Background

Montclair United believes fostering a structured, developmental environment requires common standards and benchmarks that can be followed by trainersand understood by players and parents. Montclair United standards focus on developing smart, complete soccer players, while preparing boys and girls to play high school soccer.

Categories

Technical - The ability to execute individual skills critical to game play. As players mature and settle into positions, skill emphasis may differ by position. For example: a central midfield player will need different techniques and expertise as compared to an outside back.

Tactical - Montclair United aims to create clever players, capable of adapting to the constantly changing circumstances of the game. Tactical skills are when a player takes action or makes a decision to gain an advantage on the field.

Physical - Strong and resilient players will provide a significant advantage to the team. A tired player will struggle to think properly and is prone to commit more errors.

Psychosocial - A human being is often affected by his/her emotions. Players will learn to use these emotions to their advantage and turn them into strengths.

Workload

The table below illustrates relative workload in a given year for each skill; 5 being highest and indicating an area of emphasis, 0 being lowest and indicating no emphasis in training for that age group. For example: heading is a 1 (and unimportant) for U8s and a 5 (very important) for U14s.

Proficiency

Players are expected to be proficient in the corresponding skill by the end of the year highlighted. For example: players are expected to be
proficient in Passing and Receiving by the end of their U11 year and not yet expected to be proficient heading by the end of U14.