Club Development Webinar Series: Building A Homework Program
Fully developing as a player takes more than just attending training sessions and games each week–it’s also necessary for youth soccer athletes to practice individual skills on their own.
The origin stories of many of the world’s best players often include time spent with the ball outside of structured team training environments, and players learning to train on their own is a vital part of player development.
With that in mind, NorCal Premier Soccer invited former USWNT star Yael Averbuch West to speak about creating a homework program on our latest Club Development Webinar. Averbuch West, the General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations for 2023 NWSL champions NY/NJ Gotham, is also the founder of Techne Futbol, an app that helps players train on their own.
“The volume of impact you can have as a coach is something to think about…like how many players you can get to train on their own, or whatever it is,” Averbuch West said. “But really I think there are some players who are going to be more receptive and who really want that support and influence and potentially the greatest impact you can have is to really connect with the several players who really want that.
“It’s okay to spend extra time and energy on those players, and it probably be more impactful even than trying to convince someone who is never going to do it to do it,” she added.
During the hour-long talk, Averbuch West outlined a series of helpful ideas aimed at helping clubs under NorCal Premier Soccer’s umbrella to fully develop programs for their kids to train outside of the normal schedule.
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