Coerver Colorado

tX-Games

Coerver — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:29:33 +0000

-Click tX-Games title above for full post-

tX-Games is one of our most unique attributes that sets us apart. Here at Coerver, we track the results of every camper that passes through one of our summer programs and makes it available to you. This allows you to compare the advancement and improvement of your child to see their progress. That’s what it’s all about after all, growth and development of skills and playing ability.

tX-Games are listed by birthday. In the far left column, there is a letter (corresponding key at top of document) that notes which camp each score pertains to. You can also differentiate between two same birthdays by looking in the “TM” column to see group numbers. Please download the appropriate spreadsheet(s) below:

Boys Summer 2012

Girls Summer 2012

CONTACT US

tylero — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:09:43 +0000

Please visit our “FAQ” page to see if your question is answered there. Otherwise, feel free to contact us at:

Email: coervercolorado@gmail.com

Main Phone: 720-255-4911

Payment/Balance Questions: 303-829-5095

Weather Cancellation/delay Hotline: 720-255-3672

Mail: Coerver Colorado, P.O. Box 4946, Englewood, CO 80155

Connect with us on the Coerver Colorado Facebook page!

2013 Coerver Colorado Updates

tylero — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:34:59 +0000

Camp Location Changes!

Due to the uncontrollable lack of moisture on some of the fields, we have been forced to relocate a few camps. The location changes are as follows:

Aurora Camp, June 10-14
- New Location: Falcon Creek Middle School (Near Smoky Hill Rd & Orchard Rd)
Littleton Camp, June 10-14
- New Location: Village Greens Park (Near Cherry Creek High School)

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Please email coervercolorado@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Summer Camp Craze

Castle Rock Camp – SOLD OUT! If you would like to join our wait list for a camp that is sold out, please email coervercolorado@gmail.com with your contact information, camp level, and the name of the camp.

We are well under way with registration for the summer of 2013, with our Littleton Camp also sold out! Don’t miss YOUR favorite camp, check the schedule for a list of camps and register now!!

Click here to register for a Summer Camp

Parker Camp Location Updated!

Coerver Colorado’s Parker Camp, July 8-12, will be held at Ponderosa High School. There is still space available in that camp (as of today-May 16)! Thank you for your patience as we solidified a field location. We are very excited for all the rain we’ve gotten recently and look forward to healthy fields and great soccer!

Click here to register for a Summer Camp

Frequently Asked Questions page

NEW! We have recently added a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to our website. You can find this “FAQ” page on the right hand column of the page, or on drop down menu under the “ABOUT” tab! We hope that this helps with any questions you may have!

Thanksgiving 5-3-1 Tournament

Coerver — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:00:35 +0000

[Show as slideshow]

Why Coerver?

Coerver — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:18:57 +0000

Using activities proven to be challenging, effective and enormously fun, Coerver^© Colorado is devoted to promoting superior 1v1 skills, a dynamic first touch, accuracy and power when striking a ball, mastery of the small group situations which are the building blocks of team play, and effective soccer habits.

The ultimate goal of the Coerver Colorado is to:

Develop skilled, confident and creative players
Make the game fun to practice and play
Teach good sportsmanship and respect for all
Value winning but not more than character and performance
Provide a safe & educational experience that meets best practice criteria

Coerver Method Builds Success

We Identify Our Best Players, But Our Best Players Still Aren’t Good Enough

Coerver — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:10:46 +0000

Friday, January 14, 2011
I have recently finished reading the latest Soccer Journal, specifically Gary Allen’s article, “Developing Speed of Play”. Gary is on the US Youth Soccer Staff and the article is well written. Like many of the articles in the Soccer Journal the authors consistently recommend that we as a nation need to put more emphasis on individual player development. Gary writes, “For us to develop players who can play with multi-dimensional quickness, we must focus more on the process for each player rather than on creating tiers of result-seeking teams at younger and younger ages.” This has been a common theme not only in the Soccer Journal but in the entire soccer media actively involved in the discussion of player development in the US. SoccerAmerica winter issue 2011; Warning Signs, by Paul Kennedy. “Former star Julie Foudy suggested that U.S. Soccer work more with the women’s game at the youth level, where the USA is beginning to lag behind such countries as South Korea and Japan, which are both producing marvelous young players.”

When I look at the soccer landscape in the US I see that the major organizations have done and are doing a significant amount of work identifying our best players. ODP is the most prevalent example as well as US Club Soccer’s id2 program. In addition there is a plethora of leagues specifically designed and marketed as Elite players Identification and Development Leagues, USYSA Regional, US Soccer Development Academy, Super Y, US Club, Elite Clubs National League are the most notable. For those of us that can remember Project 40, the same theme was presented, specifically that if you identify the best players have them train and play together then you will develop the players skilled enough to win a World Cup.

So what’s wrong with this picture?The assumption while partially correct, players will develop at a faster pace when challenged by equal or better players, does not take into consideration that our fundamental skill level throughout the country is far below that of the dominant soccer powers in the rest of the world. In addition, we as a nation have done little if anything to encourage our young players to develop elite skills. Rather as is indicated in Gary’s article we have put the emphasis on creating teams with the best athletes not creating the best skilled players.

OK, so what do we do?
When you look at the research that has been done on how elite athletes are developed there is only one common element. Elite athletes invest at least 10,000 hours in deliberate practice routines. Deliberate practice routines are repetitive activities involving basic fundamental skills. (Ericsson, K. A. (2006). (The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of superior expert performance.) These practice routines are not fun and they are not entertaining but they are the only way to become an elite athlete. While there is an appropriate place for social competitive and recreational soccer programs there should also be a place and an emphasis on elite development programs. These elite development programs must have as their primary goal, the development of individual fundamental skills associated with the game of soccer. Playing on elite teams and playing in elite leagues must be secondary to the primary goals. The majority of the player’s time in these new programs must be spent on deliberate practice routines. In addition unlike most of the current elite programs which measure their success in the wins and losses column the elite development programs must see their success in individual players becoming highly skilled, something we currently spend very little time measuring and rewarding. Here again is where we as a nation have failed to emphasize the appropriate activities necessary to help develop elite players. Far too many of our programs at the youth level have set “players having fun” and “winning games” as the most important goal for the program to achieve. In addition our overall emphasis on Outcome Goals, winning games, is in direct conflict with that which Goal achievement research has determined. In their research of college-aged soccer players Filby, Maynard and Graydon (1999) concluded; “After five weeks of training, results showed that the two multiple goal strategy groups outperformed the other three groups. Relatively speaking, the group exhibiting the lowest level of improvement was the OUTCOME ONLY group.” In spite of this research will still see the major emphasis with our best players is on game results rather than developing individual skills. If we want to compete at the highest level we must change our youth programs and start new programs dedicated to producing highly skilled players. These programs must start when the players are U9 not when they are U16-U18 by that time it is far too late to develop the exceptional skills required to become an elite player.

How is this different from what our elite clubs are doing?The majority of elite programs in our country are focused on preparing players and teams to compete effectively in the next match. While a truly developmental elite program will focus on the individual development of the players. For example most elite programs at the U9-U11 age will recruit the best athletes in the area and train them to compete, (win) at the highest level or most likely an age group or two up. Again using the false assumption that if you play against players of your ability or higher you will become an elite player. In contrast a truly developmental program will recruit the best players and have them engage in deliberate practice routines based on fundamental skills. The fundamental skills of soccer can be broken down into four groups; 1. Skills used in moving with the ball, 2. Skills used in receiving the ball, 3. Skills used in redirecting the ball and 4. Skills used in moving without the ball. New programs need to challenge these players to compete against each other in objective competitive skills activities based on these four groups. In addition programs need to add small sided games, 3 vs 3 and 4 vs 4 as the primary focus. The objective competitive skills activities are measured and recorded so players can not only see their individual improvement but they can also set measurable Performance and Process goals based on their own individual results. The small sided games are competitive but on an individual level not a team level. This is accomplished in two phases: First points for wins(3), ties(1), goals(max of 3) and shut outs(.5) are awarded to each player on a team after each game, Second, players are mixed and play with a different group of players each game. The result of this small sided game process is that a player hierarchy based on game results is established. The benefit to the development process is that you are now recognizing and rewarding the individual player for their own efforts and achievements. This process is directly in line with developmental research that indicates players develop farther and faster when they are given individual immediate objective feedback and are engaged in the process of setting and managing individual measurable goals. Outside team competition is also a part of the developmental program however it should be a smaller part of the process. Leagues with limited games and one or two tournaments per year would be adequate. At the U13-U15 age groups the majority of the training time is still concentrated on individual skills enhancement and small sided games, 8 vs 8 while full sided games and tactical training is also part of the process.

The conclusionIf we as a nation want to effectively compete at the highest levels in the game of soccer now and in the future then our national organizations along with our local clubs need to establish and maintain a new developmental process that is focused on the individual player and not on elite teams. I firmly believe that the skill level of our younger players, U9 to U15 must be improved extensively or we will never be able to win a men’s world cup and will struggle to maintain our dominance in the women’s game. We need to give our National team coaches the best skilled players in the world if we expect them to compete effectively against the world’s best teams.

By Brad Partridge
Brad Partridge has been actively coaching since 1989. He has his USSF National Youth License, NSCAA Premier and DOC Certification. He has been the Head Coach for the Palm Beach United WPSL team since 2004, he has been a Staff ODP coach in Florida since 2003 and is currently coaching at the Kicks Soccer Club in West Palm Beach, Florida

New leaders aim to boost girls soccer – By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America’s Youth Soccer Insider)

Coerver — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:58:36 +0000

“You’re going to hear us shout from the top of every tall building: technique, technique, technique,”

The first ear-piercing wakeup call for U.S. women’s soccer came at the 2007 World Cup, where a dazzling Brazil outplayed and routed the USA, 4-0, in semifinals.

Last year provided more examples that the benefit of the USA’s huge head start in the girls and women’s game was evaporating. The USA lost to Mexico for the first time ever, and at the U-17 World Cup, it wasn’t the Americans being hailed for skillful, entertaining soccer — but South Korea, North Korea, Japan and Spain.

Tony DiCicco, coach of the 1999 World Cup-winning U.S. women, said, “On the girls’ side, our players are not smart players, they lack sophistication, they’re not technical enough” – and he blamed the youth soccer structure, which he referred to as a big business.

The U.S. Soccer Federation, which four years ago became ambitiously involved in the youth arena on the boys side with its launch of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, and last spring appointed Claudio Reyna as Youth Soccer Technical Director, is now taking on the youth game on the girls’ side.

For the first time, U.S. Soccer has appointed full-time positions to oversee the women’s youth national team program and the programs’ overall development.

April Heinrichs, the former U.S. women’s national team captain and coach, was named Technical Director. Former UCLA women’s coach Jillian Ellis, who has also coached the U.S. U-21 women, is Development Director.

A key part of their task will be assessing the youth club environment. “We’ll go out and see exactly what is being done, then evaluating and getting feedback,” says Ellis.

But they already know what a key focus will be.

“You’re going to hear us shout from the top of every tall building: technique, technique, technique,” says Heinrichs.

Says Ellis, “We’ve all come to the agreement that technical development is the greatest need. The simple message is spend half of your practice doing technical work.”

That other nations would improve may have been inevitable. That they’re producing more skillful teams than the USA — whose participation figures and investment in girls and women’s soccer are unmatched — demonstrates that something had gone wrong somewhere at the American youth level.

Heinrichs starred on the U.S. team that won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. And she coached the USA in 2000-2004, winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games.

“I think in the women’s game we identified our great qualities and they became our strengths, going back to the 1980s and 1990s,” she says. “And now some of our strengths have evolved into weaknesses that we want to address.

“We are tough psychologically, competitively, physically. When we got into a sticky situation we could default to the physical. We could default to the psychological.

“Now we need to default to a little more possession and control the tempo of the game. Sometimes we just need to hang on to the ball. And because of our lack of technical skills in some situations we can’t.”

As they evaluate the youth soccer landscape, another key issue is the number of games.

“I certainly think the volume is an issue,” Ellis said. “You can play 80 games a year but it’s not going to get you technically proficient. We’ll look at the ratio of match play to training. You have to look at how many games our youth players are playing and at what level.

“There are enlightened people out there who are changing those. I think there are people who are recognizing that four games in two days are just too much. You definitely want to tap in and encourage that type of thinking.”

Game and tournament overload was one of the issues that led U.S. Soccer to launch the Development Academy for boys.

“We need to get the training-to-game ratio correct,” Heinrichs said. “We need to consider more festivals, where they come in and play two games.”

The boys Academy’s other charge was to influence the approach its member clubs took to the pre-Academy ages — de-emphasizing results at the young ages and emphasizing player development.

Whether the Federation should launch a similar program on the girls’ side is something Ellis and Heinrichs will consider.

“We talked a little a bit since they’ve been appointed about the Academy on boys’ side and the pros and cons of that,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “We’re encouraged from what we’ve seen on the boys’ side and certainly are looking seriously at the possibility on the girls’ side and are open to that. We’ll address that in the months to come.”

Let’s Get Better: “Look Before Receiving”

Coerver — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:54:07 +0000

How does a player complete 110 passes in a single game? That’s what Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez did in Barça’s 5-0 win over Real Madrid in December’s Classico.
In a pregame interview with French sports daily L’Equipe, Xavi explained that he always knows what he’ll do with the ball before he receives it. “I try to look before and think before,” he says. “To look before receiving.” He goes on to explain that his vision allows him to know all his options.
You’ll find “Look Before Receiving” in our list of “Great Soccer Habits”. We think it’s the most important of those habits since it allows players to “Think Ahead”.
It’s surprising how many players have not developed this habit. We watched a U16 ODP team at the NSCAA Coaches Convention that struggled in their session because so many of the players began their decision making after receiving the ball. More recently we watched a pair of U13/14 Premier level teams as they trained. Most of the players there would stop the ball with their first touch, then look to see the options.
Those who coach at the highest level will tell you that they evaluate players by what they do in their first two seconds with the ball. The “Look”, in effect, makes those two seconds much longer. And thereby more productive.
Here are three things coaches can do to develop this habit:
1. Keeping Score: Score a game not by goals, but by which team does a better job at “Look Before Receiving”. (An assistant helps with this one.)
2. The “Look Rule”: In any activity 3v3 or more, a player who does not “Look Before Receiving” is out of the game until there’s a score (by either team). The other team, not the coach, calls it. This makes both teams focus on the habit, not just the team that has possession.
3. Assessing Your Team’s Vision. This is a good practice activity and takes “developing vision” to a different level. Divide the team in half for a scrimmage or similar activity. Give a list of the two teams to two or three of the parents hanging around the session. Each parent watches a player for 5 seconds and notes whether or not the player has scanned the field during that time (as opposed to just watching the ball) then moves on to the next player on the list. In a six minute game, each parent will watch each player 4or more times. The team with the most “looks” wins (with a special shout out to the 2-3 best players.) Do this twice. Don’t tell the players about the alternative scoring before the first game. Then explain and repeat.

The Beginnings of Barcelona’s Superstars by Mike Woitalla

Coerver — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:48:15 +0000

The world’s three greatest players have a few things in common.
Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi all stand barely 5-foot-7 tall. They’re teammates at Barcelona and they all came out of the club’s youth program. The trio finished tops in voting for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or, the world player of the year award won by Messi. 2010 World Cup champs Iniesta (age 26) and Xavi (31) joined Barcelona at age 11 and 12, respectively. Messi (23) arrived from Argentina at age 13.
One person who had a close eye on all three of them during their youth days is Albert Benaiges, the coordinator of Barcelona’s youth teams, which spawned seven players who played for Spain in its World Cup final win. After the Ballon d’Or honors, Benaiges recalled his impressions of the trio in their early years.
“No one back then knew they would be world-class players,” he told Germany’s Kicker Magazine. “For sure, Messi’s great talent was already apparent. Also in Iniesta and Xavi one saw early on that they offered something special — or else we wouldn’t have brought them in.

The Beautiful Game, not always so Beautiful at the Youth Travel Level!

Coerver — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:41:28 +0000

by Chris Wimmer
You’ve surely seen this unfold on a local soccer field near you. You head over to your kids soccer game prepared to see how much skill and technique your player has earned from all their hard spent hours at practice and not to mention your money and precious free time, only to have to see a game against “that team” or a team with with “that player”.
You know the one I’m talking about, little or no soccer skills but completely willing to push and shove their way to the goal regardless of who is in their way. Use of arms and elbows are usually the ‘weapons’ of choice. Most often that same team has “that coach” who has decided that his voice is so amazing that every player should hear him bark directions nonstop the entire game.
Now it comes as no surprise especially at the youth level to come across a player who is bigger or faster or even more aggressive possibly even all of these attributes combined. And of course there is nothing wrong with being any or all of these things on the soccer field. My objection comes from the coaches and parents who stunt the development of these players into better soccer players by simply teaching them to “muscle” their way past the other team.
The short sightedness of encouraging this player or team to continue to rely on there physical attribute or aggressive play leads to an underdeveloped player. After a few years pass, the rest of the players in the age group who have been focusing on skill and technique year in and year out eventually grow into their bodies and end up catching up to there counterparts.
The result is a once “athletic” and dominant player and/or team who has never been asked to develop soccer specific skills and ability gets left behind.
Lets be honest as coaches and parents it is great to see our players succeed and win games or even win tournaments but is that the only objective of youth soccer or sports in general. Of course not, but this cycle of win now by any means possible seems to never fail in repeating itself.
I like to think in terms of the school yard bully. At first all others are afraid of the bully,then one kid gets sick of being bullied and fights back, beats the bully and takes away his mystique of invincibility.
As coaches and fans of the Beautiful Game we have a responsibility to our players and the next generation to teach them what it is that has led soccer to be called the Beautiful game. It is not beautiful because the biggest, strongest, meanest players or teams always win rather the players with the most amazing footwork, awareness, and finesse such as the most popular names to ever play soccer like Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Ronoldinho, Messi, and Ronaldo CR9 (my favorite current player to watch).

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About the Author:

Chris Wimmer of Bristow, VA

•Currently holds coaching positions at Stonewall Jackson High School, Manassas, VA (Girls JV Soccer – Head Coach) and St. Stephen\’s & St. Agnes School, Alexandria, VA (Girls Varsity Soccer – Assistant Coach/GK Coach).
•Member of Board of Directors for P.U.S.H.
•Holds NSCAA, USSF and ICA coaching licenses
•Runs the Virginia Online Soccer News blog
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