Understanding Soccer

 
All too often parents and coaches equate success with winning.  It is appropriate for many high level programs to emphasize winning. However, the better coaches in most youth soccer programs emphasize personal improvement and skill development with an emphasis on having fun. Winning is always a desirable result, but it is not the primary concern of these coaches.
The primary purpose of youth sports is for the children to have fun.  “Not having fun” is the primary reason why 50-75% of youngsters drop sports by the age of fifteen.  
It is important for youngsters to develop goals for themselves and strive to achieve them. Even if they sometimes fall a little short, they will still improve, become stronger and realize that they can be successful without winning.
I have been coaching soccer goalkeepers since I retired from a long business career ten years ago. Initially, I was a volunteer high school coach. 
This past year I started Just4Keepers of Western MA, a goalkeeper training academy in Berkshire County, MA. I was attracted to J4K because their coaching philosophy perfectly matched mine; technical and tactical training, personal development and confidence building, and most importantly—having fun.
At J4K, I impress upon my goalkeepers that personal development, in addition to skill and tactics, is an important component to their training.  We discuss their improvement at the end of each training session. This helps them to develop self-confidence.
Rather than being a negative, my students take pride in showing what they learned from their mistakes.  As they progress, they develop the ability to “self-coach”, which is really self-analysis. 
It is very rewarding for a coach when their students develop a sense of achievement along with increased motivation.  Their success, as measured by both by them and their coach, is based upon personal achievement. This leads to a positive attitude and a sense of accomplishment.
I ask my young goalkeepers before training session, “how was your week?” It does not take long before they discuss what they accomplished and not whether they won or lost.
That is when I feel that I’ve been successful.
I’ve chosen a few “success stories” to illustrate that winning is not the primary measure of success.
Taconic High School 2015 Girls’ soccer team‘s 2-14-2 record
After I started J4K of Western MA, I decided not to continue as a volunteer high school soccer goalkeeper coach. I wanted to concentrate on building my J4K goalkeeper training academy, but I was also disappointed with the way high school coaches’ integrated goalkeeper training into the daily practice sessions.
I changed my mind after meeting with Jenna Giardina, the new head coach of Taconic’s girls’ soccer team. It would be her first season as a head coach and she did not have any goalkeeper training experience.  Also, their only goalkeeper would not be eligible and new ones needed to be developed.
Jenna’s youthful enthusiasm was refreshing and I welcomed the challenge of helping develop goalkeepers essentially from scratch.  
I was able to work with four goalkeepers (2 sophomores, a junior and a senior), but there was only ten days until Taconic’s first game.  Normally, high school goalkeepers have had earlier training in youth leagues and clubs so there is a base of experience to build upon, but this was not the case.
Although all four of the goalkeepers showed significant progress in the ten practice sessions prior to the season start, they were still very inexperienced.  It was agreed that since there were a limited number of practices once league play began, we would consider the games as “on the job training”.  The goalkeepers realized that learning from their mistakes was normal for any training program. Each evaluated their own progress based upon improvement, not how good they were. 
The approach was also used for the entire team.
One goalkeeper was needed as a field player for most of the season due to injuries.
Jenna continually focused upon skill improvement, physical cinditioning and staying positive. Although Taconic lost most of their games by large margins, the team continued to make progress. They began lose by closer scores as the season progressed.  Their final game was a 2-1 loss to one of the top teams in the league.  Taconic played them even and almost salvaged a tie.
Through all this, team members seemed to enjoy themselves.  I told the goalkeepers and coach Jenna that the 2-14-2 record was not the true measure of the team’s success. Their progress and attitude was.
Many teams are in for a surprise next season.
 
A Horrible 8-year Little League Team
I had some free time my first summer semester in graduate school. I had also attended Lehigh University as an undergraduate and knew many people in Bethlehem, PA.
When I asked if any help was needed with in their Little League league, I was assigned to a horrible team of eight year olds. They were losing every game by ten runs or more and rarely scoring any runs.
Both coaches had sons on the team. They were the typical parent coaches concerned about winning and always frustrated with the losing.
After helping out for a few weeks, I suggested that they focus on teaching proper skills and not worrying about winning. If a player threw the ball over the second baseman’s head, he would be praised if it was the correct base. If it was not, the proper play would be discussed.
The catcher was big for his age with a strong arm and always threw the ball back over the pitcher’s head.  Also, he was afraid of being behind the plate. He was thrilled to be moved to the outfield where he was proud of his long throws.
They continued to lose, even blowing a ten run lead with two outs in the last inning. But they were having fun and learning.
Even the two fathers began to relax and enjoy the games.
 
Always Being Lapped in the Mile Run
I was sprinter on my high school track team and liked the idea that win or lose the race was over is a matter of seconds.
My sophomore year I became friendly with a senior miler.  He had been running for three years, but was always lapped, both in practice and in school meets.  Also, he did not have a runner’s body.
Early in the season I asked Mel why he ran if he always did so poorly. He replied with a big smile, “I love to run and being part of a team”. After further discussion, I suggested that he set some goals to help keep it interesting.  At first his goal was to shave a few seconds off his time. Later, he increased it to minutes.
His times steadily improved, but he was still lapped.  Finally, in the last meet of his high school track career, he just barely avoided being lapped. You would have thought he won Olympic Gold.
Once the team learned about Mel’s goals, they cheered him on in every practice and meet. Teaneck High School’s rule was that three points were necessary to receive a letter for track. The team informed the coach that none of us would accept our track letters at the school award assembly unless Mel received his. The coach agreed.
It was a very satisfying moment when Mel received a standing ovation from the entire student body.
That was better than any win.
These were only three of many more examples from my background of how winning was not the criteria for success.
It is important that the youngsters have a sense of accomplishment.

Most, if not all goalkeepers, believe that goals are never their fault.  While they understand that this is not the reality of goalkeeping, it is an essential attitude to have.

This is about self-confidence, not perfection.

During my ten year goalkeeping career, I believed that, “unless a slow roller went through my legs, all goals were the result of someone else’s mistake”.  If all field players in front of the goalkeeper did their job properly, the ball would never reach the goalkeeper.

Good goalkeepers must possess athleticism and a passion for the position, but “strength of character” is necessary for them realize their maximum potential.  This is the ability to believe in yourself and accept responsibility for your actions.

Although it is tempting to want others to know that a goal was not your fault, a goalkeeper must NEVER publicly assign blame to a teammate.  This never brings the goal back and could undermine a team’s confidence in the goalkeeper.

After a goal is scored, the goalkeeper should quickly retrieve the ball from the goal and quickly return it to mid-field, while also shouting encouragement to his teammates.  Later, possibly after the game or at a subsequent practice, the goalkeeper should explain to teammates how their errors could have been avoided while also praising them for good plays.

Showing “strength of character” is not easy, but it is something every young goalkeeper should develop.  With time, they will develop a sense of pride and inner satisfaction.

I have been asked this question in many different ways by people new to soccer, and some not so new. 

Actually, this is an interesting question that allows me to explain the demands of being a goalkeeper.

Tony DiCicco, coach of the United States 1999 Women's World Cup champions and director of NSCAA's Goalkeeping Academy has commented that goalkeeping is 80% off the ball, which is when goalkeepers are not making saves.

Fans, parents and coaches can relate to great saves and goals given up, but that is only about 20% of a goalkeeper’s responsibilities.

Understanding what a goalkeeper does during a game when not making saves may be interesting and educational for most soccer fans, but it is essential knowledge for young goalkeepers.

The goalkeeper is the only player on a team who has a view of the entire field. They see both offensive and defensive plays develop more clearly than any of their teammates can.

As readily seen in soccer games on TV, goalkeepers are continually shouting instructions to their teammates. Field players are alerted to attacking opportunities and defenders are instructed to cover open attackers. The leadership of top goalkeepers elevates the play of their team by adding to their confidence.

In addition to being the last line of defense, goalkeepers routinely initiate attacks after making a save by passing to a teammate and directing the play. Tim Howard initiated the winning stoppage time goal against Algeria in the 2010 Men’s World Cup. Anyone with an understanding of goalkeeping understood that an attack had started off of a save.

It is essential that goalkeepers understand the importance of their leadership to a team. 

In addition to teaching the physical skills of goalkeeping, Just4Keepers’ training insures that their students become complete goalkeepers.

 

 

 

If goalkeeping is so easy, why is Just4Keepers training so important?

As with most complicated things, the skills necessary in becoming an excellent goalkeeper are an accumulation of many simple basics, such as footwork, the basic receiving position, proper catching technique, breakaways, cutting the angles, etc.

However, these skills must be honed over time and a discipline is required.

Just4Jeepers provides a year-round weekly structure that teaches and reinforces these skills over time.  Each session is devoted to a specific skill, or a set of related skills, which increase in complexity over time.

It is not by accident that I’ve mentioned “over time” twice. There are no short cuts to becoming an excellent goalkeeper.

J4K is committed to providing an excellent extended professional learning environment.  Each young keeper‘s needs are addressed within the group.  They are asked to extend themselves and to realize that learning from their mistakes is part of the process.  Too many coaches criticize errors rather than praising improvements. 

I can relate to young goalkeepers since I was self-taught.  Dedicated goalkeeper coaches were not available when I began my goalkeeping career in eighth grade at age fourteen.  Things had not improved when I arrived at Lehigh University, so I convinced my coach that I could devise my own training program.  It was based the premise that giving up goals in practice was not important, but testing my limits was. This approach was honed during my four years as a starter.

I quickly realized that a positive mental attitude was an essential component to goalkeeping.  I went for shots that my initial reaction was, “It’s going in.” Gradually, my hand got closer and closer to the ball, and eventually I was making saves.  Through this practice of extending myself in all aspects of goalkeeping, and by continual repetition, I became a goalkeeper with excellent reflexes.

My goalkeepers understand that improvement is not usually linear, but that it always comes.  It is very satisfying when I hear a young goalkeeper, after a period of trying a new technique, happily proclaim—“you are right, I got it”.

In addition to developing physical skills, Just4Keepers puts equal emphasis on building confidence, which is important throughout life.

Of the 17 Rules of Soccer   , the offside rule is the most difficult to understand, both for new and experienced fans, coaches and players.

Rule 11 The Offside page receives the most monthly hits on Understanding soccer, averaging 2-3 times the next page.  The ratio increase to 4-6 times greater on Saturdays during US soccer season.  One possible explanation is that parents watching youth soccer games would like to better understand the rule.

Although Understanding Soccer continues to review its Offside page, it is hoped that blog discussions will add to a greater understanding of Rule 11. 

The basic rule is simple: An attacking player is offside if there are less than two defenders between him/her and the goal at the time the ball is played in.  They must be involved in the play.

Involvement in Play: This seems to cause considerable misunderstanding.

If a player is in an offside position, but not involved in the play, it is not an offside.  Often fans, particularly parents at youth soccer games, scream offside when there was a player that beat the ball in.  It is confusing to them when no call is made because the referee did not consider the player in the attack.

There are many other nuances to the offside rule, so fire away with your questions and comments.