"I have seen the future!” Something that I have always pondered is how the current level and standards of the game are ever going to improve. Today’s professionals have spent their childhood being groomed to step into the limelight as the pinnacle of their profession. What more could they possibly do? The room for improvement of the top level modern day footballer is minimal. Or is it? Article by Pat Johnston, United States Soccer Federation A Licensed Coach and journalist.
On a cold January evening at an indoor facility in Blackburn, England, my perceptions of what youth development is and what it can achieve was forever changed. I witnessed a group of 7 and 8 year old boys touch and move a ball at a tempo that I never thought possible at that age. The first thought that came to mind was that I was witnessing a “mini Arsenal”. There are few teams that come to mind when the phrase “beautiful football” is mentioned. I think the most successful was the Arsenal squads of Arsene Wenger late last century and earlier this decade when they were in full song and playing without restraint. These kids were on their way.
To understand why Matrix Training is such a revelation, one needs to understand the current accepted norms of player development. While this is an oversimplification, young players (ages 6-12) are taught how to be comfortable with the ball at their feet and collecting it with any part of their body while keeping their head up. The focus is on the improvement of the abilities of the individual and not the collective. Muscle memory is the mantra of the technical gurus of the modern game.
The time has come to expect more. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if a kid was able to do all of the above while understanding the tempo and rhythm of the match around him? Besides understanding it, what if he and his teammates had the ability to increase or slow down the tempo to suit the current need of the collective? When I think of a player who has the ability to control the rhythm and tempo of a match, Cesc Fabregas comes to mind. Always available for a pass, pressure or not, he can collect a ball and release a pass which allows his team to break out of the tight areas and find the space to exploit going forward. Now, imagine a team with 4, 5, 6, or even more with this capability; appealing in every sense of the word.
Now imagine that all a coach has to do is spend some time initially in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the session showing the players what is expected of them and then steps back and says nothing or very little. The players teach and communicate the requirements to each other. They problem solve while instantaneously developing their basic skills. They have to move in ways that are directly related to the game and be aware of what is going on around them while developing the most basic of their skill sets. They are presented with scenarios which allow them free expression of what their solution would be to a game like situation. Thus, bringing the concept of “free play and expression” back into a game that has become so structured and clinical that it may be every developed nation’s need to have the kids from the slums of Africa and Latin America become naturalized citizens to put some flavor in their vanilla.
I am not alone in my admiration of Matrix Training. The UEFA grass roots program has endorsed Matrix as the finest curriculum available for player development today. The purpose of this branch of UEFA is to specifically find and/ or create the best curriculum for the improvement of youth development. They have chosen The Matrix. Take a few minutes to review the links on this page and maybe you will too.
Matrix
SOCCER ACADEMY
