SLSG Metro Indoor Program Proving Very Beneficial

The indoor program instituted by SLSG Metro this year has already proven to be a huge success.  Now entering into the fourth week of the program, it is clear that the players participating have benefited greatly from the environment that playing and training indoors creates.

The boy in the middle with #1 up is big time!

Obviously, the weather this January has helped to show the importance of the program as one of the main objectives in implementing the program was to provide players the opportunity to maintain a quality level between the last game and practice session of the fall to the first games and training in February and March.  Because the snow has forced cancellations of outdoor club training and team training, the indoor program has been hugely important to providing opportunities for players to continue to train and play.

In addition to the added training and playing opportunities, because the program was limited to U14 and younger, the full-time staff has had the opportunity to work with players in training and observe them in matches.  The importance of having the more experienced staff working with players in this environment cannot be overstated.  Players are provided the opportunity to work directly with coaches who have seen the upper levels of the youth game and know the demands that are required of players to succeed.  The utilization of the full time staff (a staff who are predominately nationally licensed or have extensive professional playing careers) distinguishes this program from all other camp like indoor programs.

From a player development perspective, players are getting a huge number of touches and repetitions in every session.  The first 3 sessions have included: agility and speed work both with and without a ball; turning on the dribble; turning from a pass; ball striking; passing and receiving; and fast footwork with the ball.  Technique is developed though repetition.  The small group environment achieved through station training has allowed players the opportunity to perform multiple repetitions of various techniques while under the watchful eye of the expert staff who can then help refine the players’ techniques. 

Players also benefit from the game environment.  From a technical perspective, players are required to control the ball in tight space and deal with the pressure of defenders which comes quicker in indoor.  Sometimes in the outdoor game, players have a lot of time and space thus allowing decisions and actions to be slow, but in the indoor game, you are under pressure on every touch.  As the players get older, playing in tight space becomes more and more prevalent.  Also, players are forced to defend.  Because of the limited number of players on the field and the size of the field, each player is confronted with individual defending moments regularly throughout a given match.  The demands of the game cause players who prefer to shy away from confrontation and defending moments to standout, which helps to create further learning opportunities as the coach can then discuss those moments with the player in between shifts.

Soccer has allowed me to see a number of countries.  In Europe, the youth game is more traditional in that it resembles what we view as youth soccer.  Teams are organized, scheduled games, etc.  In Latin America, sandlot and pick up soccer is everywhere!  The pictures here are kids playing in the back of a house in the barrios of Costa Rica.  As you can see, the game is played in confined space, it was very fast and the need for quick decisions and quick feet are necessary.  The SLSG Metro Indoor Program is designed to help recreate that environment.

The last, and perhaps most important, benefit we are seeing in our players in the development of an attacking mentality in our players.  As coaches, when we talk about an attacking mentality we are not talking about scoring goals or moments when we have the ball.  Rather, we are talking about an aggressive, assertive, high-pressure mentality whereby players apply quick, intense and continuous pressure on the opponent both when in possession and when out of possession.  When done right, the indoor game is very well suited for the development of this type of mentality and we are certainly seeing it in our players.   

As a staff, we are seeing dramatic improvements in the players and look forward to the second half of the program knowing that we will continue to see more improvements as we approach the outdoor season.  Beyond even this, we are thrilled at the success of the program because we know that over the coming years the ability of our players to get these added opportunities to develop in a different environment will translate into even greater success on the field.