In my father’s generation, the model of a good company was a football team – organized, structured strategy, structured plays and a game plan.  I was recently engaged in a discussion about organizing for the new economy, and one of my colleagues commented,  “it’s like a soccer team – you know – creative and self-organizing.”   That thought stuck with me, and I’m convinced that’s exactly why our kids love the game, and it has grown so rapidly in the last ten years. 

Our kid’s lives are pretty structured today and the game of soccer allows them some freedom.  It allows them (within the flow of the game) to run, dribble, and pass into space, with the space dimensions changing in real-time!  Watch the expression on your child’s face when they make a great move, shot or run with the ball. 

How do we teach this?  The creativity comes naturally. We need to just not get in the way.  Most kids can create a game on their own (with their own rules) if left alone. But we do need to teach them the soccer skills necessary to create on the soccer field.  The moves with the ball of the great players can be broken down into segments and taught that way.   If we teach these to our kids, they’ll develop their own moves eventually. Various nationally recognize coaches have developed systems to teach the moves of the great players to our kids.  The “Coerver” Method is one system that is widely used. 

The challenge for us as parents and coaches is to provide our kids with enough structure in the practice setting to teach our kids the necessary technical skills to be creative, and then know when to turn them loose so that they can provide their own creative approach to the game.

Dennis is the Castro Valley U10 Boys Advanced House Soccer Coach, and CVYSL Board member