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Tonight 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.
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Louise, volunteer, Parent Pals- "The mom's team was over here, and the moms were so into it. It was like they'd been with kids for so long that they needed to enjoy being moms among moms and kicking a ball really hard. It was really fun. I made a score, and all the moms, whenever there was a goal made, were just like throwing their hands in the air and screaming like you wouldn't believe."
Susanna, lead volunteer, Parent Pals- "And we took a team picture, and all of the moms wanted to give me their email addresses so that they can get the photo. I told one of them that now that I have their email addresses, we can form a league. And they were like YEAH!! So, it was really funny." "Today we did 2 scrimmages. My team didn't win the semi finals, so they were really discouraged and running on empty. They were asking me when snack was. Then, we were playing for 3rd and 4th place, and we won for the first time. When we scored they were really excited and cheering and everything, but when the game was over and they realized they had won, they were like what?! We won WOOO!!! And like half the team lost it. They were rolling on the ground, high fiving eachother, putting their shirts on their heads, and it was really fun." Tory, team coach, blue division- "So mine is also about scrimmage tonight. We tried to do a smaller scrimmage game, so we had 4 kids sitting out, which in the 7-8 year old range is a bit dicey. Kids were getting restless, etc. Coach Juan had the great idea of everyone coming up with a cheer, going along with the encouragement theme which we were learning tonight. So, it was great. They got really excited about cheering for team blue lightening, which is great except that that's not our team name. That was someone's team name from the first session. Fortunately, one of the kids said "No guys, we're going to switch it to our team name, The Wildfire Birds. So, everyone got excited about cheering for the right team and it was a great success." Hannah, assistant coach, orange division- "The kids on our team got really into encouraging, and they were like we're the best team! But then they started saying that the other teams were bad. So, I told them that that's not really encouraging and we're supposed to be encouraging all the teams. Then, this little boy who was playing goalie said quietly, "All the teams at Soccer Nights are good teams." So, I gave him a gold metal for encouraging others. David, assistant coach, green division- So, our team is the green bandeetas. It's an all girls team. So, we had a little time during the curriculum portion to come up with a cheer. And one of the girls got so excited about it that she was constantly cheering throughout the entire scrimmage. So much, that some of the others were like stop, that's enough! I think I should just do the cheer-- ONE, we are bandeetas! TWO, I still can't hear you! THREE, we've got girl power. more more more MORE BANDEETAS!!!! Chelsea, volunteer, 3-5 year olds- "We got this giant circle of kids to play duck duck goose. It started out normally, then they were like, we don't want to do this anymore so there were 2 kids going around tagging people. And it got kind of crazy, and we were afraid they were going to collide. Then, it got out of control and there were 6 or 7 kids going around the circle doing duck dcuk goose and it was just not working. Then, it broke out and Beth was tackled because they got bored. They started ripping the grass out and putting it in her hair and all over her. And she was just like it's ok. But we were like, no they have to stop and someone 's mom came over and made them clean her off. So yeah, that was our highlight of the night." Grant, lead volunteer, registration- "We don't really have a story, but everything went smoothly tonight..." Jake, volunteer, logistics- "We were just kind of chilling over here by the blue division, and one of the 3-5 year olds showed us that he had put his name tag on the trash can. And he goes, "Look, it's my trash can!" Then there was another trash can that had a ball in it. So I was like, hey who put that in there? And I took it out. But then, he started putting more balls in the trash can and just would not stop. And that's pretty much the story" Nancy, curriculum volunteer, orange division- "In the orange division, they were very much into the encouragement thing. They were excited about naming the little olympian. But then, all throughout the scrimmages and the drills, they were working on encouraging each other. They were like, "good drills, good coaching!" In the scrimmage, the other team scored, but they were like- that's ok. That was just practice. We'll do better next time." So that was great encouragement. Tara, curriculum volunteer, red division- "For encouragement we decided to let the kids give gold medals to each other. So all night we heard them doing that. In Sarah and I's team we had a great moment. We were looking for someone to play goalie for the scrimmage. When one of the girls stepped up, one of her teammates said, "I'm going to give you a gold medal for being goalie." Then the girl who had volunteered to be goalie said, "I'm going to give you a gold medal for giving me a gold medal." And then all of the kids started giving each other gold medals. One kid came up to me and said, "I gave out 10 gold medals!" So, it was just great. All night they were giving each other gold medals." 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 MedalsKids add "goals medals" to division ring – team earns 1 medal for group participation in activity. Teams may earn extra medals if they meet the team goal they set for the Olympic Games (Friday’s scrimmages). No Skill Tonight: Olympic Games (will provide instructions tonight)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. Activities: 1. 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? Session 2: Maybe someone from Session 1 remembers who can tell us? Who can remember their goal from Session 1? Have you been able to achieve it? 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. 2. Tonight's Activity 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 Session 2: If you came to Session 1, how has your goal gone? Do you remember it? For tonight, why don’t you set a new goal you’d like to achieve. Or, if you’ve been having trouble with your goal from last session and want to keep working on it, write that one again! ● 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! Sharing is fun. 
All your awesome stories from last night will be posted soon.
In the meantime, share the stories you didn't get to share last night during our large group debrief here! Write your story by posting it in the comment section below. Elissa, lead volunteer, green division- "I had 2 kids who were kicking the ball back and forth to eachother, and I walked over and the girl said, "coach Elissa, I just learned how to stop the ball! At first I was trying to stop it like this, then [insert teammate's name] told me to stop it like this. Now it hasn't gone past me once." Then, the girl thanked her teammate. It was really sweet."
Payson, team coach, orange division- "We had a story from the first night, but it's a carry over from the first session. At the end of the first session, everyone was handed out ice cream and certificates at the end, but one of the members of my team didn't get either, and he was very upset. We got him a certificate, but the ice cream was all gone, so he was still very upset. So, on Monday I expected not to see this boy, and for him maybe to be upset with me, but when he saw me he ran up to me and gave me hug. So, soccer nights has turned out to be more powerful than I expected." Sijo, coach, red division- "I'm from the red division, so we have the little ones. We have been trying for three days with just drills, drills, drills, but we've been struggling to keep their attention. So, today we played duck duck goose. They were really engaged, and they had fun. That's the goal of Soccer Nights." Juan, division leader, blue division - "Something I saw that I really liked today was that we had one of our coaches missing, and the 2 assistant coaches were a little worried. Luckily, we had a new coach step in. but I liked that the assistant coaches stepped up their game and were more assertive. They connected with the kids, and everything flowed so much more smoothly even with the new coach. the assistant coaches attributed it to the new coach, but I think it was a team effort. Frankly, everything went better for the kids. They had better scrimmages and more fun. The assistant coaches were Lina and Kristian." Nia, lead volunteer, volunteer coordinator- "Today after checking in all of the volunteers, I helped out with the 3-5 year olds. There was one girl who didn't seem to have anyone to play with after coming from the restroom, so I asked her what she wanted to play. She said, "Froggy froggy." I asked her how to play, and she explained that you just hop around like a frog and then tap another person so you can be friends and hop together. Although this didn't make much sense to me, I hopped around with her. Hopefully, she can find more kids to play froggy froggy with her tomorrow." Grant, lead volunteer, registration- "My story tonight is a really good thing for registration. There's usually a little down time between groups of kids, so it's really fun for the volunteers to get to know each other in the down time. There have been some really great relationships and friendships formed. So, one example tonight was Connie and Arlene. Connie was born in China, so she's fluent in Chinese, and Arlene has always been interested in the Chinese language. So, Connie began to teach Arlene the language, and by the end of the night, Arlene was starting to write the Chinese characters. It's good to embrace all of the cultures that are present here at Soccer Nights." Louise, volunteer, Parent Pal- "There was a woman I was talking to yesterday. I asked her what makes her feel at home. She said soccer because she grew up in Indonesia where, whenever she met up with her friends, they would play soccer. So she was really happy that her son could play soccer here." Susanna, lead volunteer, Parent Pal- "There are a bunch of wonderful parents who sit on the bleachers, and they have tea parties every night. Most of them are from Ethiopia. So, I got to join one of their tea parties last night. They mixed me a little glass of tea with bread, and today we were tasked with finding people to cut up the watermelon because that takes a lot of people. We always try to get parents to help, and we try to sweeten the deal to get them to volunteer, for example, by letting them have some of the watermelon they cut. And one of the women said "No no, this is for the children. We will cut the watermelon." And because of Michaiah's wonderful, friendly spirit, we have organized a mother's game because a lot of the mothers don't play during the parent's game because they have to watch the little ones. So, we're going to have a smaller scale game so that people can take turns playing and subbing out and then watching the kids. They're all really psyched about it, so hopefully we can pull it off." Brian, lead volunteer, logistics- "Most of our set up crew was missing today, but we had some kids come early, so they helped. They were cute, and also really fast. We got done on time with set up." Tonight's skills are defending and finishing. The shooting drills tend to get old quickly with players. Consider spending more of your time tonight focusing on setting up some small sided games. This means little games with a point.
With the oldest age groups, 5 vs. 2 is probably the best game to use to get the point about having depth between defenders. Additionally, 4 vs. 4 keep away is a fantastic drill. Award 1 point for each pass, 5 points for a pass that "splits" two defenders. Another drill that works really well is to set up a field kind of like four square- in this drill you have 4 squares labeled 1-4. There is a player with a pinnie in each square and a player without a pinnie in each square. The purpose of the game is to get each player to both receive and make a pass. Once all four players do that, it's a point. Another easy scrimmage game you can set up is basically a scrimmage (say 6 on 6) but you have 3 defenders who can't go over midfield and 2 strikers who can't go behind midfield and one player who can go wherever they like. Or, you can simplify it and say 3 forwards and 3 defenders, each has to stay in their zone. Play with no goalie. As a reminder, there are thousands of drills available on youtube that you can check out. Any drill that is fun, gets lots of players involved and works on defending and maintaining possession are good drills to add in for the oldest age group. Tonight's Schedule5:30PM: 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 6:25PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Finishing & Defending) 6:45PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Encouragement!) 7:00PM: Team Drill Work 7:30PM: Scrimmages 8:10PM: Camp Conclusion. Present “Olympians of the Night.” Teach Dance. 8:25PM: Snack dismissal 8:30PM: Check out 8:45PM: Debriefing in Divisions 9:00PM: Final Group Announcements 9:15PM: Volunteer Afterhours - Flatbread/Sacco's Bowl Haven 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.
When is the game, and who plays?The Parents Game will be at approximately 8:10pm tonight, AFTER large group (we'll do large group early). We'll set up two fields, one on each half of the regular soccer field, with the goals on the sidelines. Games will be 10 v. 10, and can be either coaches vs. parents or coaches AND parents from one division v. another division. It is vital that at least ONE coach from each team stays with the kids during the game. Coaches, unfortunately this means that not everyone can play in this game. Sorry! Fortunately we're having a volunteer scrimmage after programming tonight where everyone can play! How will snack work during parents game?Before the parents game begins, coaches & assistant coaches should direct their teams to sit along the perimeter of the two fields, spaced out so that each team has its own space and is separate enough from other teams. Once teams are sitting together with whatever coach is NOT participating in the game, snack volunteers will come and hand out snack to them. Kids should NOT be running to get watermelon from the snack volunteers over near the division table. Snack will be brought TO teams when they are demonstrating they are ready (by sitting with their team ready to watch the game). Tips from Brian for how to occupy kids during Coaches/Parents game (for EVERYONE, not just coaches): During the scrimmage there are a few things you can be doing with your division:
How Will Check-out Work?Check out will be similar to any other night, in that parents can come retrieve their child from his or her team and take them to the check-out table to sign out for the night. Parents who are not participating in the game may come sooner than those playing. Parents who are participating in the game may end up checking their kids out later than our normal time, as we usually let the game run a bit past 8:30.
Tonight's Schedule - **please note some differences in red 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) 6:10PM: Large Group welcome (starting a bit early tonight) 6:20PM: Warm-ups & games in Division, skills demonstration (Skill: Controlling & Throwins) 6:35PM: Small Group Curriculum (Theme: Trust) 7:55PM: Team Drill Work 7:20PM: Scrimmages 7:50PM: Closing Large Group. Present “Olympians 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: Volunteer Scrimmage 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!
So what is this going to take? We're going to have to TRUST each other. If you are blindfolded you need to trust your teammate leading you through, and if you are leading someone you need to speak to them clearly and lead them in the right direction so that they can trust you. 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
Curriculum Team should collect medals and glue them to division ring. Soccer Nights makes for a long, awesome week. Make sure you are getting some rest, drinking lots of water and eating lots of veggies and lean protein this week. I was so excited to get to watch all the awesome dynamics on the field. Some of you guys were coaching for the first time, some of you have been doing it for years, but across the board I noticed lots of smiles and some good soccer.
Tips for Red and Blue Divisions: During the scrimmages, it’s very helpful if at least one coach is acting as the referee. Get right in the action. Stay close to play and use your whistle. When the players all jump on top of the ball and get too clumped up and start falling all over each other, feel free to blow your whistle, stop play and tell everyone to go back to their sides. Also, feel free to experiment with the #’s game. In this game, each player starts behind their own endline with no goalie. Each player is given a #. The coach starts in the middle of the field with the balls. Coach calls out a # (could just be one #, or several together). On coaches’ whistle, the player from each side with corresponding #(s) comes out and tries to score on the opposite team. This game is good at getting smaller groups on the field and helps eliminate some of the problems with clustering. When a goal is scored, or ball goes out of bounds, coach blows whistle to end play, sends all players back behind their line and resets for a new group of #’s to be called. Tips for Orange and Green divisions: As the players in the Orange and Green divisions are older, they are more capable of trying new advanced drills. Especially with the Green division, keep away games and small sided practice games are very helpful. Try a 5 vs. 2 where 5 players create a circle and 2 defenders step in the middle and try to steal the ball. Encourage players to look for chances to ‘split’ (make a successful pass across the circle between the 2 defenders) the defenders. Defenders look to maintain depth vs. getting ‘flat’ to the ball. You could also try a small-sided game (or scrimmage) in which you limit the amount of touches each player takes (start with 4, or 3). Additionally, you could try a keep away game in a square. Have each player in a 5x5 space so you have 8 players (4 with a pinnie, 4 without) in a 10x10 yard space. Each team scores a point by getting each player to touch the ball. In this drill, players can’t leave their space and must pass the ball out of their space. Just some more ideas to keep things interesting! |
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July 2015
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