Player Development Guidelines

Fort Wayne Fusion

Player Development

The purpose of this document is to set expectations for player development and playing time at each level of the Fusion program. This is to be guidance for coaches, as well as informative for parents and players.

Fusion Definition: (as in, what does it mean “To Fuse?”) Fusion is the process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity. In our case, our program is a Fusion of soccer players to form excellent teams, a Fusion of coaches to train and guide them, and a Fusion of family and fans staying positive and supportive, all working together for the same great objective.  That objective is to create a positive, winning culture within an environment that allows kids to reach their maximum potential on and off the field.

Some framing thoughts from sources around the world:

Wisdom from Bob Parr of The Incredibles:  “We find so many ways to celebrate mediocrity.” Well said, even for a cartoon character. We hope to celebrate every child in our program, while also seeking a high level of personal and team excellence on and off the field.  

We want to encourage the kids to seek to improve and have a mindset to challenge their strengths and weaknesses.

Wisdom from Todd Beane of Tovo Academy:  “Our ambition reaches far beyond the development of talented athletes.  We seek to nurture capable leaders who approach the world with vigor.” Like this! Good stuff.

Wisdom from US Youth Soccer:   There is a need for youth to earn their playing time through attitude, talent, effort, ability to learn, personality, and embracing their role on the team. Wow. Again, good stuff. This is our aim as a program.

 Wisdom recited by every Fusion player ever:  

Coach: Who gets good at soccer?
Players: “The ones who practice at home without their momma tellin’ ‘em.”

We wish for each player to develop a mindset to work hard at whatever they do. We believe this is an invaluable life skill to nurture, one that will bless them the rest of their lives.

Equal playing time and the Definition of “Development” for our teams.

First, let’s discuss equal playing time:  What a difficult topic.  Every parent wants to see their child play and every child wants to play.  Unfortunately, there are only 11 spots on the soccer field with two 30-40 minute halves in each game.  We feel equal playing time over the course of the season MUST be strived for at the Jr. High level. We want to allow players time to grow and build their footskills in game situations whenever possible. Having said that, not everyone is going to be the CEO, not everyone is going to be the lead singer, not everyone is going to be the point person, and there is nothing wrong with this. Part of the players having “fun” is playing on the field. But let’s use the younger years to develop a love for playing wherever asked and for developing good culture on the field and on the bench. This is also a great time for parents to develop a great sideline culture.

We consider our Elementary, Jr. High, and D2 teams to be Developmental. But what does “Developmental” mean in the Fusion program?

To understand what we mean by “developmental” in the Fusion program, we should first start with our intention for the program as a whole. We seek to provide a fun environment that allows the participant to grow and develop not just soccer skills and knowledge but most importantly promote and nurture character qualities that will equip the athletes for challenges that extend far beyond soccer.  In other words, we hope to develop individuals spiritually and emotionally while also developing soccer skills.

What that looks like at each level.

Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys (Also called D1 at times, due to our interactions with the other Indiana Homeschool teams): The varsity level is our target. So we will look at this first. We want every player to have the opportunity to grow and develop their talents to become the best player they can be.

Our Varsity priorities:

1. We seek for our Varsity teams to compete at the highest levels. Our ambition is to build such a strong program from top to bottom that our Fusion varsity teams compete for state and national championships each season.
2. We also seek to help kids continue their growth as excellent individuals who are well rounded, responsive to authority, and personally disciplined spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

In order to accomplish these varsity priorities, we believe the Fusion program needs to be intentional about Player Development in two areas:

1. We believe we need a strong program of developmental teams that teach technical soccer skills, and in which our players can learn excellent on-field soccer tactics and teamwork in a real-game setting. Our developmental teams include our footskills training program, spring teams on which our players and coaches participate, as well as our fall teams consisting of D2 teams, Jr. High teams, and any younger teams the Fusion may organize.
2. It is also important that our developmental teams be considered a place where any player of any level is welcome to be a part of the Fusion program. For many years, the Fusion has been a great place for homeschool kids to make friends and work together with those friends toward personal excellence. This inclusive nature is an important part of the Fusion DNA.

Elementary and Junior High team(s):

Our younger teams are the place where many of these skills, both soccer and friendship, begin to take root. Therefore, we believe that these younger teams and the Junior High team play an essential role in setting the tone for our high school teams. They are the foundation of our Fusion.

Our Elementary and Junior High priorities are:

1. Equal playing time over the course of the season as much as possible. Please note that coaches try to match the strength of our Junior High team to the strength of our opponents. Stronger players may get more playing time against a stronger opponent, and players who need a little more development than their stronger teammates will get more playing time versus weaker opponents. So “Equal Playing Time” does not mean equal playing time each time they dress for the game.
2. Utilize Junior High as a “safe place” to test players at many different positions. They are still developing week-to-week and year-to-year, and so they should be tried in various positions to give them a strong sense for how each position is played. This will help them understand the roles they may best fit on the high school teams.
3. Develop a winning culture. Within the three parameters above, seek to win as many games as possible. Kids love to win, and we want to help them win.
4. The exception to “Equal playing time” is any tournament we enter. When we enter a tournament, such as the State tournament, our order of priority becomes:
5. Win;
6. Players in the best position to give the team the best chance to win;
7. Playing time to be determined by the coaching staff to give the team the best chance to win.
8. Within these parameters, it is our intention to do the best we can to bear in mind that parents have traveled a long way to watch their kids. It is difficult to stay cheerful as a fan when one’s child is sitting on the bench.
9. Coaches must be given latitude to make the best decision for the team.

Fusion D2 teams.

Our D2 teams are to be the step before Varsity. As such, the objective of our D2 teams is to develop varsity players who have the tactical skills to play at the varsity level and have the tactical understanding to play in the intense soccer environment that is Varsity soccer in a program seeking to compete at the highest level.

Our D2 teams are also the place where players who don’t have Varsity level skills can continue to play through their high school years. It is an excellent way for these players to continue to develop friendships, soccer skills, and excellence in leadership, encouragement, and other valuable personal skills.

Our D2 priorities are:

1. Develop a winning culture. This includes each player developing a “winning attitude” and to strive with all their might to grow and develop as excellent soccer players and excellent individuals. It also includes learning contentment in playing whatever role is asked of them.
2. Since players are still developing, and this team is still developmental, every player should get playing time in every game for which they dress. However, we do not strive for equal playing time at the D2 level. Instead, we seek to train the coaches to give as much time as they can while seeking to develop a winning culture. As at the younger levels, coaches will seek to play stronger line-ups against the stronger teams and give more playing time to the developing players against opponents that are not as strong. Our objective is that players on the D2 team be given as much playing time as possible while also seeking to develop a winning culture.
3. As with the younger levels, Tournaments are different than the season. When we enter a tournament, such as the State tournament, our order of priority becomes:
4. Win;
5. Players in the best position to give the team the best chance to win;
6. Playing time to be determined by the coaching staff to give the team the best chance to win.
7. Coaches at the D2 level must have the latitude to make decisions for playing time. Sometimes one can’t feel assured of a win even when up 2-3 goals against a dangerous team, and the coach may not feel comfortable substituting until later in the game. But coaches will develop every player on his roster during game times as much as he/she can through the season, so the whole team is as strong as possible entering the tournament season.

As you can see, this is not a magic formula. It leaves a lot of room for questions. Players and parents should communicate directly with the coach about any concerns.

It is important for parents and players to know that this is the most difficult level to coach effectively. There are competing objectives and coaches have to make decisions in the flow of a game. This is an intense requirement and no one will do it perfectly. So communicate, communicate, and communicate some more. And be understanding.

One final note about development at the D2 level: 

It is our observation through the years that players who don’t have the skills for Varsity can still have a great high school soccer experience. They can have a great time, develop a winning mindset, become encouragers to their teammates, and develop valuable leadership skills while playing an important role in helping the team develop a winning culture at practices and during games–from the field or from the bench.

It is also our observation as coaches that those who work hard at developing the skills they need, those who practice at home, condition at home, shoot, dribble, juggle at home, are hard to keep off the field.  Some kids are naturally more gifted as athletes and some are more gifted as friends or leaders, but there is just something about those who work hard on their own time. They are the ones who are learning to develop personal excellence, and personal excellence in soccer skills can carry over into personal excellence in other areas of their lives.