If it's round...kick it

I know I promised you a summary of life as a professional 'cub scout' soccer player. But, the ISI kids were kicking a stone on the way to lunch the other day and I need to talk about it - round things, well, roughly round or at least things able to travel some distance when kicked.

When I was a kid walking to school we kicked everything – stones (big or small), tin cans, bottle lids, tennis balls (with or without green hair aka ‘baldies’), lumps of ice, juice boxes, lumps of dirt that exploded on contact, dead birds, conkers (buck eyes), dried dog poop (the white stuff you’re safe with), small (I stress small) pieces of brick, dried bread and girls. It was all game. I like ice the best – the challenge was to not only kick it, but keep it on the sidewalk and not kick it so hard that it broke up. Of course, it rarely snowed when I was a kid. London may be at the same latitude as Calgary, but it’s pretty warm in the winter and snow was a luxury. I would wake up and could instantly tell if we had snow – there was a whiter than white glow above the claret ‘West Ham United’ curtains in my bedroom. I’d go out, with plastic bags inside shoes to keep my socks dry and walk on ‘virgin’ snow. Then it would melt…

You have to understand the importance of simply kicking. Richard Schmidt (Schema Theory) tells us that the more times you repeat the same action, regardless of the specific details the better. Simply put – a kid who can throw a ball well can probably throw a javelin well too, with some help. It’s all about the extent to which the parameters have been established for that motor program. Bottom line – soccer players should kick everything. I’d play endless games of ‘balloon’ soccer at Xmas – the living room doors were the goals. Juggle with rolled up socks, an orange, a ball of paper… it works, trust me. That’s one of the reasons Brazil are so good. Minivan soccer is not a match yet for ghetto kids dreaming of escapism while they volley a crushed tin can (ball) into the doorway (goal).

You really know you are onto something when you can kick a lump of ice with sufficient spin to keep it on the sidewalk despite it curling to and from the street. David Beckham knows all about that. That’s the other thing I look for when kids play – how they deal with a ball spinning in the air when they attempt to control it. You have to experiment with a ball and gain an understanding for how the ball will react when it hits the ground. It’s all experience. Let our kids play on dirt, grass, turf, concrete, mud, and wood with anything vaguely round and your country has a chance of producing something special.

So, kick it. Unless it has a good lawyer.