This month newsletter featured the following, see below for more details and information from the January newsletter.
Continued Coach Development
At the start of December, Fremont coaches Travis Cabral and Eric Depositar traveled to Scotland to participate in the UEFA C coaching course.
UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, is the leading association in world football for their coach education programs, setting the benchmark for coaching competencies and profiles.
Their focus is on the importance of coaches providing a positive learning environment for players. The UEFA C license is designed for coaches looking to improve their skills and develop their players through the love of the game.
“The opportunity to travel to Scotland to participate on the UEFA C coaching course was an amazing experience overall. One of the main take aways from this course and working with the Scottish FA was the amount of detail and layering of coaching points that they require in each training session.
“It was also a great opportunity to network and learn from other coaches on the course, whose backgrounds ranged from club, college, professional, and even one national team from a small country. It was great seeing coaches from different backgrounds and environments come together to better ourselves in order to better the players we coach.”
Travis Cabral, Development Phase Director
ODP Far West Championships in Arizona
This past weekend, Gabriel Rincon and Ragav Ravi participated in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Far West Championships at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, AZ.
Some of the best players from Alaska, Arizona, Cal North, Cal South, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming showcased their skills and abilities in front of college coaches and US Youth Soccer Regional staff. At the same time, these players represented themselves, their families, and their state in search of a regional title.
We continue to stress the importance of individual player development, these boys have been committed to their process of learning, and have seen the rewards. When joining the club early in the foundation phase, Ragav started in the ID II of his age group, this was appropriate at this time for his individual needs. Through his intrinsic motivation and dedication to learning, he moved to a hybrid program of playing ID II wile practicing with ID I in a process to transition full time to ID I. Ragav continued to develop and grow, and now plays up two age groups to continue to be stretched and challenged. A development pathway is what a club provides the individual player in which is best for them in the moment. When teams are seen as the benchmark, the player gets lost in team outcome, and when playing leagues are used to sell player development pathways the focus is on the business of youth soccer and team performance, again losing sight of what’s important to the individual.
We are incredibly proud to be represented by Gabriel and Ragav, and the boys have done exceptionally well to reach these standards through their hard work and focusing on the process.
Former Fremont YSC Player, Natalia Medina, Earns Two Awards at Evergreen College
Former Fremont YSC player who was with our club since the U8 Training Pool, Natalia Medina, continued to shine at Evergreen College. In her final season, she earned two outstanding awards:
“Minerva Duke Caruso Award”
Award given to the program’s most dedicated/committed student athlete. Natalia was a 4.0 student in the classroom, and on the field never missed a day of training during her two years in the program. A great example of commitment and dedication.
“Offensive Player of the Year”
Natalia led the team with 11 goals this past season. One of the most difficult skills is to be able to put the ball in the net, and Natalia did this consistently, well done.
This is a huge accomplishment, and we are incredibly proud of everything Natalia has achieved. Natalia is a great role model to the Fremont YSC youth players coming through the club. She is an example of what truly develops players: the environment created, and one’s own determination, commitment and dedication to the process.
Why are kids losing interest in sports?
Some experts say the values of fun and personal development in youth sports are being replaced by performance and victory. It has become and environment that prioritizes performance and victory above all else. Some experts argue that, in recent decades, youth sports, once a space for fun and personal development, have become increasingly high-stakes arenas where children are treated like miniature professional athletes.
The topic of winning is one that dominates youth sports, but is often misunderstood. Experiencing winning and losing is important, it provides experiences, of which learning can be built upon. However, the youth game has now pivoted away from a balance of both and towards performance. Performance is an adults environment, with real consequences; but when placed into the youth environment is focuses more on outcome of the self worth of the individual is tied to the outcome. This results in psychosocial damage and the burnout of the player, ultimately leading to dropout and withdrawal.
Competition is important, kids love competition, but it is the process within competition which supports the individuals growth and development. Competition can also be framed internally through the use of process, which does support and optimizes the individuals psychosocial pillar of development.
The following article highlights how the changing priorities of youth soccer is having a detrimental effect on youth players, but there are solutions, as long as we all embrace them – https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/dec/01/youth-sports-teaching-winning-losing
Participation Rates
Evidence of this can be seen in the participation rates.
This “cultural obsession with winning” or “professionalization” of youth sports is one reason kids are losing their enthusiasm for sports.
Ryan Snelgrove, Professor of Sport and Recreation Management, University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada
Each year, the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program analyzes the state of play for young people in the United States through the values of its signature initiative Project Play, which helps leaders build healthy communities through sports.
Finding included:
- Fewer boys are playing sports
- Black children are playing sports less than they once did, while Hispanic participation is increasing
- An increase in children specializing in one sport
“Soccer is the sport kids most often play first, but immediately start losing them as travel teams form and community leagues wither, denying a sustained experience from late bloomers and kids whose families can’t afford the youth sports arms race.”
To read more on these findings, see the following link – https://projectplay.org/state-of-play-2024-participation-trends