What Makes A Team Great?

In order to answer this question, we need to define 'great.'  Many attributes can be associated with teams that are considered great.  Brazil has 'flair' and 'rhythm,' Germany is 'disciplined' and 'measuring,' Barcelona is 'technical' and 'quick.'  But what is the one trait they all have in common?  The answer is - THEY WIN!  To be considered great you must win, and you must win often and over time.
What does it take to win?  The simple answer is GOALS.  Back to the original question, what makes a team great?  In my opinion, A GOALSCORER.  You can tell me all you want about passion, discipline, technique.  A goalscorer solves all those problems.  It gives teams belief that they can win any game at any time.  Defenders are more focused and play a little bit harder because they know if they stop the opponent, their goalscorer only needs a half chance.  Do not confuse a goalscorer with a player that scores a lot of goals, especially in the youth game.
Germany has Mueller, Bayern has Lewandowski, Leceister City (having and great season) have Vardy and Marhez, and Barcelona have Messi, Neymar, and Suarez.  When has the U.S. been their best?  When McBride and Dempsey were scoring.  In a game that is so team oriented, a single player - the goalscorer - can change a season or more.
Why is it so difficult to develop goalscorers?  I am sure many people will disagree with me, but goalscorers are not born.  They are not natural.  Goalscorers are created.  Like anything made, you must first have quality raw materials.
So often in the youth game, the goalscorer is the best athlete.  We (coaches) play the biggest and fastest as forwards because they run by defenders and shoot (often times really hard).  Some coaches even consider technique.  Their forwards might not be the #1 athlete, but they are good with the ball, keep tight control, and yes they can shoot.  These players usually get a lot of chances to score, however miss way more than they make.
I agree that athleticism and technique should be part of the equation.  However, goalscorers need to be DEMANDING.  This is often described as having an edge.  With young players it is also mistaken for being angry.  These players sulk or yell at teammates when they get frustrated.  They often times cheat in games or practice, or at least use the rules to their advantage.
Goalscorers need to be RISK TAKERS.  They will slide tackle a lot.  They will often not listen to all the coaches instructions because they are trying to gain an advantage by being first on the field.  At young ages, goalscorers often miss instructions or skip steps because they are already thinking about things three steps ahead.
Goalscorers are COURAGEOUS.  They may volunteer to do things first, blurt out answers, or they may be the kid willing to say hello to the new player.
And finally, goalscorers are EFFICIENT.  Some are minimalists where they do little running except when they are involved.  Some may try to skip ahead in activities if they feel they already know a step.
You may be fortunate and have a player (or two) like this on your team.  Work with them on technique, play them often as forward, challenge them in training with different rules or restrictions.  If they are also athletic or technical make training unfair (at times) by giving them different and tougher rules then the rest of the team.   Goalscorers must be able to see space and predict opponents movements. Put them in situations that make their situation more difficult than the game.
If you want a great team, develop a goalscorer or two.  Athletes will score at young ages, but a true goalscorer will get goals against better teams, better athletes, and with few chances.  Look for those players that are demanding, take risks, have courage, and are efficient. 

Is my child getting better?

As a parent of children who participate in many sports and extra-curricular activities, I want to know if my children are learning and hopefully improving.  It is fairly easy for me to discern if they are learning about their sport or activity, I just ask them to tell me about what they have learned or what they are doing at practice.  When I start getting a lot of repeat information or "I don't know," I can ask a few more questions based on the curriculum or the information instructors have given to me.  Most of the time, either my children didn't feel like talking to me or they weren't paying attention at training and missed something (if not everything).  
But what about those times when we (parents) feel that our child just isn't getting it?  I've read the curriculum.  I am active and involved with their activities.  However, when I go to games, it looks like my child isn't as good as the other players.  The other team seems so far ahead of our team.  Is the coach/instructor poor?  Is my child not paying attention?  Why is my child not paying attention?  Is my child the only one?  What should my child be learning?  Is my kid not any good?
Every parent runs into this at some point, and if they don't then they are either ignorant, not paying attention, or their child is not playing at a high enough level (this is for another blog).
Being a soccer coach, I will stick to what I know.  WHAT SHOULD MY CHILD BE DOING?  WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN GAMES?  Below are some competencies that every player should be working towards and be comfortable performing. 

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT COMPETENCIES

To be more competitive moving into 8v8 (9v9) and the Juniors Program (U11), we have identified several areas that each player coming out of the YDA should be comfortable performing.

• Handling balls out of the air and bouncing - Get it to the ground in 1 touch
• a.       Heading
• b.      Receiving with thighs, chest, and feet
• Juggling – ability to begin with ball on ground and juggling using feet only for a minimum of 10 times with each foot and 25 times total.
• Inside of foot passing – CHECK MARK over a distance of 15 yards with accuracy
• Laces shooting – ability to strike a ball with laces and land on kicking foot
• Receiving balls across the body
• Seeing and being able to pass a ball into space so a player can run onto it
• Shielding – not showing the defender the ball on the dribble (keep body between ball and defender)
• Gaining field position and keeping it
• Passing to eliminate defenders
• Not turning back to ball (dead balls) - Always face ball (throw-ins, goalkicks, etc)
• Recognizing 1^st and 2^nd Defenders (Space to Dribble into)
• Dribbling – taking defenders on with confidence
• Confidence on the ball (no matter where on the field) 

JUNIORS PROGRAM

Continuing to develop players first, we have identified areas that all players should be comfortable in performing.  These competencies are broken down for 8v8/9v9 (U11-U12) and 11v11 (U13-U14).

8v8 (9v9) Competencies

•1v1 Defending (Approach, Athletic stance, Poke v Block Tackle, Gaining Possession)

•Role of 2nd Defender

•Heading (Defensive and Attacking)

•Juggling – 50 times feet only

•Creating space in attack for self and others

•Roles of all positions

•Risk vs Safety in areas of the field

•Ability to serve from width with both feet (in air and on ground)

11v11 Competencies

•Understanding & recognizing attacking combinations

•Juggling – 100 times feet only

•Receive balls with all parts under pressure (head, chest, legs, feet)

•Understanding 1st, 2nd, 3rd defenders

•High vs Low pressure

•Cues to press

PLEASE UNDERSTAND that every player develops (physically, mentally, and socially) at different rates and at different times. If your child has mastered any of these areas, coaches may challenge them with more difficult skills and strategies or to train or play with a higher/older team.  At the same time, if your child is struggling with some or all of these competencies, coaches may ask your child to put in extra work, train or play with another team in order to get more repetitions and instruction.

Having mastered these skills early or still struggling DOES NOT determine whether your child will end up a high level player or a poor player.  Through my experience, successful players are determined by those who stick with it.  They are the ones who FAIL OFTEN, but WORK TO IMPROVE and OVERCOME THOSE FAILURES.

As a parent, look for these competencies and skills.  Encourage your child to spend extra time on areas they need work.  If you are not sure how to help, ask your coach.

Standards

You are at least a month into the Fall season.  Patterns are developing on your team:  who starts,  positions,  playing time.  You may not agree with some of these decisions or you may feel pretty good about where things are at present.

If you are not where you want to be or you want to remain in favorable standing, what do you do?  I am getting a lot of this right now.  How can I get more playing time?  How can I play more as a forward or central midfield?

My answer is usually the same - RAISE YOUR STANDARDS.  Showing up to practice and working hard doesn't get you on the field or in the position you want.  That is expected.  Everyone on the team is doing that, not to mention thousands of other players at other clubs.  These are also who you will be competing with for varsity spots or college scholarships.

HOW TO RAISE YOUR STANDARDS

1.  Be prepared on time - Showing up to the field or pulling in the parking lot is not on time.  Arrive 10 minutes prior to the beginning of training.  Make sure you have all your equipment on and are ready to go.  Sometimes you cannot avoid being late (traffic, ride was late, wreck, etc); have your cleats on and get out to the field as quickly as you can.

2.  Do what is asked (no matter what others are doing) - focus and concentrate on what the coach has asked and do it.  If you are to touch the line for sprints, get there each and every time.  Cutting the line short by 6 inches makes a difference.  If you are to receive with your left foot, do it.  Even if this means you make mistakes initially. 

3.  Encourage, do not criticize - BE A GREAT TEAMMATE.  It is easy to see the flaws or what someone doesn't do well.  Challenge yourself to see what your teammates do well and encourage them to keep improving when things are not going well.  When you feel someone is supporting you, you will work harder.

4.  Give 10% more - this goes for everything from effort, preparation, nutrition, and time.  Increase your effort each session with more effort.  EXAMPLE - finish out every run by not stopping until completely across the line.  See #1.  Choose water instead of soda (or even sport drinks).  If you train 4.5 hours a week with your team, spend at least 30 minutes extra a week improving your game.

5.  Challenge yourself - if you want to be a forward, you must put yourself in that situation.  During free play, be a forward.  If coach doesn't assign positions in a game or drill, be a forward.  Watch, study, practice aspects that are associated with being a great forward.

6.  Ask for feedback - schedule a time with your coach to get feedback on how you are doing and if there is anything you can work on.  This should be done once or twice a season.  It takes time to improve, so don't ask for feedback every week.  Make sure you can show or demonstrate your improvement.

7.  Be good at most, BE GREAT AT 1 or 2 - Always work on your complete game, so you are able to handle all the aspects of soccer.  To be a difference maker, you must make an impact every game.  Take 1 or 2 things that you like or are already fairly strong and become better than anyone else on your team, in your club, city, state, and beyond.  If you are a forward, your job is to score.  Spend time finishing.  Finish with both feet, head, knees, toe, off the dribble, one touch, two touch.  Finish anyway you can possibly imagine, then do it over and over again.  Once you master it, practice even harder.  If you are 6'6", become the most dominant player in the air anyone has seen.  Your height is a built in advantage, but you must take that advantage it and run with it.

8.  You get confidence from the work you put in - the more purposeful training you do, the better you will become.  You will gain confidence because you know have improved.  It becomes a snowball affect.

I could go on with other ways to improve, but this should get you a start.  Got some other great ideas, please share.  Good luck in your play, habits, and attitude.  Now go out and Be Awesome.