6 years of Orange Futsal Academy
6 years of Orange Futsal Soccer Academy.
Happy and with much certainty.
Over these years I have been asked to expose themes related to sport that are so clear to me and were acquired with years and years of practice as a professional soccer and futsal player, and reinforced with my Bachelor of Physical Education. All this baggage was put to the test and in practice in the 18 years of YMCA, Brazil that preceded the Orange Futsal project.
With this, I decided this month that Orange Futsal Soccer Academy celebrates 6 years to start writing a series of articles about the many certainties I’ve been absorbing over all these years. The objective is to share, celebrate, praise futsal, the sport and contribute to our evolution.
In this first article I want to talk about my main observation, the importance of developing young Futsal and Soccer players.
Today each club or academy within its reality tries to copy ready-made game tactics models, which have had some success in adult professional teams that, in the vast majority, do not match their reality. And the most interesting thing is that this model they try to apply they don’t know how to make, implement or correct their athletes.
In other words, they try to reproduce a random training without any preparatory pedagogical process, clearly starting at the end. The main point gets lost on the way. The base of training requires an infinite series of information to be presented to your young players.
In practice, it would be like applying an drill to cross the ball in the area if at no time the pedagogical process of heading was taught to this young athlete; or apply a reduced field drill when the young athlete has not gone through the early stages of the right passing forms; or apply a long throw exercise so that players can control and receive the ball if the player has not been shown all the possible ways of receiving and controlling the ball in close situations, such as controlling with the thigh, with the chest, among others. This is where the analytical and global processes of learning come into the picture, there are those who prefer the analytical and there are those who prefer global. For me, I prefer both because they complement each other, when taken into account the group that is being developed.
The development of the young player demands from the coach and the academy the knowledge of physical issues, the technical stage of the athlete/group and tactical principles if necessary.
Another point, and perhaps in my experience as a player and professional of Physical Education is the most important, the psychological understanding of each player. Different psychological profiles demand different procedures and attitudes from coaches towards their players. The same behavior for all players can cause huge losses in the process of development.
Here another aspect, no less important, is the socialization of the young player. The understanding of the group, learning very important aspects such as cooperation, help, support, understanding the friend’s moment in a game and supporting him, this is necessary and is only acquired with time, and this aspect will be perhaps one of the most important for the success in the formation of this athlete’s character, note that I’m not talking at this moment about knowing how to kick or dribble, I’m talking about the global formation of the player.
I can’t help but observe over these 6 years, the role of parents in this whole context. It is clear to see the attitudes of young players often being influenced by their parents, why do I refer to this topic? Oftentimes the player’s attitude in a game is 100% different from any guidance provided by the coach, and I say this with strong conviction because the athlete clearly shows that this attitude does not match his profile, already understood by the coach. An example of this is the player who has the characteristics of being a good passer, making a decision to shoot at the goal at all times. This attitude stems from an orientation of the parent or guardian in thinking that scoring is what validates the players ability. This influence will certainly have a negative influence on the player’s learning, as his genuine decision-making will be impaired, an aspect that the player is put to the test at all times, choosing the right decision and making fewer mistakes.
My certainty in these 6 years of Orange Futsal Soccer Academy is that me and my team will continue to closely observe all our young athletes and try to provide them with a safe and welcoming environment, transmitting a global formation.
My greatest joy is knowing that Orange has achieved enormous goals precisely by practicing these concepts. And to those who have already understood that it is a process of evolution and continuous learning, we continue together. I am happy with the results.
Today, Orange has the face of its athletes.
An Orange hug to all. Happy 6 years to all of us!!!!!!!
Coach Andre Passantino — Orange Futsal
