fall issue

IN THIS ISSUE:

GRAND SLAMCHALLENGETOP TEAMSPAGE 23

COLLEGEBOUNDINFORMATIONPAGE 43

TOP TRAININGFACILITIESON LONG ISLANDPAGE 53

BEST SOCCERTEAMSRATED INTHIS ISSUEPAGE 73

called “Luck and Timing”. Absolutely realizethat you have to have both in addition to allthe things you can control. Realize that a lit-tle of this is going to be out of your control.10.Finances: not everyone is going to beplaying ball on scholarship, or at least on fullscholarship. Decide if the cost is worth thesport participation. If you are reading this,the answer probably is “yes, of course it is”but realize an injury or a sudden lack of pas-sion means you still have the finances todeal with but none of the glory of the sport.Really weigh your financial realities.

All of this is meant to get you thinking – beit a parent or a player. Even a coach readingthis needs to understand that you are goingto be looking at some kids who have the re-search down pat and can impress you, butsome other youth will be just as impressivedeep down, but you may have to scratch thesurface a bit. Not everyone knows the insand outs of impressing a coach and a col-lege but may be an exceptional player, stu-dent and person under it all. It’s everyone’sresponsibility to learn as much as possibleand do what they can to ensure the best op-tions for all involved.

TO ADVERTISE: 516.380.6775 . ON LINE: WWW.LONGISLANDYOUTHSPORTSMAGAZINE.COM 52

Lacrosse and College Recruiting

Although many of the colleges want you tobelieve you have to be the top of the top forlacrosse college recruiting, that isn’t alwaysso. In fact, many times colleges are assum-ing that they are not looking at the top 5%because those student athletes may alreadybe spoken for.

Some things to remember:1.Grades count. Sure, ath-letic ability is important, butdo you have the grades to getinto the college admissionsoffice and catch their eyeeven without your sports abil-ity? You should have gradesthat support you as a well-rounded student, not just animage of a ball player alone.2.Do you know what a collegecoach values in a player? Is itthe same as a high schoolcoach or a teen-level coach?What do you bring to thecoach that is different fromthe myriad of other playersyour age and ability that makes you a stepabove? Can you bring the values to the teamthat your coach is looking for?3.What is your motivation? Not just “areyou motivated” but what motivates you? Is itfame, money or a passion for the game? Doyou work at your game based upon only yourmotivation? Do you have many motivatorsfor your game? This is important; becauseparents, students and coaches will need tounderstand the motivators.4.Are you motivated? As a verb, do youhave it? Do you have what it takes to lookinto adversity and tough times and stillshine? This is going to be important to be

able to display to prospective colleges andfuture coaches as this may be a tie breakertrait.5.Don’t wait until the last minute. Some stu-dents start as early as their freshman yearin marketing themselves to colleges. If youare a senior and haven’t started, don’t letthat discourage you, but do get moving onthat! Market yourself as early as you can as

a true athlete, because everymoment you are no exposingyour abilities, your peers are.6. Do you, or do you plan to,meet the core requirementsof entering college? If you area great player, it’s importantto have pretty good gradesand decent SAT scores.There are a myriad of Internetsites that can help you makesure you are not lagging, andyour guidance office should beable to help you. Again, it’snever too early to start work-ing on your sports collegiatecareer.7.Know the reality. Accordingto statistics, less than 15% of

high school lacrosse players will play collegelacrosse. Just know your realities so if youdon’t make the team, you are not devas-tated. It’s as important to know the realitiesof the situations as well as how to best getinto a situation. Never enter any situationblind to both sides.8.Look at the bigger picture. You may wantto play ball but you may also want to have acertain climate, social life and academicschedule that fits your desires. Look atmore than just the team; because you aremore than just a ball player.9.Do you have what it takes? It’s more thanjust the above. There is also something

LEARN TO KNOW WHAT A COLLEGE SCOUT VALUES IN A PLAYER

LACROSSE& COLLEGE

52 LONG ISLAND YOUTH SPORTS MAGAZINE . COVERING ALL SPORTS – ALL THE TIME

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

We have all been there, we have all beenthe new player on the team, or the youngestplayer in the league. You may look aroundthe rink and see all of the older players get-ting ready to play hockey, and that's whenyou realize that you don't know what yourdoing. Here are some tips that will help youget a successful start on the ice and somethings that you should do if you want to beproductive in the games that you play.

There are two things that every playerwants to do when they are playing hockeyfor the first time. The first thing that mostplayers want to try is goalie. The other thingthat players want to do is score a lot ofgoals on a goalie. If you do not want to doone, then you will probably want to do theother.

The first thing that I would suggest is that

you play goalie once to see if you like it. Ifyou decide that you don't like being a goaliethen you will never have to do it again. Also,make sure that you are talking to yourcoach to get as much help as you can whenyou are playing this position, every tip helps.

The other thing that you are going to wantto do is try scoring a few goals and gettinga few assists. The best way to score goalswhen you are young is to stand in front ofthe net when the puck is on the offensiveside of the ice. This will make you open forany rebound that you may get.

Also, make sure that you understand thateverybody else on the team wants to scorea goal as badly as you do. It would be amaz-ing if you helped them score their goals. Ifyou do this for them, then they will be morelikely to pass to you.


HOCKEYBEGINNERS

If you are reading this, something about the sportof fencing has piqued your curiosity. Maybe it wasan epic fencing battle portrayed in a movie or play;maybe your child has expressed an interest in fenc-ing; or maybe you fenced many years ago and thesport is beckoning you back. Fencing, an Olympicsport, is the art of attack and defense usingswords. Its ancestors include cavalrymen in 710BC, armored fifteenth-century knights, and duelistsin the 1500's who symbol-ized "trial by battle."Swordsmen practicing forduels modified their rapiersso that the points wereflat. These practiceweapons were the firsttools used in the study offencing as art. Fencing,which appeared in the orig-inal Olympic games inAthens, Greece, is alsoone of only four sports tohave appeared in eachmodern Olympics since1896. Fencing hasevolved into three disci-plines: foil, sabre, andépée. The foil teaches per-sonal control. It is the mostcommon starter weapon.The sabre evolved from the weapon of choice forcavalry troops, and is the only discipline in which theedge of the sword, in addition to the tip, can resultin scores for the fencer. ...epée, a descendant ofthe dueling sword, is sometimes referred to as"freestyle fencing," because it is not governed by thesame conventions as foil and sabre. Besides un-derstanding the names of the three fencing disci-plines, there is lots of "fencing speak" to learn if youare new to the sport. There are many web sitesabout fencing that include more glossaries. One ofthe most comprehensive is at http://www.fenc-ing.net/, but here are some examples: "Walkingthe strip," for example, refers not to Las Vegas but

to the electronically grounded surface on whichfencers compete. A beat is not something a police-man walks but rather one of three "attacks on theblade" that a fencer may make. An engagementdoes not involve a diamond ring but rather contactof the fencers' blades. A pool is not a sparkling bodyof water but rather a grouping of six fencers at atournament. Why do fencers choose to fence? Ina sport where individualism (tempered by discipline)

is valued, there are manypossible answers. Somerecreational fencers simplyenjoy the physical and men-tal challenges. Competitivefencers thrive on the oppor-tunity to compete. Youngpeople vying for athleticscholarships see an oppor-tunity to compete for schol-arships with a far lesscrowded field than somemore common sports. Oth-ers plan to parlay their fenc-ing skills into the theatricalarena. Fencing is a sport inwhich women can competeon an equal playing field tomen. Youngsters who startthe sport develop refinedanalytical and tactical skills

rapidly (and learn some life lessons along theway). Just as the fencer's mask obscures some oftheir facial expressions, the choice to fence issometimes inscrutable and mysterious. Famousfencers such as Grace Kelly, actor Jerry O'Connell,Neil Diamond, Jimmy Buffett, and even WinstonChurchill found something compelling in the sport.Less public fencers, including the wheelchairfencers participating in Paralympic games, experi-ence a rush of excitement each time they suit up intheir protective garb and begin to fence. Undoubt-edly you will experience a "thrust" of excitement toowhen you become involved, as an observer or a par-ticipant.

LEARN TO KNOW WHAT A COLLEGE SCOUT VALUES IN A PLAYER

MODERNFENCING


YOUTH BASKETBALL DRILLS YOU CAN PRACTICE ON YOUR OWN!

If you are participating in a youth basketballprogram, then you are well aware that inorder to excel in the game of basketball thatyou must practice. Although there is nosuch thing as "perfect," practicing does im-prove your game. Improving your game inbasketball is the best way to achieve not

only personalgoals that youhave set foryourself in bas-ketball, but alsoteach you thevalue of having astrong workethic. While it'simportant topractice as ateam and learnthe fundamentalconcepts of of-fense and de-fense from your

coach, it is equally important to practice onyour own outside of the team in order to seesignificant individual improvement. Improv-ing your skills individually will only help theteam as you become a more confident andproductive ball handler, passer, scorer anddefender. If you are not sure how to do aparticular drill, then the best way to learnhow to do it is to ask for help from yourcoach or a fellow youth basketball player onyour team. Once you have learned the basicset up of the drill, then you need to practicethe drills as much as possible in order tomake sure that you have the drills downwell. Here are some drills that you canpractice at home:

The fingertip drill - This is where you passthe ball back and forth in your hands. How-ever, you only use your fingertips.

Wall dribbling - This is where you dribble theball against the wall. Make sure your arm isat a 90 degree angle and alternate hands.

Jump rope - Jumping rope helps you im-prove hand eye coordination and also helpsyou speed up your footwork. Basketball is allabout speed on the court.

It is also important to practice other drib-bling drills such as the cross over, hesita-tion, behind the back, and between yourlegs.

Practicing is the key. If you are practicingbasketball drills alone, you can also work onyour ball handling drills. These drills can bepracticed alone and will help you tremen-dously during a basketball game. These arejust some of the many different youth bas-ketball drills that you can practice alone orwith other individuals. However, it is imper-ative that you practice alone when you canbecause that allows you to not worry somuch about having eyes on you while youpractice your technique. If you mess up,you're the only one who knows it, and youcan concentrate on trying to master theproper techniques.


Stringing a youth lacrosse stick is the sameas stringing a stick for an adult. The only dif-ference between the two is the size. Thestringing process does not vary for themost part. There are different methods ofstringing lacrosse sticks. One of the mostcommon methods is effective for providingextra ball control, which is important forthose still learning the game.

InstructionsThings You'll Need:• 4 leathers • 2 sidewalls• 4 nylon strings • 4 shooting strings

Step 1 Place all four leathers in the stickand pull them until they are taut. Theseleathers will stretch horizontally from left toright. Minimize the risk of loosening by plac-ing a small piece of cloth tape over theirends.

Step 2 Pick up the two sidewall strings andput them inside of the holes located on thetop of the head of the stick. Pull hard on thestrings to make sure they are tight whileholding the stick stable with your otherhand.

Step 3 Pick up two of the nylon strings andplace them next to you. These nylons shouldbe slightly shorter than the remaining twonylons. Tie a knot in the first of the nylonsyou placed beside yourself. Thread themesh nylon strings through the hole that islocated at the top of the lacrosse stick andthen lace it in between the outside leatherand the sidewall.

Step 4 Pull the outside leathers closer tothe sidewalls while you string the mesh ny-lons. Once the stringing is done, tie the ny-lons through a hole at the bottom of thehead of the stick.

Step 5 Loop the mesh nylons around themiddle leathers the same way you strungthe side nylons. Pull the middle mesh nylonsclose together and twist until tight.

Step 6 Take the longest piece of cross laceand string it in between the middle and out-side of the mesh. Do not string this tootightly, as it is the part of the stick wheremost of the catching occurs.

HOW TO STRING YOUR YOUTH LACROSSE STICK

STRINGYOUR STICK


BASKETBALLDRILLLS

COLLEGE OPPORTUNITIES AS A RESULT OF FOOTBALL SKILLS

Most parents know that top-notch col-lege football players can get scholar-ships.But those are rare. In the 2002 sea-son, two Monte Vista players got col-lege scholarships. In the 2003 season,another two did.

What is more common and less knownis the fact that being both a good foot-ball player and a good student can getyou admitted to many of the top col-leges with the highest academic stan-dards.

A good, not great, football player who isalso a good student, will typically be re-cruited by every top academic DivisionIII college he approaches. That list in-cludes:• MIT • University of Chicago •Pomona • Claremont • Williams •Amherst • Tufts • Johns Hopkins • Mid-dlebury • Bowdoin • Colby • Bates •Wesleyan • Grinell • Trinity • Washing-ton and Lee • Washington University St.Louis • Carnegie-Mellon • Rochester •Carleton • Hamilton • Oberlin •Macalester • Occidental • Willamette

This is also true of Division I-AA whichincludes the Ivy League. You have to bebigger, faster, and better to be recruitedby the Ivy League than by Division IIIschools.• Brown • Columbia • Cornell • Dart-mouth • Harvard • Penn • Princeton •Yale

In Division III and Ivy, the coach gives alist of the players he wants to the ad-missions office. They then admit manyof those players at lower, but still high,

standards than non-athletes. There isno athletic scholarship. Athletic schol-arships are prohibited in Division III andin the Ivy League. But support from thecoach enables players who would not beaccepted to the college in questionpurely on grades and test scores to getadmitted.Our defensive coordinator Dan Reedwas recruited by Columbia, Dartmouth,and Yale and admitted to those three IvyLeague colleges for his combination ofgrades, test scores, and football playingability. He was also recruited by everyhigh-academic Division III school he con-tacted. He chose Columbia and playedfour years there at tailback—earningthree varsity letters.

These are non-Ivy, somewhat high-acad-emic-standard Division I-AA schools:• Colgate • Georgetown • Bucknell •Lehigh • Davidson

They do offer scholarships, although typ-ically not as generous as the Division I-A scholarships.

There do not appear to be any DivisionII schools with high academic stan-dards. There are a handful of Division I-A (major football teams) that haverelatively high academic standards.These are full scholarship programs. Itis very difficult to be both good enoughto play for one of these schools and tohave the grades and test scores to getadmitted to them.• Stanford • Northwestern • Duke •RiceAlways keep your head up when you hit.


COLLEGEOPPORTUNITIES

In every sports or any activity that entailsstrenuous work, it is important to start withsome warm up exercises first. This is toavoid any possible injury, which results frommuscles that were not yet toned and condi-tioned before the activity.In fact, most health experts say that doingwarm up exercises increases the capacityof the person to withstand the activity or thegame.

It has been clinically proven that warm upexercises can ac-tually boost an in-dividual's workingability and canlessen, if noteliminate, thechances of injury.It is necessaryfor every bowlerto do somewarm up exer-cises since play-ing the gamecould put morestrain on the player than anticipated.

Here is a list of some warm up tips thatevery bowler should learn in order to playthe game well - minus the injury:

1. StretchingWhen doing stretching exercises that in-volve the neck and shoulder, it is best tohold each stretch for about eight counts toget utmost results. This will give the mus-cles enough time to condition.

2. Sweat it out!It is important to start sweating when doingsome bowling warm up exercises. The pur-pose of the warm up exercises is to raise

an individual's body temperature, at least by1 or 2 levels.

The point here is that when your body hasbeen warmed up, it will no longer releasemore heat when it is already doing in verystrenuous activity during the game.

3. Stretch those armsThe player's flexers and extenders should beproperly warmed up before playing thegame. This will enable the player's arms to

be properly tonedso that it canhandle the weightand strain of theball.

4. Breathe outDuring warm upexercises, it isimportant to dosome deepbreathing. It isbest to hold yourbreath for about

6 counts in between deep breaths in orderto condition the lungs. This will enable theperson not to tire so easily.

5. Warm up before stretchingEven if stretching is part of a bowler's warmup routine, it is still important to do somewarm up exercises before stretching thosemuscles. Keep in mind that stretchingshould never be painful.

These are just some of the few tips thatevery bowler must bear in mind when doingwarm up exercises that will ensure safe andcomfortable play throughout the game.

TIPS

BOWLINGWARMUP


IMPROVE YOUR GAME QUICKLY WITH CONSTANT PRACTICE AND A FEW USEFUL TIPS

Hockey is a not just a game of smarts; it's agame of skill that calls for precision. One mis-cue and your defensive man can steal yourpuck, aim, shoot and score, all in less than30 seconds. Obviously, it's a game that re-quires focus, strategy, quick thinking and top-notch skills. Although it admittedly takes yearsto gain the playing skills of competitive pro-fessional hockey players, amateurs can im-prove their game quickly with constantpractice and a few useful tips:

1. Work on both fore-hand and backhandwrist shots. You needthe variety and the al-ternative to getaround a defender ortwo. It would also behelpful to master abackhand shot off adeke. You don't wantto be too easy tostop. If you have ex-cellent forehand andbackhand wrist shots,your defenders won'tbe complacent. So deke and let out a calcu-lated backhand wrist shot. Just remember tobring the puck as close to your body to shieldit from defenders who'd be doing their best tokeep you from hitting one more hockey goal.

2. Learn to release a quick shot off the wrongfoot. Many times in the game, you'd catchyourself on the wrong foot - but with a wideberth for an open shot, especially on the slot.You must learn to take advantage of these sit-uations to maximize scoring potential. Plus, ifyou practice this technique often enough,you'd learn how to balance and brace your-self against the likely fall when a 250-pounddefender pounces on you to keep you frommaking that hockey goal. Practice with some-

one giving you a quick pass. Time your re-lease so that your puck is already flying to-ward the goal before a defender reaches youor the goalie reaches the end of the goal youwere aiming for.

3. Adapt drills. Inline drills can be adapted toice hockey and vice versa. Shooting tech-niques can be slightly different between inlineand ice hockey but the general principles arethe same. It's the same game of speed andprecision; you only need to adapt to location.

So get a drill bookand start practicingsome shooting drillsyou read on.

4. Watch andlearn. Use your tivoand the slow mo-tion button. Study-ing actual playsexecuted perfectlycan help you im-prove your tech-nique immensely.This isn't new, re-

ally. All professional athletes study their gameand their opponents' games watching hoursof recorded plays and hitting the slow motionbutton. Breaking down an excellent play intoits per-second bit helps you concentrate onthe minutest detail of execution. And as youapply it to your game; you have a way of tim-ing yourself against the ideal play. You'd behitting more hockey goals in no time.

Obviously, shooting techniques are intuitive.This is why practice is indispensable. Youhave to get to know yourself well as a player.Practice and you'd know which one works foryou. Don't be afraid to alter a technique tosuit your style. After all, as long as you playwithin the rules, the goal is it hit as many


IMPROVING YOURHOCKEY SHOTS

A lot of youth basketball players seem tohave trouble when it comes to dribblingor ball control, but if you put the time inpracticing the right way and learn theproper techniques then your skills willsteadily improve over time, guaranteed!You do not need to think that because youhave problems dribbling the basketballthat you are doomed and can not playbasketball. By starting with the funda-mentals of dribbling and using fun drillsto practice those techniques, you will seesteady improvement that will only makeyou want to practice more. You will alsofind that the better dribbler you become,the better your passing will be becauseyou'll be able to keep your head up andsee the court and open teammates. Im-proving your dribbling will also improveyour quickness as mastering various drib-bling moves like the crossover, hesitation,and behind the back will make you moreexplosive in going by defenders. Hereare some tips to improve dribbling:

Stay low to the floor

Keep your head up

Doing avoid the defender, but attack them

Don't move more than what is needed

Always practice with your weak hand sothat you can improve it

Use your off hand and body to protect theball

Practice changing your pace and speed

Practice on changing direction

Once you break through the defender, besure to keep your dribbling in front of youKeep in mind that when practicing drib-bling in basketball, it is all about keepingyour head up so you can see your team-mates and what's going on with the de-fense around you. It's important to beable to dribble with either hand so makesure you practice your drills with bothhands equally each time. So the ultimatekey to improving your basketball dribblingis to Practice, practice, practice! Prac-tice all of the techniques described aboveand you will be a dribbling machine in notime. You can also find other helpful tipsand techniques on the internet at siteslike Weplay.com where they have a libraryof skills & drills focused on just ballcontrol.

IMPROVE THROUGH PRACTICING THE FUNDAMENTALS

DRIBBLING


OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES FOR YOUTH LACROSSE

Offensive Strategies For Youth LacrosseWhen coaching youth lacrosse, it’s impor-tant to come up with a strong series of of-fensive strategies that can employed in avariety of game time situations. Whilelacrosse is similar in its offensive strategiesto field hockey and soccer,there are a number of uniquesituations that players andcoaches must prepare for.Here are a few of our team’soffensive strategies that canbe practiced as drills or exer-cises at your next lacrossepractice.

Offensive Strategy #1- Trailerplay

The first and easiest offensivestrategy to consider whencoaching youth lacrosse oc-curs when an attacker withpossession of the ball is run-ning it downfield and beingtrailed by another attacker from their offen-sive squad known as the trailer. There are anumber of options in this situation.

First, if the player with possession of the ballbecomes crowded with defense players,they can shovel the ball back to the trailer.To avoid running into the same defensivetraffic, the trailer should change pace andpull out from the fan, allowing their team-mates an opportunity to set up the play andspread out in an attempt to clear an alleyfor the trailer.

There is also the give and go option, wherethe player with the balls dumps it back tothe trailer then sprints up to the goal. Afterreceiving the ball, the trailer quickly passesit forwards to the original ball carrier, whoshould be in perfect positioning to take ashot.

If neither of these plays are possible or toyour liking, try the quick stick variation,where the player with the ball passes it tothe trailer close to the goal. Instead of re-ceiving the pass and cradling the ball, thetrailer quickly takes a shot on goal. The

trailer should shoot in the op-posite direction of the firstplayer’s fade.

Offensive Strategy #2- Stackplay

The next offensive strategy toconsider when coachingyouth lacrosse is a variationon the stack play that manybasketball coaches find effec-tive for confusing their oppo-nent’s defensive players. Theplay begins with one playergetting ball behind the goal.At the top of the fan the of-fensive players form a tightline facing the goal. When the

player with the ball calls “break”, all the play-ers break off in separate directions, whichshould mislead the opposing team’s defen-sive, causing them to bunch up and trip overthemselves.

In the meantime, the attack wing can makea quick break for the goal and start watch-ing for the pass from the player with theball. When employing the stack play, becareful that all your players don’t end upbunched up with the other team’s defense,which can result in players being caught inthe fan, including the winger who is sup-posed to make a break away for the goal.For a variation on the stack play, the playerwith the ball can choose to run it instead ofpassing it, especially if there are no passingopportunities available.


LACROSSESTRATEGIES

Kids love to be active and are usually full of en-ergy. Their natural instinct is to run aroundand explore all opportunities for having fun.However, as kids get older they are challengedto remain active. Increasing demands fromSchool, technology and the emergence of junkfood have restricted the amounts of time kidscan dedicate to being active.

As parents, its your duty to allow all outdoorand physical activities. Its not only your dutybut your responsibility to provide the neces-sary opportunities for them to be active byproviding sporting equipment and designatingcertain periods of the day for activity. Creatingsuch health patterns leads to the creation ofgreat lifestyle habits.

The benefits of being involved in Soccer andbeing active are the development of strongmuscles and bones. In a world that is battlingobesity, soccer is the easiest way to controlyour weight without being too conscious ofdiets and calories. Soccer lowers the risk ofdeveloping Diabetes and also creates a betterand positive outlook in life. Also it has beenproven that healthy, physically active kids dobetter academically, have greater alertnessand are usually more successful.

In the long run, activities such as Soccer helpbuild self esteem and confidence. Also theirsocial skills are improved significantly com-pared to a child that is planted in front of theT.V playing computer games.

So the question is, how do we motivates Soc-cer Kids?

For starters choose a soccer team that issuited to your childs' age and skill level. Letyour kids compete against kids of their ownage. This will eliminate differences in physical

strength and give every kid an opportunity toexpress himself physically and mentally. Alsoprovide suitable training drills for your kids. Ifthe drills are too advanced, the enjoyment lev-els will diminish and the kids will inevitably losemotivation.

Giving your child every opportunity to be activeis another great way to keep your kids moti-vated. Provide sporting equipment and a win-dow of opportunity for them to stay active.Designate a certain period of the day specifi-cally to being active. Also reward physical ac-tivity with trips to major sporting events or tothe movies.

Always remember to keep the focus on havingfun. Kids will not do something they don'tenjoy. When kids enjoy an activity, they want todo more of it. The child develops a great habitand also feels the sense of accomplishment,especially when their efforts are praised. Feel-ing good and happy is the key to motivation. Ifyou provide an atmosphere full of fun, the kidswill remain motivated.

IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT HEALTHY, PHYSICALLY ACTIVE KIDS DO BETTER ACADEMICALLY

MOTIVATION& SOCCER


or upwards at finish of the delivery, don’tforget to follow through properly. Keepyour head as upright as possible through-out the delivery and your eyes fixed on thetarget at all times.

The leg spin delivery is very similar to theoff spin except with a few subtle and im-portant variations. Your approach shouldbe somewhat longer and have a slightlyangled approach towards the target.As you bowl you should raise your leadarm towards the target and bowl with abraced front leg (your weight should bethrough this leg). Pivot on the ball of thelead foot and bring your bowling arm uphigh with your wrist cocked outwards.Drive your back leg through and releasethe ball. Generate the spin by rotatingyour wrist from right to left and by mostimportantly using the third finger to im-part the most spin. Finish with your palmfacing leg side.

Follow through by rotating shouldersthrough the line of the wickets and drivingyour back leg through the action so thatyour hips rotate over your front foot.Keep your hips and shoulders inline andhead as upright as possible throughoutthe delivery and your eyes fixed on thetarget at all times.

The Googly and the Doosra: DeceptivedeliveriesThe googly is bowled by a leg spinner andis a ball that appears to look like a legspinner when it’s bowled but then movesunexpectedly in the opposite direction

after it pitches. It’s bowled out of the backof the hand and requires the shoulder tobe dropped a little at the point of release.A great example of a bowler who hasmastered the googly is Shane Warne.

The doosra is bowled by an off spinnerand is a ball that initially seems to look likean off spinner when it’s bowled but thenmoves unexpectedly in the opposite di-rection after it pitches. The doosra hasbeen pioneered by the Sri Lanka greatMuttiah Muralitharan and is very difficultto bowl, Muralitharan reputedly practicedthe delivery for 2-3 years in the nets andpractice before using it in first classcricket…I can’t bowl it so I’m not going togo into it!The power and rotation on the ball aregenerated through a strong action and isenhanced by flicking the wrist andstraightening the fingers at the point ofrelease. Always try and spin the ball asmuch as you can, your consistency andaccuracy will come with practice andhard work. Remember to bowl your spin-ners with oomph and purpose, don’t justthrow it up and hope for the best.

Tip- Examine the pitch before bowling andtry to identify areas of rough, cracks andother features on the wicket to aim atwhich may cause increased spin, variablebounce or erratic ball behaviour whenpitched on and aim to bowl the ball intothese areas provided they don’t causeyou to bowl bad deliveries (e.g. short andwide).


The spin bowler is a key element in thebowling line up of any cricket team, theskill of Shane Warne and Muttiah Mu-ralitharan has highlighted the potentialand the shear power and influence a highclass spin bowler can have in the game ofcricket. The spin bowler can be used toslow the game, add pressure and mostimportantly attack batsmen. The spinbowler moves the ball offthe pitch turning it side-ways, as the spinning ballgrips the pitch and turnsand can also cause it tobounce variably.

A good spin bowler needsto be able to bowl a consis-tent line and length, is ableto turn the ball, which re-quires lots of practice anddedication to succeed. Ifyou are a spin bowler youshould try and experimentwith varying degrees offlight, speed, and angle ofapproach in order to de-ceive the batsmen.

There are two recognised types of spinbowlers, which are, finger spinners whoare classed as the orthodox techniqueand use their index finger (first finger) tospin the ball and the wrist spinners whouse the wrist more than fingers to spinball.

Target areas:Off spin: The off spinner aims to spin theball from a right handed batsmen’s offside towards the leg side. Try to bowl justoutside of the off stump so that the ballturns and hits the stumps, also try to en-

tice the batsmen forward on to the frontfoot by bowling a full length.Leg spin: The leg spinner aims to bowlthe ball so that it spins from a righthanded batsmen’s leg side to the off side.Again try to pitch the ball up to the bats-man to get them coming forward. Pitchthe ball inline with the wickets so that theball turns to hit the top of the off stump.

The grip:Leg spin: Use the first twofingers to grip the ball hori-zontally across the seam,your third finger should bebent and running along theseam. Your thumb shouldrest lightly on seam and thespin is generated primarilyby the third finger.

Off spin: Again grip the ballwith your first two fingershorizontally across theseam and try to spread aswide as possible apart thejoints of index and middle fin-ger. The ball then rests

lightly on third finger and thumb, the spinis and produced and passed on mainlythrough the index finger.

The delivery:The off spin delivery, should start with anangled and short delivery stride. Youshould then pivot on ball of the front footkeeping your bowling arm high. Cock yourwrist inwards and drive your back legthrough to help rotate the body. Releasethe ball by turning your wrist sharply fromleft to right and by pulling down on seamwith the index finger to generate spin.The back of hand should face the off side

THE GAME OF CRICKET AND THE SPIN BOWLER

SPIN BOWLNGSUCCESS TIPS


Positive Parenting Skills

Bikini Beach Volleyball

Hilti Drill

Bump of jump of Don't. The very easy rea-soning... when you are in the sky which youmuch less have with any ordering of yourbody and/or of the ball but if your feet re-main on the ground you can make small ad-justments (perhaps an ahead additional stepor behind if necessary) to order the resultsof the service receive 99% better. You can-not be airborne and to intend to carry outthe service receive the competence of volleyball.

5) pass with your feet initially not with yourarms.This resounds crafty one to include/under-stand but what the this means is that youmust enter the practice to obtain with theball initially by obtaining your feet behind theball, first, anywhere it is. There is a drill ofvolley ball which really illustrates how thisshould look at. A player starts in the serviceof back of left receive the position... that stillcan be in position of back of right-hand sideas well. A trainer of semi court on otherside of the will of net of volley ball to the firstunderhand service a ball anywhere at theleft side of the court. The left passer by onside must keep arms of her/his behind hisback constantly and run to obtain its feetwith the ball in time to make it possible theball to take a rebound by its legs.

To make the drill more provocative thewaiter supports to make at full court re-versed services. The services of shorts defyyour qualifications speed of foot of volley ballsince a passer by must cover the whole halfof its court obtaining with each volley ballbeen useful of it of the arms behind it be-hind.

To improve your service receive the test ofcompetence of volley ball this drill with ateam-member or suggest-the with yourtrainer of volley ball. In team the drill afterthe first nobody goes on the left side thenthe waiter is used to the right alternate play-ers while they still function behind the lastperson in the line with the test. It is a veryeffective drill speed of foot of volley ball thati've had pro the American and Italian train-

ers of team of volley balls run in my prac-tices.Except this drill if you have one difficult mo-ment to obtain your feet with volley ball tobe been useful receive an additional work ofthe end of the here of accurately..then... onincreasing your exercises speed and agilityof foot. This is why your pre-heatings shouldhave the alot ahead short sprints and to-wards the back and by the exercises of workof foot of agility at the beginning of eachpractice as regards volley ball... with preci-sion for this reason thus you can increaseyour reactive speed towards the service re-ceive and the defensive balls. Work on thework growing speed of foot and foot of vol-ley ball so that you can quickly and then toobtain with volley ball passage right the ball.


To be useful exactly receive is the principalcompetence of volley ball to run the offenceof your TEAM effectively. Here 5 ends of lit-tle volley ball which will make a GREAT dif-ference in your execution of going beyond.

1) the good service of volley ball receivequalifications require of a player to keep aright platform by maintaining elbows right.One of the greatest errorsthan the players of volley ballmake plaice their elbows topass the ball. If you reviewthe photographs of the play-ers of elite (control out ofDanielle Scott passing on mymyspace/volleyball the siteexpresses) the players of in-terior of volley ball and fromvolley ball of sand when theyserve receive you will notethat their platforms aka theinterior of their front arm-levers whom they introduce...are thus directly because acouncil you could use theirarms as table punt to eatabove.

The bent elbows means less exactitude ofball while the right arms give more orderand of exactitude of ball to the guide the ballwith the setter with target.

the exactitude of the increase 2)To in yourservice receive qualifications detect the ballvisually all the manner in your arms.

There is alot things to look at when thewaiter has the ball right before the refer-ence breath whistle. There can be alotthings to distract close if you don't learnhow to concentrate and narrow your

hearth. What do you focus above? Oncethat the waiter takes volley ball in theirhands and places to indicate where and howthey will be useful and then they start to re-bound volley ball in forecast athletes of theelite of the it of portion of him... the major-ity of in this moment that I know the hearth125% ONLY on the ball in the hands of theserver . As from this moment there your

eyes and spirit should see andto concentrate on nothing butthe ball ALL manner IN yourarms.

Detect the ball visually all themanner in your arms... sothat you can see your rightplatform.

3) cut of Don't your arms withshare.

Anyhow hard or easy subsis-tence of service... your armstogether when you pass. Fightto maintain good volley ballpassing competence and thetechnique. Guilty I'm to make

this error when I know a his easy passageor a free ball. You must fight temptation tobreak your arms together particularly whenyou pass on the movement. That why theimportant it to pass with your feet initially,obtain stopped then employ the don't cor-rect of technique is lazy right because itseems as an easy passage to make (see #5)

4) pass with the two feet on the floor ofcourt of volley ball.Ads by Google

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run entirely by the offensive and defensive co-ordinators, or maybe even by the head coachalone. The one or two coaches who really runthe team pay little or no attention to the posi-tion coaches when it comes to depth chart,substitution, game-day, or practice-scheduledecisions. About the only real authority the po-sition coaches have is deciding what drill torun for ten or fifteen minutes of each practiceand in pre-game warmups. For the rest ofpractice and game day, they are wall flowerswho merely stand around off to the sidewatching the coordinators do everything. Ac-crding to the book The Undefeated about BudWilkinson’s Oklahoma teams that set the still-standing win streak record at 47, Wilkinsonand Gomer Jones “…did 99.% of all mean-ingful coaching at the Uiversity of Oklahoma.”I would not accept such a role unless I wasnew to that level and therefore able to learn alot just from standing around. Even then, Iprobably would move on after a year or two. Ido not understand why somany coaches accept such ademeaning role year after year.IncompetenceIncompetence is the rule belowthe high school varsity headcoach/offensive coordina-tor/defensive coordinatorlevel. Some high school J.V.and freshman head coachesare competent. At the youthlevel, it is rare to have even acompetent head coach, letalone competent assistants.Some may protest, "But my de-fensive coordinator played col-lege ball!" That doesn't makehim a competent youth coach.It probably does make himopinionated about his approach or the ap-proach of his college coach, neither of whichis likely to coincide with your approach.Do not permit incompetent coaches on yourstaff unless you are training them and they ac-cept that wholeheartedly. That sounds like anobvious piece of advice, but if it's so obvioushow come about 95% of the youth coaches inthe U.S. are incompetent? If you only hirecompetent youth coaches or egolesstrainees, you will probably have a one-mancoaching staff because you will generally notbe able to find anyone who is competent oradmits he is not. Letting people join your staffbecause they are nice guys who played a littlefootball in high school or college and want tohelp out so they can coach their sons is a verybad idea. Don't do it.Do not hire competent coaches if they dis-

agree with your approach. OK, suppose youhave found one of the rare competent youthcoaches. He has been a successful youthcoach and is willing to join your staff. Shouldyou hire him? Probably not. Why not? Heprobably thinks your approach is wrong. I saythat without even knowing what your approachis. I just know that everyone has different fin-gerprints, different voice prints, different reti-nas, and different opinions on how to run afootball team. His resistance to your approachwill almost certainly more than nullify the con-tribution from his competence.RelativesIf you get along with them, relatives makegood members of your staff. I have seenbrother-brother coaching staffs (my highschool coaches), father-in-law-son-in-lawcoaching staffs, father-son coaching staffs(me and my son one season, also the verysuccessful Oak Grove Roughriders), and evenhusband-wife coaching staffs (at the college

level no less).Oak Grove Roughriders headcoach Mark Tyrell has a 142-7record with four national cham-pionships. According to hisWeb site, his staff consists ofhimself as head coach and of-fensive coordinator, a long-timefriend who has been his defen-sive coordinator since 1981,and Tyrell's son Daniel. Theyalso have a scout and equip-ment manager. I would expectthat none of the Roughriderscoaches currently has a son onthe team and that years whenone did have a son on the teamhave been rare. Note that theydo not have the typical seven-

man coaching staff.DeLa Salle High School is near where I live.They are arguably the best high school foot-ball team ever. They are currently working onextending their national record 88-game winstreak. In 1998, they were ranked first in thenation. I do not know exactly how their stafftruly functions, but my observations of theirspring practice one year and occasional ob-servations at passing league and such sincegave me the impression that the team ismainly run by head coach Bob Ladouceur andathletic director Terry Eidson. As with mostsuccessful teams, those two coaches havebeen working together for many years.One of the things I hate about youth sports innepotism and cronyism—EXCEPT when itcomes to selecting a coaching staff. In thatone area, I believe they are almost mandatory.


I was once asked by a youth coach what sizecoaching staff is best. It's a question to whichI think a lot of people need to hear the answer.Would you believe one coach?That's right, I think the coaching staff of ayouth football team should be one person.Bear with me a bit and I will explain. I will alsoacknowledge that you probablycannot get away with one. OK,two then.You may think I am kidding ortrying to be funny. I am not. Ifyou hire assistants, it is about95% certain that you will regretit.Six geniusesThe typical football coachingstaff consists of six or morepersons. On paper, it looks fine.In fact, it looks like they coulduse several more. Especially ifyou figure one position coachfor each position group, threecoordinators, and a headcoach. In theory, that would beideal.So what's the problem? Theproblem is that additional coaches beyond onedo not add to the team if they are incompe-tent or if they disagree with the head coach asto the correct approach.I coached eleven seasons at the youth andhigh school levels. I have also observed coach-ing staffs at the other levels of the organiza-tions I was in. And I have observed stuff goingin in my opponents' coaching staffs to an ex-tent. Plus, on a daily basis, I talk to youth, jun-ior high school, high school, college, and NFLcoaches on the phone and at clinics.90% disagreeBased on all those observations, I would saythat the percentage of coaches who do notagree with their head coach's approach isabout 90%. Among that 90% are two

groups:1. those who express their disagreement ver-bally to the head coach or behind his back orvia body language2. those who work extremely hard to com-pletely hide their disagreement so they do notget fired.

Is this just a youth problem?No way. Remember BuddyRyan punching out KevinGilbride on the sideline of anNFL game on national TV? Orjust this past year, much of themedia buzz before the Denver-Atlanta Super Bowl was aboutDan Reeves firing Mike Shana-han when Shanahan wasReeves' assistant in Denver.The reason for the firing?Reeves felt Shanahan was in-subordinate, that is, Reevessaid, "Do this" and Reeves feltShanahan disagreed with whatReeves wanted and wentahead and did his own thing in-stead. I do not know what hap-pened between Reeves and

Shanahan, but I have seen or heard aboutthat same behavior pattern on coaching staffsa zillion times.I had to fire one youth coach for insubordina-tion and I resigned in mid-season on anotheroccasion when I tried to fire an assistant andwas not allowed to do so.Typical staffThe typical coaching staff has a drill periodwhere every coach takes his position groupand works with them. Then the team gets to-gether for larger group activities and the po-sition coaches become nonpersons. Theystand off to the side talking to each other,often about what's wrong with the coordina-tor's approach.Except for individual drill period, the team is

WHAT IS THE BEST SIZE FOR A YOUTH FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF BYJOHN T. REED

YOUTH FOOTBALLCOACHING STAFF


COACHING YOUTH SOCCER - IS IT FOR YOU?

So, you want to coach youth soccer.What a wonderful thing to do! Althoughit will be a fun and rewarding experienceoverall, there are some things to thinkabout when making your decision aboutyouth soccer coaching.

How do you handle confrontation, frus-tration, and disagreements? Will you beable to handle unhappy par-ents with calm strength?Parents protect their chil-dren like lions. Any real orperceived injustice will makea parent angry. You need tobe able to communicatepeacefully and with an eye to-ward a positive and agreedupon resolution. Get outyour dancing shoes, makingthe parents happy is going torequire some fancy footwork!Just remember, you willnever be able to make every-one happy. The most youcan expect of yourself is tomake sure everyone's concerns are ad-dressed and every parent feels heard.However, as the coach you have the finalsay.

You will be dealing with children. Therewill be pouting, temper tantrums and dis-interest. Are you ready to be a leader tochildren who may not want to listen? Doyou have a plan for how you are going tohandle the usual children's antics whileteaching the needed lessons about team-work and good sportsmanship? If youkeep in mind that how you handle everychild in every situation is teaching all ofthe kids valuable lessons about how tohandle life in general, you will be fine.Are you aware of the time commitment

that will need to be made for coachingyouth soccer? Will you be able to makeit to every practice on time?

You will need to be educated about thetechniques and plays in soccer. You willalso need to be familiar with the rules andregulations.

Can you remember totreat every child equally re-gardless of skill level or so-cial and economicbackground? Every childwants to feel special. As acoach, you can change thecourse of a child's life by of-fering some needed en-couragement. Neverunderestimate the impactyou could potentially haveon a child.

How do you handle dis-agreements or situationswhen your own child

makes a bad play? The time will come,probably once at every game, that you donot agree with the referree, can you han-dle your displeasure with class? Will youset a good example? When your ownchild makes a mistake, will you be able totreat them in the same manner that youdo the other children? Coaches whocome down hard on their own kids makeeveryone feel uncomfortable.

This is just a brief sampling of the thingsto consider when deciding if youth soccercoaching is for you. No doubt that will alittle planning and a lot of heart, you willdo fine.


YOUTHSOCCER

You must know that your staff is not pursuingseven separate agendas.Chinese Wall between offense and defenseAnother type of coaching staff (two men only)I have seen work is the kind where one guystrictly does offense and the other strictlydoes defense. One of them is usually also thehead coach, but he does not interfere with theother side of the ball. They have coached to-gether for years, know their side of the ball,stay totally out of the other's department, andkeep up a running banter about the superior-ity of their department over their colleague'sdepartment.Example exchange: "Great bat-down, Johnny,proving once again that real men play de-fense." "That was a good bat-down, Johnny.Now if you ever get good enough to catch thatball, we'll make you a receiver."ScheduleMost coaches would say, "How can you coach20 to 50 boys with just two coaches?" I agreeit's tricky. But it is far easier to figure out howto schedule a two-man coaching staff than itis to overcome human nature on a seven-manstaff.Basically, each coach has a unit like offenseor defense and each coaches four positions.For example, the defensive coach might alsocoach the defensive line, inside linebackers,outside linebackers, and defensive backs. Hecannot be two places at once so he coacheseach position at a different time. For example,he might spend a half hour after each teampractice working with the position group of theday. Or he might spend 20 minutes beforeteam practice with one position group and 20minutes after team practice with another.Team sizeDon Markham is one of the most successfulhigh school coaches. His team set the currenthigh-school single-season scoring record. Hewill not allow more than 22 players on histeam. I don't know that I would go that far, butI think the one- or two-man staff approach im-plies that you set some reasonable limit onthe number of players on the team.DisciplineThe fewer coaches you have, the less timeyou have to screw around with problem play-ers. So a one- or two-man coaching staff im-plies less patience withchronically-misbehaving players. Explain this tothe players and parents at the beginning ofthe season, then throw any violators off theteam.If you follow my advice to hire only competentcoaches who truly believe in your approach orwho will absolutely stay out of your depart-

ment, you will almost certainly end up with aone- or two-man coaching staff. You will alsoenjoy your season far more and your team willbe much more successful. If you continue toallow every Tom, Dick, and Harry who volun-teers to be a coach to join your staff, you willcontinue to waste inordinate amounts of timearguing over the correct approach and undo-ing the harm done by assistants who inadver-tently or deliberately deviate from yourapproach.Coaches' sonsWith some exceptions, coaches' sons aregenerally the biggest pains in the butt on theteam and the hardest kids to coach. Theytend not to listen to their father, and, becausehe is a member of the coaching staff, they areless respectful of the rest of the staff. Thefewer coaches you have, the fewer coaches'sons, and that's good. If you must have as-sistants, prefer coaches who have no kids onthe team.


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