Fundamental Soccer Practice

FUNdamental Soccer Practice is chock-o-block filled with fun drills to make practice more like a party than a chore. There are many activities which keep young players giggling while working hard to improve their skills. I used suggestions from this book for three years to plan practices and took a travelling team of girls from the cellar of division four up to a contender in division two; laughing all the way. This is a creative and fun book!

...Written by Karl Dewazien, California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA) director of coaching since 1978, this book showed me 'how to' develop, organize and run a successful youth practice. The book has apparently been translated into 'Spanish and Chinese' and is currently used by coaches in the People's Republic of China. It is also being used by CYSA as a coaching school manual -I know this for a fact since that is where I received my first copy. The pages are delightfully illustrated with games and activities that can be easily implemented by anyone. After I started to apply the FUNdamental Soccer method my players didn't want to leave our practices. I have learned to disguise the hard work that it takes to become a good soccer player and youth soccer team. This book gets my 'two thumbs' up!!!

Recently I received a telephone call from a friend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was looking for a soccer book suitable for beginning coaches and beginning players.I thought that such a request was easy to fill. I have several shelves of books from various parts of the United States and Europe. But as I examined the books, I realized that I was wrong.Most authors assume that the reader is an experienced coach. Thus, terms are used without definition. The mechanics of technique were alluded to but never illstrated.I was becoming frustrated.Then I came upon Karl Dewazien's book FUNdamental SOCCER -Practice. It was perfect for my friend in Tulsa. The book is clearly written and the illustrations by Joseph G.Garcia appear on almost every page. There are no assumptions; it is all there!What makes this book so useful?If a coach wants to teach soccer he must start with some concepts of pedagogy, which is the title of Section 1. From there Dewazien outlines the organization and necessities of a practice session.Following this, Dewazien develops themes that should be introduced into the practice. The themes are developmental and sequential, beginning with dribbling, and ending with 'controlling flighted ball' and the throw-in.The book ends with a section on small sided games followed by modified laws of the game for players under six, eight,ten or twelve.Dewazien approaches soccer training as an educator. As a result, he is well organized, clear, and most concerned with participant having FUN. The core of the book is the section on small sided games. He is an expert, and if children are to have fun, they must have FUN GAMES. I highly recommend this book for all coaches. For the inexperienced coach of young players, it will become a must book. For experienced coaches, it offers hints of organization that may have been forgotten. One example is the "Six step approach for Improving the Player." Any coach can benifit from reviewing the six steps. An experience! d soccer friend borrowed my copy of the book to review the small-sided games. Something for everyone.Dewazien and Garcia have achieved a good blend creating a book well written and clearly illustrated. A rare accomplishment. "FUNdamental SOCCER Pratice" is the best buy on the soccer book market and essential to the begining coach.

This is a great book if you are a novice soccer coach, working with very young children (ages 4- 8). Any older than that and you'll need something more sophisticated (see the books by Wiel Coerver and Alan Hargreaves)