How can I use professional or televised soccer games to help my child learn?
In any sport, watching the best players perform is an outstanding way to learn the finer points of the game. Watching an NBA player take a jump shot, an NFL lineman throw a block or a shortstop field a grounder can teach proper technique. Seeing a basketball team run an offense or a football team execute a play can illustrate systems and strategies. And soccer is no different.
There is plenty to learn from watching high level soccer players perform their craft, especially for young players. Professional and/or televised games can be a great teaching tool, if you know what to watch.
First, though, you have to come up with a few tidbits to get the youngster interested and willing to sit down and pay attention to the game. Read up on the teams and players and you’ll find a great deal of reasons for your child to become a fan. Don’t expect your child to sit down and examine all 90 minutes at first.
Here’s three general areas to look for when watching a game with a your child or a group of young players.
Technique
There are plenty of chances to examine the skills of the best players in the world. Perhaps the most important thing for youngsters to watch is the way players trap or settle the ball. It’s called their “first touch,” and it is the most important skill a player can have. The best players have great first touches, because their first touch on the ball enables them to prepare the ball for their second touch – whether it is a pass, a shot or a dribble.
Point out to your child how the players are thinking ahead when the ball is coming to them and how their first touch rarely just stops the ball at their feet. It is prepared to their right or left, so they can play the ball easily and efficiently with their next touch.
Another skill that is easy to see is the simple act of kicking the ball properly. If you ever have a chance to see Tony Meola take a goal kick, be sure to notice and comment on the ease in which he actually strikes the ball. He approaches the ball with a few well-placed steps, kicks it effortlessly with outstanding technique and watches the ball sail well over midfield. This is a great lesson for kids who wildly run at the ball and try to smack it will all their might. Technique is everything and Meola – and hundreds of other pros – have technique worthy of being emulated.
Heading is another skill that can be watched. Pros generally all have good heading technique. Watch how they attack the ball and don’t let it just bounce off their heads. Pay attention to the part of their head with which they strike the ball and how they snap their upper bodies or necks.
Formations
Be sure to catch the opening minutes of the telecast when the announcers are going over the lineups. Make note of what formation each team is playing – a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 or perhaps a 4-5-1. Televised games generally have a fair amount of camera shots from above, giving you the opportunity to see how the players are arranged on the field. Spend the first few minutes identifying the defenders, midfielders and forwards in the system a team is playing.
It’s important to do this early, because once the game begins it will be harder to tell what players are playing what positions. If you are able to match players with their positions early in the game, you have a great opportunity to examine the flow of the game.
If the announcers has told you a team is playing a 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards) but you swear it looks like there are five defenders, you have noticed an important trend in the flow of the game. The 4-4-2 team is not being successful moving the ball up field and are being pinned in their own end. On the other hand, if the announcers told you the other team is playing with two forwards, but you just saw four players in their opponent’s penalty area, good things are happening for that team.
Movement
Off-the-ball movement is an important part of the game and is best examined watching a game in person. However, there are several ways to learn about how to make runs and supportive movement when watching a game on TV.
The best time to look for movement is when a player has the ball at his feet and doesn’t seem to have anywhere to pass it. Who moves to help him? Where did they move to? How many players moved? Good possession teams always have someone in position to provide an outlet pass. Identify them and point them out to your child.
You can also look for players who made runs but didn’t get the ball. Many young players will only make a run if they think they can get the ball. But pros know that just by making a run to the corner, or moving out of a space in which they are standing, they are opening it up for teammate to get the ball. Watch how players “check in” and “check out” by moving into a space to provide a passing option, waiting, then moving out to another space.
You can point out to you child how two things are always happening. Players are creating space and moving into space created by others.
The top of the television screen is great place to look for off-the-ball movement, because the players at the top of the screen are rarely directly involved in the play, but they will be moving. And if you’re lucky, you will see the start of a run that results in a shot or a goal a short time later.
Tips to Get Your Kids Involved
As you watch the game, ask questions like “Why do you think he did that? Why didn’t he do this?” Make them think. Point out how a great first touch enabled a player to run past a defender, or how a pass led someone perfectly. And be prepared to answer questions. If you don’t know the answer, say “Let’s remember to ask your coach about that.”
Find an article about the game you watched and read what the coaches and players had to say about it. Many times a goal-scorer will explain the whole sequence of the play that led to the goal. Then, if you recorded the game, you can go back and see for yourself.
Don’t overwhelm your child with an abundance of information. If they come away with one or two bits of knowledge or one move they want to perfect, it was well worth the time.
After the game, work on something you learned.
Make it enjoyable for both of you. It’s important that your child wants to watch a game with or without you again.
