PSA

Philosophy & Objective

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The following has been taken directly from the coaching manual provided to coaches within PSA.   

Welcome to the Premier Soccer Academy! Thank you on our behalf and on behalf of all of the children who will benefit from your coaching. This coaching manual has been written for you so that you will understand our philosophy for teaching children soccer, the PSA method, and the skills events your team will be participating in each Saturday before the games. Our goal is to effectively teach children the game of soccer in the most positive and fun way possible. In doing so we strive to help develop each child’s self-esteem and self-confidence.

The PSA philosophy is simple. We understand the importance of each child developing a positive self-image. Although organized sports are often used to help achieve this, many times it can be a negative experience for a child. Our main focus is for the child to have fun playing soccer. PSA believes the more adequate a child feels, the more fun he or she will have. Therefore, we believe the more skills he or she learns, the more adequate they will feel. By effectively teaching a child the skills to enjoy soccer with the PSA method, this is accomplished. Not only do they learn the skills and enjoy the process, they also develop self-esteem and self-confidence that motivates them to achieve a positive self-image and to continue learning and to have fun.

The PSA method for teaching children soccer is quite different from other leagues. We combine skill events (which are run by PSA staff) that the children participate in along with small sided game play. This makes up the PSA method.

PSA skill events are designed to teach skills and improve the child’s technique. The skill events not only cover all the different soccer skills, but they also teach the child the basic rules of the game. Each skill event relates to the age group of the child’s team. For example, one skill event combines dribbling and passing, another trapping and screening while another a throw-in or a corner kick. The events are always fun and have several different levels of difficulty. By participating in the event, each child earns tickets, which they use to redeem prizes from our prize booth, which is set up at the park every Saturday. The prizes serve as positive reinforcement in the form of immediate gratification.

Every child is heavily praised for participating in the skills events. Our staff is trained by the league founder and organizer himself and most are paid employees. All employees have been screened for arrests and/or convictions relating to any form of harm to a child. These employees are trained in a number of different ways to work with children. Along with the technical training, each is trained to offer instruction, encouragement, and positive reinforcement on every available opportunity. They are also trained to be positive with everything that they say and do with the children.

Each age group has different skill events that are specific to them. They cover the skills of the game and progress from week to week, combining different parts of the game, individual and team effort. The events are designed so the coach can use this as a format for practices. Each week the events are scheduled so that the team can be prepared in practice and become familiar with them before they actually utilize them during the game on Saturday.

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