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The Making of Easy Practice: The Practice Planner for Parent Coaches
Before jumping in, I wanted to give a huge thanks and congrats to the team here at iSoccer. This took a lot of time and effort by everyone to get us to the finish line. All around, it was a really fun and rewarding project – great work team!
I sincerely hope this app helps parent coaches out there have a more enjoyable season!
So here is a little peek into the process of creating Easy Practice:
#1 FOCUS
The first part of any project is deciding what the product is going to be and more importantly, what the product is not going to be. We focused on a single aspect of coaching: practice. Not game day, not scheduling, not orange slices – But how to make practice more enjoyable for both the coach and the player. That was our sole focus.
#2 BRAINSTORM
Once we decided what we wanted the app to be, we had to figure out how to bring that to life. How should the coach to interact with the app? What are the drills the coach should do? Will they use it on the field or at home? What should it look like… You get the idea! There is a lot to think about, but this is the fun part of the process. Sometimes getting out of the office and heading to the roof helps us think.
#3 SKETCH AND DESIGN
Once we had a good understanding of the purpose and content, then came the tricky part: How do we design an app that delivers all of this content with an elegant, intuitive design. This took a lot of time and mockups! Gray, our product guy, made sure the app made sense and Aina, our lead designer, made sure the app looked good! Some great teamwork.
#4 BUILD
Our lead engineer, Jonathan, got to work! It is amazing how much code goes into every single app out there…
#5 TEST AND MAKE CHANGES
We finally had our first working version of the app, so we took it to the field to test. We invited a friend of ours, Jeremy, to be the ‘parent coach.’ He got the drill setup correct but, he was having a tough time finding all the information he needed, and was struggling a bit. It clearly needed work, so back to the office…
#6 TEST AGAIN
We went back and forth between the field and the office a few more times, tweaking things along the way. Finally, we had an app everyone was happy with!
#7 CREATE FINAL CONTENT
From the copy, to the diagrams, to the videos, we made our final edits.
#8 SUBMIT TO APPLE
Fingers crossed!
#9 CELEBRATE
The app got approved! As with anything in life, you gotta celebrate the little and big wins, so we all hit the town and had fun night out in San Francisco.
In closing, I want to thank all the parents out there dedicating their time and energy to coaching. We know it’s fun and rewarding, but also a lot of work! Hopefully, this app will help make things a little easier for parent coaches out there, and help teams have more fun on the soccer field.
Sincerely,
Scott Leber, Founder of iSoccer and EasyPractice
Practice Planner Coming Soon….
Testing the app on the rooftop of our office in SF:
Updated iOS [Apple] and Android App
Hey everyone – We just released an update to the iSoccer Mobile App. Fixed some bugs, increased performance and gave it a makeover. Check them out!
iSoccer and Tony DiCicco of SoccerPlus Work Together to Develop a Goalkeeping Assessment
San Francisco, CA (January 12, 2013) – This month, through a partnership with Tony DiCicco’s SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School, iSoccer rolled out iSoccer Goalkeeping, the newest addition to their skill-training platform. The San Francisco-based technology company had previously focused on field players, with this being the first goalkeeper-training program of its kind.
“Working with iSoccer to create a goalkeeper assessment and development tool has been a real pleasure and SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School is proud to launch the iSoccer/SoccerPlus Goalkeeper skill challenge. I encourage keepers of ALL ages to test their skills,” says Tony DiCicco, President and Technical Director of SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School
“We were thrilled to partner with Tony and the rest of his team at SoccerPlus to create goalkeeping assessment,” said Scott Leber, founder and CEO of iSoccer. “We combined their expertise in goalkeeping with our technical know-how to produce a set of Goalkeeping Skills that should make keeper training more fun and effective for players of all levels. This is a fantastic first step for us in helping goalkeepers around the country and around the world.”
iSoccer applies gaming psychology to soccer training by adding a scoring system to core soccer exercises, which they call iSoccer Skills. Coaches and players score their team and themselves on the iSoccer Skills, and log those scores via the web or mobile device to earn Skill Levels. Now, goalkeepers can get in on the action.
Working together, Tony and iSoccer created 31 core Goalkeeping Skills organized by specific topics. The goal is collect 10,000 scores on these Skills in order to establish the Goalkeeping Skill Level matrix, just like what iSoccer has done for field players. Players, parents, and coaches can go to http://www.iSoccer.org/GoalKeepers/ to watch the Goalkeeping Skills video guides, and enter scores as often as they like.
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About SoccerPlus
Tony DiCicco is the Founder and Technical Director of SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School and Field Player Academy. SoccerPlus was founded in 1982 and runs camps nationwide. For information on SoccerPlus programs go to http://www.soccerplus.org .
About iSoccer
Founded in 2008 by Scott Leber, iSoccer impacts over 500,000 players across the US and around the world. iSoccer is a soccer technology company that uses motivational psychology and gaming mechanics to create healthy competition around skill training, which makes technical development more fun and effective for players and teams of all levels. Visit http://www.iSoccer.org.
iSoccer.org Harnesses Technology to Improve Youth Player Development Across the U.S.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Group of Stanford Soccer Grads Look to Raise the Bar in the Way Soccer Talent Is Developed with Help of the Internet
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 8, 2011) – iSoccer.org, the popular online training product and motivational tool for recreational and competitive soccer players, has launched a new product phase this week on its website: http://www.iSoccer.org. The new product takes the player, coach and club experience to the next level. They are able to go online and assess a player’s individual level based on a series of 16 skills in the span of a less than an hour with the ultimate goal of increasing a players technical acuity for the game.
iSoccer.org was founded in 2008 by former Stanford soccer standout Scott Leber. A long‐time youth coach, Leber pinpointed the unique opportunity of harnessing online technology to solve a fundamental problem in the current development of American soccer talent: a lack of technical ability and motivation among young players. With their national testing standard, iSoccer has collected 451,873 assessments scores and over 14.4 million touches on the soccer ball have been logged by individuals since launching in early 2010. Youth clubs in all 50 states, five state soccer organizations and eight national organizations, including the National Soccer Coaches Assocaition of America, have all partnered with iSoccer.org in its mission to raise the level of the game.
“We are attempting to fundamentally change and enhance how youth players and teams develop their talent,” said iSoccer founder and CEO, Scott Leber. “By integrating the power of technology, proven motivational psychology, and a progressive training platform, we believe we have found a present‐day solution to the many obstacles players and teams encounter that constrain player development. Our goal is to unleash a player’s full potential.”
The online assessment allows coaches and players to breakdown specific areas for individual improvement. This targeted training approach produces more complete and dynamic players, while helping to motivate kids all at the same time.
Introducing iSoccer Skillzys – Know Your Level
In partnership with Skillzys, an award-winning soccer product, we are proud to launch the iSoccer Skillzys to continue raising the level of players and teams across the country! Check Them Out
What are iSoccer Skillzys?
iSoccer Skillzys are high-quality, portable bag tags (with the same size and feel of a typical credit card) that give players, parents, coaches, and clubs a visual indicator of rising levels in each of iSoccer’s 16 different technical assessments. Players and teams will be motivated to raise their level when they are able to collect, carry, and display their iSoccer Skillzys wherever they go. Each iSoccer Skillzy has the 10 iSoccer Level icons on the card, allowing players to use a standard hand-held hole punch to notch an earned level
“Kids love putting things on their bags and seeing their progress. I can not wait to get these for my team. I think it is going to awesome!” WA, U8 Coach.
How do players respond?
In a word – Amazing! Being able to create an environment of individual achievement in a team setting can have tremendous results. By bringing together technology, testing and now tangible achievement badges, your players will be inspired to raise their level!
“My players were all pumped up when they achieved a new level and were able to punch a new hole in the card! Thank you iSoccer and Skillzys for helping me motivate my team!” NY, U12 Coach.
How Much Does it Cost?
iSoccer Skillzys are sold individually, or they can be purchased in the iSS Set, which includes all 16 iSoccer Skillzys cards (1 for each iSoccer assessment) and a Skillzys Clip to display your cards on your soccer backpack.
$2.00 Each (Attachmentz sold separately)
$7.00 Pick 4 Mini-Set (4 iSoccer Skillzys of your choice + Clip Attachment)
$26.00 iSS Set (all 16 different assessment cards + Clip Attachment)
$22.00 Team pricing for 10 or more iSS Sets Club pricing available upon request
iSoccer iDIt Skillzys
Add your logo, team name, player name, or player jersey number to each iSoccer Skillzys
$3.00 Each (Attachmentz sold separately)
$10.00 Pick4 Mini-Set (4 iSoccer Skillzys of your choice + Clip Attachment)
$32.00 iSS Set (all 16 different assessment cards + Clip Attachment)
$28.00 Team pricing for 10 or more iSS Sets
Which Design Do You Like Best?
We have a very important decision to make and we need your help. Before we print up a big batch of player recognition cards from Skillzys® we need to decide on a design. Three finalists have been selected and now it’s up to you to pick the winner. Click on any of the image sets to see them in their full glory.
You can vote for your favorite once every 6 hours so feel free to come back. Voting will also take place on our Facebook fan page. Feel free to vote there as well by “Liking” the picture you think should win. Thanks for your help!
US Soccer Lags: iSoccer Launches Technical Standards Project to Quantify and Raise the National Level
(preview of press release that will hit the wire tomorrow)
The National Technical Standards Project is a long-term initiative to improve the level of soccer in the United States through assessment, analysis, and player development tracking.
San Francisco, CA January 13, 2010 — iSoccer, the leader in technical assessment and online soccer training software, announces the launch of the National Technical Standards Project, a multi-year initiative to measure, analyze, and raise the technical standards of youth soccer players in the United States, ages 6 to 18.
With its team of Stanford graduates, iSoccer plans to collect 1,000,000 player assessments in 2010, which will serve as the baseline for the National Technical Standard. Scott Leber, founder and CEO of iSoccer, remarked: “If our collective goal is to produce more technical, skillful, players throughout our youth system, we need to start by determining our current technical level. Once this baseline is established, we can evaluate the effectiveness of our various training and player development efforts.”
The general consensus among US coaches is that domestic soccer players are consistently less technical than their international counterparts, putting US soccer teams at a competitive disadvantage. To level the playing field, the sport is borrowing from proven academic methodologies by implementing standardized assessment, evaluation, and development metrics.
A universal standard for technical ability allows players, coaches, and clubs to compare themselves to a global community. Standardized data also provides governing bodies with a way to measure long-term progress on a macro level such as comparing the rate of improvement of U10 boys in California with the same age group in New York.
Lars Richters, 2009 US Development Academy Coach of the Year and Head Coach of the U14 Michigan Wolves pre-Academy team recognizes the motivational benefits of such a standard. “Using the iSoccer assessment with my players really helped highlight what we needed to work on as a team and as individuals. Seeing how we compare to the national standard will help motivate the players even more to continue improving their technical ability.”
The National Technical Standards Project will officially launch at the 2010 NSCAA Convention, the largest gathering of soccer coaches anywhere in the world, in Philadelphia, Pa., January 13-17, 2010. The data collection phase of the project will conclude in December of 2010 and the findings will be shared at the 2011 NSCAA Convention.
In order to reach the goal of 1,000,000 recorded assessment scores, iSoccer invites coaches in all 50 states to assess their teams and upload their results at iSoccer.org. This free service for coaches will help them identify their teams’ strengths and weaknesses, and motivate players to train on their own. iSoccer also plans to host regional assessment events throughout the country.
To learn more about participating in the National Technical Standards Project visit www.iSoccer.org/NationalStandard or contact Abe Geiger for details.
About iSoccer:
iSoccer is a revolutionary online platform that provides players, coaches and clubs with the tools and motivation to improve their technical ability. Players, teams and clubs are able to assess their current level using the patent pending iSoccer Assessment, analyze their strengths and weaknesses using sophisticated tracking tools, target their training with a customized practice session builder and download over 500+ video clips to help raise their technical level through self-guided training.
Contact:
Abe Geiger
iSoccer LLC
(650) 544-5479
abe.geiger@iSoccer.org
More places to follow iSoccer
