Playing in “The Big Time” and being a “Big Time Player” in soccer breaks done to “time”. The “time” is by way of “character building or decision making”. Sounds unrelated kinda, but the way to becoming an elite soccer player is if you can get a hold of your decision making when on the field.

This is why!

Are you a small cheap player or a big quality player? Even if you are four feet tall, you can be a big quality player, because you are looking to make good decisions constantly on the soccer field. It could be about making a pass or a defensive run, but you are trying to maximize your situation to achieve your team’s goals. You are trying to do your best to meet your team’s goals, which is normally to score!

You say, “Kamal, all you are really saying is work to make good decisions when you are trying to score a goal,” Correct, but I am also saying that it takes you making those good decisions every time you set foot on the field. Every time means games, team practice, guest playing, individual training, anytime you are booting up to ball. You should ball to a level where you are helping yourself out.

If you show up on the field and don’t do anything, the result ends in you deciding to do something else with your time. Sometimes that means just hanging on the block or your suburb and deciding to be an accountant or a gun runner. That is the potential player pool that soccer has now. So you can see how decisions are important. Regardless of those decisions, your not playing soccer anymore. For some very small reason, you’ve decided not to play. Yes, it is possible for you to say you don’t want to play anymore. I’ve seen many up and coming players decide to stop playing for the smallest of reasons, so yes, it could happen to you.

But this reason, really dealt with you didn’t improve enough to make it any higher. You stood around. You didn’t put in the time in making good decisions on the field and bam you aint on the field no more. At least not at the level you had picked out for yourself.

If you dreamed of playing in the Olympics or some pro team anywhere in the world. Hey, anywhere in the world you are playing soccer where flow and speed decrees who is the best.

So, what does it take to make good decisions?

It takes one simple thing, “Honest Actions.” Honesty in every choice you make. Decisions as small as telling the truth if the ball went out on you to as big as not cutting corners on a run. Sounds big? They are.

All of this honesty ads up to your character being that of a champion. Just think about it. A champion doesn’t need to lie about a ball going out or need to cheat a run. Champions don’t do that. They stay honest and positive and those traits create the winning character.

This is the character of a big time player, every great in the game somehow fits this description. I guarantee every professional and some amateurs have stories of a lot of work underneath their accomplishments.

All that hard work equals time spent with the ball actively doing something. Think about it, if you are on the field practicing good decision making the ball will be with you and you will learn from it. Once you put in the time, control and speed occur faster towards the end.

This kind of control builds character and the kind of speed generated assures players of your ability.

You work on it when you feel like it, which to someone who really wants to be good in soccer is normally everyday. Your touch will appreciate and your character will unify with one of a champion’s, no matter who you are.

So to be Big Time, you have to play Big Time, even when you are alone, which is a lot.

Good Luck and I will see you at the top of the Mountain. Maybe this will reinforce your climbing boots a bit.

Soccer Luminary
Kamal de Gregory

If you watched the Move of the moment last month, you would have learned the Old School Neck Catch. This month, we are teaching the Nu Skool Neck Maneuver.

So, for the New School here is the Nu Skool Neck.

For this move the same great touch needs to be there that gets the ball to your neck, but this time your head will not be lined up straight with the ball for a neck catch. This time you are going to welcome the ball in on the top of your shoulder, it doesn’t matter which one. What does matter is to create a movement that will allow the ball to roll across your shoulder blades to the other side.

So here are the steps:

1) Knock the ball over slightly over your head. Psst the ball can have some back spin on it so it will automatically travel across your back.
2) Connect with the ball on the top of a shoulder
3) Run your body to bring your opposite shoulder to meet the ball

And all that creates the Nu Skool Neck maneuver.

Good Luck and be on the look out for the next Move of the Moment.

To see a demonstration, please click here.

Hello everyone out there in soccer land. This is Kamal de Gregory back with another Move of the Moment. This one is called the Old School Neck Catch and it is demonstrated by Chamba Style himself Jason Utely at www.chambastyle.com

Most of us have the seen the Old School Neck Catch. This is where the ball is kicked a little above your head, then you position your head under the ball and lower your the neck down to catch it. This is a sweet move, that takes foot strength control, good timing and a restful sensation when receiving the ball.

If you have 6 Minute Soccer Skills Trapping, you would easily understanding the reason for this restful feel, for now though just feel it.

The biggest problem is when the ball is on its way down that you get your head down fast so there will be an open cushion for the ball.

You can practice by placing the ball on your neck with your hands, then dropping the ball on your neck as you make the cushioning movement.

That is the old school way, next month we will shift gears to the Nu Skool Way. To see the Old School Neck Catch demonstrated click here.

Good Luck and be on the look out for next move of the moment.

This issue of front volley we look at the role of being a substitute player on your soccer team. Now some of you might say, “I’m too good to be a sub. I always start.”

Wow, from that response it is easy to tell that you haven’t played soccer long or should I say long enough. Even if you have started for the last four years, still you have not played long enough. Whether it is tomorrow or five years from now, something will happen that will put you on the substitute’s bench. It doesn’t have to be because you are not good. What if you’re coming back from an injury and your coach decides to put you in at the end of the game to help regain your confidence and rhythm?” Circumstances can and will put you on the subs bench one time or another.

So once you’re on that bench, what should you think of? A sub must know how to be a factor! They must either know how to change the game or keep producing what the team is already doing without missing a beat. Why else are you there?

For sure it is not to bring the game down to a lower-level. Stop believing that the role of a sub is to receive a couple of mercy minutes at the end of each half. A subs job is to contribute with the skills and abilities that they have to continue the game moving in your teams favor. It is a positive contribution, maybe not at the rate of some of the other players, but positive none-the-less.

It is okay to ask yourself the question, “What if I am not as good as the player I’m replacing.” Well, since you are unique you will bring an aspect to the game that the player you replaced did not. It may just be with your effort, or it could be with your heading ability. It is your uniqueness that matters now, not what the team has just lost.

So, as you’re on the bench, find the spots in the game where you can contribute. Study the opponent that you are probably going to be playing against and find their weaknesses. Figure out how your talents can beat them. When you get on the field, execute your personal plan without hesitation. Of course if your coach has given you instructions you should carry those out, but at the same time you will need to overcome your competition as they appear.

With your plan and a focused mind you will play the role of a super sub not just a player who is being swept under the rug.

All Smiles on the Field,

Kamal de Gregory

Kamal de Gregory here, one of your Virtual Soccer Trainers, bringing you the insights that you need to excel in the game of soccer.

Let me remind you that this tip and hundreds of others can be seen in video form by logging into virtual soccer trainer.

This month’s tip is about the attacking thoughts of dribbling. It is short but very important, as is many of the tips you will find here.

We are going to look at the defender’s point of view and what he or she would like the attacker to do with the ball. So here is the question, “as a defender do you want the player with the ball to have the ball stopped and waiting for you or dribbling at you with speed.”

Most defenders will answer ball stopped and waiting. This allows the defender to attack the offender.

So as an attacker you want to do with the defender doesn’t like. That means dribble at them with speed, not speed as in out-of-control I’m running at you speed, but a hard confident dribble. A dribble that will allow you to control the ball but is pushing forward without hesitation.

You will see that the defender will have to make a decision because you have already made one, To attack! Defenders will be put on the spot and if they don’t act immediately you will have already floated past them.

Remember this tip is shown in video format in Virtual Soccer Trainer where soccer is fun to learn.

We have heard all of the early reasons why the MLS are idiots with their purchase of David Beckham for a non-guaranteed $250 Million dollars over 5 years, but lets look deep into the master plan of the MLS.

I know I mentioned the word master in this deal, but many have acquainted it with ignorance. You must admit that Americans made up marketing, so there has to be a master plan from the center of the MLS Beast.

I know I enjoy watching Beckham playing out of position and listening to his ego driven quotes as much as the next guy. I will be tuning in, in August when Real Madrid is reborn, and Beckham begins his assault on the U.S. youth.

Damn, I let it out too soon. Yes, I would say that men and women of all ages will tune in initially to see the show, but where is the staying power? When the hype is gone and the regular worker type play of the Americans kicks back in, who will keep tuned in?

Well, I would say, “those where the hype never ends, those who need that rush, even when it is 4 in the morning. It is that group which displays almost insane activity while other members of society stand and shake their heads. Yes folks, I am talking about 14 to 18 year old boys.

What better message to lap onto then, “You can be a $250,000,000 Dollar Smooth Hollywood Playboy/Soccer Player who is married to one of the hottest singers of girl bands gone past!” Hey at 15, I would be sold. Watch players of other sports get a glimmer in their eye and come back or to the Beautiful Game.

In the next 3 years we should see a massive upswing in boys 14 to 18 who are trying to make it in the game, (At all costs).

If the MLS still has a foundation in 3 years, and Beckham has not grabbed everything from L.A. to Toronto FC, we could have a viable product that could compete in Holland, or strive to be French in Stature. That is as much as we can do, if no further changes are made to the current salary cap.

So, if this is MLS’s master plan, then this is mediocre at best. There has to be another factor that some visionary could be betting on.

What is it? Well, you are probably reading this article on it right now. Technology is MLS’s trump card. Before, building a sport’s league would be about building a grass roots base. That is where you draw your strength, and communication comes from there. (Hey Bill, you see the Falcons last night?).

Currently, technology is on pace to replace the water cooler. Information will be in video form coming from teenagers’ hands through phones on steroids, or just Ipods. At the pace of technology, MLS can deliver information at the speed of release, so those adrenaline junky teenagers’ appetites to see Beckham’s Ferrari or Ronaldo’s stamp collection will be on demand. This will cause a huge upswing in interest because of easy access.

Yes, other sports will enjoy the same thing, but this technology goes with who has the hype.

Darth Elements at MLS you might have just created your Death Star, so let’s see if the Empire succeeds with this master plan.

I will not bore anyone with a long recap of Klinsmann declining the U.S. coaching job and Bob Bradley ready to do a Steve McClaren for England.

I like Steve McClaren as a club coach; he brings in the right level. To bad we are not talking about club level. I remember seeing Steve McClaren fully satisfied with second in the Uefa Cup last year when they got lucky from the quarterfinals on.

By then he had already landed the England job, so smooth sailing was ahead. That was last May. Since then, England has been almost blown to smithereens by being in real jeopardy of not making the European Championships 2008.

Am I comparing a 2006 Steve McClaren to a 2007 Bob Bradley? You bet. The good thing on the U.S.’s part is that the word “interim” is the safe guard.

To be honest, it is a good move by the MLS, I mean U.S. soccer (I really can’t tell the difference anymore). They get more time to land the one big dog that will take us to the next level of soccer existence, and they have a quick hire and fire clause for good old Bobby.

For Bobby, even though the circumstances are not ideal, being a stop gap measure and all. But beggars aren’t choosers, so grab it and do your best. You could be the biggest surprise in our nation’s short soccer history.

For me though, gauge when Steve McClaren goes and add an extra 6 months.

Oh the times, they are a changing: the times when the U.S. Women’s National Team was untouchable. Nobody could lay a finger on our beloved liberators of football for the fairer sex. Nobody except for the occasional kick you where it hurts China Squad.

I can remember walking down the street in a Mexican town in 1997 with some of the locals and seeing two girls in skirts kicking a ball. One of my friends said that he had never seen that before.

Wow, for that to be said in Mexico in 1997, when women’s soccer was picking up real steam for the U.S. in 1987, no wonder no team this side of the Atlantic could stand a chance versus us and our only arch rivals Canada, who will ultimately always be second best. But what of this Mexico? They do not suffer under the football stereotype of second best verse the U.S. Can they be better then the Red, White and Blue?

Well, from this year’s semifinal Gold Cup match, obviously the tides are turning. Yes the U.S. was victorious 2-0, but there were glimpses of Mexican dribbling and industry. Something that the U.S. will ultimately have problems with since we do not uphold individual genius as much in the U.S. Women’s game. 

I’ll tell you that the Mexican’s do uphold these features, and their inventiveness on the pitch will see the U.S. gasping for air. The U.S. Women are not playing particularly better football then the Canadians right now and the Mexicans 4 years from now. This industry, work rate, fitter then you type of play is about to outlive its shelf live. Our fitness was our trump in the years past; no one could keep up with these American engineered athletes that would be there to contest everything.

Now what happens when your opponents’ infrastructure has evolved to produce the same athlete? Well, to be the most fit will be common; it will be the most inventive, and the most skillful, that will be on the winning end.

If you say the U.S. Women’s team has that, well you could be right, but answer me this. What is the difference between the Midfield players and the Defenders other then their position? If we want to talk intricacies, then there maybe a few, but overall they are pretty much, hard working, harsh moving athletic players. The dribbler’s gene is not found in any of them. Our forwards are industrious and willing to put a dagger in the hearts of their enemy, but other then a good cut or two, inventive, non-predictable soccer is not there, just like the Men’s team to a greater extent.

Do you know who will have this inventive, non-predictable nature in play, the countries that currently display it in their more evolved Men’s branches? So look for Mexico to continue to grow rapidly along with Brazil and the rest following suit.

Where does this place the U.S. Women? Obviously, right in line with the Men, 20th or so in the World! Maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but no one can say that the current crop of girls are any better then what we were fielding in 96 when we won Gold in Athens (Athens, Georgia, Olympics 96) and the famous sports bra was shown around the world.

What this means for Women’s Soccer in general is that we must prepare to see sports bras from many different nations tearing off their jerseys.

I recently purchased the DVD Aerobic Soccer Training and tried it with my team. As a soccer coach, I recognized that my players needed to perform skills at the highest speed possible, and I saw that Aerobic Soccer Training was a fresh and innovative ball control workout that would help all my players to develop better skills.

Set to pulsating music, Aerobic Soccer Training, or AST pushes players to display sound ball control under extreme fatigue. The music is a very good distraction, helping many players focus on the rapid, multiple and very fine touches essential to the workout.

This DVD is broken up into Basic and Advanced Level workouts, so I believe players who have good balance as early as 8 years old can jump on board and be on their way to total ball and body mastery more sooner than later. All my oldest players needed were 10 minutes to begin to understand the standards of a good soccer player to feel the pulse in their legs and to really begin to understand the standards of a good soccer player.

This training method makes training players, to become more composed, controlled and fluid when working with the ball, easier. My players are no different then thousands of other youth players in the way that they must understand how to control the ball, and themselves, at the same time, to truly enjoy the game of soccer. AST has helped my players find that joy and balance quickly.

Getting players to be comfortable at performing skills with confidence and pace is exactly what most all coaches want.

Aerobic Soccer Training is more then just an excellent training tool for the focused player; it is also an interventional tool in that it also challenges the distracted, bored, under-skilled, or reluctant player. Its philosophy is to build every player’s skill base of rhythm, foot skills, work rate and confidence in soccer.

This brings players skills up to moving at a quick tempo immediately. From this platform, my players’ ball skills developed faster while our practices have become more proactive and purposeful, as players build off the individual confidence developed through the AST session, helping bring more positive results to the group dynamic.

Coaches, looking for a fun and focused warm up routine at the beginning of practice? AST is it! Your players may be a little skeptical at the start, but after a minute or two everyone gets the pulse. They realize that this is a fun way to develop a lighter touch and a keener instinct to their game.

Mike Saif
Director
USSF A License
World Class Coaching LLC

Hands down the best football played on American soil this week was a match between Morelia of Mexico and Atletico National of Colombia held on Wednesday Oct. 25th in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl.

Now, I don’t need to name player’s names of who played, because who cares. It was the team football that was the bomb. What made watching this game so impressive was that the ball was effortlessly being moved from one section of the field to the next.

There were no skills being called into question when it came to performing basic, or advanced ones. Each player was in control of themselves and their part of the game. This is something that you should expect and enjoy at a professional game. This something has been missing from most every time I see an MLS match.

Of course, there was a bicycle and some amazing dribbling moves, but the core of the game was based on individuals who were obviously well schooled in the game of soccer. Space and movement magically appeared and worked together to create a symphony that played a salsa tune.

The pain of soccer was noticeably absent and I found myself cheering for both teams because, like the Real Madrid supporters applauded their arch rival Ronaldinho off the field last year after an amazing performance, I could only appreciate what my eyes had the opportunity to behold.

The only real tragedy of the happening was that there was only a spackling of Americans without Latino decent in the crowd. The few were seemingly brave to enter unknown or foreign territory. This is a tragedy because it was not necessarily a Latin thing happening, it was a soccer thing happening.

Savages, all of us must realize that if soccer is on the field, even if the people around you are speaking Russian, as long as you are safe, support it and enjoy it for what it is, “The Beautiful Game!”