Our Juniors soccer program is centered around players age 10 and below, as this is the entry point for all of our FCD East Texas soccer players in our development pathway. Our division offers a wide variety of training programs to develop and grow our youth soccer players and set them on a path for long-term success!
Our FCD- East Texas Juniors pathway is divided into 4 main tiers which we feel better serve each youth soccer player based upon their individual needs. Our entry level program is our Center of Excellence program, which takes place year-round at various locations in the East Texas area including Tyler, Longview, Palestine, and Mt. Pleasant.
Juniors Philosophy
There is an unhealthy bias towards promoting athleticism rather than taking time to develop players at the younger ages, which is having a profound negative effect on soccer in the USA. Therefore, at FC Dallas, we believe in age-appropriate coaching which ensures that we are teaching not only the RIGHT things, but moreover teaching them the RIGHT way, with an emphasis on long term development rather than short term 'wins'.
FC Dallas Juniors philosophy is to develop skillful youth soccer players in a fun and competitive environment where we encourage individual creativity. We want each soccer player to problem solve, improvise, and make decisions on their own during practices and games. We also want players to play completely free with no fear of failure. The goal of our FC Dallas East Texas Junior soccer teams is to learn the necessary tools to develop to their full potential as a youth soccer player.
We recognize that the Juniors Level is the first and most important stage in structuring youth soccer player development. The 4 major themes from the Juniors Curriculum are:
- Ball Mastery – using both feet and multiple surfaces, we encourage our soccer players to experiment with all turns, tricks and skills whereas to develop their technical confidence with the ball. All players are developed to be dribblers first.
- Shapes & Support – developing the idea of triangle and diamond shapes by supporting the soccer player on the ball, thus giving players more options to keep the ball rather than just kick it away.
- Small-Sided Environments – lots of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 free play within each training session, thus allowing soccer players to experiment and maximize development though multiple contacts on the ball and also recognize the triangle and diamond shape within the game.
- Independent Player Thinking – we encourage the youth soccer players to think for themselves and solve soccer problems with the skills we have taught. Our coaches guide players to the answers by asking questions rather than telling them the answer. Thereby creating independent thinkers who will play the game and solve soccer problems without the coach constantly telling them what to do in any given scenario. This leads to longer term information retention and higher levels of skill acquisition.
Center of Excellence (CoE)
For soccer players who seek introduction or continued player development from professional staff
CoE’s take place year-round at various locations around East Texas including Tyler, Longview, Palestine, and Mt. Pleasant. It is also provided in the Northwest Louisiana area.
Center of Excellence is our entry level juniors program designed for first-time youth soccer players, or players seeking continued individual development. CoE is an INDIVIDUAL PLAYER DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM organized and structured around our professional staff and FCD curriculum. The aim of this program is to offer our youth soccer players a platform to develop in each pillar of the game in an environment that is conducive to learning and growth. This program is PLAYER first, PLAYER driven, and PLAYER oriented which means that our emphasis will be growing each individual youth soccer player. Our pool training environment allowing coaches to break players up by age and development levels to provide quality topic–driven training environment.
Click a location near you for more specific information:
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FCD-ETX LONGVIEW FALL "CENTER OF EXCELLENCE"
FC Dallas East Texas is proud to open another "Center of Excellence" program in a city near you! This is an individual player development program designed to promote learning and development of our juniors age players. Using a professional coaching staff and an FC Dallas youth curriculum, this is the best environment for our young players to become the best they can be!
This is a supplemental training program offered by FCD ETX for any player, regardless of ability of affiliation.
This "Center of Excellence" program is now open to ages 2013 all the way to 2003!
Longview Fall "Center of Excellence"
- Monday Nights starting: Sept 16th
- 8 week season ending: Nov 4th
- 5:30 - 7:00pm
- 2013 - 2003 Boys and Girls
- @LearPark - Longview, Texas
- Cost: $50
Greg Palmer - 318 655 5457
Bridge Programs
Programs and activities for players seeking a bridge between Center of Excellence and Academy Teams. This includes festivals, camps, clinics, skills schools, coaching education
Click a location near you for more specific information:
Coming Soon...
Academy Teams
The FCD East Texas Junior Academy has also been referred to as “Pre-Select” soccer for boys and girls ages U-5 to U-10. Typically, it’s for those soccer players who excel at the recreational level and desire an additional environment that is more competitive with advanced coaching. It is, however, open to all players. After graduating from our Juniors Academy program, Select soccer begins at U-11.
Juniors soccer focuses primarily on individual skill development. The goal of Juniors soccer is to prepare players for a club soccer environment in their later years. It is designed for the more competitive player and the more committed families. The program has licensed coaches and has more travel and expenses involved than just recreational soccer.
Click a location near you for more specific information:
Coming Soon...
Elite
Contact your area's director for more specific information.
