What UKwomensSoccerAcademy is about..

(our proposed London indoor facility)

ABOUT US....

‘UK Women’s Soccer Academy’ is a new small business venture due to start up in 2009. The aim of this business venture is to satisfy a market need identified within the sports & recreational consumer sector. The basic idea is to provide training & support to women (18yr +) soccer players; in the U.K market in the form of a hands-on soccer academy. We will provide a service not yet available anywhere in the U.K for the sole purpose of improving the skills and soccer knowledge of women soccer players.

We will be the first of our kind, as currently there are no coaching training academies in the U.K market which provide for the 18yr+ female soccer player. We will deliver soccer coaching in the form of evening and weekend classes. Our academy will provide four main categories of courses; consisting of the 3 main competency levels and a unique coaching aspect (should any other coaching services enter the market) – free style soccer skills classes.

UK Womens Soccer Academy will be positioned as a high end premium soccer coaching service for women. All staff will be uniformed in logo embossed gear, and all new customers will receive training kit, as part of their joining fee. We will be centrally located in London, and training will take place in an indoor artificial turf facility (specific location yet to be determined). All new customers upon joining will receive an academy joining package, consisting of kit, water bottle, and soccer diet nutritional/ exercise information booklet.

womens SOCCER fastest growing sport!

Women’s soccer is officially the fastest growing sport in the U.K!!!

Thousands of women start to play the sport for the first time each year. Currently the only soccer academies in the U.K market out there are provided for youth players and male soccer players, as of yet there are no women’s academies!

Currently the only professional coaching available to women soccer players in the U.K, are those talented enough to play at the very highest of U.K women’s league (The F.A women’s premiership), only a select few have access to this, but with our service we we’ll make premium high quality coaching available to every female soccer player in the U.K.

UKwomensSoccerAcademy

....SO WHATS ON OFFER??

Beginners sessions- Provided by lower level one qualified coaches

Intermediate sessions- Provided by level two/ three qualified coaches

Advanced sessions- Provided by high level distinction qualified coaches

Free style soccer skills sessions - Provided by free style expert

Individual coaching sessions

UK soccer League

UK Womens Soccer League Structure

Its come to my attention that people aren't clued up on the structure of the UK womens soccer league, so i'm gonna clear this issue up now.

The British soccer league is pyramid in structure. The F.A Women's Premiership, this League is at the very top, this is where you'll find international players, mostly british, as there's not big money to attract forgien international players. The league then divides down to lower leagues, having a big base of low leagues at the very bottom.

The Leagues are divided by area, to make playing each team in the league easy travel wise. There are two leagues just below the top, they are called the F.A Premier Southern Division and F.A Premier Northern Divsion. This three league are highly competetive, are often are the womens teams of the Male Premiership such as Chelsea Ladies F.C and Fulham F.C.

Below this southern and northern division the league divides up again into about 4 leagues for each northern and southern areas of England. The Leagues divide up further and further, till you get small teams who compete in say South-East London Divsion 4 (one of the very bottom leagues).

Issue of the Day

Issue of the Day….Nike's NEW Pink football boots (soccer cleats). The reason I’ve chosen this to write about is that I feel Nike have made a quite basic marketing mistake. The mistake being they’ve created a brilliant product but are marketing it to the wrong set of people. Nike has created the most girly looking soccer cleat I’ve EVER seen and yet they are still marketing it (just like the many previous soccer cleats before this one) specifically towards the male segment of the market. Even though soccer is now the most popular female sport in the world and continues to be the fastest growing participant sport in the U.K.

The release of these New Pink soccer cleats, & the marketing efforts along with it, have brought up fresh into my mind the view I have of Nike, as not really harnessing the market potential they have with the female soccer player. I have never seen a soccer cleat advert out there that is directed specifically towards this huge female market base. I honestly believe if Nike where to invest some of their marketing budget into the female demographic base they would reap the rewards.

This issue reminds me very much of the whole Sony vs. Nintendo games console sales war, the fact that Nintendo successfully broke away from targeting specifically to the traditional male gaming market and instead targeted the non-traditional gamer, females and consequently went onto overtake Sony as market leaders.

So my issue concludes with this, Nike would do well to readjust their marketing strategy, they’re wasting they’re marketing efforts on trying to get guys to wear garish pink boots in their Sunday league games…I just feel they’ve got their marketing direction all wrong, and in fact by directing they’re marketing campaign to the female player demographic they would reap better financial rewards & sales figures

Futsal Skills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftVmgy9LauM

UK Women’s Soccer Academy to include futsal sessions!!!

Futsal is a small sided game, that uses a small size 4 weighted ball. This variation of soccer is excellent for improving your technical skills on the ball, as well as increasing fitness levels; as the small sided element ensures you’re always involved in play. Futsal is less about tactical awarness and more about indivdual skills on the ball, and teamwork of course!

Our training sessions will include some Futsal elements, as this will serve to enhance the technical skills of our enrollees.

Futsal is highly popular in Brazil and the famous Ronaldinho and Robinho grew up playing this small sided game, which served to enhance their skills greatly. Its only recently that this variation of the sport has become more popular in England, and we hope to help continue this trend with offering a Futsal element into our training schedule.

Soccer Ball Basics!! What you need to know..

The standard ball is a Size 5, this is the size you’ll play matches with. There are smaller sizes that exist: Size 3 and Size 4 is used in futsal and other small-field variations of the sport.

I suggest owning two types of soccer ball, one for use on turf and for use on hard ground. Soccer balls come classified into three types, ‘Fifa Approved’, ‘Fifa Inspected’ and unclassified.

‘Fifa Approved’ balls are high quality, the most expensive on the market, and are used by all the top leagues in the world. I suggest if you can afford one, to buy one of these balls, but make sure you only use them on turf. You do not want to scratch up one of these balls, they cost from $50-$180.

‘Fifa Inspected’ are the lower quality standard ball, they will still be of a certain standard, through passing Fifa’s stringent tests. I suggest buying one of these, if you only wish to own one ball, these cost from $10 - $30. You can use these on hard ground, I suggest though if are likely to play on concrete, make sure you choose a ball that isn’t too spongy or soft, as these won’t last long playing on rough hard surfaces.

Unclassified soccer balls, are not worth buying, as they are unlikely to be very durable, or be completely true, what I mean by this is the roundness of the ball. When looking at soccer in a shop, roll the ball along the shop floor, if it doesn’t roll true, then don’t buy it (bare in mind that the ball should be fully inflated as this can affect this buying test).

Olivia Cole Freestyle Soccer Clip

This clip shows a snapshot of the skills i'll be teaching in the freestyle soccer sessions.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3It_-4_hAtw

NEW WOMENS PROFFESIONAL LEAGUE!!!

BRAND NEW WOMENS SOCCER LEAGUE (WPS)!!! A big movement in the women’s game, America is taking the initiative and has brought back a women’s professional league, the only one in the world at the moment.
England Women’s Premier League (WPL) still remains unprofessional, but if the new WPS can be a success, then this can only hope to serve as a good example to the British women’s game in terms of a direction that they could take.

Statement from WPS website:
WPS is the highest level women’s professional soccer league in North America. Formed in September 2007 as the result of the efforts of the Women’s Soccer Initiative, Inc., WPS, which will begin play on March 29, 2009 consists of seven teams across the country.
The teams for the 2009 season are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Los Angeles Sol, Sky Blue FC (NJ / NY), Saint Louis Athletica and Washington Freedom. WPS expects to expand to Atlanta and Philadelphia in 2010 and continues to explore additional potential franchises for 2010 and beyond.

Soccer Nutrition: The Basics

Good diet and nutrition go hand in hand with good training and coaching, without these important aspects, you cannot reach your potential as a soccer player.

Fueling your body in the correct way is essential for any athlete, especially for soccer players whom often have seasons that span many months of competitive play. A good diet will not only prepare your body energy wise for games and training, it will also ensure you have all the ingredients in place for optimum performance and importantly help recover your body after high levels of physical activity.

Eating the right foods and in the correct proportions can also help you avoid injury, by fueling your muscles & bones with essential vitamins and minerals. The key to high performance is eating a variety of foods from all these main food groups (listed below).


Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group

Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group

Fruit Group

Vegetable Group

Injury

This entry is going to focus on the topic of injury. This wasn't the issue for my first "advice posting" that I had initially intended upon, but it has been brought to my immediate attention, as only a few hours ago, playing soccer myself, I injured my knee!

First of all, the main thing that you need to keep in mind immediately after sustaining an injury is to remain calm & take deep breaths, so that you can assess the severity of the injury with a clear head.


The R.I.C.E method (Use this method for joint & muscles injuries)

Rest:
Do not move too quickly. In the initial moments after an injury, it's always hard to initially grasp the seriousness of the problem. You do not want to aggravate the injury, so rest the affected area till the pain subsides.

Ice:
Apply ice as soon as possible to the injured area; ice will help reduce the pain and the swelling. Put in place a towel between the ice & skin; keep the ice on for only 20 mins at a time.

Compress:
Between icings, wrap the injured area with an elastic bandage to help control swelling and provide support.

Elevate:
Raise the injured area above your heart; this will allow gravity to help reduce swelling by draining excess fluid.

In the days immediately after injury, depending on the level of seriousness, it's important not to put too much strain on the affected area. Even though it may seem "alright" for a time, you may find that it starts to cause more pain after starting to use the muscles or joints in your normal daily routines and this will prolong your recovery.

This last bit of advice is very important; do not start playing on the newly recovered area at full intensity too soon. There have been many occasions where I've seen injured players, who understandably can't wait to get back to playing, out on the field before they have allowed themselves to recover 100%. They inevitably end up re-injuring the area, causing it to be weaker & more susceptible to future injury.

All Things Soccer

"UKwomensSoccerAcademy" is the premier training tool for those women soccer players in Britain who want to experience QUALITY coaching & advice in improving their game.

Soccer is now the fastest growing sport in the UK! ... Yet there are no women's soccer training camps out there for the thousands of women joining the sport for the first time.

This Blog will be used to offer advise & information all about the NEW & ONLY women's soccer training camp to start up in the UK.

Here you can learn about all things soccer, from the rules of the game to nutrition and everything in between by following this weekly blog....enjoy!