Dear Parents,

Everyone knows that, the more an athlete trains, the better that athlete becomes. A critical part of soccer is a player’s ability to play with a ball at his/her feet – it’s as fundamental as shooting is to basketball and throwing is to baseball. Coaches can teach someone how to do it correctly, but there’s just no way around it: mastery takes practice, lots and lots of practice.

To encourage Team Evanston’s players to practice, the club’s coaching staff has instituted “soccer homework,” designed to get them to do so in a challenging and fun way. Each week players will be given a homework assignment, which will also be posted on the website. Each assignment emphasizes a specific skill: touching a ball between the feet, juggling, raking the ball, and so on. Many are timed. Players are asked to practice the skill on their own, and when they think they’re ready, to work through six trials in the presence of a parent or guardian, who should record the results on the homework sheet. These don’t all need to be done at one time, and in fact should not be; instead, a player might do a trial, go off and practice, come back for another trial, and so on. Once the homework sheet is complete, players turn it in to their coach, who will record the player in a seventh attempt. If players want to try the skill more than is shown, that’s okay too – in fact, that’s encouraged!

The homework assignments are designed to require a minimal amount of space, for the most part. They can be completed in a bedroom, basement, or hallway. When weather permits, it is best that they are done outside.

I would like to stress that these activities are not mandatory, instead they are strongly recommended. Some families don’t allow soccer ball playing inside and at times the weather doesn’t allow it outside either. And, while players are encouraged to turn them in each week, if their schedule is tight or they’re not mastering the skill like they wish, they can turn them in later.

We hope that all players make an effort to turn their homework in regularly. What these homework assignments will not do is determine a player’s movement from team to team during tryouts. The exercises will undoubtedly improve their skill, which in turn will improve their performance on the field while increasing their love of the sport.

We sincerely hope that players and families view this homework as a fun, productive thing to do:  the last thing we want is to have it become a source of stress. So, please don’t let it. If a player struggles with a particular assignment, tell them not to worry: everyone struggles with something, that’s why we practice. If they continue to struggle, have them tell their coach, who can offer suggestions and get their confidence back up. It’s the process that’s important, not the end result.

And, of course the coaches would love parents’ feedback on the assignments, so if you have ideas on how to make it better, please let us know.

Issac Moushi
Director of Coaching

You can download each week’s exercise by going to the website’s Player’s Corner section.