“Back-yard Soccer” in D-7 (Its Benefits)

How unstructured play can foster creativity in D-7 players!

Street soccer refers to the various kinds of pickup soccer games played in parks, gyms and in streets and alleys around the world. The defining characteristic of street soccer is that it is not organized.

Two “goals” are set up, the goalposts often being made from t-shirts, bags, rocks, or foam float sticks.

And, of course, a ball or representative round object is required. Everything else is negotiable, such as the boundaries and even the rules. There is no referee. There usually are no fans. There is no coach. It is soccer in its most basic and unadulterated form.

A potential benefit of this approach is that it teaches young players to become more independent and helps them learn how to set up a soccer game without adult supervision. This may seem trite, but most of our young players are unable to organize pickup games themselves. Their concept of playing soccer is either going to practice or playing a game, both of which are supervised by adults.

Click here to read the rest of the benefits in this enlightening article…