FAQ
Choosing the appropriate level for your child
To find where your child will best fit, start by looking at the matrix to see in which age group your child falls. Has your child played before? What has the feedback from the coach been? Reach out to speak to someone from MUSC to ask questions about the appropriate level for your child.
Supporting your child in soccer
- Encourage your child when they make mistakes. Taking risks and learning from the outcomes is how players learn. Players need encouragement when trying new moves and skills in games. Players are likely to keep trying new things when they are encouraged.
- Encourage your player to address their concerns with their coach himself/herself. Is game time an issue? Does your player want to play a different position? Encourage your player to take ownership. A player coach relationship can be positively nurtured when each understands the other.
- Conversation and discussion will help solidify knowledge and allow for it to be stored in permanent memory; recalling the information to short term memory is made easier.
- Coaching from the sidelines causes your player stress and anxiety. Encourage and cheer the things you discussed. Is your player working on skills? Compliment the skills you see them using on the field.
- In the car on the way from the game tell your player you are proud of them and enjoyed watching them play.
Source: Krieger, H W. (2014, December 10 ). Five Mistakes Soccer Parents Make with Their Players. [Web blog post] Retrieved from www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts/five-mistakes-soccer-parents-make-with-their-players/.
Helping your child to accomplish their soccer dreams
First, it should be the child’s motivation not the parent’s, that fuels the dream. This article explains a lot and puts much into perspective.
Source: Ashford, K. (2016 February). Capital – When Your Child Is a Gifted Athlete. BBC, 22 Retrieved from www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160219-when-your-child-is-a-gifted-athlete.
Participation in organized sports can have physical and social benefits for children of all ages.
The MUSC sports programs offer young student athletes the life experience they need to grow into mature, responsible, confident adults.
Coaches education and soccer philosophy
Coaches at MUSC are educated in the developmental appropriateness of each age group. Training sessions are tailored to match the developmental level of our players. As the matrix defines, players are organized based on age groups related to the year of birth. The duration of each training session is age appropriate.
Our Micro program for younger age groups is designed with the short attention spans and distractibility characteristic of this age group in mind. Training sessions are short and emphasize playfulness, experimentation, and exploration of a wide variety of movement experiences.
Physical and health benefits of soccer
According to a study performed in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity in 2010 results indicate:
- Physical activity was associated with numerous health benefits.
- The more physical activity, the greater the health benefit.
- To achieve substantive health benefits, the physical activity should be of at least a moderate intensity.
- Vigorous intensity activities may provide even greater benefit.
- Aerobic-based activities had the greatest health benefit, other than for bone health, in which case high-impact weight bearing activities were required.
“Organized sports may not provide all physical activity needs but can be a viable means to increase activity levels in children and, hopefully, lead to the adoption of active lifestyles as adults.”
Conclusion from the study recommend
1) Children and youth 5-17 years of age should accumulate an average of at least 60 minutes per day and up to several hours of at least moderate intensity physical activity.
2) More vigorous intensity activities should be incorporated or added when possible, including activities that strengthen muscle and bone .
3) Aerobic activities should make up the majority of the physical activity.
Sources:
Polcyn, J., & Ruciński, A.,. Short paths in ε-Regular pairs and small diameter decompositions of dense graphs. Discrete Mathematics, vol. 309, no. 22, 2009, pp. 6375–6381. doi:10.1016/j.disc.2008.11.023.
Janssen,I. & Leblanc, A.G., Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-Aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, vol. 7, no. 1, 2010, p. 40. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-7-40.
Debunk the myth that success equals victory
Successful programs are child centered not adult dominated. Adults in the triangle must keep in mind young athletes are not miniature adults. According to the article, Enhancing Coach-Parent Relationships in Youth Sports: Increasing Harmony and Minimizing Hassle, “One of the quickest ways to reduce fun is for adults to begin treating children as if they were professional athletes.” (Smoll, Cumming, Smith, p.15) The equation of success equals victory is a myth. Success does not equal winning and failure is not the same as losing. According to the article “An effort-oriented philosophy of winning is one of the core principles underlying the creation of a mastery motivational climate—a learning environment that emphasizes skill development, personal and team success, maximum effort, and fun”
Source: Smoll, F.L., Cumming, S.P., & Smith, R.E. (2011). Enhancing coach-parent relationships in youth sports: increasing harmony and minimizing hassle. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 6, pp. 13 – 26. doi:10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.13
https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.13
Parents responsibilities and challenges
- Acquire an understanding and appreciation of soccer.
- Avoid trapping your child into playing by pressuring, intimidating and/or bribing them to play.
- Resist a reversed-dependency phenomenon which can be defined as an excessive degree of identification with your child leading to the child becoming an extension of the parent where a child must succeed or the parent’s self-image is threatened. To counteract this phenomenon, “parents must acknowledge the right of each child to develop athletic potential in an atmosphere that emphasizes participation, personal growth, and fun.” (Smoll, F.L., Cumming, S.P., Smith, R.E., 2011 pg. 17)
- Endorse your child’s participation in youth sports and support the coach’s program.
Conform to acceptable standards of behavior at practices and games.
Source: Smoll, F.L., Cumming, S.P., & Smith, R.E. (2011). Enhancing coach-parent relationships in youth sports: increasing harmony and minimizing hassle. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 6, pp. 13 – 26. doi:10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.13
https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.13
