• U17 Red Bull
• U16 Red Bull
• U15 Red Bull
• Cardinals
• Netforce
• Courage 92
• Synergy
• Courage 94
• 97 Boys
• Rockets 97
• Hotspurs 98
• Pride 99 Girls

Team Philosophy

Our team philosophy is that young soccer players need to build a proper foundation of technical skill and creativity before they will ever be able to compete at high levels later in their career. Through their first four years of travel soccer, this foundation should be very strong, but it's not nearly finished being established. Just like a tall building needs a strong foundation, soccer players who desire to reach their highest potential must have a strong technical foundation and the ability to use creativity to solve on-the-field problems. We believe this foundation can and should be taught in a fun, yet competitive environment, filled with positive reinforcement, room for experimentation, and ample playing opportunities. We want our players to be the best they can be on the field, but also want them to love the game for a lifetime regardless of where their playing days take them.

What we don't believe in is constantly telling players what they are doing wrong, or punishing them because they didn't win. We don't stand on the sidelines and  tell every player what to do everytime the ball comes near them. This approach to coaching youth may win games when all teams need is a couple of super athletes, but it only stiffles their creativity and the very willingness to take risks on the field that leads to real learning, and the development of truly great players.

We want to win soccer games today, and do our very best to do so. But ultimately, our team's success will be judged by how many of our players go on to star in high school and college. And no matter how many games we win at U12 or U13, if a player isn't having fun, constatly playing with the ball at home, watching soccer on TV, and in complete control of their own career, then they're never going to stick around the game long enough to learn the tactical side of the game, which can only be taught well in later years.

The Difference

What's wrong with most youth soccer teams today? Most teams that win EVERY game in sight below u14 do so with constant player turn over, with coaches forever seeking out players with more athleticism, or more advanced skills than those within their existing roster or even within their local club. They build teams for their own ego, replacing the need to focus on individual player development with the choice to simply find a "better" player to bring into the team. For these coaches and many of their team's parents, the win comes first, then the team, then the players. This is appropriate only in professional or collegiate soccer, not in developing young players.

Their loss is our gain!
The irony is these coaches rarely spot players with the most long term potential right within their own club or even within their team. Spotting a player with potential takes a keen eye from someone who has played the game for a lifetime themselves - which this team has. Players with potential obviously posses raw talent, but at a young age speed and size of the player are not nearly the only indictors of their potential. Less noticeable to most, but even more important than athleticism are the traits of game intelligence, creativity, experimentation, coachability, and a never ending thirst to work on things they haven't yet mastered.

Our coaching staff stands behind our players as long as they continue to improve, work hard, maintain their passion for learning new things, and strive to be winners without using winning every single game as their only judgment of progress. In our first four years of existance, we NEVER cut a player, but it is the age now where some players either get it or they don't. No matter what their skill or level of success to date, in order to take the next important step in development, a real FIRE must burn from within to imporve and give it their all every day. 

 

Winning Feelings

A Courage player will be a winner for life on and off the field, but will also never be afraid to lose! A player who is afraid of losing, will never have the COURAGE to learn how to win against the odds that both life and soccer will surely throw their way. We challenge our players to take on more than they think they can handle, because nobody learns to be a winner by taking the easy road. This approach has brought our team tremendous success on the field - as evidenced by our record - but we win through proper development of superior techniques, tactics, speed of thought, and decision making. We don't win by stealing more athletic players from other teams or making half the team sit on the bench for the whole game whenever things get a little rough. The qualities we emphasize at the youth level are the same that any professional coach will tell you make great players in the older years, and are the types of players they want on their College, Olympic, National, and Professional teams.

Make no mistake, when we step on the field, winning the game is the goal. However, we don't judge our team success by whether or not we win every game. We refuse to sacrifice the long term development plan simply to focus on winning every game at any cost. With each passing season, winning will become a better judgment of our true success, but it won't be until u15 that winning really begins to have an impact on our players' future because that is when success on the field can translate into life-changing opportunities for individual players. But even then, our biggest judgment criteria for success will remain the measure of the RATE OF DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESS our players achieve. By using this measure, we believe we're easily the best team in the region today, and we invite you to join us anytime.

Our team goal is to play in Division I in WAGS and to win state cup,  but we want to acheive this for the players' sake, not for the coaches ego. It would be a hollow victory to win state cup at U15 without a single player on the roster from U12. That's simply not the point of all this hard work.

Measuring Success

Progress of a team and it's players is made over several years with an ultimate goal in mind. There are no short cuts in player development period. Any short cuts taken to the win column now, will come with major consequences in later years when the players discover they don't have the necessary skills foundation to separate themselves from the competition.

We don't measure the success of 12 year old girls soccer by the number of wins in our record, we measure it in the visible progress in player development, the continued desire to improve, and in whether or not our players and families have truly fallen in love with world's greatest game.

Each season players are tested in a series of measurable technical areas - most involving a ball, but others measuring speed, quickness, and coordination. Each season we also provide written evaluations of each player and conduct both parent-coach meetings AND player-coach meetings. In the player-coach meetings, the player and coaches agree to a series of specific goals for improvement, and those goals become the common focus between player and coach.

Ultimately the best measurement we can use to gauge our success as a team is how much in soccer and in life each of our players achieves relying on the strong foundation they received in their years with the Courage? They not only need the skills, they need the passion for the game that will enable them to work as hard as they need to achieve their goals as both a player and person. To that end, we fully expect to see each of our players on the fields in college - and even higher if they so choose!

Teaching Methods

In training we emphasize a balance of technical skill, creativity, individual tactics, and the beginnings of basic team tactics. For technical, we teach "first touch" receiving as the most important overall skill, then ball handling skills, passing, and finishing. With confidence gained from proper skill development, we also emphisise creativity, which comes through the encouragement to take risks under pressure situations. Why first touch as our first most important skill? Soccer is a thinking sport, and the more time you have to think, the better chance of making the right decision and the more time the player will have to execute that decision. If it takes four touches to get the ball under control, the fifth touch usually isn't made by choice, but out of desperation because the defense if already applying high pressure on the ball. Controlling the ball with one touch is perhaps the only universal skill possessed by all accomplished players.

Woven into all of these skills is the basic team tactic of maintaining possession to create scoring chances. In achieving success as a player, we teach patience on the ball in order to make the best decision, and the use of creativity in that decision making as well as executing the decision. Knowing where to be on the field without the ball is also a big emphasis. We teach that every decision should have a purpose in mind, and expect our players to understand the choices they have at any given moment on the field of play - with or without the ball at their feet.

We plan all our practice sessions in advance, with a season long plan on practice topics developed before each campaign begins. This is a living plan, but solid in sticking to eight major subject areas of player development - Passing, Receiving, Dribbling, Finishing, Heading, Throwing, Goal Keeping, and Creativity. At this age level, we don't spend entire practice sessions preparing for individual games based on any particular opponent, or spend hours of valuable training time working only on set plays they may only present itself a few times a season. Our players are trained to think for themselves, to be creative, and to take risks in games. They desire is to win, but they don't fear losing. Above all, the game is the best teacher of all, so we keep a small roster so there is plenty of playing time to go around. We believe if we play our game to the level we are capable of, we can beat any team while still allowing our players to experience success through experimentation on the field. Nothing teaches better than trying something new under the pressure of a game situation, and having it work!

 

General Team Information

Travel
We do not believe in soccer dominating the extra curricular activities of our girls, and in fact encourage them to participate in other sports - if nothing else, for the cross training benefit to their growing bones and muscles. We also do not believe in dominating families' time year round by signing up for every tournament that comes down the line. We only require the team to participate in two tournaments per season (fall and spring), and fill in small festivals or scrimmages on a volunteer basis with plenty of guest players invited. When we do seek tournaments, we always request placement in Premier Divisions, and look for the tournaments with the best competition from as many different geographies as possible. We do not see a need to compete against teams in tournaments that we see in league play, but rather are looking for the more educational experience of competing against all styles and skills. Finally, we look at tournaments as a great chance to get out of town with a group and enjoy ourselves as a large team family. The parents have as much fun as the girls and often get hotels rooms bunched together, fill time between games with a movie, and swim. This said, parents are not required to travel with the players, and have ample opportunity to view their play because we video record nearly every game.

Budget
One benefit of less tournaments is an easing of the pocket book demands. Our seasonal family fee includes two tournaments, league registration, professional trainer fees, and a fee for equipment and player gear. The team also participates in fund raisers and actively seeks sponsors... all funds from which go to a future travel fund for the later years when travel by air plane will become necessary as we continue to expand our horizons and look to compete in national or international tournaments. Budgeted seasonal fee paid by each family is usually around $550, and goes towards the direct expenses of the team for that season.

Off Season Indoor, Training, and Time Off
Between official WAGS seasons, we have a mix of mandatory and voluntary training, as well as playing indoor leagues and futsal tournaments. In the summers, the team attends a residential team camp - usually in July. Outside trainers are hired to give a variation to the girls' development, and many guest players are cycled through during indoor play and noncompetitive tournaments. Players are given an evaluation and topics to work on at home with specific goals that must be achieved by the beginning of the following season. We do encourage players to participate in other sports, but also offer team events involving other sports such as basketball, flag football, and volleyball. Finally, we work very hard to provide "black out" times during the off season where players and families have no communication from the team whatsoever, with a goal of at least a full month in winter and one in summer to take away from organized soccer.

Tryouts and Guest Players
For information on FC Virgina Soccer or the Courage, email Chris Hummer or call 703.801.6020. We are actively seeking interested players (and great supporting families). It's never too early to express your interest in Courage Soccer and to make sure you are on our tryout invitation list. We have room on our roster now, and will need additional players for the fall 2007 season. We also welcome players at our regular training sessions... sometimes as a formal tryout, but also as much for the player to experience our training environment before deciding whether or not to officially tryout.