A Well Timed New Direction for US Soccer

Here is the new US Men's National Team Coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, speaking on ESPN a year ago during the World Cup in South Africa. He focuses on two main points that he thinks would help US Soccer improve on the world stage: 1. involving players of all socio-economic backgrounds and 2. being better technically. We couldn't have said it better ourselves Coach Klinsmann! It comes as no surprise that we at iSoccer are in complete agreement with both of these statements as 1) the iSoccer assessment is freely available to all youth players, and 2) Our mission is to Raise the Level emphasizes technical development.... Time will ultimately tell, but at iSoccer, we believe that this is right (and necessary) direction for US Men's Soccer.

"To get the kids on a technical level that are able to perform."

"What I mean with the technical level is the first touch."

"The first touch yesterday was just not there."

[Click the video to the right to see Coach Klinsmann speaking]

And here is Coach Wilmer Cabrera of the U17 Men's US Team after the U17 World Cup in Mexico.

"Unless we have an unbelievable team where we have six, seven very skillful players who can make the difference on the field. But we don't have those types of players. I haven't seen those players yet."

"We have to grow, little by little. And I'm not blaming anybody. It's the system. It's cultural. I'm part of this culture. I can't change what I cannot change. I want to try to help where I can. "

Do you see a consistent theme here? We have to Raise the Level!

PS. We also felt that it was important to note, that as the U20 World Cup kicks off today in Colombia the US will not be present. We did not qualify....

Japan Emphasizes Technical Training at Youth Level

From winning only one game in its first three World Cup trips to beating Germany, Sweden, and the United States on its path to becoming World Cup Champions, the Japanese Women's National Team's improvement is nothing short of amazing!

A leading Japanese youth soccer trainer, Tom Byer, has lived in Japan for more than 25 years and has conducted more than 2,000 soccer events for more than 500,000 children. Here are a few excerpts from a recent article he wrote for the NY Times Blog:

"Soccer is a year-round sport where players play 365 days a year, men or women. You can not help but produce good, technically sound players if the content and emphasis is on technical skills."

"Still, not a lot of money or resources are put into the women's game. Compared with some of the world's powerhouse programs such as America or Germany, the difference is staggering."

"Over all the number of girls playing the game has remained flat. So the pool from which to select players is still very small. However, the organization for identifying and the emphasis on training technical skills at a very young age has been the difference."

The takeaway: Focus on being as technically sound as possible so you can execute at any level. You can produce incredible results without spending incredible amounts. Play as much as possible!

iSoccer - Empowering You to Raise Your Level

Xavi - Spanish International and Barcelona's General

His Words on: Technical Ability. Passing. Vision. Development.

What do the following words from Xavi mean to you?

Whether you are a young player, old player, novice, elite, parent or coach - There is something here for you!

[Excerpts from an interview with Xavi by the Guardian]

"Some youth academies worry about winning, we worry about education. You see a kid who lifts his head up, who plays the pass first time, pum, and you think, 'Yep, he'll do. Bring him in, coach him. Our model was imposed by Johan Cruyff; it's an Ajax model. It' all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It's the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it's humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you.

[At the youth level, of course iSoccer encourages you to compete and win BUT make sure you are not placing winning over development. Developing as a player is a journey - Try and take a longer view and know that the little things you do every day will pay off in the long run!]

Talent has to be the priority. Technical ability. Always, always. Sure, you can win without it but it's talent that makes the difference. Look at the teams: Juventus, who makes the difference? Krasic. Del Piero. Liverpool? Gerrard, or Torres before. Talento. Talento. When you look at players and ask yourself who's the best: talento. Cesc, Nasri, Ryan Giggs - that guy is a joy, incredible. Looking back, I loved John Barnes and Chris Waddle was buenísimo. [Open-mouthed, eyes gleaming] Le Tissier! Although their style was different I liked Roy Keane and Paul Ince together, too. That United team was great - my English team. If I'd gone anywhere, it would have been there.

[As a youth player, you have very little control over your physical attributes - Focus on the playing the game and 'Raising Your Technical Level'. That is the winning formula in the long run!]

Think quickly, look for spaces. That's what I do: look for spaces. All day. I'm always looking. All day, all day. [Xavi starts gesturing as if he is looking around, swinging his head]. Here? No. There? No. People who haven't played don't always realize how hard that is. Space, space, space. It's like being on the PlayStation. If the defender's here, play it there. I see the space and pass. That's what I do.

[The game moves fast - put your head on a 'swivel' at all times. Know where your teammates are. Where the defenders are. And what you want to do with the ball before it gets to you. How do you work on this? Get in front of a wall! Pass the ball while moving towards the wall and look over your shoulder before the ball comes back to you off the wall.]

Club career

Joined Barcelona's youth system at the age of 11 and made a scoring first-team debut aged 18 in the 1998 Spanish Super Cup final. He has made 557 appearances for the club, scoring 56 goals. 3 Champions Leagues 2006, 2009, 2011

1 Club World Cup 2009

5 La Liga titles 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

1 Spanish Cup 2009

4 Spanish Super Cup 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010

1 Uefa Super Cup 2009

International career

Represented every Spain youth team from Under-17 to Under-23 level, making his senior debut in 2000 at age 20. He has scored eight goals in 99 appearances. He has also scored twice in eight matches for Catalonia

1 World Cup 2010

1 European Championship 2008

1 Under-20 World Cup 1999

Olympic silver medal 2000

Individual career

The world's best playmaker, he completed 104 passes more than the next most prolific passer at last year's World Cup which Spain won. He has made more assists than any other player in the past two La Liga and Champions League seasons

European Championship player of the tournament 2008

Champions League final man of the match 2009

Fifa World Cup All-Star Team 2010

Fifa Team of the Year 2008, 2009, 2010

Uefa Team of the Year 2008, 2009, 2010

Third place in Ballon d'Or 2009, 2010

La Liga Player of the Year 2005

Read the Full Article from the Guardian: Click Here