Tag Archives for " evaluation "

1 Just Let Them Play

I sat down to plan my U8 and U10 practices the other day and while going through my old sessions and thinking about previous games I realized that it would be a great day to just let them play. We didn't have any games the following weekend and there hadn't been a practice this season that I just let them go at it.

I regularly have the boys play various 1v1 games and we always finish with a small-sided game at the end of training but every once in a while I like to plan an entire session around playing competitive 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 games. This gives the players a break from the usual format and gives them a chance to use all of the skills that we've been working to improve. They love it because

0 Game Speed Test Developmental Report

Today's post is from our Soccer Conditioning Expert, Scott Moody at SoccerFIT Academy. I've posted some of their information on speed, fitness and agility testing in the past because I think Scott is on the leading edge of soccer conditioning in the U.S. and I work with him through our Sporting Affiliate Club in Overland Park, KS. Here is his latest update on the testing they have been doing with clubs and coaches around the world. I thought you'd find it interesting and helpful especially since there's no cost to test your players and see how they stack up. It's also a great evaluation tool that can be used to assess the progress of the players over the course of a season, year or career.

We now have over 700 coaches in 30 countries using the SoccerFIT Game Speed Test to evaluate their players and teams. Some of the college coaches have found the test a very useful preseason tool, as it shows strengths and weaknesses in SKILL, SPEED and FITNESS, and can quickly show where you are strong (and weak) as a team. We continue to support all programs using our test with eBooks and clinics that highlight our systematic approach of blending the physical aspects with the technical aspects to create a more applicable (and efficient) way to integrate speed, agility and fitness into normal practice sessions.

On the club level we have started testing all the teams and players in various clubs to create a clear picture of the developmental process within the club. Below is a graph of the girls side of one club we consult with (from U11 to U18). We ranked the teams

0 Game Speed Testing – Testing with a Purpose

Today's post is from Scott Moody, our Soccer Conditioning Expert at the Soccer FIT Academy. This blog post got my attention because I've had many conversations with parents and other coaches on this subject. There are an ever-increasing number of, 'Speed and Agility' trainers, camps and businesses. But all to often they are not soccer

0 Tryouts for Youth Teams

Each state in the U.S. sets their own time for tryouts. In the mid west the date usually falls in June sometime after State Cup has been completed. In Kansas tryout can officially start one week after State Cup is completed.

There are two types of clubs, a truly tiered system where the best players are place on the top team in the club and the next strongest players are put on the second team and so on. The goal of this type of club is

4 Should we judge players based on their size or Speed

Should we judge players based on their size?  How about their speed?  What about their juggling ability. One effective way to judge players is based on their TIC Technique Insight Communication A player can be in the right spot at the right time and know what to do but without the technical ability to execute,