What a great tune from Earth, Wind and Fire, is it R&B
or is it disco at its finest: a discussion for another day! September has
always been my favourite month, real sport is back, the kids are back at school
and the tourists have gone home.
As a fan I have had a terrible month...after a four month
unbeaten run at the end of last season propelled the love supreme, known to
others as Sheffield Wednesday, back into the Championship, we have reverted to
type and lost every game this month. The world famous New Orleans Saints have
failed to win a game, thanks to Roger Goodell- I will say no more on that
topic- and our dream of winning another Super bowl in God's country is in
shreds, and even a team that is winning, my Louisiana State University Fighting
Tigers are quite possibly the poorest 5-0 team in the history of the NCCA.
Having said all that,
what about the WEATHER.
I can't remember a better September and as a coach I have
one simple question.
Why haven't our youngest players in the U6 to U9 age groups
been playing in this great weather. There is no doubt in my mind that these are
our most important players. Our future National team players and hopefully
World Cup players are currently in these age groups and we have just missed a
whole month of warm and sunny weather which is ideal for the development of
young children.
In the LISA
district our mini players started playing on the last weekend of September and
I am sure that everyone had a great time last Saturday, the weather was good
and everyone went home dry. Very soon things will be different, the colder and
wetter weather will return and it won't be anywhere near as much FUN! The kids
will be bundled up but they will be cold and their movement somewhat restricted
due to the many layers of clothes that they have on. Their feet will be cold
and they probably wont get a good feel of the ball which won't help their technical
development. Not only will they be cold, the chances are they will also be wet
as we get a bit of rain in the winter. If we are trying to develop soccer
players, wouldn't we be better served to try and develop them in conditions
that will facilitate development as opposed to hindering it.
Here's a few more questions for you:
Would you rather watch your child play
in warm dry weather or cold wet conditions?
Would your child ENJOY playing more in
the warm dry weather or cold and wet conditions?
Why are our youngest players playing
and learning to play soccer in our poorest weather
conditions?
Would you rather have the sun at your back or the rain in
your face?
Over the
next few months the Lower Island Soccer Association will be working on a pilot
program for these age groups as we would like to see these players NOT playing
outside in the winter months. If there first experiences of soccer are fun then
the chances of our future National teams players staying in the game will be greater.
The next
Adam Straith, Josh Simpson and Emily Zurrer are out there and they will be
tempted by other sports. As a sport we need to make sure they stay with soccer
and sending them home dry and happy after every practice might keep them in our
game.
In
closing...
The 'She
Kicks' female coaching program kicks off this week. She Kicks is a partnership
between LISA and the University of Victoria that aims to help develop female
coaches through female only coaching clinics. During the month of October the
She Kicks program will put young female players through the Active Start and
Fundamentals courses as they start on the road to becoming successful female
coaches and role models for our young female players.
I don't mind a few weeks earlier start, but to be playing in the summer is going to be no good for a lot of families, as they take vacation during the summer. I think that's going to be the biggest hurdle with this idea, along with competing field priorities with other sports - baseball, softball, volleyball, etc.
ReplyDeleteInstead, why not look at having all clubs start kids soccer at 3+ like JDF and look to get all coaches trained/certified (I know, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink)...
We loose too many kids to other activities by starting registration ages at a later age. If JDF can max out their 3-6yr old Timbits and have a waitlist each year - that tells me something and it tells me weather is not an issue.
Dave
DeleteSummer soccer would be a huge shift and we know people don't like change. I think there is a place we can get to with just a few little changes that will provide a better model for developing the younger players.
A few challenges are existing spring sports like baseball. That said, we might pick up hockey players in the spring, so that would be a plus.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to do what is best for the sport in general and adjust as everyone makes the shift. I know most of my kids prefer the warm whether. I have an odd ball daughter that can't wait for the rain. But I think that is because it means it's soccer season! :)
BradW
I think it is a great idea Andrew. We lose so much practice time during the fall and winter that by December we are only playing games if we are lucky. That's not helping improve a players ability.
ReplyDeleteThere will be those that want their children to play every sport that is available to them. Very few of these children play at a high level at multiple sports. Focusing on soccer will produce better players and they'll be the one's that want to be there playing. Look at the top soccer countries in the world. How many of them have hockey teams. Our top athletes look to hockey, field or ice, as their sport of choice. By moving to a summer league and avoiding the conflict we could get some of these players out to see what a real sport is.....