Not so Great Expectations

Now that we almost won our league, what are we going to expect from our boys? Our last game against a younger team, was unlucky but it is soccer. We had our chances and didn't go through! We tied!

So how did these kids get so good a such a young age? Some of these kids have been playing premier for a while, when we started at U10. They have been trained through some academies and camps. The players passed, played the wall pass, played one and two touch, attacked the goal with combination play and worked hard on defense. They were fun to watch!

So should we push our players more? Should we expect more from them? In France, we played at school on concrete floor, with lines, no standing around and all children are playing, whether it is even or uneven numbers on each team. It was fun!

We came from recreational and we accomplished to be in D1 and finalist! But I want more. I want them to like this game, like I do. I want them to perform all the time and play hard in defense. Juggle more, pass more. And like always I can't do it by myself! I still need your help to commit even more! I know Basketball is coming, soccer will be second.... but we won't be like the younger team, if we don't expect more from our players! What do you think?

where the people are standing - there was a soccer field in my time.

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INTERNATIONAL STORIES FROM LES BLEUS YOUTH SOCCER TEAM!

INTERNATIONAL STORIES FROM LES BLEUS YOUTH SOCCER TEAM!
It’s very unusual, to find a kids’ soccer team made up of many boys with international backgrounds, right in the heart of suburban Overland Park, Kansas! But the draw of “Les Bleus” (The Blues) starts with their outstanding coach, Laurent Denis.

Laurent was born in France, and since he was a boy, he has loved soccer. In his youth, he was an enthusiastic team member of “Les Coqs Rouges” (The Red Roosters), a city football (soccer) club, and played until he was 18.

Laurent moved to America in 1995 to start his own business. (He and his wife Kathy own the magazine and website Restaurant Guide of Kansas City.) At the same time, he began teaching young children to play soccer. He earned his Advanced Regional Diploma in coaching and the NSCAA National Diploma. Since then, Laurent has been coaching some of the best youngsters at the soccer “rush.”

"Les Bleus were finalists in our first tournament in Topeka, and won our division at Heartland Soccer (http://www.heartlandsoccer.net/), undefeated!” this coach reports. “It was our first time playing competitive soccer, and we were able to move to a higher level of competition. It’s still all about having fun!”

Laurent has served as Director of Johnson County Park & Recreational Academy, and is currently coaching his premier teams of U10 boys. For him, coaching has never been a job, but a passion.

“My goal is to instruct, provide and increase coaching knowledge, in order to maximize the development of our youth soccer football players,” he says. “I want to create a great atmosphere for parents and kids. What we have is a big family. My kids and I play the same way. Next season, I will join the FC Porto Club. We will combine the international soccer team for guys like me with the U10 boys’ team next season.”

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