Tag: Football Soul (page 1 of 3)

Swati Salgaocar Follows in Her Grandfather’s Footsteps

Based in Vasco in football-crazy Goa, Salgaocar FC has been around since 1956. The club was founded by Vasudev Salgaocar, the founder and President of the V M Salgaocar Group of Companies. Passionate about the sport, Mr. Salgaocar decided to form the club to give local youth a platform where they could showcase their talents. After Goa’s independence from Portugal in 1961, Salgaocar was the first Goan team invited to participate in the prestigious Durand Cup in 1962. Although they did not win, they performed so well that the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, felicitated the team at his residence.

Salgaocar FC

Salgaocar FC’s First Team
Source: Salgaocar Football Club Facebook Page

In the 1990s, the team went from strength to strength, winning everything from the National League to the Federation Cup. Although, they didn’t perform as well in the early 2000s, they made a hugely successful comeback in the 2010-2011 season by winning the I-League once again. This season, their U-15 team ended the zonal round of the U15 Youth League at the top of the table. They were the only team in the group to end with a positive goal difference, finishing 5 points clear of the runners-up. And they managed all of this by making sure they invested well in their grassroots programme.

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Innovative Ways to Develop Coordination in Kids

Lauri Pihkala, a Finnish coach, and one of the first people to receive an honorary doctorate in Sport Sciences, once said something that holds true even today. He said: “Boys, don’t be in a hurry to join the men.”

Simply put, it’s important that we let children be children, and don’t rush them into becoming the world’s best football player at the tender age of 7. Kids need to be given the time and space they need to be able to master their physical coordination skills. They need to learn how to balance themselves properly while playing sport. For children between the ages of 4 and 8 especially, motor skills, balance, posture, spatial reasoning and agility are far more important than learning how to actually bend a ball like Beckham.

As coaches and parents, we sometimes forget that kids just want to play a sport for fun, or to learn, and we end up trying to teach them skills that they are far too young for, because we want to see them win. Kids need to master their bodies before they master any sport. While standing on one foot for at least 10 seconds, or using the agility ladder are common methods of helping kids develop their physical coordination, it can sometimes be boring and quite gruelling for the kids. Here’s how some youth trainers use exercise balls and balloons to teach kids the same kind of skills while making sure they have some fun!

PARA TODOS LOS QUE TRABAJAN EN LA PRIMERA FASE DE INICIACION (4-8 Años)Trabajo de psicomotricidad, equilibrio, postura corporal, localización espacial, aspectos coordinativos… Ejercicios estáticos o dinámicos que cultivan la conciencia del propio cuerpo y de la relajación de los músculos, con el fin de mejorar la postura y la coordinación de movimientos. ¿Qué os parece esta propuesta de sesión?A mi me parece espectacular!! Si un niño no es capaz de dominar su cuerpo…¿Cómo va a dominar el balón? Por eso hago tanto hincapié en estas edades en la realización de estos tipos de trabajos. Os invito a probarlo con vuestros niños y que nos cuenten como les ha funcionado. Un abrazo amigos, que paséis buen fin de semana!!!!! 😉

Posted by Agustin Lleida – Preparador Fisico Club Pachuca on Friday, February 12, 2016

Rio Ferdinand on Work Ethic

We often talk about sport for sports sake, or letting children play sport just for fun, but there’s one very important lesson that sport teaches us and it is the need to develop a solid work ethic to succeed in any field.

And this is what Rio Ferdinand, one of England’s best defenders, talks about here in this video. Speaking to youth at the Oxford Union Society on the importance of work ethic, Rio tells us that as players, leaders, managers and coaches, we need to be able to criticize ourselves first, before we criticize anybody else.

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Nothing’s Gonna Stop Him

We came across this video of George, a Gerard Deulofeu fan, uploaded by his dad, Dave Shaw on Twitter. Ain’t nothing going to stop this lad. What a great inspiration. A lot of us could do with some of that spirit!

May the force be with you, George! #NeverGiveUp

The original video can be found here.

Aavesh and His Dreams Shine at QPR’s South Mumbai Challenger

Aavesh Raheel - QPR SMJSC

Aavesh Raheel
Image Credit: QPR SMJSC Website

Mohammed Aavesh Raheel may be small-made, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming big. The 14-year old football player was one of the few making waves at the first weekend of the 7th edition of the Queens Park Rangers (QPR) South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger (SMJSC) last month.

He plays in a number of positions, from forward to goalie, and plays his heart out no matter where he is on the pitch. Although he only started playing football a year ago, Aavesh has a big dream – to play for the Indian national football team! But that isn’t all he wants to do, he wants to follow his passion only after completing his education and getting good grades. We wish Aavesh all the best, and hope that he continues to nurture his passion for football!

Read more about how the QPR South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenger has helped Aavesh to aspire for a better life on and off the pitch. Click here.

Everyday Heroes: Meet Jonathan Pitre

As stakeholders in grassroots football, be it parents, coaches or administrative staff, we often experience magical moments when we’re going about our work – moments when people, children especially, offer us much-needed doses of inspiration and love. Today, and for many days, months and years to come, Jonathan Pitre, a 14-year-old boy, scratch that, a 14-year-old superhero, from Ottawa, Canada is that source of inspiration.

Being a superhero isn’t always about wearing a cape and flying around saving Gotham. Sometimes, it’s just about being brave, and doing the absolute best you can with what you’ve been given. Jonathan is one such hero who refuses to let his condition bring him down or dictate his life. Born with a skin condition known as Epidermolysis Bullosa, or just EB, Jonathan went through many years of life thinking he was alone. Until he attended an EB conference in Toronto in 2012. For the first time in his life, he met others like him, and decided that he wanted to make a change.

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FutureStars Football Academy – Coaching Rising Stars

FSFA LogoFootball-loving brothers Saahil and Sanil Desai decided to set up FutureStars Football Academy (FSFA), a grassroots football academy in Mumbai in 2012. Their motivation behind opening the academy was to take their passion for football to the next level, and give young children a chance to be active while falling in love with the beautiful game. The brothers started playing football at a young age, and today they hope to pass on this love to all the children who come to the Academy. GFI had a chance to interview Co-Founder and Director Saahil Desai. Here’s what he had to say.

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Every Grassroot Coach’s Mantra*

*if it’s not, it definitely should be!

Grassroots Football Coach Mantra

Image Credit: Unknown

As grassroots coaches, and even parents of young footballers, it actually takes very little to inspire children. But, and that’s a big BUT, we’ve got to genuinely connect with the kids. A kind word, a pleasant greeting, a pat on the back, some constructive one-on-one criticism after training, checking on them after taking a knock, a little tip before the big game… small things can make a big difference. It can’t be a superficial show of affection. Mainly because children have a way of sniffing out bullshitters. What we say and do has got to come from the heart. And when it does, seeing that happy, incredibly energetic smile and being greeted super cheerfully in the morning, even though your life off the field may not be ideal, gives us more joy than any amount of money will ever do.

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Why Do You Love Football?

SEPT – Bringing Hope to Football in Kerala

SEPT Football Nursery

SEPT Football Nursery

“Those days, back in the 1990s, a footballer from Kerala was looked upon with awe,” remembers IM Vijayan, a native of Kerala and one of the greatest footballers India has ever produced. Reminiscing further, he says, “You guys are tigers, they used to tell me. Outstanding talents just continued to flow out of our tiny state. The quality of our players surprised everyone. We had V. P. Sathyan, C. V. Pappachan, U. Sharaf Ali, K. T. Chacko, Kurikesh Mathew, Mathew Varghese, Jo Paul Ancheri…”

It’s true. There was a time when Kerala footballers even formed the majority of the Indian national team. “I remember having around nine players from Kerala at an Indian camp,” says Vijayan. “And there were occasions when five of us actually made the eleven.” Since then, there has been a mighty fall from grace.

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