On the road to losing fourteen games in a row, we continued to stress certain items about the game at the high school level.Keep control of the ball. Make safe passes. Safe throw-ins, etc.Shield the ball until help comes. Pass the way that you are facing and never turn with the ball. Shield the ball! Look for three player combinations. (Worth an article all by itself.) Understand what you are doing. Most important…Have FUN. The best reason to play soccer.

So what happened the “Next Year?” I can hardly wait to tell you. WE WON. WE WON FOURTEEN AND LOST ONE! WE WON! We won the division title and advanced to the final four. It was the first time in the thirty-four history of the school that the soccer team won the division title. Coaches are calling us and asking for help and advice. We had the team (boys varsity) bumped up two divisions. Not one division but two! In the pool with the sharks. My players are all excited about next year. They are doing quickness training that I gave them. They work out in the weight room. They run to develop endurance. The JV players can hardly wait to move up to varsity. They are on a mission that we have given them. Play the game correctly. Win. Have fun.

Now that is the big one. Have FUN. Winning is fun. And winning comes when teams have a goal. A mission. And all is understood by all. An aside. Years ago I coached at Kings Point, the US Merchant Marine Academy and I gave a drill to a group of players. (First division college players). The captain came to me and asked why they were doing the drill. I replied, “Because I told you to.” I still remember that because I was wrong. I never explained why I wanted them to do that drill. I will never forget that day. And I have never done that kind of thing since. It is well worth an hour to sit in front of a chalkboard and explain why certain things needed to be done. Give the team a mission and a road map of how to get there.

I am sitting in the sunshine of Florida spinning my wheels, waiting for the season to start. We will be in a "black and blue” division. Touch teams and hard work. The kids know this, and they can hardly wait. Neither can I. I will be a little over seventy when the season begins. I feel like a kid!

Alan Maher

Editors note:
Alan Maher was keynote speaker at the National Soccer Coaches Convention (NSCAA) in Cincinnati. You can correspond with Alan Maher by writing to:
Alan Maher
340 Euclid Ave.
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
alanmaher@aol.com