www.projectplay.net

A California boy bringing the world together using the tool he knows the best; Soccer.
Living in Brazil Mike Mitchell discovered that he spoke the same language as the Brazilians on the soccer pitch.
He has taken it to a higher level with his relief efforts. He has gathered thousands of Soccer Balls for games practice and traning, but mostly for fun and for the love of kids.

Check this out;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lmUG1mkzy4&mode=related&search=

Soccer tennis is a great way to develop skills for the game of soccer.
Two, three, four or more can play. The ideal sides are 1 on 1 or 2 on 2.
A sturdy or firm net approximately 30 to 36 inches high. We like benches or 2x6 pieces of wood placed on stands to resemble a net because the ball plays of of the net and adds a new challenge or tactic. Set the field up on grass or any place there is room.
For 1 on 1 the field can be 6 yards wide by 8-10 yards deep. 3 touches and one bounce per side in any combination to try to return a ball played to each player.
For 2 v2 the real challenge is to require both players to touch the ball befor it is returned. Three touches and one bounce in any combination per side.
Play with smaller balls like a #3 or a brasilian futebol. The smaller ball increases focus and helps develop eye-foot coordination and dexterity. The brasilian futebol is well weighted to approximate the feel of a reg #5 and is bouncy so players develop a soft first touch.
Playing soccer tennis is a fun way to develop the skills and the skills players aquire while playing it will easily translate into the real game.

Juggling is a good way to develop skills for soccer. It can be artful and demanding.
If you are looking for fitness as well as touch in a training session try this; requires two players and three balls. We like the brasilian futebol because of it's bounciness and size.
Two players try to juggle three balls. In reality it is amatter of keeping the balls alive, in the air or at least bouncing. Use the bouce.
Try to keep balls alive for 1 minute. Goal is to not let the balls roll or stop; always being juggled or at least bouncing.
Tip; pick a target to play the balls to, everytime you gather a ball play it to that target. So as one player is chasing a ball down the other player is returning to the target to gather a ball that has just been played in an effort to keep it alive.
Great fun, super fitness.
Requires an advanced degree in juggling.

Juggling is a great way to develop the skills needed to compete in the game of soccer. Taking a team through skill exercises every practice is essential in order to reach new levels of play and to create a successful environment which allows them to grow as a team and accomplish the technical and tactical goals that are part of team play.
Being able to handle a ball confidently while under pressure or on the move adds a new dimension to team play.
Here is a suggestion for a team warm up which will promote skills, fitness, field awareness, touch and confidence with the ball.

Advanced Team Warm-up
Build a grid with cones that has 9 squares or boxes. Each square should be 5x5 to 8x8 yds.

^ ^ ^ ^

^ ^ ^ ^

^ ^ ^ ^

^ ^ ^ ^

As a warm-up give each player a brasilian futebol and ask them to juggle in the grid.
Restrict them to 2 touches and one bounce in each square. Or 3 touches or 4 or no bounces. Whatever fits your team. Remember we are trying to make this success oriented while testing the envelope.
They cannot go back to the square they just came from or ask them to hit all nine squares in an allotted time. What ever it takes to accomplish movement with the ball.

The goal is to move with the ball, and/or make the ball do what it is they want or need the ball to do. They need to avoid other players in the box, move from grid to grid, keep the ball alive hopefully while juggling under control.

Ask for some artistry and creativity.
Execute a “sombrero” to change directions. A sombrero can be flipping, kicking or knocking a ball over your own head to change directions and go the other way, or it can be touching it over another players head, usually a defender, as they run by or at you, or as you run by them.
Maybe they could skip a square, chase the ball down, control it and move on.
Reciting poetry while juggling was always one of my favorites.

They can also work in pairs. One futebol per pair. 2 touches, one bounce per square. Cannot receive ball in the same grid twice.
Work in groups of three.
We like using the brasilian futebol in warm-ups and for skills because it adds another element of challenge and accelerates the skills develoment process.

Juggling develops basis eye-foot coordination, balance and dexterity with the ball.
Using a small ball like the brasilian futebol can accelerate improvement and make playing with a game regulation ball much easier.
Twenty minutes a day can make a tremendous difference in skill level. Consistency and a good work ethic is the key. Find a routine and build on it.
For example, set a goal to juggle a brasilian traning ball 300 times and work toward that goal in increments. Document how many attempts it takes to reach 300 touches. (At some point hands should no longer be used, instead, picking the ball up with your feet becomes a new challenge and eventually an art). Count how many times you can juggle the ball with one bounce in between touches. Each time the ball bounces twice consecutively without a touch ends the attempt. Accumulate touches with each attempt and keep track of how many attempts it takes to reach 300 touches. Progress to juggling without the ball hitting the ground. Each time the ball touches the ground counts as an attempt. Ex. 1st attempt you reach 11 touches before it hits the ground; 2nd time you reach 15; 3rd time 9; 4th attempt you juggle 25: in four attempts you have 60 touches. At this rate it will take 20 attempts to reach 300. Keep track of your progress. As you get better it should take less attempts to reach 300 touches. Ultimate goal is 300 in one attempt.
Tips:
*Curl your toes down in your shoe (like trying to grab the grass with your toes) when making contact with the ball.
*Lock your ankle when making contact with the ball, the top of your foot, the contact point, should be parallel to the ground. This will reasonably ensure that the ball goes straight up.
*Alternating feet with each kick is not always possible, but it should be emphasized in order to develop your weak foot, proper balance and coordination.
*Try not to put too much backspin on the ball. This will cause you to constantly crowd yourself with the ball and develop bad habits

Labels: Soccer training methods

Dr. Jeff Falkel authors a book on preparing for and rehabing after surgury for total knee replacement. The book offers offers advise on everything from tools and toys to diet and time spent on rehabing.
The book is designed to incorporate all the methods used into everyday life in the home. Very practical and user friendly. One of the tools mentioned is the brasilian futebol, a soccer skills development tool Mr. Falkel discovered while coaching that he found useful in his own rehab after bilatteral knee replacement.

Instilling solid fundamentals with technical training and on the ball work.

The fundamentals of any game are important if players are going to succeed at higher levels. Look at the best players in the world, they all have a solid fundamental base that makes the simple parts of the game seem effortless.
Passing, trapping and dribbling are essential parts of the game of soccer. Repetition is important and getting as many touches on the ball as possible in any given session will help develop these skills as well as confidence if performed in the proper environment.
Technical training needs to be success oriented and goal oriented with proper technique emphasized in every exercise. It also helps if the drills are varied to alleviate boredom and loss of focus. Creating a competitive environment can go a long way towards creating enthusiasm while mastering the fundamentals.

Spending quality time with the ball is important to become comfortable with the soccer ball.
Using a smaller practice ball such as the brasilian futebol can enhance your training sessions by improving focus and touch and te size and bounci-ness adds a challenging aspect to training sessions.
An accomplished juggler should be able to keep the ball alive without it touching the ground for at least 100 touches. It's not unrealistic to set a goal of one thousand touches without the ball ever touching the ground.
At a certain point it becomes more about what you do with your touches as opposed to how many touches.
Creat a successful environment by allowing a bounce now and then, here and there ans try to accomplish some set patterns of ball movement or juggle while on the move.
Simply running with the ball while trying to keep the juggle alive is a great exercise. Moving in a figure 8 pattern while juggling is a good test of your ability with the ball.
Juggling is a good way to develop skill and is very applicable to the game of soccer because often the your play on the ball requires tracking or touching a bouncing ball, or a long ball, a cleared ball etc. Juggling will make plays on such balls much more effective.

THis video is one of the best displays of game skill I've ever seen for any age group. Pure instinct and inate abilities at work. I would love to see where he he and what level he is playing at 5 years and 10 years from now.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/08/02/manu.recruit.ap/index.html

As it is this is just fun to watch. I love the foot work, the feints, the studdersteps, stop and goes etc etc etc