#PLAY365

WHAT IS IT? 

#PLAY365 is Joy of the People's effort to combat the runaway costs youth sport while improving the outcomes for kids and communities. More kids, more kids who enjoy playing--better players, better community--you can't get one without the other. Our motto is As many and possible, as long as possible, in the best environment possible.,

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FOR PLAYERS

One cost of $36.50 provides access to all programming including freeplay, Rice and Beans, fall, spring and summer camps, futsal, even tournament and leagues--for one year (up to $5,000 value). 

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Spaces limited

Deadline August 31, 2022

all programs will be offered at the cost of 

$36.50 per year:

Futsal

Soccer

Skill Programs

Rice and Beans

Summer camps

Leagues/tournaments

FreePlay

Every

Day

All

Year

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• Access to all programs including camps, skill programs, tournaments, leagues, events, (for those joining Rice and Beans-spaces limited).

• Season tickets to all Goats (Semi pro men's and women's futsal (NFPL) and Outdoor teams (NPSL, WPSL)

• Season pass to  streaming of all Goat games

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MEMBERSHIP 

Let's build a better future. By becoming a member you will be part of in important change that trail-blazes a better future. We are throwing everything we have, all our resources, our innovation, our spaces, our ideas, everything-- at making this happen,  We need your help.

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EXPLAINED

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FACING DOWN PAY TO PLAY

Youth sport is a 20 billion dollar industry in the US. Yet kids are dropping out of youth sport at an alarming rate. Why?

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If we follow the money we find that Youth sport is built on dreams. The 10 year old kid doesn't just dream of being a professional, they want to be the best that ever was.

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But the education we give them is far from 'best.' Instead It is rife with anxiety, competition and physical and mental overload. The better you are, the more the travel and pressure. to win. With runaway, rising costs of  "pay to play" system we have seen the poor outcomes. low skill, low motivation, burn out, and even leaving the sport.

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JOTP presents a real alternative. The highest levels of skill and play without the burden of selection, 'elite' development, travel, and now, costs. What if you could develop kids closer to home who love the game, play with their friends, and build community? Those kids bring real value. 

 

For 12 years now JOTP has led the world in the understanding and the delivery of Freeplay, and with it a safer, more efficient developmental system. 

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We asked ourselves 3 questions 1) Is pay to play a problem? 2) Is Joy of the People uniquely positioned to help? 3) Should we do something about it?

 

As many as possible As long as possible In the best environment possible
 

Consider Rice and Beans for your son or daughter. You will not look back,

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OUR STORY

In Brazil, where superlatives take on a life of their own, "joy of the people," is the nickname for Garrincha, the storming, unstoppable right wing that many consider more vital than Pele in bringing in the '58 and '62 world cups. He was poor, from the favelas of Rio, he was born with one leg shorter than the other, he was smallish, Garrincha means "little bird." To practice he took a ball to the local schoolyard and challenged the kids to take it from him. He was temperamental and eventually saw his career and life cut short through poor lifestyle choices. But, no one, before or since, could move with the ball like he could. Pictures of him cutting the ball, flying in from the outside toward the goal show him darting at insane angles, bypassing 2, 3, and more defenders, . He was unstoppable, His movement was mesmerizing, and when he played the people felt the joy.

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That joy is the joy of the playground, the innocence of youth, the return to the purity of sport. It is what we all hope to see in ourselves, in our kids. Well into his forties and coaching at Barcelona, The reporters asked the great Johann Cruyff why it was he continued to participate in the 6 v 6 scrimmage at the Barcelona first team practice, "Because," he said, "sometimes, for a moment, for a brief moment, I am 25 again."

Joy of the People is about soccer development, not just kids but everyone, to adult and beyond. About learning. About joy. About making friends along the way. When all is said and done that is what we will remember.

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What are the keys to growth in soccer? What Can these clues about soccer growth teach us ourselves and about learning in other ares? . What is it that makes us grow in sport? Learn? What can we learn from the pursuit of mastery? For over 40 years I have played, coached and studied youth, adult and now masters soccer development, how we learn? how and why we stop?

 

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ELEVATOR PITCH

Remember the good old days of sand lot baseball, pick up basketball and pond hockey games? Play brought everyone together and together they learned how to play. Joy of the People is an exciting new model in soccer development capturing the power of play.

 

Joy of the People is a 501 (c)(3) that promotes the idea of soccer free play as a way to build healthy kids and communities. At JOTP, we believe that

soccer should be inclusive, fun, creative, and cooperative long before it becomes competitive, growing their love of the game, discovering the Joy of play, Joy of friendship, Joy of creativity, and the Joy of the people.

 

PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM

“I didn’t have my first coach until the age of 16. I believe in play early, learn late.”

—Michael Jordan

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Youth Soccer clubs around the US (and the world) are having difficulty developing, retaining, and inspiring kids. Right now a movement is growing that questions the current rec-developmental-travel-competitive-elite model that believes the best kids need to be brought together as soon as possible under the best coaching against the highest competition possible. This has been the dominant model in youth sports and has led to poor skills, over competition and burn out.

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Current model

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Best kids

+ 

Selection

+

(more) Best kids

+

Best coaches

+

Best competition

=

Best development

 

Clubs have responded to this low skill/burnout problem not by questioning the model, but by ramping up variables. More tryouts, more elite programs, specialization, more travel, more coaching.  

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SOLUTION

"Evolution (play) is cleverer than you are"

--Orgel's second rule.

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The Powered by Joy model is a revolutionary change from the dominant youth competitive model

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Kids

+

other kids

+

Free Play

+

leadership

=

Development

 

Powered by Joy (PBJ) provides a coherent, important sport model that places the child at it’s center. Many soccer and sport clubs, parents and players are ready for this functional, accessible developmental pathway that provides a better way to grow their kids, families and organizations.

 

INTRODUCTION OF THE MODEL

"We were looking for exceptional kids and what we found were exceptional

Environments” --Benjamin Bloom, Developing Talent in Young People

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Today our kids are over scheduled, over coached, and overworked. Too much focus on winning stifles creativity and individual growth. With a high degree of drop out and burnout, and questions around poor player development and overall enjoyment, many have begun to look at development models to better serve our kids. There is a need for a new model.

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Joy of the People presents a long term player development model called POWERED BY JOY® (PBJ), an approach to person-centered sport that combines Free Play, with long-term planning and an understanding of human development. It was shaped by integrating current research on talent development and assessment, with retrospective development history of expert performers.

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Looking expert performing players, talking to them, speaking with coaches and reviewing the literature, those players grew up are far different then they do today:

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1.They played at it first, a lot, mostly without coaching

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2.They worked at it second, coming to a club, academy or under mentorship later (sometimes much later) in their careers, getting serious about the sport at the age of sometimes 16!

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If this is how the best players developed why not replicate it? If it’s important why not place it in the curriculum?

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The PBJ model is an essential guide to improving the quality of kids and communities as well as developing high-performance athletes, and creating healthy, active citizens. It offers parents, coaches, and sport administrators a deeper understanding of how kids develop, helping them create an enjoyable, developmentally appropriate environment.

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