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The creation and implementation of a solid soccer platform of both player and coach development is fundamental to keeping a player interested in the sport long term. But real development is more than just forming teams and letting kids play. It's about everyone knowing where we are going and having a common objective as a club to maximize each one of our players' opportunities, dreams and goals. It's about everyone being on the same page. It's also about kids moving to the next level by providing higher competitive experiences regardless of win-loss records. It's about challenging players' abilities and defining guidelines and regulations flexible enough to meet specific demands. Finally, it's about embracing the maximum our parents', coaches' and facilitators' willingness to learn and to help the cause.
We allow orthopedic doctors to operate on our knees, an architect to design our house or a financial institution to plan our future. We see and understand the value of these experts. The process of developing our children's talents and abilities should also be viewed and valued by an expert.
We must provide the adequate education to everyone involved. As adults involved in youth soccer, our tendency is to expect "outcome performance" - we tend to expect winners and losers. Ultimately, we may put too much emphasis on the "outcome" and not enough on the "process"...how much children learned during training, how well they played or how much they enjoyed playing.
Over three-fourths of the children who play soccer drop out of the sport by the age of 12. Stephen J. Bavolek, from the Institute for Child-Centered Coaching, explained, "the importance of "winning and losing" only detracts from the youths' enjoyment, and may contribute to the high drop out rates."
We must establish the purpose and value of youth soccer. Let's teach them how to handle adversity and rejection. Let's teach them about goal setting (individual and team). Let's reward the based on the process and not the outcome. Let's teach them it's okay to make mistakes and fail; failing does not make a person a failure. These valuable life lessons will develop a child into a stronger person. Then, and only then, can we start developing a soccer player. Let's provide our kids not one option, but thousands of opportunities.
We must focus on long-term development, and not on short-term results.
As a great dreamer once said, "Dreamers look beyond the limits of today to the possibilities of tomorrow and see what can be instead of settling for what is."
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