Chelo's Minute - The Off-Season, A Great Time
for Improving Player Skills

We've been watching a lot of games this fall. High School games. League and State Cup. The CYS Cup for recreational, cross-quad and Option 1 players. Here's what we've seen:

> Skillful players stand out. It's amazing how many of them have been in our Camps and other programs.
> All things being equal, teams with the most skillfull players win most of the games.
> Most teams need much more skills work than they seem to be getting.

We recently watched a game between two "top teams". In a 35 minute half, they managed to string three or more passes together a total of six times (5 3's and a 5 that led to the game winning goal). Had we been counting the number of times that individual players dribbled three touches or more, the tally would have been similar.

The game was played at 100 mph, with "all the subtlety and nuance of a runaway train." We don't think that's good soccer. And we know that it's not the kind of soccer that's going to take players to the higher levels of The Game.

There are times when it's OK for the ball to go 70 yards in 3 touches. But there are others when it takes 15 passes and a minute or more. We need to see much more of the latter.

Possession soccer takes skill. And vision. And "Game Smarts". But most of all skill that includes poise, comfort and confidence with the ball. We try to develop those qualities in all of our programs, but are addressing possession directly in two of our new ones, the Center of Excellence (where it is a focal point of the U11 curriculum) and the TOPSS program for boys in grades 6-12 (who tend to be the best/worst examples of runaway train soccer.)

"Let's Get Better". The winter months provide a great time to develop new skills and sharpen existing ones. On the 2nd page, you'll see what's available from Coerver, with some programs beginning as soon as November 1. We hope to see you there.

The Coerver 5-3-1 Thanksgiving Challenge - Get Your
Team Together This Weekend

Teams of 6-8 players play a series of matches, each consisting of an 18 minute 5v5 game, an 8 minute 3v3 game, and a series of 1v1 duels in "The Pit"

"The most fun day of soccer all year!"

Friday, November 27 (girls), Saturday, November 28 (boys) Denver Kickers Clubhouse - Golden
$275 entry fee - Entry Deadline Tuesday, November 10, 2009 for much more play than the indoor soccer alternatives (and parents really like that it's a 1 day event!)

P.O. Box 4946, Englewood, CO 80155 720-255-4911 E-Mail: coervercolo@comcast.net
www.coervercolorado.com   720-255-4911 

COERVER OFF-SEASON SOCCER SKILLS TRAINING

November 1. Coerver Center of Excellence. Players born 8/1/98-12/31/01. 18 90 minute weekly sessions. Separate groups for boys and girls. Fridays in Centennial, Sundays at the Foothills Indoor Arena. Most placed filled. Call for availability.

November 1. "TEAMS" - Teaching Every Athlete Magical Skills. Players born 8/1/98-7/31/02. 8 or 16 90 minute weekly sessions. Sundays at the Foothills Indoor Arena. Places available. A sequential program of soccer skills instruction based on our "Ball Magic" and "Super Skills" Team Training programs.

Monday, November 2. Registration opens for 2010 Summer Camps.

December 28. 2009 Holiday Camp. All camp ages, with or without prior attendance at a Coerver Camp. December 28-31, 10-1 at the University of Denver. A great Holiday activity with most of the trappings of our summer camps.

January 5. Pre-Season PREPS for Girls. Now for girls in Grades 6-12. 10 2 hour sessions from January 5 to February 6. Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons at the University of Denver. Sharpen your skills, comfort with the ball, speed of play, "game smarts", fitness and mental toughness as you get ready for High School tryouts and the Spring Season. Includes "PEP" Sports Injury Prevention training as part of every session.

January 5. TOPSS for Boys ("Taking On, Possession, Shooting and Scoring"). The essential elements of play at higher levels of The Game. For boys in Grades 6-10. 10 2 hour Sessions from January 5 to February 6. Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons at the University of Denver

January 5. Winter "FOG" ("Footwork and One-in-One Games"). For players U9-U13. 5 90 minute sessions on Tuesday evenings or Saturday afternoons, or 10 sessions Tuesdays and Saturdays. At the University of Denver. Sessions also include activities to develop a "dynamic first touch" and an emphasis on great technique when striking the ball.

January 18. "TEAMS" (see above.) 8 90 minute weekly sessions at the Foothills Arena. Registration opens December 15.

March 15. Spring Team Training Programs begin. 4-8 sessions on your field with your team using our "Ball Magic" and "Super Skills" curricula. For teams U9-U14. Reserve early for your team; we had more requests than we could handle last spring.

For more information, click on the appropriate program.

Questions and comments? Please call 720-255-4911