Why do kids play soccer...and what can we do to help?

A few years ago the English Football Association (FA) ran a study to monitor the reasons why children play soccer.  Similarly, US Youth Soccer did some research in to finding the reasons why children stop playing.  What was interesting about both sets of these findings, is the reaction to winning...namely, kids are not as invested in it as adults.

According to the findings, the English FA listed the top 6 reasons why children play to be the following

- I want to try my hardest
- It's fun
- I love the game
- It keeps me fit and healthy
- I like making new friends
- I like playing with my friends

As you can see, nothing here is mentioned about winning games/tournaments/trophies/medals etc.  That is not to say that kids don't enjoy those things.  We have all been at tournaments where our team has won a competition and the players have big smiles on there faces (as you can see from the above photo), but it  is certainly not the be all and end all as far as the players are concerned.  I can recall a situation where a player I coached had conceded while playing in goal and the team ended up losing 1-0.  She was in tears at the end of the game, completely inconsolable, yet 5 minutes later she had an ice cream in her mouth and a big smile on her face.  Game well and truly forgotten!!!

As you can also see, these findings suggest that kids like to play the game for intrinsic reasons, namely, why THEY want to play the game and not why Mom and Dad want them to play.  The FA released this video to highlight the experience of a child when playing for parents, rather than themselves.  Even though this was aimed at English parents, it is also very prevalent in the US.  The support that players get on game days still amazes me to this day, despite having coached over here for 12 years, and the turnout from parents, siblings, aunties, uncles and grandparents turns the game into a real family event, something I never fully experienced in England.  However, it is important that we as adults remember that it is only a game and in the grand scheme of life, Little Johnny winning a U11 Classic Division 2 East game 3-0 isn't going to have that great of an impact on future endeavors. 

US Youth Soccer's findings into why kids drop of soccer show a sharp contrast to that of why they play.  Instead of being intrinsic reasons, the majority are extrinsic, or more specifically, adult controlled.  The top 7 reasons are as follows

- Lack of Playing Time
- Overemphasis on winning
- Other activities are more interesting
- Lack of Fun
- Coaching/Adult behaviors
- Dissatisfaction with performance
- Lack of Social Support

6 of the 7 reasons can be attributed to that of an adult influencing the player.  Lack of playing time is decided by the coach.  Having played in an era whee roll on, roll off substitutes were non-existent, I can fully empathize with this.  I once played for a team where in the final 6 games of the season I received 8 minutes playing time.  It wasn't fun.  I was even told in one of those games not to bother putting on my uniform.  Thankfully we are in a better day and age now, where roll on roll off subs are allowed, giving players opportunities to get plenty of minutes.  It is still an issue however, and as coaches it is something we should look to address, monitoring playing time, keeping log books and utilizing our assistant coaches to keep track of timings.

An overemphasis on winning can come down to both parents and coaches.  For those players who have aspirations of playing College or even higher, that is the end goal, not whether or not they win the U12 Mickey Mouse Tournament Bronze Division.  College coaches will be looking for players who are intelligent, who know the game, can communicate, act as leaders and possess both technical and physical attributes.  Playing a game against a team coached by an assistant coach at UNC Charlotte, we lost 4-3.  However, the coach made a point of coming up to me afterwards and saying that one of our players was the best on the field by a long way, comparing her to Steven Gerrard (maybe an exaggeration on his part).  That girl is now playing at a National League level.

For those who don't have  those aspirations, learning to deal with setbacks, team work, communication, leadership skills and fair play will stand them in good stead as upstanding citizens and employees in their futures, not the win and loss ratio from when they played youth soccer.

One of the more interesting reasons I found was a dissatisfaction with performance.  This could be seen as intrinsic, but the questions has to be asked, what are we doing as adults to impact this?  Having experienced this in the past, it is fair to say that some parents feel the need to give their child their opinion on how they performed during the game.  If the game was lost, this is likely from a source of negativity.  "You should have passed better, you should have hustled more...".  Even in a win, I have experienced parents being negative when speaking to their child afterwards.

This is not limited to parents, coaches can be just as bad after a defeat.  Having won a game last fall against an opponent who had not lost in over a year, the coach of the opposition had his team sitting down for 15 minutes after the game, telling them they didn't work hard enough, that the team I was coaching wanted it more and that they were no longer the best team in the state.  A number of thoughts came to mind - what kid wants to listen to someone tell them how bad they are for 15 minutes after playing in extreme humidity and not winning, how many are actually paying attention and what are the kids that are listening currently thinking???  I don't know for definite, but based on personal experience, I would imagine those kids were already pretty downbeat after losing the game.  The last thing they needed was to be told they were no good.

Frank Lampard once stated that after losing a game at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho came into the dressing room afterwards and said "Don't worry.  We can't change things right now.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  We'll talk on Monday".  This is something that has resonated with me and something tat I have tried to emulate (not always successfully) after games, win or lose.  Coaches can have an impact on this, but parents can as well.  As opposed to giving your opinion, would it not be better to ask your son or daughter theirs?  Questions such as "what do you think you did well?", "did you enjoy that?" and "what can you improve on?" will surely have a longer lasting benefit than being told by someone what they did and didn't do well.

I think ultimately, it is important that we remember that the most important people in youth soccer are the kids, not the adults.  As adults we can help structure things in a way to make sure that all young players are getting out of the sport what they need, and not what we want, to make sure they are lifelong fans of the game and are able to pass down that enthusiasm to their kids.

Soccer Specific Conditioning - what attributes does your player need?

An oft-asked question is which are the fittest athletes in the World.  It's a fair question, but also a tough one to quantify.  The fitness attributes required of a boxer are different to that of swimmer, or a triathlete or a sumo wrestler.  One thing is for sure though and that is that if there were such a title, soccer players would be competing for it.

Running on average 7-12km per game, elite level professionals cover a great distance over a 90 minute game.  Not only are players required to run that distance, but at the same time considerations have to be made for changes of direction, speed, jumping, striking the ball and monitoring both their team mates and opposition players.  It is fair to say that running at a steady pace for 5 miles, while great for general conditioning, will not have the desired effect when looking to play at peak condition.  Historically laps of the field have been used for getting players into shape, but answer me this...how many times have you watched a game and seen a player run the perimeter of the field for the duration?

With that in mind, what soccer specific conditioning attributes do players need to focus on?

Agility

Agility is the ability to change one's body position efficiently.  If you have ever seen Lionel Messi in full flow with the twisting and turning with the ball, you will have seen a player whose agility is as good as anyone's. In this video, Cristano Ronaldo has his speed tested against that of professional sprinter, both in a straight line and through a zig zag.  Though the sprinter has the beating of Ronaldo in a straight line, when it came to constant changes of direction, Ronaldo was clearly the faster man.

Agility is not only limited to attacking players, agility is also key for defenders.  When being attacked by a flying winger 1 v 1, the ability to move backwards and change direction with the player in control of the ball is vital.  It is advised players utilize ladders, hurdles and poles to improve this ability, as well as attempting to move through them both forwards and backwards to help with any transitions from attack to defense or vice versa that take place in the game.

Endurance

Endurance is a key element to most athletic endeavors.  With players expected to perform and stay focused for 90 minutes, sometimes 120, this is especially true in soccer.  However, as previously mentioned, players will not be running at a steady pace for the entire time.  The speed they move at can be anything from a full out sprint to a steady walk and players must be prepared for this.

N'Golo Kante, a summer signing for Chelsea, made 28 high intensity sprints in his first game for the club, ranging between 10-30 meters each time.  Combined with the rest of the distance covered, making these sprints throughout the 90 minutes takes a lot of focus.  With this in mind, it is advised that players use High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) when building endurance - longer distance running mixed with 10-20 second sprints.

Power

Power is the combination of strength and speed (2 other elements we won't discuss here).  The ability to strike a ball, hold of an opponent, out jump someone for a header and accelerate away from on opponent or towards the ball are reliant on an individuals power at a given moment the game.  Former professional player and current QPR head coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was once recorded as hitting a free kick at 230km per hour, despite very little back lift in his leg.  As you can see from the video, the keeper had no chance!

Players can develop power through explosive activities such as jump squats, clap push ups and plyometric activities.

Flexibility

Changing direction at high speed, leaping for a header, striking a ball with full power all run the risk of a player suffering a muscular injury.  Hamstrings, quads and groins are all potential parts of the body that are exposed to a pull or a tear in a game of soccer.  For female players, due to the way their bodies form, are also at a great risk of experiencing an ACL related injury.  Dynamic stretching and movements are recommended when players warm up, as well as static stretching and slower paced movements when cooling down after games and practices.

It should be noted that, despite flexibility being at its highest level up to the age of 11, younger travel soccer players should begin to gain an understanding of these movements so that the expectancy does not come as a shock to them when it is more required.

Premier UK runs soccer specific conditioning classes during teh spring and fall seasons.  Speak to your PUK coach for more information.

The benefits of Private Training

Soccer is a social sport.  Players get to play with their friends, make new friends, learn the importance of team work, leadership, fair play and the result is often dependent on the performance of the team as opposed to the individual.  Even during the 1986 World Cup, where it was widely considered that Diego Maradona single-handedly won the World Cup for Argentina, they still managed three shutouts en route to their success which would not have been possible without a rock solid defense.

Despite this, the team is made up of a number of individuals, each with their own specific skill set that will have been refined and worked on during their younger years.  The challenge for the youth coach is to make sure that these players receive the adequate amount of practice to not only enhance their importance to the team, but to develop the characteristics and skills need for each unique individual.  Two 1.5 hour sessions a week is not enough to cover all of this, even if the coach is somehow able to spend 1-2 minutes per session speaking to each player separately.

With this in mind, Private Training offers young players the opportunity to get that individual attention and allows the coach to really highlight the areas of improvement for each individual player.  But how does it benefit them and is it worth it?


Repetition

In a one hour session, players can run through the same technique/skill at least over 300 times if done correctly.  Robin van Persie highlighted that he knew what he had to do to reach the highest level when he saw Dennis Bergkamp stay out on the Arsenal training ground while the rest of the first team had their post training meal.  Van Persie claimed that Bergkamp spoke to one of the Academy players and had him serving passes along the floor as he continuously hit a first time finish into the bottom corner of the goal for an hour.

This kind of repetition allowed Bergkamp to place the ball instinctively when the situation arose on game days.  Private Training allows for this kind of repetition, allowing players to focus on the placement of their non-kicking foot, shape of their hips, stride into the ball and the part of the ball they strike consistently, so that it happens naturally during games on the minimal opportunities they get to score.  This can also be applied to passing, receiving, 1v1's, dribbling, Goal keeping, intercepting passes and a whole host of other techniques.

Although technical practices can be applied in team sessions to work on these skills, the amount of repetition a player can go through quadruples with a private training session.

Individual Attention

On a study trip to Ajax Amsterdam, a professional club out of the Netherlands with one of the most famous Youth Academies in the World, I learned that they spent close to €30 million each year to keep it running.  This expense took into account facilities and maintenance, uniforms, coaching costs and video analysis.  Video analysis was used not only for games and to view the team performance, but also the individuals technique and running style.  The speed, agility and quickness coach informed myself and the other visitors that he will review the footage and look for any irregularities in a players running technique.  If any players were not running 'properly', he would work with them individually to have it corrected.  If the player in question could not make the necessary corrections, they would be looking for a new club.

In youth club soccer, such luxuries are not at our disposal.  Even the US Developmental Academies and Elite Club National League teams cannot afford this kind of expense.  Private Training allows this individual focus, giving the coach a chance to work with players closely over a number of weeks, analyze and technical deficiencies, both with and without a ball, and help to correct them, which they will struggle to do when running a session and looking at 12-16 players at the same time.

Non-Dominant Foot Focus

Every player has a foot they prefer. Lionel Messi, will often use his left foot even when it does not seem possible.  However, find a youtube video of his goals collection, and you will see a decent percentage of them are with his right foot.

When completing the Coerver Coaching Youth Diploma, founder Alf Galustian told me how he visited Real Madrid's training ground and saw Zinedine Zidane practicing on his own.  Galustian asked Zidane why he was practicing alone, he was the best player in the World (at the time), what could he possibly have to improve on.  Zidane replied "I'm not happy with my left foot" (and this not long after scoring this goal).

The point here is that there will be situations in games where players will need to utilize their non-dominant foot.  A chance to score may fall to them in the box, they may have to put a cross in or the opposition defender may be playing them towards their non-favored side. The focus on working this foot that Private Training can provide far exceeds that of a team session.  A whole hour can be dedicated towards this, building the players' confidence to use it more often in games.

Bonding with the Coach

In a team session, big personalities will always be heard more often than those of a quieter disposition.  This is not to say one is right or wrong, but those who are a little quieter may not get the attention they need, due to those who are more outgoing taking the spotlight.

Private raining offers more than just soccer training.  It allows the coach to get to know the player more personally, gaining a greater indication of what makes them tick, what their aspirations are in the game and what they thought about the way they recently performed, things that the players may not be comfortable talking about with others around.

Private Training has it's cons...unrealistic pressure, not working with team mates, the lack of game like practice...but the pro's certainly outweigh those.  Technique is the foundation of every player and private training is a great way to enhance those techniques and make them as consistent as possible when it comes to game time.  As the new saying goes, "practice makes permanent".

What should youth soccer players be eating?

"You are what you eat."  It's a saying well known in the western world.  As we all know, this does not mean that by eating nothing but donuts, you will end up round with a big hole in the middle of you,  but it will certainly have an impact on your body shape, energy levels and, as far as soccer players are concerned, performance.  Cristiano Ronaldo, 3 times player of the year, has even taken it a step further and hired a personal chef to ensure he eats the right foods at the right times of the day.  But what should players be eating, and when?

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, or carbs for short, provide energy.  There are 2 basic types of carbs - simple and complex.  Simple carbs are formed of 2 sugars and are usually found in foods and drinks such as fruits,o candy and soda.  Simple carbs break down a lot quicker than complex and are good for providing quick, intense bursts of energy.  Complex carbs are formed of 3 or more types of sugars.  They are often found in foods such as whole grain breads, cereals, quinoa, beans and potatoes.  Taking longer to break down aat a far slower rate than simple carbs, they provide energy over a sustained period of time.

It is advised that players consume more complex based carbs 3-4 hours before kick off, moving more towards the simple variety the closer they get to that start of a game.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich 1.5 hours before a game for example, would provide players with the necessary energy stores they need to perform over the 60 minutes, especially considering youth players can cover anything from 3-5 miles in a game.

Proteins

Protein is vital in repairing muscle and is often found in meat, eggs and fish.  For those of you that have seen the movie Rocky, the clip where he cracks 6-7 eggs into a jug and drinks them raw is a stand out scene.  From personal experience, I do not recommend kids do this!  The texture alone is enough to put anyone off eating eggs again.  However, it highlights how important protein is to athletes looking to perform at the top of their game.

As mentioned, 3-5 miles is a lot of running, even more so when you consider the changes in speed, direction, intensity and others factors such as jumping and avoiding challenges from opposing players.  This can have a of wear and tear on the body.  Considerations on this have to be made, especially when it comes to teenagers who are experiencing puberty and a level of growth that they are not use to.  It is recommended that all post game meals include a serving of high quality protein (chicken nuggets not included!).

Fats

There is a lot of misconception about fat.  With the advertisement of fat free diets, looking as slim as possible and the potential for school yard bullying, it is understandable why some young players may choose to avoid fats all together.  However, the difference between unsaturated fats and saturated fats cannot be dismissed and is vital for the performance of the aspiring soccer player.

Unsaturated fats, found in foods such as nuts, avocados, tuna and salmon, provide players with protection for their internal organs - the lungs and heart certainly getting a good workout during a game - and aid with a person's mental function.  Loss of concentration is a big thing in soccer, not only at youth level but in the pro game also.  I still have nightmares about a game my favorite team tied 4-4 after being 4-1 up with 10 minutes to go.  It is important that players limit their saturated fat content - fast food, bacon, butter etc which is liable to sit on a players stomach pre-game and not aid recovery post game.

Water

Players must stay hydrated.  In the intense heat in North Carolina towards the end of the spring/beginning of the fall, players are likely to sweat more often and be more susceptible to dehydration and the impacts on brain function and energy levels that it can have.  It is advised that players drink plenty prior, during and after each game.  The fluid they consume should be a combination of water and sports drinks, such as Gatorade or Powerade.  Despite the fact it "gives you wings", Red Bull is not suitable!

Players should be encouraged to drink during these times, despite the temptation for them to say "I'm not thirsty" or "I don't need a drink".  I have heard this many times, and have to stand there making unbreakable eye contact with a kid to make sure they have a drink when I ask them to.

The nutrition of players is important to peak performance.  The better they take care of what goes into their body, the sharper they will be on game day.  It is important that kids have the chance to be kids (I wouldn't begrudge anyone the occasional McDonalds), but the timing of these treats should be monitored.

For those after further information, visit our Facebook page or search #PUKperformance for regular updates and links for what players can do to improve their on field performance.