College ID Camp - Northwood University

Fifty five boys and twenty five girls attended the inaugural Northwood University/JTP College ID Camp. Both the boy’s camp, from 9am till noon and the girl’s camp, 1pm-4pm, were able to experience college level coaching offered by the staff of Northwood University and the Jeff Tipping Performance instructors and assessors. Players from as far away as Miami attended the event...

Northwood University – Jeff Tipping Performance

College ID Camp

April 28^th, 2012

Fifty five boys and twenty five girls attended the inaugural Northwood University/JTP College ID Camp. Both the boy’s camp, from 9am till noon and the girl’s camp, 1pm-4pm, were able to experience college level coaching offered by the staff of Northwood University and the Jeff Tipping Performance instructors and assessors. Players from as far away as Miami attended the event

In the opening lecture Jeff Tipping emphasized the theme of the weekend by focusing on the advantages of a good college education and the breadth of opportunities available to college graduates. Citing statistics from the Scottish Football Players Association, Tipping referred to the situation in Scotland where 85% of young players who leave school at the age of 16 to become professional soccer players, are no longer in the game by the time they are 23. Young men, especially, are all too often left high and dry with few vocational opportunities if they do not get academic qualifications. “The great thing about the American system,” said Tipping, “is that if your dream of becoming a professional soccer player does not work out, you still have other dreams you can pursue. I highly recommend pursuing professional soccer with a college degree in your back pocket.”

The players went out onto the field and were broken up into groups, each with an instructor/assessor.

Forty five minutes of instruction followed and then the players were introduced to the “Five versus Five” player development model.

“The Diamond Developmental Model.”

The players were to be assessed playing the Five Versus Five and Eight versus Eight Small Sided Games. Five versus five (GK plus four outfield players) has become the internationally recognized Small Sided Game (SSG) for developing players. The advantages of the Five v Five model are;

1. 1.Four outfield players is the smallest number of players on the field which still allows passing in the three directions of soccer – forward, sideways and backwards.
2. 2.When played in, the recommended, diamond shape, the players are positioned as back, midfielders and a forward – the three units of the game.
3. 3.This is a SSG which has a real conditioning and mental strength component to it. There is nowhere to hide in the Five versus Five game.

The players then played Eight versus Eight (GK plus seven outfielders), again, with an introduction to the reasons we play Eight versus Eight. When played in a 2-3-2, the Eight versus Eight provides the following developmental advantages;

1. 1.The shape of the team comprises of two diamonds providing many of the same visual cues we see in the Five versus Five.
2. 2.With two backs and two forwards the backs have pressure on them all the time and do not have the luxury a third back gives. This forces back players to play under pressure at all times.
3. 3.The system forces the GK to become a soccer player as the two fullbacks are constantly under pressure and have to play to the GK’s feet as an outlet.

The players were assessed in the following categories;

A. Comfort on the ball. 1   2   3   4   5____________________________________________________

B. Overall Awareness.   1   2   3   4   5_____________________________________________________

C. Game Understanding. 1   2   3   4   5___________________________________________________

D. Communication Skills. 1   2   3   4   5____________________________________________________

E. Impact on Game.   1   2   3   4   5______________________________________________________

Explanation.

A. Comfort on the ball. The player wants the ball and is not scared of making technical mistakes.

B. Overall Awareness. The player is conscious of the positioning of opponents and team mates at all times.

C. Game Understanding. The player has an overall understanding of the tactical choices and visual cues of the game.

D. Communication Skills. The player verbally, visually and physically communicates with team mates.

E. Impact On The Game. The player has a commanding presence on the field and is involved in game at all times.

The players met with their assessors and instructors following the session and were given their evaluations. The evaluations will be sent on to various college coaches to inform them as to the quality of the players and their school and club affiliations.

Ty Brewer – Men’s Head Soccer Coach and Athletic Director. Northwood University.

Matt Dunne – Women’s Head Coach. Northwood University.

John Taylor – Women’s Assistant Coach. Northwood University.

Helen Lynskey – Northwood University Staff.

Matilda Ojaniemi – Northwood University Staff.

Jeff Tipping – Jeff Tipping Performance.

Gary Walker – Jeff Tipping Performance.

Ivan McKinley – Jeff Tipping Performance.