To facilitate the transition of our U9 players who will make the transition to 8v8 field at the U10 age, the following initiatives are being implemented into our program for the 08-09 season:

• 1 Regular Training Session
• Pool Session
• U9 Specific Team Training Session
• Tournaments*
• Friendlies  -- Scrimmages against other U9 teams

* indicates an additional fee

The PSA Travel Development Academy in 2008-2009 will deliver high-quality technical training in a small-sided game environment for our youngest players. This plan will require a long-term player development philosophy which is player-centered and will consider game results as secondary to individual player development. The program will promote appreciation of the game of soccer and will consider player retention as a primary goal.

In order to be age eligible, your child must be born between August 1, 1999 to July 31, 2002 (U7-U9). 

Soccer Development

(a)   Small-Sided Games: 

In recent years, a strong case has been made by many leaders of the greater soccer community, including the United States Youth Soccer Association, that small-sided soccer is the best developmental environment for our youngest players. Briefly, the case for small-sided soccer is as follows:

• Fewer players on the field means players get more touches on the ball and more involvement for players off the ball
• More touches means more skill development
• More touches and more skills leads to more enjoyment 
• More enjoyment means greater player retention 
• Immediate recovery means development of defensive qualities 
• Games include many more goal-scoring opportunities 
• Constant transitional play 
• Fosters greater creativity 
• Age-appropriate problem solving (younger players process less abstract information) leading to elementary tactical awareness
• Develops problem-solving and decision-making through repeated exposure 
• Repeated exposure leads to more success, which in turn leads to confidence and fun 
• Smaller field is size / work-rate appropriate 
• Players develop focus (nowhere to hide) 
• More time with the ball and more touches on the ball create repetition, which is the key to technical development.

(b)   Repetition is the Key to Technical Development

Many youth soccer clubs have moved toward a technical development training program for younger players based on repetition of technical skills. This is commonly achieved through:

• Professional group training sessions structured around technical learning “stations” 
• 4v4 (plus GK) small-sided training environment

Repetition does not equate to boring activities. Repetition is centered around the repeated practice and gradual mastering of specific technical skill sets through creative challenges that are delivered at every practice session. Each session will look and feel different but the skill sets being mastered will be the same.

(c)   Age-Appropriate Games

Much research has been completed and discussed on the ability of 6-, 7- and 8-year olds to effectively learn and play an 8v8 game on the largest field many of them have ever played when their social and physical skills are still raw and developing rapidly. Many of these players have never played with more than 5 players on the field at a time and and still developing the concepts of spacing and shape, so the prevailing wisdom is that providing these players with another year of focused development can have a highly positive impact on their long-term development and enjoyment of soccer. This same research points to additional time spent playing small-sided games having a positive effect on those players’ abilities to work together once their ready to play soccer on an 8v8 scale, usually around the U-10 level.

We at PSA believe that offering Travel Development Academy will have long-term benefits not only for our players but also for our Club as well as we develop an entire generation of better players who will stick with the game through a higher level of enjoyment and long-term success. As a result, formal Travel Soccer teams within PSA will now begin forming at the U-10 level starting in 2006-07.

The Success of the TDA format

We have now had the TDA in place for almost 2 years and based on the feedback from children and parents, and on the observable improvements in player abilities, the change to this new format has been a resounding success.  Many of you will recall the old approaches when games devolved to scrums, kick and run was the prevalent style and children got bored and were not developed.  The difference and benefits of the small-sided format and the more holistic approach to the coaching are clear.  However, many of you may not be as aware of what we are trying to achieve with the TDA and why we implemented it and so I have tried to re-iterate below some of the context and driving ideals behind it.

Why Small-Sided Games?

On a worldwide level, the small-sided game is recognized as a key component to player development.   In neighborhoods, beaches, and parks all around the world, children have traditionally enjoyed the game in a pressure-free environment where they are free to experiment and learn from their mistakes.  PSA has taken the initiative to provide its young players with an environment that closely resembles the traditional small-sided game, as this piece is largely absent from the American player’s formation.

Extensive research points to the small-sided game as the most appropriate and fun learning environment for our youngest players.  It clearly offers the most comprehensive benefits in developing their soccer, team and leadership skills. Following are some of the influences on our structure for the Travel Development Academy .

US Youth Soccer Recommendations

In many countries, as professional and formal instruction continues to filter down to the youngest age groups, there is a worldwide movement back toward small-sided games. Several of the traditionally strong soccer nations are leading the charge. Unfortunately, at a state level, New Jersey Youth Soccer has not yet followed a national and international trend towards small-sided games, so we are pioneering this among our neighboring communities. 

US Youth Soccer recommends the following age-appropriate game formats:

• U6  3v3   Field 25 yds x 20 yds  ( our go-soccer format)
• U8  4v4   Field 50 yds x 30 yds  ( our TDA)
• U10  6v6   Field 50 yds x 40 yds
• U12  8v8   Field 70 yds x 50 yds
• U13+  11v11   Field 110 yds x 70 yds

Currently, our Travel Program participates in the various leagues and trains to play as follows:

• U10  8v8   Field 70 yds x 50 yds
• U11+  11v11   Field 110 yds x 70 yds

Other township programs still play 8v8 at U8 and U9 as well, but the trend is definitely moving away from this for these age groups. 

 All State Directors of Coaching in the support small-sided play including Rick Meana, Director of Coaching for NJYS.

Some other good reference sources that expound upon the benefits are:

·        Our Executive Director’s powerpoint presentation at the NJ Youth Soccer Coaches Expo 2008: Youth Club of the 21st Century 

·         Powerpoint presentation by Mike Singleton, Massachusetts Youth Soccer Director of Coaching called Soccer: The Future of Soccer Development.

·        Why Small-Sided Games ? by Tom  Goodman, Youth Soccer. 

 
What Other Youth Soccer Clubs Are Doing

Recently, PSA has undertaken a series of meetings with local/ regional soccer clubs and other experts in the soccer field to teach them about our initiatives. Some important influences include:

• US Youth Soccer
• Brazilian Football Federation (CBF)
• Manchester United Training Academy
• English Football Association (FA)
• Capital Area Soccer League (CASL)
• Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)

In additional to Holland, Brazil, and England many international soccer federations have endorsed small-sided soccer as the premier player development system.

Local clubs (and their primary representatives) who have adopted a small-sided training environment and the Travel Development Academy approach include:

• Yardley-Makefield Soccer (John Greaves, Director of Coaching)
• West Windsor Plainsboro Soccer (Robin Dean, Executive Director)
• Montgomery Travelers Soccer Club (Bruce Guest, Director of Coaching)

Other Clubs have developed a Futsal based training system including:

• Life Skills Through Soccer (LSTS)
• Parsippany Soccer Club

These Clubs have all introduced an Academy. While the details differ, the general principles of the Academies are as follows: 

• Open to players aged 6, 7, 8 and, in some cases, 9
• Technical skills training curriculum
• Midweek training with professional trainers
• Weekend games in 5v5 format (includes Goalkeeper) on small fields
• Weekend games typically managed by volunteers/ older players
• Strictly no sideline coaching at games. Supervision only.
• No standings. No official score-keeping.
• Games played at home between Academy members
• Game days supplemented by “Festival Days”
• Festival Days are mini-tournaments hosted by participating Clubs (ie: YMS, WWPSA, MTSC)
• No participation in traditional U8 or U9 Travel Leagues. Some participation in tournaments starting at U9 or, more often, U10.

These principles are designed to:

• Focus on player development
• Improve all soccer technical skills at an early age
• Involve players more and give them  more touches of the ball
• Increase their level of responsibility and decision making in game situations
• Enhance their leadership skills
• Prepare them for the next level of competitive soccer without the travel
• Ensure they have fun and develop team camaraderie

Please help spread the word and enlist others to this wonderful academy and please speak with me or any of the coaches and staff at PSA if you have questions or ideas that could improve this experience for our children.

What is PSA’s Travel Development Academy?

Starting in the Fall of 2006 Princeton Soccer Association (PSA) will be moving away from the current 8 vs. 8 structure for its youngest age groups. We will be implementing a new 5 vs. 5 structure that we feel will better develop and nurture our youngest players. Because PSA is the first club in New Jersey to take United States Youth Soccer’s  recommendation to go to small sided games, we will be creating our own league. Our goal is to create an environment where our young players can develop the technical, tactical, physical, and psychological skills to foster a life long love of soccer.

Our Vision

How it works: Players will try-out during open tryouts in June. Our professional staff will evaluate each player based on the four dimensions of soccer (technical, tactical, physical, and psychological). After the initial evaluation players will be divide into pools based on ability. These pools are constantly being re-evaluated by our professional staff so that a player is not "stuck" in one pool for a whole year. Players will move up and down in the pools based on our professional observations. This is only natural as some players will be fast learners and other will take more time to develop. The pools will be geared to go at a pace suitable for the majority of the players in it. Our pools will train 1 time per week with a 2nd optional pool session on Friday and there will be boys pools and girls pools.

Players will also be divided into teams. Teams will be created with players from each of the pools. This is to create our league. We want our league to have parity among teams and so at the onset players from each pool will be represented on each team. These teams will remain the same for the season but may change before the next season. A player on team "1" in the fall may not be on team "1" in the spring. Our goal is to create 6 teams in the boys division and 6 teams in the girls division. Each team will consist of no more than 8 players.  Teams will train 1 time per week.

Pool and team training sessions will be run by a TDA professional staff coach and will follow a curriculum developed by our TDA Director Jennfier Marcella.

Throughout the year we will be inviting neighboring clubs to participate in festivals and tournaments with our TDA teams. Our hope is that some of these clubs will follow our lead and create small sided teams for their younger players. This will allow us to branch out in the future and form small sided leagues. We will also be traveling to other clubs and participating in their festivals and tournaments. This will give our players a broader perspective of the game and allow them to get a sense of their development and progress.