Skills Time

On the youth soccer level, you don't train more than two or three times a week, and that's not enough for a serious player.  If you have a soccer ball you don't have any excuses not to get out there and work.  Seven hours a week, you'd see amazing results.  I would do that, if I could go back to being twelve.
-Heather O'Reilly

Academy Skills Tracking Sheets

Since the snow has melted and we can play soccer outside again I have been inundated with questions about "What can I do on my own to improve?"  My first response is always to go out and play 1v1 and small sided games with your friends.  This is what I did growing up all the time and it was the time that I improved the most and I had a ton of fun doing it.

Besides playing with my friends I also spent countless hours out in our yard working on all the different skills.  This individual work combined with playing with my friends are where I saw the major improvements in my individual skill.  With how little time you actually spend training with your team compared to how much time you are away from your team the top players will spend countless hours on their own and with friends playing.

One of the main duties of a coach is to inspire a player to want to play on their own and to give the player ideas and ways to improve.

I have put together the Skills Tracking Sheet as an option for players to use for when they are working by themselves.  The sheet is broken down into 4 categories: Dribbling, Ball Striking, Juggling, Circuit Training. 

A majority of the dribbling moves plus many more moves can be found here at JA Kings StrongSoccer.Com

The goal of the Skills Tracking Sheet is to chart your individual improvement and help you to realize that the more time you put into your game, the better you will become.  Players should set goals for themselves and work to achieve their goals.

I do realize that players like to know how they rank against their teammates.  So once a month we will have Skills Testing Days where we will pick certain skills to test.  After these days we will compile all the data and tell you where you rank compared to your teammates and the rest of the Academy.
*I am looking into prizes for the Skill Testing Days for: Team Top Score, the Top Score for the Entire Academy, the Most Improved Score On Your Team and the Most Improved Score In The Academy.

We will show you how you compare to your teammates and the Academy without showing every players score.  This would be an example of how we will show the scores for a player on our U10 Boys team:

5 Yard Cutting Grid: Inside Cut For 30 Seconds
Name	Score
Academy Record	28
U10 Boys Top Score	24
Avg Score	20
Your Score	22

When you're a young player, you don't get how hard you really have to work on the other stuff, even when no one's looking.  I wish I had known that earlier.  When you get older, you realize how much better you could be if only you'd worked on those things earlier.
-Angela Hucles