I'm also the guy who created the RVSC Method...

"What is the RVSC METHOD?" 

And then my friend sent me the ‘Playbook...'

The playbook was a digital library of straight out of the box session plans.

This was turnkey! 

I quickly downloaded every session and began studying and implementing…

Here’s one of the sessions…

I want to show this to you because this is, by far, the best move in soccer…

It’s called the give-n-go. 

The move is exactly that. 

You pass (give) the ball to a teammate, run around a defender (go), and get the ball back from your teammate.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most effective ways to get around defenders and move the ball up the field. 

I printed the session and eagerly waited for practice that evening. 

I had a little pep in my step walking to the field…

I was prepared and ready…

I followed the session to a T, showing all the children exactly what to do and how to do it. 

I paused at the right moment and delivered the appropriate coaching points. 

It came time for the scrimmage…

“Alright team, show me what you learned today!”

Guess how many times I saw the team execute the give-n-go in the scrimmage. 

Okay, you give up? :)

1 TIME…

We spent 60 minutes working on this one move and they tried it 1 time in the scrimmage…

Now I know what you’re thinking…

The session was maybe too advanced for 7-year olds but…

I’ve done this same session with 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 year olds and the same thing happens. 

They do it a million times in the first three phases and then hardly do it all in the actual game, where it matters the most. 

I started to think about the way the sessions were structured. 

In phase 1, players learn new moves in an unopposed setting. That just means that players don’t have any defenders trying to steal the ball. They do the move in repetition. 

In phase 2, players do the move in a semi-opposed setting. That just means that players have passive pressure. In the session, that passive defender can only move left or right and only passively defend the attacker and his teammate.

In phase 3, players are fully opposed which means the defender can defend 100%. 

This build-up style of a session is how 99% of all youth soccer training sessions are constructed. 

Local clubs all the way to MLS level youth clubs build their sessions just like this. Coaches education teaches it just like this and the instructors for licenses, teach it like this. 

In theory, this is good right? It makes sense that we would teach the move in an unopposed setting first to give players a chance to learn without pressure and then build it up to a full-pressure scenario right?

After years of coaching, I can tell you that with this structure, you’ll notice your kids performing these moves in weeks 8-10 of the season. 

The coach’s inner voice screams, ‘FINALLY. They FINALLY get it! We as coaches take this as success and it reinforces our training methods. We start the next season with new material and the same thing happens. The team starts to ‘get it’ in weeks 8, 9, and 10.

There’s one small little problem here…

I want to talk to you about what I call the "It Factor."

I used to be a youth training and programs coach for the New York Red Bulls. As part of this position, I got to work with players at the grassroots level all the way up to academy level players. I was amazed by what I saw at their invite only residential camps. 

The Red Bulls are known for their invite only residential camps. From Sunday-Thursday, selected players participate in a week long sleepaway camp held in the tri-state area typically at a college or boarding school. The best players in the region and the country travel to attend these exclusive camps. I was lucky to be chosen to be a trainer at these elite level events. 

These players were the best I’ve ever seen. As the days went on, my analytical brain became obsessed with analyzing and understanding the criteria of what makes a player this good – what makes a player ‘elite.’ The Red Bulls’ slogan is “the future is bright” and it sure was, I thought to myself. 

After studying these types players for months, I sat down and furiously wrote notes: 

• The players are driven by purpose. I noticed that from the moment I called them out of bed, the players were driven by a purpose. I don’t know if it was the environment or the players themselves, but they all had this…this way about them. Every dribble, every pass, every shot was executed with like this sixth sense of purpose. It was like they knew a secret that nobody else knew. They were lazer focused individuals that set out to achieve a goal.

• They are intrinsically motivated. I noticed that these players didn’t seek approval from their teammates, their parents, or even me, the trainer. As I looked at them, I could see them competing, but they weren’t competing against the opponent, they were competing against themselves. They already knew that they had to develop their weaker foot. They already knew that they had to get back on defense. They were self-regulated and intrinsically motivated.

• They developed off the field. After the sessions, I could sense their gears working hard, reflecting on what they felt they did right, what they felt they did wrong, and what they wanted to work on for next time. Many of them worked alone in the quad practicing moves, others chatted quietly with friends, and others gathered in common areas to unwind with senseless games of FIFA. After interviewing many of the guys in my group, it was clear that they had a mindset that allowed for growth away from team sessions. The biggest part of development occurred mentally, away from practice and away from the team. They had the "It Factor."

The "It Factor" is a higher order level of thinking. Research shows that the ability for self-reflection is directly tied to self-awareness. How children view themselves is the main ingredient in the "It Factor" formula. It is not part of the recipe for success, it is the recipe for success. Soccer talent aside, what truly make these players elite is their ability to recognize, understand and manage their own and other’s emotions. They are emotionally intelligent. 

Harvard Business Review defined emotional intelligence as comprised of four core competencies that include: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

Emotional intelligence is a critical life skill that helps children in a range of areas such as dealing with conflict, promoting creativity, working as a team, remaining calm during high pressure scenarios, and other cognitive processes that can lead to success in soccer and in life.

The good news is that these skills can be taught through a strong soccer program that includes strategies and activities for social emotional learning. Through social emotional learning, players can learn how to better understand themselves and to develop in the four core competences of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. 

The sad truth is that traditional soccer programs don't teach children the skills needed to succeed in everyday life.  

I sat in the stands and listened to the coach yell at his players. The sad part is that, at some point or another, we've all done it...

But we need to understand this is not okay.  

First, this "joy stick" style of coaching robs players of their ability to think through a complex scenario and develop those cognitive faculties needed to derive solutions for complex problems. Soccer is a game of thinking and freedom and coaches barking step-by-step instructions to players steals that freedom from players. 

Second, it destroys confidence. No child likes to be yelled out. As humans, we aren't designed to withstand these types of negative situations. Constructive criticism yes, berating players, no. When this happens, players withdraw and eventually end up quitting which hurts everyone. 

Third, we are hard-wired for connection. Research on our nervous system shows that the brain is a social organ and works best when it has the opportunity to connect with others (Hanson, 2013; Zull, 2002). The polyvagal nervous system is our brain’s “social engagement system” and is focused on keeping us connected to others. 

Through the nervous system, we build the physical foundation for positive, receptive relationships. Relationships aren’t just emotional; they have a physical component and are the precursor to learning.

Our brains come with a default setting - to keep us safe and to be happy. The physical structures of the brain all work together to scan the environment for possible threats, prepare the body for a fight or flight response, and store memories that allow us to learn from experience and associate positivity or negativity from those experiences. 

The amygdala in the brain stays on alert, trying to detect microagressions which are subtle, everyday verbal and nonverbal slights, snubs, or insults which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages. For example, a yelling coach.  

 Since we know that our brains are social organs and are wired to connect with others, let’s take a look at what happens to us when the brain perceives an environment to be a social threat. 

When anyone experiences others in an environment like a soccer field that is hostile, the body picks up that information and sends it to parts of the brain that determine that it’s not socially, emotionally, or intellectually safe and sends out a distress signal to the body. The body starts to produce stress hormones that make learning nearly impossible.

Unfortunately, we see this with teams across every sport and it often starts with the coach. The coach is responsible for creating a safe environment where players feel engaged, learn, and have fun. 

To quote, famous soccer legend, Johan Cruyff...

You see, we all know the game. Anyone who’s coaching knows the game. We’ve all played at high levels, have some license, and have our own philosophies about soccer coaching…

But clubs use the coaches license as criteria to determine how ‘good’ they are. 

And what’s WORSE is that often times, the coaches who have that coveted license are the ones who are very rigid and run their sessions like military camps that end of triggering those negative signals in the brain that makes learning impossible. 

At Ramapo Valley SC, I only hire coaches who are concerned with building trust with players and then leveraging that trust bond to create the social, emotional, and cognitive conditions that allow players to actively engage and take ownership in the learning process. 

In the sake of prestige, many clubs register their teams in the shiniest new league. Parents with players as young as 7 are traveling more than 45 minutes to play a team that ends up crushing them 7-0. Clubs justify their decision by saying its higher level competition which means more exposure to academy coaches and college coaches…

But the team can’t compete against the team in the next town, yet alone, a team 1-hr away that probably pulls from several towns to form one team. 

And the honest truth is, if your child really is that good, he/she will be scouted wherever they are. I personally know one of the highest level scouts and his job is to find this talent. 

Parents spend unnecessary money on gas, tolls, showcase tournaments, and time in the car. 

I’m not saying clubs shouldn’t enroll their teams in these types of events, but the team has to have demonstrated their abilities at the local level. 

Most countries operate on a promotion relegation system. That means that teams start in a local, often local league and have to finish in the top 3 or 4 before getting promoted to the next flight/division. They finish in the lowest half, they get relegated. 

This a natural, logical progression to youth soccer development.

When players are travelling long distances and end up losing to higher level competition, they get discouraged and end up quitting soccer to “try another sport.” 

Then, when the players turns 12 or 13 years old, it’s a world cup year, and they re-discover their interest for soccer. They try out for the school team or club team and they don’t make the team. 

It’s because they started playing soccer at a young age, quit due to a negative experience, missed those crucial years of development, and now can’t compete with their peers who’ve stayed in the sport during those years. Often times, clubs make these decisions without considering the long-term ramifications.  

 We can’t promise you 10,000 hours of organized soccer. We can't promise you that we're going to put your child's team in the next shiniest "elite" league...

But I’d like to show you what we’ve done to address this skill gap.

Let me ask you a question...

Are you feeling a little bit like THIS right now?

THE RVSC METHOD

The RVSC Method is a cognitive-based approach to developing soccer players. Based upon sound pedagogical principles that tap into the way players learn, the RVSC Method utilizes dynamic, engaging, and fun educational training sessions to teach the game of soccer.

The RVSC Method encompasses the social-emotional, relational, and cognitive aspects of youth soccer education while nurturing cognitive development as well as technical execution. The approach teaches the game to players in the way that children learn. The approach develops players’ executive functions - the part of the brain responsible for problem solving, self-regulation, creativity, rule-making, and abstract thinking. The system teaches players how to work with information and quickly make decisions about the environment.

We're so confident in our approach because they are based upon principles invented and taught by Dutch Soccer legend, Johan Cruyff and advanced by Todd Beane. These principles are taught to youth academy players all over the world including at famed soccer academies, Ajax Academy and La Masia in Barcelona.

It’s about developing the intellectual competencies in children. Training is presented as “scaffolded instruction.” Teaching in a cognitive progressive manner that builds upon the baseline competencies of the player. 

Every player is unique and every player develops in his/her own way. The RVSC Method delivers the tools and resources players need to improve the skills of every player at every level. 

Coaches have access to activities and resources categorized for targeted instruction and that support brain-based learning. Put simply, the RVSC Method is the top choice with parents who are looking to offer the instruction, practice, and assessment players need to become successful players and individuals.