MINI-SOCCER EXPECTATIONS

A major reason for the success of our soccer is that we try to fit the game to the children. We are offering recreational soccer. This means you are playing for fun. Parents need to remember, if the children are not having fun, they are not going to want to play. The level of competition at a game should be the level the children bring to the game. Not the level of the adults. Encourage, support and enjoy. Forget about winning and losing.

Tykes

For many children in this division, this is their first experience in team play. Make it a fun time. Players at this age do not need to worry about who is winning or losing. They should just be having fun and learning by doing. Encourage all the players.

Players at this age should be learning simple skills such as:

  • how to run

  • how to get in front of, or behind the ball

  • which is the goal they score on

  • everyone does not have to be running after the ball

  • how not to use their hands

  • the simple rules of the game

For many players, just being able to run and also kick the ball is a complicated skill.

It is amazing how much the children develop in one season. Give them lots of encouragement and let them have fun. Do not keep score. Do not talk about the score or who won or lost. Just talk about the "nice run" or the "good kick" or " how they kept up with the ball". If there is a winner, there has to be a loser. Five and six year olds, learning to kick a ball, don’t need to worry about winning or losing just yet.

Squirts

At this age children usually can start to understand the game and are learning some of the skills needed. They are building on what they picked up in the Tyke division. There will still be a number of players where this is their first experience at the game. Be encouraging. They will learn by having fun.

By now some players are starting to be aware of the score and competitiveness of the game. It is very important that parents and coaches do not get caught up in winning. The degree of competition that occurs in a game should be the level that the players bring to the game. Coaches and parents should only be concerned about how they are playing and the fun they are having. Talk about "nice runs" or "good kicks" but not about the score.

For every team that wins, there is a team that loses. If the "winning" parents don’t make a big deal about winning, and the losing team comes off the field a little dejected about losing, but their coach and parents don’t seem concerned about who won or lost, in a very short while the players are back to normal and will be ready for a game the next day. When you are seven or eight years old and still learning to run or kick the ball, no one needs to carry the extra burden of winning or losing. Just have fun!

Atoms

The atoms division is a more competitive division in mini soccer. Players have developed skills and strength and are much more aware of the competitiveness of the game. It is important that parents and coaches not get caught up in the winning and losing aspect of the sport. Players will clearly be aware of winning and losing. They may even be keeping their own statistics about games. That is fine. However, coaches and parents should not get involved in ranking or record keeping. The level the players bring to the game is the level they should be at. Parents should be encouraging and talking about the game and the fun.

This is the first division where we begin to differentiate among the player’s abilities and sexes. The boys become more aggressive and we found the girls were dropping out of soccer. This prompted us to form an "all girls" division. Girls are playing in greater numbers than ever and denying the statistics about girls dropping out of sport.