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Welcome to the December 2007 Byte Size Coaching Newsletter.
We’re squeezing in our Byte Size Coaching Newsletter just before the New Year. We hope you are having a great holiday season and that 2008 proves to be a good one for you.
We’ve looked at Player Development plans in the United States, Australia and particularly in Canada – where the first part of a Long Term Player Development (LTPD) program has been released.
What is a club? In a soccer sense, it is different things to different people. So we’ve attempted to clarify the situation.
We’ve also had a serious and a humorous look at that thorny subject – player assessment and tryouts. Probably nothing causes more aggravation and shouts of “No! No!†and “Shame!†than the assessment/evaluations surrounding making a team or being out of favor.
It would be great if there was a fool proof system, but there isn’t. So we’ve made some serious, constructive suggestions and highlighted other instances that are not quite as serious.
Let us know your comments – particularly on evaluation systems.
Tony
Player Assessment - The Scourge of the Community Soccer Organization
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"Tryouts!" The word strikes fear in many hearts - the player, the club executive, maybe the coach, but particularly, the evaluator.
I don't care how it is done it will always produce negatives. Some make it. Great! Some don't! - and that may be difficult for players to accept and often more so by parents. First the serious part - and then some humor. Every effort should be made to use an objective assessment system. A few years ago, we ran Schools of Excellence - week-long residential camps - in conjunction with the Washington State Youth Soccer Association.
Canadian Soccer has been through a few difficult years and it will be interesting to see how they go on over the next 5-10 years. I believe you will see a turn around of events. During this decade Canadian Soccer has staged the first Women's U19 World Cup (2002) and the best-ever attended Men's U20 Championship this past summer. However, Canada needs better performances and results on the field of play to win back the fans.
Behind the scenes for the past 3-years or more, Canadian Soccer has been developing a Long Term Player Development (LTPD) program that has been crafted by a number of very experienced soccer people. It has been my privilege to be a member of that group. If nothing else, I do have experience!
The "official" launch of the LTPD program will probably come in the spring of 2008 when the Canadian Soccer organization introduces their new General Secretary and Technical Director.
