Monday, October 31, 2011

Practice Schedule

Tuesday 4 to 5pm @ Brookdale Stadium

Thursday 4:30 to 6pm @ Mountainside

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MUSC U10 Boys Academy

Friday, October 28, 2011

Editor's note: This is my personal opinion as a parent, not an official team statement, though my son Giancarlo sometimes complained about Rec Futsal I saw his skills increase from playing the game, which forces the players to depend on their skills and passing rather than speed and strength, as they can do on the wide open pitches of outdoor soccer. My two cents is to aid your child's soccer development sign them up for additional Winter & Summer training and Rec leagues to get them as many touches on the ball, since there are so few oppurtunities for them to play pick up soccer games now a days with everyone's busy schedules and most of our children's activities having to planned in advance.
Thanks,
Carlo

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Dear MUSC families,

Winter Futsal registration is now open and online at the MUSC website. Simply log on to your account, and the available divisions will appear for your players. We have new divisions open this year: Futsal is now available to middle schoolers! All Town and Travel players, as well as players new to soccer, are welcome and encouraged.

Please note, this program always fills up well before the deadline, so you'll probably want to register early. The fee is $50. This is a coed program.

Divisions are grouped by grade: 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, 5th/6th, and 7th/8th. But, as elegibility is determined by birthdate, more than one option may appear for your player. (There is some overlap.) Select the appropriate division, providing you register your child for a division at, or in a very few cases, above his or her actual grade. (No registrations in divisions below the child's real grade level.) Kindergarteners may be registered for the 1st/2nd grade division at parents' discretion.

We need, as always, head coach and assistant coach volunteers. This is an easy gig! One hour every Saturday morning or afternoon for a few weeks, with duties shared among two or three parents. You monitor subs, make sure everyone plays equal time, encourage your players, and tie their shoes. The referees will handle the rest.

We also need a commissioner for each division. This is a practical necessity since we're expanding to a new location (the Northeast Elementary gym). Another easy gig! You'll distribute the prepacked and bundled uniforms to each coach in your group on opening day, and then during the season, you'll have a set of futsal balls for the early-game coach in your group to pick up from you, and the last-game coach to drop off on your doorstep after. You'll let me know of any issues that arise, and we'll work them out. That's it.

Looking forward to seeing you and your players on the Futsal court!

Randy Gentry
Futsal Coordinator

Red Bull Play-off preview & Highlights of Wildcard Victory over FC Dallas

GAME ON FOR NOW

Please note: if there are any cancellations/changes due to inclement weather you will be notified ASAP through e-mail. As of now – the game is on for tomorrow as scheduled.

Gearing up for Tomorrow’s Home Game:

ü For our sixth game of the season, we will be competing against the Warriors Soccer Club U-10 Boys (Waldwick NJ) tomorrow, 10/29.

ü The boys are expected to be on the field by 8:30 AM and kickoff will take place at 9:00 AM at Brookdale Park Field D (directions can be found below).

ü We would like to confirm that the boys should wear their blue jerseys with their last name/# on the back for tomorrow’s home game. Also please ensure that they wear their blue socks and shorts, shin guards and cleats. It is supposed to be quite cool so use your judgment with regards to having your boys wear layers (i.e. long shirt underneath their MUSC jersey, etc.).

ü Bring plenty of drinks (i.e., water, sports drinks) and snacks for your boys, and fold out chairs and/or blankets and snacks/drinks for yourselves as well.

ü Invite friends and family to come out to cheer for our team - the more the merrier (also invite them to J join our tunnel J at the end of the game in support of our boys)!!!

Confirmed Roster

1. Aidan Best

2. Evan Best

3. Aidan Chretien

4. Noah Farjani

5. Cameron Greene

6. Lukas Karapin-Springorum

7. Matthew LaRocca

8. Mateo Neighbors

9. Jamar Ricketts

10. Giancarlo Russo

11. Beck Schoenwetter

Thanks!

Bill & Pam

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Practice Canceled

The club canceled all practices today due to poor field conditions

Please pass the word along

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MUSC U10 Boys Academy

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Brazilian Soccer Approach by Steve Payne

By Steve Payne

Last Updated: 9:52am GMT 28/11/2007

Only when Brazilian kids reach around 14 years of age does anyone start talking to them about team shape and tactics. Until then it's all about technique, tricks, shooting, dribbling and spontaneity. What is the point of talking to children about triangles and blind-side runs if they cannot effortlessly control the ball, pass or shoot?

Amid the poor areas, Brazilian youngsters play football on the streets, on waste ground, concrete; any available surface. On the coast, the beaches are a further football haven, with fields and goals for as far as the eye can see. Most of the kids have no boots, so they play barefoot, further promoting an ability to strike the ball properly.

Players are brought up from a very early age playing Futsal, five-a-side on small basketball-sized courts, indoors and outdoors, in a range of conditions, with a smaller, heavier ball that does not bounce. It tends to stick to the foot, enhancing confidence. You name any Brazilian international star and he will have played Futsal.

The ability of Futsal players to control the ball in tight areas and to shoot from all angles is incredible. Even more enlightening is the fact that parents and coaches urge kids to show their magic, without fear of retribution for making mistakes.

There are no nonsensical shouts of "Get stuck in, get it up there" or "Get rid of it". One Brazilian coach told me that the art of coaching youngsters was to try to reproduce street football on the field. At my coaching sessions, I set up small-sided games and, as much as possible, let the young players do what they like doing most - playing. In essence, I orchestrate an environment to resemble street football. I point out strongly that I have no problem with them making mistakes and I insist that they be confident and try things.

Football is a dance, I tell them, and the partner is the ball. In an effort to emulate the Brazilian kids, I often have games in which the players are told to produce all the tricks and magic they can. In some cases I insist that they take on a player without fail. It works.

The kids love it and their confidence level soars. It's amazing how often I hear kids tell me that their club coaches don't want them to dribble or "do anything fancy".

At the Cruzeiro club, their latest discovery, Kerlon Moura, famously beats defenders using the 'seal dribble' - running and changing direction while balancing the ball on his head.

I have worked with and alongside Brazilian coaches, some former national players, who run sessions at Cruzeiro in which they say hardly a word. They have technique practices in which players serve the ball to their partners with underarm throws so that a control technique can be constantly repeated, more often than not without opposition.

They set up small-sided games and opposed practices that mimic what happens in a match and let the players get on with it. Occasionally they step in and make a point, then step out. I've seen 90-minute sessions in which coaches have hardly said a word. I remember particularly, a first-team squad game, 14 v 14, half a field, two-touch, in which the ability of players to retain possession was mind-boggling.

As the Brazilian coaches point out, in street football, Futsal and other unsupervised games, players have to make their own decisions, learn from their mistakes and find solutions to problems. Street football, with children of all ages and sizes, requires decision-making; Futsal requires a different set of decisions, as does beach football. Players have to adjust constantly.

By carrying this maxim to club academies, the Brazilians set up sessions that, while organised and well-disciplined, are conditioned in such a way that players still have to make their own decisions, an ability that is carried right up to games at the highest levels. That, combined with outstanding technique and the ability to produce the unexpected, is difficult to stop.

I remember a trip on a bus to a tournament with a small-town club that is affiliated to Cruzeiro. There were three teams on the bus, under-14s, 16s and 18s. It took 14 hours to get there and our accommodation turned out to be a run-down school in an even more run-down neighbourhood.

There were no beds. We had to clean up the classrooms and sleep on mattresses, if you can call them that. It was never less than 90 degrees, day or night. The choice at bedtime was simple: open the windows and welcome in every bug on the planet or close them and bake.

We walked two miles past stray dogs, goats, chickens and cats for a communal breakfast. Back at the school, they changed and then, carrying water and balls, walked another mile to play. Those youngsters, and the hundreds of others taking part in the event, might have been living in dirty rooms, but the smiles on their faces when they took to the field were as wide as a palace.

They played every game with unbridled joy, knocking the ball around, dribbling, taking pride in the way they showed off their repertoire. Win or lose, they walked back to the school, took turns in the cold showers, bedded down in the sauna-like conditions and then got up and started all over again the next day.

Ride to Practice

Hi Everyone,

There is a U-10 community family that would appreciate a ride to soccer practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The family’s location for pickup is one block from the Charles H. Bullock school.

Please let us know if you could assist and we will forward you more detailed information.

Thank you!

MUSC U10 Boys Academy

The effects of Chelsea’s pressing game in 2011/12

Monday, October 24, 2011

Practice 4:40 to 6:10 in Brookdale Meadow

Practice will be 4:40 to 6:10 in the Brookdale Meadow both Tuesday and Thursday.