Youth Soccer Blogs
Giving insight into the life of a young female player who has high aspirations for the game.
June 22, 2011
Pick-Up
By: Caroline Kostecky
I slipped on my David Beckham soccer jersey, threw my hair up in a messy ponytail and quickly tied my cleats. I needed to be there right away, I wasn’t late, I just already felt like I was missing it, the field, the goal, everything.
I met my friend halfway, (not even talking), we sped to the fields, we were both anxious to play. Kids all ages were there, some young, others older. We were all different, played different, most of us weren’t even friends, but that’s what brought us closer. In soccer, it doesn’t matter who’s who, we didn’t care if we had pinnies or not, even goals didn’t matter. Sometimes you just have to improvise because you don’t always have everything you need. If you don’t have a goal, use two shoes as posts instead. All you needed for soccer was players. The more the merrier. Sometimes, groups of people would show up, other times, very few. But that was the game; you can’t expect things to happen, you just play through it.
Here was where I belonged. It was my home. The sport wasn’t something I did for exercise, I did it for joy. Goals were what everyone loved. Sometimes, I made a couple of goals, other times very few. But it didn’t matter, because I was playing, and that was the best gift. We weren’t sad when the other team scored, because it was just for fun, and here nothing mattered. Here, it was about making mistakes, and learning to grow from them. When the younger kids got frustrated, it was our job (as the older kids) to help them, and give them pointers. I practice my skills that I’m not comfortable doing in games, so I try them out here. Soccer is different. When I play I get the best feeling in my stomach, because this is where I belong and I am comfortable.
This wasn’t like a game on my travel team, or a hard soccer practice, this was pick-up…where we could try out new things, and laugh and sing while we were playing. It was where all who showed up had to be comfortable, or there was no point in playing. Sometimes, we didn’t have enough players, but it was okay, because we could still play. While we played, we became closer, like a real team. We would switch around players when one team was dominating so that it was fair. This was where I could try out new things, and help others along the way as well, because this was pick-up soccer, not some physical, rough game. It was just for fun. However, it is the best, because here, on the field, it is where I belong, and I can do anything.
Caroline is a 13-year-old soccer player from Fair Haven, NJ. She currently plays club soccer for PDA of Zarepath, NJ.
Pick-Up
By: Caroline Kostecky
I slipped on my David Beckham soccer jersey, threw my hair up in a messy ponytail and quickly tied my cleats. I needed to be there right away, I wasn’t late, I just already felt like I was missing it, the field, the goal, everything.
I met my friend halfway, (not even talking), we sped to the fields, we were both anxious to play. Kids all ages were there, some young, others older. We were all different, played different, most of us weren’t even friends, but that’s what brought us closer. In soccer, it doesn’t matter who’s who, we didn’t care if we had pinnies or not, even goals didn’t matter. Sometimes you just have to improvise because you don’t always have everything you need. If you don’t have a goal, use two shoes as posts instead. All you needed for soccer was players. The more the merrier. Sometimes, groups of people would show up, other times, very few. But that was the game; you can’t expect things to happen, you just play through it.
Here was where I belonged. It was my home. The sport wasn’t something I did for exercise, I did it for joy. Goals were what everyone loved. Sometimes, I made a couple of goals, other times very few. But it didn’t matter, because I was playing, and that was the best gift. We weren’t sad when the other team scored, because it was just for fun, and here nothing mattered. Here, it was about making mistakes, and learning to grow from them. When the younger kids got frustrated, it was our job (as the older kids) to help them, and give them pointers. I practice my skills that I’m not comfortable doing in games, so I try them out here. Soccer is different. When I play I get the best feeling in my stomach, because this is where I belong and I am comfortable.
This wasn’t like a game on my travel team, or a hard soccer practice, this was pick-up…where we could try out new things, and laugh and sing while we were playing. It was where all who showed up had to be comfortable, or there was no point in playing. Sometimes, we didn’t have enough players, but it was okay, because we could still play. While we played, we became closer, like a real team. We would switch around players when one team was dominating so that it was fair. This was where I could try out new things, and help others along the way as well, because this was pick-up soccer, not some physical, rough game. It was just for fun. However, it is the best, because here, on the field, it is where I belong, and I can do anything.
Caroline is a 13-year-old soccer player from Fair Haven, NJ. She currently plays club soccer for PDA of Zarepath, NJ.
Dec. 23, 2010
Youth Soccer in Sweden Part 3
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” Abraham Lincoln
I have a dream
By Frida Farstad Eriksson
I have a dream to one day play professionally and also play on the national team. I know it is a lot of hard work to get there and only the best can make it. Some might have more talent than me and can seemingly get there easier, but I believe in the hard work day by day to get me there some day.
I do realize I need an education no matter my passion for soccer. Even the best can only play soccer for a short period of life and few women can even make it a living during that period. Here in Sweden the women who play in Allsvenskan all have to work to make a living, in addition to playing soccer. Since the sports are not part of the school, it is quite hard to combine the two. Practices are in late evenings and it might be far to travel every day for practice in an elite club. So combining school and soccer is tough and gets tougher the higher the education. For myself, it takes me one hour to get to practice from my home one way. And then after practice I have to go back home. Next year I will be starting secondary school and it will be even more work in school.
The benefit with AIK as a club as well is that they work with some secondary schools with a soccer program at elite level. This means that if you get into that program, you can also practice during school hours in addition to the team practice. And from 2011 there is a completely new Secondary School Program here in Sweden called Elite Sports Gymnasium. Certain schools are certified to run the program in cooperation with the District Associations. So it means that in addition to the academic program that will give university qualifications, you can also take a major in your sport. A National Elite Soccer Program is established under the Swedish Soccer Association’s Accreditation. There is a very limited number of places in this program, and it will be the District Associations who decide who qualifies as an Elite sportsman/woman and who gets the places in the accredited schools. So first you have to apply to qualify as an Elite Sports man/woman and then you apply to be accepted at your choice of school. There are also a percentage 70/30 boys/girls for the limited number of places and it is including all sports like hockey, basket, skiing, soccer and so on. This percentage is set as it reflects the reality of who’s active in sports. So in the end there are few soccer places and even fewer places for girls.
AIK has run a soccer program with “Solna Gymnasium”, close to my home arena for some years and the school and AIK has been certified as one of the schools and clubs to run this new national program. And I am applying for it. The new thing with this program here in Sweden is also that soccer is now looked upon as a profession and the training as education for a profession. I feel very lucky that this is happening now when it is time for me to apply for secondary school.
If I get into this program it means I will be able to combine both my school and soccer in a totally new way. The teachers will also assist in making it possible, and it will also make each day a bit easier to manage since the long travels from home to practice after school will not exist anymore. The trip will be made in the morning. However, I have to plan for the day in other ways, like bringing food to eat after school, before the team practice. But even the practice will be early since the school and AIK make an effort to cooperate so team practice can start close to the end of the school day, meaning all the late nights will be a memory and give more time for homework for instance.
In addition to the Clubs, there are the Soccer Associations, at the district level and the national level. These associations arrange different tournaments and also look for players for district teams and later on for national teams amongst the players in the various clubs.
The District Associations like The Stockholm Soccer Association starts looking for players for the District teams from age 14. They travel around looking at teams playing games, come to the practices and so on, and they call players to camps or training days. In 2009, they started looking around at my age group to call a District team from girls born 1995. At this time there was almost 2,000 girl soccer players in that age only here in Stockholm. There are four camps over a period of year you can be called to. The first selection was 120 players divided to four different camps and then it narrowed down until there were only 16 left, including two goalkeepers. It was a really nervous process last year because of this, a lot of pressure because we never knew when their representatives would come looking. The final 16 picked for the District Team represents Stockholm at the Elite Training Camp in the summer in a place called Halmstad in the south of Sweden. This is a one-week training camp for all the teams from all other districts. And at this camp there are also coaches from the National Soccer Association, looking for future players for the national teams.
I was called to all the camps as the number narrowed down and finally also picked for the District Team and was able to go to the Elite Training Camp this summer. It was a very useful learning experience, and a challenge both physically and mentally. I realized even more the importance of mental training as a soccer player, if I want to make it further.
The first national teams start from age 15 for both boys and girls. And to participate in this camp is a great opportunity to be seen. But not the only opportunity, since the District Teams staff will continue to follow the players even as we get older, at least for the coming three years. So to not be picked the first year doesn’t mean you lost all chances, you can still get another one, and you can also be bypassed next round if you don’t continue to work hard to develop.
When it comes to the possibilities of maybe one day being picked for the national team, I believe it is also a benefit to already be part of and play in a club like AIK, since in the clubs that are in Allsvenskan it is also the coaches who look out for and recommend players who can be potential future players for the “Allsvenska Team” or for the National Team.
After secondary school, I have a dream of continuing my academic education and soccer career at a college in the USA. I think it is the best way to be able to get both an education and a soccer career. This combination is not possible here in Sweden. It is therefore even harder to get both a university degree and keep a soccer career going at the same time. There are those who do it, but most often you have to choose one or the other. I don’t know how this can be a reality, but in 2006 I followed my mother to the USA. I was 11 then and she was the Commencement Speaker at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. I got a tour at the college by the head coach for the soccer team, and he told me about college soccer, how it works and what is required. I also got to meet the team. It was a great experience, and I have dreamt of being able to do this since. I know only the best gets scholarships and without scholarships it can seem impossible to study in the USA because of the costs.
A benefit with AIK as a club is that they cooperate with something called Bluechip Sports and Education here in Sweden to make it possible to go to the USA and study at a college at the same time you engage in your sport. But of course even here to get these places you have to be the very best. For boys there are some other options. Like this December there are tryouts at Råsunda, the National Arena, to pick a whole boys team to be selected to go to the USA and Minnesota through Bluechip to participate in a tournament were there will be college scouts from all over America. This opportunity is non-existent for girls yet.
Girls’ soccer is getting more and more popular to play among girls, but still there are very few except the parents who are really willing to support it the way it is needed to give equal opportunities for development for both boys and girls. Saying that I am aware I live maybe in the best city in the world when it comes to possibility to develop at top level as a female soccer player and play in the best club to get me there.
No need to go all the way to Africa to know this, just enough to go outside of Stockholm. Still I have an experience to share from the summer of 2006 when I spent four weeks in Ghana with my mother working for a development organization called Star of Hope. I knew it is a poor country, and the kids are in need of everything. But I wanted to bring something I cherished and share with them. So I brought balls and soccer equipment to give away. I even played some soccer games there with some boys' teams. Most of the boys had no shoes, but played barefooted. However no girls played soccer anywhere I went for a whole month all over the country. And no one believed I was a girl since I did, this in spite of my long hair.
After coming home, I got mails from Ghana that in one of the villages I played a game, they had started a girls' soccer team and they wanted to name it after me and also their national team. So the name is “Frida Stars”, and they asked if I would be their “protector”. Since then we even helped them to get team suites and more equipment. They report to me now and then that they are developing well and winning all their games. So this makes me really happy to think about. Soccer is so much more than just a sport. You learn so much for life engaging in this sport and have so much fun doing it.
Dec. 22, 2010
Youth Soccer in Sweden Part 2
My Favorite Place
By Frida Farstad Eriksson
This is the second in a three-part-series
At the time I left my team with the boys and started in AIK, I didn’t think about that this was an elite club. I had no understanding of the everyday meaning of that concept at my level. It was painful to leave my best friends, but I somehow knew I had to pay the price. If I wanted to take a shot at developing my full potential as a soccer player, I had to join a girls’ team. The only club I could imagine to switch to was the club I was a fan of, AIK. And it was a lucky move at the right time. I have seen and understood this as time has passed.
Joining the girls’ 95 in AIK, I was happy. I found a team where I felt welcome and at home. I loved my new team, the girls, and the coaches. I had never felt comfortable with girls before, but here we had the soccer in common. It was a great team spirit and we had lots of fun, and I developed. Even if I was not aware when I made the switch I have found later, I came right into a club where I would have the possibility to develop maximum if I worked hard.
Here in Sweden the sports are not part of school. Of course we have sports in school as part of the curriculum, and I go in a special class with Sports as a major. However, organized sports are run by nonprofit clubs. Every small town might have a small sports club, and it is all run by volunteer workers. The coaches are usually parents, and they do it all for free. Also, most have no formal training, other than maybe that they played or did the sports themselves as younger. The members and the parents have to work and pay to run all the activities. So each club can administrate their own tournaments as a means of getting income for instance. Income can come from fees charged to participate and also from sales of food and lottery during the tournament.
When I played with the boys, all my coaches were untrained dads. When I started with the girls in AIK, it was still untrained dads since the team was still playing 7-a-side. But in AIK, there is from 11-a-side level always a head coach for each team who is not a parent, who is formally trained and even paid by the club. This is to secure a certain standard and also prevent special treatment of players because of family relations. To secure all equal opportunity to earn a place on the team. And the coaches all have contracts only for one year, so they have to perform to continue. Even the assistant coaches who can still be parents have a one-year at a time contract even though they are volunteers.
In November 2007, we started preparing for playing 11-a-side and for the first time I got a trained coach. The coming year we would play in the St.Erik’s Cup and compete about two things: Getting a place in the Elite Group of St. Erik’s Cup year 2009 and also taking a place in the playoffs. It was a great pressure to achieve the results to place us in the Elite Group, but we succeeded. We became number one in our group and also got to continue in the playoffs. We lost the 1/8 final that year, however we continued practicing and practicing.
Here in Stockholm, we practice outside all year round. Snow or sunshine, as long as the field is playable and the temperature above minus 10 degrees Celsius, we practice outside. And we were getting better and better. We won all our indoor tournaments, both five-a-side and 9-a-side and we also won Piteå Summer Games, a large International Summer Tournament in the North of Sweden. We did not win Gothia Cup, the largest international soccer tournament in the world played here in Gothenburg, Sweden, but got to playoffs and all the way to the 1/4 final. On the other hand in October that year my team won the whole St. Erik’s Cup. What a joy and happiness!
When I started with the girls, we were 14 in number. By the time we won St. Erik’s Cup we were 30 girls. Not all was up to the level of being considered Elite players. But we were still one team. And our head coach and the assistant coaches were exceptional in the sense that every girl on the team felt valued no matter how the ranking as a soccer player was. It was a distinct difference in the treatment of the person and the player and this was a key to the happy and good spirit of our team. No one felt left out, even when sitting on the bench.
Therefore it was really a hard time when after winning the St. Erik’s Cup, the team was split. This is life in an Elite Club. At this level, some players would be placed in an Elite Team and some would have to play in a normal team. Some might be placed in a special development team. So my team was split and the girls placed into different teams. I was placed in the Elite Team, girls born 95. And I was in this team for six months before I was placed in AIK’s Development Team for girls. This team consists of players of different ages from 15-17 years old. I was happy but very nervous to be moved to this team because I knew it would boost my development, and it has. Still it was scary to be moved from a team where I was one of the best to another where I feared I might not be able to take a place on the team.
I have now played with that team for one season. We have won all of St. Erik’s Cup again, this year in the girls 16-year level. The team that wins that series also gets to play in the Swedish Championship playoffs arranged by the Swedish Soccer Association. The playoffs are between winners of the series in all other Districts in Sweden. And the winner becomes Swedish Champion. My team won the title, 2010. We also won the Stockholm Championship Junior earlier this year.
Another exiting series we played this year was Svenska Spel F17. It is a National series arranged by an Association for Ladies Soccer and the Swedish Soccer Association. In this series we met teams from all over Sweden. Only teams from clubs that have teams in “Allsvenskan or the First Division” are allowed to participate. Allsvenskan is the highest division here in Sweden. The popular name of Svenska Spel F17 is “Flickallsvenskan” which means “Allsvenskan for Girls”. This series has existed for boys for many years, but it is only the second year for girls. And it is a great opportunity for girls to continue playing soccer at their own level instead of having to start in a ladies team or maybe not find a team at all if you are not good enough to make the ladies team and will have to quit instead maybe. It is a great opportunity for girl soccer players to be able to continue developing as soccer players.
It is a series for girls 17 years (and down if you can take a place in the team) with the exception you can have 5 older players per game (4 + 1 goalkeeper overage). The four best teams go to playoffs and my team did this year and we won the Bronze medal.
After this season, my team has changed again, and I am now in the highest level team for girls in AIK, called “Damjuniorerna”, it means “Ladies Junior’s”. So it is the highest under the Ladies Team.
Playing in an Elite Club requires 100 percent commitment to the sport. Since I was 13, I have now practiced four days a week and with games or tournaments at least once or often twice a week. So the only thing I do is to go to school and play soccer. In my one free evening without practice I catch up on all the homework I can or do it in advance. I have trained myself to do this since I was in the fourth grade. I have always wanted to play soccer and get as good as I possibly can. And I have realized long time ago that it takes a lot of discipline to play soccer at this level. I have to be really mindful about every minute of my day to keep up with school and also be able to play soccer at Elite level. There is no time for anything else. Also I have to be mindful about my eating and sleeping habits and so on every day of the week.
In AIK, there are goals set for the development of an individual player as a whole. So in addition to practice and games, we also have theoretical training sessions mandatory for all about nutrition, health, first aid, drugs and alcohol, and even mental training. There is also a program run in all the youth teams about values, called ”AIK-style”. This aims to build a foundation of values in each player, not only for soccer, but for life.
The sport costs a lot, so in addition to the practices and games we work a lot to get money to finance our soccer activities. In my team we made it our business idea to offer face painting for children. So we would be hired for events at shopping malls or sports events or cultural events, painting kids’ faces like lions, tigers, butterflies, vampires, whatever they would like. It was free for them and the organizers paid us. We had fun doing the work and it made it possible for us to make money going to tournaments and training camps. We even sold stuff like Christmas flowers, socks and the like to raise funds. Up to this level I am now, we have to pay everything ourselves.
We also work a lot as volunteers for our club. Even though AIK is an Elite Club, the activities are run mostly by volunteers. Only a few in a large club like AIK are employed. Therefore all the youth teams, players, and parents have to work for the club, to make it function. This also takes a lot of time, so practically the “whole life” is the club.
Youth Soccer in Sweden Part 2
My Favorite Place
By Frida Farstad Eriksson
This is the second in a three-part-series
At the time I left my team with the boys and started in AIK, I didn’t think about that this was an elite club. I had no understanding of the everyday meaning of that concept at my level. It was painful to leave my best friends, but I somehow knew I had to pay the price. If I wanted to take a shot at developing my full potential as a soccer player, I had to join a girls’ team. The only club I could imagine to switch to was the club I was a fan of, AIK. And it was a lucky move at the right time. I have seen and understood this as time has passed.
Joining the girls’ 95 in AIK, I was happy. I found a team where I felt welcome and at home. I loved my new team, the girls, and the coaches. I had never felt comfortable with girls before, but here we had the soccer in common. It was a great team spirit and we had lots of fun, and I developed. Even if I was not aware when I made the switch I have found later, I came right into a club where I would have the possibility to develop maximum if I worked hard.
Here in Sweden the sports are not part of school. Of course we have sports in school as part of the curriculum, and I go in a special class with Sports as a major. However, organized sports are run by nonprofit clubs. Every small town might have a small sports club, and it is all run by volunteer workers. The coaches are usually parents, and they do it all for free. Also, most have no formal training, other than maybe that they played or did the sports themselves as younger. The members and the parents have to work and pay to run all the activities. So each club can administrate their own tournaments as a means of getting income for instance. Income can come from fees charged to participate and also from sales of food and lottery during the tournament.
When I played with the boys, all my coaches were untrained dads. When I started with the girls in AIK, it was still untrained dads since the team was still playing 7-a-side. But in AIK, there is from 11-a-side level always a head coach for each team who is not a parent, who is formally trained and even paid by the club. This is to secure a certain standard and also prevent special treatment of players because of family relations. To secure all equal opportunity to earn a place on the team. And the coaches all have contracts only for one year, so they have to perform to continue. Even the assistant coaches who can still be parents have a one-year at a time contract even though they are volunteers.
In November 2007, we started preparing for playing 11-a-side and for the first time I got a trained coach. The coming year we would play in the St.Erik’s Cup and compete about two things: Getting a place in the Elite Group of St. Erik’s Cup year 2009 and also taking a place in the playoffs. It was a great pressure to achieve the results to place us in the Elite Group, but we succeeded. We became number one in our group and also got to continue in the playoffs. We lost the 1/8 final that year, however we continued practicing and practicing.
Here in Stockholm, we practice outside all year round. Snow or sunshine, as long as the field is playable and the temperature above minus 10 degrees Celsius, we practice outside. And we were getting better and better. We won all our indoor tournaments, both five-a-side and 9-a-side and we also won Piteå Summer Games, a large International Summer Tournament in the North of Sweden. We did not win Gothia Cup, the largest international soccer tournament in the world played here in Gothenburg, Sweden, but got to playoffs and all the way to the 1/4 final. On the other hand in October that year my team won the whole St. Erik’s Cup. What a joy and happiness!
When I started with the girls, we were 14 in number. By the time we won St. Erik’s Cup we were 30 girls. Not all was up to the level of being considered Elite players. But we were still one team. And our head coach and the assistant coaches were exceptional in the sense that every girl on the team felt valued no matter how the ranking as a soccer player was. It was a distinct difference in the treatment of the person and the player and this was a key to the happy and good spirit of our team. No one felt left out, even when sitting on the bench.
Therefore it was really a hard time when after winning the St. Erik’s Cup, the team was split. This is life in an Elite Club. At this level, some players would be placed in an Elite Team and some would have to play in a normal team. Some might be placed in a special development team. So my team was split and the girls placed into different teams. I was placed in the Elite Team, girls born 95. And I was in this team for six months before I was placed in AIK’s Development Team for girls. This team consists of players of different ages from 15-17 years old. I was happy but very nervous to be moved to this team because I knew it would boost my development, and it has. Still it was scary to be moved from a team where I was one of the best to another where I feared I might not be able to take a place on the team.
I have now played with that team for one season. We have won all of St. Erik’s Cup again, this year in the girls 16-year level. The team that wins that series also gets to play in the Swedish Championship playoffs arranged by the Swedish Soccer Association. The playoffs are between winners of the series in all other Districts in Sweden. And the winner becomes Swedish Champion. My team won the title, 2010. We also won the Stockholm Championship Junior earlier this year.
Another exiting series we played this year was Svenska Spel F17. It is a National series arranged by an Association for Ladies Soccer and the Swedish Soccer Association. In this series we met teams from all over Sweden. Only teams from clubs that have teams in “Allsvenskan or the First Division” are allowed to participate. Allsvenskan is the highest division here in Sweden. The popular name of Svenska Spel F17 is “Flickallsvenskan” which means “Allsvenskan for Girls”. This series has existed for boys for many years, but it is only the second year for girls. And it is a great opportunity for girls to continue playing soccer at their own level instead of having to start in a ladies team or maybe not find a team at all if you are not good enough to make the ladies team and will have to quit instead maybe. It is a great opportunity for girl soccer players to be able to continue developing as soccer players.
It is a series for girls 17 years (and down if you can take a place in the team) with the exception you can have 5 older players per game (4 + 1 goalkeeper overage). The four best teams go to playoffs and my team did this year and we won the Bronze medal.
After this season, my team has changed again, and I am now in the highest level team for girls in AIK, called “Damjuniorerna”, it means “Ladies Junior’s”. So it is the highest under the Ladies Team.
Playing in an Elite Club requires 100 percent commitment to the sport. Since I was 13, I have now practiced four days a week and with games or tournaments at least once or often twice a week. So the only thing I do is to go to school and play soccer. In my one free evening without practice I catch up on all the homework I can or do it in advance. I have trained myself to do this since I was in the fourth grade. I have always wanted to play soccer and get as good as I possibly can. And I have realized long time ago that it takes a lot of discipline to play soccer at this level. I have to be really mindful about every minute of my day to keep up with school and also be able to play soccer at Elite level. There is no time for anything else. Also I have to be mindful about my eating and sleeping habits and so on every day of the week.
In AIK, there are goals set for the development of an individual player as a whole. So in addition to practice and games, we also have theoretical training sessions mandatory for all about nutrition, health, first aid, drugs and alcohol, and even mental training. There is also a program run in all the youth teams about values, called ”AIK-style”. This aims to build a foundation of values in each player, not only for soccer, but for life.
The sport costs a lot, so in addition to the practices and games we work a lot to get money to finance our soccer activities. In my team we made it our business idea to offer face painting for children. So we would be hired for events at shopping malls or sports events or cultural events, painting kids’ faces like lions, tigers, butterflies, vampires, whatever they would like. It was free for them and the organizers paid us. We had fun doing the work and it made it possible for us to make money going to tournaments and training camps. We even sold stuff like Christmas flowers, socks and the like to raise funds. Up to this level I am now, we have to pay everything ourselves.
We also work a lot as volunteers for our club. Even though AIK is an Elite Club, the activities are run mostly by volunteers. Only a few in a large club like AIK are employed. Therefore all the youth teams, players, and parents have to work for the club, to make it function. This also takes a lot of time, so practically the “whole life” is the club.
Dec, 21, 2010
Youth Soccer in Sweden
My favorite place
By Frida Farstad Eriksson
This is the first in a three-part-series
Imagine a place where all your problems disappear, a place where you can be yourself, a place where you feel totally free, that makes you happy and content. I have such a place. It is the soccer field. Nothing is better than to feel the wind wipe my face, running after the ball, hearing my own breath from running and falling to the ground from fatigue. Smelling the rubber and feeling the blood pulsate through the body. It makes me enjoy and love life. Even better is to hear the coach call out: “Good Frida! Nice Frida!” It gives new energy to run, to kick, to dribble, to shoot, and try to do it even better, just to get to hear those words again.
I really love playing soccer. It is my passion. I have played since I was six years old. I started out playing on a boys’ team, since where I lived I was the only girl who wanted to play soccer my age. I am only 15 years old. But I believe only in this short time a lot has happened when it comes to girls playing soccer. There were of course girls’ teams other places here in Stockholm, but not in my hometown.So it was 22 boys and me. It was all boys from my class and my parallel class in school. And we were the best friends. We went to school together, played soccer together and spent even our leisure time together. If we didn’t have practice or game we would be on the close by schoolyard or the fields kicking a ball just for fun.
When we were six years old, we practiced twice a week; getting older, three to four times a week. And we played in the St. Erik’s Cup in Stockholm every year, in addition to other tournaments that might be over a weekend or summer week or so.
Sweden is divided into districts and every district has a series that all the youth teams play during the season. In Stockholm it is called St. Erik’s Cup. The St Erik’s cup is the world’s largest youth tournament and has existed for more than 50 years. It is played in the form of a series and with playoffs from 11-a-side, ages 13-18 years. This series is under the Stockholm Soccer Association.
As long as you play five-a-side (ages 8-9) and seven-a-side (ages 10-12), the goal is to win the group and there are no playoffs. At 13, you start playing 11-a-side and then you also have playoffs. To win the St. Erik’s Cup is the greatest achievement within soccer for youth teams in Stockholm. And since Stockholm also has the “best” soccer teams generally at the youth level, to win here is prestigious. This tournament goes from April to October, so it is a long tournament with many games, at least 16 during the season. Even the kids from 6-7 years play in the series, but are not formally a part. The results for this age group are not registered anywhere. But for us who played it is still just as serious!
I played with the boys’ team until I was almost 12. In the fall of 2006, I started looking for a girls’ team. I realized I had to switch to be able to continue developing, since a lot happened very fast with the boys’ development this age, their bodies changing and getting more muscles and so. Changing to 11-a-side at 13, I also realized it would maybe get difficult to take a place on the team with boys. My club didn’t continue at this level and all the players would have to switch to another club. For me as a lonely girl it meant more guys to compete with about a place on the team. My coaches told me they wanted me to stay at least till the boys started playing 11-a-side, but it was better for me to make a switch before, so I could be part of a girls’ team as they started playing 11-a-side, to have better chances to take a place on the team. I realized I had to leave all my friends behind, but there was no doubt in my mind I had to if I wanted to continue playing soccer and developing like I dreamed of.
In the fall of 2006, I therefore tried out with AIK, my favorite soccer club, and they welcomed me in their girls’ team, girls born 95. This was my first experience with girls’ soccer. I had only played with boys and seen boys play up until then. It is a difference in the play and the practice. And for a long time I felt I really had to be careful not to play too rough and hurt the girls, because I was really used to much tougher play. For a few months more I continued with the boys as well, so I played soccer every day of the week. But in February 2007, I made the switch, one month before I turned 12. I was officially registered in AIK as a soccer player, as my first club. At 12 years, all clubs have to register their players in Sweden.
AIK is the largest Swedish soccer club looking at members and also fans. Both the ladies and the men’s team played in the highest division here in Sweden “Allsvenskan” until the end of 2010. The men’s team won “Allsvenskan” 2009. Unfortunately, the ladies team didn’t make it this year and will have to play in the First Division next season. However it is an old proud club and the home arena is also the Swedish National Arena, Råsunda. However it is only the men’s team that gets to play there. The ladies’ team has their home arena across the road, at Skytteholm. This is also the home arena of all the youth teams of AIK. This is where I practice and play, my second home so to speak.
Youth Soccer in Sweden
My favorite place
By Frida Farstad Eriksson
This is the first in a three-part-series
Imagine a place where all your problems disappear, a place where you can be yourself, a place where you feel totally free, that makes you happy and content. I have such a place. It is the soccer field. Nothing is better than to feel the wind wipe my face, running after the ball, hearing my own breath from running and falling to the ground from fatigue. Smelling the rubber and feeling the blood pulsate through the body. It makes me enjoy and love life. Even better is to hear the coach call out: “Good Frida! Nice Frida!” It gives new energy to run, to kick, to dribble, to shoot, and try to do it even better, just to get to hear those words again.
I really love playing soccer. It is my passion. I have played since I was six years old. I started out playing on a boys’ team, since where I lived I was the only girl who wanted to play soccer my age. I am only 15 years old. But I believe only in this short time a lot has happened when it comes to girls playing soccer. There were of course girls’ teams other places here in Stockholm, but not in my hometown.So it was 22 boys and me. It was all boys from my class and my parallel class in school. And we were the best friends. We went to school together, played soccer together and spent even our leisure time together. If we didn’t have practice or game we would be on the close by schoolyard or the fields kicking a ball just for fun.
When we were six years old, we practiced twice a week; getting older, three to four times a week. And we played in the St. Erik’s Cup in Stockholm every year, in addition to other tournaments that might be over a weekend or summer week or so.
Sweden is divided into districts and every district has a series that all the youth teams play during the season. In Stockholm it is called St. Erik’s Cup. The St Erik’s cup is the world’s largest youth tournament and has existed for more than 50 years. It is played in the form of a series and with playoffs from 11-a-side, ages 13-18 years. This series is under the Stockholm Soccer Association.
As long as you play five-a-side (ages 8-9) and seven-a-side (ages 10-12), the goal is to win the group and there are no playoffs. At 13, you start playing 11-a-side and then you also have playoffs. To win the St. Erik’s Cup is the greatest achievement within soccer for youth teams in Stockholm. And since Stockholm also has the “best” soccer teams generally at the youth level, to win here is prestigious. This tournament goes from April to October, so it is a long tournament with many games, at least 16 during the season. Even the kids from 6-7 years play in the series, but are not formally a part. The results for this age group are not registered anywhere. But for us who played it is still just as serious!
I played with the boys’ team until I was almost 12. In the fall of 2006, I started looking for a girls’ team. I realized I had to switch to be able to continue developing, since a lot happened very fast with the boys’ development this age, their bodies changing and getting more muscles and so. Changing to 11-a-side at 13, I also realized it would maybe get difficult to take a place on the team with boys. My club didn’t continue at this level and all the players would have to switch to another club. For me as a lonely girl it meant more guys to compete with about a place on the team. My coaches told me they wanted me to stay at least till the boys started playing 11-a-side, but it was better for me to make a switch before, so I could be part of a girls’ team as they started playing 11-a-side, to have better chances to take a place on the team. I realized I had to leave all my friends behind, but there was no doubt in my mind I had to if I wanted to continue playing soccer and developing like I dreamed of.
In the fall of 2006, I therefore tried out with AIK, my favorite soccer club, and they welcomed me in their girls’ team, girls born 95. This was my first experience with girls’ soccer. I had only played with boys and seen boys play up until then. It is a difference in the play and the practice. And for a long time I felt I really had to be careful not to play too rough and hurt the girls, because I was really used to much tougher play. For a few months more I continued with the boys as well, so I played soccer every day of the week. But in February 2007, I made the switch, one month before I turned 12. I was officially registered in AIK as a soccer player, as my first club. At 12 years, all clubs have to register their players in Sweden.
AIK is the largest Swedish soccer club looking at members and also fans. Both the ladies and the men’s team played in the highest division here in Sweden “Allsvenskan” until the end of 2010. The men’s team won “Allsvenskan” 2009. Unfortunately, the ladies team didn’t make it this year and will have to play in the First Division next season. However it is an old proud club and the home arena is also the Swedish National Arena, Råsunda. However it is only the men’s team that gets to play there. The ladies’ team has their home arena across the road, at Skytteholm. This is also the home arena of all the youth teams of AIK. This is where I practice and play, my second home so to speak.
