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The Oly-Pen Force and Oly-Pen Sports are dedicated to providing the best possible experience for the youth in sports. We are committed to helping to grow the youth sports community as well as the abilities of the youth to encourage growth as athletes and as people.
The Force Development Program is designed to be the next step in progression for the development of the youth player. The FDP will not only bridge the gap between our Rising Force Academy and the Force first teams, but it will also help the youth to improve their individual abilities on the field whether to play at a higher level or just to improve ball mastery for greater enjoyment of the game.
The FDP will be run by Force Club Assistant and former Coerver Trainer Dax Dowling. Coach Dax will provide each FDP Youth Player with the tools and abilities to help reach their personal goals in the game of Soccer as well as learning many valuable lessons that will also help to make each player a better person off the field.
Classes will begin the First week of November and will be available in an 8 week format. Registration will be available at the beginning of September. We look forward to having your young player learn and advance in our new program!!
January 2020 Session
Registration Available Now!!
Force Development Program Philosophy
The most important aspect of soccer training for young players, is making it fun. If the session is not enjoyable, the coach will struggle to keep the attention of his/her players. If the players enjoy what they are doing, they will be fully committed to it and gain the benefits of developing as a player. The most important goal of these training programs is to introduce the players to the necessary skills of soccer. This will be accomplished through a series of challenges and games that will disguise the repetitions needed to acquire a technically skilled foundation.
If technique is HOW a player physically performs a task, the SKILL is the application of that technique to a real life or competitive situation. Force Development Program is structured to first address the proper techniques needed to dribble, pass, and receive a ball. The players will then be asked to employ these techniques in various "challenges". These challenges will be very basic to start in order to promote mastery and confidence, and become more difficult and "game-like" as the players' comfort level and confidence with the ball increases.
The FDP's goal is to help their students become creative, confident players who can handle a soccer ball. We will develope your young player to have the ability to attack 1v1, pass accurately over increasingly longer distances, and receive any ball played in their direction. The game is undoubtedly more enjoyable to play if the players are at ease with the ball. This skill development is a long-term process and should be measured in months and years, not days.
Once a certain level of technical proficiency has been reached, FDP training adds in the tactical dimension, forcing players to become quick-thinking decision makers. Vision, communication, and composure will come more quickly to players who aren't struggling to deal with the ball itself. The FDP group attack and defense module is designed to address the very necessary attributes of how small groups of players combine, interact, and work together on and off the ball. We feel that these are attributes that will help young people in every area of their life both on and off the field as well.
Remember, these are young players just beginning a long journey toward the end product described above. It should be the unified goal of all of us involved in their development to foster in them a love of the sport and encourage them to be the players, coaches, referees and most importantly fans of the future in this the World's most loved sport!
-Dax Dowling, Director
Force Development Program