Oct29Written by:Jeannette Dewazien
10/29/2008 
The Northern California program is the wave of the future. It is easy to learn and easy to teach. One does not have to count all the fingers or toes. Just get to nine.
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Soccer Training in Northern California
By Alan Maher
Being retired with nothing better to do, I flew to Oakland from New York and was then driven to Sonoma State University to watch how coaches are trained there. I spent a few days with Karl Dewazien and his staff while they trained 52 candidates for the D license.
It was an invigorating experience. The staff used the nine-step program and it worked well, including training goalkeepers. I was most impressed with the staff and participants. All were knowledgeable and eager to help each other in improving soccer skills. My purpose here is to review the program, rather than dwell on the technical aspects.
The first formation is used for warming up the players. They use two cones two strides apart to dribble in a figure eight. This can be used to improve individual ball handling confidence, dribbling, stretching, fakes and feints.
The horizontal cones are again two strides apart. The back vertical cone is three strides back, and all activity begins here. It is a simple program to learn and teach to others. The participants were eager and well prepared.
I watched in fascination as each participating coach trained his colleagues in the basics of the system. It worked well for all. The participating coaches represented various age groups and that was not a problem. All learned. The core curriculum was almost 100 pages long and was not broken down by age level. There were no age-specific drills. There were exercises for all age levels. All took away the basic knowledge. Some topics covered were:
Preparing to pass
Preparing away and checking to the ball
Wall passing
Give-and-go passing
Passing to the third player
I had a chance to lecture on two occasions. The teacher in me came out. I love the chance to speak. My audience was great. I loved them.
The second time that I spoke, I picked the topic of the brain and soccer and plan on writing more about this in the future.
Consider the nine-step program. There are only two forms to deal with. Two cones or three cones. What could be more consistent and familiar?
The Northern California program is the wave of the future. It is easy to learn and easy to teach. One does not have to count all the fingers or toes. Just get to nine.
Alan Maher
The red-eye rider
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