DURATION: 10 SESSIONS/15 HOURS
DAYS: MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS
RAIN DAYS: TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS
TIME: 6 PM TO 7:30 PM
DATES: JUNE 24, 26; JULY 1, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24; AUG. 5
PLACE: MILLER FIELD, FIELD # 1
COST: $100 REGISTRATION/PAYMENT RECEIVED AFTER MAY 31; $90 REGISTRATION/PAYMENT RECEIVED BY MAY 31
FOR AGES: 4 THROUGH 13; BOYS & GIRLS
SKILL LEVELS: BEGINNER TO ADVANCED
REQUIRED: BALL, SHIN GUARDS, CLEATS, AND WATER
AGE GROUP 1:U8 THROUGH U12 BOYS & GIRLS U8 = 8/1/05 TO 7/31/07; U9 = 8/1/04 TO 7/31/05 U10 = 8/1/03 TO 7/31/04; U11 = 8/1/02 TO 7/31/03; U12 = 8/1/01 TO 7/31/02 DAYS:MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS TIME:6:00 PM TO 8:00 PM DATES:MAY 6, 8RAIN DATES:MAY 13, MAY 15 PLACE:MILLER FIELD, FIELD # 1
AGE GROUP 2:U13 THROUGH 19 BOYS & GIRLS U13 = 8/1/00 TO 7/31/01; U14 = 8/1/99 TO 7/31/00; U15 = 8/1/98 TO 7/31/99 U16 = 8/1/97 TO 7/31/98; U17 = 8/1/96 TO 7/31/97; U19 = 8/1/94 TO 7/31/95 DAYS:TUESDAYSAND THURSDAYS TIME:6:00 PM TO 8:00 PM DATES:MAY 7, 9, RAIN DATES:MAY 14, MAY 16 PLACE:MILLER FIELD, FIELD # 1
Congratulations are in order for the following teams:
Wizards - U9B BoysFirst place in the U9B Boys division - CJSL (Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League) spring 2012 season.
Magic - U9 Girls First place in the U9 Intermediate Gold division - JSS (Just Say Soccer) spring 2012 season.
Strikers II - U14 GirlsFirst place in the U14 5 W division - LIJSL (Long Island Junior Soccer League) spring 2012 season.
Arsenal - U8B BoysSecond place in the U8B division - CJSL spring 2012 season.
Special kudos to ALL the children, coaches and parents for their hard work and commitment that resulted in their teams' successes on and off the pitch.
In any competitive sport, coaches should acknowledge the difference in approaches between adults and children.
For adults who have already achieved full maturity, their main objective in a competition is to win. The goal should be completely different when dealing with children. The child is in the process of developing his skills and his role in any game should not be winning. Instead, winning for a child, should be considered the by-product of development.
For a child starting to learn a sport the main objective is to teach him the basic skills of the game. In addition to practices and technical instructions putting him in a game situation will give him a chance to apply all he has learned. Therefore, it essential to give each player equal play time.
To make this process easy for the coaches, the solution is simple. Player substitutions during a game, should be planned in advance. The key positions of center forward, center midfield and center defense should be held by players who are best suited to fit in these positions and he/she should play the whole game. All other positions should be paired with players who each in turn will play half of the game. Substituting for five or ten minutes at a time is not long enough for a player to get warmed up into the game and to cultivate his/her abilities. As the child is in the process of development, he must be exposed to a total minimum of half a game.
It is true that this tactic will sometime sacrifice winning for learning but in the long run this system will help the child to develop and will make him/her a better player which in turn will help the overall team.
Parents should learn to watch their child play in a game situation and appreciate not how many goals were scored but how many good moves their son or daughters accomplished, how much pleasure their child is having playing the game and how much he/she has improved from game to game.
When I go to see a soccer game played by young children, this is what strikes me more then the goals they score.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gabriel Nigrin (DOC)
Founder, Silver Lake Soccer
If you have an opinion with regards to this article, I'd be happy to hear from you. Please send an email to :
Dr. Gabriel Nigrin is a retired Pediatric Endocrinologist for St. Vincents Hospital Manhatten, NY & honorary member of the Silver Lake Soccer Academy on Staten Island.
DOC'S e-CORNER
