Former US Women’s National Team coach Greg Ryan has one piece of advice for his successor, Pia Sundhage, when they meet to field her "1,000 questions" next month: “Don’t change your goalkeeper.”
That pointer (see YouTube GK montage) was just one of many that League Administrator Tom Gross, Girls’ Technical Director Karen Kelser and I gleaned at the third annual Elite Club Development Conference in Raleigh, N.C. Although the theme of the December 12-14 conference, which featured Ryan and several other prominent soccer experts, centered on developing female athletes and coaches, many topics were equally relevant to boys.
Lessons from the Final Four. A highlight of the conference was our group analysis of back-to-back film clips from the four 2007 Women’s World Cup finals. The missing ingredient in the Americans’ game was individual creativity with the ball. The craftiest female players in the World Cup hailed from Brazil, and they all shared a common experience – playing against boys as youngsters. (Click HERE for YouTube Brazil v. Germany clip.)
Music and Performance. Other topics included exploring why so few women become coaches, and how to recruit and support them in the future. Norwegian coach and physiotherapist Arne Moller conducted a session on using music with soccer. After playing soccer professionally in Norway and Greece, Moller taught himself to play guitar, joined a band, and recently produced a music video with his women’s team.
“Cookie-cutter” Players. For me, the most important message was the irony surrounding U.S. soccer culture. Philosophically, we understand we must refrain from emphasizing winning games at young ages. Winning often comes at the expense of allowing players to relax and take risks with the ball during games. Unfortunately, the reality is that if teams do not experience “success” – traditionally defined as “winning” – players (and their parents) will start looking to join another team. Thus, many coaches teach children that they should play only to win, so they can’t afford to make mistakes. The end result is that we develop a bunch of “cookie cutter” players who may be consistent in games – but they’re also predictable and not that exciting to watch.
So, where does that leave us?
What Really Counts. Our coaches must educate parents as to what to look for during games beyond just goal-scoring. Turn off the stopwatch on your kid’s playing time and begin to understand the nuances of “the beautiful game.” Count how many passes the team strings together before getting stripped of the ball. Observe whether the player with the ball has at least two options for a pass, forming the infamous soccer “triangle.” Encourage players to “take on” opponents and not chastise them if they lose the ball. We must allow our players to experiment a bit, so they begin to play the game with the passion, creativity, and joy we so often see exhibited overseas.
By Kate Samsot, Travel Director.
12/20/2007
