JOY OF THE PEOPLE --

Soccer and the concussion problem

2012-01-19T18:25:00.004-06:00

I spent the weekend in Kansas City for the NSCAA, the annual meeting of soccer coaches. This year there was a couple of themes, get organized (the german influence of Klinnsman), individual development and it's importance over a 11 month span (building energy systems and efficient athletes), and the concussion problem. Most sobering was Taylor Twellman's personal story of how concussions put a halt to his career. He has started a foundation to grow knowledge and reaserch on concussions ThinkTaylor.org.

Nicole LaVoi, Associate director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sports at the University of Minnesota, youth sport, recently wrote on how the problem affects women more than men. She is right on, as a long time coach in Girls High School Soccer, I have seen the problem first hand.

Soccer balls weigh 1.2 - 1.5 pounds, often travelling at 30-50 miles per hour, as a player, the impact on the head is noticable. In the old days taking a wet, soggy leather ball out of the air could make your head ring. From my position on the sidelines of youth soccer, I have seen very few kids, boys or girls, who head the ball correctly and safely.

My feeling is that most kids, even in High School, have poor technique and inadequate musclular strength to safely head a size five ball.

At my center, Joy of the People, we encourage skillful play on the ground. We use futsals and Futebols which have little bounce and keep the game on the ground. When teaching heading, we NEVER train or play with a regular soccer ball. We use safe nerf, plastic, or volley balls to provide kids a chance to practice technique safely.

Since most concussion problems in soccer involve heading, both in technique and clashes, here are some simple ideas to make the game safer, better and more fun:

1) Encourage play on the ground. This is a beautiful game when it's played with skill and on the ground. Playing small sided games with futsals and even tennis balls will keep the game skillful and on the ground.

2) Teach how to bring a ball down. Before we teach heading we should teach kids how to bring the ball under control using the inside of the foot, the chest, the thigh, and get the ball on the ground, that's when the fun starts.

3) Teach proper technique along with movement. At JOTP we use a couple Brazilian strategies to keep heading technique safe and fun, First, we use light rubber brazilian skill balls, recognizing that lots of technique work is just not possible with a size five ball (we also use nerf, play and plastic balls). And two, we incorporate a learning tool called improvisacao (or, improvisation) movement training to prepare the kids for unexpected falls, changes of direction, and interaction with opponents, this teaches balance, safety and healthy movement at the same time as learning proper heading technique.

4) Teach safe technique. Much of the dangerous plays derive from head to head clashes. As we teach technique it's important to teach how to be aware, assess the situation and how to go up for a head ball safely.

5) Encourage skillful play over out of control aggressive play. Charging forward to dominated air balls will create more 50 / 50 balls and a viscous cycle of "loose balls" (think american football with constant fumbles) thus encouraging more aggressive play. A simple move to bring the ball down is a higher level of skill and much more safe.

Soccer is a beautiful game, it is a skillful and fun game that can often, in competitive situations, become fast and physical. Heading and other skills are part of the game, and when the body is strong enough, and the technique is correct, heading is safe and exciting. By preparing kids slowly and progressively, and teaching them the importance of skillful and safe play, we can make sure all our kids are having fun and growing in the game.

TK

futsal 2012

2012-01-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

futsal 2012

12 resolutions for 2012

2011-12-12T11:48:00.001-06:00

Here are my 12 resolutions for players for the new year. I will follow up with a more in depth blog post on each of these topics, but for now here is what we are thinking about in 2012...

1. Have more fun
Everyone wants to have fun, but fun is allusive and sometimes poorly understood. As kids we enjoy fun through "play," but as adults we find fun through "work." As we age and grow in sport the transition from play to work is sometimes difficult, but important to conquer.   When kids tell us it's not fun any more, what they are really saying is they don't understand how to make the hard work fun. Studies in youth hockey have found that the time spent in free play (pond hockey) as kids allowed them to carry on to the hard work of deliberate practice as adults.

2. Play everyday
Guess what? It says nothing about where and what level. Expand your opportunities by enjoying every game. Learn how to set up game with small groups, and learn how to enjoy yourself on your own, imagine, create and dream. Free play is the world's greatest training system.

3. Keep working on skills
Don't stop when most do at 11. Keep working on your skills everyday. Professionals do. Cantana was known for spending time before and after MU training at a wall working on receiving and turns. Turns out the skills dictate tactics, and tactics are limited without skills. Free Play technique as kids/ deliberate practice technical training as adults.

4. Play close to home
No need to seek out the greatest and best. Time and again around the world the greatest players have arisen from their neighborhoods. Meanwhile all efforts in the S have focused on separating the gifted and Talented

5. Don't separate by level.
Best players under the best coaching is a bunch of non sense. No one knows who the best players are so you really want to separate them? Tom Byer, a New Yorker considered the pioneer of grassroots soccer in Japan, believes that the best players improve by focusing on the players underneath them. Let the kids play with their friends and leave em alone.

6. Don't be concerned with tactics.
Tactics, as Cruyff said, are what you need when you don't have the players. So because you are going to be one of those players, keep working on that part. The rest will take care of itself.

7. Forget about Talent
Develop a growth mindset, that is acknowledging that accomplishments are attained from effort (not talent). This means EVERYONE can get better, good, great and beyond with effort.

8. Practice scoring.
Small goals develop dribbling and passing, finishing takes a big goal and keeper. This is the beauty of futsal, the space is tight but the goal is big and still requires a final finishing action. Of course active goalies are difficult to come by. In other cultures the goalie problem is solved by placing the new kid in goal, this assures that every young player is trained in goal first, thus the game has plenty of keepers to keep their game going.

9. Remove the physical.
Address the physical, but it allow to grow as a facilitator of Technique, not as it's own weapon. Do everything with a ball. Physical is finite, skill is infinite. Focus on the one with the biggest upside.

10. Get comfortable.
Be careful about pushing kids outside the comfort zone. They will just get anxious and play like it. Coach Wilmer Cabrera said it best "Our kids are just not comfortable on the ball in tight spaces." He was right on that and wrong on his remedy: "I think our kids need to be pushed out of their comfort zone." Does anyone else see the problem here? Over and over again it's been shown that kids don't learn under pressure, that's for adults, and the 17 year olds that Cabrera were training were neither adults or bound to get more comfortable by continually pushing them out of the comfort zone. Instead do everything and try everything with a ball. Invent things, do what you like, dribble, score, shoot, run, turn jump and spin with the ball, don't let anyone take it from you. That's how you get comfortable, not under pressure, that comes later but until then try just about everything.

11. Leave the Marshmallow on the Table.   The self control exemplified by the famous "marshmallow test'" (see the earlier post "Don't eat the Marshmallow") points to the importance of addressing emotional growth and it's importance to later well being. Self control turns out to be a very high predictor of adult success, the good news is we can improve on self control. Teaching ourselves how to think so that we can outsmart our desires will help us develop into a happy adults and soccer player

12. Dream. I love this one. When we dream we dream of lavish plays, flashing beauty on simple form, of last second winners against all odds, of the last second goal in the World Cup final, of the diving header, the bicycle kick. The Dream always comes first, keep it up. More important than you will ever know.

Just missing the list again this year:
Soccer, ever the karma inspired leveler makes sure that the harder we try the more we are humbled. Here is a short list of things that are NOT important.

Increase speed of play Kids should dictate the pace not the coach. High speed practices are great, but not so much when they are pushed by the coach.

Play up an age group unless there is a plan this generally is a mistake. Do what you can do and do it great. By pushing up age group(s) you naturally get to the point where you can't "do" it anymore thus losing practice experience.

Play for an elite team There is no such thing in youth. Best to save your elite play for when you are 25 and in the world cup. Until then just play and learn.

Play in an elite league The travel alone takes time away from play and learning.

Play for an academy If you go to an academy, make sure it's about schoolwork, not soccer, the term "Soccer Academy" has become an albatross.