Day 9 & 10

A bit of sightseeing today to the "Water City" a small town outside of Shanghai, which had canals ala Venice throughout. Some shopping and last minute souvenir ideas; and  of course some meals.

The day of departure, went to see the FINA World Championships to watch USA Water-polo vs Holland in a 7-7 tie. What fantastic athletes! No way I could tread water for that long, nevertheless battle in a Colosseum of Water.

Flight back to the USA!

Day 8

Last day of DISCUSS 2011, it has been a great adventure. The sites and sounds of Shanghai have been terrific and the sharing soccer/Futbol ideas has been a challenge and a reward.

The last day started with a field session with Coach Erwan leading the coaches themselves on age appropriate training. This was to compliment the previous day's lecture which Coach Jen went over in the classroom. From movement education with U6s, to gate games with U8s/U10s/U12s. Showed some activities and how to build them pending the age group characteristics.

Inside for the final lecture with Dr. Dwyer speaking on teaching life lessons through sport. Some Q and A after with very good discussion.

Certificates of Participation handed out, fantastic lunch hosted by coaches from one of the local Shanghai Districts and onto the field for a goodbye "Kick-A-Bout!" Am very happy that "megs" in China bring about the same response.

Dinner consisted of the biggest buffet meal I have ever seen, including a live band. My colleagues back at VYSA would still be there as it was eating heaven.

Thanks US State Department for supporting this trip, the Shanghai FA and Mr. Chen for being such great, humble hosts, Dr. Carrie Le Crom for the invite and coordinating the organization Of the trip. A warm thanks to my other colleagues on the trip: Jen Woodie, Dr. Brandon Dwyer, Erwan Le Crom and Scott Turner.

A day of site seeing and off to USA tomorrow.

Day 7

Almost done, as we have one more day of the the DISCUSS 2011 Symposium. The hosts Mr. Chen and Shanghai FA have been been top notch, what a week of cultural and football exchanges!

Today kicked off with Coach Jen going over the differences between coaching U6s-U14s. She is delivered a classroom lecture on key areas that will affect your coaching plans, when working with these ages. Scott then did a session one of the key revenue streams of the Richmond Strikers, the Jefferson Cup and soccer tournaments. He went over the actual operations and keys to running a succession tournament. Dr. Le Crom then moderated a panel discussion with Coach Jen, Coach Erwan and myself, looking at communication between players, parents and the keys to being successful.

The afternoon session was to feature a match with a club team from Japan vs a team from Korea at one of the local professional stadiums. In preparation for it, we organized the coaches into 4 groups to do a match analysis. Each group presented their findings as per formations, style of play, key people etc... Unfortunately, the match was a one sided 8-1 win for the Japanese. 

Evening consisted of a visit to watch Shanghua play, the local pro team that plays in the top flight of the Chinese Super League. Finished 1-1 with a boisterous small group, 8 yellows and 2 reds and a melee outside the stadium while we were leaving with fans (By the way, no alcohol is served). Both the match and street fight were anti-climatic as the later prompted our driver to say that the two combatants were too out of shape. Finishing move, grabbing the glasses off of the others face and then giving it back.

Last Day tomorrow....

Cheers,

Paul

Day 6

It is hard to believe that after today we are more than half way though the Symposium. Today we travelled outside of Shanghai to a Sports School in one of their Districts. Many of the coaches we are working with, come from these types of Schools (pics below). Only the Olympic sports are offered and most of the student athletes live in Residence while school is session. This week, the school was delivering a soccer camp and we were to use their players for demos.

Coach Erwan delivered a session on Defending Principles then Coach Jen, a session on Attaching Principles. I followed with a Goalkeeping for all practice. The highlight of the day was the Girl's squad in my session. Later we would find out that this School is known for it's Girls Soccer. The technique of these 9, 10, 11 old Girl's was the cleanest I have seen for this age (will post some video). By the way, they live here and train a couple of hours a day, 5-6 days per week.

One of the local Chinese Sports TV stations spent the morning with us, we spoke with them about the cultural "football" exchange, how thankful we are for the opportunity, and the work of the US State Departments's Program, Mr. Chen and Shanghai FA. After a typical Chinese lunch, we went back to the facility to watch the players from this School train.

We mentioned in an earlier post that the Chinese Swim/Diving team is staying at our hotel. We see a ton of divers, who are pretzel like as they are always going their routines, swimmer and water polo athletes. This evening consisted of a diner hosted by some of the key people of the District we attended today including the Head Master. Two days left and the conversations are growing, we are enjoying our time and looking forward to tomorrow.

Remember, we will post sessions upon our return.

Cheers,

Paul

DISCUSS Conference Day 2

Hello All,

Late yesterday, the final instructor arrived. Jen Woodie (Assistant Women's Soccer Coach, University of Richmond) would immediately upset everyone by declaring that she slept 8 hours and is experiencing no jet lag. I believe that I am still "lagged" as I am waking up by 4 am ready to go. The rest of the team is doing well and the creativeness of food throughout the first couple of days made today's pizza at lunch seem like a luxury.

We started on the field this morning with Coach Jen and Dynamic Technical activities. the U14 boys from the Shanghai FA were put through their paces by doing a variety of multi-directional activities. Then back to the classroom for a Sport Psychology session with Dr. Le Crom. Here she focused on arousal control, mental imagery, and positive self-talk. Then gave a couple of practical ways a coach can implement them during their practice.

Afternoon field session consisted of a dual session of Coach Erwan and I focusing on Finishing. We had a solid group of U18 Boys, started with some technical work incorporated into pattern play to goal. And the 4 v 4 to big goals in a tight area with active walls. We showed a variety of ways to manipulate the walls to bring out different coaching points. Upon finishing 2 days of coaching, we met as a group and have adapted some of the upcoming sessions to really bring in a strong transitional element. Technique of the players has been quality.

Our afternoon session was observed by members of the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai who were instrumental in supporting DISCUSS. Scott Turner (General Manager, Richmond Strikers) then went through the details of their club which went very well. Tons of great details on Human Resource Management, Revenue Streams and Corporate Partnerships. Addressing these areas in a professional manner is key to a club's success.

Great dinner again and we are at it tomorrow in a suburb of Shanghai at on of their Sport Schools.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. We are having trouble posting the sessions as attachments. Thus, may have to wait till I get back next week.

DISCUSS 2011 Kicks Off

The Symposium has started and I will do my best to get the presentations (lectures and field sessions posted) on this blogspot. This has been a great experience, especially from the Instructor standpoint. Using a translator is very challenging, especially since it is not simultaneous. You speak, then you have to wait for the translator to speak, this process take time to establish a rhythm as you also need to have some chemistry with the translator. If you say too much, the information gets lost; if you say too little, there are too many pauses. Plus, not all English words or phrases, translate into Chinese word for word. Then you have to consider the cultural differences, in your sessions--it is quite alright for coaches to answer phone calls and having discussions with their neighbors about what you are talking about is a good thing. Respect here is also very important. Thus, drawing out opinion is very challenging...you don't want to put anyone on the spot and they won't do that to you either. As we all get more comfortable, this will improve as the coaches get to know us more...and we get to know them.

After intros this morning, I delivered a presentation on "Trends in World Futbal and Coaching Methodology." Here we looked at some changes in our sport (thanks to our TD back at VYSA for this info), looked at the Role of Guided Discovery in Coaching and the US Soccer Coaching Toolkit. The afternoon had Coach Erwan Le Crom (Richmond Strikers) deliver a field session on Small Sided Activities, here he showed different ways to use 4 goal games and decision making (we will make sure to post later). The last lecture was an Open Panel Player Development session with Dr. Brendan Dwyer (VCU) moderating. I need to personally thank him for putting myself and Erwan on the spot with questions about Playing Up; Coaching Philosophy and Development; How to build a team identity?; Dealing with age group differences. And others... THANKS Dr. DWYER for no softball questions!

Quality dinner after with hosts and looking forward to more tomorrow.

Cheers,

Paul

Day 3 - The Play

Day 3:

The last day of sightseeing and learning about Chinese culture before the start of the DISCUSS 2011 Symposium. Highlighted by the most amazing live theatre I have ever seen.

-this play had live horses galloping across the stage and Cirque de Soleil style acrobats.

Today we travelled 2 hours south of Shanghai to the city they call Heaven on Earth (Hangzhou). Smaller in size to Shanghai (only 10.5 million people instead of 20), lots of great history and amazing sites. 

-this play had a rain fall over the whole audience and a real waterfall running into a lake.

Sites included a very history lake, a town resurrected with people and sites like the reenactment area in Jamestown, VA but with ancient Chinese culture as the back drop and a key Buddhist Temple. Long day but well worth the memories.

-this play had a live battle with a fort and a number of choreographed dance scenes that went into the audience.

Onto the Futball tomorrow and I will make sure to post the presentations and field sessions delivered.

Cheers,

Paul

Countdown to Coaching Symposium

We are 2 days away, had a great meeting this am to discuss the Opening Day which will finish with a panel discussion on Player Development. Got to prep for topics such as Early Specialization, Playing Up and Long Term Coaching Development. Should be interesting as the coaches coming work with "select" players-either through Sports Schools or the local Football Club. Players get identified early-looking forward to the chatter about the role of recreation soccer and what happens to players that don't get selected.

Spent the rest of the day touring and eating and eating. We have realized that meals are a way to show hospitality-what this means though is that you need to try what is put in front of you. That stinky/fermented tofu did me in... Was ok with the jelly fish but am still recovering alla GB in Portugal last year with ODP and his penchant for bathrooms.

Fantastic hosts, looking forward to the Futbol on Monday. Touring some other sites on Sunday. USA v Brazil tonight at 11:30pm.Great sites today included old and new town Shanghai. Of course we found a Starbucks in old town! Lots of history-plus, a sense of the future with the quality of a skyline that resembles Manhattan. The World's second tallest building is here.

The Bund

Dr. Brendan Dwyer in the Shanghai Gardens

Cheers,
Paul

Day 1

Welcome to Shanghai China:

Long day of traveling today (thanks for the tweets about how to recover from jet lag, I won't be using the one tip--wash your face in a couple of raw eggs (did you mean I must drink it?). We were greeted at the airport and taken to our hotel--the Chinese swim team is making this their home as Shanghai hosts the 2011 World Swim Championships starting next weekend. Security was tight -- reminded me of a TSA experience but not an issue. 

We have great hosts, they took us on a brief tour of the area around the hotel and then guided us on a fantastic dinner staring, sautéed frogs, pig's kidney and feet; and duck tongue--it was very good which was backed up with about another 6 dishes. Quality! Meeting tomorrow am to go over the course. I am gone to bed...

Thanks,

Paul

Videos and Article

Hello everyone,

Summary video of the program

Here is an interview with Sun Wen from last year

Lastly, check out this article that features this year's program. It is a great read!
U.S., China highlight sports exchange programs

Hope you all enjoy. Be sure to check back daily for updates!

Hello everyone! Welcome to our BLOGS on the DISCUSS trip! We will do our best to update daily, via tweets and detailed entries.

Paul