US Soccer Unveils Coaching Curriculum for U6-U18

Discussion in 'Coach' started by equus, Apr 15, 2011.

  1. Dakota Soccer

    Dakota Soccer Member

    Dec 30, 2010
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    I think the intent behind these initiatives in curriculum development are great. We need this in US Soccer, but just like it was mentioned in the comments, how does US Soccer intend to implement these?

    Phase one of these initiatives addresses 5-12 year olds, an age group that does not have direct supervision by USSF. The Federation Academy system is a step in the right direction, but we need more direct communication between USSF and our local soccer associations. Right now state associations are affiliated with USYSA, local associations or clubs are registered with US Club, USYSA, or AYSO, our coaching education is administered by USSF, NSCAA, and USYSA. The highest level of youth soccer in our country is run by two different organizations in USYSA Olympic Development Program and the USSF Academy league (maybe three if you include US Club’s id program). Our professional soccer is overseen by USSF but is actually run by three main administrative bodies (MLS, NASL, and USL) each with their own technical directors.

    Basically, there are too many people involved and it’s a cluster, and no one has the right to say “This is where we are going” only the right to say “This is my recommendation, please do your best.” This is not a new arguement for US Soccer, it’s the same thing over and over again. Until we figure out a way to make the many organizations and leagues to abide by US Soccer curriculum and recommendations there is no teeth in this.

    I know it’s not the “American way,” but we need USSF to monoplize soccer in the USA if we’re ever going to get coaches on board and headed in same direction.
     
  2. elessar78

    elessar78 Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 12, 2010
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    This topic has been going around many many coaching message boards and the main question, "Who is going to implement this?"

    Well the answer, if you buy into the curriculum, is "You" or "Us". Right now there's no mechanism to force compliance, so what? If you believe in it, run with it. The point is to reach as many kids as possible and raise the overall standard of play. Change doesn't happen overnight, it's a slow process. Start changing the way we coach and maybe it will trickle out.

    I'm not a cheerleader for this curriculum (only because I have yet to read it) but any curriculum in the future is going to be met with the same stonewalling. If you believe in it, teach it. But there has to be a national standard and some one needs to set it. I'm even okay with state standards.
     
    sokorny repped this.
  3. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Am I the only one who thinks "meh. This is what is already being done by anyone who has been through a license course or two?"
     
  4. elessar78

    elessar78 Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 12, 2010
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Yeah, was reading it over lunch. I didn't think there was going to be anything radically new in there. There really can't be, right?

    I do think parts of it need to be translated for the dad coming in from the cold to coach his son's team. I try to stay up on this stuff but what the heck is "Acyclic speed"? Yes, I can google it but do I need a phys ed degree to run this curriculum?
     
  5. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    don't get me wrong, they do a nice job putting everything out there. It is comprehensive. Whereas you would have to go to a few places (but google makes it easy), much that you need is right there (and free). Many of the fitness terms can be found in an issue of "mens health." I was sort of hoping for the cure for cancer, in which case it under delivered. That is my fault for being too much of a fan of the sport and national team. Our club's director of coaching often jokes with our new coaches when we train them that "someone far smarter than me takes the same concepts, gives it a new name and makes a fortune."

    When I read it, first, it is not for a novice coach. Too complex. They need to go get a youth module at first in order to apply what is being talked about. Second, it is not for the 'average' player. Looking at U-10, it is calling for three training sessions a week followed by an 8 v 8 match. That seems much higher level. Not to say that I can't find usefulness in applying it to my team.
     
  6. elessar78

    elessar78 Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 12, 2010
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Agreed, I think this is for a far higher level than I thought it would be. I guess if you're going to bother making a standard then you might as well set the bar high. I cherry picked the relevant stuff for my team (u10) and I was caught off guard by the 3 practices per week. Well my kids practice 4 or 5 day inadvertently anyways (but it really doesn't show??).
     
  7. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    The curriculum was written by educators and curriculum writers. I wouldn't expect him to get up there and speak of it as an educator.
     
  8. Twenty26Six

    Twenty26Six Feeling Sheepish...

    Jan 2, 2004
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Then, why is he presenting? Why is he even involved? Even all the stuff he said that he went to go "figure out" from other countries, he could have learned here from people who already know the stuff. A total dog and pony show.

    (I hate to bitch only about the bad, b/c there is stuff I like. But...)

    So many bad things!
    * Look at "principles of play". Not one mention of penetration.
    * Zonal defending is described as equal distances between defenders? That's not zonal defending. Space between defenders always varied and for good reason.
    * Emphasizing passing and receiving for U6?
    * Positional responsibility for U6?

    Idk. I'm beginning to think they rushed this, and they did not consult anyone from USYSA - which upsets me.
     
  9. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    I haven't read it yet. I was surprised at the size of the files. After your review, I am now so not looking forward to reading it. I would expect that it would be written for DOC's, not novice coaches, so the level of knowledge that it presumes does not bother me. This is going to take awhile....
     
  10. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Twenty26Six: Just a thought, but perhaps you might want to start a sticky for discussion of the curriculum.
     
  11. Twenty26Six

    Twenty26Six Feeling Sheepish...

    Jan 2, 2004
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    I shouldn't be so negative. There is much to appreciate. I just think it has too many inconsistencies, and I don't like how they seemed to have just ignored everything US Youth Soccer has done to this point with "Best Practices", etc.


    I will sticky.
     
  12. LASA

    LASA Member

    Mar 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Twenty, any chance we can change the OP's link to the actual link to the curriculum and not an article about the curriculum? Took me a while to actually find the curriculum. Thanks, look forward to a long night of reading. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I buy in. I'm going in with a positive attitude.
     
  13. equus

    equus Member

    Jan 6, 2007
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    For what it's worth, "Coaching Soccer: The Official Coaching Book of the Dutch Soccer Association" that I read this winter, while good, is also very cerebral in relation to the academic side of things versus just laying it out there for all coaches.

    In my first skimming through it, I can't fathom why they recommend 7v7 matches for U8s and 8v8/9v9 for U9s and U10s. Heck, we just trimmed down our U10s to 7v7 this year to get closer to best practices and we're still not there yet. No way should U9s and 10s be playing with that many. 9v9 is almost full-sided! They ought to be playing 4v4 in U8 and no more than 6v6.
     
  14. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    In a sense, he/USSF are trying to re-invent the wheel.

    I believe the intention was for someone who basically played his career abroad to take a fresh approach, and more or less, we have discovered that soccer for kids, when adults get involved is roughly the same. Here is the US, where most of our kids are not ingrained culturally in the sport, we try to offset that with science/fitness.

    Really, can we teach a 6 or 7 yo to pass a ball? Sure, if they play every day with 9-12 yo older siblings and friends. If they are only playing soccer at their two 'training sessions' a week, the task is harder.
     
  15. LASA

    LASA Member

    Mar 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Got through half of it last night and pretty disappointed. This is not the direction I thought we were going in. There were a few times I wondered if the author had even met a 6 or 8 year old!

    So my next question is, where do we lodge our complaints and, does anyone think they'll listen?

    BTW, did anyone else notice the countless grammar and spelling errors? It's hard to take them seriously when they can't even hire an editor to handle our own language.
     
  16. Twenty26Six

    Twenty26Six Feeling Sheepish...

    Jan 2, 2004
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I know, right.

    They won't care. your best bet is to ignore them, and just listen to USYSA when it comes to 6s, 8s, and 10s.

    A buddy of mine joked that he thought they were poor translations where the information was basically just copied from some other country's soccer manual.
     
  17. Twenty26Six

    Twenty26Six Feeling Sheepish...

    Jan 2, 2004
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Agreed.

    True. The sad part is that Reyna wasn't coached by anyone but his father until he was close to 13yo. So, I'm not sure why this curriculum places such importance on organized training for 4-7 year old kids.

    Scrolling through the stuff, you can see that they recommend some 3v1 - which is doable... at U8. But, at U6, it shouldn't be an area of focus or concern.
     
  18. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Man behind the scenes: I believe this is the author of the curriculum. His experience is with young professionals trying to make the first team (U17 and U19). He is very educated so that explains why he is confident enough in his own opinions to ignore everything done previously.

    http://www.footballmaster.co.uk/html/Introduction.html
     
  19. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Okay I just started to read the first section. It is apparent to me that he has used his coaching plan for the U17 and U19 teams for at least the first section on style of play and principles. I hope he doesn't intend us to coach U-Littles like U19s. I mean, if this is a U13 team he is talking about, I think the cirriculum is worthless. Why should we waste all the training time teaching kids to play a complicated 433 like the pros use? A simple 433 without the specialized role-player positions would be much more suitable. The work rate for the wingers is going to be extremely high. It is like we decided to teach calculus to 12 year olds, skipping right over geometry and advanced algebra.

    While we have traditionally been heavily influenced by British theories--because the materials are more available in English language books--and all of Europe has been influenced by Jimmy Hogan, this writing is going to seem strange in some respects because its based on Spanish theories. I think that explains why you don't see familiar words for principles of play. I am sure the concept of penetration is somewhere in there.

    It is like some people want to make "creativity" or "flair" a separate principle. I believe it shouldn't be a separate principle. Penetration and mobility are principles. Creativity and flair are qualities rather than tactics. If you want to emphasize possession and short passing, then I suspect you would de-emphasize penetration as a principle of play. Just like some want to emphasize "flair" by making it a principle of play.
     
  20. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    Well I took a look at the sample practice session for the youngest they had--U8. There was a lot that seemed right, but he has U8's doing stationary stretches for 5 minutes. His degrees are in sports medicine, but I don't understand his reasoning. His justification is that they need to learn how to do stretches. I expected to see dynamic stretching. His explanations of the drills leaves a lot to be desired. Cryptic is the best way to describe the information given. Also the practice plan is 85 minutes long for U8!

    I was surprised that the document covers youth training through U18, not just U-Littles. As a U-Little cirriculum, the documents falls short. It would have been better if they spent more time on U-Littles and dropped the teens out of the book. But I have a suspiscion that the Doctor wanted to write about what he knows best--U16 and U18 training.
     
  21. rca2

    rca2 Member+

    Nov 25, 2005
    Re: Reyna to Unveil Coaching Curriculum for Players 5-12

    I wonder if the rest of the national coaching staff was consulted prior to public release. Particularly the coaches of the U17 residency program, men's U20's and full national team, as well as the women's coaches. I thought the exclusion of the 343 was remarkable. For training purposes, it is just as good as the 323 that was touted for 9v9. And it has historically been popular, and still is in the women's game.
     
  22. Dakota Soccer

    Dakota Soccer Member

    Dec 30, 2010
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seems very strange to me that USSF has been handing out the "Best Practices" material now for a couple of years with every coaching course (we give every participant in our state D courses a copy) and they would disregard it.

    I have to be honest, I thought the new curriculum was going to be very similar to what we've seen from USYSA, but I'd have to agree with some of the other posts, looks like they are trying to re-invent the wheel here.
     
  23. Twenty26Six

    Twenty26Six Feeling Sheepish...

    Jan 2, 2004
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's because the people who made this are different from some of the USSF guys, and they are completely different than the USYSA guys.

    We've got 3 different groups (plus others looking to make a name/buck) all trying to work independently.

    Apparently, they are all smarter than one another. :)
     
    philly villain repped this.

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