Alan Mahers articles read like stories that will inspire you to be the best person,coach and parent that you can be. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/BlogId/5/language/en-US/Default.aspx en-US jdfunsoccer@comcast.net jdfunsoccer@comcast.net Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:46:21 GMT Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:46:21 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blog RSS Generator Version 3.3.0.16726 Why should all soccer be high level competition? Why cannot kids just have fun? I do not even like the thought that an adult needs to be at the game. I played basketball and football without ever seeing an adult. How about that? Club stuff between kids. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/361/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=361 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:48:04 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=361 Try to imagine a running back in the NFL who does not know how to carry the ball while running down the field. A player who is paid good money to run with the ball did not know how to do that. I cannot imagine that. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/132/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=132 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:04:43 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=132 The fall soccer season has ended for the regular season. We failed to make the play-offs, so that is the end. The uniforms have been turned in and all we have left is a covered dish dinner and wishing the best to the seniors who will push on to other things next year. I say other things because some will play football (kicking) and a number will go to lacrosse, wrestling or basketball. The rest of us are left to recapitulate and set some goals for next year. I will meet with the two other coaches and plan early training. Here are some points that I plan to cover. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/359/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=359 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:58:01 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=359 I still like Dutch soccer. They really know how to teach technique and at the youth level they teach tactics. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/130/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=130 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=130 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. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/133/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=133 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=133 Recently, I heard from a person who was interested in match analysis. I did not realize that I had not written on the subject for almost two years. In this lapse of time, I have tried to make the process more simple and easy to understand. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/131/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=131 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=131 Soccer is a process; it is not a quickly acquired product. If you expect quick results, try basketball. Just get tall people http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/129/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=129 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=129 Many current university presidents would not understand them. I am writing all of this in the hope that coaches and parents will send their children to college to get an education, not play ball. Stop looking at the size of the stadium. Stop looking at the size of the soccer fields. Look at the library. The ivy walls. The brick. And a cool wooded area nearby. And running water in a stream. Listen not for the cheers of the crowds, but for the silence allowing meditation and thinking. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/128/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=128 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=128 We have robbed our children of the joy of youth both in school and on the soccer field. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/113/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=113 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=113 Sunday night is Andy Rooney night in my house. He always has a few zingers to throw to the viewing audience. I am no Andy Rooney, and I have no zingers, but a few things do irk me. I will mention a few. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/91/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=91 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=91 Soccer is the same way. Pass or shoot from a short distance and strive for 100% accuracy. Then increase the distance a little at a time. Make it work. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/90/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=90 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=90 Recently I wrote about the great Brazilian player Dunga. I explained how he was the one who delivered the masterful passes to Romano or Ronaldo in World Cup play. He was unseen by the world wide audience because the TV cameras were focused on the receiver of the pass and not on who delivered the beautiful pass. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/89/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=89 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=89 I believe that coaches need to listen better. Not talk but listen. If the coach learns the players learn. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/88/language/en-US/Default.aspx jdfunsoccer@comcast.net http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=88 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:31 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=88 He opened my eyes to a different way of seeing the game, and of teaching it to the teams I've worked with. I have had some great teachers through my development as a coach, from the coaches in the U55F schools and the 5tate coaches I've met and worked with, and I have benefitted from all of their knowledge. But I have to say that the messages contained in Coach Maher's words are among the simplest and most useful. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/210/language/en-US/Default.aspx http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=210 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:30 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=210 I have written about Rinus Michels before. He was a great Dutch coach and was named “Coach of the Century” by FIFA, the international governing body of soccer. He died last winter. He wrote about an exercise in which a wing player centers the ball to four teammates running at the goal. http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/209/language/en-US/Default.aspx http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=209 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:30 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=209 We learned sportsmanship and how to deal with a bitter opponent. It was a very positive experience. It was always a good learning experience. We shook hands at the end and said, wait until next year! http://www.karldewazien.com/CoachingArticles/MahersMessages/tabid/91/EntryID/232/language/en-US/Default.aspx http://www.karldewazien.com/Default.aspx?tabid=91&EntryID=232 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:39:28 GMT http://www.karldewazien.com/DesktopModules/Blog/Trackback.aspx?id=232