Video Series #3 - Increase the difficulty

If you are ready for it... these ball mastery activities are even more challenging.  Have fun with them!!

Video Series #2 - Make the Ball Your Friend

If you want the soccer ball to be nice to you on the field, you have to be nice to it.  Get to know the ball by spending time with it.  Just 5 minutes a day trying the activities shown in this video and you could make a friend for life.

Video Series #1 - Learn to Dance with the Ball

Controlling the ball with ALL surfaces of your feet is like learning to dance with the ball. Watch how this player leads the ball with pulls, pushes, drags, and stops. Experiment with some of the sequences in this video, and make one of your own!

Keeping Each Other's Tanks Full

Have you ever heard of the home court advantage?

It turns out that teams win a lot more at home than they do at away fields. Why does this happen? One reason for this is the emotional support of the fans. Emotional support has the ability to lift our spirits and make us play better.

For us to play our best as a team, it is important for each one of us to keep our "Emotional Tank" full. Our emotional tanks are like gas tanks in cars. With a full tank, you can go anywhere you want. But with an empty tank, it’s hard to even get your engine started.

Why is it important to keep our tanks full? 

If our tank is empty, we can become negative, and give up more easily. With a full tank however, we are more optimistic and able to overcome difficult situations. As the coach, I will do my best to help fill your emotional tank… but the more players and parents on our team that help, the better we all will play.

Think about missing a shot or a tackle. What could someone say to make you feel worse?

“Ughhh!”

“Come on!”

"I could have made that!"

Saying these types of things will drain your teammate’s emotional tank and make them feel worse. As your coach it is my job to help you learn the game of soccer, so it will be necessary for me to correct you at times. When I do this, I promise to try to do it in a way that will keep your emotional tank full and keep you feeling good about yourself.

What could you say to make a teammate feel better after they miss a shot?

"You’ll get the next one!"

"Unlucky!"

“Good idea”

“That was so close, good try!”

More ways to help fill your teammates’ tanks:

·Acknowledge your teammates when you see them giving their maximum effort, even if they don't make the play

·Tell your teammates when you see them improving.

·Show your teammates that their thoughts are important to you, by listening to their ideas.

Can you think of any other ways to help fill your teammates’ emotional tanks?

Share your ideas or post questions on the blog!

-Coach Eric