John's Blog

Author:	John Fellenbaum	Created:	9/16/2008 6:34 PM
This section of my blog is of general interest to any and all York USA visitor.

Ways to manage High School-Club Conflicts

By John Fellenbaum on 7/5/2010 3:34 PM

How to Talk to Refs

By John Fellenbaum on 5/9/2010 8:20 PM

Region one O.D.P. Symposium Princeton University Mar. 2010 Report

By John Fellenbaum on 3/22/2010 2:37 PM

The Importance of Playing Out of Position

By John Fellenbaum on 3/8/2010 1:59 PM

How Expectations Affect Performance

By John Fellenbaum on 1/24/2010 1:36 PM

How Expectations Affect Performance Whether you know it or not, the expectations you form as a coach about players on your team affects not only your own behavior toward them but also the feelings and performance of those players. Having such an influence on your players’ athletic experience and development is a huge responsibility and a process every coach should understand. 1. Coaches form expectations of players- all coaches form expectations of players on their team. For example, often coaches have higher expectations for players that they feel are more athletic. Inaccurate expectations (either too low or too high) often lead to unsuitable behaviors by the coach. 2. Coaches’ expectations influence their coaching behaviors- Most coaches behave differently if they have high or low expectations of a specific player. Coaches spend more time talking and working with “high expectation players” because they expect more of them. Coaches show more caring and positive emotions toward high-expectation athletes....

Getting Players to Juggle

By John Fellenbaum on 1/4/2010 2:48 PM

Getting Players to Juggle Perhaps the greatest challenge facing youth soccer coaches is getting their players to play with the ball on their own. For sure, the first step is making practices fun so players fall in love with the game. Children today have such a vast variety of options that even those who are passionate about soccer may need prodding to get the soccer ball out. One yoth team in nortern California, an U-13 girls team, does a remarkable job getting the young players to spend time with the ball outside of practice and match time. When the girls were 9 years old, the coaches started setting juggling goals for the players, promising small rewards when they reached certain benchmarks. Juggling is a great way to develop skills, a simple way to get comfortable with the ball. It helps with confidence, first touch, balance, vision, concentration, and the use of both sides of the body. It’s nice to work to increase the number of touches on the ball, however, it’s more important to inspire children...

The Emphasis: Fair Play

By John Fellenbaum on 11/28/2009 4:17 PM

The Emphasis: Fair Play It is F.I.FA’s mission to ensure that the good image of soccer is maintained throughout the world. Special attention is paid to promoting the concept of fair play with a worldwide campaign aimed at education and ethical values, including the fight against racism and attempted corruption in soccer. Lofty goals indeed. FIFA has 10 statements on fair play that might seem obvious, but almost every week some aspect of fair play is tempted. You can’t pick and choose which of these 10 you want to follow and which to ignore. For the good of the game everyone who is connected to soccer is to abide by them. Here are the 10. · Play to win- Obvious, right? Howeer, there are circumstances that might have one or more players who might not be trying to win. These are situations where a team may play for a tie. FIFA exhorts everyone always to play to win. Anything less shows disrespect to the game. · Play fair- Again, an obvious consideration. Haven’t you seen a jersey pulled, the professional...

Managing Substitute Players Toward a Positive Playing Experience

By John Fellenbaum on 11/24/2009 3:56 PM

Managing Substitute Players Toward a Positive Playing Experience The reality is players participate in sports with aspirations of playing. Often they believe playing in games is the only way to contribute to the team, have fun and see themselves as a meaningful part of a larger group. In an effort to avoid the frustration and retaliation that often develops in players who give much of themselves but aren’t given any playing time in return, coaches can address the issue of playing time in a number of ways. · Schedule Individual Meetings for the Beginning of the Season These meetings provide a valuable opportunity to discuss playing time expectations, clarify goals and roles and show players that you value their hard work and time. An effective technique to use during these meetings is to ask players what are their strengths and how they can best contribute to the team. It’s vital that you’re honest and clear with players when discussing roles and areas that need improvement. When players know what...

Some Kids are Playing Too Much

By John Fellenbaum on 10/23/2009 1:57 PM

Some Kids are Playing Too Much Some kids are playing too much, but no one seems to be reducing the number of games the kids are playing. Like the old saying about the weather, everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it. Most of the problems are associated with the traveling teams, the premier teams, and the elite teams, not the intramural or the recreational teams. The opportunities for competition are staggering, soccer magazines and websites carry an ever increasing number of competitions for any age group in all areas of the country. By the time you add up all the league matches, cups, school matches, and tournaments, a player may be playing 80-100 games a year. Have you heard coaches say , we have to do it to be competitive. We can’t compare with the pros, where it’s a business and the owners aren’t making any money if the turnstiles aren’t turning. It’s understandable that clubs host their own tournaments to make money as a fundraiser, however, several tournaments are sufficient...

How to Get Seen by College Coaches at a Tournament

By John Fellenbaum on 10/5/2009 5:19 PM

How to be seen by College Coaches at a Tournament What did that coach think of that touch? Did he see the shot I just took? Why does he only seem to be watching when I make a mistake? Are these your players thoughts when playing in a tournament with college coaches observing? To be successful at a tournament, you have to ignore the college coach on the sidelines and focus on playing while you’re there. Why is it so important to focus on recruiting before a tournament even begins? Let’s do some quick Math. The average tournament has 16 teams in each group. There are three age groups from which college coaches recruit, and there are 15 players on each team. That means that there are 720 players at the tournament. For any given player, the odds of randomly getting seen are very low, about .1 per cent. How then to beat the odds? College Coaches typically go to a tournament with a list of players they want to see play. The list may include five names or they may have 50 names. Either way, the college...