tough coaches, delicate balance

There were an article in the Kansas City Star magazine about coaches yelling at their athletes, saying that players are quitting organized sports before the age of 13, blaming overly aggressive coaching more than any other reason.

Personally, I grew up in environment where I wasn't able to talk at dinner,had to be back at home at a certain hour after school, being respectful to the rules, being polite all the time. It always annoy me when a kid comes to my house and don't say "hi".

"The win-at-all-costs mentality" is it the reason? Coaches are forgetting that they are kids? Or are we pushing then too far? My friends is pushing me more all the time and he is telling me when he was young, he was doing this and that... but at the end of the story, we should ask ourself, Why?

Personally, I am trying to find a balance. I want for my players to be able to enjoy and also perform but with fun. I think when we saw the way they played last weekend, they provided great soccer. That was beautiful. Should it be enough? Or when our team stops to win, though, society begins to shine a spotlight on coaching behavior?

Then we're more likely to say "hey, that's wrong"... difficult balance!

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Thierry Henry

THIERRY HENRY HANDBALL KILLS IRELAND DREAM! So what! Is it the first time that a player is cheating? Not really! Yes, it is bad. France didn't play well. Irish were much better team on the field but the referee could have blew for penalty kick on the first game and this game for France. He didn't...

If we want players to be able to play honestly, we need video... by the way, the only player who got caught by video is Zidane. Final of the world cup. If we didn't have the video the ref. wouldn't have given a red card...

So sorry! It is sad but it is soccer...

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The Poulidor of the soccer

Raymond Poulidor is a former professional bicycle racer. He was known as the eternal second, because he finished the Tour de France in second place three times. I am thinking that we are becoming the Poulidor of soccer!

We started our game with a 1-3-2-2 formation. Our opponent started with a 1-2-3-2. They were more aggressive and were playing a perfect triangle formation. Our defense was suprised and could not really react. It seems they were frozen. Ok, it was raining and freezing. After few minutes, we were down 2-0. I could not keep going like that so I switched formation and position. I came up with a 1-2-3-2 like them. Right away, we were starting to play and control better the middle of the field. Suddenly my midfielder had a great left foot and we were 2-1 at half time.

Second half, we started with the same formation and asked my boys to be more aggressive on the ball. They did. We equalized with the right middle field, finally waking up, who crossed the perfect ball to our striker who finished it! 2-2! But having 5 subs during a tournament helps the fatigue. They scored right away after a mistake. 3-2. It is difficult and I am trying to tell them to cheer between them. They were quiet. Suddenly, we attacked again and got a penalty kick! I should have asked for a red card but my brain was so frozen and I am a nice guy! Well I didn't think about it anyway! 3-3...

I was starting to believe it but suddenly, we are making another (I don't like to use the word stupid but...) mistakes that we were not making if we were not tired. 4-3. They didn't have any more juice... 5-3!

Well we need to realize that they have been playing together longer than us and they have 13 players that are balanced. Now we were playing in Division Platinum!!! And last fall we were in D3... So ok we lost but we will be back!

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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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