Next Friday, March 23 and every Friday until the end of the training season, from 6:30-7:30 our club will begin Street Soccer for all Cape Express youth players ages U8-U14 at Goshen Complex.
This will give all the youth players who would like to add another night of soccer to come and play in a safe, but free and unrestricted environment, to allow them the chance to define their own vision of the game and dare to be one of the new "greats" in the game.
The environment will be one of organized free play with the following elements:
1. No coaching: this would of course defeat the purpose of "street soccer". Adult trainers will be present in supervisory roles to protect the safety of the players. They will not interfere with the play.
2. No parents. We love you, but drop the kids off and go shopping or go for a power walk around the complex.
3. No referee. Let the players determine what is a foul and how to settle borderline disputes.
4. Players are responsible to organize the game. Who plays where? How should we defend? Who marks who? What's our system? Players need to make, perhaps for the first time, elementary decisions about how they play.
5. Players keep and report their scores.
The idea of street soccer is a way for the Club to begin giving the game back to the players. The club provides the fields and supervision, but no coaching, allowing players to show up and play pickup games. The players have a lot they can learn from each other.
Most American soccer families are first generation and the experience of the game is new. Many youth coaches are recruited volunteers where the majority of coaching experiences are from baseball, basketball, and football. It's uneasy for even the most well-meaning of these coaches to stand idly by and watch a game or practice without comment or command.
Many parents use the model that they see in MLB, the NBA, or NFL, and as a result believe a coach must be constantly directing the fortunes of the players, or they feel they are not doing their jobs. There is always a need for advice and coaching, but there is also a time to let the players explore the game to experiment without fear of repercussion.
So, invite your kids out on Fridays at Goshen and let them express themselves in some Street Soccer Games.
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