Competitive/Club Soccer Program
About Competitive Soccer
Galaxy competitive soccer was formed in 2006 for players who need more than recreational soccer and want to take their game to the next level. Every player needs a stable, but competitive environment in which to develop. We offer an age based curriculum that brings every kids ability to fruition. We currently have 9 teams for boys and girls from U10 to U19. By joining the Galaxy you’re joining a big family. Although soccer is the focus, it’s a truly cultural experience. The kids and parents travel together to different tournaments, meeting different people from different back grounds. In recent years, the NWISC teams have played against teams from Australia, Brazil, England, Columbia, and Canada. From exchanging pins at the USA cup to holding team swim nights, nothing is quite like it. We select only the best coaches in NW Iowa to run our teams. Every coach is professionally qualified, has been state authorized and is very passionate about the game and giving the best club experience possible.
How Adults Take the Joy Out of Sports (And How We Can Fix It)
We have all seen it.
I was recently watching a 12-year-old boys soccer game, and I saw it again. Like a deer in the headlights, the left defender on the blue team was seemingly stranded on the field and unsure where to go or what to do. He turned to one sideline, where his coach is urging him to “step up, get tight on your man, don’t let him get the ball and turn.”
He turned to the other sideline, and there is his dad, telling him to “drop off, that player is faster than you, don’t let them play it in behind you!”
So what does he do? While he should be focusing on the game, instead he has to make a choice. Do I ignore my dad, whom I have to live with, listen to on the car ride home, and spend an entire week with before my next game? Or do I listen to my coach, who is my teacher, whom I was told to listen to and respect by my dad, who has the power to give me playing time, or sit me on the bench when I don’t listen?
Is it any wonder why so many kids look confused out there? Why they play tentatively? Why they are afraid to make mistakes? Why they don’t seem to be learning anything? Why they stop enjoying the experience of playing sports?
Is it any wonder why so many kids quit sports, when the only choice they are faced with every weekend is to willfully ignore, and in their eyes disrespect, an important adult authority figure in their lives?
We all love our kids, and we want the best for them, but in this oftentimes race to nowhere we call youth sports, our words and actions are not helpful to our kids despite our best intentions. They hurt performance instead of helping, and that make sports a place of disappointment instead of enjoyment.
Many kids quit sports when the enjoyment is gone, for enjoyment is one of the three key components of achievement and long-term participation in sports (autonomy and intrinsic motivation being the other two). For some reason, many adults have been convinced that sports can either be competitive, or fun, but not both, and they could not be more wrong. This happens because people do not understand...
Read MoreImportance of Playing Pick-Up Soccer
Borrowed from North Shore United Soccer Club:
"[We] would like to highlight the importance of pick-up soccer for player development. We hope that our players and parents embrace these ideas after reading this and try to play as much pick-up games as they can. Structured sports activities and unstructured activities both contribute positively to youth player development. Informal sports, known also as pick-up games, are games organized and controlled by the players themselves. These games are unstructured and do not have official, standard league rules. First and foremost, participants choose to engage in informal sports for personal involvement, inclusion and to have fun. For example, players get involved in setting up rules of a pick-up soccer game based on availability of field space and equipment. Participants decide rule modifications and assume the role of referee by making their own foul calls. They get to choose teams and deal with undecided disputes that the game presents to them. Pick-up soccer is very valuable for players’ development because of its high level of action for the players which creates excitement and many scoring opportunity for both teams. Informal soccer games have modified rules and are not necessary restricted to time or goal limits, they can be prolonged if teams are having fun. If one team is dominant players usually stop the game and reshuffle players to have a more balanced and exciting game. Pick-up soccer is very important also to establish friendship before and after the games. In pick-up soccer winning is not the focus of the activity. The activity is about having fun, enjoy playing, exercising, development of players’ creativity, leadership and problem-solving."Article: Unstructured Free
Play Important for Kids