Our mission statement is to maximize the long-range athletic and soccer potential for each player in our program. Some players might leave the sport in a few years to play other sports. They will leave our soccer program with improved athleticism, a competitive spirit, an appreciation of the value of teamwork and will have learned how to train. In soccer, in order to control the ball, you need to learn to control your body. These acquired attitudes and skills will serve them well as they pursue success in other sports.

Most of our players want to make their high school soccer teams. All of our coaches are aware of the skills and tactical insights a player must possess to be successful at that level. Just as our schools are "curriculum" based, so is our soccer program. There are particular skills, techniques, and tactical insights that must be taught at each age in a methodical fashion that proceeds from the simple to the complex. Here is where sound coaching-knowledge combined with experience-contributes to the accelerated growth of players. Knowing what to teach, at what age and in what progression is a hallmark of outstanding coaches and our staff is renowned throughout the region for its proven abilities in this area.

The BTSA player development scheme mirrors that which can be found in a document published by United States Soccer called the Best Practices Guide for Coaching Soccer in the United States. This 65-page document can be found on the website www.ussoccer.com. As an Assistant Director of Coaching for Ohio North, I have spent many days over the last three years in collaboration with the Directors of Coaching for the 55 State organizations (5 states are divided in half) expanding this document for each age-level. These documents will be posted on our website later this spring. In short, we have a curriculum to follow at each level for both field players and goalkeepers. As a staff, we continually discuss the progress of age-group-and indeed, each player-in regard to the techniques and tactics needed for that level.

We expect many of our players to aspire to play at the collegiate level. How many parents-and how many youth coaches-have witnessed, on a consistent basis, the speed of play at these high levels? Most of our coaches have been selected to coach in our Olympic Development Program and have a keen eye for the technical and tactical speed of play at the State Team, Regional Team and National Team level for each age group. It would not be difficult to argue that our Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High School soccer program-where both myself and Jerry Shutway have played major roles--has produced more college players than any other school (public or private) in the state. Player development is our strong suit. We have also produced a startling number of professional players and we are committed to providing a program that would facilitate the growth for any of our players who have the desire and potential to play at this level.

In order for players to develop the creativity and keen decision-making skills needed to play at these high levels-high school, college, regional/national teams, professional clubs-the players must be challenged in a training and playing environment that allows them to experiment. In games, they must make their own decisions-not be joysticked by well-meaning coaches and parents.

Players must learn to play in an indirect style -a style of "possession" soccer, taking the ball from the defensive third, through the midfield third and into the attacking third. Our national style, and the style of most college and professional clubs, is indirect play. This style is risky to play at the youth level. It is safer to play over the midfield, rather than through it-to play more direct. This direct style avoids more risks of losing possession. A team at the youth level can be quite successful-if you equate winning with success-by playing more direct. Players needs less skill, make fewer decisions, make fewer passes and can rely on speed, athleticism, and physical pressure to force mistakes and score off these opportunities given up by the other team. You do not need to rely on your team's ability to create scoring chances.

In short, when you are training players to have the tools-vision, body shape, good first touch, keen decision-making, understanding of the roles of each position-required to play indirect, there will be more mistakes. These mistakes will inevitably lead to goals which may result in losing games. If you are committed to the long-range development of players, this is not a concern. Our commitment is to excellence, to long-term player development of each player and to inculcating the skills and insights necessary to "keep" the ball.

We teach players to "compete". Players love to compete-they compete all day in many ways and this is how kids have fun. "I can climb higher than you can. I can drink my Gatorade faster than you can." All of our training sessions are competitive. We keep score. We have winners and losers and the losers often have some "fun" penalty. However, if taken too far, "having to win" takes the fun out of playing. Dealing with the disappointment of coaches and players when they lose is the number one reason given by kids who quit sports. Studies show that about two-thirds of our kids drop out of sports by 14 years of age. Our players MUST compete-every practice, every game. However, we are not results-oriented when it comes to games. The quality of play is more important than the outcome. When the "product" becomes more important than the "process" you will have to set aside your commitment to player development.

United States Soccer published the Best Practices Guide and has started Academies for players because our entrepreneurial clubs have become more focused on winning and we are not developing the quality players needed. Our national team coaches have been saying for a long time that our kids are too pressured to win, play too many tournaments and practice too little in a "results" oriented environment. This environment does allow them to experiment and to make mistakes. By the time they are 15 years old, they have a wall full of trophies, but lack the skills and tactical insights to compete at the next level.

When young players do not have this freedom-freedom to possibly fail or possibly to lose-they will not develop the creativity needed to be high-level players. What if someone told LeBron James not to take guys on and drive to bucket, because if he lost the ball the other team would score on the fast break and his team would lose? He probably "failed" hundreds of times before he learned the quick cross-over dribble and quick first-step needed to smoke the defender. I heard an NHL player tell his story about playing pick-up games and challenging the defender at center-ice. The defender would strip him of the puck and score easily. He would "fail" 10 times or more before he learned how the beat the defender. He said if he had a coach or parent yelling at him, he would NEVER have developed into a professional player.

What is our hierarchy of coaching? What do we teach first and what is our progression of teaching? This is the short answer. In order to keep possession, your team has to have a SHAPE. This shape will make the field BIG. You need lots of space to facilitate possessing the ball. The team's shape will stretch the defense from side to side and front to back. This team shape will give players ROLES. These roles will present certain OPTIONS from which they must choose. These options will demand particular FUNCTIONAL TECHNIQUES to get the job done.

Too illustrate, a target player will stretch up high to give the team length and the flank players will push wide to give the team width. The role (or job) of the target player (forward) will be to hold the ball until the rest of team can catch up and support. The role of the flank players will be to "get open" or to "show" for the support player who plays behind the flank players. Thus our team shape is a diamond, and the team formation is 1-2-1 if we count the players from the back. The flank players will get open by checking back ("sideways on" by having their butt hang over the touch line) until they are in a safe passing lane. The support player will be behind the flank players so that they can play the ball back when there is too much pressure to go forward. One defender, two midfielders and one forward. Each has a role or a job. Each job presents certain options. For the flank players, when they receive a pass from the support player they can pass forward to the target player--this is the best option if the target player is in a position to receive the ball and hold it. They will pass it back to the support player if there is too much pressure to go forward and the support player can pass to an open target player if that is on, or "recirculate" the ball or switch the ball to the other flank player. All of these options will demand certain skills necessary to carry out that job. We call these "functional skills" or skills necessary to perform the function of that position.

The "functional skills" demanded of the target player is to make a checking-run, timed to separate himself from the defender and sideways on so that he can see the defender. The target player will then need to receive the ball with the "outside" of her foot and either pass it back or play it to the side of the defender where she can shoot. In short, we teach shape, roles and "functional" techniques of each player for each formation the team may find itself in.

Here is the conundrum of coaching. Do you teach players how to play the game? If so, you will be spending less time on teaching particular skills like receiving the ball, passing, dribbling, shooting, etc. Or do you spend time teaching these skills, but then lack time to teach players how to play the game? The solutions is to make the training sessions "tactically" oriented where you teach players how to play the game-and then assist them, in the "flow of the game" how to efficiently use the "functional techniques" needed to get their jobs done in whatever role they are playing at that moment. Technique is taught in a tactical context. Forwards "receive" the ball differently than flank players; defenders often pass the ball differently than midfielders; midfielders dribble to keep possession, while forwards dribble more often to penetrate. In the course of a season, players will learn the "functional techniques" of each position and the jobs of defenders, midfielders and forwards in every formation. Those formations may be the diamond shape of a 1-2-1 or a 2-1-2 like the U8s may play. The U10s may use a 2-3-2 formation in their 8v8 games. (Let us not forget the goalkeeper! We should say the shape is a 1-2-3-2.) In this formation, we will have a center-midfielder whose role will be that of link player. She will link the defenders to the forwards.

We will use a lot of small-sided activities in our training sessions to provide more opportunities for touches and decision-making. In the 11v11 game, who is a support player? Well, just about every player from the goalkeeper to one of the withdrawn forwards will play the role of a support player and will have the job of supporting the player in front of them and switching the point of attack. Nearly everyone will be a flank player, many will be link players and a few will be target players.

The game of soccer gets faster every six months. That wheel is continually turning. As players grow in size, speed and understanding, the amount of time and space a player has to receive a ball and make a decision will get smaller. Some players look good if given enough time and space. When there is less time and space, some players will break down. One of our coaching themes is always SPEED OF PLAY. To play faster you need better VISION. A player's BODY SHAPE must allow her to efficiently receive the ball away from pressure and in the direction of her best option. If your vision, body shape and first touch is poor, you will not be able to keep possession. The time and space a player will be given will be less in a few months than it is now, so if that player's developmental wheel in not turning as fast as that outer wheel of the speed of the game, he will fall behind. Much of our training activities are geared toward playing speed.