2019 / / September 1 / / ISSUE 5

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WI WEST TIMES Your Club, Your News. All the happenings at Rush WI

West

DASC Tournament

by Kyle Lownds / September 1st 2019

What a great showing we had at the South Dakota tournament! I personally had the opportunity to watch many of the teams compete and was impressed by what I was able to see. Congratulations to the 05 Girls, 06 Boys, 08 Boys, and 09 Girls on placing! This was a great experience for all the teams to play in some competitive games before league play starts. We are all looking forward to seeing how the teams improve from now until the end of the fall.

Player Movement by Kyle Lownds / September 1st 2019

Player movement has been something that occurs in our club every year for a variety of reasons. Our club philosophy is that we develop individual players first, teams second. In theory if you focus on developing individuals - the teams by default develop as well. One reason we focus on individual development over team development is because each player needs to be challenged in their own way. For some players that means occasionally be moved from team to team. For other players, that may mean staying at the same age group with new roles. When others players "move" it allows the non moving players to step into new roles with their current group. Maybe it allows them to be more of a play maker. Maybe it fosters them into more of a leader role. Whatever it may be, fact is, player movement causes player growth. Can player movement effect a team's performance? It absolutely can. Do we enjoy loosing? Of course not! No one does. But if our players are constantly comfortable... what are they learning? Being uncomfortable causes learning and growth. Being able to adapt makes a player develop! We as coaches desire players that roll with adversity and take on challenges like these. Is there an opportunity that you may not be seeing because you are dwelling that someone else got picked? Someone else's success is not your failure. Players should trust the process and measure themselves against themselves. Am I a better player than I was yesterday... type of thinking. Not am I better than Billy or Sally? What is the secret to developing faster? Easy. Put in time with the ball outside of team training. Is your player juggling every day for 30 minutes outside? Are they spending extra time with the ball at their feet? Is it the end of the world if they aren't? No, but the point is, someone else is! If your player has individual goals - how hard are they willing to work for them? What are they willing to sacrifice to get there? Do they give up in the first sign of adversity?

IN THIS ISSUE Get to know Coach… Player CAP Updates

Development

Get to know Coach _________! One of the many faces at Rush WI West

by Kyle Lownds / September 1st 2019

Coach Ben is one of our newest additions to our staff this Fall! He hails from across the pond and has had many adventures that has led him to his current coaching position with us here at Rush WI West. I had the opportunity to ask Ben some questions to understand more about who he is. Say hello to Ben! RWW: “What are you looking forward to most about the season? Coach Ben: “With this being my first season, I am looking forward to getting to know more about the club, the coaches within the club and of course the players. They have all been so welcoming so far, not just my team, but everyone and I’m looking forward to a fun and exciting season!” RWW: “What are you hoping to accomplish with your team this season? Coach Ben: “We have already proven with the recent tournament in South Dakota that we can compete against some strong teams. What I am really looking forward to is to see a progressive improvement in all my players. They are at a crucial developmental age where they can really begin to soak up information and build on their skill levels.” RWW: “What do you enjoy most about coaching? Coach Ben: “I love seeing the joy and excitement on players faces as they play and practice. I try to make my training sessions as energetic and fun as possible, and I am normally just as sweaty and tired as the players by the end.” RWW: “What do you do outside of coaching to occupy your time? Coach Ben: “I am in my final semester of college, so that takes up a lot of my time. Me and my wife also like to hike in the bluffs around La Crosse.”

RWW: “What have you enjoyed the most about La Crosse so far?” Coach Ben: “Me and my wife love to hike, so the bluffs are a perfect place for us. Also, Rivoli’s $2 movie tickets on a Tuesday is such a

good deal!” RWW: “If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would they be and why? Coach Ben: “Bobby Robson, Ryan Giggs, Juninho. Bobby Robson was a fantastic manager who inspired the likes of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. His experience would be something that I would love to learn more about and understand. Ryan Giggs and Juninho were players who I idolized as players as a child and looked to emulate as a player.” RWW: “What do you miss most about England? Coach Ben: “Obviously my family, as they are all still back in England. I also miss regular game times of the EPL and local leagues. 6:30am is a little early for me!”

CAP Update All players 05 and up need to be continuously updating their college fit finder profile! This service is free to use as a player at Rush WI West and is one of the best services to help figure out where you want continue your education! 06 Families: This is your year to begin the CAP program. More details to come!

CAP in the Fall

by Kyle Lownds / September 1st 2019

Attention all 05 players and up! Here is a list of objectives to accomplish this fall depending on your age group: Freshman: Focus on your academics! This IS the most important part of getting into the school of YOUR choice. Many schools have strict academic guidelines so I recommend getting off to a good start during your first year of high school! Sophomore: Continue to focus on your academics. Hopefully you had a great freshman year so continue to build on that. Begin to make unofficial visits to schools. Start to understand what you like and don’t like about campuses. Continue to work on your weaknesses in your game and continuously evaluate your performances. Talk to your coaches and see what they feel your strengths and weaknesses are and then work on those! Junior: This is the year to really hammer out your academics. Get off to a strong start this fall. Prep for the ACT!!! Continue to make unofficial visits. You can now also begin to make official visits to NCAA schools that have shown interest in you. Continue working on your skills! Develop your timetable on when you would like to make a commitment. Each player is different so figure out what will work for you. Senior: This is the year you’ve been waiting for! You’ll decide where you continue your academic, and possibly your athletic careers. This doesn’t mean you slack off academically though. Narrow down the schools you want to go to and make the decision that will suit you the best. What school is the BEST FIT for you? Want to set up a meeting? Contact me at klownds@rushwiwest.com

Something for the Coaches, Players, and Parents: Why Player Development First?

Article from Amherst Soccer Association

“PLAYERS FIRST” “It’s about being comfortable on the Ball” Pia Sundhage, Former Coach, U.S. Women’s National Team, 2008 & 2012 Olympic Gold Medalists The Call came one day to a state youth soccer office. It was the coach of a State Cup winner in the Under-14 age group. He complained that none of the players he was coaching had been selected for the state’s Olympic Development Team. On and on he went about his team, until finally the person on the receiving end interrupted. “I’ve never seen your team play, but I can describe it for you. They are well organized on the field. They are always moving to get open. They pass brilliantly. They use the give and go, back passes, long passes to change the point of attack ...” “Absolutely,” says the coach, who then resumes with how his team does this, his team does that, all the time emphasizing the passing and teamwork. The coach of another team took those players to the State Cup semi-finals at Under-12. Where they lost. When you watched that team play, the ball moved like this: win the ball (beating the first defender with the first touch), dribble and beat a second opponent, pass, pass, beat someone, beat another, pass, back pass, pass, beat another, shot. Both teams won lots of games, most in fact, at their age level. One came up short as a team this time, but our bets were on them for the long term. The reason: the coach of one team had only a team. It was ‘built for today.’ The second team, though younger, had players - already well prepared for their tomorrows in The Game. Just What Is a “Player”? Successful soccer play requires more than knowing how to pass, move and work together. A Player, in our definition, is first an individual with a dynamic first touch. She is poised and creative with a ball, confident in the ability to hold it under pressure and will, when needed, take on and beat an opponent in a one-on-one situation. Facing a defender, a Player always has this choice: “I can beat you myself or I can beat you using a teammate.” He’s a double-edged sword, while his one-dimensional peer can only pass. In time defending against a team of one-way players becomes increasingly easy. Defending against a team of Players, however, will forever make you crazy. “I Thought This Was A Team Sport.” It is. And to those who grew up playing other team sports, an emphasis on individualism and creativity seems almost “un-American.” (Wasn’t “ball hog” among the worst names you and your friends used?) Please understand, we do not advocate kids playing 1 v 7 (or 9 or 11.) But we do want to develop players who could play “1 v Many” (and might be inclined to try!) yet who also recognize when a pass is the better choice. This, though, is critical: the player must have both the skills and confidence to allow that choice. Why “Players First”? “Skillful Players First, then team” is here a conscious choice. That choice can and should be made for several reasons: Team play is essentially impossible without the ability to control the ball. (Just keep track of the high percentage of “one-touch” balls that are just given away to the opponents in the next youth game you watch.) Conversely, a team of skilled Players will match up well from their first full-field game together against an established team where skill development is not the primary focus. Developmentally, children at the younger ages are more inclined toward individual than team play. Teamwork is more natural when athletes reach an age where the peer group becomes important. Developing individual skills is tougher for older kids. It can be done, but requires hours and hours of very basic practice and repetition that can try the patience of older athletes. Starting younger, such practice can be spread over a longer time. In our experience, it is far easier to teach the dribbler to pass than to teach the passer to take someone on. It’s difficult to “retrofit” a 12 year old who has only experienced the passing side of The Game and whose other skills are underdeveloped. Even then, it is rare for an athlete to reach the level of technical or tactical proficiency in the 1v1 situation that he would have gained from strong and ongoing skills training beginning at age eight or nine. Strong skills allow every player to be in control of the game. It has been said that in soccer every player is a quarterback. Any player who can control the ball and play with poise and confidence in 1v1 match-ups is truly in command when the ball is at her feet. It works. Teams and clubs that have adopted this philosophy of player development (mandating, for example, that 75% of training through U14 be centered around skill development) have seen huge increases both in the number of players chosen for Olympic Development Teams and in team success in league and tournament play. Individualism Enables Teamwork. Individual creative play is the key to great teamwork in soccer. The player who takes on and beats an opponent now continues to goal with a numerical advantage. The next defender, suddenly outnumbered, immediately faces two options. Challenge the dribbler: the pass is open. Deny the pass: the dribbler continues to carry the ball forward. It’s called “forcing the defender to make the wrong choice,” where either choice is wrong! Skillful, creative Players use “the individual option” to put defenders into positions where they must continually make those no-win choices. Walking The Walk. It’s easy to talk about the importance of individual player development. Too often, though, the commitment to that principle disappears under the ever-increasing pressures tied to wins and losses – now seen at younger and younger ages. The development of creative and skillful individual players can be at some initial cost to team “success”, especially if measured just by the scoreboard. It’s faster and easier to ‘win on the cheap’ by emphasizing team organization over the development of the players. What we’ve learned, however, is that teams developed using the Players First philosophy quickly become surprisingly “successful”. Not too long ago, three of the five U9 winners in a state recreational tournament were teams trained with a primary focus on player development. None were the better “teams”, nor were they teams “stacked” with the best athletes. They won because player-for-player they had developed skills superior to those of their opponents. Such skills form a rock solid foundation for further development of creative, attractive and effective team play that will be successful by any definition. More importantly, those players already have the tools to allow them life-long enjoyment of The Game. Be Patient. Be Persistent.