Any coach can kick a ball around with your player or have them do 100 different drills and send them home tired. At the end of the day are they any better? More important, are they any smarter?
John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach from 1948 to 1979, was fond of saying, “Don’t confuse activity with achievement.” Wooden was one of the greatest coaches of all time. Many of the lessons and sayings he taught his players are relevent to athletes and coaches (of all sports) today.
“Goals achieved with little effort are seldom appreciated and give no satisfaction.” In other words. nothing worthwhile is ever easy. If you aren’t willing to work hard at practice, don’t expect to win the hard games. “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”
At the Rangers Soccer Academy, we try to go beyond just kicking a ball with your player, adding persective to the technical skills. The tactical side of the game and mental side of the game need to be taught and practiced just as much as the technical skills. These aspects of the game don’t always get addressed at the younger ages in the U.S. like they do in other countries where soccer is the primary sport. The idea of making “good decisions” with the ball and understanding what it means to “take care of the ball” as an individual player and as a team.
Like you we are after results, so Rangers Training covers a lot of ground. By encouraging them to become more thoughtful, we hope to create not just better players but “fans of the game” and “students of the game.” Rangers Soccer Academy training strives to foster and develop or improve upon:
- Technical skills
- Tactical understanding and awareness
- Creativity
- Match focus
- Teamwork
- Speed of play
- Decision-making skills
- Proper attitude
- Good work habits
- A good work ethic
- An appreciation of the game