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Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Fall Schedule 2010-2011
Universal Boys Varsity Soccer
2010-2011
Fall Schedule
Date Home Away Time
9-14-10 Universal Academy Cesar Chavez Academy 4:30
9-20-10 Harper Woods Public Universal Academy 4:30
9-23-10 Manoogian Academy Universal Academy 4:30
9-27-10 Manoogian Academy Universal Academy 4:30
10-5-10 Universal Academy Saint Mary’s Catholic 4:30
10-7-10 Universal Academy Manoogian..Academy 4:30
10-11-10 Hamtramck Public Universal Academy 4:30
10-14-10 Star International Universal Academy 4:30
10-17-10 Star International Universal Academy 4:30
Districts October 19th-24th
*Home games held at Dearborn Civic Center.
Warm-Up: Musical Balls
Your players, each with their own ball, dribble around a large grid. They should be moving at a decent pace, avoiding each other and keeping their heads up.
Technique: How to Teach Dribbling
Dribbling is, perhaps, the most important skill a player can have or work on. Your children will put opposition players out of the game by dribbling past them. They will also demoralise the opposition and make themselves feel good.
And by dribbling they're showing that they're not afraid of being tackled.
Toe-poking: bad habit or clever technique?
The Transition Game
by Paul Cooper for It's My Game!
This is a great game for improving players' concentration and their ability to switch quickly from defence to attack. It also forces attackers to defend and defenders to attack!
Experience: Intermediate or advanced.
Set up: Mark out an area measuring 40 yards by 30 yards with normal goals at each end or on a regular small-sided soccer pitch.
Split your squad into teams of four to six players.
How to play: When a team scores, they take the ball from the goal and immediately attack the opposite goal, ie. the goal their team were defending.
This means the attackers are now in defenders' positions and defenders are in attackers' positions.
Players have to react quickly and be aware of the change in their roles.
Coaching tip: have plenty of balls in the goal or by the side to allow a quick transition.
Key skill: shielding the ball
You need to show them how to shield the ball from pressure.
Key coaching points:
You, the ball and your opponent should make a "sandwich" with you in the middle.
- Lean into your opponent a little but be careful not to overdo it or you will lose control of the ball and possibly commit a foul.
- Look up to see what passing options are available.
How to practise shielding the ball
1. Place your players in pairs. The first player has a ball and stands with their feet spread about a shoulder width apart. The second player has 20 seconds to touch the ball by any fair means (ie. no pushing or kicking from behind) or they lose the round. Change the players over regularly.
2. Play a small-sided game (3v3 or 4v4) with the condition the only way to advance the ball is to pass it – no dribbling. Allow your players one or two steps to control the ball then they must stand still. This means they must practise shielding the ball in a match-like situation. It also encourages the team mates of the ball carrier to move into good supporting positions.
Final word: players will, inevitably, look timid if they don't have the tools they need to overcome their natural fear of getting hurt or letting down their team mates.
Our job is to give our 'timid' players those tools and praise them for using them.
The resulting boost to their self-confidence may not turn them them into tigers but it will certainly make match days more enjoyable for them and it could improve their lives in other areas too.
Key skill: tackling
Key skill: tackling
Most young children seem to know how to tackle instinctively – if you tell a child who has never played soccer before to go and get the ball from another player, they will attempt to tackle them.
A timid player, however, will shy away from tackles or, worse, go in half-heartedly.
To give our timid players the confidence they need in a tackling situation, we need to tell our players that quite often they don't even need to try to take the ball away from an opponent.
It's just as effective to delay an attacker advancing to your goal until help arrives or shepherd them towards the sideline where their options are limited.
Practice this in a 1v1 situation. Pair up players of a similar disposition (timid v timid) and put them in a small grid with a goal at each end. Start the players in the goals. One player (the defender) passes a ball to the other (the attacker). As soon as the attacker receives the ball, the defender runs towards him to close him down quickly.
Tell the defender that they are not to tackle the attacker. Instead, they win the contest if they can simply delay the attacker for 20 seconds – in a match, that's plenty of time for help to arrive.
You also need to tell your players to be patient. Tell them to watch the ball (not the attacker) and don't even try to dispossess their opponent unless they lose close contact with the ball. Then go and get the ball quickly and firmly.
The best way to practise this is for you or an assistant to play the role of an attacker with poor ball control!
Take your timid player to a grid with a goal at one end and dribble the ball towards him. Remind the player to be patient and guide you away from the goal. After a few seconds allow the ball to get away from you. If the player doesn't recognise this as the moment to strike, stop the exercise to explain the opportunity they missed and try again.
Keep practising until your player steps in immediately you lose control of the ball.
When the player consistently recognises the right moment to tackle, you can bring in a team mate for him to practice with.
Most young children seem to know how to tackle instinctively – if you tell a child who has never played soccer before to go and get the ball from another player, they will attempt to tackle them.
A timid player, however, will shy away from tackles or, worse, go in half-heartedly.
| Coaching tip: When teaching skills and technique, I find it helps to give young players key words they can remember easily. In today's article, the key words are in bold type. |
It's just as effective to delay an attacker advancing to your goal until help arrives or shepherd them towards the sideline where their options are limited.
Practice this in a 1v1 situation. Pair up players of a similar disposition (timid v timid) and put them in a small grid with a goal at each end. Start the players in the goals. One player (the defender) passes a ball to the other (the attacker). As soon as the attacker receives the ball, the defender runs towards him to close him down quickly.
Tell the defender that they are not to tackle the attacker. Instead, they win the contest if they can simply delay the attacker for 20 seconds – in a match, that's plenty of time for help to arrive.
You also need to tell your players to be patient. Tell them to watch the ball (not the attacker) and don't even try to dispossess their opponent unless they lose close contact with the ball. Then go and get the ball quickly and firmly.
The best way to practise this is for you or an assistant to play the role of an attacker with poor ball control!
Take your timid player to a grid with a goal at one end and dribble the ball towards him. Remind the player to be patient and guide you away from the goal. After a few seconds allow the ball to get away from you. If the player doesn't recognise this as the moment to strike, stop the exercise to explain the opportunity they missed and try again.
Keep practising until your player steps in immediately you lose control of the ball.
| Remember that you're trying to boost your timid player's self confidence so give lots of praise for small improvements. |
UA Soccer tied with St. Mary's Catholic Church with two goals scored by Captain Muhajir and Yousif Al-Showhati
Congratulations on a tie 2-2 yesterday of our Boy’s Varsity Soccer team against one of the toughest competitors and one of the best teams in the league, St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Practice Monday 4 to 6 PM ... Facing St. Mary's on Tuesday at Home
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Saturday, October 2, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
DRILL to Improve shooting power and accuracy: Protect the Cone
Objective: To improve shooting power, accuracy and decision-making.
Experience: Any.
Number of players: Whole squad.
Equipment required: As many balls as possible, cones to mark out the playing area and four flat cones to place the target balls on.
Set up: Use a square playing area that is about one and a half times as long as your players can comfortably kick the ball.
How to play: Choose two players to protect four targets (a ball on top of a cone). Spread the rest of your players outside the playing area. They should have a ball each.
The pair start by choosing where they want to put their targets within their playing area. On the shout of "GO", everyone else must stay outside the playing area and shoot the balls to try and knock off the targets. The pair in the middle are timed to see how long it takes for all their targets to be knocked off.
Tip: If you are playing outside, use a few helpers to return any stray balls.
If the pair have the targets close together, they have less running to do but the shooters don't have to be as accurate. If they place the targets far apart, the pair have more running to do but the shooters have to be more accurate...that's where the decision making comes in.
Experience: Any.
Number of players: Whole squad.
Equipment required: As many balls as possible, cones to mark out the playing area and four flat cones to place the target balls on.
Set up: Use a square playing area that is about one and a half times as long as your players can comfortably kick the ball.
How to play: Choose two players to protect four targets (a ball on top of a cone). Spread the rest of your players outside the playing area. They should have a ball each.
The pair start by choosing where they want to put their targets within their playing area. On the shout of "GO", everyone else must stay outside the playing area and shoot the balls to try and knock off the targets. The pair in the middle are timed to see how long it takes for all their targets to be knocked off.
Tip: If you are playing outside, use a few helpers to return any stray balls.
If the pair have the targets close together, they have less running to do but the shooters don't have to be as accurate. If they place the targets far apart, the pair have more running to do but the shooters have to be more accurate...that's where the decision making comes in.
How to improve your players' kicking power
First of all, make sure you're teaching the correct technique. This link will take you to the article in newsletter 112 that explains the basics.
Once you're sure your players are using the right technique you can work on increasing power - providing your players are old enough. Four to six-year-olds won't get a lot of power into their shots no matter what you do and I suggest the coaching notes below should only be used with players aged from seven years upwards.
Once you're sure your players are using the right technique you can work on increasing power - providing your players are old enough. Four to six-year-olds won't get a lot of power into their shots no matter what you do and I suggest the coaching notes below should only be used with players aged from seven years upwards.
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