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Newest Featured Team: Girls U12 Synergy
In 2009, Bill Miles became the coach of a rec-level U10 girls team in Hanover, NH, a small town of 10,000. Three years later, they won the U12 New Hampshire State Cup. Let’s take a look at what happened during those years, and why their coach thinks winning wasn’t their greatest achievement.
Coach Miles believed that skill training was key to his young team’s development, but he wasn’t sure how to get his players excited to spend more time with the ball. He had played D1 soccer at UPenn, but couldn’t use the drills he learned in college – they were too advanced, and emphasized the wrong part of the game for U10 players.
He discussed these issues with another coach, who introduced him to iSoccer. After using iSoccer at only one practice, Coach Miles said a light bulb went off. “iSoccer gave me a repeatable process that was fun, focused on the basic skills necessary for young players, and actually worked!”
- They started using iSoccer at the beginning of every practice, sometimes as a formal assessment, and sometimes as a quick challenge.
- Throughout practice, they used 20 seconds, and even came up with some new skills on their own.
- Coach Miles set short and long terms goals for everyone to achieve.
- iSoccer helped create a strong bond among teammates, and led to healthy, fun competition in training that motivated the entire team to spend time with the ball away from practice.
*The concept of a “growth mindset” was pioneered by Columbia and Stanford psychologist, Dr. Carol Dweck. She explains that, “in a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” You can read more about her groundbreaking studies with school children.
iSoccer uses games to create a fun path that shows kids how to improve in soccer and in life. Coach Miles used iSoccer as a foundation, applied it to his personal coaching philosophy, and ran with it. How you use it is up to you!
Cheers!
The iSoccer Team
Quick Tip: 3 Video Progression – Heading
Quick Tip: 3 Video Progression – Heading
Whether you are scoring off crosses, knocking the ball down to a teammate, or controlling it for yourself, being comfortable with the ball at your head is important no matter where you are on the field. Here are three iSoccer Skill Videos that you can use as a simple, effective progression for learning how to head the ball!
Step 1: Start with a seemingly simple exercise, and see if you can hit a perfect header with your forehead right to your hands every time. (You can also try 2 or 3 touches to a catch.)
Step 2: Find a wall and challenge yourself. It may take a minute to get the hang of it, but find a rhythm and as you get more comfortable, move further away from the wall.
Step 3: This one isn’t easy either, but is great for perfecting your head and volley control. How many can you do in a row? 3? 5? 10? 20?
Neymar shows that a good touch with your head can make a huge difference, no matter where you are on the field. Right through the legs!
Learning basic, yet important skills like heading the ball is all about repetition. You can use the iSoccer Skill Videos to work your way up, and then keep it fun and interesting by creating challenges for yourself, like seeing how many juggles between your head and feet you can do!
The iSoccer Team
Quick Tip: Learn How to Bend the Ball
Quick Tip: Learn How to Bend the Ball
Being able to bend the ball is not only fun to do, it also makes you a more dangerous passer and scorer. However, bending the ball effectively takes practice. Here are three iSoccer Skill Videos that are a simple, effective progression for learning how the bend the ball!
Step 1: Find a wall, a friend, or a parent and get comfortable volleying the ball with the inside of your foot.
Step 2: Standing sideways, focus on creating spin and hitting the ball cleanly. As you establish a rhythm, hit the ball harder and move further out.
Step 3: Create spin with the inside of your foot, and practice hitting a stationary ball off the ground. Once you are comfortable striking a clean, bending ball, set up a target and challenge yourself and your friends to a game. Get creative and make up the rules!
As a young player, David Beckham used to hang a tire from the corner of a goal and try to curl it in for hours. Later he was able to do this!
Learning basic, yet important skills like bending the ball with the inside of your foot is all about repetition. You can use the iSoccer Skill Videos to work your way up, and then keep it fun and interesting by creating challenges for yourself, such as bending a ball through a tire!
The iSoccer Team
Feel free to forward this to anyone who loves soccer as much as we do.
Quick Tip: 3 Juggling Skill Challenges
Quick Tip: 3 Juggling Skill Challenges
Here are 3 iSoccer Skill Videos that you can use to make quick, fun skill games this summer. Challenge yourself, or your friends, and see how many you can do!
For Beginners: Once you can do the 1-2 catch, see how many more you can do in a row. 3? 5? 10? Right and left footed.
For Intermediate Players: This one is great for learning proper foot angle for striking a clean, driven ball. Complete as many as you can with either foot. Remember – no backspin (a little forward spin is even better).
For Advanced Players: How many can you do in a row while knocking the ball as high as you can followed by a small control touch? The higher you knock it, the more skill is required. And remember, only use your laces!
You can use any of the 500+ iSoccer Skill Videos to create a game. Make up the rules and get creative. Skill training is always more fun when you turn it into a game! Cheers!
The iSoccer Team
Feel free to forward this to anyone who loves soccer as much as we do.
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