Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory and learning.
John Ratey, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
TRAINING ACTIVITIES AND SOCCER CHALLENGES
No team training? No problem! Below are a few suggestions on how you can maintain your fitness level and stay connected with your teammates!
Team Competition and Challenges
Record your efforts in the garage or backyard and share it with your teammates to create some friendly competition.
Join in on the most popular challenge that has taken over social media, the #StayAtHomeChallenge. You can explore some of the top entries on Instagram.
Player Tip: Encourage your teammates to show off their various soccer skills on social media. Come up with your own team challenges to keep that friendly competition going!
Inspire others with your training videos by using the hashtag “#LegendsHomework” or tag us “@GermantownLegendsSoccer” on social media or by sending us (info@GermantownLegends.com) the videos and pictures to post on our sites. #LegendsHomework |
BALL MASTERY
Setup a small soccer activity area to practice some of your favorite moves, or visit the links posted on our website:
- Ball Mastery… SkillsForLegends.GermantownLegends.com
- ActivitiesForLegends.GermantownLegends.com
- KickingIsNotASoccerSkill.GermantownLegends.com
Ball Mastery is NOT just about developing soccer players… there are ‘education’ components in ‘ball mastery’.
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Other suggestions include:
- H.O.R.S.E. with soccer goals
- Player vs. Parent challenge on who can juggle the ball longer
- For families – relay dribble in your homemade obstacle course
SKILLS OF THE WEEK
Visit the Legends Club Calendar for the ‘Skill of the Week’ during the season… CALENDAR.GermantownLegends.com
Record your best trick or skill and share it with your friends and teammates. A coach can pick the winner.
Check out this skill from USMNT star Christian Pulisic:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B92vPpmjHqW/?igshid=tttusbzkhste
Top Tekkers
Encourage practice away from training and help your players keep up with their soccer skills and learn new ones with the exciting new training option, TopTekkers, from The Coaching Manual.
The TopTekkers app can help players:
- Take ownership of their development!
- Maintain their touch and fitness.
- Be better prepared for group sessions.
- Stay connected to their teammates.
- And allow coaches, teams, and regions to track the progress of each player via region-specific reports.
KICKING WALLS
Every kid needs a ball and a wall… Build it and they will play! Give your kids something to do outside at home.
The FREE plans for this ‘kick wall’ are really straight forward, and works very well in the driveway.
It should take about one hour to build if you are somewhat handy. If you don’t feel comfortable building the kick wall, give a friend their favorite ‘incentive’ and sit back and watch them.
Visit KickWalls.com for the plans.
Be sure to share pictures with the inventor of the kick wall online… @24x7soccerus
Fully adjustable soccer rebounding kit… Soccer Hop!
An affordable soccer kick-back kit for every home… allows players to work on various receiving options.
This one works great in the back yard.
Visit http://soccerhop.com for the building plans.
KickWall.com (front view)
KickWall.com (rear view)
Soccer Hop
BOOKS AND CRAFTS
Get your creative juices flowing and keep your mind sharp!
Soccer Starts at Home by Tom Byers
DIGITAL: SOCCER GAMES, MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARIES
Take advantage of your gaming consoles or video streaming services (Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime, etc.), and keep your team communicating and talking about the game of soccer during this hiatus. Need suggestions on what to watch and play? We curated a small list below:
FIFA 20 Tournaments
Log-in to your console and play your teammates or your coach in virtual soccer from all across the soccer globe. Manchester United vs LA Galaxy? No problem! Barcelona vs. Atlanta United? Game on!
Watch an MLS Classic Match
Major League Soccer is letting you relive some of the league’s most exhilarating matches and will feature them on their Youtube channel throughout the coming weeks:
https://www.youtube.com/user/mls/featured
1999 MLS Cup | D.C. United vs LA Galaxy… Starting at Right Back for the DC United is Carey Talley (Germantown Legends Director of Coaching)
VIRTUAL TOURS
Dive into the game’s history and culture by virtually visiting some of the world’s most famous stadiums and training grounds. Click through a few suggestions:
- Real Madrid’s All Access Training Grounds
- Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- Manchester United’s Old Trafford through the years
- Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge
- Espai Barcelona (the incredible plans for Camp Nou)
- Inside LAFC
FILMS
Tired from all those stadium tours? Grab some popcorn, the rest of your family and watch a classic soccer movie or a documentary.
DOCUMENTARIES
SOCCERTOWN USA – An American Soccer Documentary
*Coaches Tip: have a virtual discussion with your team about the content they’re watching. Talk about the lessons learned and what they can adopt for future soccer seasons.*
Any other suggestions for creative soccer-related activities during this “down-time” please send them our way to share! …info@GermantownLegends.com
FOR PARENTS
Squeezing in online schooling, chores, free time, exercise, and meals, all to be done at home, can be dull and difficult to manage for you and your children. Parents, below are some resources to help you best organize your days and ways to talk to your children about the importance of self distancing. Parents, below are some resources to help you talk to your children about self distancing and why this new reality is important. You will also find ideas to better schedule your day with your children to ensure a balanced time of learning and exercise.
Creative Scheduling
Work together as a family to create daily schedules that work for every member. Here are a few ways to be as creative as possible with your schedules!
*Parent Tip: perhaps give your child the freedom to plan their day by themselves to spark up some motivation!*
Tough Conversations
NPR created a great graphic story to help explain Coronavirus to young children. This graphic can be helpful in sparking up the conversation about why social distancing is an important practice to follow during this difficult time.
Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus
Dealing with Anxiety
Your children may be experiencing some anxiety about recent changes of lifestyle. Limit your children’s exposure to news coverage and talk to them about their worries. Below is a graphic with helpful practices on how to help then feel most at ease.
LEARNING
Coaches, even though you’re not on the field, it’s the perfect time to invest in your own coach education development so you are even better prepared when we can start returning to activity. Access some amazing resources below.
Positive Coaching Alliance
“Coronavirus: A Real Teaching Moment For PCA Coaches”
Founded in 1941 and based in Kansas City, Mo., United Soccer Coaches has grown into the world’s largest soccer coaches’ organization that serves members at every level of the game.
United Soccer Coaches works every day to inspire coaches and ignite their passion for the game so they pass it on to players and others in the soccer community.
United Soccer Coaches membership now includes access to the entire eLearning suite of courses at no additional charge. It’s over $400 of courses and new ones rolling out throughout the year.
Online courses save time and money and the United Soccer Coaches Education Department are experts at them.
- Goalkeeping 1
- Futsal 1
- 11 v 11 Formations: Systems of Play
- Small Sided Games
- Attacking Systems of Play
- Defending Systems of Play
- And so much more are in learn-at-your-own-pace online modules, including checks for understanding, downloadable bonus content and a Diploma for successful completion.
Visit UnitedSoccerCoaches.org for more details.
UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION
The U.S. Soccer Learning Center, a learning management system, has been designed to house all U.S. Soccer educational programs. Starting with coaching and referee programs, sign-up for a free account and you can take part in online courses, browse for in-person courses in your area, and track your U.S. Soccer licenses and other certifications.
Coach Development
For more information, visit the the U.S. Soccer Learning Center.
MORE TO COME….
GAMES
Soccer Bingo
Sports Lab360
Soccer Quizes
History of the Game
Laws of the Game
Fun Facts About the Game
Have any recommendations for additional ideas and resources? Please send us your recommendations to info@GermantownLegends.com!
The Germantown Legends are a premier youth soccer club located in Germantown, Tennessee.
Established in 2011, the Legends Soccer Club focuses intensely on creating brave creative leaders for life. Our no guilt, no shame, no blame philosophy gives kids the confidence to get out of their comfort zone and create the big play in any situation!
The Germantown Legends Soccer program is the official ‘Soccer Provider’ to the City of Germantown.
For Field conditions, Inclement weather, Program updates, Camp information, etc., please visit the following:
Facebook: Germantown Legends Soccer
Instagram: Germantown Legends Soccer
Twitter: @GermantownSoc
INFO@GermantownLegends.com
www.GermantownLegendsSoccer.com
