Quote:

One hurdle we run into in the soccer scene is that sometimes the people involved really do take themselves a little bit TOO seriously--they forget that even in the midst of the pursuit of excellence, sometimes you need to be able to relax, have some fun, and yes, even laugh. I think a significant number of young players get a little "burnt out" sometimes by constant pressure that isn't always balanced by an element of just plain enjoyment. I think players are at their best when they enjoy what they do and are able to take a moment to laugh--not when it's just a job and a duty.

Not taking a poke at SCKicker with this, please understand...just that scsoccer's comment put me in mind of this, and it's something I've observed in multiple places in both club and high school soccer.



Coach Chass, i truly appreciate your comment on this one. There is just one thing though,parents are paying A TON of money that they could be using for other things,let alone investing in other sports for their kids.Yes there is the fun factor that we definately need to magnify in the soccer system but truthfuly there is more work to be done about how we do it as coaches and what we honestly believe we can make our players benefit out of it all.By this i am referring to say 10yrs way after the players have left the club program.Are we equipping them to deal with that scenario or just training them to skip and hop and smile? Both though are applicable to the ultimate enjoyment of the game but which prepares them better for the aftermath of club soccer or to even break it down "age group" advancement.However as scsoccer commented earlier,if we can combine his thought to constructive and productive methods of training as opposed to the combination of "fun" and training methods simply meant to profit the clubs,then maybe we are onto something. Once again thanks for your input.