PREMIER SOCCER ACADEMY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why should I register my son/daughter for PSA instead of another local soccer Academy?
There are a few strong academies now in B.C.; however the coach MUST get to know the family (parents) and athlete’s personality before professional development can take its course. This is crucial for the coach to know and understand in order to technically develop each player and input short & long term goals. with each and every athlete. Where Premiere is truly different is our curriculum stems from Johan Cruyff's influence from Holland and Spain. His creation at Ajax in Amsterdam, Holland & Barcelona's (La Masia) Youth Academy is known to be the leaders in the world for youth development. Our TD has traveled to Spain to spend time to be tutored by TOVO Staff to implement the same principles.
www.tovoacademy.com
www.tovotraining.com
Cognition, Competence, Character
Furthermore, our Academy will coach, train, & guide/counsel each player in every soccer component. I could write a entire article on this question. If you have any further questions regarding your son/daughter soccer development, I will gladly spend the time in person or over the phone to answer any questions.
Why is private academy training better than your local club association training?
There are a numerous reasons why a private academy can provide better training than your local non-profit soccer club. Many reasons are small details that build into what I call “limitations” that damper the player’s mentality and life experience with the game, while others are quite significant and impact the environment immediately.
Starting with the significant differences, the coaches at private academies are in fact coaches. They are professionally trained youth coaches and have a true passion for developing youth. They usually have a significant playing background and in-additional hold coaching licenses from hopefully a respectful high ranked FIFA country. Many academy coaches also have sports science university education on top of their coaching licenses and on their own time are always continuing their education because they are always wanting to learn and strive to get better. Academy Training addresses the significant need of individual improvement by using technical / cognition sessions that the club either can’t supply or just completely neglects. The extra session in the week helps to address the need and requirement for proper training frequency per week. To properly excel in the sport, training should minimally be 3 - 4 sessions per week if the child wants to have any chance at striving to be a talented, well rounded soccer player.
Some of the Local Club's limitations can be:
1. Training only one hour per session.
2. Training once to twice per week.
3. Training 24 / 7 on artificial grass (turf).
4. Training on a quarter of the field (Limited Space)
5. Having rep minded players training with recreational minded players.
6. Limited training equipment
7. Using updated curriculum that has no cognition base
8. Not having the appropriate coaching staff on-board (Technical Director, Head Coach, Assistant Coach (2), Goalie Coach
9. Player’s not receiving assistance / guidance in what their opportunities are after grade 12 or what the path is to post-secondary options.
10. Limiting develop to one environment. Premier uses Futsal as a development tool in the winter and also provides a warm & dry space to focus & learn.
So you need to ask yourself, if you want to give your son / daughter an actual soccer experience and give him / her the opportunity to learn the game for how it should be played, or allow volunteer coaches who have very limited knowledge in youth development.
What does PSA coach?
The Academy coaches a technical relationship with the ball thats linked with cognition training. Before a player does any technical action with the ball, a perceived thought and decision is linked with it. Not only does Premiere want the player to establish a technical "international standard" with the ball but also a high cognition standard as well. Our training environments have layers such as ball control in tight and congested areas where decisions have to be made quickly using a 6 step decision step process. These will be the deciding factors not only in every game situation but the difference between: Metro to HPL, HPL to Provincial or National levels, and University to Professional. Other layers we add are: tactics, position specific training and objective knowledge, fitness testing, & strength and conditioning.
What is the Academy’s Goal for the future years?
The Academy has long term goals for its own development and structure. We want to take youth development to be extremely personalized in every development component. Our approach is to have the exact development model as a European Academy; from coaching quality to training components offered. In the future we will be striving towards scheduling games with other local soccer organizations and in the United States. We are currently working on a project that will be released in 2020.
What age range is permitted?
At the moment we are accepting applications for participants of ages 9-16
What is the ratio for coach to players?
Player Ratio - 1:12 Max
Goalkeeper Ratio – 1:4 to 1:5 Max
How do you manage your groups?
The Academy focuses on small groups in order for the coach to help each player's technical development. This way coaches can illustrate proper technique through verbal cues and physical demonstrations. As participants mature, they can be moved around depending on their technical & mental progress. When a player technically progresses, the coaching staff can offer a more challenging group to train with.
Do goalkeepers have specific training sessions?
Yes, we conduct specific training sessions for goalkeepers from the beginning of April to the end of September. Goalkeepers will also participate in exercise applications involving the training group if the application requires them.
From October to March goalkeepers are brought indoors to take part in the Futsal curriculum where they will focus on: individual foot skills, reaction saves, being fearless in-front of goal, accuracy in distribute throws and enjoying a different environment.
Do you give out report cards?
Are parents allowed to watch or visit during training?
During our outdoor sessions, parents can watch / visit training sessions if they stay within a safe distance from the coaching environment. At the moment, our futsal sessions are a closed environment due to space management and to create a safe, stress free learning environment.
Are the training fields on natural grass or artificial turf? Also, are any sessions indoor?
The majority of PSA’s training sessions are on natural grass. We believe artificial turf is ONLY for poor weather situations. Most establishments in B.C. conduct sessions on artificial turf, leading to possible negative impacts such as:
- Increase of short and long term injury ( long term knee, tissue, joint, and meniscus damage )
- Various healthy and safety issues
- Toxic Unknowns ( several new cases in cancer studies )
- Poor Development Philosophy
Our Academy uses indoor futsal training ( futsal curriculum ) during the winter months. Removing players from the harsh weather elements and letting them concentrate on technical skills indoors is not only practical, but uses a key development component (futsal) AND refreshes the players mental state (sports psychology).
What are some training components PSA offers that currently other local soccer Academies are not?
- Video Analysis
- Injury Prevention & Strength & Condition Program
- Indoor Futsal Training
- Regular usage of grass fields
- Personal short & long term guidance
- Futsal Teams
- High Performance Teams
- Direct University Recruiting, player highlight videos and profiles
How did PSA start? And why?
That is a 15 year story that Coach Shawn will happily tell over coffee.
Does the Academy operate sessions all year round?
Yes. Using a periodization method, PSA conducts training sessions all year. An increase or decrease in training volume occurs in specific times of the year. This will depend if it’s: in-season, off-season, or pre-season.
What happens if my child misses training sessions due to sickness, vacation, or other events?
If one of our athletes is sick, injured or cannot attend our training sessions for longer than a month we will re-adjust the NEXT term's invoice to reflect the absence. Player's who miss training due to a short term injury, short term sickness, 1 to 4 week holiday, attend's a birthday party or live sporting event / music concert, etc will not be refunded the training session in any shape or form. Thanks for your understanding.
How important is the futsal training component?
Simply put, futsal is the best kept secret in youth soccer development. It is used as an essential developing tool in many in the leading soccer nations. Please revert back to the program page where our futsal information is listed and explained.
Do you require my child wear a uniform for training?
Yes, Premier has mandatory training gear. We have an online store through Soccer City.