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Pat Tepoorten is in his fourth year as a Chisago Lakes Youth Soccer Association traveling soccer coach. This is his first year with this group of girls, the U10 team. “It’s quite a change,” said Tepoorten, “going from 15-year-olds to 10-year-olds. But it’s fabulous! The kids at this age are like little sponges. They listen well and pick up everything you say and are able to show that they learned what you taught them almost right away,” he said.

U10 and younger teams play 6 on 6 soccer on a field that’s less than half the size of a regular field. The smaller number of players and smaller field allow for more touches on the ball by each player during the game, helping to maintain their interest and develop their skills under game conditions.

“We’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the season,” said Tepoorten. “We’ve gone from what I call the “Wolfpack” mentality–– everyone staying within a few feet of the ball––to spreading the field and making more passes. It’s not uncommon for us to have four or five touches on the ball as we go down the field.”

Even though U10 teams don’t officially keep score or maintain standings, Tepoorten has unofficially kept track of the team’s progress. “We’re 3-2-1 in league play so far this year,” he said. “I really enjoy coaching this group. There are no attitude problems. All of the girls are good team players. I’m pretty proud of them. Most of the teams we play are all 10-year- olds, while we have some players as young as seven.”

The U10 girls team is just one of 10 teams in CLYSA. Look for more teams to be profiled in an upcoming issue of the Chisago County Press.

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