THE NATIONAL YOUTH LICENSE
North Texas State Soccer Association has run two National Youth License Courses over the past eighteen months. This has resulted in a total of sixty coaches who have received the USSF certification.
The mission of the National Youth License is to provide the most current and advanced information on the growth and development of the youth soccer player. The youth soccer player is defined as any child playing soccer from pre-school through adolescence. It takes the approach that the GAME WITHIN EACH CHILD is at the center of all beliefs, decisions, and actions taken by the child, coach, and organization. It is the ultimate goal of youth soccer development within the United States to unlock the game within each child to reach full soccer potential.
Coaches participating on the course are required to compile a daily log. Here is what some of the coaches had to say:
“As a youth soccer coach, it is our responsibility to devise games and exercises that will challenge the player to improve and grow, yet at the same time keep it simple enough so that discouragement and exasperation don’t take hold. Just as your typical U6 or U8 player is not ready for the concept of second or third defender, the U10 and U12 player would not be challenged enough and would grow stagnant if continually coached to play simple but retrieval games.
As a coach we must look at each child individually and find ways to build their confidence and excitement for the game. As the young player grows, so does his understanding of the game, and with that a more complex set of activities must be introduced to enable him to continue to grow. A comparison would be strengthening a muscle in your body. Push it too hard too fast, and you could tear it. But if you don’t ever push it at all, it would never get stronger.
As soccer coaches of youth players, we must find a way to keep our players excited about the game. One way to do this is to challenge them in ways that allows them to improve and grow, while experiencing enough success that they continue to have fun.”
James Gray
“Mentally I feel like I get it. Now I just need to practice and practice. Seemed to be a much bigger step from U8 to U10 versus U6 to U8. While we were told how U10’s were more competitive; I didn’t really understand until I saw that missing in my objectives as strongly as the kids needed desired it.”
Gordon Walker
“U6’s today. I have learned a lot today, a lot more than I expected in fact. For example, I did not realize how simple an activity can be, yet still be beneficial to player development.
U8’s today. The difference in cognitive development from the U6’s became very apparent today. I wish I would have had this knowledge when I first started coaching, which began with the U8’s. I’m beginning to see the progression or development of an individual player to teammate. I feel I did a great injustice to the children I have coached in the past without this knowledge.”
Jesse Vineyard
“On the one hand, I feel like everything I have ever believed in my heart about soccer and coaching has been affirmed. On the other hand, I am wondering why those beliefs didn’t lead me to this way of coaching. Somewhere there was a disconnect!
Although in the course of my coaching I have always stressed whole player development, I think I was in truth working on developing them at the exclusion of their minds. I go through practices, telling them what to do next, how to do it, and correct them when they don’t do it like I told them to do it. I realize now that I was really missing out on something; by not leading them into thinking through the objectives instead of carrying out orders. And how could I have missed this when I have one of those creative little minds in my own home?
I’m relieved to hear it confirmed so strongly that winning should not be emphasized, especially at younger ages. In parents meetings, I’ve always told my parents that I work on developing the players, and I don’t worry about the scores at games. At first, I occasionally wondered if I was copping out or hedging in case we didn’t win, but I eventually became comfortable with the self-understanding that I truly wanted to develop players with an eye toward seeing them win at a later age. Then I worried that I was harming the players irreparably if I didn’t push them to win. I think I can set that worry aside now too.
I knew I was seriously challenged by the material when I found myself uncomfortable with the kids – U6 kids – the age I coach right now. I realized that I couldn’t move forward with my old approach, but I couldn’t quite grasp this new approach either, so the coaching session was very difficult for me to get through”
Melina Baker