East Islip Soccer Club Developmental Philosphy:

At the East Islip Soccer Club we believe that the ages between 8 and 12 are the most important years in the player’s development. This formative period is called the “Golden Age of Learning”. During this Developmental Stage the player is like a sponge absorbing all the knowledge and skills that they can about the game. With this in mind, we want our players to experience and enjoy soccer as a GAME.

In order to achieve this goal we provide educationally sound soccer environments that will foster a lifelong love of the game and maximize Developmental opportunities. These environments will help facilitate the creativity, spontaneity and experimentation that soccer naturally encourages in its players. Too often, children are put into situations where Development is secondary to winning which results in burnout and a stifling of individual skill development.

We believe that a player’s development is best served when the short-term goals of the coach (winning) are balanced with a view to the long-term needs of the player. A player’s chances of success at the senior level (18 and older) are greatly enhanced by mastering the building blocks of soccer that are best taught at the Developmental Stage. Ball skills, enjoyment and experimentation with the game are keys to a player’s development.

Several points have to be addressed at the Developmental Stage to enable players to be successful at the senior level.

1 – The game is the best teacher, so let youth players learn from it by setting up opportunities to play.

2 – Allow children to learn in environments that are sensitive to age and, both physical and emotional ability.

3 – Understand that players learning styles may differ, so offer a variety experiences through training.

4 – A competitive environment at the Development Stage cannot be results-oriented. Rather, competitive environments should encourage Skill Development and decision-making from players. The emphasis should be on performance, not results. Coaches should encourage ball skills, individual autonomy and creativity as a means to find success and a standard of measurement for growth and development.

5- Games at the Development Stage must promote the enjoyment, ball skills and creativity that the game naturally provides for its participants.

We want our players to develop a lifelong love of the game. In order to accomplish this goal, we allow them to make mistakes at the early stages. Lessons learned through trial and error are critical to the player’s improvement and development. We should encourage risk taking, applaud the effort, and provide a positive environment in order to ensure that players develop effectively and build a lifelong passion for the game of soccer.