How We Rate Videos and Books: We have watched over 220 soccer coaching videos (DVD's and tapes) and read over 70 soccer coaching books. Unfortunately, most are not good, many are a complete waste of time and money, and some are actually counterproductive. We only sell videos and books that we truly believe are the best and worth buying, and that we can give 4 or 5 star ratings (on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best). Our ratings consider the quality, length and value of an item, how it compares to other similar DVD’s, and how well it meets the needs of the targeted audience. We reject about 90% of the videos we watch.

Main Topics on This Video: Skills, dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, heading, volleying, 1v1 defending, rules, and motivation. This DVD is directed at girls, but the skills apply to girls and boys. The demonstrations will also benefit beginning Recreational coaches. Mia Hamm is the best known female soccer player in the world. Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie are great with young girls. This is like a personal coaching session and girls can learn by watching it. In it, Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie are shown coaching girls in the basics. It is 100% positive and just right for young girls of any age and any ability.

Recommended For: Young girls, beginning to intermediate girls ages 7-12 and beginning girl's coaches. There are 3 sections, one labeled "Beginner", one labeled "Intermediate" and one labeled "Advanced", as described below. We believe the Beginner and Intermediate sections should be used together for players ages 7-9 and that the Intermediate and Advanced sections should be used together for players ages 10-12. This DVD is too basic for travel players older than age 11 or for advanced coaches. Read the Detailed Review below. It's the best available DVD of it's type for girls in this age group.

Review: This DVD is highly recommended and an outstanding value. This was originally on 3 DVD's or tapes, but is now on one DVD. It was very expensive to produce this. It is unique in that it shows how to teach skills to girl soccer players (all the players involved are female). The video is done in such a way that girls (or boys) can learn by watching the video, with Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie as their personal coaches/trainers. Most Recreational coaches can also learn a lot by watching this video. We believe that the Beginner and Intermediate sections should be viewed together and used for players ages 7-10 and that the Intermediate and Advanced sections should be viewed together and are suitable for ages 11-14. Individually, we give the Intermediate and Advanced sections "5 Stars" and the Beginner section "4 Stars". On the whole, we give it "5 Stars". The video is highly watchable and entertaining. Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie are among the best female players in the world, have great personalities, and are excellent role models and communicators. In the Beginner and Intermediate sections Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie demonstrate various skills to girls and the girls then try the skills themselves while being coached by Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie. The girls also ask questions such as "How important is teamwork?" and "How important is it to listen to your coach?" (Obviously, the answer is that it is very important). Among the skills taught are dribbling, receiving, passing, shooting, goalkeeping, headers, volleys, half-volleys and 1 vs. 1 defense. The Advanced section is done in the same way, but Mia and Tiffeny are the coaches. The girls participating in the Beginner section appear to be 7-8 years old, in the Intermediate section they appear to be 10-13 and in the Advanced section 13-15. The Beginner section is very basic. Wendy Gebauer, who played for the U.S. National team summarizes the key teaching points after each lesson. Mia Hamm is the most famous female player in the world, and played for the U.S. Women's Team at age 15. Tiffeny Milbrett was the female player of the year in 2000 and Lorrie Fair was a two time All American. Keep in mind that each section covers many of the same topics, but for a different skill level (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced). This video is useful for players of any age and any ability. There are about 2 hours total and the demonstrations of passing, shooting, 1 vs. 1 defending, headers and receiving and moving to beat a defender are excellent and among the best we've seen. These demonstrations alone make this video a great bargain.

Contents:

1. Beginner Section: Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie teach skills to, and answer questions from, a group of girls who appear to be ages 7-8.

Minute	Topic
00:00	Introduction
1:47	How important is teamwork? and How important is it to have fun?
3:35	Juggling
5:57	Dribbling basics
9:22	Dribbling Thru Cones (Our suggestion: try the SoccerHelp Practice Games "Dribble Across A Square" or "Driving School")
12:20	The importance of listening to your coach
14:40	Passing (This is excellent. The demonstrations and explanations are the best we have seen. Very effective use of slow motion.)
19:05	How important is it to have fun
20:30	Explanation of positions and formations -- Excellent!
22:50	Shooting - An Excellent demonstration of how to teach the instep ("laces") kick
28:02	Basic rules of soccer (explanation of throw ins, goal kicks and corner kicks)
31:37	Goalkeeping basics (a very good demonstration)
36:30	Why do you play soccer?
38:40	Wrap-up
40:00	End

2. Intermediate Section: Mia, Tiffeny and Lorrie teach skills to, and answer questions from, a group of girls who appear to be ages 10-13. Note that many of these teaching sessions are excellent and the sessions demonstrating "1 vs. 1 defending" and "how to receive and move to beat a defender" are the best we have ever seen.

Minute	Topic
40:10	How important is sportsmanship? When you were our age, how did you dedicate yourself to soccer?
42:15	Dribbling and feints
43:20	Passing - Short passes, wall passes/give and go's, chipping the ball and long aerial passes. This is good but the Advanced video demonstrations are excellent.
48:30	Receiving ("Trapping") and moving to beat a defender - This is outstanding and the best explanation and demonstration we have seen of how to receive and control the ball so it is played away from defenders, and then accelerate to beat the defender and then to recover the ball. They demonstrate how to receive the ball using the feet, thigh, chest and head and then to move to beat the defender.
52:30	How did you dedicate yourself to soccer?
53:40	1 vs. 1 Defending - This is an excellent explanation and demonstration we have seen of jockeying/defensive containment, defensive footwork and when you should tackle.
	Tips: In 1v1 defending, the defender should stay “goal side”, stay low, use a stance with one foot in front of the other, and drop-step – don’t let your feet get “square”. There are 3 times to tackle: when you know you can win the ball, when the attacker has a bad touch, and when you know you have support behind you who will pick up the attacker if she gets past you. Tackle with your whole body. Defenders must be patient and wait for the right opportunity to tackle.
57:50	Heading - Good training techniques are shown for competitive or advanced players. The last exercise shown is also good for Rec players.
1:03:40	Goalkeeping techniques
1:05:35	How do you learn from your mistakes? Coaches and Players: Listen to this!
1:06:50	Shooting - An excellent demonstration of the instep ("laces") kick and an excellent discussion of the attitude a scorer needs. The Advanced video demonstrates additional types of shots.
1:11:45	Setting goals
1:13:30	Rules, including Direct Kicks, Indirect Kicks and Penalty Kicks
1:14:45	Volleys and half-volleys
1:17:35	What does teamwork really mean?
1:20:10	End

3. Advanced Video: Mia and Tiffeny teach skills to, and answer questions from, a group of girls who appear to be ages 13-15. Many of these teaching sessions are excellent and the sessions demonstrating "Passing", "Shooting" and "Headers" are particularly good.

Minute	Topic
1:20:15	The importance of training and hustle.
1:21:49	Headers - This is excellent. Attacking and defensive headers and jump headers are explained and demonstrated.
	Tips: Drive attacking headers (shots) down toward the ground and defensive headers up to clear the ball from the danger area.
1:25:50	The mental part of the game, and What does respect mean to you?
1:28:30	1 vs. 1 Defending - This is very similar to the lesson on the Intermediate section, but the Intermediate section is better.
1:31:00	The importance of warm-ups and conditioning.
1:33:10	Receiving and moving to beat a defender - This is excellent and is very similar to the demonstration on the Intermediate video.
	Tips: When receiving, one-touch block the ball into open space away from the defender, then accelerate and explode past the defender.
1:36:08	Why are hard work and dedication so important?
1:37:25	How important is it to scout opponents before playing them? Excellent advice and tips are given for coaches and players.
1:39:10	Passing - Outstanding demonstrations and explanation of the proper technique for short passes, wall passes/give and go's, chipping, intermediate passes, bending passes, driven passes on the ground and long aerial passes. Good discussion of the "weight" of the pass, the parts of the foot that can be used, and which pass to use in various situations.
	Tips: On a long aerial pass, you want back spin (NOT side-spin) so the ball floats and is easy to receive. Use the inside of the foot for short passes and the laces for intermediate passes on the ground.
1:49:25	Learning from your mistakes. (The discussion of this in the Intermediate Section is excellent. It's so good that every player and coach should watch it).
1:50:40	Offside rule explained (this is good)
1:51:50	Shooting - Power shot (also called the instep drive or "laces" shot), bending shot ("banana kick"), and chip. This is excellent.
	Tips: On a “power shot”: stay relaxed, it isn’t how hard you swing, but technique that determines power; hit the ball with the “laces”; the “plant foot” should be beside the ball (about half a ball width away) or slightly behind the ball; the kicking foot should have the toes pointed down and the ankle locked; the knee over the ball when making contact; keep the head down thru the shot; follow thru straight toward the target (pretend a string is pulling your shooting foot toward the goal and follow straight thru, NOT a sideways movement because that will cause the ball to curve and lose power). Great scorers have “attitude” and determination to score.
1:57:30	Shooting vs. finishing. This is very good.
1:58:10	How does it feel to know you were a pioneer for women's soccer?
2:00:10	End

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