Wanderers Warriors Prize Giving 2015

To our Warriors, parents and coaches, we salute you on a magnificent season. Thank you for all the hard work but mostly thank you for the enormous fun we’ve had. The club achieved an undefeated rate of 80% in our all games played from U6 to U13 – a remarkable achievement. We would not be able to enjoy the matches without the commitment and dedication of each team member, parent and coach. A huge well done, thank you for attending our Prize Giving. We reopen on 18 Jan for the Techniques School and 29 Feb for club practice. Look out for further details in the New Year. Have a fabulous, safe holiday, take your soccer balls with you wherever you go!

Go to ‘Galleries’ to see all the photos of Prize Giving 2015.

 

Article submitted by a parent:

Parents have a big influence on the type of player their child becomes. Parents have powerful emotions generated through their involvement with their children, which can be both positive enablers and negative barriers.

These will have wide-ranging and long-lasting influences on those young players. Parents need to look at the “big picture” issues and responsibilities, and not fall into making the common mistakes which abuse this power.

Top 10 mistakes

1.    Taking their child’s sport experience too seriously, and not mixing in the appropriate levels of fun and recreation.

2.    Expecting perfection in their child.

3.    Living vicariously – as though they were taking part themselves – through their child’s sport experiences.

4.    Making negative comments about other children, parents or coaches.

5.    Having an unrealistically overblown assessment of their child’s talent.

6.    Contradicting the advice and guidance of their child’s teachers, trainers and coaches, leading to the child being confused and torn in loyalties.

7.    Failing to realise when their child is developing their skills rather than being competitive.

8.    Failing to see the value of sports lessons as preparation for life itself.

9.    Not realising that their child can learn valuable sport and life lessons even when they lose.

10. Labelling their child a choker or other name.

Footy4Kids Newsletter

“Be slow to correct and quick to commend.” John Wooden

That advice – from one of the most successful basketball coaches of all time – should be written large on the clipboards of all youth soccer coaches.

Most of us (me included) are often quick to correct errors during training but often allow hard work and “hustle” to pass without comment.

And that’s wrong. Young players don’t always need us to correct their mistakes. They can often work things out for themselves. But they do need us to praise them when they try to do the right thing, even when it doesn’t turn out as they intended.

So next time you see a player working hard, make a point of telling them “well done”.

And if you see a player making a mistake, wait until he makes the same mistake again before offering advice. He might not need your help!

Yours in soccer,

Steve Watson

Editor, footy4kids

Kids Soccer and the Death of Nintendo

June 20, 2010 ; http://www.soccermastermind.com/

The sun is shining, birds are singing and the grass is green. What a glorious day. But what are your children up to? Please don’t tell me they’re sitting in front of the television or playing Nintendo. Have they even left their bedroom today?

A quick question, what is the most popular game in the world?

Can anyone guess?

That’s right, it’s soccer, not Mario brothers.

The benefits and beauty of Kids Soccer are enormous and should not be substituted for any computer game or virtual reality. Grass stains and bruises should not be replaced with joysticks and gaming consoles. Dreams, hope and the fairytale should burn in every young child not the achievement of level 3 in Mario Brothers or the latest DVD set.

An active happy kid is a healthy kid. What better way to keep your kids active and happy by introducing them to soccer? Apart from the obvious fitness benefits, soccer also develops the social skills of all children participating which will serve them for years to come. You never know, they might even find a new best friend.

Soccer is a team sport that allows kids to learn how to share, listen and co-operate and how to leverage their efforts in a team environment. What could be healthier for your child than a group of like-minded friends that share the same passion?

The game will also introduce them to the world of competition and will allow them to develop new skills and techniques that will serve them throughout their life.

What most parents fail to understand is that soccer is not just a sport but rather a lifestyle. A routine such as soccer creates a healthy habit, which will inevitably lead to a healthy lifestyle. What more could you possibly ask for?

Throw in a few smiles, laughter and a handful of friends and the importance of soccer clearly becomes evident. The beauty of kids soccer should never be jeopardised at the expense of Sony or Nintendo.

The beautiful world game has unearthed superstars, great athletes, leaders and some bigger than life characters. What has Nintendo discovered? Mind numbing entertainment that serves no benefit at all would be one.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

footy4kids – David Beckham article of interest

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100% youth soccer coaching

www.footy4kids.co.uk

Issue 273 – Red card for Beckham was correct – Tuesday, 24 April 2012 

Dear Jason,

It may have escaped your notice that a soccer superstar – David Beckham – was recently sent off while watching a game his seven-year-old son was playing in.

His crime? To publicly challenge the referee when he gave a player his marching orders for stopping an opponent from scoring – the official presumably saw the offence as a “professional” foul.

In David’s own words:

“I said to the ref, ‘Come on, he’s seven years old, referee, you can’t send him off’.

“He looked at me and was like, ‘Yes, I can.’ And I was like, ‘OK, well, you can’t, he’s seven years old.’ And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park.”

Let’s ignore the rather bizarre notion that a seven-year-old is able to commit a professional foul and focus on the behaviour of the parent.

Was Mr Beckham in the wrong? Of course he was. No one should challenge the decision of a referee.

But what about the seven-year-old who was sent off? His actions had big consequences!

Today’s article – How to help your players cope with mistakes – should be required reading for coaches who have David Beckham’s son in their team!

Yours in soccer,

Steve Watson, Editor