Days: April 27 & May 25
Locations: Coppell and Trophy Club
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Register: ONLINE Registration opens on February 15
Bring friends, family and all to enjoy the fun!
No, it’s not soccer on the roads dodging cars, but rather a new opportunity for Academy players at City Development Academy to work on their games in an unstructured, small sided 4v4 environment.
Rule #1 in Street Soccer: THERE ARE NO SET RULES! · No coaching! · No refereeing! · Play 5:00 minute games. · Play each game on a different team. · Set your own rules (throw in vs. kick in, etc…) · Be creative and have fun!!
Team Formation and Point System: Players will play coed with multiple ages depending on the number of participants present. U-9s will not play with U-19s, but they may play with U-11s. Players will randomly be assigned to a team before each game. If a team wins 2-1, players on the winning team get each 3 points for a win and if you provide an assist you get a point or if you score a goal you get a point. If there is a tie both teams get 2 points. Players must report their individual points to the score keeper after each game and before being assigned to a new team. At the end of the event, “the” player with the most points in his/her age group wins the tournament in his/her division.
Why Street Soccer at City Development Academy?
The small-sided games movement has evolved in response to the steady demise of street soccer. As a phenomenon, street soccer remains strong in only Latin America, Africa, and in some parts of the Middle and Far East. In street soccer cultures, children as young as five can be found playing with peers and older “friends” in ever-varying configurations of games. Two or three players are enough to start the day’s play, and, on occasion, the numbers may swell to resemble small mob scenes. There are no referees, and no coaches. Rule disputes are settled by the players, and the outcome of games is often decided by family meal times, evening curfews, or the availability of light.
In the 1980’s, with their street soccer cultures disappearing or already extinct, progressive Western soccer federations turned to small-sided games in an attempt to compensate for the loss of skillful, imaginative players. Given the sheer volume of touches experienced over time in street soccer play, the number of players on the field was never an issue. But when “soccer time” became organized and reduced to only two or three hours each week, it became necessary to maximize ball contacts by reducing the number of players competing for possession.
The bottom line is that restricted soccer has reduced the creativity aspect of the game. Our practices today lack sufficient 1v1 situations. The 1v1 duel is the bedrock contest of the game. Players must be subjected to plenty of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 learning and creative moments. Youth players are still uncomfortable in small-sided environments. Most of them struggle in solving the problems of tight space. We want to get young players back to an environment that stimulates decision making, deception, proper touches on the ball, and creativity. Street Soccer, which will be offered each season, will help us accomplish that.