MICHIGAN YOUTH SOCCER LEAGUE Newsletter  SEPT 2008
Edition
To make announcements or submit materials contact Adolph Reichert by e-mail: adolphreichert@sbcglobal.net  
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Coaches Classes: Check under www.msysa.net for further information.

 IMPORTANT Dates:  

September 6: Season Begins

September 25 General Delegates Meeting @ Carpathia Club 8:00pm

October 23: General Delegates Meeting @ Carpathia Club 8:00pm

November 2: Season Ends

November 7: Annual Coaches Banquet @ Gazebo Banquet Hall. Tickets $15.00. Please contact Yvonne Curtis - VP. Seating is limited. - Doors open 6:30pm

 

ATTENTION COACHES: Trophies for the Spring Season still need to picked up at Tri Star Sports. Please contact Kurt at (586) 977-0007

 

URGENT: Registration Alert and reminder ! - Risk Management - All coaches, managers, assistants and trainers please submit your Risk Management number. The registrar will add the number to the pass cards. Late requests for pass cards will be considered as late registration and with fines imposed.

ATTENTION COACHES & MANAGERS

Starting the 2008 season, RISK MANAGEMENT CARDS must be displayed on your person visually before, during, and after games for the referees. Individuals not displaying their RMC will be noted on the game sheet.

  News To Know:


Dealing with sideline abuse

 By Mike Woitalla

Brian Hall became a referee at age 13. He earned his FIFA badge at age 31, officiated at a World Cup and numerous major international tournaments, and earned MLS's Referee of the Year honor four times.

But most teens who take up refereeing don't last very long. In fact, U.S. Soccer Federation referee bosses believe that the huge turnover -- about a third of the nation's referees drop out each year -- is largely a reflection of young referees quitting because of sideline abuse.

Youth leagues across the nation depend on teens to fill their referee ranks, and many of them simply aren't willing to be screamed at by parents and coaches.

Hall, who in March became the USSF Referee Department's Manager of Assessment and Training, says referees at all levels are being encouraged to use the "Ask-Tell-Remove" approach that has been implemented in MLS to handle coaches' misbehavior.

"You ask the coach to please refrain from that behavior," says Hall. "The next step is the 'tell' procedure, which is basically to tell them their behavior is no longer going to be tolerated.

"You say, 'Coach, I'm telling you that your behavior is no longer acceptable and if you don't change your behavior, I'm going to be forced to take further action."'

The final step is an ejection.

But in the second step, Hall says, "You always tell them, 'But that decision is yours."'

"Now you're putting the responsibility on the coach to manage his behavior. You want to find a way to transfer the burden off your shoulders and put it on the coach's."

Dealing with abuse from parents is tougher, Hall says.

"Technically, unless certain leagues allow it, you can't dismiss parents," he says.

Hall recommends that the referee approach the coach to deal with the parents, "because the coach is a person you can control."

Hall says, "We can go to the coach and say, 'Listen, you have responsibility for the conduct of your parents and if it gets to the point where I feel they're impacting my ability to do a job, or impacting the way the players are able to perform on the field, and if it continues and no one deals with it, we have to suspend or terminate the game."'

Hall believes leagues that restrict the parents to the opposite sideline from the coaches help the referee control the crowd.

"It makes it easy for referees to distinguish between the parents and the coaches when they want to take action," Hall says. "You know specifically who you're dealing with -- who you can do something official with."

When a coach has been instructed by the referee to quiet his team's parents, he can send over an assistant to deliver the message. Or the coach can be forced to deal with the parents while the game is stopped.

Hall cites an example:

"The referee tells the coach, 'I'll give you a couple minutes to go over and tell the parents to stop their screaming."'

Knowing that if he doesn't deal with his team's parents, the game can be terminated and his team could be punished with a loss, the coach is forced to take action.

"When the game is stopped as the coach walks all the way across the field," Hall says, "the focus is now off the referee and on the coach and the parents."

(Mike Woitalla is the executive editor of Soccer America. His youth articles are archived at YouthSoccerFun.com.)

Getting 'match fit' the fun way

By Sam Snow

"Are you match fit?" The definition being, you are fit enough to play at a high pace for a full match.

Now the problem is not that coaches and players do not try to get soccer fit, it's that the approach is a bit haphazard and inconsistent. You may have noticed that I refer to "match fit" and "soccer fit" as opposed to simply physically fit. That's because players and coaches must follow the S.A.I.D. principle to achieve the type of physical fitness needed for soccer. Coaches learn this principle when they attend the "D" License coaching course.

The S.A.I.D. principle is Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. This means that the human body will adapt to the physical demands placed upon it. Hence, the physical demands in a training session must be similar to the physical demands of a match.

Furthermore, the physical fitness training conducted must be specific to soccer. This means coaches should do away with running laps around the field. Soccer is not long distance running. It is a series of short sprints, jumps, jogging and walking over a full match.

Predominately soccer is anaerobic in nature. This means the muscles must work for short bursts without oxygen. Long-distance running (jogging around the field) is continuous movement with a steady supply of oxygen. Go out in the yard and run straight for 30 yards at a jogging pace and then do three 10 yards sprints and you'll notice the difference.

So how do coaches and players make their soccer fitness training specific to the demands of the game? Simply play soccer!

Is there a place for fitness training without the ball? Sure, but the majority of weight training, wind sprints, two-a-days, etc. should be confined to players 16 years old and older.

Older teenage and young adult players are well into adolescence and their bodies will respond better to the demands of overload training. Chances are also high that players those ages will be participating in highly competitive club, high school, ODP, college and/or professional soccer. They will certainly need the extra fitness for the demands of the game at the highest levels of play. But can players get fit enough for soccer by simply playing soccer?

Unequivocally yes! If, the coach and players put sufficient demands into a training session much can be accomplished. Then both fitness and technique, and possibly tactics too, can be trained. This is called economical training.

The problem is that most players' train in second or third gear and the coach allows them to get away with it. Then comes match time and they must play in fourth gear, and occasionally in overdrive, and they are not up to it. The lack of fitness is even more noticeable in extreme weather conditions, especially high heat and humidity.

Certainly there are training sessions where the players should not be pushed to play at match pace. When learning a new ball skill or tactical concept the pace will need to be slower. This is so the players can have success and build their confidence.

Once the technique or tactic is well-learned, then to improve players must train at match pace. Can a team train at match pace for an entire training session? No, and a good coach would not want them to do so.

A proper warm-up and cool-down are essential. The first few activities during a training session must ease into a higher pace. The last two or three activities of a training session are the ones done at match speed.

However, even in a training session intended to broach new topics the overall rhythm of the session should be quick. Far too many training sessions drag along and thus become boring and insufficient demands are placed upon the players. You cannot expect to train in a nonchalant way, in second gear and then perform well in a match.

So the key is that when the training session has reached the match condition stages the players must push themselves, and be pushed by the coach, to perform at match speed. This one factor alone is missing in most training sessions. With it the competitiveness, speed of thinking (tactical decision-making), technical speed and fitness improve.

The players have a responsibility here to push themselves. Don't wait for the coach to have to yell at you to play at a pace that you yourself wish to perform at come game day. You get out of training what you put into it! Train in second gear and you'll play in second gear and when you try to play faster you'll fail.

Players need to push themselves first and foremost. Only then do you have a right to expect that your teammates should do the same. Then the coach is there to push you along when you need the help. The coach has the responsibility to relay these expectations to the players and to set the tone at the appropriate training sessions and at the proper time of a session.

By training often during a season at match pace the team will be prepared for the specific demands of the match. If the team trains this way then the need for calisthenics and running laps is eliminated.

Match pace training brings out the best in everyone. Finally, while playing at match speed is indeed physically demanding, it's much more enjoyable because the ball is involved and you are actually playing the game. That's always more fun than wind sprints.

Enjoy the game!

(Sam Snow is US Youth Soccer 's Director of Coaching Education. This article first appeared in U.S. Youth Soccer Blogs, which can be read at www.usyouthsoccer.org/Blog.asp )