I told my daughter to take her soccer ball with her when she watched tv alone in the rec room. Within a week she went from barely being able to juggle 3 times in row to more that 20. I don't know where she stands now, but she's definitely improved.
Watch MLS sometimes. Last night's Burn vs. Metrostars game was not dominated by one touch passing.... one touch is great--as a way to vary an attack. But you've got to be able to hold the ball and shield it when pressured. Guess what you're not going to be able to do if you're one touch passing 90% of the time? You guessed it--hold and shield the ball under pressure.
I forgot a view things for practices. Vary the ball size. passing around in pairs or pressure passing in confined areas. If you have small ones with a size three use the tennis ball, then the 3, then a 1. Same for older kids. A few years back some guys were importing the cheap Brazilian rubber balls (about a 1 & 1/2) they sell for street play. I found them very useful. The Brazilian pros even train with them. You really have to stroke these guys, almost the natural movement, to get them to roll right. 8-10 years up as they are a bit heavy fo the diameter. Try the Brazil guys clinic in Florida. IIRC thy are in Florida. I'll even vary balls in small sided scrimmages. I would also practice in occassionally in bare feet. If you have bad fields use the soft beach shoes ($3 at K Mart) sans shin guards. Get's the ball on the side of the foot fast. {Barefoot also very useful for keeping the ankle locked down on the instep drive.}
I must say that I really agree with the barefoot thing. When I was but a wee little boy, I had a coach who got fed up with kids kicking with their toes and other crap. He just said, enough is enough, everybody take your shoes off. Barefoot, you'll generally either kick the ball right, or you'll bust your feet up pretty good. It's a great way to get some feel on the ball and encourages you to use different parts of the foot and can up your skill level pretty quick.
Its not like we dont shield the ball as well....I learned to sheild the ball when I was 7 or 8, and I assume that many other people learned that young. My club team plays a lot of small sided games in small spaces, so you have to make lots of one/two touch passing. I play center mid...and since we rarely get on a large field(usually the fields barely go over the size requirements), I have to make passes in one or two touches. I realize that the game is not all about one touching...and on larger fields I might take 3 or 4 touches. On small fields though, the midfield is very tight, so I have to make quick decisions.... I realize what you are saying, Im not biting your head off, just had to stand up for myself, lol. Oh, and on the progress and sucess of the youth programs in the country as a whole...I think it has improved greatly. The training gets better, as do the players, and within the next 5-10 years we will see more and more players going over seas at younger ages......
For at home practice only. My league doesn't allow kids to practice without proper footwear or shinguards.
As a coach, some of the things I try to always tell my players: 1)watch games on tv(MLS,EPL,CL,etc).......such a great learning tool. 2)watch live games. Watch college games or higher level teams than your team to see what the game "looks" like at higher levels 3)befriend the ball......nothing better to improve your abilities than to always be trying new things with the ball. One thing that frustrates me is that when I was coaching a boys HS team a few years ago was that out of about 22 players I would guess that only 2-3 actually watched games on tv. Most thought watching soccer was boring even though for most of these kids, soccer was the only sport they played. I try to remember that for most of these kids, soccer isn't their passion like it is for me. I just wish it was for my team's sake.
What is proper footwear? Armed to the teeth with cleats and shin guards? If all players are barefoot/wear soft shoes no damage. In fact bruises are less IMHO. Get your rules changed for practices anyway. And if your serious about cost reduction the small ones could play in tennies sans shin guards. Lots of kids don't have $20-30 bucks even for cheap cleats, and most are higher.
As a coach, I have always had a practice or two a year without shoes and shinguards. The kids learn how to play without "toeballs" and learn how to dribble into space and pass so nobody steps on their toes. When I tell the kids to practice at home I tell them to practice barefoot to get the feel of the ball on their foot. [/QUOTE] One thing that frustrates me is that when I was coaching a boys HS team a few years ago was that out of about 22 players I would guess that only 2-3 actually watched games on tv. Most thought watching soccer was boring even though for most of these kids, soccer was the only sport they played. I try to remember that for most of these kids, soccer isn't their passion like it is for me. I just wish it was for my team's sake.