So for this weeks blog I’ve decided to show you a piece of magic that came out of last weekends English Premier League game between Arsenal and Everton. The English Premier League (EPL) is England’s professional league. Although it is based in England, many of the leagues stars are from all over the world including, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Holland, amongst others.

The goal that I am highlighting this week was scored by Robin Van Persie. He is from Holland, also referred to as the Netherlands. He is a fantastic player that comes from a fantastic soccer crazy country. The Dutch believe it or not are responsible for the grass-root development of the style and system that FC Barcelona plays. It is because of such rare talents as Van Persie that a country so small can be considered such a soccer giant.

Now to the goal! I will not bore you with details about how brilliant his run off the ball is, or the amazing touch and weight of the pass. Instead, I will talk strictly mechanics and technique on the finish.

First, Van Persie’s ability to judge the space and time in which the pass would arrive is incredible. All youth coaches should be working on time and space orientation with young players. This is your ability to time a pass into space for a player running onto the ball and also your ability to time your shot or trap in relation to how fast the ball is traveling and to what space it is traveling to.

Second, his focus on the ball is brilliant. If you watch the goal, he never once takes his eyes off the ball until it is in the back of the net.

Lastly, his strike on the ball is perfect. He strikes it left footed, keeping his ankle locked, toe pointed down, and follows through so he lands on his striking foot. Absolutely textbook.

This is a goal every kid who loves this game dreams of scoring, me included. It’s plays like this that make you realize why the world is so soccer hungry!

Thank you for reading.

-Coach Mikey