Michael C.

David Zepeda, President of Corona Eagles Soccer Club, Corona , Ca. (Testimonial)

Skill Drills at Home --- Coach Mike Christ wrote: The most effective practice to develop ball skills for soccer is to work with the ball individually. Several repetitive exercises with the ball can provide the player with a smooth, quick touch on the ball as he masters the various 'feints' with the ball. Here are several individual ball 'exercises'; roll out - push in"... set foot on the ball and roll toward the outside of the foot as you quick slide the foot to the outside of the ball and push "in" towards the other foot. Repeat with other foot and proceed for 100 times quickly. Do this daily. pull and tap"... set foot on the ball and roll it "heel to toe" so it rolls back. Quickly drop your toe to ground before the ball. The ball will 'bounce' back so you can repeat with the other food. Repeat this 100 times per daily session. Roll in - push out"... set foot on ball and roll it towards your other foot while quickly rolling your foot over the ball to the ground between your feet. Push back to the "outside" and quickly set your other foot on the ball and repeat 100 times! across the front"... push the ball with one foot on top "toe to heel" in front of yor other foot. Then pull with your foot back "toe to heel". Turn to keep facing the ball as you place your other foot on the ball and repeat 100 times. push-pull"... set your foot on the ball and move it "toe to heel to toe" or push-pull. Switch feet quickly and repeat 100 times. outside 1/2 turn"... Using the outside part of your foot, push and turn the ball towards your back, while hopping quickly on the other foot to accomodate a 180° turn. recover ball with outside of other foot and repeat 50 times. behind the leg"... set your foot on the ball and pull "heel to toe" so ball passes your 'planted' foot as you apply your instep of the set foot and push the ball behind your "planted" leg. Quickly set your "planted" foot on the ball and repeat. Do this 100 times each session. shielding turn"... set one foot on the ball with the bottom of your foot or the "cleat" on the ball. Move ball towards your back while maintaining the "cleat" on the ball. This may be done with several small touches while you hop on the other foot to accomodate the 180° turn, then switch to other foot. Repeat this move 50 times per session. rollover dribble"... practice dribbling in a variety of touch techniques. This one requires that you push the ball with your sole or "cleat" instep to outside of foot. Get at least 100 touches of this technique per day. This and the first two exercises quickly develop your ability to turn with the ball while under defensive pressure from your opponent in game situations. inside-outside dribble"... find a small area to dribble with one foot, quickly touching ball alternately with the instep and "laces". Get 100 touches on each foot with this technique. The other two that we usually do (taps on top of the ball, and "quick feet") are good for developing quick coordination, balance, and stamina with the ball. To develop power and accuracy with the ball, the simplest tool is to use a wall to bounce passes and shots off of. The English even call the 1-2 pass a "wall pass" due to the simplicity of this practice! Combining the technique that you will develop from these drills and daily practice at "juggling" (keepie uppies in England) or controlling the ball in the air for several touches will give each player several comfortable decisions that he will be able to make with the ball in future game situations.

Edward Gray, President of the South African Football Union (Testimonial)

Reply to Invitation from South Africal Football Union- Human Rights Focus Group --- Coach Mike Christ wrote: Thank you, Edward, for this invitation. I hope that sharing our international plights might grow to an understanding and a positive movement for our instruction and competitive growth. Soccer, originally a training game for Armies, (Roman, Britons, Gaulish,etc..) requires players with enough 'fury' in their agressiveness to be sucessful in the game! In communities with economic strife, prejudice, oppression, team activities cannot be permitted to add devisiveness to these adverse conditions. My introductory experience to coaching soccer in an hispanic neighborhood occured in the Arlanza Neighborhood of Riverside California in 1988. During that summer, there were several gang murders in that neighborhood. I later found out that many of the players I organized into a 4 team club came from broken families or even immigrated there illegally, on their own from Mexico. I had to affect a change to this circumstance of having almost 100 teenage boys without organized activity. The original tryout that I conducted for the first team drew 70 boys to the park for a chance to play. Many of these boys could not provide their proof of birth, so , the only place that they could play was in a league that would permit minors to play with adults, an 'unaffiliated league". During the 5 1/2 years that I spent trying to get support for my activities in this neighborhood, for only the last two years, did we actually form a legal BU19 team that proved to be a 2nd place team in the regional league both years, and was finalist at 2 tournaments. The High School in the neighborhood, which I served as an assistant (schools require a registered teacher to be head coach) reached the state quaterfinals three years in a row before reaching the championship game in 1992! Head Coach Don Shore won the California Interscholastic Federation Coach of the Year Honor. For five years, no murders were commited in Arlanza. Although my personal mission to build a club only gave fruit to 4 teams, 17 other youth teams were formed in the same area by parents and other interested coaches. Arlanza, now connected with the La Sierra neighborhood for sports leagues, maintains 40 youth teams in the various age groups. To be a leader of change, sometimes you have to make the difficult decisions to keep your mission on focus. This causes other people to organize to do things "their way" in competition. Through the first four years, NO ONE would volunteer to help in that neighborhood. I'm now semi-retired in North Georgia, wanting to teach the very tactical game that I leaned and developed during that time. I'm sure, in South Africa, your experiences must be on a much wider, dynamic stage than I could ever imagine, but there's my story. On 03/26/14 8:38 AM, Edward Gray wrote: -------------------- I would like to invite you to join my group on LinkedIn. -Edward I think I already posted it.. On 03/26/14 9:49 AM, Edward Gray wrote: -------------------- Mike, it is so amazing that we are continents apart, but share the same problems. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story with me. Would you consider posting it in the group? Perhaps start a discussion asking people to share their life and motivational stories. That is one of the points of the group; to also inspire others to do something! I'm sure many would like to read it. I found it enlightening, encouraging, and inspiring. It tells me I'm on the right track and not the only one who realizes the potential of sport to change lives. It is a great honor and privilege to know you, my friend! Kind regards, Edward

Edward Gray , President of the South African Football Union (Testimonial)

Coach Mike Christ Technical Director at Dawson County Middle School Here, with the present club that has its contract with the county parks and recreation department, effectively holding a monopoly on all field usage, if you venture to actually teach the players an advanced level of play, without charging the player for each learning activity, so the players pay for each activity to the club, then the club 'shuns' you from the players and actively slanders you so the 'customers' don't seek you out. I guess this is what they mean by "country soccer" (rural)! The first and only coaching situation apart from this club was very sucessful and changed everyone's opinion on how the game should be played. It was a voluntary position. The club will glean any knowledge and tactics I have taught and gain a profit from them. THAT'S why I must be paid for what I do! If I don't, the people who use this sport as a socialist indoctrination, usurp my experience for their own profit. The world is worse than we all think... (like your, "coaches denying food for performance"???) Edward Gray President at SAFU - South African Football Union Top Contributor A man must be paid for his labour. When someone profiteers from another persons sweat and free labour it amounts to nothing more than abuse and a violation of that person's right to earn a living. We are in complete agreement on that point, Mike Just need to correct one point; it wasn't the coaches who punished the players, it was the team owners. The one coach was fired when he refused to participate. Coach Mike Christ Technical Director at Dawson County Middle School I sympathize for that coach. Edward Gray President at SAFU - South African Football Union Top Contributor Me too, and the players that have to bear the poor treatment. This is the mission that SAFU is on; to change all that and make sure that better standards of management are implemented and adhered to. With the support of people in this group who care and a building a strong union member base it will be done! Coach Mike Christ; I'm with you! We need to affect change in education and training to produce amazing, knowledgable, creative PLAYERS instead of obedient subjects! With the miriad of situational, tactical, technical and fitness training programs designed for soccer, there is no excuse for a qualified coach not to accomplish this concept. It's just that there are also, a miriad of inadequate business plans and social agendas throughout many youth academies not affiliated with professional teams, that detract from time spent, or appropriate facilities, equipment, or training concepts to follow through with a proper program. They hold to one appeasable program, the Coerver skills, and provide situational, tactical concepts from the same time period (the 1960's)! To ready a player for the modern game, there should be practically no time for meetings or speaches during training! Station or CIRCUIT training is necessary to accomplish the many technical and tactical concepts for a modern game plan.

Ian Wheeler Urethane Chemist at Shaw Industries (Testimonial)

Do coaches especially youth coaches over rate “putting yourself about” extra running and hard tackles player while under rating the more technical, more cerebral and more creative players Coach Mike Christ. You're right! Most of you DON'T know how to read an opponent's effective play. Most look at formations and see who scored from them! The professional game is NOT TAUGHT in the USA. To 'read' an opponent, firstly, observe their phases of possession and attack that might prove to be tendancies. Exploit these tendancies by isolating and or containing their ball possesssion to an ineffective part of the field. Diagram any passing 'mechanism' they become successful at in 'breaking' your isolation trap. Be wary of any 'gaps' they may exploit in your formation. Use secondary attackers as man-markers and defenders as zonal 'cover' for them. Each layer of recovery runners, markers, covers, evoke a pressured reaction from the folllowing function by their own reaction to the ball. That's as good as I can do without using the professional teminology that I was taught, and dissecting the entire squad so y'all can understand each player's function during transition, dispersal, buildup, oops, there I went. There's three more attack phases. Share them with me so I don't think that I'm educating you for nothing. Also share with me what you think that each player's function may be. I'll bring you up to date! (Coach Wheeler never replied...)

Ryan Hodgson Director of Coaching and Player Development at Pride Soccer Club (Testimonial)

Has the way we play/coach the game changed again? Ryan Hodgson Director of Coaching and Player Development at Pride Soccer Club I have heard a few interesting concepts in recent weeks that have got me thinking on whether to adjust my coaching philosophy such as tackling should no longer be taught in the youth ages but more so "trapping the opponent" into an interception or even as far as the 1st defender getting beat on purpose so the attacker takes a bigger touch into their covering 2nd defender. Makes sense if you hope the correct defensive tactics (pressure and cover) techniques are being taught. Another interesting concept is the Barcelona "tike taka" passing is on its way out because of the high pressing game. We therefore should be going back to basics in ensuring our players are more competent in the 1 v 1 attacking duel to offset the high pressure defending tactics. Agree? Disagree? Other thoughts? Discuss... • •Close viewer Comments •Coach Mike Christ NSCAA National Diploma (USSF 'B' Equivalent) Soccer Coach There are several international soccer "schools of thought" followed by the various national programs. Barca., Bayern, Azzuri, AC Milan, Mexican, German, Dutch, Brazilian, English illustrate the panorama of styles that claim to be modern soccer. Many national are very similar to the successful club "systems", but very few nations have been successful in bring their "national schools" to prominence. Here in America, coaches trying to gain a limited understanding of the game, cherry pick systemic implementations much like they "steal a play" for american football. This is not congruent to success for a long term. Piecing together tactics for progressive situations, without formulating an overall scheme or system leaves the players to their own decision making. If you have a Messi, this may succeed! If the variations of play confuse the individual or cause him to take 3 seconds to decide everytime he possesses, then there may be something too complicated or doesn't fit with the flow of the game (coaches here blame the player). Providing training from a supposed "international school", must be a complete curriculum, directed by a master, trained from that school. I teach a six year developmental program that I learned from CD Chivas de Guadalajara Academy (fuerzas basicas) to American youth! I have adjusted the concepts within this program to conform with Claudio Reyna's US Academy Standards, while still maintaining the depth of instruction. •Coach Mike Christ; Very few coaches in today's game give the player a presence of being a 'rock' of support for thier players. The coach may act respectfully, assert powerful leadership techniques, and even get more performance out of players than anyone else can. But, if that "rock" is not a fountain of knowledge for the players to grow from, then your 'planting a garden in the desert'. Coach Mike Christ; Soccer is a human sport. Mistakes are made. Systems within the teams structure need to be designed to minimalize those mistakes, Loss of possession needs have an immediate pressure/cover transition while the rest of the team recovers. 1 on 1 situations are overly stressed. The mere occurance of a 1 v 1 situation is a sign that someone failed to move to space around the ball, drop into support, or follow through on an attack run, etc. The key is finding at what point the most costly mistake(s) appear in the game, and coach the definite action to quash the damage ( recovery, immediate first pressure, jockeying superior angle, etc.).

Mauricio "el Maestro" Herrera, WBA World Champion, Light Welterweight 2014 (Testimonial)

Skills for Soccer, Skills for Life - A local mantra for the UFA, the reigning soccer authority in Dawsonville, has been proven in my past community in Riverside, Cal. Applied to another sport, Game Plan training, called "Blueprinting" in bo......xing, focuses training on a specific opponent's tendancies. My friend, World Champion Super Lightweight Boxer Mauricio el Maestro Herrera epitomizes that concept. Mauricio "Junior" AKA "El Maestro" Herrera and his brother Albert, started out as 'boxing brothers for the first twelve bouts in Junior's career. Both were students of Norte Vista High School, Albert played on my JV soccer team there one year. We're like family as we attend each other's family events and celebrations. Their mother Eldamira, and my wife are best friends. This may not be much of a discussion, other than what we do in a community becomes culture for everyone. And I am very proud for my friends, the Herreras! Mauricio Herrera From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mauricio Herrera Statistics Real name Mauricio Herrera Nickname(s) El Maestro Rated at Welterweight Light Welterweight Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) Reach 71 in (182 cm) Nationality American Born (1980-05-24) May 24, 1980 (age 34) Lake Elsinore, California Stance Counterpuncher Boxing record Total fights 25 Wins 21 Wins by KO 7 Losses 4 Draws 0 No contests 0 Mauricio Herrera (born May 24, 1980) is an American professional boxer in the Light Welterweight division.[1][2] Contents [hide] 1 Professional career 2 Professional record 3 References 4 External links Professional career[edit]On January 7, 2011 Herrera beat the undefeated Ruslan Provodnikov on ESPN's Friday Night Fights to win the USBA Lightweight Championship.[3] On March 15, 2014 Herrera lost a controversial majority decision to Danny García in a 12 round championship bout for the WBC, WBA (Super) & The Ring Light Welterweight titles, by the scores of 116-112 twice and 114-114. The decision was highly disputed with many members of the media scoring the bout in favor of Herrera, including Showtime Championship Boxing's broadcasting team.[4] The scorecards submitted by judges Carlos Colon and Alejandro Rochin, in particular, drew criticism as their four point advantage for Garcia were not reflective of the action in the ring.[5][6] Professional record[edit]21 Wins (7 knockouts, 14 decisions), 4 Losses, 0 Draws Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes Win 21–4 Johan Perez MD 12 2014-07-12 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada Won WBA Interim Light Welterweight title. Loss 20–4 Danny García MD 12 2014-03-15 Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico For WBC, WBA (Super) & The Ring Light Welterweight titles. Win 20–3 Miguel Angel Huerta UD 8 2013-09-27 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 19–3 Ji-Hoon Kim UD 10 2013-05-02 Omega Products International, Corona, California, United States Loss 18–3 Karim Mayfield UD 10 2012-10-27 Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, United States For WBO NABO Welterweight title. Loss 18–2 Mike Alvarado UD 10 2012-04-14 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win 18–1 Mike Dallas Jr MD 10 2011-06-24 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, United States Win 17–1 Cristian Favela UD 8 2011-04-29 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 16–1 Ruslan Provodnikov UD 12 2011-01-07 Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won IBF North American light welterweight title Win 15–1 Hector Alatorre UD 8 2010-08-20 Omega Products International, Corona, California, United States Win 14–1 Efren Hinojosa RTD 6 2010-04-23 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Loss 13–1 Mike Anchondo SD 8 2009-12-04 Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California, United States Win 13–0 Cleotis Pendarvis MD 8 2009-10-09 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 12–0 Jason Davis TKO 5 2009-08-14 Omega Products International, Corona, California, United States Won WBC United States (USNBC) light welterweight title Win 11–0 Luis Alfredo Lugo UD 10 2009-06-12 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Won WBC United States (USNBC) welterweight title Win 10–0 William Correa TKO 5 2009-04-17 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 9–0 Brian Gordon RTD 4 2009-02-27 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 8–0 Pavel Miranda TKO 8 2008-11-28 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 7–0 Antonio Sorria UD 4 2008-09-26 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 6–0 Santiago Perez UD 6 2008-08-28 Omega Products International, Corona, California, United States Win 5–0 Daniel Cervantes UD 6 2008-08-01 Desert Diamond Casino, Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win 4–0 Alan Velasco SD 6 2008-05-31 Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort, Valley Center, California, United States Win 3–0 Jose Rodriguez RTD 2 2008-02-22 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 2–0 Elisio Garcia TKO 3 2007-11-02 Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California, United States Win 1–0 Angel Osuna UD 4 2007-08-24 Omega Products International, Corona, California, United States