|| COACHING
JIM GABARRA
PREACHES BALANCE DURING TRANSITION PERIODS & ALL YEAR LONG
HAL PHILIPS //
Hal Philips recently published “ Generation Zero : Founding Fathers , Hidden Histories & the Making of Soccer in America .” This is an example of what you will read in the book . Highly recommended !
When Jim Gabarra competed at the highest levels of American soccer — and he did so both indoors and outdoors — players and coaches gave little thought to their transitions from one setting to the other , and back again . What ’ s more , during the late 1980s and early 1990s , the challenges facing Gabarra ’ s teammates on the U . S . Men ’ s National Team and the U . S . National Futsal side had little to do with overuse . Quite the opposite : With no proper first division operating outdoors , with indoor clubs fending off financial collapse at every turn , the main concern was getting enough matches and training from month to month . For elite , thoroughly underemployed female players at this time , the severity of those issues was likely doubled or trebled .
Gabarra sees the exact opposite situation in 2023 : There is so much opportunity to play soccer today — at every age group and skill level : in club , premier , academy and school environments — many believe the primary danger to young players is overuse , especially during those transition periods between indoor and outdoor seasons .
“ It ’ s really difficult to achieve , but I believe the goal for coaches has to be balance — in terms of their own expectations of players , in terms of helping individual young men and women balance their own commitments ,” says Gabarra , who spent two-plus decades coaching in the women ’ s professional ranks after retiring in 1996 . Today he works for Pelota , a supplemental technical training service ( www . pelotatraining . com ) co-owned by his son , Tyler .
“ The most important issue in our game today , at the developmental level , is overuse . We are demanding too much of players , especially at younger ages . The most prominent
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