Author: bestdayeverconsulting

For Coaches, Managers, GMs and Players here are five ideas or lessons that could help your team going forward into your next match or season!

1) Every team that has been successful has a way of playing that is their own!  Favored squad or not they have a way of playing that suits their team.  This is not to say they only have one way of playing ,quite the contrary ,these teams have an A plan, a B plan and sometimes a C.  So these teams can adapt within their own style.

2) Successful teams at the 2018 World Cup are good at set pieces!  They work on attacking and defending set pieces!  So far I have it at 38. This even means working on PKs. Teams  that have missed these have paid the price.  Creative and well worked offensively and tough and focused defensively!

3) Teams playing up to or beyond their potential have taken the field ready to compete! Whether they were favored or not they were ready with a plan to play as hard as they can from the opening whistle! The teams coming out on top also play all the way to the final whistle!  Competing from beginning to end is what the teams reaching their ceiling are able to do thus far in this tournament.

4) Possession stats have meant almost nothing! Two good examples of this are Russia vs KSA and Mexico vs Germany with both the winning teams having much less possession.  The teams doing well have been putting the ball into dangerous situations whether it be into the box or on the counterattack.

5) Those teams having a real team spirit have been able to get the most out of their squads!  When every member of the team is bought in from superstar to journeyman, those teams have been their best and the most successful.  Every teammate is willing to defend and work for the team.

At BDE we will be watching for more ideas and lessons along the way to help us become better at The Beautiful Game!

The World Cup is starting this week and the US Soccer fans, coaches and administrators are still reeling from not qualifying.  And by reeling I mean blaming different individuals, organizations and leagues, one of which that somehow got its fair share of blame was College Soccer.  College Soccer could be made better for the players and coaches for sure but it is my contention that many other of the best football countries in the world wish they had College Soccer.  It is unique to the US and we should and can, take those facets that make us different to make us stronger.  It seems we are always taking the latest football fad (the hot country or system) and trying to adapt to that, be it Spanish, Belgian, Dutch, German, African, Brazilian, French, English, Mexican or others.  We are not any of these, (because in a way we are all of these)we can learn lessons from them but we can not copy any one solely as what we should be doing.  The US way can include ideas from all of them just as our country is made up of all of them but we have to have a US way and that way includes college soccer.  We need to learn from others but copy no one!

Photo by Kevin McCartney on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Some reasons why college soccer is so important;

1) 18 and 19 year olds get a chance to play in meaningful matches that mean something to their teams and their teammates.  As many as 25 matches a year playing 70- 90 minutes a match.  That does not happen in the pro game here except for a handful of players (these players can move on without college soccer but they are not in the majority).   Add to these a good PDL type league and that is 35 matches with major minutes for these top players, much better than what they’re getting now if they turn pro out of high school.

2) Gives players a chance to grow as people from leaders that care that they do grow and are able to help them learn to take care of themselves.  ( If MLS would employ a department with each club to help these young players that might help them make this transition to adulthood and therefore a better career) This is already an important part of the college education so is not an extra cost item and is a goal universities and programs work to accomplish.

3) The facilities are incredible!  There are fabulous fields, great conditioning and regeneration facilities with staff trained to work with young student-athletes.  Again these are already there for the young athletes to use to help them develop physically.

4) The top US coaches have been college coaches or college players ( Arena, Bradley, Vermes, Gunn, Kreis, Berhalter, Cirovski,Ramos, and Marsch to name a few).  The top coaches learned to develop their players during the spring season and motivate their players to improve away from practice time on their own.  For MLS owners the college coach understands a salary cap.  He, also better than any others, understands the American player and how to help them reach their performance ceiling.  If we are looking at the US current top player, we need college coaches to have more children and raise them around the sport?

5) The college programs teach players; What to eat, How to sleep,Proper regeneration and recovery,  How to focus, How to be a good teammate, and many other tools to become a better athlete and person.

Above are a few ways College Soccer is ready to or already making a difference but let’s also throw out some ideas in making it better;

Lengthen the season as far as weeks to play the matches although most schools do not play matches on back to back days as they do in the DA.  The addition of even 3 or 4 weeks helps spread the matches for better player performance and welfare.

Reduce the number of substitutions starting with at minimum no re entry in a half and only 3-5 subs per half on 2 stoppages to make these subs.  (Would actually like to see MLS add a sub being a summer league or even more toward young players being used think about getting an extra sub if he is 22 or under?)

After a winter break teams can train with the ball, as a team 10 hours a week.  Would help with both development and also allow for recovery with 2 days off a week.

Not in favor of changing the clock as actually the US College Soccer has that right as there is an accurate real number. Soccer is the hardest sport to officiate so the referee should not have to keep time also.

College Soccer is unique to the US so let’s use it and build on it to help make the sport here better.  Everyone is usually complaining about the pay to play, college soccer is an area where the players are not having to pay to play and will help their development. (Woitalla wrote a good article about making use of High School soccer to advance the sport, the same could be said for collegiate soccer).  College Soccer can be an advantage we have, so let’s recognize that and make use of helping college soccer better the sport and the development of young players.

Let’s Get Going! 

A group of Sea Otters living together can be called a float, a raft or a family.  BDE recently got to spend 9 days with the CSUMB Otters soccer team under the direction of Shane Carew. They are working together to become a highly competitive college soccer family.The Monterey Bay Area is beautiful and CSUMB is only blocks from the beach.  The Pacific Ocean is a great place for Otter soccer players to do their regen after leaving their 2 beautiful grass soccer fields (one for training and the other for matches).

Sea Otters eat 25% of their body weight every day.  The CSUMB soccer Otters are a young team hungry to become better.  They are a team with a hard working staff making the best of all the resources they have in their area.Sea Otters will float in a “raft” when sleeping by holding on to each other’s paws.  These soccer Otters stay together by doing what the team needs in order to become better people and a better team.

Sea Otters are one of the few animals that know how to use a tool.  These soccer Otters have some young leaders that are driven to take the program to new heights.Sea Otters have great endurance, they can dive down to 300 feet and have a lung capacity of  2.5 times greater than similar sized land mammals.  The core of the CSUMB soccer Otters are pressing their fitness limits to achieve results this coming fall.

Sea Otters have the thickest fur of any animal.  The soccer Otters are building toward being the toughest team in their conference.

I did not know all these facts about either type of Otter but it is pretty cool to have the school mascot swimming a mile or so away from your field.  When you get a chance, go out to see the Sea Otters and the soccer Otters of CSUMB. They are both worth watching!

BDE looks forward to the next time we see the Otters of Monterey Bay!

It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.  I am both fortunate to be able to remember him and unfortunate to have the memory of him being cut down much too early.  My what great things he did accomplish and his words ring so true for us today.  His life was definitely dedicated to all of us having better days and better lives.  So BDE is asking all of us to remember Dr. King by doing an act of kindness in his honor today, tomorrow and for as long as we can.  Dr. King was only a human but such a humane one.

It is my belief that the true content of Ones character is shown in how we treat those with less power, that are less privileged, have less money and less status. Each of us in our own lives can make changes that make the planet better for all living things.

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Trying to do good stuff for other living things does make a difference in your own humanity.  In each of us there is good and bad, there is cruelty and kindness and there is darkness and light.  Let’s use Dr. King’s example and choose good, kindness and light.  Let’s allow ourselves to be inspired by MLK to be our best version of ourselves.

On March 20th I head out from Golden to work with the SC soccer program.  Not the programs in Columbia, SC or the one in Southern California, all very good programs.  I am headed to Sheridan College, to spend time with Tim Starr and his squad.  On the six hour drive up to Sheridan, WY, I pass more wildlife than cars to include thousands of antelope, many hawks, some mule deer and a couple of eagles.  Arriving just before a beautiful sunset behind the Big Horns.

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On the morning of the 21st I meet the team for the training at Sheridan HS before the sun comes up.  The field is turf, coated with a thin layer of frost and the stadium lights on and everyone is eager to get started for their first training after spring break. The Sheridan College team has had one spring match and is looking forward to a second match versus D2 opposition again on Saturday.  During this session I am mainly observing to see what the strengths and weaknesses of the team might be and how the team responds to the training ideas of Coach Starr.

The team ends training with some 6v6 action with the feeling that all are glad to be back playing and that there are better days ahead for the Generals.   Tim and I spend the rest of the day exchanging ideas about what the student athletes need and how to help them reach their potential.  We discuss the areas that need to be covered in the next 2 trainings and how we want to approach getting the team involved in their leadership.  We have a very good first day and Tim has his team headed in a good direction.

Day 2 we are again out on the turf stadium but this time the sun has just come up.   We are working on increasing the energy going into attack with numbers and still having those numbers coming back to defend.  We finished with some ideas in a 7v7 to manage the match situation.

After a great Wyoming wake up breakfast Tim and I work together on evaluating what needs to be done before Saturday’s match and the Culture areas we should cover to build for the fall.

Day 3 we are again out on the turf just after sunrise for the training to prep for the match.  I take them through a fun and thinking warm up and then Tim takes the team for training exercises to ready them for the next days match.  The rest of the day Tim shows me what they do with the Playertek GPS monitors and then we make plans for the player meeting using ideas from “What Drives Winning” by Brett Ledbetter and from Glen Fisher and his Peripheral Vision company.

We have a good meeting with the guys about building for the fall and 2 of the areas they agree to make a focus are discipline and being unselfish.  These areas would be very important in the Saturday match.

Match Day begins with a 3 hour drive.  The team gets ready quickly and the match begins on a smallish turf field with a 20 mph wind against the Sheridan College team.

Stephen Hawking said “Intelligence is the ability to adapt”

Tim Starr coach of the Generals is showing a great deal of intelligence as by the end of the match only 5 players are where they were originally set out to play and he has had to totally change the system of play because of injury and lack of numbers.  In the end playing with the 2 reserve GKs as forwards, the team earns a hard fought draw.  The team took a good step forward as they showed discipline and were unselfish in their play as all of the team had to do what the team needed even if it meant them taking on an unfamiliar role.

Galvanize- to shock, excite, or motivate into action.

In our beginning work together BDE, Coach Starr and the student-athletes of the Sheridan College Mens Soccer Team are Galvanized to get better everyday.

Brad, what do you think?

Every team wants to be making progress for the individual players, for the upcoming season and for the program.  The Sheridan College Mens Soccer team and Coach Tim Starr are laying a good foundation brick by brick.

Is the Purple Bear a mythical creature, a character from a graphic novel, or a Marvel superhero to be the star of the next blockbuster film?   Having just returned from Conway, Arkansas the answer is yes and it is the Central Arkansas Soccer Program.  They are a team that has gone from losing their first seven matches the 2017 group played in the fall , to a program that won the MVC tournament to qualify for the Division 1 NCAA Championship Tournament.  The team is still rising!

How are the Purple Bears doing this?

They have student-athletes that are “bought in” to getting better and making

the efforts that help the whole clan succeed together.  The group wants to provide internal leadership to better follow the plan set forth to continue their rise.

The Purple Bears have a coaching Staff that is both courageous and creative.  Their leader willing to continue to push himself and his program moving forward.  He has brought in Dr. Dano to help the student-athletes grow as people and athletic performers.

Best Day Ever is pleased and proud to be able to have been a part of this rise and will continue to work with Purple Bears to help reach a new Best Day Ever!

In our eight days together we made progress in these areas ;

Getting the athletes to push their ceiling

Understanding their role within the program

Believing in themselves and their teammates

The culture and character continues to improve

Working alongside the staff to help the Legend of the Purple Bears to grow.

The Purple Bears have student athletes that strive to succeed, they have a staff with a hunger to stride forward and a department that supports them.  The blockbuster could be coming to a theater near you in the fall of 2018.

Best Day Ever can only help if you want it to happen, but if you do, then we can do!

As an individual athlete, a member of a team or part of an organization you will have goals you want to reach.  It is the suggestion of Best Day Ever to do an assessment of your character strengths (or your teams or organizations) to help you know what path you can and should follow to get to your target.  Many suggest first looking at your flaws or those traits that will be barriers to success.  It is my belief to look at the positives that you possess that will move you closer to the desired outcome.  So let’s try it,as looking at the positives increases confidence and belief in making your Best Day.  “What Drives Winning” by Brett Ledbetter uses Performance traits and Moral traits with performance being those character traits that make you a better athlete (performer) and moral being the characteristics that make a better teammate (member of the organization).  Another friend Glen “Fish” Fisher of “Peripheral Vision” uses the terms Personal Muscles and Interpersonal Muscles to list traits that will lead to personal and group success.  Both these sources list Hard Working as a first trait in both their lists as I think we would all agree this should be given.  If you don’t have Hard Working (paying the price through effort) as a part of your character repertoire then you are not going to reach your potential as an individual or a contributor to a team and you are not reading this blog to find the best way.  So go to these sites, find your strengths, 3 from each.  Then figure out how you can use your strengths to take steps toward your desired outcomes.

My strengths toward making Best Day Ever a success-

Competitive /striving to be your best- will drive me to find a way to make this a source that helps teams, organizations and individuals

Resilient/persisting after setbacks-keep going if not finding an easy path to start

Motivated/having strong reasons-remembering the importance of the purpose to keep pushing on

Honest/telling the truth-making adjustments based on fact, that changes are needed based on what is truth

Caring/investing in the person-the force that pushes you to stay after this goal is to help people, teams and groups be their best

Empathic/sharing the way others feel-understanding how others feel in both good times and bad and therefore help them cope with both

So now I have shared with you how 6 of my strengths are helping me toward my next Best Day Ever success.  Now it’s your turn!  Look at your Strengths and how they can help you toward being a better athlete, teammate, employee or person.

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I have been a lucky man to have lived a life with many Best Day Evers.  I have shared these days with Deb, family, friends, dogs, cats, and many athletes that I was lucky enough  to work with as a coach or mentor.  The feeling that at that moment in time, life is grand and that this moment is a fulfillment of a dream come true.  It is not that one moment needs to surpass another to be a Best Day Ever, it just in itself has to wash over you in a feeling of euphoria.  It could be setting a record for the 600 yard dash in the 6th grade or winning a match no one else believed you would win or winning a championship that a year ago was unimaginable to anyone but you.  It could be finding a special person to share your life.

Because I have had a good share of BDEs, that is what I want to help others to achieve and that is a new way I can continue to be a part of enjoying that wondrous spike of human spirit myself.  The Best Day Ever is ahead for all of us. We just have to recognize what we are looking for and how and who can get us there.

The other part of living for a Best Day Ever is living each day to make that day the best that particular day can be.  This is the toughest when you are facing challenges, particularly when it might be a challenge that surprised you.  We are all going to have bad days but the trick is grabbing on to something that makes this bad day the best it can be, to find a foothold that still makes you an inch closer to your next BDE. Making every day the maximum for that day, moves you closer to another special moment in which every heart beat brings you even more joy.  Every single day even those days that suck, find a way to bring yourself to making that day that sucks, better.  Do what you have to do to make this day we are living right now the best it can be and then you are without a doubt, one day closer to a Best Day Ever!

I want to thank all those that have helped me to have many Best Day Evers and to those I am going to have my next one with, I am working toward getting there!

So you have your Dream and you Believe it 100%!

As my friends at Nike say you Just Do It!

In order for this Best Day Ever to happen there needs to be a plan and there needs to be 100% commitments (as close as possible) to the plan.

To do it the plan has to be a means of getting you closer everyday to the BDE.  The plan has to be known by everyone involved as far as their part.

Everyday you take a step toward reaching that Dream and Belief increases everyday that you take a step forward.  Even on those days where it doesn’t end positive can still get you closer.

It will not be easy and there will be challenges if your dream is worthwhile and worthy of calling it a Best Day Ever.  Your plan will also need to change based on what is happening with you, your team and your program but you make your changes and you may have to up your effort.

As you get closer to your BDE it usually gets tougher, so focus, time and effort need a boost.  So many get within days, minutes and even seconds but because they did not keep going the sunrise on the Best Day Ever never happens.  Do It! We at BDE are here to help you make it happen!

After you as a player, a team, a program or any organization have a Dream of the Best Day Ever, you must believe it can come true.

It can not be something that you only think as the boys in “Dumb and Dumber” did ” so you’re saying there’s a chance”.  It must be an overwhelming passion that you believe if you make the proper changes and follow the path necessary the Best Day Ever is going to happen.

The only way you stick with it is knowing in every fiber of your being that the goal is ahead.  Because if it is a worthwhile Best Day, it will not be easy as a matter of fact it will be very very hard.  The plan only works if you believe, your teammates believe and everyone in your program believes in the plan and that this Dream will come true.

What a beautiful experience when you have a Dream that you believe in!