#394 Ted Kroeten, Founder of Joy of the People, on the Massive Importance of Free Play in Athletic Development
Way of Champions Podcast
Empowering Youth Through Free Play Initiatives
This chapter explores the Free Play Go initiative, which seeks to encourage informal soccer play among children by setting up micro clubs nationwide. It highlights the importance of self-organized games, allowing kids to enjoy soccer in a fun, unstructured environment while advocating for greater play opportunities.
- What happened when free play was introduced into practice?
- How does the now defunct idea of “10,000 hours” play into free play and increasing performance?
- An amazing story of a soccer club famed for youth player development, with numerous expensive player transfers, yet they sign their players after the age of 16
- The younger teams get beat in competition, but how does it work out when they get older?
- There is a time for structure, when is that time?
- What is going on with the athlete that did not grow up in the academy setting but blows away those who grew up in the deliberate practice environment?
- How can you add free play into your performance development practice plan?
- What are “kid micro-clubs”?
Connect with Ted Kroeten
- Website: www.joyofthepeople.org
- Email: Ted@joyofthepeople.org
- Twitter: @JOYofthePEOPLE
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-kroeten-3114a27/
Resources Mentioned Article on Dynamo Zagreb Academy Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein [book] The debate between Epstein and Gladwell [video] Explorations in Language Acquisition and Use, by Stephen Krashen [book] How to Become a Transformational Coach with Jean Cote, World-Renowned Expert in Youth Sports and Coach Development [podcast]
OUR NEW BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER!
Jerry and John are so excited about their new book together The Champion Sports Parent: Practical Wisdom for Raising Confident, Competitive, Mentally Tough Athletes. Release date is October 1, but we are taking preorders now and hopefully getting you the book before it is available for the public. This book is a great compliment to The Champion Teammate, as your parents are a huge part of your culture. Click here to order now or email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com to inquire about bulk book pricing!
NEW WOC MASTERMIND AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
As you may have heard, we decided to cancel our 2024 Way of Champions Conference, which opens up the opportunity for us to begin a year long mastermind and coach certification program in the Way of Champions and CTGP materials. If you want to simply take a deeper dive then ever offered before into your coaching and personal development, or work within your school or club improving coaching or transforming the culture, or you want to hit the road as a speaker and presenter working with teams and youth sports organizations, we will give you the tools and support to do so. We are collecting names who are interested at this moment in learning more, you can do so by clicking here and adding your name and email to the list.
PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS! Programs such as UNC soccer and lacrosse, Syracuse lacrosse, Stanford Lacrosse, Middlebury College, Colby College, Rutgers University, and many other champions are using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you? We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next?
Click here to visit John’s author page on Amazon
Click here to visit Jerry’s author page on Amazon
Please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone.
This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports. Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs. There are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams.
Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs. So if you’ve been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.
Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including:
- Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don’t have to crash your car trying to take notes!
- A code to get free access to our online course called “Coaching Mastery,” usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron.
- Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time
- Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences
The AI-powered Podcast Player
