Joy of the People

The number one question for any coach is how to cultivate the best players possible without killing the love of the game. How do you design a practice that develops talent, simulates real game situations, and gets everyone involved?  (To read more please scroll down)

JOTP Winter Training Options

• Overspeed Soccer - Small group (limit 6) focused, rigorous intensive and fun training utilizing the modern testing, timing and training equipment of JOTP. Focused training protocols are guided toward technical mastery. Perfect ball striking, ballet like ball control, clever and creative movement all while having fun. Each participant receives a journal. Each session 60 minutes.
  
  
  • Overspeed sessions beginning Nov 6
    Weekly offerings (subject to change)
    • Sunday 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 4pm
    • Wednesday 6pm, 7pm
    • Thursday 6pm, 7pm
    • Friday 7pm
    • Saturday 12pm, 4pm, 5pm
       
  • Overspeed Punch Cards:
    • SIngle Session ($40.00)
    • 5 Pack ($150)
    • 10 Pack ($225.00)
    • 20 Pack ($299.00)

 All programs are at JOTP Center 890 Cromwell, 651-298-5770

May be used for overspeed technical training, camp days, or both in any combination

Punch Cards:
SIngle Session ($40.00)
5 Pack ($150)
10 Pack ($225.00)
20 Pack ($299.00)

Summer OverSpeed Hours
Monday - Friday 7:30-8:45
Saturday 1pm-2:15
Sunday 12-1:15
 
With our dedicated training center, modern testing and timing equipment, and focused training protocols that you will not see anywhere else, your athlete will find out where they are, what they need, and take action toward improvement. All that and have fun!

If you are not playing you are not learning.  JOTP's unique yet simple methodology of building hours of play develop healthier kids and more skillful players. Our skill programs spark the love of the game while the hours of free play allow true expression.  JOTP coaching staff brings thousands of hours of coaching experience with these young age groups. Joy of the People is about bringing joy through skills and creative imagination.  Soccer how it should be and it all starts here. If you have not already, you simply must try Joy of the People.

JOTP SUMMER TECHNICAL PROGRAM REGISTRATION


Summer Skills Program
Saturdays June 4 - July 23 (no session July 2)
 

• Whippersnappers  Saturdays 10-11am (free play 11-12)  $55 
• Shooting Stars  11am-12pm (free play 12-1pm)  $55
• Technicians 12pm-1pm (free play 1-2:30pm) $65

To Register

Look at soccer in the US.  Imagine a pyramid with competition being the highest level of soccer and team practices being the second level, generally this is the limit to kid's experience today.  

JOTP focuses on the "lost foundation," a third layer, of free play and individual skills mastery (deliberate practice). This foundation, is what kids are best at.  It is the the learning and socializing on the neighborhood parks in free play. And, is also perfecting that free throw all by yourself until you get it right.  If you play sports, this time spent is the best of your lives. Time and time again great players site these foundational hours as their favorite, and the key to their creative development.  We call this the "Foundation of Joy."

This foundation should be the first priority.  Without this foundation of joy, kids miss out on the most important hours of  skill development, creative skills, enjoyment and learning. Yet in the US this foundation is given almost no attention.

We focus on this foundational level of  development.  That's it.  At JOTP  kids are encouraged to participate in free play each week, we create inviting, exciting  and imaginative environments, with spaces and core values to respect the game and each other.  And it's always free, no charge, safe monitored setting.  Our goal is to set aside 1000 hours a year to allow kids to experiment and grow. 

Free play alone does not develop players, recent studies on expertise point to deliberate practice, a vastly different thing then you are likely to find at your typical soccer club. It's sometimes fun, sometimes hard work, all the time challenging and improving performance. 

We carefully balance and benchmark  kids teaching the right things at the right time in the correct doses, U10's spend much greater time at free play as they build social and technical strengths, they participate in very little DP, while a U18 may have the balance of their training focused in Deliberate Practice and performance improvement.

Recent studies using hockey have shown that those who participated in the most free play (pond hockey) as kids were able to handle the increasing amounts of Deliberate Practice as they became young adults. These players were least likely to burnout, more likely to continue playing and enjoy the game for life.

Just a few of our growing skill mastery department (5 years from now everyone will train like this)

• -Electronic training/testing equipment to give the player immediate feedback on physical and technical skills. Our Just Jump and Run system is what is used in NFL combines.  It is a fun and accurate way to track key areas of improvement.

• -Tennis Ball Machine.  The problem, how do we get better at ball striking when were stuck indoors? How do we  maximize repetitions of ball control? How do we make it fun, exciting and beneficial?   With the ingenious use of tennis ball machine we not only solved the problem, we set a new standard.  Want to have a blast hitting 90 repetitions a minute?   If a player can control a tennis ball softy, or hit it dead solid perfect, a soccer ball poses little difficulty.  We are producing the next generation of Ball strikers, finishers and ball control magicians.  The results are amazing!  You have never seen anything like this...but you will 5 years from now.Until then it's only here.

• -Creative skill Development.  This is our signature.  We have been developing the creative ball handlers for 20 years.  Soccer at the highest levels is an Artistic sport.  We teach it that way.  

Sign up for one of our programs today and start building the Foundation of Joy.

"We worked on three things only: skills, skills and skills."
      --Gerard Houlier, on the famed Clairefountaine French Youth Academy

We focus on age appropriate  individual technical development.  Our programs are fun, skill based, fast paced, and productive.

Juniors (U5-U8)--introductory program to get your young athlete off to the correct start with the tools and excitement of discovery.  The young game is all about finding joy with the ball, not passing and team competition.  Your son or daughter is sure to enjoy this program, setting them up correctly for a lifetime love of the game.

U9/U10 The key years of learning matched by the very best skill development program.  With master coaching, cutting edge skill curriculum, deliberate practice and the building of  free play, JOTP is sure to produce the next generation of soccer players. Click here to read more

Project 10,000 -- (U13+)  Special program directed specifically at individual development.  P10K program assesses current level, identifies strengths and weaknesses, focuses on deliberate practice and tracks the progress of the improving athlete.  Special online tracking system allows players to observe their progress and teaches the young athlete that they are in control of their development.

See the sidebar age groups butons for a program that's right for you.

Back to the Future

Futebol De Salao vs Futsal

The names are sometimes interchanged depending on which country you are in or from, but the games are quite separate. Futebol de Salão is played with a size 2 ball with virtually no bounce. Aside from the ball, the rules are not greatly different and it is true that Futsal has evolved from Futebol de Salão into FIFA's chosen version of a 5-a-side for the world.

FIFA attempted to take over control of Futebol de Salão in 1989. Plans to televise the sport were doomed to failure, caused by the ball being to small to be seen clearly on TV. However, FIFA still seized the chance to make money by selling a new version the game around the world.

They introduced new rules and renamed the game 'Futsal'. One of the most controversial changes was the reduction of the balls weight and increase in ball size (from a size 2 to 4), which made the ball visible on TV screens for the first time.

It is clear to many South American Players that Futsal is more of an adult game and lacks the characteristics of traditional Futebol de Salão that have proved so beneficial to generations young Brazilian children.

Futebol de Salão remained widely played in Brazil right through to the early 1990's before FIFA's insistence on Futsal as the global game took hold. Whether Futsal has the same benefits to young players as Futebol de Salão is doubtful and there is a growing body of academic research which suggests that it would be best for children to play Futebol de Salão and adults to play Futsal.
 

"The version I was introduced to in Brazil and played here was the origional Futebol de Salao," said Ted Kroeten, SPFC's director. "The size, weight, and extreme low bounce of the ball created tighted spaces and faster, more creative problem solving. The first two years of our Club program to kids in the late 90's used an FDS ball, kids showed more improvement and seemed to like it more.  Then the balls changed and you could no longer find FDS balls.  The new balls were bouncier, lighter and we moved forward with them.  But the game was not the same, not as fast, and for kids, I always wanted to return to the great developmental attributes of FDS."

SPFC will still use some Futsal training, it is still a good developmental tool, especially for adults and leagues and tournaments, but by going back to what is proven, FDS training under coaches and a club that understands the game and how to teach it, Futebol de Salao will facilitate SPFC's mission to produce  the next generation of skill players. 

Research led by Anders Ericsson and others regarding the acquisition of expertise is changing the way soccer (indeed all skills) is taught. Recent popular books including Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and Danny Coyle's The Talent Code, expand on that theory and find real world examples of the development of expertise.  All of this forces us to look closely at such things as talent, effort, precociousness and success, challenging our ideas, philosophy and technique of teaching young players.  The way we look at development has changed.

Players are not born, their made, there are the 3 essential key ingredients:

1) Correct Accumulated Practice

So starting at the earliest ages movements and techniques done correctly give players the early start their bodies are ready for.  With these recent discoveries technical movements become even more paramount.  Mindless practice doesn't cut it; content needs to be correct and practiced the right way.  Going slow, repeat the trying parts, and correct mistakes. Fluidity and speed will come as you accumulate correct movements.  Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task - playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

2) Inspiration

"Working hard is the greatest skill of all"   --John McEnroe

Training in the "flow state" of  true deliberate practice is not easy.  If you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good. Most people naturally don't like to do things they aren't "good" at. So they often give up, telling themselves they simply don't possess the talent for math or skiing or the violin. But what they really lack is the desire to be good and to undertake the deliberate practice that would make them better. At SPFC we specialize in building that desire.  By showing kids the possibilities and pathway of the learning process.  After all, whether it's soccer or chess, or a musical instrument,  learning is a  as a lifelong long endeavor.  Building that love of the game is our specialty.  We understand it and we have the track record of great kids and skillful soccer players to prove it.

3) Master coaching

Building expertise during these years requires help and feedback and guidance from disciplined, committed, teachers who tell the student what he can't tell himself. The development of great skill seems to require the help of people who have the ability to grow talent in others. Building inspiration, providing the correct movements at the right times, and overseeing the learning process.

At JOTP we will focus on these 3 important aspects to build the next generation of creative players. Click here to find out more about our programs.

Programs that inspire lifelong learning. 

Who: Boys and Girls 9-12

When: Wednesdays May 5-June 30 (9 sessions)

Time: 5pm-6:30pm (free play 4-5pm)

Format:  

Indoors and outdoors

• 30 minutes ball skills
• 30 minutes 1 v 1 or 2 v 2
• 30 minutes 4 v 4
• Lots of fun!

The very best in technical instruction led by Ted Kroeten.  We focus on what kids can do with a ball.  From the new rainbow technique (not the old one that never worked!) to modern, functional moves, to repetition methods for ball striking, JOTP are training the next generation of skill.  We will make use of the center and all of it's surfaces to maximize learning.  Our goal is to  see how much fun we can have!

Tuition: $125

Sign up here

Look at soccer in the US.  Imagine a pyramid with competition being the highest level of soccer and team practices being the second level, generally this is the limit to kid's experience today.  

JOTP focuses on the "lost foundation," a third layer, of free play and individual skills mastery (deliberate practice). This foundation, is what kids are best at.  It is the the learning and socializing on the neighborhood parks in free play. And, is also perfecting that free throw all by yourself until you get it right.  If you play sports, this time spent is the best of your lives. Time and time again great players site these foundational hours as their favorite, and the key to their creative development.  We call this the "Foundation of Joy."

This foundation should be the first priority.  Without this foundation of joy, kids miss out on the most important hours of  skill development, creative skills, enjoyment and learning. Yet in the US this foundation is given almost no attention.

We focus on this foundational level of  development.  That's it.  At JOTP  kids are encouraged to participate in free play each week, we create inviting, exciting  and imaginative environments, with spaces and core values to respect the game and each other.  And it's always free, no charge, safe monitored setting.  Our goal is to set aside 1000 hours a year to allow kids to experiment and grow. 

Free play alone does not develop players, recent studies on expertise point to deliberate practice, a vastly different thing then you are likely to find at your typical soccer club. It's sometimes fun, sometimes hard work, all the time challenging and improving performance. 

We carefully balance and benchmark  kids teaching the right things at the right time in the correct doses, U10's spend much greater time at free play as they build social and technical strengths, they participate in very little DP, while a U18 may have the balance of their training focused in Deliberate Practice and performance improvement.

Recent studies using hockey have shown that those who participated in the most free play (pond hockey) as kids were able to handle the increasing amounts of Deliberate Practice as they became young adults. These players were least likely to burnout, more likely to continue playing and enjoy the game for life.

Just a few of our growing skill mastery department (5 years from now everyone will train like this)

• -Electronic training/testing equipment to give the player immediate feedback on physical and technical skills. Our Just Jump and Run system is what is used in NFL combines.  It is a fun and accurate way to track key areas of improvement.

• -Tennis Ball Machine.  The problem, how do we get better at ball striking when were stuck indoors? How do we  maximize repetitions of ball control? How do we make it fun, exciting and beneficial?   With the ingenious use of tennis ball machine we not only solved the problem, we set a new standard.  Want to have a blast hitting 90 repetitions a minute?   If a player can control a tennis ball softy, or hit it dead solid perfect, a soccer ball poses little difficulty.  We are producing the next generation of Ball strikers, finishers and ball control magicians.  The results are amazing!  You have never seen anything like this...but you will 5 years from now.Until then it's only here.

• -Creative skill Development.  This is our signature.  We have been developing the creative ball handlers for 20 years.  Soccer at the highest levels is an Artistic sport.  We teach it that way.  

Sign up for one of our programs today and start building the Foundation of Joy.

"We worked on three things only: skills, skills and skills."
      --Gerard Houlier, on the famed Clairefountaine French Youth Academy

We focus on age appropriate  individual technical development.  Our programs are fun, skill based, fast paced, and productive.

Juniors (U5-U8)--introductory program to get your young athlete off to the correct start with the tools and excitement of discovery.  The young game is all about finding joy with the ball, not passing and team competition.  Your son or daughter is sure to enjoy this program, setting them up correctly for a lifetime love of the game.

U9/U10 The key years of learning matched by the very best skill development program.  With master coaching, cutting edge skill curriculum, deliberate practice and the building of  free play, JOTP is sure to produce the next generation of soccer players. Click here to read more

Project 10,000 -- (U13+)  Special program directed specifically at individual development.  P10K program assesses current level, identifies strengths and weaknesses, focuses on deliberate practice and tracks the progress of the improving athlete.  Special online tracking system allows players to observe their progress and teaches the young athlete that they are in control of their development.

See the sidebar age groups butons for a program that's right for you.

Back to the Future

Futebol De Salao vs Futsal

The names are sometimes interchanged depending on which country you are in or from, but the games are quite separate. Futebol de Salão is played with a size 2 ball with virtually no bounce. Aside from the ball, the rules are not greatly different and it is true that Futsal has evolved from Futebol de Salão into FIFA's chosen version of a 5-a-side for the world.

FIFA attempted to take over control of Futebol de Salão in 1989. Plans to televise the sport were doomed to failure, caused by the ball being to small to be seen clearly on TV. However, FIFA still seized the chance to make money by selling a new version the game around the world.

They introduced new rules and renamed the game 'Futsal'. One of the most controversial changes was the reduction of the balls weight and increase in ball size (from a size 2 to 4), which made the ball visible on TV screens for the first time.

It is clear to many South American Players that Futsal is more of an adult game and lacks the characteristics of traditional Futebol de Salão that have proved so beneficial to generations young Brazilian children.

Futebol de Salão remained widely played in Brazil right through to the early 1990's before FIFA's insistence on Futsal as the global game took hold. Whether Futsal has the same benefits to young players as Futebol de Salão is doubtful and there is a growing body of academic research which suggests that it would be best for children to play Futebol de Salão and adults to play Futsal.
 

"The version I was introduced to in Brazil and played here was the origional Futebol de Salao," said Ted Kroeten, SPFC's director. "The size, weight, and extreme low bounce of the ball created tighted spaces and faster, more creative problem solving. The first two years of our Club program to kids in the late 90's used an FDS ball, kids showed more improvement and seemed to like it more.  Then the balls changed and you could no longer find FDS balls.  The new balls were bouncier, lighter and we moved forward with them.  But the game was not the same, not as fast, and for kids, I always wanted to return to the great developmental attributes of FDS."

SPFC will still use some Futsal training, it is still a good developmental tool, especially for adults and leagues and tournaments, but by going back to what is proven, FDS training under coaches and a club that understands the game and how to teach it, Futebol de Salao will facilitate SPFC's mission to produce  the next generation of skill players. 

Research led by Anders Ericsson and others regarding the acquisition of expertise is changing the way soccer (indeed all skills) is taught. Recent popular books including Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and Danny Coyle's The Talent Code, expand on that theory and find real world examples of the development of expertise.  All of this forces us to look closely at such things as talent, effort, precociousness and success, challenging our ideas, philosophy and technique of teaching young players.  The way we look at development has changed.

Players are not born, their made, there are the 3 essential key ingredients:

1) Correct Accumulated Practice

So starting at the earliest ages movements and techniques done correctly give players the early start their bodies are ready for.  With these recent discoveries technical movements become even more paramount.  Mindless practice doesn't cut it; content needs to be correct and practiced the right way.  Going slow, repeat the trying parts, and correct mistakes. Fluidity and speed will come as you accumulate correct movements.  Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task - playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

2) Inspiration

"Working hard is the greatest skill of all"   --John McEnroe

Training in the "flow state" of  true deliberate practice is not easy.  If you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good. Most people naturally don't like to do things they aren't "good" at. So they often give up, telling themselves they simply don't possess the talent for math or skiing or the violin. But what they really lack is the desire to be good and to undertake the deliberate practice that would make them better. At SPFC we specialize in building that desire.  By showing kids the possibilities and pathway of the learning process.  After all, whether it's soccer or chess, or a musical instrument,  learning is a  as a lifelong long endeavor.  Building that love of the game is our specialty.  We understand it and we have the track record of great kids and skillful soccer players to prove it.

3) Master coaching

Building expertise during these years requires help and feedback and guidance from disciplined, committed, teachers who tell the student what he can't tell himself. The development of great skill seems to require the help of people who have the ability to grow talent in others. Building inspiration, providing the correct movements at the right times, and overseeing the learning process.

At SPFC we will focus on these 3 important aspects to build the next generation of creative players. Click here to find out more about our programs.

Great new option to take advantage of, flexible punch cards may be used for camp dates, overspeed sessions or any combination.

2011 Overspeed/Summer Camp Punch Card Registration with Joy of the People.

May be used for overspeed technical training, camp days, or both in any combination

Punch Cards:
SIngle Session ($40.00)
5 Pack ($150)
10 Pack ($225.00)
20 Pack ($299.00)

Summer OverSpeed Hours
Monday - Friday 7:30-8:45
Saturday 1pm-2:15
Sunday 12-1:15
 
With our dedicated training center, modern testing and timing equipment, and focused training protocols that you will not see anywhere else, your athlete will find out where they are, what they need, and take action toward improvement. All that and have fun!