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I had the privilege, along with Mike Thompson the Burke Athletic Club President, of making a presentation about the street soccer type festival at the US Youth Soccer Workshop in Pittsburgh this winter. We had over 80 club and state administrators and coaches in attendance while we explained what we have been able to do over the past two and a half years. You can see the power point presentaion we used at US Youth Soccer here.

One of the most interesting ideas to come out of the MSYSA's Dutch Weeks is the 4v4 festival played with an individual winner. In this format a number of players rotate through different teams in a series of short games. Each player is awarded points based on the result of his team's game. These points are added together so that at the end of the tournament one player, unless there is a tie, will emerge as the winner.

This system keeps the games competitive. The children are playing to win and one or two losses aren't catastrophic. The coach can monitor the scores and adjust the teams so that players can't easily run away with the tournament or get buried.

Rules.
*Time. 10 to 12 minute games.
*Numbers. 4v4, or if numbers allow one group plays 3v3 or 5v5.
*Scoring. Each player on a winning team gets 10 points and 1 point for each goal scored by the team. The losing players each get 1 point for every goal scored by the team. In a tie every player gets 5 points plus 1 point for each goal scored by his team.
*Since this is a competition it is recommended that all teams play the "same game" although it doe not have to be the basic game.
*Restarts are a kick or dribble in from the point where the ball went out.

Organization.
*Set out enough fields for the number of players. Label each goal. In the example below two fields are set up for 16 players. The goals are labeled A, B, C and D.
*The coach tells each player which goal to report to. The teams organize themselves there.
*Scrimmage vests and balls are available at the fields. Players can leave the vests at a goal at the end of each game.
*Players referee themselves.
*On a signal from the coach all of the games begin. The games end on another signal. The coach's job is to be a time and record keeper.
*The players report their results to the coach who records them, (see example), and the coach tells them which goal to report to next. The sequence repeats until all of the games are done and the winner is determined.

Coaching. The coach should refrain from offering too much advice. It's up to the children to organize themselves, deal with the soccer problems they encounter and to take responsibility for their play. The major advantage of this method can be seen after the children have played it a few times and know what to expect. They will have to assume responsibility for their own teams and performance. It is the return of street soccer.

Example of two 4v4 fields with the goals labeled so that the children can meet and organize themselves. Vests are left at goals A & C. These teams start with the ball.

Specifics of the example.
This tournament involves 16 players over 5 games. The results of the games were:

Game I		Game II		Game III		Game IV		Game V
AvsB	CvsD	AvsB	CvsD	AvsB	CvsD	AvsB	CvsD	AvsB	CvsD
3-2	1-1	3-0	2-2	1-2	1-2	0-2	2-3	1-3	0-2

In game 1 all of the players on team A get 13 points, team B 2, teams C and D 6 each. After the second game the points are charted and added together. It's advisable to keep the players in the dark as to where they stand early on. The coach can watch the cumulative points and make up teams based on that.

Example of a completed tournament form.
Example of a blank form. in PDF.
Example of a completed score sheet.
Example of a blank score sheet. in PDF

Multigame Format

Another tournament format uses the same teams rotating through different games. It's important that all of the players are familiar with all of the games. When they are they can easily move through the games for a winning team. Taking time to explain rules and objectives is not advised. In the accompanying example 43 players are playing soccer on one field. This is a valuable use of space and time. When two teams, close in ability, share a field for training they have an opportunity to stage either tournament in place of a regular practice or full field scrimmage. With a little planning these tournaments offer a valuable resource for the parent coach.

Example: 4v4 multigame format.

Click on the image to see some scenes about the rules from the "Street Soccer" DVD in a Real Time video.
Purchase an online copy from TotalVid.com here.

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