Hi Madskills family! I just got back from a 2 week stay across the ocean in London, England and I have to admit I missed our Canadian sun-it rained almost every day while I was over there. But it was an amazing experience-one that I will never forget!
One of my friends had moved to London after graduating last April and that was who I was staying with. It was interesting to meet all of her British friends and to see how life is exceptionally different between Canada and England. One thing that wasn't different though was our shared loved of soccer (or in their words- "football).
Soccer has become increasingly popular over here, with the number of children being registered gaining momentum every year but it is Hockey that seems to be "Canada's sport". The way we all see the hords of Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys taking over the subways and go trains on game nights is the same in London when you see the mass of Chelsea fans going to their game on a Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere becomes heightened with the anticipation of the game. It doesn't matter whether it is a champions league game or a regular season game, the fans are always the same level of nerves and excitement. I witnessed it while I was taking the tube to the airport yesterday and it was amazing to see the similarities between the fans there and what I have seen and felt as a fan in Canada.
What I love about soccer (or 'football') is the fact that no matter where you are, you can always just throw on a pair of shoes (or even stay in barefeet) and you can just play. Grab and a ball and some people, set up some nets using shirts or trees and you are good to go. Simple and easy but brings people together while keeping them active at the same time.
It made me smile to see the passion for the sport in another setting and I hope that one day soccer will join the ranks of hockey as "Canada's sport". Until then lets keep our intensity and love for our teams such as the Toronto FC growing!
Summer is quickly approaching and our Madskills Summer Camps are filling up fast. Go online or calls us at 416-716-9567 to register today!
Madskills Soccer Coach of the Month April
Anthony Filopoulos: Anthony's passion for the game can be seen through his coaching. His knowledge of soccer and in player development have come from his 20 years of soccer experience (both in canada and europe). Anthony is very motivating, positive and believes that having fun brings out the best in people. he is determined to offer a relaxed, fun and very educational soccer experience to players and have them feeling confident in themselves. Anthony has played in canada at the highest level, played in Greece and had many trials in europe.
The Toronto FC is 0-4. Yet, they made it to the CONCACAF semi-finals not too long ago. It made me think about why teams seem to play so differently in tournaments and in league games.
Have you ever heard the line, "they're more of a tournament team"? I definitely have in regards to teams in my age group as well as professional teams. But why does that happen? Is it the different timing of the tournament games (mainly played on weekends) than a regular league game (mainly played during weeknights)? Or is it the chance that you could be holding a large trophy at the end of the weekend? I always wondered why my team would lose to a team in a tournament but could beat that same team easily during a league game even if both games took place in the same week.
What I think it does come down to is mentality. Herb Brooks spoke about it being just "one game" and only being about "tonight" when the United States took on the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. However, it seems to be a lot easier to take tournament games one game at a time rather than league games. Tournaments are like special occasions while league games are like any other day. The trick is to keep the same mentality for both.
What I have found works best for me is to break everything down. Every game is a singular game, a singular experience. I don't look beyond to future games; I don't like to look at the standings to see how many points behind first we are or at our goal differential. If you treat every game as the most important, your mentality would have to stay the same wouldn't it?
Remember-our Madskills Summer Soccer Camps run all summer long! Register here today! And don't forget to check out the website for our new facility in Richmond Hill, Extreme Kicks!
