STARKVILLE — “We’re not in the soccer-club business, we’re in the soccer-player business.”
Former Starkville Academy soccer coach Chris Doss is starting a new soccer program, launching Boardtown FC with its first summer camp starting June 24.
Doss’ new venture will focus on player development with an emphasis on fun, implementing a coaching method called “Funino” to encourage kids to play the game with freedom of expression and gain experience with adapting to game conditions as they come.
Funino is a fast-paced, play-focused drill for kids developed by German soccer and hockey coach, Horst Wein. The idea is to create a game environment for everyone on the team by utilizing field space for three mini-games.
“There are coaches everywhere doing cool things, but part of the reason we need to give the kids the freedom to think is sometimes you need to break the rules,” Doss said. “Kids are so smart, and this allows players to analyze things differently than their coach might. If I tell them every little detail on what to do with the ball it creates robots, and that’s how you get teams who don’t have fun and don’t know how to break other teams down.”
Doss first came across the idea by reading a translated article from Matthias Lochmann, a German professor who implemented the program when coaching his children’s team. He noticed a lack of interest in kids playing conventional 7-on-7 games and looked for a way to get everyone involved through a drill that would do more than just drive home the fundamentals.
“Anytime you play the game you get better,” Doss said, describing his philosophy of coaching. “You have to focus on technique to a certain point, but as they learn technical skills they have to learn problem-solving. The best players can do all the tricks and skills, but what separates the great players is how fast can they think and solve problems in any situation.”
The focus of Funino is on just that, allowing youth players to apply the technical skills they’ve learned in an environment that will enable them the freedom to make in-game decisions and develop situational awareness alongside their teammates.
“That’s sort of my view on player development,” Doss said. “It’s going to happen when the kids are in a situation where they’re presented with challenges, and we’re going to teach them how to solve those problems. Our focus is on development, we’ll take what I can get and turn them into good players.”
Doss will be assisted in the camp by his former coach, Billy Paton, an English coach with more than 30 years of experience. They will theme the camp around the upcoming European Championships tournaments, fitting with the international exchange of coaching philosophies.
Due to the hot summer temperatures, the camp will take place in two daily sessions the week of June 24, a morning session from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and an evening session from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The camp is for boys and girls ages 8-13 and is limited to 24 spots, but parents and guardians are encouraged to attend and participate with their children in the evening session.
Camp admission is $100 and parents can register through boardtownfc.org/camps.
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