U10 Academy Festival at Kernersville

March 1, 2008

Saturday March 1^st marked the beginning of the U10 spring Academy season. The first event, I was able to attend, was hosted by Kernersville Soccer Association (KSA). Clubs in attendance were KSA, Piedmont Soccer Alliance and Twin City Youth Soccer Association.

This was the second U10 Festival I was able to attend. My first festival was in the fall and it was hosted by ABYSA. Just as the ABYSA festival, this event was well organized and a FUN time for all those involved! It is absolutely great to see parents just offering positive comments to the players during the games!! The play was amazing by all the players! The combination plays, the through balls and the countless one touch finishes by the players were fantastic to see. The defensive side of play was just as commendable, I saw several outstanding keeper saves, and players recovering into a defensive supporting role and timely defensive poke tackles. What is even more amazing is that this type of play is being performed by players’ ages 7 to 10. This type of play, which is free of the “pressure” to win, has allowed these players to just “play”, be creative and have FUN!

The feedback I received from different people involved at the event were all positive. Joe, a referee, who has several of his own children playing in a U10 academy program – “ I was a skeptic at first, but this is a great time for all the kids. It’s just a positive learning experience for the kids”. Ed, an administrator for one of the clubs, “I was totally against the concept of a U10 Academy a year ago, but now, this is absolutely the way to go!” And finally, after speaking to separate sets of parents their reaction to the program was a tremendous round of applause!

I would like to thank David Upchurch, (DOC for PSA) Paul Forster (DOC for TCYSA) and all their coaches for bringing their teams to the Festival and participating in the NCYSA U10 Academy Program. Finally I would like to thank Kevin Althoff (DOC for KSA) and his support team for inviting NCYSA to the event, the organization of the Festival and the positive experiences provided for all the players and parents!

Although Bill Furjanic and I will not be able to attend all the U10 Festivals conducted around the state, please continue to invite us! We both enjoy watching the games and seeing the bright future of NCYSA! I hope every club who supports the U10 Academy shares their experiences with other clubs who are still considering the program. It’s the wave of the future!

Thank you for the invite KSA!

Sincerely,

Jeff Schellenberger

Assistant Technical Director of Coaching Education and Player Development, NCYSA