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By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

I see and hear some crazy stuff from both soccer coaches and parents. I often wonder how much of the common stuff could be avoided if coaches made more of an effort to share information with soccer parents.

Most well-educated coaches plan session content based upon the following:

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

June 16, 2017-Livio D’Arpino was an Eastern New York Hall of Famer who was seemingly involved in every level of local soccer before his untimely passing in 2002. He was the third vice president of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) and the first vice president of the Eastern New York Adult Soccer Association. Livio also was President of the Italian-American Soccer League, of which he was voted a Life Member. With this lifetime of volunteering, Eastern New York named its Boys-Under-16 State Open Cup after him.

As Livio was a longtime Long Islander, it was appropriate that two Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) teams played for the Livio D’Arpino Cup on Sunday, June 4 at Stringham Park in LaGrange. Huntington’s HBC Flash outlasted Bayport Intense, 3-1, in overtime to win the Livio D’Arpino Cup.

Brendan Slattery scored two goals, one on a penalty kick, and Joe Leon scored the other to give HBC the state title.

“We changed our formation in midfield with 10 minutes to go in regulation and that made all the difference,” stated HBC coach Brian Emans.

HBC will represent Eastern New York at the Regionals from June 30 to July 4 in Spotsylvania, Virginia.

Bayport received the Rocco Amoroso Sportsmanship Award as determined by the game officials. The namesake of the award, who died last year, was inducted into the Halls of Fame of the LIJSL and Eastern New York plus was honored as a Life Member by U.S. Soccer. Amoroso started the LIJSL Sportsmanship Program in 1980, it has since been copied around the world and he spoke about the benefits of Fair Play across the United States.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching Education, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

There are a few established truths in youth soccer. One of the simplest and easiest to understand is the fact that unless coaches/parents and players are all on the same developmental page, it is almost impossible for any player to fulfil their potential or enjoy the process. To say the relationship between most youth coaches and the soccer parents they interact with is stressful would be putting it mildly. I have been reminded in teaching courses to a good number of professional trainers this summer just how difficult the coach/parent relationship can be. Many of these coaches avoid dealing with parents due to issues they've had with a few angry parents in the past. I firmly believe that most of the problems can be solved with more frequent communication and honest explanation of key issues like playing time, playing style, when winning becomes the major issue how we deal with losing and, of course, what is a growth mindset. 

I encourage all coaches to step up and try to have regular and honest parent meetings. At the same time, I ask all the soccer parents to recognize the huge part they must play in their child’s developmental pathway. To help parents see the full picture, I ask that you complete the Key Qualities document below. I think it might be a good idea after completed that you share your scores and comments with your child. Let them give you feedback and see how they think you did.

So how are you doing as a soccer parent? To get a sense of where you stand, please assess yourself on the following questions:

5=Strength
1=In need of development

Describe in less than two sentences why you scored yourself as you did.

1) Do you have an appreciation of the learning process and recognize that skill development is more important than winning? Why?

2) Do you have a good sense of sporting behavior and are likely to applaud skill and talent in both teams? Why?

3) Do you teach your child that the best effort is all that matters and not the result of the game? Why?

4) Do you attempt to search for new knowledge on the sports your child plays? Why?

5) After observing any game or practice, are you able to offer unconditional loving support or likely to start your critical review? Why?

6) Do you demonstrate role model behavior under all circumstances? Why?

7) Do you shout orders and instructions at your child as he/she attempts to play the game? Why?

8) How are you doing on teaching your child to handle the disappointment of defeat and the joy of success in a suitable manner? Why?

9) Do you work to ensure that your child meets the commitments of the team or frequently help create excuses as to why he/she simply cannot make it? Why?

10) Do you promote and value the concept of sport for life before winning? Why?

11) Do you address problems with your child's team (playing time as example) in a calm and open-minded, reasonable manner? Why?

12) Do you respect all players, parents and coaches within the team environment? Why?
 
 

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching Instruction, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

Despite the enormous popularity of the game and the numbers playing large sided games, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11, very few youth teams have an identifiable style of play, or more simply put, a team plan. Haunted by a culture and parents who preach a message of “it’s all about me,” teams play like a collection of individuals all doing their own thing. Despite the amount of quality soccer from around the world broadcast on a variety of channels almost 24 hours a day and seven days a week, we have not yet graduated into a deep soccer-watching country.

The combination of the two factors above equate to teams with no vivid team idea of this is our style of play, this is the way we attack as a team and this is the way we defend as a team. The carnage which ensues frequently turns the game into an 11v11 kick for distance or tennis match. When this happens three tragic events occur:

1. Learning and player development ceases

2. The beauty and majesty of the world’s game is lost

3. A team game becomes an individual game

Due to the unfortunate yet undeniable truths above, it is imperative that any youth coach should have the tools and methods to successfully imprint a style of play on his team, giving them an identity and plan that unifies their individual efforts and MAKES THEM A TEAM, the sum of which is worth far more than their individual efforts.

Unfortunately, many of the coaching tools used to imprint a style of play like phase play, shadow play and 11v11 practice games, are methods that involve big numbers and require highly effective coaching to make a success. By far the simplest method to imprint a style of play is through the use of SSG (small sided games). I recommend all use the street soccer festival approach outlined below.

Street Soccer to Imprint a Style of Play

Set up fields as shown below and divide the teams randomly into 3v3 teams (4v3 or 3v2 work and playing numbers up or down is a vital part of the game). Each 3v3 game lasts for 12 minutes and is divided into three periods of 4 minutes. The rules that govern each 4 minutes are:

• First 4 – all must touch the ball before a goal can be scored.

• Second 4 – two ways to score, either 5 passes in a row or through the cones.

• Final 4 – open game score only through the cones.

Other rules to use depending on age are restarts by pass in or throw in and the ball must be back in play within 20 seconds of going out.

A word on dividing the teams:

After each game, line the players up side by side with the team they just played with, and use the following four (assuming 12 players or 6, assuming 18 players categories) to divide the teams:

• Great player characteristics (honesty, effort ,honor, passion, reliability, pride)

• Things you should be at practice – present, coachable, helpful, reliable, hardest worker, on time.

• Soccer Legends ( Cryuff, Pele, Maradonna, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney)

• Great Soccer Club Teams – (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man Utd, Arsenal, PSG, Leicester)

• Great world teams – (Brazil, England, US, Germany, France, Holland)

Using the above format and playing three or four games in a session, you start to build a team culture, imprint a style of play and can inspire them to watch the game on TV and become true soccer fans.

Shadow Play

Shadow Play is an advanced coaching method that requires some skill and a definite vision from the coach on how he wishes his team to play and move the ball before it can be effectively used.

In its simplest form shadow play (11v11 example) has the starting 11 out on a full field playing against only opposing GK. All the balls start in one goal and the team are given a set time to score a number of goals. To imprint s style of play the coach uses the following commands after each five minutes

1. All players must touch the ball before we can score and the units of the team must concertina.

2. All players must touch the ball and you must switch the point of attack twice before scoring a goal.

3. All players must touch the ball and there must be three two player combinations before a goal can be scored.

4. All players must touch the ball and a goal can only be scored from a one touch finish off of a cross.

It is essential when using Shadow Play to imprint a style of play that the coach insists on each player trying to improve their teams speed of play. The coach must insist that all players:

• Make decisions quickly and deal with the ball with as few touches as possible.

• Go to meet each pass and not stand and wait for the ball.

• Play each pass with as much pace as possible.

• Be aware of the blade of grass they will move to as soon as they have played a pass.

• Sprint after each pass has been played.

After a team have mastered all the above playing against only 1 GK, a coach then adds limited pressure based upon the area of the field that he wishes to focus. So if the focus is on building out of the back, perhaps play 11 v an opposing GK and two opposing forwards. Next stage might be to add 2 midfield players so now you have 11v opposing GK and four outfield players.

Full Field Shadow Play with Two Teams

When done with great energy with a coach demanding excellence and a vivid idea of how their team should attack ,11v11 full field shadow play is both a great challenge and great fun.

Both teams are set with 10 balls in their own goal and get starting shape as though it were a goal kick. When the coach calls go (and using the commands 1-4 above) they take the GK and the first team to score wins the round. Neither team can defend the other team’s ball.
 

Phase Play

The simplest way to consider phase play is when the ball moves from one unit of the team (or one third of the field to another). So if you wanted to do a phase play session on attacking out of 4-4-2, you would take the four midfield players and two forwards and play them in half field against opposing players.

Using the above scenario if the phase play focus was on patterns in midfield, the organization in the diagram below might be suitable.

Using the same attacking scenario alluded to above but now with the focus on how the front two can combine, perhaps the first stage of the session is organized as shown below.

Whatever mixture of methods a coach wishes to use to ensure that his team are all the same page and can play effectively as a team with a definite attacking and defending style of play is entirely at his or her discretion. What should be abundantly clear to all is that it is impossible to play as ta eam and enjoy all the joys of cooperating as a small cog in much more powerful entity until all players are somehow empowered with the same team vision of this is how we play.

Throughout the year, the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association will instruct a variety of courses where small sided games, phase play and shadow play will be among the coaching tools taught.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
October 1, 2015-With 10,000 registered players, the Capital District Youth Soccer League (CDYSL) is one of the largest leagues in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA). Last month, Tim Owens was elected President, succeeding Pat Ramundo, who had been in charge of the CDYSL since August 2003.

“We in Eastern New York thank Pat Ramundo for his lengthy leadership of the CDYSL and look forward to working with and helping Tim Owens in his new role as President,” commented ENYYSA President Richard Christiano.

The new CDYSL President was born and raised in Albany. His “real job” is Assistant Project Manager/Assistant Team Leader of Collins Engineers, Inc., which performs bridge structural inspections, both above water and underwater, as well as inspections of overhead (highway) sign structures throughout New York and Massachusetts. Tim and his wife Monica have two children, Caleb and Cydney.

“We became involved in soccer when our son Caleb started kicking a soccer ball at the age of three in 2000. I became a parent/assistant coach when he joined the Albany Soccer Club at Under-8 and then head coach at his Under-10 level,” President Owens stated. “I’ve continued to coach with the Albany Soccer Club for these past 12 years and still coach and train with our Under-10 through Under-17 age groups. I also volunteer as a varsity boys assistant coach at The Albany Academy, my high school alma mater, where our son captained the team to a Colonial Council league title in 2014.”

Caleb is now a freshman at Princeton University, where he plays club soccer, while sister Cydney is a high school freshman who plays on the girls varsity team at The Albany Academy for Girls. Their father became club representative of the Albany Soccer Club six years ago, was elected to the CDYSL Board of Directors in 2011, then stepped up to serve as CDYSL Rules Committee Chairperson when asked by Ramundo two years ago. Owens has set forth an inclusive agenda for the CDYSL.

“My goals are fundamental: to provide the best soccer experience for all of our members from youth to adulthood, from grade school through high school and into the college ranks, from the more densely populated areas to the most remote communities that our league serves,” President Owens stated. “My vision is to serve and lead our nearly 50 active clubs––small and large, recreational, travel and premier––into a period of further development, realized growth and sustainability. It has become increasingly challenging for some of our smaller clubs to remain viable and relevant. My vision also includes parental and coaching education, investing in expanding our TOPSoccer Special Children’s Program, increasing awareness and involvement in the Olympic Development Program and supporting our players into and through the college level.”

Owens continued, “The CDYSL has a dedicated Board of Directors who bring a wealth of experience to our league, on and off the pitch. We have a remarkable office staff who manage our Fall Season, our new Futsal Winter League and our Spring Season. They organize and administer our Exceptional Senior Games, our college showcase for select high school seniors in November in concert with NYSPHSAA Section 2, plus organize and host our annual Empire Cup tournament in June, and we look forward to seeing many more teams from the various Eastern New York leagues visit Upstate New York and participate.”

President Owens thanked all those who have contributed to the CDYSL’s success since its founding in 1978 and looks forward to serving and leading in his new role as President.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
 
July 8, 2016-Finding a field to play on and having the proper equipment have been two challenges facing the Spirit of Mount Vernon Soccer Club since its founding in 2007. The East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) club, located just north of the Bronx-Westchester border, is looking to expand to serve all the diverse corners of the City of Mount Vernon, population nearly 70,000 coming from 98 nations, but the club uses its funds to allow kids to play whose families do not have the financial means to pay for registration and uniforms.

So that prompted Club President Ripton Cooke to contact Ken Gulmi, 1st Vice President of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), about the goals needed for expansion. Through Chairperson Luis Montoya’s Inner City/Soccer Start Committee of Eastern New York, our Board of Directors unanimously approved a $1,700 donation to the Spirit of Mount Vernon Soccer Club for two sets of Bownet goals. One pair of goals is 21 feet x 7 feet, and the other pair of goals is 12 feet x 6 feet, for the expanding number of small-sided games being played in Eastern New York. The goals are portable and are used on the public fields that the Spirit of Mount Vernon plays on in the city.

“We’re very happy to make this donation to the Spirit of Mount Vernon Soccer Club, an up-and-coming club in the East Hudson Youth Soccer League,“ commented Eastern New York President Richard Christiano. “We are hopeful that our donation will allow more kids in Mount Vernon to be able to play youth soccer.“

“We have received the goals and on the behalf of the Spirit of Mount Vernon Soccer Club and the greater Mount Vernon community, I would like to thank Ken Gulmi and Eastern New York for their continued support of our organization. I hope that we will make them proud for all that they have done to give these kids an opportunity,“ stated Club President Cooke.
 
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagersbetween the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turnedaway. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.