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| Chelsea Soccer School's Steve Winnett is to the right of Phil Younghusband in the back. |
Spreading the gospel of the
Beautiful Game:
Chelsea Soccer School’s Steve Winnett
by rick olivares
The four-day Chelsea FC Special Camp that took place from August
5-9 was over. The certificates had been handed out, photo ops between the
children and the coaches were being taken, and the beaming parents were packing
up their gear.
Steven Allan Winnett, head
coach of the Chelsea FC Boys College Academy, took a knee to pick up
some papers that had scattered across the Gatorade Blue Pitch, when a couple of
kids came over. “That was fun,” said one youngster who gave the Englishman a
high-five. “Maybe we can do that again.”
“And we will,” affirmed Winnett.
If one were looking to learn the latest trends in
world football or tactics on breaking down a 4-2-3-1 formation, then this isn’t
the right place to go.
Winnett chuckled. “We’re not teaching kids those kinds
of tactics…. yet. I believe that people forget that we are teaching kids. And
one of the worst things you can teach them at a very impressionable age is that
it’s all about winning. When you’re a kid, it’s important to develop that love
for the game. When you love the game you will play it without anyone pushing
you to put on your boots and have a go. Love for the game means hours learning
skills by yourself or watching others.”
During the morning session of the last day, a
four-year old kid bawled out after he got tackled and his side lost the match.
Winnett felt that the incident spoke volumes, “The young lad is obviously very
young and beginning to learn life’s lessons. Mark my words, there will be much
to learn from that loss that will spur him to get better. It was also important
for the others to rally around him because some people take losses in different
ways.”
One of the hallmarks of the Chelsea Soccer School is impressing upon their students that learning the game can be fun
and a means to a healthy lifestyle. “The philosophy of the first team,”
differentiated Winnett who was a former Chelsea Youth player (before James and
Phil Younghusband joined the club), “Is winning. It’s highly advanced tactics
and strategies. Internationally, we want kids to learn in a safe and enjoyable
environment. We drum into our coaches that teaching them the proper attitudes
is just as vital as learning skills.”
“I would say technically, Filipino kids are fine. Obviously there
are things that they need to work on over time but that goes for everyone else.
However, I’d like to stress that at an early age too, kids have to understand
and make the most out of space.”
“If you don’t use it, you miss opportunities to advance the ball or
even score,” expounded Winnett. “If a player doesn’t recognize a teammate is
open then that an opportunity lost. If he passes a second later then a defender
can close down that space. There’s lot. And it boils down to the speed of
thought. And for kids, it isn’t all just mindless running about.”
“Right now, it’s about repetition and dedication,” summed up the
London-based Winnett who does a fair amount of traveling spreading the gospel
of Chelsea football. “It needs to be second nature to them. And when we come
back in a few months time, we move on to the next set of skills. But we will
still have fun learning.”
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