Koach Karl Dewazien

The dos and don'ts of motivating young athletes by Jill Barker

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Cheering them on is fine, but teaching them to find inspiration within themselves is golden. What keeps most children returning to a sport is if it's enjoyable, win or lose — and it's a parental and coaching obligation to ensure games and practices ... You signed your kids up for organized sport in hopes of keeping them active. But there's more to keeping kids in the game than buying gear and driving them to practices. According to McGill University's Enrique Garcia, whose area of expertise includes motivation in youth sport and physical activity, a parent's job goes far beyond chauffeur and banker.

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Soccer Parents-Would You Like To Play Soccer, Too? by Thomas Karapatsos

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

It’s hard to tell you guys, the parents, how to interact with your children. After all their your children, right? The methods most parents use to control their children are laughable, especially around the perimeters of a soccer field. Do you honestly believe screaming and yelling does not have a negative effect on your children? Parents that are verbally aggressive will coach and direct their children during a soccer match. Some even try and control the whole ninety minutes of the game without taking a breath.

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Soccer Best Practices by Tony Waiters

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

We need to get away from the “soccer drills for kids” mentality and develop soccer exercises and soccer practices that develop those four soccer skills identified above. We must place children in an environment where they learn the soccer skills identified above, but in a way that eventually they will be able to apply those skills in game decisions where decisions are necessary – but the decisions should be those of the player and not be the coach or the overly-enthusiastic parent.

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Mixed Age Football, Play and the Community by Paul Cooper pictures by Gill Cooper

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The answer lies within the community itself. For generations they have sorted it out but have now had their wings clipped by checks and balances, fear and mistrust. The time has now come to take off the shackles and let them manage themselves. That includes places where kids can just go and play as well as proper community clubs where all children are catered from and have a cradle to grave policy where football becomes a healthy lifetime obsession.

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Chest Drills for Young Soccer Players by Zdenka Tottova

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

One of the earliest things in soccer coaching with young players is to get them to control the ball without their arms. It's frustrating for young players- because they are so small, any bounce will take the ball up towards their bodies where they just want to put a hand on top of the ball to keep it down.

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Coaching Different Types of Soccer Players by Jim Smoot

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

One thing you will have to understand early on when learning how to coach youth soccer is that not all soccer players are created equal. While we all understand that to be true in terms of physical ability, it goes much deeper than that. There are also a lot of differences in the mental and emotional makeup of your players.

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Overzealous Soccer Parents Target of Video by Bill Wells

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Are attitudes contagious in youth sports? The Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association thinks so, so much that the organization made a video regarding how the behavior of parents on the sideline can affect the game, particularly the players and officials. The 25-minute video, titled Attitudes are Contagious, focused on the perspective of the officials and players. The video included interviews with players ages 11-17 and referees, and also showed footage of soccer games with parents in the foreground. To view the video, go to www.mayouthsoccer.org/video/attitudes.mov

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Coaching Your Own Child by Layne Van Noy

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

First, I recommend you honestly examine your motives for coaching. Are you providing a needed social service or are you trying to live vicariously through your child? Do you want to enhance their athletic experience or are you trying to ensure their playing time? If you answer yes to either of the latter, pull yourself out of the game.

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Tips for being a good sport and parent by Lisa Carey

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Sports participation by children is supposed to teach them good sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline. and help to develop their future character. If parents are behaving badly, can this goal be accomplished? Coaches and counselors say, “No.”

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The Challenges of Youth Sports by Erik Fisher, Ph.D.

jdfunsoccer@comcast.net — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

See Jimmy pitch the ball. See Dick hit the ball. See Dick run to first base. See Dick get called out. See Dick’s parents yell at the umpire. See other parents join in. See Dick walk back to the bench and hide his head in his hands. See Dick’s dad yell to Dick telling him to “Be a Man, and suck it up.” For those of you who have been to see youth sports, you may know that these occurrences are not uncommon. According to a survey of parents, 84% of them have seen violence in sports, and 45% kids report that they have experienced comments and abuse of some sort. Parents want to see their children succeed and sometimes don’t know the limits to their enthusiasm.

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