Framework Rationale
American youth soccer is dominated by a culture of “win at all cost”, often at the sacrifice of comprehensive player development. Coaches build teams for the sake of entering tournaments or “winning State Cup”. Players begin playing games before they have the necessary foundation of technical skill or a basic tactical understanding (i.e. the importance of space). This creates very bad soccer habits and a style of play that is more akin to track and field or American football than the beautiful game of soccer.
When coaches of young teams coach solely to win games, players are encouraged to “kick the ball up the field” and “chase it down”. Players that are big, strong and fast are placed up front and the remaining players are coached to “kick it forward”. The more physically mature players are stand-outs on their teams and their teams are generally successful. However, at around 12-13 years old, size and speed even out. Without a proper technical or tactical base, many of these “stand-out” players and their team mates get discouraged as they are no longer the best or winning games. In many cases, these players quit soccer.
Consistency and Integration
Until now, there has been no definable pathway on Paramus to guide players to a level of soccer that will help them to fulfil their potential and retain them in the game. Youth soccer on Paramus is plagued by over-zealous and counter-productive rivalries between clubs. Coaches and club directors demand loyalty among players from a young age, which restricts their ability to experience different training environments. Moreover, coaches and parents become consumed with beating out their opponents, at the expense of teaching young players about the most fundamental principles of the game.
The Paramus United Soccer Development Framework recognizes the necessity of a comprehensive and integrated approach to individual player development in order to produce and sustain highly skilled, knowledgeable and passionate players. For this reason, the Framework aims to create congruence and consistency between players’ development needs and all parties responsible for the delivery of those needs, including parents, family, and outside coaching experiences.
Paramus United Soccer Academy aims to share its coaching resources, training curriculum and experience with coaches, parents and players across the island. We provideGroup Clinics and Specialized Training for players from various clubs across the island. In the Team Clinics, Paramus United Soccer Academy Coaches work collaboratively with the Head Coaches of other teams to design a specialized training program to target key areas of development. By doing so, Paramus United Soccer Academy aims to break down the barriers that impede individual players’ development and create a more integrated and consistent framework for Paramus youth soccer.
Start Young and Look to the Long Term
Scientific evidence demonstrates that around three hours of daily practice in both formal training environments and informal play for 8 to 12 years are what it takes to become an outstanding adult soccer player. This indicates the importance of long-term planning to achieve excellence.
A logical, progressive development pathway for players is also linked to higher rates of lifelong participation at all levels. Working within the Paramus United Soccer Development Framework will provide Paramus players with a development path based on long term player development principles that utilise the natural stages of physical, mental, and emotional growth of players.
In this sense, the competition structure, development philosophy, and training programs are specifically designed to meet the players’ needs, and aim to address some of the gaps that exist in Paramus youth soccer environment.
