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Post by jwhite on Sept 18, 2015 5:44:01 GMT -5
Hello Georgia Soccer Forum! My name is James White I am a U6 soccer instructor in Harris County and I'm glad to be part of your forum. Our county is trying out a lot of things in regards to travel soccer, club soccer and in tournaments. that being said I have a lot of questions involving and advancement of our club in that direction and I sincerely hope you guys can help us.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Sept 18, 2015 6:23:45 GMT -5
People have been very friendly and helpful around here! Anything you need folks typically respond with good honest answers.
Welcome and we are glad to have ya!! U6 is one of the greatest soccer ages!!!!
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Post by SoccerMom on Sept 18, 2015 8:43:04 GMT -5
Welcome!!! U6?? wow....theyre so cute at that age!!! :-)
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Post by spectator on Sept 18, 2015 9:47:24 GMT -5
U6 - love that age. My 15 year old helps coach 5 year olds - it's her favorite thing to do outside of playing the game herself!
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Post by allthingsoccer on Sept 18, 2015 10:14:31 GMT -5
love U6! the good old days. Let us know how we can help. Welcome to the best forum in GA!
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Post by jwhite on Sept 18, 2015 11:12:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the welcome guys! Ya, I do love U6 busy anyway! My son is on my team (daughter is on my wife team U8), he is four and loving the game! Most of my questions however will be about my rec club. Mostly how we can advance for the development of the children at least catch up to the rec programs around the area. Don't get me wrong I will try to be gearing my kids for Athena and classico clubs (for better development) in the future as long as they love the sport, but our rec club could definitely improve. In the way of competition and environment. Most of my questions will pertain to those things! Thanks so much for the support and I'm looking forward to meeting you guys on here and on the field!
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Post by spectator on Sept 18, 2015 11:51:43 GMT -5
My two cents about rec at a young age - make it fun. Practices may require some parental help herding the kids - keep it short, simple, more 'game play' to learn skills - but fun. NOW - my advice/wish for any parent starting out - learn the game yourself - best way to do that - take a ref class and start refereeing in Select or older rec if you can - whether at your own club or others. For three reasons - it helps learn the game and you'll see the best/worst behavior on the sidelines and can model yourself and your fellow parents behavior from it. And you'll help out by being a referee - there's a severe shortage. While your kid plays rec, you may have more time to do this than once they start Academy or Select. Share this with your parents - the GA refereeing information is on Georgia Soccer and classes are offered all the time. There are also resources at GA Soccer for new coaches and parents - you can call them and they can schedule someone to come to your club for parent seminars if you want. I've found them to be a very good educational resource and there are some really nice folks working there. www.georgiasoccer.org/referees/become_a_referee/Two years ago when my daughter was playing an Athena game on a Sunday afternoon at a very large club in Atlanta, we overheard a father totally berating his kid saying things like 'if you aren't going to take this seriously, I won't come back' and 'you missed that ball'. Imagine my shock when I turned around and saw a little 4-5 year old girl in a tiny uniform carrying a size 3 ball and crying as her jerk daddy acted like she'd blown a world cup game. That little girl wasn't having fun - I doubt she's still playing. So yeah, make it fun. Five year olds are such a blast on the field - it's more about them being with their friends, enjoying the game and the weather. Any true skills will happen as they develop a love for the game. The kids my daughter helps coach love her and she adores them. She says they find 'fun' in everything about the game and that makes it so much more enjoyable for her when she's with them and when she's playing herself. So my second suggestion for you and your club is to involve the older kids if you can. Especially high schoolers who may need 'service hours' for graduation honors - they can get that by volunteering to help with the youngers and it gives the little kids someone to 'look up to' as a player but it keeps the older players balanced too - they remember that at the end of the day, it's a fun game. If you can, offer volunteer coaching/training opportunities for older players in your club - you may be surprised at the response and what both sets of kids will get out of the experience. Anyway - welcome and best of luck. It's been a great game for my kid and I've learned a lot from her and from this board!
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Post by jwhite on Sept 18, 2015 12:43:49 GMT -5
Awesome I feel the same it's all fun!!! Especially u6!
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Post by volunteercoach on Sept 18, 2015 13:05:47 GMT -5
Yes! Keep it fun. Even up to U13, they are just kids...they are goofy and funny and it is a big part of their social lives to be out playing soccer. I do think there is too much yelling in youth soccer (more on the select side), walking around tournaments I am amazed at what I hear come from coaches and parents alike. If it requires a verbal berating to get your team focused or motivated there are way too many issues to count, fear isn't the way.
Building confidence is key. Catch them doing something right and praise to the high heavens. Catch them doing something wrong, ask them/show them how to correct, ask them why perhaps the play failed (Socratic method, gets the entire team thinking) or tell them what other options were available rather than the route they picked - set them up for success.
In one of my coaching classes the instructor said you should be able to coach kids in any country, any language, any age. With minimal words, show them what you expect then let them show you. The kids want to learn, they want to have fun and many will learn much quicker by doing.
At the end of the day, they want to please their parents and their coaches. The more confident they feel in their game, the more likely they will be to pursue the sport and spend that extra time necessary to develop into a better player. The goal should be for your team to say "awwww can we play for 10 more minutes?!?" when you say practice is over.
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Post by jwhite on Sept 18, 2015 13:29:07 GMT -5
LMBO I am getting the feeling you guys think I yell at my kids a lot... HAHA! I Completely agree I am not asking for anything as far as my U6 team goes! I also completely agree its is all about fun! I don't play rec ball now because I am yelled at, I do it because it is fun! If someone yelled at me I would probably not respond positively either (so how does anyone expect a child to respond positively)! I don't want the rec league to be extremely competitive I just would like the rec club to offer some of the same opportunities as the neighbors do so that we as a club may remain competitive without losing all our kids to neighboring clubs! (I'm am not talking U6 more for U8/10 and up)
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Post by volunteercoach on Sept 18, 2015 13:40:55 GMT -5
You can put on training clinics that are outside of the normal practice times. That can give the time to focus on developing more technical parts of the game for the individual players. Start a juggling club for the association and give the kids rewards whenever they reach a juggling milestone. Anything that can string together the boys & girls side and can be used at multiple ages.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 14:04:42 GMT -5
Things that I remember about U6 that my daughter really liked: - There were always a few U6 games going on at the same time right next to each other. We'd frequently see classmates and neighbors. It was a great community atmosphere. - There were no refs. The coaches were on the field with the kids guiding the game. - The kids would hang out together after the game to have a snack. The club has picnic tables where many of the teams would gather. - On the last day of the season for U6, there was a bouncy house, balloons, etc. for the players.
I helped with coaching at times. I found it helpful to go to the coaching clinics run by the club. These clinics were specific to an age group so we learned drills relevant to our teams. Good communication from the club helps keep coaches around. Coaches typically received a club tshirt or some other small token for all their help.
Good communication to the parents is also key. I suspect if someone leaves a club for another at U6 or U8, it was the parent who wanted to leave and no so much the kid. Do the little things right: make sure the registration process is clear and efficient, have team shirts/uniforms ready on time and in the sizes that were ordered, make sure the schedule is ready in a timely manner and is posted/communicated to the parents. I like when the club sends out a monthly email letting everyone know what's going on with the club and lists important upcoming dates (and thanks the kids and parents for being part of the club!).
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Post by jwhite on Sept 18, 2015 14:54:20 GMT -5
The kids/parents stay with it program until after U8 .... I like allot of these ideas.. great incentives!
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