We focus on the three principles we believe are critical to a player’s long-term success in soccer:

• Love of the game: Establishing a love for the game is the club’s primary focus. Players who learn soccer in an environment of fun learn quicker, learn more, have greater retention, and are more adept at transferring what they have learned into a game. In effect, happy soccer players are better soccer players, and those are the players we strive to develop.
   
• Dynamic, engaging training: Instead of route training sessions chalk full of drills, we create a dynamic training environment that keeps our players physically active, mentally engaged, and appropriately challenged: a performance playground, if you will. We educate our players primarily through the use of small-sided games, letting the game be the teacher. Within this framework, the coaching staff uses deliberate, randomized training methods to maximize our players’ problem-solving abilities, tactical IQ, and the technical mastery of dribbling, shooting, receiving, and passing that will adequately prepare them for the future.
   
• Effort over outcome: The number of wins vs. losses during a season is irrelevant to us at this stage. We make a point of applauding our players’/teams’ efforts, because we are more concerned with the work put into a match than the ultimate outcome. We provide an environment that gives players the freedom to make mistakes, allowing them to be more confident and creative in their decision-making and problem solving during the game. Players learn how to be a good teammate and how to work as a unit to achieve a goal, with an emphasis on sportsmanship, integrity, and fair play. Our aim is not just to create good soccer players, but also to support the development of good kids.

Interested in becoming a sponsor of Westbury Soccer Club?