This document discusses forming a formalized pickup soccer group for children aged 7-10 to provide a better soccer experience. It notes drawbacks of recreational and competitive leagues and what children this age need - feeling comfortable, confidence, fun, exploration and maximum play. The proposal is to start a group of like-minded parents committed to their children's soccer development. The group would form a club team for the children to play, practice and progress together year-round. Resources like fields, equipment and coaches would be needed. The goal is providing a natural soccer environment focused on player development, teamwork and passion for the game.

1. Formalized Pickup Soccer:
Providing the Best for your child

2. A little about me
 I have a passion and love for the game
 I follow major leagues in world soccer
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UK: English Premier League
Spain: La Liga
Italy: Serie A
Germany: Bundesliga
France: Ligue 1
Europe: Champions League
USA: Major League Soccer
 Daily, I spend some time reading about soccer(match analysis, tactics,
scouting, transfers, team philosophies, manager philosophies, player
strengths, players career graph, managers career path, formations…)
 I have a kid who is interested in soccer and I am struggling to find a
good/best way forward for him. I am specifically looking at a age group of
7-10 year old kids
 I know there would be more like me out there, and together we can find a
way forward with the help of each other

3. Soccer Playing Options
 Recreational Soccer
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Join a club recreational program, where professional coaches train
your kids
Join AYSO, where parents volunteer to coach a team
Weekly Training and/or scrimmage
Scrimmage on every weekend
 Competitive Soccer
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Join a club competitive program
Weekly Training and/or scrimmage
Matches at the weekend, which may or may not involve travel
 Futsal
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Indoor soccer with a somewhat heavy ball
Classes are conducted by some private agencies

4. Drawbacks
 Recreational Soccer
 Each season there is a influx of kids wh0 are totally new to soccer. Since your kid
has already played some amount of soccer, frustration kicks in, since the newer
player will take his own sweet time to come to that level
 Each season the kid is grouped with unknown kids. By the time they get to know
each other, the season ends. As mentioned earlier, at this age its important for
the kids to be comfortable and confident
 Competitive Soccer
 Too much emphasis on winning
 No style of play to look forward to
 Creativity gets killed
 Type casting players in their early stages
 Too much costs involved
 Any mode you choose involves “Pay to Play”
 No year around play
 Lack of soccer academies who can invest in the future player(a
certain lack of a talent crop might be stopping this)

5. What the kids really need at this age(7-10)
 Psychological Factors
 Should feel comfortable
 Are more comfortable playing with family/friends
 Should be allowed to improvise/experiment a lot on their own, since at this age
they think they are experts in all matters, and that confidence should not be
broken
 Should feel confident
 Technical Factors
 Introduce technical skills with some amount of random repetition
 Leave decision making to them while playing
 Focus on basics, passing/receiving/dribbling/shooting/maximum touches on the
ball
 Introduction to team play
 Maximum small sided games(4v4)
 Minimum teaching, the game is the best teacher
 Maximum fun and exploration

6. How is it done elsewhere?
 A strong soccer culture and free play:
 Most of the soccer stars(Zidane, Maradonna, Pele) grew up
playing soccer on the streets
 Brazil: All soccer skills are developed on the street just by
playing
 Free play boasts creativity
 State of the art soccer academies
 Academies invest in the player starting from the age of 6-8
until when the player signs a contract

7. Can it be done here?
 Its all about:
 Keeping it natural
 Maximizing play time
 Planning about year around soccer
 Making it a enjoyable experience
 Maintain and increase passion and love for the game
 Focus on player development

8. How it can be done?
 Start with forming a group of 15-20 like-minded parents who are
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somewhat serious about their kids soccer needs
Parents should have passion about the game or be willing to
contribute in other ways
It would be like a club team of kids. Same kids, working together,
practicing alongside each other, giving them to know each other,
and allowing them to play the game in a known environment
All kids stick together and progress for several years
Maximize play time by planning for year around activities
Once the kids reach a level where they can compete, we can start
participating in soccer leagues
Plethora of resources are available to carry out the trainings, some
of us can also do the USSF coach certifications. As stated earlier, at
this age passion is the only fuel which is needed

9. What do we get out of it?
 Provide a natural, free and flourishing soccer environment for the
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kids
Kids stick together with the same group for years, which will act as a
boost, considering team work is the most important part in soccer(I
am sure we will also grow on the social front making it a bigger
family)
Everybody has a sense of ownership and pride in what they are
doing
Bunch of people working together in a common interest are bound
to do something good
If kids continue to play for 5-6 years in this mode, this will serve as
a very strong platform to launch their professional careers
Best value for money
Kids will have a time of their life!!!!!!!!!!

10. Resources Needed
 Human resources
 Training
 Logistics
 Finance
 Planning
 Equipment
 Soccer goals, balls, cones, jerseys
 Field

11. Does it create a spark?
 Please email me at: kedsambardekar8@gmail.com
with the following details:
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Your Name, Email Address, Phone Number and Occupation
Child’s Name, Date of Birth
Child’s Soccer Experience
Year and Season
 Club/Organization
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 I will add you to the “FreeFluidSoccerGroup” on
Google
 You will be notified with the further announcements

12. Where to go from here?
 Stay tuned to the group announcements. As soon as
we have enough buy in, we will get the ball rolling

13. FAQ’s
I don’t have any soccer knowledge but my child is really interested in soccer, can I join?
> Its ok if you do not have soccer knowledge or experience. But your kid should have
some soccer experience and you should be somewhat serious about his soccer
 Will this approach be cheaper?
> It all depends on how much we want to do. There are some variable factors like
field rentals, league costs etc. We cannot give a number until we get into it
 We are not professional coaches, how will the kids thrive?
> At this age what they need is exposure. Training for kids can be carried out by the
parents. We will definitely be doing everything by the standards and laws of the
game
 How much commitment is needed from the parents?
> This would be a totally volunteer driven work. There would be some commitment needed. But
as the group grows, things should ease out. Tentatively we would not expect more than 3
hours of work per week per person
 How is this different from AYSO?
> This is very similar, except that, its like we are forming our own team which will play together
for years, giving the child the maximum potential to develop. We will also participate in
competitive soccer leagues, once our team is ready to compete.
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14. References
 http://theshinguardian.com/2011/09/19/a-treatise-
the-state-of-american-youth-soccer/
 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/0
6Soccer-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0