Player Development

The 1st Part of the Foundation Phase (3-4 year olds) is a positive introduction to the “Beautiful game.”  It is an innovative approach to teaching basic soccer skills wrapped up in an environment of fun and positive reinforcement for all participants. Specific Focus is given to:

• Agility, balance, and coordination
• Physical awareness
• Movement patterns and sequences
• Spatial awareness
• Social skills
• Listening skills
• Introduction to the 4 parts of the foot we use to dribble
• Basic Soccer Skills (Dribbling and Kicking)

The 2nd part of the Foundations Phase (5-6 year olds) is high energy, fun, and fast paced. The curriculum is designed to key into the imagination of a preschooler with creative games and story lines that develop fundamental soccer skills. During every game each child will have their own ball at their feet in order to maximize touches and increase ball control. We begin to introduce small sided game activities like 1v1/2v2/3v3 into the curriculum.

• Ball familiarization and dribbling skills – Me and Ball
• Keep it simple, fun, and have variety.
• Repeat activities regularly
• Activities that take short time to complete (5-10 minutes)
• Utilize names, characters, and stories for technical information
• Encourage trial and error
• Include competitive games and activities, but don’t focus on winning/losing
• Praise effort and working hard

The FUNdamental phase is designed for players to develop a technical foundation in which to build upon. The fundamental phase focuses on the proper mechanics and technique of the fundamental skills necessary to play soccer; ie dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, crossing, finishing, and defending.  Players really start to enjoy the ball at their feet.

• Emphasis on soccer specific movements
• Ball Mastery – Using all parts of the foot
• Keep it simple, fun, and have variety
• Repeat activities; muscle memory for skills
• Encourage trial and error
• Include competitive games and activities, but don’t focus on winning/losing
• Praise effort and working hard

The Development Phase (9-12 year olds) begins to incorporate technical skills into the tactical aspect of the game. The game itself should be centralized to all technical training. The focus is developing the individual player within the team concept.

• Continue developing the individual technical skills
• An emphasis on sharing the ball on the field.
• Positioning, Shape, Spacing, and Speed of Play are introduced
• Results are introduced but from a How to perspective; not the result itself

The  Training Phase (13-15 years old) objective is to build the aerobic base, strength toward the end of the phase and further develop soccer specific skills (build the engine and consolidate sport specific skills.  Teaching players not only how to train but to love to train. From both the technical, tactical, and physical aspects of the game.  Learning to Win becomes more of a focus. The transition to 11 a-side-soccer is the focus in the early stages.

• Positional roles are introduced
• formations, tactics, and strategies are introduced
• Winning becomes a bigger factor when transition to 11 a-side soccer

The Competition Phase (16-19 years old) Optimize fitness preparation and sport, individual and position specific skills as well as performance.  Emphasis is placed on tactics, formations, and styles of play.  Competing to Win becomes a primary focus at the Senior Academy level.

City SC Frederick is committed to developing the “whole” student-athlete.  The programs are tailored help develop these 4 areas of a student-athlete

• Technical Development – These are the skills used to play the game; ie the fundamentals. This includes dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, tackling, defending, and heading
• Tactical Development – Tactics for youth soccer focuses largely on decision making, i.e. how players can make the correct decision given a particular situation. We should try to understand the progression of tactics and develop the players in the proper sequence, so the players are comfortable solving easier problems (1v1, 2 v 1, 3 v 2, etc)
• Physical Development – Fitness for youth soccer players can largely be achieved by just letting them play soccer, although as they get older coaches will need to start incorporating fitness and conditioning into their practice plans
• Mental / Psychological Development – This relates to whether the player is having fun playing soccer, and other aspects such as how they deal with winning and losing, their level of motivation, and how they interact with teammates, coaches, and their parents

• Using all part of the foot (Inside, Outside, Laces, Sole)
• Maintain close control
• Move to get behind balls
• Soft feet; cushion the ball
• Head Up
• Concentrate on center of the ball
• Control First, don’t just kick
• Change directions; change speeds

• Use inside of foot
• Change body position to receive the ball
• Stay relaxed and loose
• Look at ball when passing
• Pass to teammates; don’t just kick and hope
• Pass and move afterwards

• Ankle locked, toes down; strike with laces
• Strike through center of ball
• Drive your hip through the ball
• Accuracy before power; power will come
• Keep knee and head over ball
• Non-kicking foot next to the ball
• Be comfortable with both feet