The Vogelsinger Soccer Academy Experience.
During the month of July 2010, we attended the "All Star Soccer School".
Here are the details!
Upon arrival at Willamette University our first walk around was to explore the University grounds and check out the very fine artificial turf soccer pitch. Indeed the facility is extraordinary. We were very pleased with the student dorm rooms and were especially impressed with the food hall, providing quality breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Vogelsinger Academy provides soccer training over a very long day. Honestly, I thought the schedule was far too long in duration. We were prepared to endure our first day of training and were concerned about many things, at the forefront of our concerns was heat exhaustion. At mid day the temperature felt like 35 degrees! To my relief, we found the schedule was in fact very well thought out, and very manageable. To the students relief, they were pleased to see the two large iced water containers available for hydration and a ten square foot sun shelter. Vogelsinger have a physiotherapist present at all times to provide any needed medical attention. The physio girl Chris, was friendly and enthusiastic. She added some cool down buckets of water and ice, Chris was prepared and very knowledgeable. Thank You! Now, onto the days training. Without going into massive detail, the days training comprises of 3 sessions, morning, afternoon and evening. The morning and afternoons start off with about 30 minutes of stretching and warm up procedures. The evening sessions are a bit shorter and start off with a 15 minute stretch routine. All sessions wrap up with 30 minutes of cool down procedures. Time off is scheduled, 1 hour for breakfast, 1 hour for lunch and about 30 minutes for dinner. There is also an afternoon mandatory rest time of about 45 minutes. Although this is a long day, it is filled with meal times, rest times, and non stress procedures. I would suggest that virtually every player can accept this schedule without difficulty. Our reason for attending the Academy was to experience the "Vogelsinger Method". This is a rather self gratifying method because it shows a player how to self teach. At this Academy failure is expected, it is realized as an important part of learning. Further to the concept of failure and self teaching, Doug Parra, director of soccer, had told me that at Vogelsinger, "mistakes become the students guide". The very exact foot positioning exercises will show any player immediately where correction is required. The student can adjust and see results without delay. As Doug had explained to me, Hubert Vogelsinger refers to this as "fail your way to success" ! There is no question that this Academy emphasizes foot angles and ball contact patterns. They also emphasize a skill they call the "Instep Drive". This combination skill represents a straight line drive. "Magic Hop" , load your backswing, head down eyes on the ball ........ contact, and drive ! Your knee ends up compacted into your chest and almost cracks into your lower jaw! The completion cycle of this drive is an immediate follow through. The result is like a ball shot from a cannon! I have seen it repeated by the Vogelsinger master instructors strike after strike. This specific skill allows for fast, low and powerful shots. It is especially beneficial when taken in tight areas, since it can be performed with zero approach angle. There are far too many schools who do not teach this very effective ball strike method. All I can say is, they are missing out. From what I have seen and experienced, every Vogelsinger student will learn this skill, it is then the students opportunity to practice often and repeat the "Instep Drive". Time will be needed to master that skill. To quote coach Javier, "everyone pay attention, practice does NOT make perfect". "You must repeat the skill properly". "Concentrate, program, execute, make corrections". "Perfect makes perfect"! "That's how we do it"! The Vogelsinger method is a great one, when students leave the academy they will have retained the ability to self teach. It is one thing to show a student a skill. It is quite another when a student makes mistakes and then has the knowledge of what went wrong and how to correct it. For the students, that sense of accomplishment, knowing that they taught themselves, is invaluable. The Vogelsinger method leads their students into that element of personal satisfaction. This brings us to the subject of coaches. Our experience was, the coaches are well versed in the Hubert Vogelsinger methodology. They have the appropriate presentation, one that does not involve yelling or resembling a boisterous commander! They offer quality simple instruction with a fair share of one on one attention. I can not find fault in their coaching abilities. In fact I would have to comment that overall, they are a good bunch with a pretty high skill level. An example of this would certainly be Coach Javier, this gentleman has character, he is a fun guy to be around and his persona is beneficial to learning. I have provided a link to some Javier skills. Check the link tab. You will be pleased. I must mention Doug Parra, Vogelsinger director of soccer, a wonderful coach, also very skilled. It is a pleasure to deal with Doug, he has a soft spoken and easy going nature. If someone were shy or embarrassed about any situation, Doug would be the type of coach who would quietly help you along with your difficulty without tension or ridicule. A fine gentleman with integrity. I am very supportive of Doug, and I really enjoyed our conversations, it has been a privilege to have conversed with such a fine individual. I know that you are all wondering if there was anything bad about Vogelsinger? Or at least some controversy? As with all things in life, certainly, there are things that can be improved. I will mention a few personal humble opinions. As you all know, I am supportive of small sided games. Vogelsinger is also, however, I prefer smaller groups of players. Dutch style, or futsal style, no more than 4 on 4. Vogelsinger runs 8 to 11 a side, this is too much for my liking. One has to be very careful when smaller and younger players are told to play with bigger, older players. In my experience, this is when injuries occur. Smaller groups solve this dilemma, it also has the added benefit of more individual experience with the ball. Injury prevention is most important, and I know that Hubert Vogelsinger would support that concept. The session stretch and warm up procedures at Vogelsinger are based on what I call "old school" design. I would prefer to see something different, something more modern. Time spent on both warm up and cool down is in my opinion, excessive. For all the good about Vogelsinger, the few negative opinions that I have just mentioned, are in reality very minor. There are no perfect Academies out there in the world of soccer training. We must accept people and trust that we will all improve together over time.
The Vogelsinger good, far outweighs the bad, and by a very large margin.
We had a good experience, that's what we prefer to share with you in this report.
What is Vogelsinger Soccer Academy? What are they all about?
To summarize, you really do get out of it what you put into it !
If you are looking to be challenged, I would say that Vogelsinger is not for you.
In that aspect, you would be better off playing matches in a top level league.
If you are looking for a summer soccer camp, one that will get you more touches on the ball, some comaraderie and some fun. The Academy will definitely provide that, keep in mind though this is a school and there are lessons, advanced lessons. For some that may not be what you had in mind.
Now, if you want to learn a dynamic method of soccer that is well beyond what the majority of Academies have to offer, step into Vogelsinger, open your mind, isolate your ego and accept what Hubert Vogelsinger has to offer, you will be a product of your environment!
Many thanks to all the coaches, Chris, Willman, Doug, Javier and physio Chris.
You are all fine people. You represent Hubert Vogelsinger Academy well, you can be proud of that !
Fast Foot Speed
During the month of July 2010, we attended the "All Star Soccer School".
Here are the details!
Upon arrival at Willamette University our first walk around was to explore the University grounds and check out the very fine artificial turf soccer pitch. Indeed the facility is extraordinary. We were very pleased with the student dorm rooms and were especially impressed with the food hall, providing quality breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Vogelsinger Academy provides soccer training over a very long day. Honestly, I thought the schedule was far too long in duration. We were prepared to endure our first day of training and were concerned about many things, at the forefront of our concerns was heat exhaustion. At mid day the temperature felt like 35 degrees! To my relief, we found the schedule was in fact very well thought out, and very manageable. To the students relief, they were pleased to see the two large iced water containers available for hydration and a ten square foot sun shelter. Vogelsinger have a physiotherapist present at all times to provide any needed medical attention. The physio girl Chris, was friendly and enthusiastic. She added some cool down buckets of water and ice, Chris was prepared and very knowledgeable. Thank You! Now, onto the days training. Without going into massive detail, the days training comprises of 3 sessions, morning, afternoon and evening. The morning and afternoons start off with about 30 minutes of stretching and warm up procedures. The evening sessions are a bit shorter and start off with a 15 minute stretch routine. All sessions wrap up with 30 minutes of cool down procedures. Time off is scheduled, 1 hour for breakfast, 1 hour for lunch and about 30 minutes for dinner. There is also an afternoon mandatory rest time of about 45 minutes. Although this is a long day, it is filled with meal times, rest times, and non stress procedures. I would suggest that virtually every player can accept this schedule without difficulty. Our reason for attending the Academy was to experience the "Vogelsinger Method". This is a rather self gratifying method because it shows a player how to self teach. At this Academy failure is expected, it is realized as an important part of learning. Further to the concept of failure and self teaching, Doug Parra, director of soccer, had told me that at Vogelsinger, "mistakes become the students guide". The very exact foot positioning exercises will show any player immediately where correction is required. The student can adjust and see results without delay. As Doug had explained to me, Hubert Vogelsinger refers to this as "fail your way to success" ! There is no question that this Academy emphasizes foot angles and ball contact patterns. They also emphasize a skill they call the "Instep Drive". This combination skill represents a straight line drive. "Magic Hop" , load your backswing, head down eyes on the ball ........ contact, and drive ! Your knee ends up compacted into your chest and almost cracks into your lower jaw! The completion cycle of this drive is an immediate follow through. The result is like a ball shot from a cannon! I have seen it repeated by the Vogelsinger master instructors strike after strike. This specific skill allows for fast, low and powerful shots. It is especially beneficial when taken in tight areas, since it can be performed with zero approach angle. There are far too many schools who do not teach this very effective ball strike method. All I can say is, they are missing out. From what I have seen and experienced, every Vogelsinger student will learn this skill, it is then the students opportunity to practice often and repeat the "Instep Drive". Time will be needed to master that skill. To quote coach Javier, "everyone pay attention, practice does NOT make perfect". "You must repeat the skill properly". "Concentrate, program, execute, make corrections". "Perfect makes perfect"! "That's how we do it"! The Vogelsinger method is a great one, when students leave the academy they will have retained the ability to self teach. It is one thing to show a student a skill. It is quite another when a student makes mistakes and then has the knowledge of what went wrong and how to correct it. For the students, that sense of accomplishment, knowing that they taught themselves, is invaluable. The Vogelsinger method leads their students into that element of personal satisfaction. This brings us to the subject of coaches. Our experience was, the coaches are well versed in the Hubert Vogelsinger methodology. They have the appropriate presentation, one that does not involve yelling or resembling a boisterous commander! They offer quality simple instruction with a fair share of one on one attention. I can not find fault in their coaching abilities. In fact I would have to comment that overall, they are a good bunch with a pretty high skill level. An example of this would certainly be Coach Javier, this gentleman has character, he is a fun guy to be around and his persona is beneficial to learning. I have provided a link to some Javier skills. Check the link tab. You will be pleased. I must mention Doug Parra, Vogelsinger director of soccer, a wonderful coach, also very skilled. It is a pleasure to deal with Doug, he has a soft spoken and easy going nature. If someone were shy or embarrassed about any situation, Doug would be the type of coach who would quietly help you along with your difficulty without tension or ridicule. A fine gentleman with integrity. I am very supportive of Doug, and I really enjoyed our conversations, it has been a privilege to have conversed with such a fine individual. I know that you are all wondering if there was anything bad about Vogelsinger? Or at least some controversy? As with all things in life, certainly, there are things that can be improved. I will mention a few personal humble opinions. As you all know, I am supportive of small sided games. Vogelsinger is also, however, I prefer smaller groups of players. Dutch style, or futsal style, no more than 4 on 4. Vogelsinger runs 8 to 11 a side, this is too much for my liking. One has to be very careful when smaller and younger players are told to play with bigger, older players. In my experience, this is when injuries occur. Smaller groups solve this dilemma, it also has the added benefit of more individual experience with the ball. Injury prevention is most important, and I know that Hubert Vogelsinger would support that concept. The session stretch and warm up procedures at Vogelsinger are based on what I call "old school" design. I would prefer to see something different, something more modern. Time spent on both warm up and cool down is in my opinion, excessive. For all the good about Vogelsinger, the few negative opinions that I have just mentioned, are in reality very minor. There are no perfect Academies out there in the world of soccer training. We must accept people and trust that we will all improve together over time.
The Vogelsinger good, far outweighs the bad, and by a very large margin.
We had a good experience, that's what we prefer to share with you in this report.
What is Vogelsinger Soccer Academy? What are they all about?
To summarize, you really do get out of it what you put into it !
If you are looking to be challenged, I would say that Vogelsinger is not for you.
In that aspect, you would be better off playing matches in a top level league.
If you are looking for a summer soccer camp, one that will get you more touches on the ball, some comaraderie and some fun. The Academy will definitely provide that, keep in mind though this is a school and there are lessons, advanced lessons. For some that may not be what you had in mind.
Now, if you want to learn a dynamic method of soccer that is well beyond what the majority of Academies have to offer, step into Vogelsinger, open your mind, isolate your ego and accept what Hubert Vogelsinger has to offer, you will be a product of your environment!
Many thanks to all the coaches, Chris, Willman, Doug, Javier and physio Chris.
You are all fine people. You represent Hubert Vogelsinger Academy well, you can be proud of that !
Fast Foot Speed
