What the heck are you doing, Coach?

This year's coaching is based on the “Dutch Vision” method of soccer instruction. Dutch Vision is based on the revolutionary idea that soccer is a child’s game that should be fun.

Understanding soccer is a breeze when compared to understanding the children that are playing it. Each age brings unique problems. Cognitive, emotional, physical and social development will vary a great deal within the group. There is one factor that will bring all of the children together. One element that will reach everyone. They want to have fun.

Enjoyment is the unifying motive of the Dutch Vision method. Some children don't want to learn. Some don't care about winning. A few have no interest in hard work and one or two can't remember which goal they're attacking. In spite of all of their different agendas they all want to have fun and play a game, that is what brings them here.

Children also want to be children. Too often we coaches sees children as an extension of his vision and they become puppets to it. The time spent at practice and at the games is a part of their childhood. It should not reflect the adult world. Some adults forget this and their expectations take the fun out of the experience.

Growth in the learning process can be measured by the child's contribution to the game in the four main moments. The greater the contribution that the child makes the farther his learning process has developed. A child with a strong internal desire to master the game will succeed to the best of their abilities. A child that needs constant external support will not. He will only grow as far as he can be carried. Their level of motivation is one of their most important limiting factors.

In order to make a contribution it's important for them to learn how the game unfolds and to have an impact on it. Soccer is a dynamic and fluid game. Pictures and decisions change in a second. This active element creates situations that drills do not adequately address. It involves the child in reading situations, analyzing them, making predictions, arriving at decisions and finally acting on them.

OK, so you have a theory, why do you keep score, can’t kids just play? You are concentrating too much on keeping score. Why?
Fear of failure. The biggest fear of failure is the fear of losing the game. "What if I make THE mistake?" When winning and losing is restricted to game day it takes on even greater significance. There is no middle ground. Practice is meant to prepare the players for the match. When winning and losing has no place in training then arguably the most important element of the game is being neglected, the result. Children need to learn how to deal with both sides of this. That winning or losing today doesn't mean much tomorrow, that both are necessary for growth. Small sided games end with a result and with several small sided games in any practice every player will have several opportunities to experience both sides. This helps children to lower their fear of failure and leads to a more stable appreciation of what the results really mean.

Our goal: better soccer, more fun!