The Grasshopper Philosophy

History

In the mining villages of Durham and Northumberland in the northeast of England, they used to say that if you needed a soccer player, go to the pit head and whistle, and three center forwards would appear. This was one of England’s great breeding grounds of high quality soccer players. The “Northeast”, particularly in the 1930’s, was a depressed area with high unemployment. There was little to do. So the kids and the young men played soccer morning, noon and night. Similar conditions have been prevalent in the other soccer breeding grounds of the world, such as Europe and South America. Those conditions also continue today in some parts of South America and in the emerging soccer nations of Africa. Given those circumstances, where do the kids learn their soccer skills? They play small-sided soccer - 2-a-side, 3-a-side, 4-a-side - almost always with an improvised soccer field and often with an improvised soccer ball. It is from this kind of environment that most of the great players have emerged…..along with the average player who was still highly skilled in the basics of the game.

Generally speaking, those conditions do not exist in North America - and no longer exist in Europe. But the requirement to have fun, kick the ball and develop skills most certainly does. How to do it? By “structured spontaneity”. This play on words is indeed a contradiction of terms, but it is one for a purpose. Coaches need to recreate the conditions under which kids had great fun and learned the game. This is the purpose of Micro Soccer™.

 

“Big Soccer for Little People™”

First, we must acknowledge that we are not talking about professional soccer. This is about children and their first experiences with organized sport. Micro Soccer™ was developed by Mr. Tony Waiters. His record at youth and professional levels is impressive, however, it is in the less visible areas of the game where Tony has made immense strides for this and future generations. Tony is one of an elite group of international coaches who conducted the FIFA World Youth Football Academy around the globe. The Academy looked at the different considerations for youth coaches at age levels from U-6 through U-18. His coaching credentials are beyond reproach including; NASL Coach of the Year, Coach of the NASL Soccer Bowl champion Vancouver Whitecaps, Canadian national team coach of the 1986 World Cup squad, Canadian Olympic soccer coach for the 1984 Olympics, coach of the European Championship winning England youth team, and a member of FIFA’s Panel of Instructors. Tony is also the author of over 15 soccer education books. Grasshopper Soccer is proud to say that Tony is fully behind our program and acts as an advisor in all of our activities. To have someone of such experience and credibility supporting us gives Grasshopper Soccer an edge that is the envy of many involved in soccer. Traditionally, soccer programs for the beginning player have been viewed from an adult perspective with the 11-a-side game as the reference point. For too long, the children’s game of soccer has been a diluted version of the adult game. Novice players have been regarded as small adults - not young children. When it comes right down to it, kids just want to kick the ball. In 11-a-side, there is ONE ball among 22 players. This produces the ‘swarm’ that we are all familiar with. Even in 7-a-side soccer the ‘swarm’ continues. All the players want to kick the ball - and why shouldn’t they?

 

“The game is the great teacher” - Bobby Howe

Micro Soccer™, a 3-a-side game, uses simple game rules. Its practices have been developed to give the coach and the novice player a simple formula that guarantees fun, skills development and a fundamental knowledge of soccer in such a way that a child can understand. The basis of Micro Soccer™ and the reasoning behind 3 V 3 is: - Accepted educational psychology states that children relate to and cooperate better with one or two friends rather than large groups. - One ball amongst six guarantees the opportunity for all players to kick, dribble, and score! - Three makes a triangle - the basic unit of soccer. - The 3-a-side game has always been played naturally by youngsters around the world. The great players have developed from this type of environment. - Children do not play naturally in the USA. Street soccer is not a part of the North American sports mosaic. - The fun practices produce skills development just by playing. Micro Soccer™ uses the fundamental team unit, three, as the basis for learning and having fun. Although there are skill building exercises related to Micro Soccer™, the emphasis is on playing not on formal skills learning which can come at a later stage of development. The learning of formal skills has little relevance to young soccer minds. In the Micro Soccer™ team unit there are no players waiting in line, everybody is involved and nobody is bored. A trip to any local school will show you that that this is most often not the case at present.

 

Grasshopper Soccer uses the acronym FEAST which best explains our philosophy.

As with all feasts, the coach must be careful not to give more than can be comfortably digested. In Micro Soccer™ the game becomes the teacher. Each player is given the opportunity for lots of contact with the ball through the small number of participants and the simple nature of the game. Children will learn simply by playing. The coaches/volunteers are then able to better organize, encourage and supervise the practice. A more experienced or confident coach will therefore have greater opportunity to help players with tactical decisions and mentor more effectively. It’s important to note that because the equipment in almost all cases already exists at the school site there are no special purchases necessary to put Micro Soccer™ into action.

 

“The giving and taking of passes is the essence of football” Bill Shankly

In 1970, Bill Shankly, the great architect and builder of Liverpool Football Club, made the game simple to his players and to everyone he met. To him, the giving of passes (kicking the ball) and the taking of passes (controlling the ball) were the two most important skills in the game of soccer.