Our Elite Ball Master Program is the culmination in our Skillzys® Development Program. Our Elite Ball Master program is designed to continue to teach a variety of skills, but at this age group competition becomes a key component. Players will learn how to compete against themselves and other players while developing an attitude to always give their best effort in everything they do!
Sessions will consist of 45 minutes of age-appropriate training and then finished off with small sided games. The combination of the methods will be the foundation to good habits with the ball.
Key Skills
- Life Skills
- Juggling- Feet Only
- Dribbling Turns
- 1v1 Moves- Beating Players Straight On
- 1v1 Moves- Beating Players Approaching From Angles
- 1v1 Moves- Beating Players Running Beside You
- 1v1 Moves- Beating Players On Your Back
- Finishing
- Ball Striking
- Receiving the ball
- Combination Play
Program Options- Winter Sessions Only
The Elite Ball Masters Program is held right before our US Development Academy teams train on Monday nights.
MN Thunder is proud to be the only metro based club to be part of the US Soccer Development Academy.
The Development Academy is a partnership between U.S. Soccer and 78 of the top youth clubs around the country to provide the best youth players in the U.S. with an every day environment designed to produce the next generation of National Team players. The Academy’s programming philosophy of increased training, less total games and more competitive games is based on U.S. Soccer’s Best Practices utilized by the U-17 U.S. National Team Residency program.
The Academy also connects National Team coaches directly with the Academy clubs to develop and identify players and coaches for future Youth National Teams. Each Academy team is evaluated by a National Team coach at least ten times each year and each Academy club receives two formal evaluations in over 100 categories each year from National Team staff.
The Development Academy is also focused on identifying and developing the next generation of elite referees. U.S. Soccer assigns up-and-coming officials to participate in Academy games at the local level and at national events.
To learn more about the USDA click here
