It is essential for a youth-specific curriculum to meet both the physiological and psychological needs of each particular age group. While MetroStars/MLS Camps has its own unique curriculum that has been developed alongside Major League Soccer, we recognize that any final content needs to be developed along with the client to ensure consistency. What we do know overall is that to teach
2-8 year olds coaches need to be
Magic, in other words they can be imaginative and get to the kids at their level. They need to be
Organized and have a variety of activities and posses a
Personality that includes a lot of patience. They need to
Encourage the kids and be their most ardent cheerleaders. They need to show their
Concern and caring for the kids.
9-11 year olds need and want coaches that are enthusiastic. They expect their coach to be knowledgeable about the game so that he/she can help them learn the skills and increase their understanding of the game. Coaches need to recognize their players’ efforts and use concise, understandable language. Above all, coaches at this age level need to use a lot of patience and perseverance.
MetroStars/MLS Camps’ unique curriculum for older players is designed from the key components of
PLAY S.A.F.E. – Soccer, Awareness, Fun, and
Education. Every coaching activity we take the players through directly relates to this curriculum:
| Play: The Best Teacher Of The Game Is The Game Itself |
| We use the term “play” because it is as important as oxygen to a child. The best teacher of the game is the game itself. It is our aim to provide an atmosphere and environment where play is Number 1. This is important for both older players as well as younger ones. Most older players want to scrimmage not do boring drills. In effect, they want to “play!” |
| Soccer: Ball Work - Dribbling - Passing & Control - Shooting - Tackling - Heading |
| There will be soccer specifics to each age group. These key factors will be addressed throughout the curriculum then reinforced by the evaluation card. For example, part of the Intermediate curriculum will be to learn a new move each day while Nippers will learn all the basic techniques. Every activity we coach to campers should have all the soccer components of technique as well as some type of tactical decision making. The games must keep all players active and there must also be some kind of mental component. For example, sportsmanship, concentration, desire, and determination. The activity must include, or develop into, an activity with a ball, opponent, goals or scoring areas, rules and boundaries. We want our players to learn how to play the game throughout the game. |
| Awareness: Teamwork - Sportsmanship - Goal Setting - Health - Safety |
| This theme is based around the need pathways of children. Coaches need to be aware that while coaching the kids they top up the need pathways. This may be done through activity breaks or during the coaching itself. Coaches will be shown how to affect kids’ need pathways at the coaching weekends in the form of activity breaks and presentations. Need pathways we affect and reinforce are self-worth, caring (which comes from giving and receiving), responsibility and freedom, fun and excellence. |
| Fun: Activity Breaks - Talent Competitions - Quizzes - Backyard Homework Assignments |
| The activity breaks and theme days will be an integral part of this program. At every age group there will be different themes from M and M & M’s at the Munchkin level through Netbusters and Backyard Soccer at the Intermediate and Nipper level to Practice Like A Pro at the advanced level. |
| Education: Attacking - Defending - Types Of Possession - Decision Making |
| Education takes place in the form of homework, knowledge about the rules of the game and soccer history. Munchkins may be asked to design a uniform, while an Intermediate is given a skill to practice at home. Nippers may have to practice at backyard soccer with a friend, then come to camp the next day and describe how the game was played. We also attempt to make players more aware of soccer in general and MLS. At the end of each day, we reinforce the soccer skills learned and find a way to influence a player to have good practice habits and a passion for the game. |
|
How
the S.A.F.E.® Curriculum
is used for Youth Players
AGES 2 - 11
 Mini-Wee Program – 2 - 4 Year Olds
The Mini-Wee curriculum was created to give young children and their parents the opportunity to experience the beauty inherent in the great game of soccer.The games we have created provide opportunities for challenge, stimulation, success and sheer fun. Each game is designed with the spirit of cooperation and collaboration in mind. Patience is needed in both coaches and participants to learn this new form of play, particularly if the participants have never played soccer before. However, with appropriate supervision and guidance from coach and parents, and repeated exposure and appropriate challenges, the child’s experience will be very positive.
You will see an incredible transformation over the course of a week.
Children quickly learn cooperative skills such as communication and trust, while developing positive social interaction skills and teamwork. They begin to learn to share, empathize with others and generally work to get along better with one another.
Mini-Wee games are designed and field-tested with children. Specific game adaptations and changes can easily be made by children and coaches to ensure that games are appropriately suited to the specific needs of the group. This age group is capable of playing all the games created in this curriculum if they are broken down into clear and very simple steps. Coaches must take their time, especially when explaining the organization of an activity. Be prepared to break down larger ideas into smaller steps, guiding the kids through the action, or simply scaling down the challenge.
Children enjoy lots of variety at this age. But, once they find a game that they like that they can readily enjoy some measure of success in, they will want to play it over and over and over again. Parents who have read the same bedtime story until you know if by heart without opening a page understand this.
 Munchkins Program – 5 - 6 Year Olds
As you review the activities in this curriculum, you will see that the word “games” appears repeatedly in the text. Children at this age are just beginning to see structure to games. If you are not a parent yourself, sit down and watch a group of five and six year olds organize themselves into a co-operative game. Activities are always versatile and flexible and adhere to a set of rules (or rather non rules), which do not necessarily need to be strictly adhered to. This is the basic premise behind the Munchkin curriculum. The activities are structured but left open to interpretation. Competition is friendly and low-key. This frees the child to experience the joy of playing the game itself. There are generally four keys to coaching 5 and 6 year olds, each of which must be adhered to in order to be a successful coach:
Cooperation – participants are encouraged to work together and help one another during the activity. No one is left out at any time to sit around waiting for a chance to get back into the game. When players feel they are an accepted part of the game, they feel involved and accepted, which results in a sense of gaining, not losing.
Acceptance – when a child feels accepted, he generally feels happy. The opposite of acceptance is rejection. Consider how you have felt at times in your life when you have been rejected. It’s rarely an enjoyable feeling.
Involvement – involvement is directly related to a feeling of belonging and a sense of contribution. Children want to be a part of the action, not apart from it. Thus, being left out, eliminated or ignored is clearly perceived as a function of rejection and not involvement.
Fun – as soon as you lose sight of the simple fact that children play games to have fun, you lose sight of the reason you became a coach in the first place. Fun means smiling faces, laughter, excitement and joy. A sense of happiness is a must for all active participants in our camp program.
Nippers Program – 7 - 8 Year Olds
 Between the ages of 7 and 8, players begin to develop specific, identifiable sub-sets of soccer traits during a single week of camp:
- They are able to stop the ball, cushioning it on impact, thus rendering it more manageable
- They are able to maintain solo possession, dribbling at one speed but with some thought to change of direction
- They are able to confront an opponent and take the ball away from them by tackling
- They begin to grasp the elementary foundations of concepts like space, support play, combinations and the indirect approach to goal
- They focus on power over accuracy in shooting on goal
Soccer, and a condensed soccer experience such as that experienced during a camp week, is attractive to children at this age because it provides opportunities for them to:
- Experiment and try new things
- Have fun while achieving targets and playing and laughing with friends
Learn new skills
- Make new friends
- Rise to the challenge of competition
- Receive a stamp of approval from friends and family (gain recognition)
- Expend energy through such a fast paced, continuous activity
- Define acceptable and unacceptable behavior and thus define expectations
Coaches have a responsibility, to develop each player by developing the child first, and soccer player second.
Intermediates Program – 9 - 11 Year Olds
 Between the ages of 9 and 11, a distinct change occurs in the child that makes the delivery of more complex concepts like space, movement on and off the ball, depth, width, and penetration possible. This is perhaps the most rewarding age to work with, as gains are somewhat immediate and distinct. Children are able to digest technical information if it is presented in a clear, concise, simple manner. In our session planning, we have interspersed technical content taught in grids with fun activities and small-sided games.
During the intermediate phase of player development, players are particularly suspect to negative reinforcement by the coach. Simple throwaway comments like, “Come on, you can do better than that,” or “Try harder, you’re not giving your all,” can have a significant impact on a child’s self-esteem and self-estimate.
It is essential that you start with a compliment, such as, “Way to hustle—you really made a great shot on goal,” and end each activity with a positive statement, “Keep working at it. I can see the improvement already.” Successful coaching requires the skillful use of reinforcement. Start reinforcing what each player is capable of doing and gradually require more as skills are refined.
Other key technical development cues for coaches include:
- Provide only one suggestion for improvement at a time
- Try to improve only one technique each daily session
- Begin with a walk-through of each activity. Players must be successful in each stage before they can move to the next.
- Do not apply resistance through the introduction of opponents until players have mastered the activity in a non-pressured environment
- Apply resistance at first by adding a passive opponent. Then introduce additional opponents and teammates
- Encourage players to practice learned techniques in their home-based backyard soccer environment each day between sessions
- As with other curriculum areas, have fun. It’s the most contagious behavior of them all.
To
find out more about MLS
Camps' downloadable
curriculum, visit MLSCamps.com
|
