|
“Let the Game be the Teacher”
Around the world, most children learn to play soccer in the street or on the playground. There are no coaches, no rules. Just kids having fun with a ball. Micro Soccer® makes this very basic concept available to American youngsters and their parents.
Using the principle that the “triangle” is fundamental to soccer, Micro Soccer® encourages playing three-sided games on a small field with a small ball. Everyone gets a chance to kick, dribble, shoot and play goalkeeper in the course of a game. In this environment, 6, 7, and 8-year-olds can quickly develop their skills by playing. Since there are only three players per team, each child has more time with the ball. So, the children learn more and have more fun. The game itself is the teacher! The first rule is to have fun. Children do not need complicated rules, or elaborate instruction, this can be discouraging. That’s why fun is a top priority for Micro Soccer®. Once children enjoy the game they’ll want to learn more about it.
Here are the simple guidelines used for getting started in Micro Soccer®. The field is 30 x 20 yards. Goals are nine feet wide by four and a half feet high, but even traffic cones or flexible poles can be used. There is a six-yard box in which the goalkeeper can use his or her hands, but goalkeepers are encouraged to come out of the box as often as possible and play like field players. Each team has a maximum of six players—although four is a better number (three on the field and one off). Time-outs are called every few minutes for substitutions and goalkeeper rotations. Games and practice should last no longer than 40 minutes. Most rules are the same as regulation soccer, except there’s no offside. The idea is to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY—not coach, coach, coach!
Final word: “There’s nothing new or ingenious about Micro Soccer®. Children all over the world have always been learning to play in sandlots or on the street. It’s not so much a new way of teaching as it is a blinding glimpse of the obvious. We’ve brought the street game to the field.”—Tony Waiters
|
|
SPRING II 2002
Begins: April 30, 2026
Deadline: April 20, 2026
Session Length: Six Weeks
Times: Sat.
Cost: $50
Includes T-shirt
|
|
|
Tony Waiters...is the coach behind Micro Soccer®.
A distinguished player for the English National Team and the English First Division, Tony Waiters retired from playing to begin coaching at the Liverpool Football Club. He used his 3 vs. 3 game in the early ’70s to train young professionals on the highly-successful Liverpool team.
The former Canadian Olympic and World Cup coach and member of the FIFA panel is sharing his coaching methods all over the world.
For 6-year-olds, Micro Soccer® is the whole game—kid-sized soccer. For 16-year-olds, Micro Soccer® is a just one part of the whole—but an important part.
Micro Soccer® is the starting point for the much broader Total Player Development™ program for players 4–18 years of age, presently being developed by Waiters and his partners.
|
|
|