Local Alternative Youth Soccer League Starts This Week

Starting this week, Prince George's County Soccer Inc. (PGSI) will once again be sponsoring Small-Sided Soccer on Saturday mornings in Hyattsville's Magruder Park.

Players from surrounding communities, including Hyattsville, Riverdale Park and University Park, in kindergarten through seventh-grade will be placed into co-ed divisions to learn the game of soccer and have some recreational fun.

Now in its 11th season, Small-Sided Soccer moves away from the traditional American teachings and introduces kids to soccer the European way. Players won't be weaving through orange cones, running sprints or running drills. Instead, they simply play the game.

"The most effective way to teach is through play," said PGSI President David Hiles.

Hiles is a first generation American whose family comes from England, and is an expert in teaching kids the game of soccer.

"There are no drills. Kids discover it themselves," he said.

Based on tradition in Holland, Small-Sided soccer eliminates 11-on-11 games, giant goals, whistles, and even the goalie. Players in the Kindergarten to fourth-grade range play a four-on-four game on a small field with eight to ten players on a team. On each end of the field there is a semi-circle with a cone on either side marking a goal, however no goalie stands inside. Players both on offense and defense must stay out of that circle.

The fields are also smaller so every player gets a chance to touch the ball. In this sense, shy players attempting to stay away from the action are left with nowhere to hide.

Once players grow into the fifth- to seventh-grade range, the field enlarges and a goalie is added to the mix. However, don't expect to see them standing in front of just one net. On each corner of the field is a small pop-up goal. Therefore the goalie must protect two goals at once.  

Naturally, if a player does put a shot in the goal, a point is recorded, right?

Wrong.

Small-Sided Soccer also eliminates all recording of scores and standings. The idea is not to crown winners, but to teach.  If a player scores a goal, they then become the goalie, learning another aspect of the game.

"This way there's not a lot of pressure on the kids," Hiles said. "There's no role of a superstar."

Some may argue that this approach to soccer does not adequately prepare kids for more serious and competitive play. Usually, kids looking to make a future out of soccer play on a travel team where they would be participating more drills that Small-Sided Soccer eliminates.

According to PGSI Commissioner Marc Tartaro, the transfer of kids from Small-Sided Soccer to a more conventional league is a positive thing.

"It's great when kids graduate from the program," he said. "It's time for them to move on to a different level of training. At some point, if they need to move on, that's a good thing."

This year will be the first in PGSI's history in which a seventh-grade division will exist. As it continues to expand, the directors of the league hope to eventually create an intern program in order to bring in high school students interested in physical education or college students with an interest in coaching.

Although certainly unconventional, the higher-ups at PGSI are confident that the league serves a constructive purpose. As Hiles sums it up, Small-Sided Soccer is a "fun introduction to the game that the world loves."

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