LONDON AREA SOCCER

S. A. S. SERIOUS ABOUT SOCCER S. A. S. by: Jeff Stiffler Serious About Soccer As I start to receive phone calls and emails, It is time to start again. . S A S SOCCER SKILLS *** STARTING SOON *** This Program will continue into the fall. Fees will be $30.00 per participant-Due on your 1st day. Keep practicing. Practice does make a better player. Thanks. Jeff. As a soccer player, you need to keep yourself motivated. When you feel that you are not being challenged enough, or that you feel you’re not playing hard enough, chances are, you’re not. How can I help you change that? This is the key question that I have been asking myself for a while. I want the players to want to get better by pushing themselves to be as great as they wish to be. I tried to put together what should be some GOALS & OBJECTIVES: · Create a learning environment. · To have lots of FUN. · Get as many touches on the ball as possible · Get the players to practice on their own · Parents involvement · Produce Competitive soccer players (10 yrs old & up) · To teach team unity · To win as well as loose · Help you feel better about yourself · Get the player to push themselves to the next level · To play on their own in the back yard, or at a friends yard, or anywhere · To become a positive, and supportive soccer player on and off the field. I want players to have fun playing the game. I want to see the kids grow as a player in a positive, and encouraging environment and sport. The soccer players have a chance to better their skills, and compete against other players in this league, as well as against other players from all over the world. They will climb the ladder to success, and become better players. They can work at their own pace, and excel at their own pace. It will require them to spend some time with a ball instead of a play station, or xbox. Has anyone ever seen me put the ball to the foot of another player from 40 yards away? That’s what I want to see you be able to do. Have you ever set up a crossing play for a winning goal from a header? It’s sweet, but it takes practice to be good, and it takes more practice to be great, and it takes most of your time to be a Pro. What do you want? Soccer is about TOUCH and CONTROL, and this is what we will focus on. I just want the young players, as well as the older ones, to feel better about their abilities as a player, so that they have a more positive experience playing soccer. If they don’t have fun, they will get bunt-out and quit. If they have fun, and learn, and have good experience, they will be playing soccer for many, many years to come. Perhaps they will play pro, or perhaps coach soccer themselves later on. Thank You so much for allowing us the chance to help you become a better soccer player. Jeff Stiffler. PO Box 48 London, Oh 43140 614-306-3742 This is going to be a developing program for the players that wish to learn more, and become a better player. It will be small sided games based on the theory of Soccer in the Streets. We are looking at 5v5 player’s games. The theory is to get the players out there with as much play time as possible, with as many touches on the ball that they can get. The teams may have 5-6 players. 4 field players including a goalie on smaller fields. All soccer rules will apply in the 4v4 Games. (maybe 5v5) The teams will be made as fair as we can. We wish to make this as fair as possible. Please have fun and a good time. SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM. SKILLS WITH GOALS IN MIND! THIS WILL BE FOR THE SERIOUS SOCCER MINDS. .

St Patrick 5th-6th gradde reserve Soccer Team finishes #1 in Div 1. and finished 3rd in tournaments. GREAT JOB ST PATS.

This is the MC United Team from Fall 02 / Spring 03.

Getting back defensively When a defender is marking a player with the ball and that player passes the ball, there is a tendency to do one of two things. Either the defender decides to chase the ball to wherever it was passed OR they stop playing and relaxes with the idea that their job is done. Generally speaking, both of the above decisions are the wrong ones. The reason players shouldn’t automatically chase after the ball is that the ball can travel much faster than the player so it turns into a useless chase PLUS it frequently results in the defender getting caught so far out of position that not only can’t they put pressure on the player with the ball, but they also can’t help mark the player they just left. There are a few occasions when following the pass defensively is the right decision and those are usually when the pass is an EXTREMELY short one and there is defensive support behind but this situation is much less frequent than defenders think. The problem with the defender relaxing after his player passes the ball is that it allows the player he is marking to make a run to get behind him and at that point, he is beat (for example, a wall pass will beat this type of defender every time). As a general rule, the proper thing to do when a player you are marking passes the ball is to get back quickly. By doing this, it eliminates the chances for success of a wall pass plus allows the defender to provide support by becoming the second or third defender. Getting back defensively after a pass is hit is an easy thing to do IF you remember to do it! This is where communication becomes vital since players behind the defender (keeper, sweeper or other defenders) should be directing the defender what to do as much as possible. .

Today’s topic deals with keeping your head up while dribbling. One of the hardest things to do when dribbling is to see the ball and also to see what is happening around you. If you watch really good players it looks like they don’t have to look at the ball when they dribble and when you look at lower level players it looks like they have to stare at the ball when dribbling. The reality is that even top players have to see the ball when dribbling but the difference is they know they can see the ball and also see the field at the same time. The good news is that this is a “skill” that can be worked on and improved. Start with a soccer ball on the ground right in front of your feet. Look straight ahead and see if you see the ball at your feet. If you can, that means you can dribble the ball while looking straight ahead and still see the ball. If you can’t see the ball while looking straight ahead, then slowly lower your head (the key here is to do so lower) until you can see the ball with your peripheral vision. This is the point where you will be able to look forward and also see the ball. Once you determine how far ahead you can see while watching the ball at your feet, the next step is to practice dribbling while keeping your head up to the level where you can still see the ball. This can be done by dribbling randomly in an area, or dribbling around cones or really by doing any type of dribbling you want. The more you practice dribbling with your head up, the more you realize how much you can see while also watching the ball Learning to see many things at the same time will help you become a much better soccer player.