants a piece of 

the monetary action. Your thoughts on this 

Nonsense. I don’t believe in conspiracy 

theories in this context. And it 

is factually not true. The various sports 

are not mutually exclusive. There are 

actually multiple sports franchise owners; 

e.g. (Robert) Kraft owns the Patriots and 

the Revolution. The godfather of soccer 

franchises was Lamar Hunt, whose name 

graces the American Football Conference’s 

trophy. No, no conspiracies here… 

It all goes back to what happened at the 

end of the 19th and the first two decades of 

the 20th century: A sport that was not successful 

in entering the sports space during 

the time would find no room later within 

the culture. But – and here I am optimistic 

– sports space can expand. Soccer has come 

into the United States; basketball is played 

in Europe. But basketball will not displace 

the Bundesliga in Germany, no matter how 

many (Dirk) Nowitzkis should play basketball 

there. 

We know that soccer families in the 

United States are above average on the 

socio-economic and educational scale. Is 

that fact related to the minor status of 

the game here 

Yes, there is a connection. If you look 

at the background of the typical German 

or British soccer player, it is similar to 

that of the American football, basketball, 

and baseball player and the Canadian 

hockey player. And, conversely, basketball 

in Europe is upper-middle class, just 

what soccer is here. The game is “a new 

language,” not widely spoken – yet. The 

difference-maker could be the Hispanic 

population. One of the MLS’s most difficult 

tasks is that it has to appeal to two 

fundamentally different markets; on the 

one hand, to upper-middle-class fans; on 

the other hand, to male Latinos. Overall, 

MLS is doing a fine job in this regard. I 

am a fan of the MLS. 

Speaking of the MLS, its predecessor, the 

NASL, tried in the 1970s to bring soccer 

into mainstream America, but was not successful. 

What did the NASL do wrong 

First of all, they completely overexpanded 

financially; the whole thing was 

built on mirrors. On the other hand, 

the New York Cosmos were truly years 

ahead of their time. They became the first 

global team, and it was what Chelsea and 

Bayern Munich are today. But the NASL 

was awfully planned (by the way, there 

were lots of football people among the 

franchise owners). During that time, the 

early 70s, soccer was really foreign; it was 

a niche sport. 

Today, it is different. The word “soccer” 

is as American as apple pie. It is a 

very different sports world today in the 

United States. Soccer is not strange anymore, 

even though it still is not discussed 

on sports radio, and ESPN doesn’t have 

forums about whom various teams are recruiting. 

Let’s say soccer here has become 

“Olympicized.” Every four years, the 

World Cups have become big, and people 

follow them. 

For a historic perspective, in 1970 

the World Cup was held in Mexico, and 

I had to go to some obscure sports bar in 

New York with closed-circuit TV to watch 

the Germany-Italy semifinal. Even during 

the 1978 Cup in Argentina, one had to 

go to a theater to be able to see games. 

Today, you can watch all the games at 

home. Before, even the New York Times 

didn’t have much coverage other than 

wire service stories. Now it sends two 

full-time reporters to cover the World 

Cup, as does the Los Angeles Times. The 

World Cup is like the Olympics. Those in 

the United States who do not follow the 

MLS still follow the World Cup. 

That sounds like progress, but it also 

shows no more than a sporadic success of 

the sport in this country. Every four years, 

the circus is in town, and everyone goes to 

see it. When the circus is gone, so is the 

interest. 

That’s true, but changing. The MLS 

is changing it. For sure, there still isn’t 

much discussion when the Revs play the 

Dynamo. The Revolution will not rival 

the Red Sox, not in our lifetime. The Revs 

don’t have the same history, but they 

A sport that was not successful in entering the sports 

space during the late 19th and early 20th centuries 

would find no room later within the culture. 

produce pretty good attendance overall. 

And the Boston Globe covers the team 

very well; the paper has a real beat-writer 

and that’s what’s needed: daily coverage. 

Fox Soccer Net has 750,000 viewers, 

not close to a NFL broadcast, for sure. 

But there is a ripple effect, and here is an 

indicator: On ESPN’s SportsCenter, at the 

end of their top-10 list, they now include 

some marvelous soccer goal, rarely from 

MLS but the viewers get to see a spectacular 

score. 

Equally important is the fact that 

sports journalists are learning “soccer 

language” and using it. Here is the golden 

key for soccer to become in our lifetime 

what hockey is now: no way close to 

the big three sports, but a real presence. 

People talk about it – the radio guy about 

who should play up front. The next step 

would be cars driving around Kalamazoo 

with a Fire flag on their car. This will 

happen, but only this way: the national 

men’s team either wins a World Cup or 

plays a glorious semifinal and loses to 

Germany, 3-4, in a great match that gets 

tremendous coverage and two U.S. players 

become super-stars, soccer personalities 

who are recognized worldwide. 


Fortunately, MLS knows what it is 

doing. They are in for the long haul, and 

they understand soccer is a global sport. 

Beckham will be a plus and should have 

a better season. He has already gotten a 

lot of headlines in the States and overseas 

while hardly playing last season. 

In your book, you write about American 

“exceptionalism” in areas other than soccer. 

Please explain. 

It is a very Eurocentric view of U.S. 

history; the Germans call it “Sonderweg.” 

Among other things, the United States 

developed much less through state development, 

much more through markets; 

the country never had to rebel against 

a king; it was the first republic. It also 

developed religion differently, as well as 

the relationship between state and society. 

The United States is the only advanced 

industrial society with no major socialist 

party. It’s because in the United States the 

ties to ethnicity are stronger than class. 

In Europe, a person identified himself as 

a worker in those formative years, in the 

United States as a Pole, for instance. 

So there are many dimensions in which 

the United States developed differently 

from Europe, and the status of soccer here 

is part of this overall “exceptionalism.” The 

United States created its own sports, apart 

from the rest of the world, at the same time 

that soccer emerged in Britain. 

What kind of reception has your book 

received 

It has gotten some great reviews. The 

best actually came out in Germany, and 

there were very positive assessments in the 

scholarly literature. The soccer community 

here also embraced it; there was a special 

presentation at the National Soccer Hall of 

Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. Gerard Houllier, 

former Liverpool coach, sent me a handwritten 

note – on Liverpool stationery! 

– about how much he loved the book. 

Soccer is played everywhere. What features 

have made it the global sport 

That’s a tough one. Look, it’s a simple 

sport. We could move the tables out of the 

way here, put down cups as goalposts and 

have a one-on-one. It is truly a “democratic” 

game. You don’t have to be particularly big 

or tall or fast. You don’t have to be anything 

particular. Look at some of the soccer greats 

of the past: Pelé, Maradona, George Best. 

Why isn’t rugby the global sport Well, 

rugby rules are much more complex, and 

the game requires considerable strength. 

Beckenbauer could not have been a rugby 

player. 

Finally, what is your formula for soccer 

to succeed as a spectator sport in this 

country What does the future look like 

for soccer 

Unlike food and music, a team sport 

cannot be transplanted that easily. There 

are hopeful signs, as mentioned, such as 

soccer on ESPN’s SportsCenter. A solid 

showing soon in a World Cup, let’s say 

by 2018, will be critical. I hope FIFA will 

decide to have it in the USA. When guy 

one says to guy two at the water cooler, 

“Should Donovan play outside mid or 

as a striker” we will be witnessing the 

beginning of a soccer culture. 

The Coach Emeritus at Kalamazoo 

College in Kalamazoo, Mich., Hardy 

Fuchs conducted this exclusive interview 

for Soccer Journal. He is a frequent 

contributor to the magazine and can be 

reached at fuchs@kzoo.edu. 


Focus: Coaching ✪ Ages: U-15 and above 

Team Notebooks 

Writing to the Next Level: Part 2 

By Richard Kent, Ph.D. 

University of Maine 

Part I of this series on team notebooks introduced the first two 

sections of a basic notebook. Those two sections of a player’s notebook 

included: 

• Pre-Season Thoughts: Guides players in thinking about the previous 

season and the coming season. Players write about their 

preparation and goals for the season. 

• Match Analysis I: Guides players in reflecting on a match. 

As explained in Part I, these notebooks provide players a place to 

reflect, analyze and set goals. This article focuses on the next three 

sections of team notebooks, including the Match Analysis II, Post- 

Season Thoughts, and Player’s Notes. 

Match Analysis II (MAII) 

Have you ever shown a match film to your team and then 

during the discussion have only a few of your veteran players 

participate This section of the Team Notebook (Figure 1) 

guides all players and coaches in thinking about a match they 

have watched as a team. Used as a learning tool, the Match 

Analysis II (MAII) frontloads team discussions and adds to a 

player’s emerging picture of that next level of play. Here are 

some ways of using the MAII with your team: 

• Next Level Matches: When middle schoolers attend a high 

school match or when a college team attends a professional 

match, players may use the MAII to help unpack a match. 

• Tournaments: During a tournament, select one match to 

observe and write about. You may wish to choose a match 

that features a team (or teams) you play during the regular 

season or may play in post-season. If a particularly dynamic 

team is participating, one that your side never will play, you 

may want to select that match for the pure learning value. 

Jonathan’s analysis in Figure 1 includes one team from our 

own high school conference. 

• First Team-Second Team: Your club or school may field first 

and second teams. Once a season the first team could watch 

and analyze the second team’s match using the MAII. The 

second team should have the same opportunity. 

The following is a team discussion activity called “Listening 

In” that takes place in a training session after a first team-second 

team match: 

Falcon Soccer 

Match Analysis II by: Jonathan 

Fill out the following for matches that we watch together as a team. 

Defenders: 

Moved well together. 

Defenders: 

Seemed spacey. Lost track of 

play. 

Team #1: FHS 

Alignment of Players: 

(e.g. 4-4-2, 4-3-3) 

4-4-2 

Strengths: 

Outside midfielders made great 

runs 

Weaknesses: 

They seemed to relax when they 

were up 2-0. 

Halftime Adjustments: 

None They came out flat. 

Over-confident. 

Forwards: 

Fast 

Midfielders: 

Athletic 

Team #2: THS 

General Comments: 

Alignment of Players: 

(e.g. 4-4-2, 4-3-3) 

4-4-2 1st half 

4-3-3 2nd half 

Strengths: 

Individual players: Center Mid 

and Sweep 

Weaknesses: 

Young. Didn’t use space 

well. 

Halftime Adjustments: 

Went to a 4-3-3- to get more 

targets up front. 

Forwards: 

Lacked movement. 

Midfielders: 

Lost composure – their talk was 

not constructive. 

Keeper: 

Confident – great technique 

– team leader. 

Team #1 Man of the Match: 

Why 

#6 – left mid. His runs through 

the D opened up huge space. He 

always encouraged his mates. 

He’s the kind of player I’d like 

to be. Great goal. 

Keeper: 

Poor positioning. No talk. Cried 

after second goal. 

Team #2 Man of the Match: 

Why 

Sweeper – he kept his cool. 

It’s not easy managing younger 

players. 

Moment of the Match: 

#6’s run through the D and his one-touch to the near post. Sweet 

String Music! Magic! 

Final Analysis: 

Think as a coach about team strengths (e.g. athleticism, speed, coaching, motivation/heart) and/or weaknesses. 

What adjustments might you have made to either team if you were the team’s coach 

THS needed to work on the simple things: move to space and play 

the way you face. They were a lot younger than FHS and just 

needed to try to play within themselves. It’s like you told us over 

the last two years. Play the fundamentals – it’s a simple game so 

keep it that way. As for FHS, they didn’t stay focused for the 

whole match. Their coach needed to teach, not yell – the guy 

embarrassed himself. 

Figure 1 – Jonathan’s Match Analysis II (front and back) 



Listening In 

• The team that observed the match separates into groups of 

forwards, midfielders and defenders/keepers. Players discuss 

the match for 10 to 15 minutes using their individual MAII 

as guides. 

• The coach calls the three groups together and leads them in 

a discussion about the match they observed. 

• The team that played in the match sits outside the discussion 

and listens in. Those players may wish to take notes in their 

team notebook while listening. 

• After the discussion, the team that listened leaves to discuss 

their match using both their observation notes from the discussion 

and their Match Analysis I sheets. 

The rules of “Listening In” are clear-cut: Players analyzing 

the match are cautioned not to single out one player’s performance, 

good or bad, or to critique the coach. The team being 

critiqued listens in and is not allowed to speak. The activity 

demands maturity and trust. 

Another use for Match Analysis II is during film sessions: 

Whether using your own match films or World Cup selections, the 

MAII provides a mechanism for all players to reflect on a match. 

After the film, give players a few minutes to write the analysis. To 

change it up a bit, you may wish to group players by positions or 

year in school. Ask them to fill out one MAII as a group. 

The MAII became especially useful on my travel teams. After 

attending professional matches in England, players would talk 

through the match on the tube (subway) and spend time in 

their rooms writing analyses. Later, we would sit in a hallway 

or hotel lobby to discuss the match. More than several times 

Londoners who heard our conversation joined in. Any coach or 

soccer fan would have enjoyed being a part of those deliberations; 

notebook analyses always raise the level of conversation 

and ratchet up the learning. As a bonus, spirited discussions 

with hometown supporters create lifelong memories. 

Post-Season Reflections 

This end-of-the-season section promotes closure, assists 

players in setting preliminary goals for the off-season and helps 

coaches think about the next season. If you conduct post-season 

debriefing sessions with individual athletes, the sheets help 

guide these discussions. 

Jonathan’s Post-Season Reflection (Figure 2) reveals his 

growth: “This year I really felt like I led the team.” And he had. 

Through his play, Jonathan emerged as an on-field captain even 

though he did not wear the armband. The next season, his 

senior year, he would captain our side. 

During our debriefing session, we spoke about his need 

to earn money for college; that discussion led us to talk about 

his potential for playing beyond high school. We reviewed the 

winter indoor season and discussed recruiting players. Jonathan 

was acutely aware of the value of indoor play in the off-season. 

Another discussion point focused on Jonathan’s perceived 

weakness in dealing with players who “make excuses and 

whine about everything.” 

Player’s Notes 

The pages of this section prove to be more useful if the 

outline of a pitch is photocopied on them. This way, a player 

Falcon Soccer 

Post-Season Reflections by: Jonathan 

3 My strengths this season as a player: 

Last year I felt like I directed the defense pretty well. This year I 

really felt like I led the team. It’s such a cool feeling to be able to 

“orchestrate” (thanks for the word) an attack. I saw the full field 

– I knew what to say and how to say it – I felt confident on the 

ball – I loved the one-on-one moments with great players. Ryan 

and I worked well together. 

3 My weaknesses this season as a player: 

– I made some bad decisions during matches and I let those decisions 

get to me. I pouted during the Winthrop match after I got 

toasted. – The last 15 minutes or in OT, sometimes I felt tired. 

Like you said, I need to think about preserving energy. – I just 

don’t like players who make excuses and whine about everything. I 

have to learn to talk with them better. 

3 In the off-season here’s what I plan to do to improve as a player for 

the next season: 

Train! I’ve got the whole year planned and I’ll show it to you in 

our debrief. I’m playing indoor with Central. Ryan and I designed 

a weight program – we’re going to be HUGE! Summer camp to be 

sure. I’ll co-coach community center soccer – I have to work more 

hours this summer – College $$$$. 

Figure 2 – Jonathan’s 

Post-Season Reflection 

(front and back) 

3 When I review the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the 

season in my notebook, here’s how I think I did: 

I wrote about talk, composure and leadership on and off the pitch. 

I feel good about everything except off-field leadership. I have to 

learn to talk with kids who aren’t into it. They just bug me. 

3 This year our team strengths included: 

– We had good movement off the ball 

– Good talk 

– Positive attitude 

– Seniors 

– Great pregame, good stretching 

– Making the finals and playing tough. 

3 This year our team weaknesses included: 

– Seniors - haha, just kidding. I’ll miss them. 

– Maybe we’re too polite sometimes. I know – we’ll have to talk 

about this one. 

– Playing quicker...that will come with age. 

3 Here’s how I’m doing in my classes this season: 

Classes 

How I’m doing 

Pre-Calculus 

B (I’ll get an A 2nd Qtr.) 

Physics B+ 

Writing Center English A (This class is easy. Ha!) 

US History 

A 

Psychology 

A 

3 Other thoughts: 

How about a 2-day minicamp in preseason at the lake Ryan 

and I will organize it. It’ll be great for getting everybody together. 

Thanks for everything, Coach. See you in English! 


could design a free kick, sketch an opposing team’s goal-scoring 

attack or take notes. Here are three examples for utilizing 

Player’s Notes: 

• While watching the Premier League’s Goal of the Week Virtual 

Replay (www.premierleague.com), ask players to take 

notes on the five goals of the week. Direct them to identify 

defensive lapses or diagram the attack to point out what 

makes the build-up and resulting goal special. This writing 

activity gets every player involved and serves to prepare 

players more thoroughly for team discussions. End the session 

by voting on the goal of the week. 

• At the halfway point of your regular season, after playing 

every opponent once, ask your players to create an all-star 

team selected from league opponents (do not include your 

own players on this list). Use the following sequence: 

o Provide your players with a list of the starting 11 from 

each league opponent (it’d be best if you printed their 

names and numbers on a pitch in their starting positions). 

o Ask players to select their all-star starting 11, list the 

player’s attributes below their names, and sketch-out the 

all-star team on a Player’s Notes page. 

o Ask your forwards, midfielders and defenders to come to 

consensus on an all-star team. 

o Share the lists with the rest of the team. 

o Using the lists, discuss the candidates and come to a consensus 

of a final league all-star team. 

This exercise begins with an individual player’s thinking, 

moves to small-group discussions and ends up in a full-team 

dialogue. Such a progression creates a unique training session. 

It helps players think about the qualities and skills of next-level 

players and heightens awareness of power players on other 

teams. As they think about all-star players and review your 

first-half matches, your team members are preparing themselves 

for the season’s second half. 

After explaining a new concept to your team (e.g., zonal defense 

of 3-5-2), give players a few minutes to write about the concept 

as a way to gauge their understanding. You might suggest that 

the players write as if explaining the concept to a less-experienced 

player (e.g., college players write to high school players). Next, 

have your players read and discuss their writing with a partner 

– usually, if there’s any confusion, it’ll surface during this time. 

Part III of Team Notebooks (in the next issue): Writing to 

the Next Level will feature additional sections that coaches 

could add to the basic team notebook. The educational theories 

and research that support the use of team notebooks will be 

highlighted in the final article as well as an FAQ section. 

Editor’s note: Richard Kent is an assistant professor of literacy and 

director of the National Writing Project site at the University of Maine. 

A soccer and ski coach for three decades, Kent researches writing to 

learn in athletics and serves as a consultant to athletes, coaches, and 

teams. A National Educator Award recipient, Kent is the author of 

seven books. He may be reached at rich.kent@maine.edu. 



Techniques for Managing 

STRESS in Football 

By Kimberlee Bethany, 

David W. Eccles and 

Gershon Tenenbaum 

This article was extracted from Insight Journal, 

The FA’s Coaches Association technical coaching 

journal. For overseas membership check out 

Insight Live, the online coaching resource providing 

discussion forums, voting, plus access to all the 

same valuable coaching content including, audio 

interviews, coaching vacancies industry updates, 

sports science articles and of course Insight Journal 

and its archive stretching back some 30 years! 

http://insightlive.thefa.com. 

Stress is a part of football, for players 

and for coaches, both on and off the field. 

Stress matters because it makes an impact 

on performance. With too much stress, performance 

disintegrates – a player suffering 

from either fear or anxiety is more prone 

to technical mistakes and judgment errors. 

With too little stress, though, performance 

also diminishes – a completely relaxed 

player may be overconfident, lacking in 

motivation and insufficiently aroused to 

notice critical cues on the field. 

All players have what has become 

known as an “Individual Zone of Optimal 

Functioning” (IZOF). Their IZOF is 

the level of stress that produces the best 

performance. Getting to know players and 

assessing their stress reactivity can help 

coaches figure out how to approach their 

players. Before the match, some players will 

need relaxation, while others will need a 

little fear and fire. Likewise, getting to know 

yourself and figuring out your peak level 

of stress (the level of arousal at which you 

are most aware and best at decision making) 

will help you improve your coaching 

performance. However, understanding the 

implications of stress and figuring out the 

IZOF for yourself and each of your players 

won’t, on their own, make an impact on 

your practice sessions and the outcome of 

a match. You need to know how to get into 

and stay in this zone by learning how to 

manage your stress. You also need to know 

how to get back into the zone if you suddenly 

find yourself too hyped or too lackluster. 

Stress-management training should 

be an integral part of any training program. 

Defining Stress 

Several terms are associated with stress, 

but mean slightly different things – arousal, 

stress, fear and anxiety. It’s helpful to distinguish 

among them to understand more 

about how we function under stress. 

• Arousal is basic and physiological 

– your heart racing, your breath quickening, 

an increase in sweat. Arousal 

is about your body and its physical 

reactions – you have the same rush of 

pulse, breath and sweat across situations 

as varied as a fistfight, a roller 

coaster ride and a romantic encounter. 

• Stress is the emotional way in which 

you interpret your body’s arousal, and 

may be categorized as either eustress 

or distress. 

o Eustress is positive stress – the excitement 

of the opening match of the 

season, the flurry of emotions after a 

match-winning kick, the high of an 

after-victory party. 

o Distress is negative stress – the knot 

in your throat after making an error 

that costs your team a match, a 

churning stomach when you’re not 

sufficiently prepared for your opponent, 

the sweaty palms when you’re 

unsure of your next move. 

• Fear – When your distress is in reaction 

to a real threat to well-being 

(for instance, the horror of seeing an 

opponent’s spikes slam into your star 

player’s knee), you experience the concrete 

reaction of fear. 

• Anxiety – When your distress is in reaction 

to an imagined or anticipated 

threat (for instance, worry about a potential 

loss in a championship match), 

you experience the vague reaction of 

anxiety. 

Figuring out the IZOF 

Essentially, there are two main components 

to consider when evaluating how 

much stress is the right amount. First, 

you want to evaluate how much arousal 

you are feeling (what is the physiological 

reaction – heart rate, sweating, etc.). Second, 

you want to evaluate how pleasant 

the feeling is. Does it feel bad (distress) or 

good (eustress) 

· High arousal with low pleasure is bad. 

That’s watching your star player’s knee 

blown out. 

· Low arousal with low pleasure also is 

bad. Think about Friday afternoon before 

a holiday, the last hour before you 

can leave the desk behind for a full 

week, and how slowly the clock ticks. 

· Low arousal and high pleasure is a 

wonderful thing – like the soft lull of 

a massage or relaxing on a tropical 

beach with a fruity rum concoction in 

your hand. However, this is not the 

best state of mind for sport (except, 

perhaps, for golfers who need to relax 

into their swing or rifle marksmen who 

need their hands to be perfectly still). 

For football players, the best level of 

stress is likely to be the kind that is both 

high arousal and high pleasure – excitement 

coursing through your blood, your 

heart pounding furiously and all the 

while you’re enjoying every moment. 

Simple common sense tells us that the 

best stress is the kind under which you 

– and your players – perform the best. 

You have to become a keen observer: On 

matches at home when the stadium is 

packed with roaring fans and the pressure 

to achieve is high, which players perform 

the best At away matches during the 

beginning of the season when the stakes 

are low and there are fewer people watching, 

who dominates on the pitch Do you 

make better decisions about the match 

plan if you’ve just come from a relaxing 

cup of tea, or if you hang up the mobile 

phone from an argument with someone 

just as you pull into the club car park 

Be systematic – try to use a diary to 

evaluate yourself and every player on 

your team throughout several practices 



and matches. Talk to your players about 

what you’re doing – make sure they 

understand that this evaluation will not 

determine when, if or how they play, but 

rather how you approach them. You don’t 

want the process of learning about your 

players’ ideal stress levels to create even 

more stress. Explain at a team meeting 

that you’re trying to get a better grasp on 

ideal conditions for everyone, and that 

you’ll be asking them to tell you how 

aroused they feel (zero, ready to go to 

sleep, through 10, coursing with electricity) 

and how pleasant the arousal is (zero, 

absolutely unpleasant, through 10, the 

most enjoyable experience possible). 

Once they learn how to answer quickly, 

you can have a staff assistant ask them 

for their stress levels at intervals such as 

water breaks, during stretching, in between 

running laps. You then will record how 

they report they feel, as well as your own 

observations about how they are behaving 

(fidgeting, sweating before the match 

starts and little tics like continually running 

fingers through hair can be indicators that a 

player is feeling stress). 

Include performance assessments in the 

diary, then look for patterns. Perhaps one 

player makes more goals when his numbers 

are 5 and 5, whereas another plays better 

defensively when her numbers are 8 and 

4. The pattern will be different for every 

player and each member of your coaching 

staff. The individualized information will 

help develop personalized plans for achieving 

peak performance. 

Stress Management 

Techniques for Sport 

Once you’ve figured out your zone 

of optimal functioning, you need a plan 

to train for it, just as you train for every 

other aspect of the match. Your stressmanagement-for-sport 

plan needs to include 

two things: short-term techniques 

that help immediately manage stress; and 

long-range activities that help you learn 

ways to cope with stress and achieve peak 

levels of arousal. Short-term techniques 

may make an immediate impact on 

performance, but to really improve your 

game, (you guessed it) you have to practice. 

The skillful use of stress management, 

like any other component of sport, 

requires consistent training. Three simple 

stress management techniques that can 

have an immediate effect are lists, reframing 

and thought stopping. 

• Lists: The reason that lists are effective is 

because they free up mental space. Imagine 

that on your way to practice, you 

are worrying over your daughter’s new 

boyfriend, your conflict with another 

member of the coaching staff and the 15 

errands you have to do before heading 

home. If you try to manage the practice 

session while thoughts clutter your head, 

you will have only half your mental 

“space” available. This may seriously affect 

your work. On the other hand, if 

you have a pen and paper in your car, 

you can write down every worry you 

have and every task you have left to accomplish. 

You then can clear your mind 

completely, knowing that the list is safely 

awaiting your return. You can head to 

practice with 100 percent mental space 

available. If you have players that tend 

to perform more poorly when they are 

experiencing other stressors, you might 

give the players notebooks and pens and 

make list-writing a normal pre-practice 

activity. 

• Reframing: Reframing is another stressmanaging 

technique that can be done 

by the coach, who tries to change the 

perspective on a situation in order to 

reduce its stress-inducing potential. Just 

as people look different when they are 

in their workout kit versus when they 

are in evening clothes, thoughts “look” 

different when they are placed in a different 

“frame.” For instance, imagine the 

middle of a rainy, muddy match when 

you are two goals down. Your players are 

discouraged and ready to give up and accept 

a loss. Using reframing, you would 

imagine that the opponents are going to 

get lazy and that you will have an easy 

victory. Your job is to capitalize on their 

poor judgment, play your hardest and 

smartest and bring about a crowd-pleasing 

turnaround. It’s the same picture, but 

with a different frame – everything looks 

different. Reframing can take a bit of 

practice, but it can make a world of difference 

– the difference between success 

and failure isn’t the situation, but how 

you approach it. To learn reframing and 

teach it to your players, start with small 

tasks – straightening out a disorganized 

locker could be a disgusting task, or a 

chance for a player to clean up and learn 

a little about discipline. 

• Thought stopping: Thought stopping 

works in the heat of the moment, when 

you don’t have time to pull out paper 

and pen for a list and when reframing 

would take too much effort. Imagine the 

middle of a practice and you’re working 

with the goalkeeper on his defensive 

The skillful use of stress management, 

like any other component of sport, 

requires consistent training. 

technique. He is getting frustrated by the 

problems he is experiencing in changing 

his technique and beginning to “talk 

back.” Before getting angry at his insubordination 

and wasting a few minutes of 

valued practice time, you imagine a big 

red stop sign and think “Stop!” You can 

teach your players to try the technique 

whenever unwanted thoughts attempt 

to steamroll the task at hand. If a player 

with a tendency to self-doubt finds herself 

questioning her ability in the middle 

of a match, she pulls out her stop sign 

and gets back on task. Although thought 

stopping generally is an individual technique, 

it also can work for maintaining 

focus in groups. A “group stop” might 

come in handy if one team member has 

a tendency to start to talk pessimistically 

when the team goes two down. Another 

team member can give a simple stop 

before everyone else gets caught in the 

pessimism. However, make sure you explain 

that thought stopping is for critical 

events, in order to get back on task. The 

stop should be short, neutral and nonjudgmental. 

Don’t allow it to be used 

for censorship or exclusion – it should 

be a technique for helping maintain the 

team’s productivity. 



Relaxation and 

Mindfulness Practices 

Relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness 

practices, body work and progressive 

relaxation, may ease stress levels, but 

are more fully experienced as part of a 

long-term plan. 

• Mindfulness Practices (such as yoga, 

meditation, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique 

and martial arts) are useful for 

improving stress-management skills over 

time. These practices help you achieve 

greater control in reacting to events in 

your life. For instance, in one form of 

meditation, called Anapana meditation, 

you sit completely still, in silence, and 

focus on the sensations of your nose. You 

feel the tingling at the tip of your nose, 

the rush of air into your nostrils, the 

flow of exhalation onto the skin below 

your nose. If your low back twinges from 

sitting, or your ear itches, or your knee 

begins to ache, you do not allow yourself 

to become aware of these sensations, and 

you return all your focus to your nose. 

The purpose of Anapana meditation is to 

teach you that you are entirely in control 

of your awareness. While meditating, 

you choose to focus 100 percent of your 

attention on your nose; in a match, you’ll 

use that same ability to focus entirely on 

the task at hand, in spite of the noise of 

the spectators, the drizzle of rain or the 

taunts of the opposing team’s players and 

fans. All forms of mindfulness practice 

are intended to help achieve a sense of 

control. Consequently, they can improve 

the ability to make clear, rational decisions 

under pressure. 

• Body work. Because a great deal of stress 

is experienced physiologically (e.g., tension 

in muscles), body work can be an 

important component of a long-term 

stress management plan. When you are 

stressed, your muscle tension increases. 

Therefore, learning to recognize the 

feelings of muscular tension can help 

you learn to recognize the experience 

of stress. Massage therapy can help the 

body recover from the ongoing effects 

of stress. Massage therapy also can be 

informative, because after a session you 

are able to feel the physical differences in 

your body. Perhaps after a massage you 

do not have the usual ache in your low 

back or thumping in your temples. If 

you feel these sensations returning, you 

can recognize the onset of stress and take 

action to manage it. Massage therapists 

also will be able to point out where you 

experience muscular tension and thus 

increase your body awareness. 

• Progressive Relaxation (PR) can be a useful 

group exercise to practice with your 

players in order to help them learn how 

to distinguish between tense muscles and 

relaxed muscles. To use PR with your 

players, first ask them to lie down on the 

floor in a cool, dim room. Instruct your 

players: “Beginning with your left foot, 

clench the toes as tightly as you can. Feel 

the muscles tense and contract. Hold 

them tighter and tighter.” After about 

10 seconds of tension, instruct them to 

release and relax the left foot completely. 

Continue on through the body – the 

right foot, each calf, each thigh, each 

side of the buttocks. Continue up to the 

abdominal muscles, the lower back, the 

upper back, the shoulders, each hand, 

each forearm, each upper arm, the neck, 

the muscles of the face. Then, instruct 

them to first tighten and then relax the 

upper body, then the lower body and finally 

the entire body. At the end, tell the 

players: “Feel completely relaxed, having 

released every bit of tension out of your 

bodies. Let your entire body sink into 

the floor.” The entire process should take 

about 15 to 20 minutes, and you should 

provide a few minutes of total body relaxation 

at the end. This exercise enables 

your players to physically experience the 

difference between muscular tension and 

muscular relaxation and provides them 

with a practical strategy for creating 

either muscular tension or relaxation as 

dictated by the situation. Once the technique 

is learned, players can do a quick 

one-minute relaxation when challenged 

by stress. 

Turning Stress Up 

Sometimes you will need to increase 

arousal levels to maximize performance. 

Use any strategy that will increase heart 

rate, breathing rate, sweating and adrenaline. 

Pump loud, stimulating music into 

the locker room (or through headphones, 

if you are trying to meet the needs of 

players with differing IZOFs). You can 

have players engage in quick bursts of 

aerobic exercise pre-match to get heart 

and breathing rates up. Give loud, energetic 

pep talks in the last few minutes 

before the match. Pay attention to which 

preparatory activities seem to increase 

energy in your players and do them right 

before the match to boost arousal levels. 

The Final Score 

You need a four-step plan: (1) watch 

yourself and your players to determine 

the conditions under which you and they 

perform optimally (the IZOFs); (2) learn 

stress management techniques that can 

help you re-create those conditions on 

demand; (3) practice and use the techniques 

regularly so they become a solid 

part of your skill set; and then (4) forget 

everything and just play (which is easy if 

your stress-management skills have been 

learned well). You certainly don’t need 

to add to your stress levels by worrying 

about your stress-management plan. 

Further Reading 

Davis, M., McKay, M., & Robbins, E. 

(2000). The relaxation and stress reduction 

workbook, 5th ed. Oakland, 

Calif.: New Harbinger Publications 

Kornfield, J. (2001). Meditation for beginners 

(Audio CD). Louisville, Colo.: 

Sounds True. 

Pargman, D. (2006). Managing performance 

stress: Models and methods. 

New York: Rutledge. 

Editor’s note: Kimberlee Bethany is completing 

a doctorate at Florida State University 

that involves researching the impact of yoga on 

psychological health and undertakes sport psychology 

consultancy with university and other 

athletes. She is certified as a fitness instructor, 

personal trainer and yoga instructor and has 

taught yoga, meditation and stress-management 

workshops for more than 10 years. 

Dr. David Eccles is an assistant professor 

at the Learning Systems Institute and the 

Department of Educational Psychology and 

Learning Systems, Florida State University. 

He has published in the areas of expertise 

and skill acquisition. He is an accredited 

sport psychologist with the British Association 

of Sport and Exercise Sciences and 

served as the sport psychologist to the Welsh 

Canoeing Association from 1998 to 2001. 

Professor Gershon Tenenbaum is Benjamin 

S. Bloom Professor of Sport and Exercise 

Psychology at the Department of Educational 

Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida 

State University. He is a past president of the 

International Society of Sport Psychology and 

currently editor of the International Journal 

of Sport and Exercise Psychology. He has 

published extensively in the areas of emotion, 

cognition and expertise. 



COMMUNICATIONS 

Soccer 

I noticed in your September/October 

2007 issue some “facts and figures” about 

the game of soccer (“Facts and Figures 

About the Game,” Soccer Shorts), and as 

I believe that some of these figures may 

have originated with me, I would like to 

dispel a few and put them in context. 

First, I think it foolhardy and even 

dangerous for a coach or coaching organization 

to hand out figures like this 

without any explanation or qualification. 

The coach is a coach – he is not an 

analyst. An analyst is not a coach, and he 

has to respect that and that he has nothing 

to do with the players. Each will have 

a different perspective. 

There seems to be an attitude in soccer 

that figures happen somewhere to 

someone else but do not affect us. So it is 

vital that an analyst instills in his coach 

complete confidence that these figures 

are the absolute truth through sound and 

considered measurement and checked 

and rechecked by sufficient data. Furthermore, 

the analyst must convey that 

the figures project what will happen to 

his team however he plays and at whatever 

level regardless of whether he has his 

possessions counted or not. 

Some of the figures quoted are misleading, 

and some to my reckoning are 

not correct. 

I believe some of the figures could 

have come from a sheet I gave to a coach 

that is now working for an association 

and that employed me briefly when he 

was in charge of a league team in 1987- 

88. I have written to him about figures 

that appear in magazines because to my 

belief and experience, they are based on 

an insufficient sample. It is vital to take a 

sufficient sample of games before drawing 

any conclusions. 

The first thing I discovered when I 

started soccer-performance analysis in the 

late 1960s and early 1970s was that skill 

is the property of the individual, but the 

pattern of the 11 against 11 is controlled 

by chance, and chance over a sufficient 

number of games evens out to provide 

Facts and Figures 

rates that will occur the same at every 

level of the game. Some of these rates of 

success will be near constant and proven 

mathematically at the highest level to occur 

again and again. 

Near constants are laws of chance that 

apply to any and every team everywhere 

at every level and, what is more important, 

however they play. 

Other factors can be made to increase 

or decrease according to one’s team method, 

and it is important to understand the 

difference (no explanation was given in 

the figures quoted!). Nothing averages 

out over a single game. Some factors 

might take 12 games, other factors might 

take a season, and some factors might 

take several seasons before they can are 

considered undisputed knowledge. Long 

consecutive runs of matches for the same 

team are vital, and where games are taken 

at random, it should be noted. 

In the paper that I read on Skill and 

Chance in Soccer at the Fifth World 

Congress of Science and Football in 

Eindhoven in 2003, near constant laws of 

chance in that paper were corroborated 

by hand noting every single possession 

that led up to the scoring of more than 

2,000 goals. 

We all have heard the adage, “When 

you have one foot in the freezer and one 

foot in the fire, you are okay on average.” 

A sample of only two is clearly insufficient 

to support an average. 

The findings that I talk of are based 

Journal will periodically 

print responses to previous articles 

in order to provide members other 

opinions. We welcome your contributions. 

Please send them to Editor 

Jay Martin at jamartin@owu.edu. 

on hand-recording every possession for 

each team in more than 4,000 games. I 

often have had the experience of sitting 

next to a team coach on the long journey 

home. He tries to see things from my perspective, 

and I try to see things from his. 

We then apply our experiences to “team,” 

each respecting the other’s differing views 

and working to the end of “Advantageous 

Team Method” in pursuit of keeping as 

high a framework of probability at all 

times possible. I believe that when you 

We all have heard the adage, “When you have 

one foot in the freezer and one foot in the fire, 

you are okay on average.” A sample of only two 

is clearly insufficient to support an average. 

sit in the stands and write down every 

possession by hand, you see and virtually 

kick every ball and that leads to a 

different experience compared with those 

who merely print off video summaries. 

Experience teaches wisdom, and experience 

sticks in the mind, not handouts. 

I would like to take these figures one 

at a time. Some are interesting but useless; 

others are not worded in an accurate 

manner to give knowledge, and others 

are just incorrect. 

First, each team has an average of 240 

possessions per game. In leagues such as 

Serie A and for some international teams, 

there have been as few as 180 to 200 

possessions per game; yet., in some of 

the lower English leagues where winning 

is more important than aesthetics and 

soccer is played competitively all over 

the pitch, I have recorded games of 320 

possessions. My standard assumption is 

240 possessions for each team per match, 

but what is more interesting is when we 


look at the possessions taken per goal (as 

opposed to per match). 

It is here that we find this does not 

vary. At all levels, there will be about 180 

possessions won and lost back per goal 

that is scored for us. This also will apply 

to our opposition. 

There are 180 possessions lost per 

goal for the average team. Soccer is 

therefore a 1 in 180 risk business. This 

gives us 1.3 goals per team per match on 

average and 1.3 scored against. 

Now to check that what I have said 

is correct, refer to your league tables for 

the last full season and you will see if 

you average all of the goals that there will 

be a near constant of 1.3 goals per team 

scored on average – 2.6 goals per game 

more or less. 

The team at the top probably will win 

the league with an average of about 1.8 

goals for and 0.8 goals against – still adding 

up to 2.6 goals per match. 

This is done simply by losing fewer 

possessions per goal (and to do that by 

using more of those possessions with the 

best rate of scoring and less of those with 

disadvantageous rates and making the 

opposition do this in reverse). If there 

are 240 possessions in a match and we 

score two goals on average, to do this we 

will need to get our lost possessions/goal 

down to 120. This in turn will make the 

opposition take theirs up to somewhere 

in the region of 280, because the average 

over the two teams still will be in the 

region of 180 (see my 1991 paper for the 

averaging process). 

It is as simple as that, but it is done 

with players, and it is the management 

of those players into advantageous team 

method using their individual skills 

putting the movement of the team of 11 

together as one that brings success. 

If one uses disadvantageous team 

method, one can handicap the talent of 

the individual. A player is only as important 

as his contribution to the team (this 

to the effect of bringing down the average 

number of lost possessions per goal). 

The statement, “Two thirds (66 

percent) of the game is 0 passes,” is 

incorrect, inappropriately worded and 

misleading. 

Regarding item 10 – “an average of 

6.5 ‘reaches’ is needed to produce a shot” 

– I ridicule this figure as totally inaccurate. 

When I worked for this coach in 

1987, I gave this figure to him. It had 

TABLE 1 

Rate of Total All All Possessions Lost 

Total Strike Rate Final Third Final Third Short of Final Total All 

Goals Shots/Goal Possessions/Goal Possessions/Shots Third/Goal Possessions/Goal 

1,820 8.57 x 10.53 = 89.01 + 91.22 = 180.23 

TABLE 2 

Rate of Total All All Possessions Lost 

Total Strike Rate Final Third Final Third Short of Final Total All 

Goals Shots/Goal Possessions/Goal Possessions/Shots Third/Goal Possessions/Goal 

312 9.99 x 9.00 = 89.91 + 85.77 = 175.68 

been handed onto me by Charles Reep 

(who originated the team reacher in the 

1950s). However, the figure of 1 in 6.5 

final third possessions per goal is out of 

date. I later discovered that Reep had 

based it on only 25 matches that he analyzed 

for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 

1953-54. It is totally out of date. The correct 

figures should be 1 in 9/10 and will 

vary according to the number of shots 

that the relevant team has taken per goal. 

What should be understood is that all 

teams on average will have taken about 

90 final third attacks (reachers) to score 

a goal. Add 90 possessions lost short of 

the final third, and that equals 180 lost 

possessions per goal. 

Lest anyone doubt what I say, this 

was the conclusion of my 2003 paper. It 

took all 328,018 hand-noted possessions, 

leading to 1,820 English League goals 

and I entitled it the Three Stages of Rate 

(Table 1). 

I furthermore proved that it applied at 

every level by taking 312 goals scored in 

International matches (Table 2). 

I did not include in this short runs such 

as the 10 games that I did for Arsenal in the 

1987-88 year they won the League Cup as 

an insufficient sample. 

Do you not find the effect of chance 

upon the game uncanny When Copernicus 

said that “man’s movements are 

governed by mathematical principles” was 

he ever right 

When Howard Hughes (labelled an eccentric 

by some) said “I am interested in what 

makes the sun get up tomorrow morning 

whereas most people are interested in their 

fellow man.” He certainly was right. 

The best coach that I worked for would 

discuss at the start of every season every 

possession on the field, both dead ball and 

in free play and what and where he wanted 

his players to be at that time. Having 

discussed it with his assistant, he would ask 

me, “How does that fit in with the figures” 

I would say, “It is good because of so and 

so rate,” or “I would have preferred so and 

so.” He would explain why that couldn’t 

be done or he would have altered it. We 

would brainstorm every possible situation 

on the field (and even off it!) and then do 

the “What’s my role now” of every situation 

for every player. 

If figures are to have any bearing 

on team method, it is vital to have the 

analyst and only the analyst describe the 

figures that are to be used. 

Eyeball vision is totally insufficient. 

The documentation of every consecutive 

possession in every game is vital to our 

understanding, if it is understanding we 

want. It is the only unemotive knowledge 

we have. The rest is colored by aesthetics 

and individual match result. 

I hope in a future article to discuss 

further how this factual information can 

be correlated into wisdom. 

I would be pleased to send a copy of 

my 2003 paper to anyone interested. 

Neil Lanham 

Soccer Performance Analyst 

‘Ivy Todd’, Helions Bumpstead, Nr 

Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7AT, UK 

n.lanham@btconnect.com 

References 

Benjamin B. and Reep C. 1968 Skill and 

Chance in Association Football (J.R. 

Statist. 

Soc. A, 131, 581-585) and 1971 Skill 

and Chance in Ball Games (J.R. Statist. 

Soc. A, 134, 4, 623-629) 

Lanham N. 1991 Figures do not cease 

to exist because they are not counted 

“Science and Football II” Eds Clarys, J., 

Reilly, T. and Stibbe, A. Spon London 

pp 180-185 

Lanham N. 2003 The Winning Difference. 

The Goal Complete. Vol. V. Eds Reilly, T., 

Cabri, J and Arugo, D. 194-204 


The 

American 

Goalkeeper 

I read with interest the commentary 

on “Officials v. Coaches” (Center Circle, 

November-December 2007). This is a 

serious issue because it is not just an issue 

between the coaches and the officials, 

but is becoming a worse issue between 

officials and players and their supporters. 

I played since college until my knees 

gave out and have been a youth coach for 

about 30 years, a referee for more than 

10 years and a referee trainer for almost 

five years. In addition, all my children 

played soccer in youth programs and in 

high school. They also tried college ball. I 

have seen a lot of change in the game, in 

officiating, in coaching and in supporters. 

I have been a player, I am a parent 

and supporter, I am a coach and I am an 

official. Thirty years ago you didn’t see 

this erosion of relationship. So why is the 

relationship eroding now 

I believe it is because of several 

reasons. The foremost reason is that we 

still have many players, coaches and 

supporters that do not understand the 

Laws of the Game, how officials try to 

allow the game to flow or how they are 

being taught to interpret the Laws. 

Players think they know the rules 

because they have been playing for years. 

Some believe that because they are good 

players, they must know the game. But 

how often do I hear, “I got the ball first 

ref.” That may be true, but they also 

came in with their cleats up, which they 

do not realize or think about as a foul. 

Coaches (high school, college, and 

professional) may read the Laws and may 

go through them extensively and generally 

know what the Laws say. This does 

not mean they understand the interpretation 

or the spirit of the Law. When a foul 

is or is not called and they disagree, were 

In the “In My Opinion” section of the November/December 2007 Soccer Journal, 

Giovanni Pacini addresses a question that has been asked for a while: Why is it that 

American goalkeepers reached world-class quality long before U.S. field players were 

recognized internationally Pacini offers these reasons, some of which he quotes from 

other commentators: (1) American keepers are good with their hands because they 

come from a culture in which hand-sports dominate; (2) The U.S. keeper is “brave, 

competitive and athletic;” (3) The “shelf life” of a keeper is longer because they can 

continue to perform well at the top-level at an age when field-players normally have 

finished their careers; and (4) the goalkeeper position is less complex: everything 

takes place in front of the goalie. 

Hardy Fuchs 

Kalamazoo College 

Official Relationships 

they watching for the foul or watching the 

general run of play They may have missed 

what the official was watching for. 

Supporters, in general, know next 

to nothing about the game and its laws. 

They do not understand offside and they 

especially do not understand “advantage.” 

They are used to other American sports, 

where when a foul is called or committed 

it is sanctioned immediately. They do not 

understand why it is a foul one time and 

a play another. 

My point is that a better job needs to 

be done educating coaches and especially 

players in what constitutes a foul or infringement 

of the Laws of the Game. It is 

not enough just to have read the Laws or 

to have had the Laws enforced upon us as 

a player. Educating coaches, players and 

parents is the only way to begin to keep 

this relationship from eroding further. 

I think that the two “Starting XI” 

perspectives make some good points and 

I generally believe that officials try to do 

these things. That’s not to say that they 

do not sometimes make mistakes, let 

physical play go too far before enforcing 

the laws or get caught out of position. 

But I find it interesting that both groups 

decided to primarily focus on what the 

officials should do, with little focus on 

what coaches and players can do to improve 

the relationship. 

I am not saying that coaches and players 

should be trained as officials or that 

officials should have played the game to 

be able to understand where the other is 

coming from in their points of view. 

What I am saying is that officials need 

to better understand what coaches and 

players expect from an officiating crew 

and be better prepared when they officiate 

a game. If they know nothing of the 

two teams they officiate they can be 

in for a rough time, especially if one 

team is better at finesse and the other a 

physical team. 

At the same time coaches and players 

need to have a better understanding 

of how officials are being trained to interpret 

the Laws of the Game and what 

constitutes a foul in the course of play. 

Where does this all start It starts 

on the youth level by better informing 

the coaches about the Laws of the 

Game and them in turn teaching this 

to the players and supporters. On our 

team, we do a workshop for parents 

explaining what they are seeing on the 

field and explaining why sometimes 

you have a foul and sometimes not. 

I have sat in the stands on occasion 

explaining why a foul or no foul was 

called. This has helped our parents 

understand the game better and makes 

them better supporters. 

What it comes down to is betterrounded 

coaches, players and officials. 

They cannot be so specialized or 

entrenched in their own area that they 

know only one aspect of the game. 

Coaches can’t just coach the game. 

Players can’t just play. Officials can’t 

just enforce the Laws. They need to 

be educated in the whole aspect of the 

game. But we aren’t doing this. 

I could go on and on about the 

things that we aren’t doing to improve 

the relationship between coaches and 

officials, but until we begin to take 

steps on a national level to cross-train 

– no, cross educate – coaches and 

officials, we will continue to see this 

relationship erode. 

Chris Burkett 

Cortez, Colo. 


Regarding the article “Making Demands” 

(Center Circle, July-August 2007): 

While I fully agree that youth players 

don’t understand what it means to work 

hard and that playing too many games 

may contribute to players slowing down, 

I think you have overlooked the root 

problem. 

I’ve discussed the lack of work ethic 

with many colleagues who grew up playing 

and are now coaching. We hate to 

say it, but “back in the day,” we worked a 

lot harder, had a more competitive spirit 

and understood what it meant to play 

through discomfort. 

The number of high school games 

and college games has not changed 

substantially in the last 25 years, so one 

can’t point to a difference there. The club 

programs definitely have gone overboard 

with tournaments, but even then, I used 

to cringe in the middle of summer when 

I had no games until fall. So is it really 

too many games or has something else 

fundamentally changed 

The reality is that this phenomenon is 

not isolated to soccer players, but rather 

is indicative of our youth in general. You 

will find it every sport, in the classroom 

and in the workforce. 

As a high school coach, I have 

encountered players who are flustered 

because they did not make all-conference 

despite playing in every minute of every 

game and in general being a good person. 

They don’t even associate the reward of 

all-conference with being one of the top 

players in the league. 

As a general manager of a business, I 

have found it a real challenge getting our 

young employees to work hard and do it 

for 40 hours a week. You have to give them 

small rewards, make sure they are comfortable 

and basically hold their hand to 

get them through the week. If you ask for 

another couple hours of work, they expect 

big rewards. The expectation for them is 

that if they go through the motions 40 

hours a week, they are due promotions and 

a fast track to success. Where did this come 

from Our society – including youth soccer 

– has taught them this! 

The movement toward making sure 

every child is rewarded for participating 

and winning or losing doesn’t matter has 

created entire generations of kids who 

Where Has Work Ethic Gone 

simply have never been taught that in order 

to be the best, you have to out-work, 

out-think or out-will other people. 

I have seen this in action with my grade 

school daughters in past years. The entire 

reason one of my girls decided to play 

soccer was to get a trophy. She understood 

at the age of 6 that if she participated, she 

would get a trophy regardless of how she 

performed or her team performed. This 

set her up for failure because there was no 

relationship between work and reward, 

only participation and reward. The result is 

that she really never tried hard, because she 

didn’t need to in order to meet her goal of 

obtaining a trophy. 

Another daughter came home from 

field day this year and I asked how she 

did. She said it didn’t matter because they 

pre-tested everyone to make sure that 

everyone competed in events with people 

of the same caliber and that they don’t 

keep track of wins in any events. 

Trying to slide around what she has 

been taught, I asked her how she personally 

did and how she placed in her group. 

Her response said it all: she said that she 

probably could have won her group, but 

she didn’t try her hardest because there 

was no point to it. Yes, she was happy to 

participate and had a fun day, but at the 

same time the day reinforced the idea 

that you don’t have to try hard and that it 

doesn’t even matter – the kids who don’t 

try will get the same reward as the kids 

who work their hearts out. 

This goes well beyond sports. At science 

fairs, nobody is judged. Schools design curriculums 

so that students have varied paths 

to high school graduation without pushing 

them beyond their comfort level. 

Youth soccer undoubtedly has contributed 

to the lackluster attitudes of 

today’s youth. It continually rewards mediocrity 

and mere participation. It’s more 

concerned about numbers of players, 

winning tournaments and the almighty 

dollar. Although it’s fantastic to see every 

square inch of grass being consumed by 

young soccer players on weekends, we 

have built an unrealistic expectation for 

the vast majority of our players. A lot of 

players out there think they are top players 

and have reached an elite level. 

What message do we send to players 

when they play on a team that comes 

in seventh place in a league and then 

turns around and travels out of state for 

tournaments The coaches contend that it 

will help their team achieve new heights, 

parents start believing their kid has something 

special going on and the player 

now has an exciting opportunity and is 

being rewarded for the team’s effort. 

It used to be that travel generally was 

reserved for the top few teams in each 

state and they played only against other 

top teams. The system now is watered 

down with mediocre teams that travel 

and kids that aren’t going to try any 

harder. They know that if they continue 

doing what they have always done, they 

still will get the sweet uniforms, travel 

with their buddies to another state and 

be recognized by their club, parents and 

peers as doing something special. 

A good coach and club program 

would let their teams know that in order 

to travel, they need to finish in the top 

two or three in the state. The coach 

should be clear about the changes and 

improvements the team needs to reach 

that level. The team then should set a 

path to reach those goals. That creates 

discipline, hard work and desire. 

Another major problem is found 

within clubs that build teams to win 

tournaments in order to keep money 

rolling in from parents. These goals are 

shortsighted and end up weakening soccer 

programs and players. 

As youth players go, some grow or 

mature a lot faster than others. For those 

fortunate to be on the bigger side, they 

often can physically gain advantages in 

a youth game without too much effort. 

Too many players are chosen for the top 

teams because of their physical presence 

and not their skill or team contributions. 

The problem is that as everyone gets 

older, size and speed tend to even out 

and technique and strategy become more 

important. A player that was chosen to 

play on an elite team because of physical 

capability often becomes lost when 

confronted with players of the same size 

and speed. These players were taught to 

be bullies on the field, which was easy, 

but when they get older they are being 

asked to do something hard and they 

can’t make the transformation. 

Continued on page 49 


Focus: Exercises ✪ Ages: All 

Five Favorite Practices of 

AC MILAN 

This is Part II of a three part series of SJ’s Five Favorite training 

activities from Italian Club AC Milan. 

Possession Exercises 

GAME 1 

5 v. 5 (+GK), 30 x 30 grid. Play 5 v. 5 possession, 

with the goalkeeper moving throughout 

the area trying to intercept passes. The 

use of hands is permitted for the keeper. If 

the keeper wins a ball, it is given to the opposing 

team. Play five-minute games with 

stretching in between. 

Este es el segundo artículo de tres series de entrenamientos del 

Club Italiano AC Milán. 

Ejercicios de posesión 

EJERCICIO 1 

En un área de 30 x 30 yardas. Se juega 5 vs 

5 con un portero que se mueve tratando de 

interceptar los pases. Se permite el uso de 

manos para el portero, y si él gana posesión 

del balón, se entrega al equipo que estaba 

jugando la defensa. Se juega por 5 minutos 

con un período de estiramientos. 

Game 1 • Ejercicio 1 

GAME 2 

7 v. 7 + 1, 40 x 40 grid. In this game, the 

neutral player plays with the team in possession. 

The coach should set the playing 

restriction. For example; 10 passes = 1 

point; use the goalkeeper as a neutral player 

and give him/her two touches; mandatory 

three touch; two touch or one touch. 

EJERCICIO 2 

Se juega 7 vs 7 en un área de 40 x 40 yardas 

con un comodín que juega con el equipo 

que tiene posesión del balón. El entrenador 

debe indicar restricciones. Por ejemplo; 

10 pases consecutivos vale 1 punto; usar 

al portero como comodín limitándole a 2 

toques; jugar con 2 toques o 1 toque. 


GAME 3 

8 v. 8, 45 x 45 grid. Emphasis is on one, two 

or three short passes, then switching the 

point of attack with a long ball. The coach 

should change the restriction after each 

game. Each game should run for about 10 

minutes. 

EJERCICIO 3 

En un área de 45 x 45 yardas, se juega 8 

vs 8 con el énfasis de 1, 2 o 3 pases cambiando 

el punto de ataque con un pase 

largo. El entrenador debe cambiar las restricciones 

después de cada ejercicio. Cada 

ejercicio debe ser de aproximadamente 10 

minutos. 




PART OF THE Q COACHING DEVELOPMENT SERIES 

GAME 4 

8 v. 8, 45 x 45 grid, nine small goals. Small 

goals are made with cones and spread 

throughout the grid. Points are scored by 

passing through the small goals to a teammate. 

Emphasis is on creating a goal-scoring 

mentality in the players by having the 

players drive to a small goal and score. 

Each game should last 15 minutes. 

EJERCICIO 4 

En un área de 45 x 45 yardas, se juega 8 

vs 8 con 9 pequeñas porterías de conos 

colocados como se indica en el diagrama. 

Se acumulan puntos pasando el balón a su 

compañero por dentro de las porterías. El 

énfasis es aumentar la mentalidad de poder 

anotar goles en porterías chicas. Cada partido 

debe durar 15 minutos. 


GAME 5 

11 v. 11, 18 yard line to 18 yard line, 44 

yards wide with five goals as shown 

from cones. Play possession soccer and 

score points by passing the ball through 

any goal to another teammate…goal in 

midfield has three (3) sides. Play 3 x 

15 minutes with a pause between each 

game. Game 1: three-touch. Game 2: 

two-touch. Game 3: unlimited touch. 

EJERCICIO 5 

Se juega en un área de las líneas exteriores 

de las dos áreas grandes 11 vs 11. 

Se colocan 5 porterías chicas como se 

indica en el diagrama. La portería en 

el medio campo consiste en 3 conos. 

Se juega un partido de posesión con 

el propósito de poder anotar goles por 

cualquier portería pasando el balón a 

su compañero. Se juegan 3 períodos de 

15 minutos con un descanso entre cada 

partido. Partido 1: Se juegan con 3 

toques al balón. Partido 2: Se juega con 

2 toques al balón. Partido 3: Se juega 

con toques sin límite al balón. 


Soccer Journal would like to thank 

Phil Vigil for his assistance 

in translating this article into Spanish. 


SJ Training Session 

Transition from the Back 

In this installment of the SJ Training Session, NSCAA Regional 

Technical Director Lang Wedemeyer addresses the issue of Transition 

Between Lines. This session details specifically with the transition 

from the goalkeeper through the backs to the midfield. 

Warm-Up Phase 

Activity: Passing and moving, evolving into possession 

Organization: Two teams of eight (7+GK) on a 60 x 44 grid to 

start (see Figure 1) 

Coaching Points: 

• Body shape 

• First touch 

• Preparing the ball 

• Goalkeeper distribution 

Main Theme 1 

Activity: End Zone Possession Game – chip ball into goalkeeper’s 

hands for a point 

Organization: 7 v. 7 to goalkeepers in end zones. Create thirds 

of the field (see Figure 2). 


• Distribution by the goalkeepers 

• Possess v. penetrate 

• Utilize/create space 


Main Theme 2 

Activity: 8 v. 8 to big goal and two counter goals 

Organization: Field 60-70 yards long x 65-70 yards wide, divided 

into thirds. Defending forwards must drop behind line when 

goalkeeper has the ball (see Figure 3). 


• Defining when space is available for penetration 

• Early looks forward 

Main Theme 3 

Activity: 8 v. 8 to big goal and two counter goals 

Organization: Organize specific numbers in each area. Work with 

goalkeeper to back and backs into midfielders (see Figure 4). 

Coaching Point: 

• Determine where space is by numbers in each area. 

Game 

Activity: 8 v. 8 to two big goals 

Organization: Allow teams to organize their own formations. 


• Coach teams in decisions on how to best transition from 

one line to the next, with an emphasis on goalkeepers to 

backs to midfielders. 



How to Play Striker 

Two of the best ever talk to Champions Magazine’s Mark Sylvester 

and Stephanie Jones about the craft of scoring goals. 

Henrik Larsson 

What do you need to reach the top “No 

fear” is top of the list, says the Golden Boot 

winner. 

When did you realize you had a talent for 

scoring goals 

It happened as soon as I started playing 

for a club side as a kid. I’d drift into 

positions where I could get a shot at goal, 

and a lot of them went in. Once that happens 

you don’t think about playing in any 

other position, and goal scoring becomes 

a bit of an addiction. 

How did you develop your technique Did 

you model yourself on anyone 

My idol was Pelé, and I watched loads 

of video of him, but you can never be another 

Pelé. Having said that, you always 

can pick up something from watching 

great players in action. I’d watch how 

sharp Pelé was, how he never seemed to 

switch off. I’ve tried to be like that. I was 

lucky enough to have good coaches at 

places like Hogaborg, my first team, and 

they helped me work on those skills. 

Do you go into a game expecting to score 

You never can do that, but it’s always 

in the back of your mind because as a 

striker, it’s in your blood, and you want 

to score. Depending on the team, you 

might have an idea of the sort of chances 

you’ll get. But I always put winning as a 

priority over my scoring. 

How do you feel when you don’t get a goal 

That depends on whether the team 

(has) won, but it does feel like there is 

something missing that you can’t quite 

put your finger on. It is a hollow feeling. 

You once said that before a game you tell 

yourself, “It’ll hurt and it should hurt.” 

What did you mean 

You have to put your body on the 

line. If you don’t, you’re not going to 

score. A striker has to get to the ball first, 

be better than his marker. There is no 

way you can do that without getting hurt, 

so it shouldn’t be a surprise. Accept it. 

You are not the biggest, so how do you 

cope with a towering center half 

The key is not to play their game 

in their back yard. Don’t play to their 

strengths. Try to force them to play to 

yours – if you can’t out-muscle them, the 

only thing left is to outsmart them. It’s 

tempting to get involved, but, like a good 

boxer, don’t get drawn into a scrap. 

You have the ability to sit on the last 

defender’s shoulder and time your run to 

perfection. Is that something you can learn 

Of course. You can learn most things. 

You have to be on your toes and prepared 

to move either way, and you always keep 

the last defender in the corner of your 

eye. If you know your teammates well, 

you’ll often have a split-second advantage 

in knowing the moment he’ll release the 

ball. If you can anticipate where the ball’s 

going, you don’t need to watch it. 

There seem to be times when everything 

you touch goes in – as in 2001, when you 

won the Golden Boot. Why is that 

If I knew that, I’d never miss. I’m sure 

there are loads of factors like confidence, 

teammates getting the ball to you more… 

I think it just happens – don’t question it 

or it’ll go away. 

When you hit a dry run, is there anything 

you can do to get out of it 

You don’t suddenly become a bad 

player, so there’s no need for massive 

changes. Stick to what you know works. 

Sometimes it’s about going back to basics. 

When you’re not scoring it’s easy to overthink. 

You should think less and let your 

instincts take over. 

You can also turn provider. Doesn’t that go 

against your instincts as a striker 

There isn’t one way to be a striker, and I 

don’t think dropping deeper, going looking 

for the ball, affects your instincts. I don’t 

like just being up front waiting for the ball. 

There isn’t really a Larsson way of scoring, 

but is there a type of goal that gives you 

most pleasure 

Definitely. I love headers because 

there are so many factors involved. You’re 

trying to get across or in front of a defender, 

make a good run, judge the flight 

of the ball, be aware of the keeper. Often 

you make the jump and seem to be hanging 

for a long time before making contact 

with the ball, and that feels fantastic. 

You’ve always been able to jump. 

Luckily, I’ve always had a bit of a leap. 

The more you do it the more you develop 

those muscles, but it’s also about not 

having any fear. Don’t worry about the 

defender. Worry only about the landing 

after you’ve headed the ball. 

What goes through your mind when you 

step up to take a penalty 

As little as possible. I’ve made up my 

mind where I’m putting the ball before 

it’s on the spot. Nothing the keeper does 

will change that. 

What’s the secret of scoring a one-on-one 

with the keeper 

When you’re a striker, the most important 

thing is to make your mind up as soon 

as you can. If you’ve run half the length 

of the pitch, you have to keep an eye on 

a defender closing you down. As soon as 

you can, check where the keeper and goal 

are, and decide what you are going to do. 

Sometimes it’s better to go around him; 

other times, hit the ball early or chip him. 

You don’t want to let the keeper dictate it, 

though, so as soon as you get in shooting 

range make the decision. If it goes wrong, 

don’t beat yourself up about it. 

How do you cope with the attention you 

get from defenders 

If you have a varied game, it makes 


it harder for defenders to read what 

you’re going to do. What a defender 

is doing doesn’t worry me because I’m 

concentrating on myself. I want them 

to be worried about me. 

Who’s the best strike partner you’ve 

played with 

Chris Sutton at Celtic had it all. He 

was simply one of the best forwards 

around. We clicked from the first moment. 

He held the ball up brilliantly and 

was a big, physical presence. Most top 

forwards have had a double act with a 

player who complements them. 

Before your loan spell with Manchester United 

last season, Alex Ferguson said you were a 

player who scored crucial goals in big games. 

Well, I’m not going to argue with Sir 

Alex, and I’ve scored in big games, so 

I suppose he’s right. The key is not to 

think about the importance of the game 

– there’s plenty of time to do that afterward. 

You’ll know when you’re in a final 

or a game that could win you the league, 

but you shouldn’t change anything. Once 

you’re on the pitch, it’s all about treating 

it like any other match. Of course, it gets 

easier the more big games you play. 

How important is first touch 

Hugely. Quite often, your first touch is 

a shot, a touch to find space for a shot or 

a layoff for someone else to shoot. Some 

people are born with that soft touch. Mine 

has always been decent, but I work on it. 

As a kid I played with guys who grew more 

quickly than me and were much bigger. I 

learned to touch the ball away from them 

early so I didn’t get clattered. 

Is fitness as important for a striker as, say, 

a midfielder 

You always have to be able to run, and 

you must be better than your opponent 

in every department. I want to beat the 

man I’m facing. That means I want to be 

quicker and sharper than he is. As the 

game goes on and your legs get tired, I 

want to last longer than he does. It’s all 

about having an edge, no matter how 

small. Fitness is the foundation of that. 

After you left Barcelona, Ronaldinho said 

you’d taught him a lot. What did he mean 

I’m not sure what anyone can teach 

Ronnie, but he might mean my movement. 

Unless you are very much a target 

man and play in a certain sort of team, as 

a striker it’s important always to be on the 

move. You’re looking to find space and 

confuse defenders with your runs. 

You were brought up in a fairly rough part 

of Helsingborg. Did that make you tough 

I’m not sure it was that rough, but 

it was very working class and we didn’t 

have things easy. It taught me you have to 

go and get the things you want – and the 

more effort you put in, the more likely it 

is you’ll get the reward. I work hard on 

the pitch to get goals. That might come 

from my roots. They also taught me to 

stand up for myself, so if I’m getting stick 

from a defender I won’t walk away. 

What’s the best advice you’ve had 

Make sure you surround yourself with 

good players. The truth is, if you’re not 

Ian Rush 

getting quality service, there’s not a lot 

you can do. 

How do you hone your skills in training 

Most training is with the group. You 

do everything everyone else does, but 

try to concentrate on touch, movement 

and hitting the target. I work on being 

able to know instinctively where the goal 

is without looking and knowing how I 

need to hit the ball to get it in the net 

from anywhere. As a kid, my coaches 

encouraged me to use my “bad” foot. My 

left isn’t the best, but I can use it – and 

if the ball is coming that way, I won’t try 

to switch feet. If you can score only with 

one foot, you give yourself 50 percent 

less chance of scoring. 

What goes through your mind when the 

ball hits the back of the net 

The best feeling I can compare it to 

is your birthday when you’re young. You 

have this rush of excitement and happiness. 

It’s like that every time. 

Do you set yourself targets 

Never. What’s the point You go out 

to score goals and help your team win 

matches. You’re not going to score those 

goals simply because you have a number 

in your head. I want to score in every 

game. If I don’t manage it, I want to score 

in the next one. It’s as simple as that. 

Which is your best-ever goal 

Every goal is nice. It’s like having 

hundreds of children – choosing one 

wouldn’t be fair on the others. 

Liverpool’s European Cup winner identifies 

the traits that mark a truly great striker. 

We’re told strikers are instinctive. Does that 

mean you can’t learn how to score goals 

No. Of course there always are things 

you can learn, but it’s mainly down to 

instinct. If you start thinking about what 

you’re doing, it’s too late – by then the 

opposition (has) worked it out and a 

defender will have the ball. When you’re 

one-on-one with the keeper, you have to 

stay calm. Don’t rush yourself. 

If you think too much, I can guarantee 

you’ve lost too much time. Too many 

things go through your head, and you 

make the wrong decisions. 

But players can be improved, can’t they 

You can make a £200,000 player a 

£2million (E2.7m) player with the right 

coaching. I was employed by Girard Houllier 

as striking coach at Liverpool working 

with Michael Owen. He already was a top 

forward, but was eager to learn. With someone 

like Owen, he’s such a good player you 

might improve him by only a half a percent. 

But you’re still doing your job. 

A player is learning all the time. I 

believe up until you’re 30, you work on 

your weaknesses. After 30, you work on 

your strengths – you know what you’re 

good at and you try to get the best out of 

it. As you get older, you learn more about 

the opposition and more about the game. 

I feel that up until I went to Juventus (in 

1987-88), I was just a goal-scorer. When 

I came back from Italy, I became a better 

all-round player because I’d had to do more 

outside the box. By the time you finish 

playing, you know all about the game— 

then you have to start again with coaching. 

What do you need to be a top forward 

Most important is no fear. Never be 

afraid to miss. That all comes down to 

confidence. 

Patience. If you’re trying out a one-onone 

with a defender or keeper, try to wait 

till the last moment to hit so he’ll make 

the first move. When he’s done that, you 


can make yours. 

Mental toughness. You must be able 

to take criticism when you miss a goal. 

Movement is massive. Even if you’re 

just walking a few paces, you often find 

defenders will stand and mark their space, 

looking at the ball. So after a short walk 

you’ve found your own space. Then quick 

movement for when the ball is coming. 

Pace is more important now, but you 

still get great strikers without it. They have 

something else, possibly the ability to think 

that fraction of a second quicker than anybody 

else – it’s true that the first few yards 

are in your head. There’s no point having 

bags of pace but not knowing what to do 

with it – which you also get! 

How did you stay at the top for so long 

Make the most of your strengths: I 

had pace and a great partnership with 

Kenny Dalglish, but most important we 

made the best of our strengths, which 

was basically the movement. 

A coach can do everything for you 

on the ball, but when you get on the 

pitch it all can change. The difference 

between winning and losing is adapting, 

and doing so the quickest way – that’s 

down to movement. The best strikers will 

adapt and think for themselves a bit more 

quickly than anybody else. 

Torres does it at Liverpool now. He’s 

adapted very quickly, and what I like 

about him is he doesn’t give defenders 

time to rest on the ball. If you close 

down the play like that, five times out of 

ten the ball goes out of play and you’ve 

won it back. You’ve done your job. Of 

course, you don’t have to play that way. It 

depends which club you’re at. 

You were known for defending from the 

front. How important is it to do that 

Very, if you’re playing for a team. But 

I believe there are strikers who are happy 

to score whether they win, draw or lose 

– Thierry Henry, for example. But I was 

brought up at Liverpool knowing the 

team comes first, goals second. My job 

was to make it harder for the opposition. 

If I could win the ball I’d close the defender 

down, which would make it easier 

for the midfield, which would do the 

same for the defense. If you do it right, 

hopefully the goalkeeper doesn’t touch 

the ball. We worked as a unit. 

Should forwards touch the ball as much as 

they can 

I’m not so sure about that. A good striker 

will have a good first touch. I don’t really 

think it’s about the number of touches. 

How do you help a forward who’s lost his 

confidence 

As a coach you have to make sure you 

give strikers the confidence to go out and 

do it. Touch comes into it, but if confidence 

goes a coach can do only one thing: keep 

working with him and go back to basics. 

For a striker, there’s nothing better than the 

ball hitting the back of the net, so you start 

on the training ground without a keeper, 

pass the ball and have him hit it in the net. 

Then you put cones out, then you put a 

keeper in, and the confidence comes back. 

There’s more need than there’s ever been for 

individual coaching. Houllier used to say 

players have the best facilities, best pitches 

and best coaches, so there’s no excuse not 

to perform. But in the end it comes down 

to confidence. 

Didn’t you used to practice by aiming for 

the side netting 

Always. And I do sessions on this now. 

I would put a cone a yard in from the side 

post and aim to get the ball in between 

the two. If you blast the ball, there’s a 50 

percent chance you’ll score. You aim to hit 

the side netting, there’s a 70 to 80 percent 

chance you’ll score. Of course, you have to 

know when to blast the ball and when to 

side foot it, because a keeper will know a 

striker’s game and you must make sure you 

put doubt in the keeper’s mind. 

How do you coach a striker 

At Liverpool we worked on specifics. 

Pre-season it was basic work on general 

movement, offsides – it’s great when you 

see it happen in a game. Once the season 

started, it was looking at the opposition, 

where they were strong and weak, so if we 

were playing a team that was weak down 

the left-hand side, we’d do a session where 

the forwards came off the back of the defender 

and went down the side. 

Give them confidence to finish and 

get the right angles, but for me it’s about 

getting away from the defender when 

they don’t know it. It’s easy when you’ve 

got the ball, but a striker should be at his 

most dangerous without the ball because 

everyone else is looking at it. 

You’re in charge of grassroots coaching at 

the Welsh FA. Does that work with kids 

You’ll find with most kids, even the 

good ones, they pass the ball and stand 

still. If you can get them at a young age and 

teach them to move, within six months to 

a year they’ll pass and move automatically. 

Then they can go to the next stage. Coaching 

top players can be easier because they’re 

eager to learn. Kids can have a problem 

with concentration. It’s important to bring 

the kids up and put them on the right track 

so that when they join a club at 17 or 18, it 

won’t be a shock to the system. Show them 

how to be professional and what the coaching 

will be like then. 

Kids can panic when they miss a 

goal. They’re scared to be failures. They 

should look at Michael Owen. He’ll 

miss nine times but score the tenth and 

it doesn’t worry him. 

Where Has Work 

Ethic Gone 

(continued from page 41) 

At the same time, some kids are 

technically better and have the heart of 

lion, but are relegated to lower teams and 

inferior coaching because they physically 

can’t help the team win a tournament 

today. The rewards we are giving some of 

these kids simply are for maturing faster, 

regardless of skill or work ethic. That 

makes for a losing proposition for all 

players. If you want to develop top players, 

you play for the future and develop 

individual players for the U-18 level, not 

tournament teams to win U-12. 

So the blame falls on how we treat 

and pamper our kids in school, sports 

and other programs. We have developed 

a generation of kids who don’t care to try 

their hardest, because we tell them it’s 

okay and you will be rewarded just for 

participating. Then we turn around and 

reward kids not because of what they did, 

but because of their physical status at a 

young age. 

I believe the new Academy program 

by U.S. Soccer will help resolve some of 

the problems I described by truly separating 

the elite from the masses. It will 

help overconfident coaches and parents 

recognize that they and their kids have 

not reached the top level until they can 

play in the Academy program. Perhaps 

this will give kids something to shoot for 

and work a little harder. 

Jim Schuster 

Boys Soccer Coach 

Holy Family High School 

Broomfield, Colo. 


Soccer Shorts 

A collection of brief articles 

of interest to soccer coaches. 

Professional Courtesy = Common Courtesy 

By Paul Payne 

NSCAA Vice President for Education 

As coaches, we are pulled in all directions 

by players, administration and 

parents. With all the demands a coach at 

any level has, it’s difficult to stay on top of 

the constant barrage of phone calls, e-mails, 

faxes and other modern-day forms of communication. 

But because of these modernday 

conveniences, we have a professional 

responsibility to practice common courtesy 

in responding to other individuals as 

quickly and efficiently as possible. By doing 

so, hopefully we can expect the same of 

those with whom we interact. 

Two recent examples highlight this 

issue. A group of club and high school 

coaches were invited to attend a day of 

training sessions by a prominent coach. Of 

those invited, four attended the sessions, 

several responded with regrets, but a larger 

number never bothered to phone with any 

response. It should not have mattered that 

the invite came from a “name” coach – all 

are owed the courtesy of a reply. 

In my own position as a head men’s college 

coach, I saw a similar pattern. I tracked 

for one week the number of answers or 

callbacks I received to e-mails and phone 

messages that I had placed in a single day. 

I sent 11 e-mails that would have at least 

required an acknowledgement of receipt 

and made five phone calls that asked for 

a return call. One week later I had four 

replies to my e-mails and one phone call. 

Do the math: More than half of my e-mails 

and calls were never returned. Personnel on my 

own college campus as well as fellow coaches 

were part of the group that never bothered with 

a response. I’m concerned that this is a trend that 

we as coaches need to recognize. Coaches must 

practice professional courtesy with everyone so 

we don’t become part of the growing numbers 

that believe it is acceptable (intentional or unintentional) 

to ignore others. 

Although it may take a few minutes 

of your time, you can do several things 

to make sure you are one of the responsible 

professionals. 

Keeping a log helps you stay on top of 

missed calls. Saving messages on your answering 

machine as well as old-fashioned 

writing them down helps you deal with 

missed phone calls. We often think “I’ll 

call back when I get a chance” and before 

you know it you’ve forgotten who called 

or what their number was. Even leaving a 

short message lets callers know you have 

received their messages. 

E-mail is a simple way to stay on top 

of your correspondence. If possible, answer 

every e-mail as quickly as you can, 

and if time restricts you from a lengthy 

reply, just a short acknowledgement is 

helpful. Something as simple as “Thanks 

for the e-mail” lets a person know an 

e-mail has been received and read. We all 

know that some e-mails take off into cyberspace 

so as a sender, it’s nice to know 

that your e-mail has been received. 

If you need to respond to a larger 

number of e-mails with the same message, 

consider an e-mail address book or create 

a word document to send as an attachment. 

For college coaches, I have found this 

useful in responding to the vast number of 

recruiting inquiries I receive. 

Often we are away from our office 

for long stretches and can’t promptly 

respond to e-mail and phone messages. 

Don’t use this as an excuse for 

not taking care of your correspondence. 

Program your answering machine to announce 

the days you will be away and 

when you are expected back. If I phone 

someone and they announce they are 

“out of the office until …” I know not 

to expect a call back immediately. That 

little courtesy goes a long way. 

Have an instant reply programmed into 

your e-mail in much the same manner. 

When an e-mail is sent, an instant reply 

can announce your absence from the office. 

If you can access your email from another 

location, that enables you to stay on top of 

the daily deluge of e-mails and to answer 

those that need an immediate reply. 

I occasionally hear, “I don’t use e-mail.” 

That’s fine if you work where e-mail is not 

available or accessible. However, if your 

school, university or business supplies 

e-mail access to you, it’s your professional 

responsibility to learn how to use it. Utilizing 

technical support staff to assist you goes 

a long way in helping understand the ease 

and convenience of this modern-day form 

of communication. 

We all forget at times to get back to 

someone in a timely fashion. At the same 

time we are inundated with e-mails and 

phone calls that are general in nature. 

One can’t possibly respond to all correspondence, 

whether phone, letter or 

e-mail. However, it’s our responsibility as 

professionals to use proper judgment in 

deciding which ones need a prompt reply. 

I’m sure as someone is reading this article 

they’ll say “What nerve he has, I remember 

he never got back to me.” 

Many years ago I attended a coaching 

course, and my instructor, Nick Zlatar, 

ended the course talking about the 90/10 

rule. That day he applied it coaches 

interacting with players and parents, 

but I think it is applicable here as well. 

Probably 90 percent of us efficiently keep 

up with our daily correspondence, but 

that leaves 10 percent who are deficient. 

I guess I’m dwelling on the 10 percent 

rather than the 90 percent, but if everyone 

is more aware of this professional 

responsibility, it will become one that we 

will all do better. 

I recently observed another example 

of what I believe is a lack of professional 

courtesy in the college ranks. In the last 

several months, my assistant coach has 

applied for many advertised coaching positions. 

I have supported him as he looks 

to break into the head coaching ranks 

or move on to a Division I program. To 

date he applied for 20 positions and has 

received one letter acknowledging receipt 

of his resume and four responses informing 

him that the position had been filled. 

These were all advertised positions in 

either the NCAA News or posted on the 


NSCAA web site. He had spent time constructing 

separate letters to each school, 

and in 15 cases he never even received 

acknowledgement that his materials had 

been received. I recognize that there is 

a flood of applicants for these positions; 

however, if it’s advertised and you ask 

interested candidates to take the time to 

submit required documents, you owe 

that individual the courtesy of a reply. I 

hope these examples are the exception, 

and people in our business are better at 

exhibiting what is nothing more than 

common courtesy. 

Editor’s note: The NSCAA’s Vice President 

for Education, Paul Payne also is the 

men’s coach at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University. 

To Play or Not to Play: That is the Question 

By Neil Hull 

As we all know the game of soccer is 

built around individuals creating a team. 

In a full-sided game, a coach is dealing 

with 22, but the numbers required to 

play a “game” can be as low as two: 1 v. 

1. Whenever players get together, a team 

environment can be created; this often is 

the deciding factor between winning and 

losing. The emphasis of the team can add 

a virtual player or two, and their names 

might be Motivation and Passion. Our 

question: What makes an individual want 

to play in the first place Where does the 

motivation come from – the game, the 

ball, friendship, the end product The answers 

to these questions could be endless 

because we are dealing with the psychology 

of individual players. 

In an organized game, a coach should 

have a role in the motivation of the player. 

At all times one must remember that 

players are passionate about the game 

because they just want to play. Everything 

else to them is just an external factor, in 

my opinion. To remove the will or “want 

to play” from a player is surgical suicide. 

It is a coach’s duty to create or facilitate 

the environment so the game can be successful. 

By doing this correctly the game 

then becomes the player’s teacher. As we 

know from our coaching experiences in 

soccer, players learn more from “doing” 

than from lecturing. 

As mentioned in the NSCAA’s curriculum 

at the director of coaching level and 

also the State Diploma, directors of clubs 

should be reinforcing to their coaches the 

importance of the game and should not 

take away the opportunity for players to 

play and develop at any level, whether 

it’s a scrimmage or an organized game. 

Obviously, we have to deal with players 

overtraining. We need to teach them to 

prioritize so they don’t wear themselves 

out by scrimmaging with friends on a 

match day or taking part in detrimental 

activities prior to important games. This 

comes down to a coach’s scheduling, 

communication and organizational skills 

and a player’s discipline. 

As mentioned in the NSCAA State 

Diploma, in certain areas of the United 

States soccer is denied grassroots 

growth because of obstacles to playing 

the game. The reasons may include, but 

are not limited to: lack of public fields, 

travel distance to playing locations, 

restrictions placed on players by other 

institutions, and lack of transport or 

parent involvement. 

On an organized level in the United 

States, there probably are more options 

than most developed countries, but 

these also can have controlling factors 

and environments. At the end of the day, 

when an opportunity arises for players, 

we should give the game back and just 

let them play! This is when they become 

creative and learn from siblings, friends, 

strangers and the game itself. When a 

coach or parent takes away a playing 

opportunity from a team or individual, it 

hinders the evolution and development 

of the player, the team and the game. 

This is when the score does not matter 

– a player who plays is the winner. 

Sometimes there can be more to a 

game than just “the game.” When players 

are young, their grandparents, other 

relations or mentors might travel great 

distances just to watch a match. The 

score does not matter to the spectators, 

only the moments of joy and pride expressed 

by the player. This is the game 

at the grassroots level. But as players 

advance in the game to the higher 

levels of club and high school, external 

factors can affect the game. Incorrect 

numbers of officials, weather, team 

availability, injuries, and tactics all can 

affect the outcome of a game. 

In some of these situations, the rules 

say you can cancel and reschedule; so 

cancel it. 

However, do not send the players 

home – you’ve got the field, the time 

and the resources, so have a scrimmage: 

11 v. 11. Split the timing into 

thirds rather than halves so the players 

can enjoy themselves. At this level who 

knows the effect of the external factors. 

Perhaps high school coaches have come 

to watch their players at club level or 

visa versa. Parents might be collecting 

video for college resumes. One team 

might have traveled a considerable 

distance to play – should they just turn 

around and not play because a referee 

did not turn up Have a scrimmage. 

The official game will be rescheduled 

anyway; just let the players play and 

have their winning moments. 

One of largest topics of feedback from 

players to coaches is about playing time. 

Taking away the opportunity for a player 

to play when it is there in the local park, 

league or high school setting may be an 

example of coaches understanding what 

is best for them but not their teams. 

There might well be strong reasons why 

a coach does not want to play the team 

in formation, but at least give the players 

the option to have a 4 v. 4, 8 v. 8 or 11 

run-out. Obviously there are exceptions 

to this suggestion, but at the local league 

level, a game is the game. 

Coaches should realize the importance 

of finishing all training sessions 

with a game so they can assess their 

teams and watch the players play. Each 

game, whether on the training ground or 

on match day, is a diagnostic examination, 

where each player is graded in both 

effort and ability. 

To produce a red card to players by 

denying the opportunity of a game or 

scrimmage could undermine players’ love 

for and commitment to their sport. It 

could drain the passion and motivation 

from players and take away the primary 

reason they enjoy the sport of soccer. Just 

remember: Players play to play the game! 

Editor’s note: Neil Hull is the director of 

the Players Academy Soccer Skills and also 

serves the NSCAA as State Technical Director 

for south Texas. 


Have We Killed Our Golden Goose 

By Bob Graham 

To the American Soccer Community, 

The soccer fields in my city are being 

taken over by lacrosse players; few 

American kids are kicking a ball around 

or playing a pickup game for fun. And 

when I see how many high school varsity 

soccer teams have been decimated by 

club soccer, the question has arisen in my 

mind: “Did we kill the Golden Goose” 

It was the spring of 1972 or 1973 

when I got a call one Friday evening from 

my coach, Jerry Fajkus, a legend of Chicago-area 

soccer. I was in my early 20s, 

had just graduated from Wheaton College, 

where with no previous experience I 

played for their new coach, Joe Bean, on 

two NCAA regional championship teams. 

I was playing for a legendary Chicago 

men’s team, Sparta A.B.A. 

Jerry said in his thick Bohemian accent, 

“Bobby, tomorrow morning we go 

down to Naperville. I am starting soccer 

there.” As usual, I had no choice in the 

matter, and the next morning, Jerry and I 

met a group of eager children and a park 

district coordinator, MaryLou Sonefeld, at 

the “barn.” We ran the kids through the 

obligatory cones and ball exercises on a 

soggy field. It was very anticlimactic. Of 

course, within a few years, the Naperville 

Park District soccer program was bursting 

at the seams with more than 3,000 

children registered annually. The story 

repeated itself in suburban communities 

all over America as eventually the term 

“Soccer Mom” became a part of the political 

lexicon of our times. 

With the growth of park-district-level 

soccer, however, came the profiteers. I 

watched my beloved sport slowly become 

an “industry,” and with the advent of first 

the clubs and then the super clubs, the 

industrialization of our sport had begun. I, 

too, was a willing participant. In the ‘70s 

and ‘80s, I ran or managed many soccer 

camps that took thousands of children off 

the open playground and put them into 

adult-organized instructional groups. I also 

managed the Chicago-area’s first indoor 

soccer club (Glen Ayre), where I sold 45- 

minute time slots and offered adult-managed 

competitive and instructional leagues 

to children of all ages. 

This industrialization of our sport 

has had positive effects in terms of our 

nation’s ability to compete on the international 

stage and certainly in financial 

terms for the profiteers. But who among 

us in the high school coaching ranks 

hasn’t seen the other result In the early 

1990s, when I was the varsity boys’ coach 

at Downers Grove North High School, 

my boys all wanted to play club soccer 

– they wanted to make themselves better 

players so that our varsity team could become 

better. By the time my wife became 

the varsity girls’ coach at Downers Grove 

North in 2004, she met a very different 

scenario. The club coaches have denigrated 

the high school experience to such an 

extent that players now look down their 

noses at their own high school teams and 

may or may not grace them with their 

presence. The industrialization of the 

sport has not been lost on the players. 

I wouldn’t be writing this letter if I 

thought this way was better for kids. But 

it’s not, and all you have to do to be convinced 

is see the numbers of burned-out, 

tired 16-year-olds who have had about all 

they can stomach from our sport. They 

admit they just don’t enjoy playing soccer 

anymore, but they are driven, perhaps by 

their parents, but surely by the culture, by 

that all-consuming pursuit of a Division I 

scholarship. Why would these kids want 

to go out and kick a ball around Why 

would they want to play on a team of their 

inferiors They are physically, mentally and 

emotionally exhausted by the time they 

reach high school – tapped out. 

Maybe this explains what’s happening 

in Naperville. Have entry-level players seen 

how little fun their older siblings had in 

soccer and want to try the “new thing” (at 

least new here in Chicago’s west suburbs) 

So when I ride past Nike Park three 

blocks from my house and see fields that 

were once crowded every day with soccer 

players now lined for lacrosse, and see 

crowds of young men and women with 

wicker baskets playing on them, I want 

to get out of my car, walk over to the 

coaches and tell them, “Don’t kill your 

Golden Goose.” 

Sincerely, 

Bob Graham 

Editor’s note: A former collegiate player 

at Wheaton (Ill.) College, Bob Graham 

played for Sparta ABA from 1972-80. During 

that time he was the coach at the College 

of DuPage (1978) and Lewis University 

(1979-80). His coaching resume also includes 

stints at Aurora University (1984-85) 

and Downers Grove North High School 

(1991-94) in additional to coaching at 

lower-level high schools from 1989 to 2005. 

An Illinois High School Association certified 

official from 1975-92, he worked state 

championship games in 1979 and 1991. 

Have you kept us in the loop 

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If you haven’t updated your member profile lately, now would be a good time to do so. 

It’s easy to do online - simply go to the Members Only area of NSCAA.com 

and log in, then update your information. 

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email Membership Manager Sandy Williamson-Smith at swilliamson@nscaa.com.

Team Notebooks: Writing to the Next Level - National Soccer ...

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