Mikes Pitch

It has come to my attention that US Youth Soccer is hosting their annual workshop in Boston, MA this February 16th-18th 2012.

Great spot for coaches to network and check out new technology from vendors.

Check out the website for further info: http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/news/story.asp?story_id=6219

See ya there!

This morning I found myself in the city competing in the cold 34 degree cold New England weather on a partially frozen grass field wearing sneakers instead of soccer boots for grip.  We had a scrimmage next to a new field turf field that we were supposed to play on but got booted from a lacrosse team that rented the field. As we warmed up I told a few teammates that one day our kids would probably have close to ALL Field Turf Fields as the years went on and the technology got more affordable.  The consistency of playing on the field turf fields that most clubs train on today is great, but players don’t experience the raw soccer skill building natural feel of playing on grass as much as I did growing up.  From learning how to receive and control a driven pass on a bumpy dirt/grass pitch to learning the right speed and weight to lead a through-ball to  a player ahead on grass is a skill that is disappearing.  It is imperative to teach children at young ages to play on both grass and turf surfaces so they can build a strong skill set for soccer in the future, while also cross-conditioning their bodies to cut, spring, jump, slide and run on both grass and turf.

The next crucial component for building great soccer players at young ages is for kids to have local and global soccer icons that they follow.  With 24-7 soccer on Fox Soccer Channel and the internet kids can follow any team here or internationally at minimal ease. This was not the case 10 years ago, unless you subjected yourself to the Mexican league on sleepy Sundays watching a bunch of players that I had little knowledge of or interest in.  Young players need to follow both local college mens and women’s soccer players as well as national and international stars if they are gonna last in soccer.  Besides raw talent, skill, motivation and physical strength and sheer fun, a young player needs to cultivate the sport visually and see what higher level players do to excel at the highest levels.

I have played soccer my entire life and really started watching it actively and growing as a player when the World Cup came to the USA in 1994. I did not have the luxury of going to see a World Cup 1994 game in person, but I did watch a ton of games on tv and started following players like Lothar Matthaus of Germany and Hristo Stoichcof of Bulgaria. I liked the way they played on the field and their talent level and that led me to follow them through finding their club sides and following their progress.  The seed was planted in my mind in 1994 and I would encourage all who are developing players to give your players homework after practice and encourage kids to find a great club and report their findings back the following week.  This ignites soccer in some children that will indeed turn an average player into a great player as they aspire to play like their hero has.

The long-term goal with United States Youth Soccer is to create lifelong fans, not just players.

What’s the most annoying noise that plagued the world cup this past summer, yes the buzzing noise of the vuvuzela!  Vuvuzelas have been banned by high school soccer this year, think not then get caught with one at a game like a friend of mine did and it gets taken away and trashed immediately. Crazy stuff, but one vuvu simply can’t compare with that of a full stadium like this past summers world cup in africa saw at every game.

Speaking of South Africa, how are those giant stadiums doing FIFA? Collecting dust or hosting rugby matches and a few international soccer games, where is the domestic league growth?  In addition to selecting an up and coming country for a world cup award, FIFA should bear the brunt of the load of building a soccer infrastructure for all the world cup awardees going forward.  Think about it, FIFA stands for building the worlds game up but only goes into a country, takes it over for the cup then leaves it with giant stadiums to pay for and hopes that the country itself can handle building a soccer infrastructure to support those BIG TIME stadiums.  Something does not make sense here, what happened to the development of soccer in all the corners of the world.  FIFA has the political and soccer power to bring in 2 teams, one to take over and run the World Cup and another to come in and establish a soccer infrastructure from fields to domestic leagues that these growing countries like South Africa need.

FIFA has come under major criticism after awarding the 2018 and 2022 Cups to Russia and Qatar.  Both sites make sense in regards to FIFA’s purpose statement of bringing the game to the corners of the world but now with Qatar talking about sharing the cup with other middle east nations and moving it to their “winter season” after the award is in place…something is fishy here.  Bringing the world cup to these countries makes sense for the betterment of the worlds game, but FIFA must have some sort of governing body to report to that holds them responsible for their decisions.  Public companies have to report to a board of executives and FIFA makes these decisions without being overseen from a governing body.  This really frustrates nations like England that bid on 2018 and only got 1 vote, their own.  If FIFA does not come up with some sort of decision process or standardized rule list that they make decisions by we are going to see entire soccer Federations like England jump ship from FIFA soon!

The spanish seem to have the soccer world under their spell these last 6+ years.  Here are just a few facts: Spanish dominance in the last EURO in 2008- Champions, Barcelona clearly dominating the Champions League for the last 2-4 years, MESSI and CHAVI World Players of the Year and European Players of the Year in the last few years, Spain winning their first ever World Cup in South Africa.  Spain is the place to be for soccer these days and likely for some time to come!  When you summarize the most recent battle between Real Madrid and Barcelona one commentator put it bluntly by saying Barcelona dominates through implementing three the 3 Ps of soccer: Possession, Penetration and Pressure. Look at the World Cup statistics and you can clearly see that distance covered+ short and long passes completed+ shots taken+ attacking minutes= WORLD CHAMPION.  That’s it, not most goals scored that was Germany and they came in third, not most cards and fouls inflicted that was Netherlands and they came in second.

The answer for achieving the best soccer in the world is clearly defined right now, who will step up next year and see Spain off the top?

The World Cup of 2010 has been over now for a little over a month now and most domestic leagues are kicking off their regular season schedules.  Most national teams have had one or two friendlies- for no apparent reason other than get over their world cup performances and try some new players.  Most if not all of the coaches have either resigned contract extensions or teams have brought on new coaches to begin preparing for WC 2014 Brazil.  Makes sense right, new campaign, new coach, new system or new players….its about starting over, cleaning out the old under-performers and in with the new.

The US Mens Soccer Camp continues to underperform with its older players that did not perform in the last South African World Cup.  The decision to play these players while other nations are playing their younger, faster, future players like Brazil lies mainly on one man- Bob Bradley.  Bradley has done a great job for the US for the last 4 years winning several Gold Cups, running up to Brazil in the 2009 Confederations Cup and getting the US to the second round of the WC2010.  Bradley has passed on most of his winning strategies and tactics that define his coaching style to this point in time for the US, now its time for the US to bring in another coach to elevate the sport to a higher level in the US. Bradley has not signed a new contract to renew with the US and he has been tied to coaching jobs with Premership Fulham and Aston Villa…the writing is on the wall!

The decision needs to be made at the US Soccer Commissioner level- Sunil Gulati – for a new coach with an entirely new regime that supports the US professional league player structure as well as talent pool and general US playing style and strategy.  This is not an easy hire because the US game needs to come quite a ways before we are ready for a World Cup Semi Final or Final appearance.  A coach that comes in that ties our leagues in with the national team and unites the disabled youth systems in the US is going to be successful.  The decision needs to be made to hire a coaching system, not just a coach, as the US needs to beef up our player pool through our youth leagues and keep great soccer players in the sport long-term instead of losing players to the other “big 4” sports in the US.

The decision has been on the table since well before the WC 2010, the governing body have likely interviewed and built a story for a new system with the slow start for the US in the past WC.  The decision is easy, hire a former world-class player that will inspire both players and fans alike, make sure this player has a strong coaching background with club and country and most importantly ensure that this player knows the existing structure, playing style and masters the english language…..

hire Jurgen Klinsmann!

Ever wonder what kind of money it takes to get Manchester United on a summer tour to the US and Canada?  Ever wonder how much money these tournaments are making these third party companies that arrange these tournaments- BIG BUCKS! In todays soccer society where international soccer news is made public instantly, it’s hard not to find a summer/off-season tour going on with one of the big international teams. I think its great that Manchester United, Sporting, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs have played pre-season games in the US and Canada this summer coming off a great world cup.  Last summer Chelsea, America, Inter and Milan were a part of a round robin pre-season tournament in the US to promote brand awareness and international soccer. Our taste for international soccer certainly trumphs that of MLS, as these international club games bring in 60,000 fans plus per game and they are played in the big american football stadiums, very rarely the soccer specific 20,000+ stadiums.

How do we parlay this international fanfare for great soccer into our game here in the US and MLS?  Getting big name players like Thierry Henry….that will help a bit, but he is no longer the world class player that he was with Arsenal and Barcelona, so we need a better formula.  We need to take our big name teams overseas to international markets just like they come to us in their offseason!  Soccer is the international sport, so why not brand internationally, start with the smaller developing soccer nations like Africa that would encourage their great players to get interested in our league and come over here to play. Even if our MLS teams cannot quite play with the great international teams, we need to do a better job of building the brand of the MLS by exporting our teams as they export to us.

Look at the top club teams in the world and they are the teams that really bring passion, investment and marketing to their respective leagues.  The premier league has the big four, the Spanish league has Barca and Real, the German league has Bayern and Wolfsburg, the Italian league has Inter, Milan, Roma and Fiorentina.  Yes these are big Champions League Clubs, but they are the clubs that great players want to play for, so how do we get players to think this way about an MLS Club.  Investors have to realize the potential and their has to be a draw to come to this club.  It seems as though the major market superclubs like LS Galaxy and NY Red Bull are those two clubs in the US, but what else are they doing to build a big time club? Beckham and Henry only account for selling jerseys and tickets today, the Home Depot Center and Red Bull Arena plan for future fan growth, what do the youth and player feeder systems look like, but what are the clubs doing to market internationally?  TV stations allow fans in other countries to watch whatever soccer leagues they want, why not build the brand of the MLS by continuing to export the content. So we dont have the best players, we do have the best marketers and merchandisers in the world.

The MLS and American soccer need to continue to develop great players from the ground up, but we need to give our league a shot of testosterone by exporting key MLS superclubs all over the world.  Then great players will be more likely to come to our league at younger ages and really invest in the future of our league and build it. Over time our youth systems will get better along with our players, but right now we need to pump our content out to other nations to continue to build MLS Brand Awareness on an international scale. Time will tell, MLS are you listening?

As the semi-finals come to an end today in South Africa, the looming technology debate draws more attention with several decisions made incorrectly by the referees in the last month.  The guardian reports http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/06/hawk-eye-goal-line-technology that the decision by FIFA will be made later this month but more realistically this will probably be up and running for the Brazil 2014 World Cup.  The referee’s have done their best with the decisions to date, but with all 3 referees missing Lampard’s 35 yard bomb from long distance, this simply cannot happen.  When the fans watching TV can see replays and clearly see the ball going over the goal line that the referee has  missed, a new system needs to be put into place so this does not happen again.

The tennis and cricket world have embraced one such companies technology and it is used worldwide in addition to the referees at top levels. HAWK-EYE Innovations http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk/  is one company that has met with FIFA and will meet again to discuss and likely setup a test project or test league like the premiership to get this off the ground.  The bottom line here is that we are not trying to replace the referees, just give them another tool to make the right decision in this fast paced game of our’s at the top level in 2010 and beyond.

My dvr has been working overtime this month as the games have come fast and furious starting at 7:30, 9:30 and 2:30.  So far the cup has been an interesting one with several upsets from Germany’s loss to Serbia to Englands poor performance all over the board.  The US has found itself victim to a tough call against slovenia disallowing a goal to have won 3-2 and gaining 3 points and leading the group, but regardless they seem to be in a good position to control their destiny as they enter their final game versus Algeria.

Noteworthy world cup updates have been the High Def TV constant coverage that really makes watching the game better and allowing viewers to see the nuances and finer details like rotation of the ball and position of the defenders.  The games have been relatively low scoring in the opening round, mainly due to most teams playing very cagey and cautiously trying to do just enough to make it through the first round.  Not surprisingly the south african nations are performing very poorly in their own backyard as the South Americans are performing very well across the board.  Even though the goals from the african teams have been far and few, they have certainly won hands down the post goal celebration award with their crazy dances!

Have a listen to my favorite world cup anthem and enjoy the rest of the first round: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFv-1t6HUQs&feature=related

We are five days away from the most popular sporting event in the world and I am pumped!  South Africa is gonna rock this coming Friday as opening festivities kick off with an intense opening game pitting hosts South Africa versus Mexico. Leading up to the world cup might be the most exciting time for me and other soccer purists.  Since the final whistle blew in Madrid and the Champions League rightly crowned Inter Milan as 2010 champions I have been enjoying all the news, updates, tv commercials, new kit colors, reviews and friendlies that lead up to the best sporting event that only comes once every four years.   The next world cup goes to Brazil in 2014 where it seems everyone wants to visit just because its soccer and its in Brazil—no word of  a lie, its gonna be awesome with all the passion and love Brazilians have for the game.

So what is gonna make this world cup better than any of its predecessors?  As I said above, it’s not just the games and matchups that pump me up but the run up to the cup that really make it interesting.  As you all know, the USA plays England in the opening game of the cup and the Brits are calling this an easy win….but we have history on our side- the US will be wearing replica kits similar to those we wore in 1950 when we beat England for the first time ever in a World Cup! Check out the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYFl6oOad3E and see for yourself, as the US is gonna produce something special here. We also have history on our side in the sense that the USA historically does better in world cups outside of Europe.  Note the opening upset against powerhouse Portugal in 2002 in Korea and the progression of the US side out of the opening round in 1994 in the USA.

Playing and coaching soccer during the world cup always seems to bring about great memories.  All the love and passion that we have for this crazy sport finally comes out clearly to our friends that dont quite share the same year round passion that we do in their all of a sudden sheer love for the game and interest in following the cup!  Their constant emailing and text messaging results, updates and latest happenings makes it feel like the only sport that is going on in the world right now is soccer and thats a cool feeling.  The interest that parents and fair weather fans alike show in the sport and the genuine interest that people show for the sport is heightened 10 fold during the cup, again a great feeling.  Knowing that people care about this sport that we players and coaches that have dedicated our lives to lets us feel some additional form of appreciation that we dont really get on a regular basis.

Being a high level player myself, I love all the gear, kit and shoe updates from adidas’ new super sleek sprintskin F50s to the Krazy expensive nike carbon fiber Mercurials running a mere $360 in Eurosport.  What the heck is sprintskin and how the heck is carbon gonna make me a better player- shoot if I care- but is sounds wicked cool!  I remember when paying $150 for soccer shoes was a pushing it, I cant imagine dropping that kind of cash now for shoes that are gonna last maybe a year or two, Ill just wait till the end of the season and get them on sale!  How about that awesome nikesoccer.com write the future commercial- Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcWwTLMGttE and see for yourself if that can’t get you stoked for the cup Im not sure anything will?  I like to see new shoes from companies like Underarmor and JOMA but wonder why classic big companies of old like Diadora, Lotto and UMBRO just cant seem to create any good looking lines of shoes?  They always get a big names to picture with their shoes like Terry for Umbro but cant seem to get a pipeline of decent shoes to market against the Adidas, Nike and Pumas of the world.

Always interesting to see how the team kits come out looking, from the entire african continent selling its soul to PUMA to all the big European teams selling their soul to Adidas.  England single handedly pays the salaries for all of the umbro executives and nike stives to pump out sooooo much Brazilian shwag that its hard not to get your hands on some nike bootleg brazil five star knockoff tee after the cup. Holland and Portugal always have their signature classic orange and red nike kits that forever look like the same jersey from cup to cup simply with larger and larger Nike logos!  It really is a chance for big soccer companies to get bigger and small companies like JOMA supporting Honduras to make an extra effort at being an international company. Someone has to tell me what Puma is doing with the UNITY KIT???? because I cant seem to figure out if it will serve as an away kit for all the African teams in the tournament as it notes that it will? The blue and brown kits are supposed to represent the blue skies and brown earth of africa which make sense but who will be wearing this jersey and whats the deal?

Outside of the shwag and gear updates comes the fact that every game is supposed to be on TV in 3D.  Gonna be interesting walking into a bar with a bunch of dudes wearing big old 3D glasses to watch the game….pretty sure that’s not gonna happen as the entire nation hasn’t even upgraded to HDTV just yet…..  It is great that every TV and Radio station are promoting constant coverage like Sirius Radio covering every game live and ESPN/ABC covering every single game as well.  All I can say is that I am gonna have to do plenty of customer entertainment between the hours of 10am and 4pm for the next month!

I think I thoroughly exhausted most of my pre-tournament excitable points and look forward to sharing a few pops, appetizers, lunches, and glasses of vino with family, friends and total strangers.  Whether they like it or not, the media in this country knows that they need to cover the cup and that this game of soccer brings together sooo many people of different races, religions and beliefs that it serves as the best peacekeeping event in the world (provided that people dont riot).  Soccer as we know it bridges the gap in ways that people can only dream of and more people need to start understanding its power…the whole world would be a much better place!

Go USA and Go Celtics-I think its time that I kick up my support with green shoes like Rondo!

With 4 Fridays left before the opening game between South Africa and Mexico, World Cup preparations are in the final stages before teams fly out to South Africa to begin acclimation to the South African environment. Most coaches are scrambling to get players fit and healthy as most European leagues have just ended.  I find that watching old previous world cup games shows just how much faster the game has gotten in 2010.

Although Barcelona and Manchester United will not make an appearance in the 2010 Champions League Final, they will be resting the upcoming world cup stars for Spain and England and several other nations. As mush as Alex Ferguson of Manchester United would love to be training for the final, it certainly benefits those players who get some time off before going full bore into preparations for this June 11th- July 11th World Cup Final in South Africa.  The timing of the Champions League final on May 22nd makes it difficult for top players from Bayern- Germany and Inter- Italy to begin preparations with their respective national teams for the upcoming World Cup.

All teams have released their pre-world cup roster and have begun training camps and selection for their starting 11.  Last night I briefly watched Mexico playing Angola and was eagerly surprised at the pace and skill that the Angolans played with.  One thing that I noticed about the style of many teams being played going into the world cup was that the PACE of PLAY has seemingly gotten faster than ever before!  I look forward to a very fast paced opening round of world cup games in africa.

One thing that I like to do before every new world cup is watch some taped games of previous world cups to try to note the difference between play then and now.  Combing through my archives I found a few 1998 and 2002 world cup games that I reviewed some footage noting that the speed of play has increased dramatically.  With all the increased technologies from game balls that are made of materials that move faster to soccer shoes with all kinds of fins on the striking surface that alter the spin on the ball, it’s no surprise that speed of the game is faster.  I think the training methods of increasing foot speed and better developed athletes with great skill also increases the speed of the game.

Looking at formations going into the World Cup I noticed that in addition to the stopper/sweeper days of past to the new flat back four there are many more attacking midfielders/withdrawn forwards than ever before.  The 4-4-2 days of 2002 and 2006 have led to the more recent 4-3-3, 4-3-2-1, and the 4-5-1. Changing these formations enables more midfielders and backs to get forward especially for players like Maicon of Brazil.  These formations also encourage more possession play.

Another thing that I notice is the fitness of the players in world cup players deteriorating as the tournament goes on.  The last few world cups have been played in warm weather in Germany and S Korea, this summers cold weather world cup will certainly be an added benefit to the players.  Heat exhaustion and long drawn out double overtime into PK games really catchup with these players as the tournament goes on.  I think that the colder weather will benefit a few eastern european “underdog” nations that will undoubtedly go further into the cup than many people think.

The real question is who will step up as a goal scorer for the USA team since our local Charlie Davies will not be playing???

After a recent session working with youth teams I realized just how over-privilaged and under-techniqued our players are.  Our players have everything when it comes to the soccer gear and looking good, but lack that last bit of technique to finish a shot or pass the ball to feet of a co-player.  I think our development has come very far from where it once was, but we still have a long way to go.  I remember when I was a kid playing soccer all I really cared about was the scrimmage at the end of practice, so I can identify with the fact that the kids playing dont really know a good coaching session from a bad one. Even though many of our players and coaches know that scrimmages are important, more coaches need to get passionate about the development of technical skills during practice and demonstrate technique more with over-exaggeration.

Having more programs available to more coaches to educate them with the technique that players need to develop is imperative for the continual development of soccer in the US.  We need to set up a coaching mentor program that empowers coaches to network with each other and actively learn from each other.  If lower level coaches shadowed more experienced coaches then the general knowledge of coaching would increase in the US at astronomical rates that would increase our players skills at younger ages. It could be as simple as setting up a facebook of sorts for the NSCAA or USSF, allowing coaches to communicate more regularly with one another and share information more readily.

Thats it, Ive found my newest challenge: to initiate a coaching mentor program for aspiring soccer coaches