More and more youth and high school coaches seem to be bitten by the bug of “The Winning Formula.” In Europe it has won epithets such as “Blitzkrieg Ball” or “Route One.” As you can detect it about direct attacking play without the frills and often, minus the skills. The mindset needed is one dimensional with the excessive use of one dominant tactic – the long ball. It doesn’t encourage a player’s intellect to recognize when to pass it short or long, or when to dribble, etc. “Get it up the other end as quickly as possible” or “Boom it” are the Formula’s battle cries. To think and decide which is the best option takes intelligence. Unfortunately the non-thinking brigade wants blood and goals at the expense of developing skill. Although it is often effective, its based on the bottom-line mindset of defensive error and a minimum of attacking skill, and these are potent weapons in the youth game. Its side effects cause coaches to gain winning records at the expense of developing talent. To the uninitiated a win is a win is a win and wins prove everything. Sadly the bug has reached down to 8 / 9 year olds and is spreading. Hopefully it stays a bug and doesn’t get upgraded to an epidemic.

 

How do you recognize this “Formula on the Field?” Basically it is like being at NASA Houston. Attacks are launched by back players with scud like kicks which some claim are to blame for the holes in the earth’s ozone layer! At the very least, the balls will re-enter the earth’s orbit and land around the opposing penalty area. This forces the play to get glued in and around their box. If a direct scoring chance is created, A-OK. Now if that fails to happen, then Plan B comes into effect – the proliferation of set-plays due to the pressure on the defense- corners, free-kicks and throw-ins abound. It’s pragmatic and it works. Poland today, the solar system tomorrow type of soccer arrogance feeds upon itself. The suds get higher, longer, goals rain in and the wins pile up. The bug becomes a disease accelerating the process of win, win, win. The coach glories in his strategy of success and the parent’s bay for more, more, more….Trophies roll in and the game and skill are trashed out.

 

The attitudes of rote disciplined team strategy for young players are about short term winning and long term skill losing. This formula mindset, of locking soccer into a bottle, is the sports version of “asset stripping.” The hidden damage doesn’t show until players walk away from the sport or suddenly find out those entire wins mean zero as they can’t make the high school or college team. It is particularly true with players who play in the back and in midfield. The formula even breeds certain types of players. The backs need to be big, strong and quality scud-kickers. As one European coach joked, “all you need is Herman Munster and his twin brothers and it doesn’t matter if their screws do come loose!” Then you have the poor midfielders relegated to being a human tennis net. They rarely touch the ball but watch the air display above them as the scuds fly overhead. The only redeeming plus these players acquire are strong neck muscles due to the excessive twisting of the neck in watching this aerial assault.

 

How can youngsters develop a savvy about the game or flowing skills if the ball is continually out of reach? If a player doesn’t touch the ball, how can they become skillful?

 

Even Jack Charlton, the former Republic of Ireland coach, made a clear distinction to the priorities of the various national squads. His World Cup team was about winning whereas the Under 23’s down to the Under 15’s was about development. His team for the most part played “Route One Soccer” but all the other teams played through midfield and not over it. He was smart enough to recognize the place to win and the places to learn. The World Cup team was a holding operation waiting for the young talent to come through. Charlton was very aware that Ireland’s future lay at the feet of young talented players and that takes time. To promote “Route One” as the only way to play “Big Jack” knew would take the Irish game into the dark ages and leave the country bankrupt of a real soccer future. His coaching staff was fully aware of their responsibilities to Ireland’s next soccer generation.

 

Compare the stream of consciousness to the parochial attitudes of many youth coaches and parents that look no further than a scud-kick. Obesity of winning above all else blinds the real development and needs of our youngsters. Youth soccer is no different than education – it’s about learning above all else. If you want an illiterate soccer player stick to the “formula” and the winning creed. On the other hand, if you care to inspire youngsters to love and nurture a great sport than “skill winning” must be your number one objective.

 

The Dutch have probably studied the youth game more than any other country. Their 4 vs. 4 programs are the envy of other soccer powers. It’s all based on educating children to develop critical thinking with their skills. To them it is a long term process of years. They know that they have only one shot of creating skill in a player and that’s between the ages of 6/7 to 15/16. The “Skill Learning Door” opens in those early years and closes during their high school years. Whatever habits they acquire in this period are the ones that will determine their soccer personality. They care about learning skills and making players think to solve game problems. By this nurturing process, it helps the base of the sport to develop strong, quality roots. At the other end, they produce more world class players than almost any other country and yet their population is 15 million people. Out of that figure, just under 1 million participate at some level of the sport. In fact, we have more registered soccer players in the USA than their whole population; over 18 million participants and as yet we have not produced a great male player.

 

Unfortunately if we absorbed the Dutch caring about learning we would destroy an industry – the trophy and medallion industry. Until we treasure skill above the quick fix cum immediate gratification drug of wins chained to trophies we are selling the sport and children short. Skill is the real prize and you cannot cheat it. The muse demands discipline, time and patience. Luckily, it refused to come cheaply and yet the personal rewards are enormous – self motivation, a dedication to excellence and above all, a passion. Not bad lifetime habits to acquire for youngsters!

 

Our soccer attitudes reflect our general values to life. Listening to a lecture on our economic woes the speaker, Peter Peterson, compared our short sighted ways to Columbus’s travels, “he didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know where he was when he got there; and he didn’t know where he had been when he got back.” This sums up our mentality to learning the sport. The coaching Columbus’s of youth soccer are traveling on the same inconsistent tack, not knowing where the good ship Formula will take them and their Columbus crew of players. They didn’t think or research the philosophy of “Route One” through. Unfortunately, the coaches who promoted this type of game don’t have to pay the price. They will continue to win as a fresh cycle of players comes into the team. This is particularly so with school programs. The ones who suffer at the end of the “asset stripping game” are the players of course. Oh, yes, they won tons of games and medals but they never learned to play the sport! They never learned the arts of quality passing or the finesse of first touch control or learned to make skillful decisions like when to support ahead or from behind the ball, etc. Only that continual caring about the quality and enjoyment of skill sparks a true passion for the game.

 

Finally, if you are still undecided about the “Formula” approach can I at least appeal to your religious senses and quote Brian Clough, former Bishop/ Coach of Nottingham Forest, when asked his views on the scud game, “if the Lord had meant soccer to be played up there, pointing to the sky, he would have put grass on the clouds!”

 

Amen!

GOOD LUCK & GOOD SOCCER,

Graham Ramsay                                                                                  November 9, 1996