Youth Developmental Leagues Guide 🌟
Coaching Philosophy
Mission Statement:
To provide a fun, safe, and nurturing environment where kids acquire the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the beautiful game of soccer. All children who go through our program will become well-rounded soccer players.
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Coaching Methodology
Desirable difficulties with interleaved and spaced learning:
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Interleaved training improves learning and memory
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Interleaving forces learners to constantly store and retrieve different skills enhancing both sides of memory
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Spacing the time between learning increases retrieval strength
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To see if a new skill has truly been learned some time must pass before proving that skill can be retrieved from stored long-term memory
Performance vs learning:
The coaches at XL understand the difference between a player who has performed an action because they were told to and a player who has performed an action because they recognized it was their best option. We prefer players with Planck knowledge over chauffeur knowledge - even if it means poor performance in the short term.
Keeping with our understanding of performance vs learning, the coaches at XL do their best to provide feedback at the end of the Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action Loop. Planck knowledge cannot be achieved when the OODA Loop flow is interrupted.
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Training Session Template
Include the time to explain the rules, objectives, and get water into each activity
20-minute warm-up i.e.:
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Passing freeze tag
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Rondos
20 minutes focusing on your topic i.e.:
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Scanning and communication
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Pressure and resetting
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Rotations, combinations, underloads, and overloads
20 minutes scrimmage with little to no rules
Training session guidelines
Create rules that encourage certain outcomes but do not take away any part of the game (this preserves interleaved training or repetition through variation)
Examples of rules that take away parts of the game:
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Two touches max
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Must finish with one touch
Examples of rules that do not take away parts of the game
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5 passes is a point
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One-touch goals are worth two points
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Interceptions are worth one point (encourages more dribbling but doesn’t take away passing)
Game Template
2-1-2 formation:
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Players will play in each position in most games
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Goalkeeper is voluntary, if no one volunteers then we rotate players in goal for 10 minutes each
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We put players in each position so that players can adapt, perform, and become well-rounded players
Kickoff:
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Have players face their teammates and pass to the player with the most space
Half-time:
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Ask the players what have we done well and what can we improve
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Guide them to solutions and add anything you want to cover that they did not mention
Tackling:
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There is no sliding allowed in indoor soccer
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We teach players to win the ball with a pullback to fully gain control of the ball with skill and grace
Goalkeepers:
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Goalkeepers are not required to stay in front of a hard shot - they can move out of the way
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When a goalkeeper is in their box and they miss the ball they usually don't have a chance to recover
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Goalkeepers can see all of the players - the whole picture - making them a great passing option
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Whenever a goalkeeper has the ball in their box they should make sure they have both of their defenders all the way in the corners for easy passing options - this gives everyone more space to receive a pass
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A goalkeeper sitting in their box gives the attackers an invitation to come and shoot on their goal
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Instead, we encourage goalkeepers to come out of their box and use their skills like a field player
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When goalkeepers win the ball outside of the box their team can better keep the ball in the attacking half
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When a goalkeeper misses a tackle outside of their box they can always run back and recover
Click on view for your respective league then find the individual registration option. Private teams will only allow you to request to join while the individual registration will have a registration button for you to register on the spot.
Unable to view your schedule?
If you are signed into your account but you do not see your child's schedule it is likely because your name is selected rather than your child's name. Click on my profile on the left-hand side then select your child's name from the manage family accounts option in the top right corner.
Development at home
The videos in the 4 channels below serve as a guide and inspiration when training at home. Always start slow, breaking down each movement, then speed up as you gain confidence in each motion.
Formation roles and responsibilities
Goalkeeper:
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Communication is your number one responsibility because you can see the whole field
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Tell your teammates who is open ("find John on the other side!") and if they have a defender closing their space quickly ("man on!")
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Tell your teammates who is unmarked when the other team has the ball ("Vicky watch your right shoulder")
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You are also the player who can use their hands to make saves but if you communicate effectively you shouldn't have to worry about doing that too many times
Right & Left Defenders:
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Communicate
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Never let the ball get behind you
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Shift with the ball without crowding your teammates
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Deny space, be patient, and try to win the ball with a pullback
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Cover your other defender when they are pressuring the ball by shifting closer to them and staying slightly behind them in case they get beat
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Provide easy passing options for your goalkeeper when they have the ball
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Support your forwards by always being available for a drop pass when they can no longer go forward
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Occasionally make runs up the field to overload the other team
Center Mid:
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Communicate
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Also known as the box-to-box player because they move from goalie box to goalie box - all the way back on defense and all the way up on offense
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They can also be referred to as the missing puzzle piece because they connect all of their teammates
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Center mids control the tempo of the game with their passing and touches on the ball because they are that missing puzzle piece and play flows the best when it goes through them
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Shift with the ball without crowding your teammates
Right and left forwards:
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Communicate
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Make creative runs to open up space and receive passes
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Combine with your center mid and other forward to get shots off
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Help on defense but as soon as your team wins the ball move up the field to provide an outlet pass and get play out of our own half
Player expectations
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Have fun
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Listen to the coaches and try the things they teach you
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Introduce yourself to new faces - both coaches and fellow players
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Be a team player - to accomplish things, you must do it together
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Take good care of things as if they were your own
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Respect one another
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Welcome and involve others in your activities
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Take initiative, be creative, and dare to try something new
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Be yourself and show off your personality, especially in games
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Learn something new each time you visit
Parent expectations
Be respectful of spectators, players, coaches, and officials - remember that everyone is here to do his or her best and have fun.
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Arrive at least 5 minutes early for practices and games
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Ensure your child has plenty of water and the correct footwear (indoor shoes, turf shoes, or tennis shoes - 🚫no cleats🚫)
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On game day your child should come prepared by having BOTH their home (black) and away (grey) jerseys - if you have not picked up your jerseys yet they can be picked up and paid for at the front desk
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Do not leave the facility without your child - there should never be a scenario where your child needs your attention or is injured and you are not in the building
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Let the coaches do the coaching
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Provide positive support
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Support your child from the parent's sideline - avoid standing on bleachers, behind goals, or on the player's sideline
How to create a team
Register as a team manager or coach
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Click on view for your respective league then select the team manager or coach option.
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Once selected you will be prompted to log in - log in or register an account.
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Now you can enter your team details. Finally, select your team's desired level of play and affirm you understand our two statements to create your team and make a payment.
Managing your team
Inviting players
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When you are logged in click on your team under my enrollments near the bottom of your dashboard
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Under team details, you will find a blue invite button
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Now you can enter your teammate's emails and a message to invite them to your team
Managing team payments
Team fees are due in full by week 3
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When you are logged in click on your team under my enrollments near the bottom of your dashboard
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When you scroll to your team's roster you can enter assigned amounts for each of your teammates to pay
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Alternatively, you can scroll to the bottom and evenly split payments among all of the players on your roster
