Member-only story
I believe that kids who learn to write well will obtain more career opportunities and find more open doors than those who neglect this vital skill.
Like many American boys, I grew up playing baseball, football and basketball. We had pickup games throughout the year and intra-murals at school. Many of us even earned our varsity letters in one sport or another.
With the exception of California there were few, if any, varsity soccer teams that I knew of when I was growing up. So it was an intriguing experience to become a soccer coach when my son took an interest in this exhilarating sport at age six or seven. His first attraction was the international character of the soccer cards. Soccer cards not only depict players and their colorful uniforms, they also include the corresponding flags of their various nations.
Though I had only a modest relationship with soccer, I accepted the responsibilities of coaching and determined to excel at it. To do this I did what I usually do: I visited our local library and found books on the game. I studied the drills and exercises to develop my players’ skills. And I learned the rules.
I also attended a clinic for coaches led by Buzz Lagos, head coach of the Minnesota Thunder professional soccer team. It was from Mr. Lagos, or “Coach” as he preferred to be called, that I learned what I consider to be a most important principle for writing teachers.
Coach Lagos and several players from the Thunder conducted the clinic. During the clinic we spent most of our time playing various games designed to teach soccer skills and develop our awareness of key principles. At the end of the evening we then gathered for a question-and-answer period.
During this Q&A one of my fellow coaches asked a question that was undoubtedly a burning issue for a number of us. “Sir, what skill level should my kids be at when they are 10-years-old?” Here it was. What are the benchmarks that our boys and girls should aspire to as they advance in age? How deft should their ball handling be? How strong and true should they be kicking? How skilled in passing and receiving? How effective their ball control and other maneuvers?
