The fall soccer season has been off to a great start here at Libby School. Most of the kids I have been working with have been with the program now for close the 3 years. I’ve seen huge improvements overall on all fundamental skill development as well as better eating and health habits and more positive attitudes. I’ve used many of the activities up to this point that are listed in the daily agenda and found many of them to be helpful. The kids seem to like dog-catcher, the numbers game and full-sided scrimmages the most. The handouts and healthy nutrition info have been great resources for conversations at the beginning or end of practices. My kids like the healthy eating recipes the best and most of them do have their parents prepare the meals for them at home.
This year I have been working really hard to emphasize the ‘Work to Play’ component of the program. I’m being stern with many of my players, making sure that they get their scores up higher each and every week so they can play in games on Fridays. I’ve been adding and dropping players as the season pushes forward giving all kids equal opportunity and fair chances to be a part of the soccer team. I’ve also been really concentrating on teaching them player positioning on the field and how to make smarter passing, dribbling and shooting choices when playing against their opponent. Sometimes I put away the goals and focus strictly on ball possession activities so my kids learn to work, play and pass as a team instead of always wanting to shoot and score goals.
I’ve been really happy with the program here at Libby and am proud to be a part of it. I am really looking forward to the rest of the year.