Atlantic Soccer Factory (ASF) worked with Atlantic United’s U-10 girls this week. The weeklong camp was held in Galloway Twp., N.J.
ASF trainer, Dan Fairhurst, coached the girls all week and was happy with the way the girls progressed.
“They worked really hard for me,” exclaimed Fairhurst. “Although our main priority was to become better soccer players, I also made sure the girls enjoyed themselves in the process”
Coach Fairhurst was able to combine work and play by putting the girls through drills designed to be challenging as well as competitive. It is no secret that kids enjoy competition; by keeping score during some of the drills Coach Fairhurst was able to get more out of his players.
The drills were designed to improve the girls’ foot-skill as well as empower them with more confidence when they have the ball at their feet.
The girls learned several ways to change direction with the ball, leaving their opponents in the dust.
In addition to skills and drills, Coach Fairhurst exposed the girls to block defending. This simple yet effective defensive scheme is used by some of the top professional clubs in the world, including the hometown AC Crusaders.
The girls picked up the defensive tactics very quickly and within a matter of minutes were able to consistently stop a group of five attackers with only three defenders.
Like most groups, the Atlantic United girls’ favorite portion of training was the scrimmage. Coach Fairhurst separated the group into two teams and let the girls do what they love to do, play soccer.
Although the girls had the freedom to play their style of soccer during the scrimmage, Coach Fairhurst periodically halted play to reinforce coaching points he had made earlier in the training session.
It was a pleasure working with these girls and they were noticeably better soccer players by the end of the week. We wish them the best of luck in their upcoming season and hope to have the honor of working with them again.
