Tonight's Schedule - **please note some differences in red5:30PM: Registration, coaches warm up with kids 5:45PM: Coaching staff meets with Brian at bleachers to go over tournament schedule 6:15PM: Large Group welcome 6:25PM: Warm-ups & games in Division 6:45PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Goals!) 7:00PM: Soccer Nights Olympic Games (scrimmage tournament in divisions) 8:10PM: Closing Large Group. Present “Gold Medalists of the Night.” Teach Dance. Awards Ceremony. 8:25PM: Dismiss to divisions, sit by teams, pass out certificates, ice cream sandwiches 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements Tonight's Ways to “Go for the Gold” for Team Medals Kids add goals trust ‘medals’ to division ring – team earns 1 medal for group participation in activity. Teams earn 1 extra medal if they meet the team goal they set for the Olympic Games (Friday’s scrimmages). No Skill Tonight: Breakdown for Olympic GamesTonight we'll be running a division-wide tournament! The tournament will be set up as follows: Tournament: Tonight we are going to be running a tournament within each group.
Tonight's Value: Goals!Today's Goals: Go for the Gold – Let's set some Goals!
1. Set a goal as a team for scrimmage tournament. 2. Meet team goal. 3. Each team member writes a personal goal on their division ring. Today's Connection to Go for the Gold: Setting and reaching goals is an important part of going for the gold because part of trying our hardest is working toward improving, getting better at something we're not great at. Setting goals toward improving at something and then working hard to meet those goals is a big part of what going for the Gold is all about. When we set goals as a team, even more can be accomplished because we are all working hard together toward one goal. Introduce Today's Theme: Let's set some goals! Say: Today we are going to be talking about big goals and small goals. Does anyone know what a goal is? Respond: ● Those are some great answers! Goals can be really big, like dreams we have for when we grow up, or they can be smaller, like “I want to pass the ball tonight during my game.” Big goals may take a long time to accomplish. ● Setting goals is a great way to go for the gold because part of trying our hardest is working toward improving, getting better at something we're not great at by giving it our all. ● We've actually had goals every night that we've worked together to accomplish! Monday our goal was to learn each other's names - did we do that? ● Tuesday our goal was to learn about each other's homes, and we learned that though we are all from a lot of different places, the things we all love about our homes have a lot of similarities. ● Wednesday we set a goal of trusting each other and you guys did awesome going through the Jellyfish Jungle. ● Thursday our goal was to become better encouragers, to tell people when they do a good job and to help those around us to go for the gold by cheering them on. ● So you all have been setting and achieving goals all week! Tonight we are going to have one more opportunity to set some goals as a team and on our own. But remember, setting goals is something we should all do throughout our whole lives. It will help us to always go for the gold, to try our hardest individually and on whatever team we are on, no matter where we are, how old we are, or what we are doing. Tonight's Activity: Setting Goals Younger Divisions ● As a team, come up with a goal for their Olympic Games (scrimmaging tournament that will happen tonight). ● Pass out medals and have kids write one individual goal they have to “go for the gold” during the game ● You might have to give examples: ● My goal is to cheer on my teammates ● My goal is to pass the ball ● My goal is to practice my defense Older Divisions ● As a team, come up with a goal for their Olympic Games (scrimmaging tournament that will happen tonight). Note: This is a good chance for coaches to get their teams excited, to motivate & encourage them for their upcoming final scrimmages. Try to build energy here for teams to rally together before the games start ● Pass out medals and have kids write one goal they have to “go for the gold” once Soccer Nights is over. Give an example: One way I am going to go for the gold is to remember how important it is to encourage people around me. I am going to try to say more nice things to the people in my life, like my family and my friends. I am going to keep working on my juggling skills so I can become a better juggler and better soccer player. 3. (7 minutes) Share Have kids share their goals with each other and then collect the medals and post them to the ring. The rings will be unveiled at opening large group. Please make sure they are all ready to go before then. Make sure you try to reach the goal your team set for the Olympic Games!
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Another day, and more stories to share!! As usual, add a comment to this blog post if you have a story you'd like to tell. We'll give one lucky storyteller a gift certificate to JP Licks.
Bassim – Team Coach, Red Division (as told by Division Leader, Mera) “Tonight the curriculum theme was encouragement. They were going around in a circle encouraging one another. There were two girls on his team, Allison & Megan*. Megan said to Allison, “Allison, you’re a good friend.” Bassim asked if the girls were friends before Soccer Nights. Megan said, ‘No, we just met on Monday, and we’re going to have a play date this weekend.’ Soccer Nights. We’ve built relationships.” Matt – Team Coach, Blue Division “We’ve had about 10-12 kids all week. For the scrimmage, getting substitutions has been tough. No one really wants to be the substitute, and no one really wants to go out. At the beginning, I just picked two random kids, and one of the girls was disappointed that she had to go out. So her teammate said, ‘I’ll go out instead. Do you want to come in?’ The girl at first said, ‘No not really…actually, yeah I would like to go in.’ At another point, earlier in the night, a teammate had her shoe untied. The same girl came over and said to the girl, ‘Oh! I’ll tie your shoe for you.’ And the girl tied her shoe. It was good times in the Blue Division.” Tim – Team Coach, Green Division “One of the girls who hasn’t enjoyed the soccer drills as much, really enjoys the curriculum time. I know it’s a drag for a lot of the kids. But when we were coming up with words for the team, she was all over it saying words like ‘Perseverance...and cooperation…and trustworthiness.’ And she’s only in 5th grade! It was really cool for her to get involved.” Shawn – Assistant Coach, Orange Division “One of the kids-- from the beginning-- as been one of the biggest hand-full. And today, Coach Christine, had a little talk with him about being a good role model. And I had a talk with him that I would be seeing if he was encouraging people, and that he would get a gold medal if he encouraged people. We’ve never seen such a dramatic shift in a kid…from being a hellion, to being the biggest cheerleader for his team and the other teams. At first it was poured on so quickly the other kids weren’t sure if they should believe it, because the kids know the boy’s behavior. But he kept encouraging people the entire night. He gave high-fives to his teammates, and after the scrimmage that his team lost, we went and congratulated the other team. It was a total 180. I think the whole team grabbed onto the encouragement value tonight. It was really cool to see.” Danielle – 3-5 year olds “I was hanging out with the kid who speaks Spanish. I speak a little Portuguese, so we tried to make it work. It was a little awkward, but we made it! He asked me why I speak the language, and I told him I have Brazilian friends. There was another kid there from Algeria, who didn’t understand what we were saying or playing, so I asked him, ‘Do you understand?’ The kid said, ‘Yeah, Yeah.’ I knew he didn’t, so then I said to him, ‘Do you speak Arabic?’ He said, ‘Yeah!’ So I spoke a little Arabic to him, and his face lit up! It was really cool. I’m a language nerd, so I like that kind of thing.” Brian – Lead Volunteer, Logistics “When we were cleaning things up a few 3-5 year olds asked me, ‘Are you a coach?’ I said to them, ‘No, I’m a logistics guy.’ They said, ‘What’s that?!’ I told them, ‘We carry stuff, like goals, and fill water.’ They asked, ‘Do you carry things like t-shirts?’ I told him, ‘Yeah, Yeah. We do that.’ They kept listing things off. It was really fun.” Grant – Lead Volunteer, Registration & Snacks “Today on our spreadsheets we had no mistakes, which is amazing. We continue to have amazing volunteers. I appreciate all of them.” Michaiah – Lead Volunteer, Parent Pal “So we were giving out jerseys to parents for the scrimmage, which was a little chaotic. The funniest one, was when I gave a jersey to this woman, who is 4 feet tall. She was wearing this long skirt. I was unsure when I gave it to her. She pulled her skirt, and showed me her sneakers! She pulled me to the side and said, ‘Now, what do I do?!’ We just had really good connecting time with parents tonight. We have a parent Olympic ring that we go around and talk to parents. We only got to one parent, who was so open with us. It was like a counseling session, it was so great!” *names of children have been changed Tonight's Schedule - **please note some differences in red5:30PM: Registration, coaches warm up with kids 5:45PM: Coaching staff meets with Brian at bleachers to go over daily drills (in 2 shifts) 6:10PM: Large Group welcome (starting a bit early tonight) 6:20PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Finishing & Defending) 6:35PM: Team Drill Work 7:10PM: Scrimmages (before curriculum tonight) 7:35PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Encouragement!) 7:50PM: Closing Large Group. Present “Gold Medalists of the Night.” Teach Dance. (volunteers should set up 2 fields for parents game during large group) 8:00PM: Dismiss to divisions, kids seated in teams around periphery of fields 8:10PM: Parents Game, kids seated in teams while snack is distributed 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements 9:15PM: Flatbread/Sacco's Volunteer Afterhours! Tonight's Ways to “Go for the Gold” for Team MedalsValues Curriculum: Encouragement Kids add trust ‘medals’ to division ring – team earns one medal if everyone adds a medal to the ring. Soccer Curriculum: Finishing & Defending 1. Bring ball to a complete stop. 2. Set up next action (shot, pass, run, etc). Coaches may award team one medal for participating (as a whole team) in tonight's drill work with effort and teamwork, focusing on the two coaching points above. Coaches may award medals to team throughout the night in instances where kids are demonstrating the values of "go for the gold." Coaches should keep track of team medal count and report to division leaders at the end of the night. Tonight's Skill: Finishing & Defending Ways to “go for the gold:” 1) Shooting with the instep (pass the ball into the goal) 2) Shooting with the laces (low driven shot with power) 3) Knowing when to defend an attacker vs. space 4) Preventing the ball being played forward on defense Finishing / Shooting: Coaching Points: • Have a positive attitude • Select type of shot (instep or laces) • Select vulnerable part of goal (corners) • Accuracy first; power second • Ankle locked and toe down (for laces) • Head down and steady • Non-kicking foot should be well up to the ball • Strike through the middle to top half of the ball • Land on kicking foot • Follow up shot for potential rebounds Defending: Coaching Points: • Be aware of where other attackers are • Challenge the player with the ball ASAP and at an angle that will cut off a forward pass • Stay low to the ground and balanced • Concentrate and watch the ball • Be patient and stay on feet • If you are further away from the ball, you may want to defend space by being goal-side of the attacker in a position where you can see both the ball and other attackers Videos to use as reference: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDD9DF02717D5214F&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrzfmkGtnYE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdedDgzEsQ 1) Shooting Technique (set up a 20x20 grid) • Have the group form two lines, each player with a ball • First line set ball down and prepare to shoot • On coaches command, players shoot one-by-one • As line one collect their balls, line two step forward, place their ball and prepare to shoot • Line one goes to the back Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Have players switch positions on the line Emphasize: • Walk through the coaching points above 2) Shooting a moving ball (set up a 20x15 grid) • S (coach) has the balls while players form a line. S plays a pass for X to run on and shoot on goal. X must collect ball and return to S. Initially have the players “pass” the ball into the goal. Move onto shooting with the laces. Think about placement rather than power. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Switch sides to work on both feet. ➡ Add a defender to chase X. Variety of shots (for older age groups): • Balls moving away from the attacker (S1) • Balls moving across the attacker (S2) • Balls moving towards the attacker (S3) 3) Continuous shooting (set up a 20x20 grid) • S1 and S2 are set up on the sides with plenty of balls at their feet • X1 runs to meet pass from S1 and shoots • X1 then turns, goes around the cone in the center ready to shoot the pass from S2 • X1 has five or six shots, then X2 takes over Progression (for older age groups): ➡ S can lay the ball off in various ways...left, right, in the air to thigh or chest. 4) Slalom (set up a 30x20 grid) • S is a server and has all the balls. • X1 and O1 are competing - try to match players according to speed. • On servers command they “slalom” through the cones to see who can be first to get to the pass from S and shoot on goal. • The player who does not gain possession of the ball will try to then defend against a shot. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Have players start from various positions...sitting, lying, star jumps, etc. 5) Defending: Practice one (set up a 10X20 grid) • A1 hits a low driven pass to A2 • A2 must try to get the ball back to A1 by making a forward pass while D closes down to block any forward initiative by A2 Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Serve balls in the air to A2 ➡ A2 to have as option to take on D 6) Defending: Practice two (set up a 20X15 grid) • A3 passes to A1 or A2 who work together to beat D1 and D2 with a forward pass back to A3. • D1 and D2 seek to block any forward pass back to A3, win the ball, or force A1 and A 2 out of play. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Allow A3 to come into the field of play SHOOTING GAMES 1) Captain catapult - Set up a 20X10 grid (appropriate for all age groups) Team X shoot continuously for 2 minutes. Players cannot begin their run until previous player has shot. For each goal that is scored, team X win a point. Team O must not let any ball stop behind the goal line. If so, another point is scored for team X. After two minutes, tally up points for team X then switch for team O. If the goal is large enough, the team behind the goal provides their own goalkeeper. Progression - Adjust distances depending on age of kids. 2) Shooting numbers - Set up a 20X10 grid (appropriate for older age groups) Divide the group in half and assign each person a number (try to match them up according to speed). Coach places a ball between the center cones and shouts out a number - or a combination of numbers - and the players in turn must sprint around the box on the outside of the markers to reach the ball first and get off a shot. Progression - Adjust distances depending on age of kids. Feed the ball into different areas of the box. Tonight's Value: Encouragement! Today's Goals: Go for the gold – Let's be encouragers!
1. Share with the group something a teammate of yours is good at. 2. Encourage a teammate during a scrimmage or a drill. 3. Add to the division rings something that you like about your team, your coach, your family, or Soccer Nights! Today's Connection to Go for the Gold: Encouraging others is an important part of going for the gold because part of being in relationship with other people, whether they're on your team, in your class at school, or in your family, is being kind to one another and cheering each other on to succeed. Just like you root for a team who you want to see win a game, we should root for each other to do well in all things. When we encourage each other we become better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what going for the gold is all about. Introduce Today's Theme: Encouragement Say: Tonight, we are going to go for the Gold together to be better encouragers! Can anyone tell me what it means to encourage? It's a pretty big word! Exactly - to say something kind to someone, to remind them that they can go for the gold, try their hardest, to cheer someone on so that they will succeed. Just like we root for a team who we want to see win a game, we should root for each other to do well in all things. When we encourage each other we become better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what going for the gold is all about. Now we are going to do an activity in our teams where we'll get to practice encouraging each other AND add to our division ring! Tonight's Activity: Soccer Nights Olympian (all ages): Pass out a cut-out of the ultimate Soccer Nights gold medalist to each team.
This might be more difficult for the younger kids, but try to get them to say something nice about someone on their team. If this doesn’t seem effective, try asking them about someone they look up to: it could be someone in their family, a friend, or even a superhero or princess character they love. Ask them why they think that person is strong or why they like them, and then add those things to the Olympian. In this situation, however, encourage coaches then to direct those qualities back to the team (e.g. Oh you like Superman because he is strong and he helps people? That’s great - you know what? I think there are some supermans on this team. When Isabelle made that long shot in the game yesterday, she showed how strong she was. And when Vincent poured water for the team earlier tonight he showed how he loves to help others) Share.
Thanks for sharing all your stories during large group debrief, and on the blog. It's awesome to hear about the experiences everyone has at Soccer Nights.
If you have a story that wasn't shared, be sure to share us your story by adding a comment at the end of this blog post. All stories that are shared will be entered into a raffle to win a gift certificate to JP Licks. Lauren – Assistant Coach, Blue Division “We have this girl on our team named Ling*. When she came on Monday she was really shy, didn’t want to play and wanted to just sit by herself. She wasn’t here last night, but she was here tonight. I saw her cartwheeling by herself, so I spent a little one-on-one time with her during drills. I was encouraging her the whole time, and then she was really happy and energetic. She was trying so hard! I gave her a gold medal for her team for an extra boost of confidence. I asked her at the end of the night if she had fun, and she said, ‘Yeah!’ I then asked her if she was coming tomorrow night and said that she was!” Bassem – Team Coach, Red Division “During the jellyfish game, we had our team split into two. The leader of one of the teams was Melissa* (she won the gold medal today). When she started moving, she stepped in a jellyfish by accident, and everyone screamed, ‘You stepped in a jellyfish!’ She was so sad, and started crying. Then the whole team came out, gave her a hug, and said, ‘Don’t worry! You didn’t do anything wrong. We can start again.’ So they started again, and they did much better the second time around. Paul – Team Coach, Orange Division “We were sitting during snack time, and handing out the handy-wipes to clean their hands. This one kid grabs a handy-wipe, and instead of cleaning his hand, he sits down and starts shining his boots. It was awesome. …He had the same boots that Hudson wears. The nice shiny ones.” Elissa – Lead Volunteer, Assistant Coach & Curriculum, Green Division “We have this one kid who has been trouble the whole week. He’s had an attitude, and hasn’t really wanted to do anything except play. Today he was so well behaved. He even let a kid sub half-way through the scrimmage because his friend wanted to play. It was a great improvement. “ Grant – Lead Volunteer, Registration & Snacks “We love our volunteers.” Steph – Program Director “Wednesday night is actually a really sad night because the kids who don’t show up on Monday and Tuesday, even if they pre-registered, can’t play because we give their spot away. There was this one kid who didn’t get to play, but all his cousins were playing, and we made the kid cry. It’s not good to make kids cry. I said to him, ‘You can come over here to all of these kids [3-5 year olds]!’ But the 3-5 year olds are like a couple feet shorter than him. I asked him, ‘Aren’t you really good at soccer?’ The kid replied, ‘Yeah.’ So I said, ‘Well these kids may be younger, but you could teach them!’ He was shocked, and said, ‘So, be like a little teacher?!’ He was happy and ran away!” Pete – Division Leader, Blue Division “Who did the face painting?! You were awesome! These kids came out with amazing faces, so much so that all our kids wanted to go and get their faces painted!” Jess – 3-5 year olds “There was this point in the middle of the night when they were all a bit tired, and there were some break-downs because there were no cookies. I told them that I had invisible cookies, and if you sit down, we can play the bakery song game. So it turned into this game where all these kids kept saying, ‘I want an invisible cookie!’ So the rest of the night, moms and dads were joining in dancing with the children.” Susanna – Lead Volunteer, Parent Pal “So tonight there was a different tone. By Wednesday, everyone is won over by Soccer Nights. Everyone is completely in love with everything. They kept giving us feedback how they love things so much. We asked them to write down what they trust in. People wrote down, ‘nature,’ ‘God,’ ‘my family,’ and some people even had written down people at Soccer Nights…like the parent pals.” Allison – Videographer “It was a cool thing. I got to interview a mom, a dad, and a couple. The dad said, ‘I’m not from this country. This is amazing. You’re taking everything seriously unlike other places. Every single person is on their job. Even you! You’re taking your job seriously!’ He was really impressed. The other parents were talking about how amazing it was that their kids were so excited to keep coming back. In fact, one family attended Central Square, they are here, and they’ll attend in July...and asked if we could host one in the fall. They had many amazing and positive things to say. And the kids are dynamite about it.” Jake – Logistics “Yesterday, I was getting a water jug, and some kid comes running over and says, ‘Ah! Let me get it.’ Those water jugs are hard for someone who isn’t very tall. He grabbed it, and put it down, and I helped him carry it the rest of the way. He said, ‘I like helping out!’ I was picking up a table later, and another kid ran over and just grabbed the front of it. It’s really cool to see kids helping out.” *All names of children have been changed. We had some great stories shared in large group Tuesday night. If you have a story that wasn't shared, be sure to share us your story by adding a comment at the end of this blog post. All stories that are shared will be entered into a raffle to win a gift certificate to JP Licks.
Nomi – Assistant Coach & Curriculum, Blue Division “Yesterday we had this girl named Flora* who wasn’t really participating at all. I think she was convinced that she wouldn’t have fun. Actually, she had three people go and talk to her. She was just sitting in the corner the whole time. Today, she came in and was really enthusiastic, tried really hard, and she did really well.” Tobias – Assistant Coach, Green Division “There was a girl in our group who was really shy yesterday. But today she showed up, and was doing great on defense, and kicked a dozen balls. She was really energetic, and gave a lot of high-fives. I talked to her mom, and her mom said that she made her daughter come yesterday, and her daughter was disappointed. Today, her daughter wanted to come to Soccer Nights. It was really exciting for her mom to see the change." Nicholas – Assistant Coach & Curriculum, Red Division “Yesterday at the scrimmage, my team had no defense, and was doing a lot of handball. But, today before the scrimmage, our great coach, Bassim, said that we needed to organize a defense, and talked to our team why handball is bad. Today we had defense, and it really worked out. There was even a lot less handball going on.” Alex – Assistant Coach, Red Division “At the end of the day, I asked this boy how his day went on a scale of 1-10. He said 5. He said that the scrimmage was good, but the food---I was expecting cake!” Melissa – Assistant Coach, Red Division “We had a little girl named, Marta who wasn’t doing really great at dribbling. She was crying, and so I went over to console her. While I was talking to her another girl came up, Marie, and she put her hand on Marta’s shoulder and asked her ‘Do you need a hug? If you want to team up with me, I can help you.’ I told Marie, ‘I want a hug!’ and Marie said, ‘Just wait one second..’” Julia – Team Coach, Orange Division “At the end of the scrimmage, the kids were doing well, getting really competitive, and subbing out really well. The game was tied, but there was this goal that my team got, and I didn’t give it to them because they weren’t listening to the whistle blow. So they were just discouraged when they didn’t win (it was just a tie!). I was trying to pump them up and get them excited, and the whole idea of ‘good sportsmanship’ was really great. I got them to line up behind each other and do the hand-slapping thing with the other team. They got really into it. I got the girls to join first, and then the boys followed. Other teams started to do it, too. And then we had fun in our line and did silly things, like have a congo line. It seemed like team unity all of a sudden.” Brooke -- 3-5 Year Olds “What was really cool about tonight was that we had a couple of kids who only spoke Spanish. One of the volunteers came up to me, and said that they had a few kids who only spoke Spanish, and so I went to go talk to them. It was really cool because I got to know their name and where they’re from (but one just really wanted to play soccer). It was cool because some of the other kids came around, and I was able to translate. Some of the kids actually spoke Spanish or understood, and made the connection, and if they didn't understand Spanish, they still understood the game of soccer." Michaiah – Parent Leader “I think what was really cool about tonight was that we had a lot of parents who wanted to jump in and participate. We had about 7 or so coaches and assistant coaches who were really into it. Hurray!” Brian – Coaching Director “This is my 4th year, we’ve never been able to get dads to coach. And then tonight 7 of them put on shirts and began to coach. It almost broke my heart. It was amazing! We’ve never had any real connection in that area, but to have 7 dads come out and volunteer! ...And another dad said he was going to come out and volunteer tomorrow. It was just amazing.” *All the names of children have been changed. Tonight's Schedule 5:30PM: Registration, coaches warm up with kids 5:45PM: Coaching staff meets with Brian at bleachers to go over daily drills (in 2 shifts) 6:15PM: Large Group welcome – curriculum intro, juggling contest by division 6:30PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Controlling&Throw-ins) 6:50PM: Team Drill Work 7:20PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Trust!) 7:40PM: Scrimmages 8:15PM: Camp Conclusion. Present “Gold Medalists of the Night.” Teach Dance. 8:25PM: Snack dismissal 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements Tonight's Ways to “Go for the Gold” for Team MedalsValues Curriculum: Trust 1. Kids add trust ‘medals’ to division ring – team earns one medal if everyone adds a medal to the ring. 2. Teams earn 3 extra medals if they go through Jellyfish Jungle without hitting any jellyfish. Can earn 1 extra medal if they are working well together as a team. Soccer Curriculum: Controlling & Throw-ins 1. Bring ball to a complete stop 2. Set up next action (shot, pass, run, etc) Coaches may award team one medal for participating (as a whole team) in tonight's drill work with effort and teamwork, focusing on the two coaching points above. Tonight's Skill: Controlling&Throw-ins Ways to “go for the gold” 1) Bring the ball to a complete STOP 2) Set up the next action (shot, pass, run, etc.) Controlling: Coaching Points
Hold ball between two hands (hands spread to the side of the ball)
Videos to use as reference: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDD9DF02717D5214F&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6HGHfR4bYA&feature=fvsr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0kGbG2jOnY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDXqDg4k9gQ&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfiEj1pcfnM&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxpmr1s90dI 1) Pass and Control ..... (set up a 10x10 grid)
Progression (for older age groups):
3) Foot Control from Balls in the Air (set up a 15x15 grid)
Progression (for older age groups):
5) Throw-ins (set up a 10x10 grid)
Progression (for older age groups):
--Players may only take three steps with the ball --All throws must be using correct throw-in technique --One point for a goal scored directly from a throw --Two points for anyone who can score the ball from header Tonight's Value: Trust! Today's Goals: Go for the gold – Let's trust each other!
Trusting others and being someone other people can trust is very important both on and off the field. When we can trust people it means we can be in relationship with them and work together, and being in community is always better than being alone. Being someone others can trust means you are honest and dependable, two marks of having good character. Having good character and being community allow us to become better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what going for the gold is all about. Introduce Today's Theme: Let's Trust each other! Say: So far this week we have learned how two different things about us are very important - what are those things? NAMES & HOMES. Tonight we are going to learn how to Go for the Gold with TRUST. Who can tell me what it means to trust someone? (e.g. if you feel safe with them, if you know they respect and care about you, if you know you can tell them something and they won't tell anyone else, if you know they want you to succeed, etc...). These are all examples of trust. To go for the gold as individuals and teams we want others to be able to trust us and we want to be able to trust others. We can start right now at Soccer Nights. To work together as a team on and off the field we need to be able to trust our teammates. So we are going to play a game called “Jellyfish Jungle” where it will be very important that we trust each other, and also that we practice using each other's names to encourage one another to succeed!
Ok? Let's play! Send the first conga line out, and depending on pace and timing you can either wait until they are back to send the next group or you can send the 2nd set when the 1st set is half way out (with the latter the lines will end up crossing paths but this will just increase need for trust and communication). Also if you have smaller teams and want to have your whole team make one line that works too. If time allows, once the lines go through, switch up leaders. Older Divisions: Jellyfish Jungle
Wow! It can be hard to trust each other. Even if we believe they will always try to help and protect us, it is still scary walking through an obstacle course not being able to see. I want everyone to take a marker and write down a word or two that describes how you were feeling either when you were blindfolded or when you were leading. Curriculum Team should collect medals and glue them to division ring. Tonight's Schedule - **please note some differences in red5:30PM: Registration, coaches warm up with kids 5:45PM: Coaching staff meets with Brian at bleachers to go over daily drills (in 2 shifts) 6:10PM: Large Group welcome (starting a bit early tonight) 6:20PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Finishing & Defending) 6:35PM: Team Drill Work 7:10PM: Scrimmages (before curriculum tonight) 7:35PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Encouragement!) 7:50PM: Closing Large Group. Present “Gold Medalists of the Night.” Teach Dance 8:00PM: Dismiss to teams, set up for parents game 8:10PM: Parents Game, kids seated in teams while snack is distributed 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements 9:15PM: Flatbread/Sacco's Volunteer Afterhours! Tonight's Ways to “Go for the Gold” for Team MedalsValues Curriculum: Encouragement Kids add trust ‘medals’ to division ring – team earns one medal if everyone adds a medal to the ring. Soccer Curriculum: Finishing & Defending 1. Bring ball to a complete stop. 2. Set up next action (shot, pass, run, etc). Coaches may award team one medal for participating (as a whole team) in tonight's drill work with effort and teamwork, focusing on the two coaching points above. Coaches may award medals to team throughout the night in instances where kids are demonstrating the values of "go for the gold." Coaches should keep track of team medal count and report to division leaders at the end of the night. Tonight's Skill: Finishing & Defending Ways to “go for the gold:” 1) Shooting with the instep (pass the ball into the goal) 2) Shooting with the laces (low driven shot with power) 3) Knowing when to defend an attacker vs. space 4) Preventing the ball being played forward on defense Finishing / Shooting: Coaching Points: • Have a positive attitude • Select type of shot (instep or laces) • Select vulnerable part of goal (corners) • Accuracy first; power second • Ankle locked and toe down (for laces) • Head down and steady • Non-kicking foot should be well up to the ball • Strike through the middle to top half of the ball • Land on kicking foot • Follow up shot for potential rebounds Defending: Coaching Points: • Be aware of where other attackers are • Challenge the player with the ball ASAP and at an angle that will cut off a forward pass • Stay low to the ground and balanced • Concentrate and watch the ball • Be patient and stay on feet • If you are further away from the ball, you may want to defend space by being goal-side of the attacker in a position where you can see both the ball and other attackers Videos to use as reference: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDD9DF02717D5214F&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrzfmkGtnYE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdedDgzEsQ 1) Shooting Technique (set up a 20x20 grid) • Have the group form two lines, each player with a ball • First line set ball down and prepare to shoot • On coaches command, players shoot one-by-one • As line one collect their balls, line two step forward, place their ball and prepare to shoot • Line one goes to the back Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Have players switch positions on the line Emphasize: • Walk through the coaching points above 2) Shooting a moving ball (set up a 20x15 grid) • S (coach) has the balls while players form a line. S plays a pass for X to run on and shoot on goal. X must collect ball and return to S. Initially have the players “pass” the ball into the goal. Move onto shooting with the laces. Think about placement rather than power. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Switch sides to work on both feet. ➡ Add a defender to chase X. Variety of shots (for older age groups): • Balls moving away from the attacker (S1) • Balls moving across the attacker (S2) • Balls moving towards the attacker (S3) 3) Continuous shooting (set up a 20x20 grid) • S1 and S2 are set up on the sides with plenty of balls at their feet • X1 runs to meet pass from S1 and shoots • X1 then turns, goes around the cone in the center ready to shoot the pass from S2 • X1 has five or six shots, then X2 takes over Progression (for older age groups): ➡ S can lay the ball off in various ways...left, right, in the air to thigh or chest. 4) Slalom (set up a 30x20 grid) • S is a server and has all the balls. • X1 and O1 are competing - try to match players according to speed. • On servers command they “slalom” through the cones to see who can be first to get to the pass from S and shoot on goal. • The player who does not gain possession of the ball will try to then defend against a shot. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Have players start from various positions...sitting, lying, star jumps, etc. 5) Defending: Practice one (set up a 10X20 grid) • A1 hits a low driven pass to A2 • A2 must try to get the ball back to A1 by making a forward pass while D closes down to block any forward initiative by A2 Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Serve balls in the air to A2 ➡ A2 to have as option to take on D 6) Defending: Practice two (set up a 20X15 grid) • A3 passes to A1 or A2 who work together to beat D1 and D2 with a forward pass back to A3. • D1 and D2 seek to block any forward pass back to A3, win the ball, or force A1 and A 2 out of play. Progression (for older age groups): ➡ Allow A3 to come into the field of play SHOOTING GAMES 1) Captain catapult - Set up a 20X10 grid (appropriate for all age groups) Team X shoot continuously for 2 minutes. Players cannot begin their run until previous player has shot. For each goal that is scored, team X win a point. Team O must not let any ball stop behind the goal line. If so, another point is scored for team X. After two minutes, tally up points for team X then switch for team O. If the goal is large enough, the team behind the goal provides their own goalkeeper. Progression - Adjust distances depending on age of kids. 2) Shooting numbers - Set up a 20X10 grid (appropriate for older age groups) Divide the group in half and assign each person a number (try to match them up according to speed). Coach places a ball between the center cones and shouts out a number - or a combination of numbers - and the players in turn must sprint around the box on the outside of the markers to reach the ball first and get off a shot. Progression - Adjust distances depending on age of kids. Feed the ball into different areas of the box. Tonight's Value: Encouragement! Today's Goals: Go for the gold – Let's be encouragers!
1. Share with the group something a teammate of yours is good at. 2. Encourage a teammate during a scrimmage or a drill. 3. Add to the division rings something that you like about your team, your coach, your family, or Soccer Nights! Today's Connection to Go for the Gold: Encouraging others is an important part of going for the gold because part of being in relationship with other people, whether they're on your team, in your class at school, or in your family, is being kind to one another and cheering each other on to succeed. Just like you root for a team who you want to see win a game, we should root for each other to do well in all things. When we encourage each other we become better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what going for the gold is all about. Introduce Today's Theme: Encouragement Say: Tonight, we are going to go for the Gold together to be better encouragers! Can anyone tell me what it means to encourage? It's a pretty big word! Exactly - to say something kind to someone, to remind them that they can go for the gold, try their hardest, to cheer someone on so that they will succeed. Just like we root for a team who we want to see win a game, we should root for each other to do well in all things. When we encourage each other we become better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what going for the gold is all about. Now we are going to do an activity in our teams where we'll get to practice encouraging each other AND add to our division ring! Tonight's Activity: Soccer Nights Olympian (all ages): Pass out a cut-out of the ultimate Soccer Nights gold medalist to each team.
This might be more difficult for the younger kids, but try to get them to say something nice about someone on their team. If this doesn’t seem effective, try asking them about someone they look up to: it could be someone in their family, a friend, or even a superhero or princess character they love. Ask them why they think that person is strong or why they like them, and then add those things to the Olympian. In this situation, however, encourage coaches then to direct those qualities back to the team (e.g. Oh you like Superman because he is strong and he helps people? That’s great - you know what? I think there are some supermans on this team. When Isabelle made that long shot in the game yesterday, she showed how strong she was. And when Vincent poured water for the team earlier tonight he showed how he loves to help others) Share.
Tonight's Schedule: 5:30PM: Registration, coaches warm up with kids 6:15PM: Large Group welcome – curriculum intro 6:30PM: Team name review, welcome new kids, review team expectations 6:35PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Dribbling!) 7:55 PM: Team Drill Work 7:25PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Homes!) 7:40PM: Scrimmages 8:15PM: Camp Conclusion. Present “Gold Medalists of the Night.” Teach Dance. 8:25PM: Snack dismissal 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements 9:10PM: Volunteer Scrimmage! Tonight's Ways to “Go for the Gold” for Team Medals: Values Curriculum: Homes! 1. Kids add home ‘medals’ to division ring – team earns one medal if everyone adds a medal to the ring. 2. Coaches may award their team one extra medal if players demonstrate excellent implementation of going for the gold themes (e.g using each other's names during scrimmage, working together during 'home' activity). Soccer Curriculum: Dribbling 1. Coaches may award team one medal for participating (as a whole team) in tonight's drill work with effort and teamwork, focusing to practice dribbling with confidence, quick feet, different parts of the feet, and awareness. Coaches -- report your team's medal count to your division leaders. Tonight's Skill: Dribbling Ways to “go for the gold” 1) Confidence - Having a positive attitude 2) Quick feet / Close control 3) Different parts of the feet 4) Awareness - Keeping your head up Dribbling: Coaching Points
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDD9DF02717D5214F&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb8kKHJaQJQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iDtaSE25Is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6jlHgj7tc&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QDqXO8g8Qs 1) Dribble and .... (set up a 15x15 grid)
Emphasize:
2) Lines (set up a 10x30 grid)
Emphasize:
Emphasize:
5) Multi-goal soccer (set up a 30x30 grid)
DRIBBLING GAMES 1) Wickets - Set up a 20X20 grid (appropriate for all age groups) There are two teams. Divide players into 1’s and 2’s. Have all the 1’s spread around the designated area and stand with their feet spread well apart as “Wickets.” Have the 2’s dribble the ball in and through the “Wickets.” The objective is to see how many wickets they can dribble through in a given time. Switch teams. 2) Freeze Tag - Set up a 20X20 grid (appropriate for all age groups) Similar to the game “Wickets” combined with traditional freeze tag. 3) King of the Castle - Set up a 20X20 grid (appropriate for all age groups) All players have a ball at their feet. On the whistle, all players are to dribble around while attempting to kick a teammates ball out of the grid. Once a ball has been knocked out of the grid, the player collects his/her ball and waits on the sideline. He/she is out for that round. That last player with a ball at his/her feet is King of the Castle. 4) Thieves - Set up a 20X20 grid (appropriate for all older groups) Create 4 safe zones with the cones. Each player has a ball except for the 3-4 “Thieves” who will wear pennies. It’s similar to a traditional tag game with safe areas. If you get tagged by the “Thieves,” you lose the ball and become the “Thief.” When the play is stopped, at coach’s command, any player without a ball must do a “Fun Exercise” (i.e. 5 star jumps, 5 push-ups, etc.). Maximum of 2 players are allowed in each safe zone at one time. The 1st person who was in the zone must leave when the 3rd person enters the safety zone. 5) Alien attack - Set up a 20X30 grid (appropriate for older age groups) This game is basically, the “Humans vs Aliens” warm-up with soccer balls. Tonight's Value: Homes! Today's Goals: Go for the gold
Today's Connection to Go for the Gold: Where we are from, where we live, can tell us and others a lot about ourselves. Our home is where we feel safe and loved and the most ourselves, and when we share that with someone else they know us better and when we hear about someone else's home we can begin to understand them better. Knowing more about and understanding each other are steps to becoming better friends, better teammates, better members of our families, and better neighbors, which is what Going for the Gold is all about. Activities:
--Who can tell the new people what we're making this week? What did we add yesterday? --Respond to answers. --That's right, all week, each night we are going to decorate our Soccer Nights “Green” Division Olympic Ring, and at the end of the week we are going to combine all the rings to make the Soccer Nights Olympic Rings. Each day we will learn how we can “Go for the Gold!” together as a team, to become better friends and better soccer players!
- home can be lots of things - it can be a house, the place you live; it can be a city or town where you live or where you were born, it can be a place you don't live but maybe your family is from there. As we grow and get older, we might have more than one place we call home, but each of these places has a place in our hearts and is filled with memories and importance to us. For example, if you asked me what my home is, I would say: North Cambridge, because that's where I live now and where my life is, and I want to stay here. But I'd also say Maine, because that's where I grew up and it's where my Mom and Dad are and I will always love it there and have memories of home. Yesterday we learned that knowing someone’s name is a great first step to buildingfriendships and community, to working together to go for the gold. Well believe it or not but knowing about each other’s HOMES is just as important! Why? Well where we are from, where we live, can tell us and others a lot about ourselves. My home is where I feel safe and loved and I love to be, so when I share that with someone else they know a little more about me and when I hear about where someone is from I can begin to understand them a little better. Especially at Soccer Nights, where so many of us come from so many different states and cities and countries, learning about those places is so cool! And it makes us more connected to our teammates and our community. So tonight we are going to learn something about each of our teammates’ homes.
Curriculum team will come around and hand out ½ sheets of paper and paper medals. Kids will be given markers and will have a few minutes to “draw home”on the ½ sheet. Encourage them to be creative and draw whatever home means to them. This could be a picture of their family, their house, their room, the country they are from, etc. 1st grade: When they are done drawing they should write their name on the medal and tape the medal to their ½ sheet. 2nd/3rd grade: When they are done drawing they should write on their medal one thing they like about their home, and then tape the medal to their drawing. Older Divisions: Coaches should split their team into pairs. Curriculum team will come around and hand out paper medals. Kids will be given markers and will have a few minutes to ask their partner the 3 questions about home:
Halfway through instruct them to switch.
Going around the circle, have everyone on your team introduce their drawing by saying “My name is _____ one thing I like about my home is _____________ (Note: If you don’t have time to go around the entire circle, pick a few volunteers) Have kids stick their drawings to the division ring. Older Divisions: Share/Build a Pyramid/Human Home Going around the circle, have everyone on your team introduce their partner by saying “This is my friend _____, and their family comes from ____________ and now their home is in ________. One thing they like about their home is _____________ After the first pair shares, they should get on their hands and knees and begin the pyramid. (Say: we are going to build a human house). The next pair introduces each other and adds to the pyramid. Keep adding to the pyramid until everyone has gone (if there are a lot of kids, start a new pyramid - as many as seem safe, coaches’ discretion). Curriculum Team should collect medals and glue them to division ring. Hey all! Thanks for sharing your stories during debrief time. It really was inspiring to hear how the kids are learning the names of their teammates, and getting excited about playing soccer.
In case you missed it, here are the stories that were shared at the end of the night: Max – Team Coach, Orange Division "I had one student who was incredibly shy, and didn’t want to speak up. It was actually incredibly difficult because I couldn’t catch her name right away. And she has an awesome name. During the warm-ups & drills, she was very shy, and didn’t want to get involved. But the second we got to the scrimmage, she was all over the pitch. She was all over the ball, and as a defender, she defended half the shots on goal, and almost made a couple! It was the biggest transformation I saw tonight, and it was really inspiring." Alex – Assistant Coach, Red Division "My story is about a girl. When we were doing the scrimmage everyone wanted to be goalie. So I told them to either go to offense or defense. I told them to pick two people on the defense side, and three people on the offense side (because there were more people on the offense side) who wanted to be goalie. Each day, I was going to have one of those kids be goalie. Bella looked really sad, and it looked like she wouldn’t even play if she wasn’t goalie. So I put her in as goalie, and she looked excited. At one point she said to her teammates, ‘I need some defense!’ She was really good at goalie. I asked her how her day was, and she said, ‘At the beginning it was boring, but once I became goalie I had fun!’" Petre – Team Coach, Green Division "In our team, we had a kid that actually learned the name of everybody on the team after the first 10 minutes, plus the three values! And just taught everyone else. I thought, ‘Okay, kid! You can take it from here!’" Matt – Team Coach, Blue Division "We were just scrimmaging, and I was just playing with this little boy and his father. We were just passing the ball back and forth, and a little girl—yea high (lifting his hand not much past his knee)—came running along ready to kick the ball. It was just encouraging to have the parents there, saying thanks, and ready to have some fun. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!" Claudyne – 3-5 year olds "There was this little girl who didn’t know how to hula-hoop, so I taught her. She’s actually better than me now!" Grant – Lead Volunteer, Registration & Snacks "Registration is kind of crazy on the first night – we have walk-ons, we have people who thought they signed up, but really didn’t sign up, we have--unfortunately--some disappointed kids, and some disappointed parents as well if the kids couldn’t play. But we had some awesome volunteers tonight. Evadne and I really wanted to make sure that we gave some shout-outs to some people, specifically Sarah, Taylor, and Nicholas. They went back to the Vineyard and transferred all the paper forms, all 78 of them, onto the database. Now I don’t have to go back and do that late tonight! I'm so thankful for their work!" Brian – Coaching Director "There was a kid who arrived late named Henry* on Daniele’s team. I was watching when Henry came on over to his team, and Daniele said to the kids, ‘Alright guys! We have a new player who got here late. I just want to introduce him to the team!’ All the kids smiled and shouted, ‘Hi Henry!’ There was one kid who even before Daniele did that said, ‘Oh Henry! I remember you from last year! Hey!’ Henry just smiled and looked happy that someone remembered him from last year. Those little connections mean a lot. They are connections between youth that might not happen otherwise. They are really powerful. It was super great!" Susanna – Lead Volunteer, Parents Team "The night was chock-full of fun moments. Well, there was one particular pair of parents that were really passionate and said that Soccer Nights was great and should happen year-round. Optimally, twice a day. We’ll just leave it as a cliff hanger, and see how that story unfolds…But it was a great connection to make!" *Names of children in stories have been changed. If you have an awesome story that wasn't shared during debrief time, be sure to post a comment below with your story by 3pm today! Everyone who shared a story will enter the chance to win a gift certificate to JP Licks (yum!). It's raining. We know. (And thundering and lightening)
Here's what you should know:
Either way, we wont make the call until 5pm. So in the meantime, plan on coming, bring an umbrella and embrace your love of the rain. Look it could be fun! 
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