My name is Neil Crawford and I am a soccer dad, coach, and founder of Anytime Soccer Training. Today, I want to share some useful tips on how I use Anytime Soccer Training with my sons.
Summary
- I Got Started
- I Help Them Set Their Own Training Goals
- I Keep the Goals Realistic
- I Don’t Overthink It
- I Use a Bluetooth Speaker
- I Do a Variety of Videos Covering Everything
#1 I Got Started
Early on, I noticed that the skillful players were also the most confident and had the most fun. That’s when I made the decision to help my sons improve.
I applied those lessons learned to Anytime Soccer Training to help all players improve just like my sons.
However, it’s a team effort. Our goal is to make Anytime Soccer Training effective and easy to use. To achieve this goal, we need you to take the first step to get started and then help your player or team stay consistent.
It’s Easy to Use & Covers Everything:
You can access the program anytime and on any device. It covers everything, and every video is 100% follow-along. The short videos also include a bright timer, music, rest breaks, and a slow-motion demonstration.
Personal Tip: My sons started by doing two videos after school two days per week. They rotated between ball mastery, juggling, and rebounder exercises.
#2 I Helped Them Set Their Own Training Goals
Like most, my children are willing to do some extra practice at home. They do however need my help to stay consistent. I found it works best to discuss the necessary commitment to soccer training in the context of their broader soccer goals for the season.
Once we establish what those are, together we work backward to figure out the amount of training time that works for them.
Personal Tip: Before each season we discuss what their goals are and how they plan to achieve them. It’s during this conversation that we decide how many videos per week they feel they can do. I constantly check in to make sure they are feeling up to it and give them autonomy to say no and/or ask for additional time off.
Goal Setting within the App:
Did you know that the Anytime Soccer Training app included a training goal feature?
Individuals can go to My Training Goal and create a goal and then together with their child set rewards. Kids look forward to the rewards which motivate them to stay consistent.
#3 I Keep the Goals Realistic
Players who use Anytime Soccer Training consistently; get better on and off the pitch. In fact, being consistent is more important than the amount of time spent training on any given day.
Personal Tip: I strongly recommend beginning with a lighter load that the player can stick with. For my sons, we began with two to three videos 3x per week. This equated to roughly 45 minutes per week.
As my sons built endurance and became familiar with the program they became eager to increase the amount of time.
#4 I Don’t Overthink It
The program covers all the essential skills and follows a gradual progression. However, some parents and coaches become paralyzed trying to find the exact level they think their players are at.
In reality, 99.9% of youth soccer players need to spend more time on the fundamentals. The gradual progression gives the player more reps and time to master each new move.
Personal Tip: In-home training is just different than practicing with the coach and team. Asking a player to get extra touches at a level that is too advanced will likely frustrate them. To challenge them more and follow the progressions, do videos (in order) in the various skill areas.
#5 I Use a Bluetooth Speaker
Bluetooth speakers work on any device and make the music louder and the instructions clear. I highly recommend them when training.
Personal Tip: It really helps my sons stay focused.
#6 I Do a Variety of Videos Covering Everything
We want players to be able to improve in every skill area. That’s why the program has over 5,000 videos covering everything. The average video is less than five minutes. This means that my sons and I can cover multiple skill areas in a single session.
A typical one-hour session may have the below line-up:
- Dynamic Warm-up (7 Minutes)
- Juggling & Aerial Control (5 Minutes)
- 1,000 Touch Ball Mastery (5 Minutes)
- Two Cone Ball Mastery (5 Minutes)
- Figure 8 Dribbling (5 Minutes)
- Line Cone Passing (5 Minutes)
- Directional Control Finishing (5 Minutes)
- Speed & Agility (10 Minutes)
- 1v1 Moves (5 Minutes)
- 1v1 Against Sibling/Teammate (5 Minutes)
- Freestyle Dribbling (5 Minutes)
We cover so many skills in a single session that even my sons and I are amazed.
Personal Tip: Every video includes water breaks so you save time with planned rest. When both my sons train together they typically take turns which build in even more recovery time.
I hope you found this information useful. Email me at neil@anytime-soccer.com with any questions. Good luck.
