ABYSA / HFC and NCYSA are proud to partner with Tom Byer to bring the Soccer Starts at Home® individual development philosophy and methodology to our community!
What is Soccer Starts at Home®?
The Soccer Starts at Home® methodology, designed by world-renowned youth soccer development expert, Tom Byer, involves parents encouraging children young children to perform fun physical exercises using their feet to manipulate a soccer ball. The program has the greatest benefit for younger players, but is still very beneficial for older players wanting to help their own development! This is all done in the living room or yard, which is a nurturing and forgiving place with the ability to experiment and fail with no recourse. The home environment allows for these activities to be done with no advanced scheduling, no travel requirements, and at no cost.
Soccer Starts at Home® is about more than soccer! These soccer-based lessons are designed to help your child develop learning pathways and skill acquisition concepts that can help their future growth in the classroom and everyday life!
A human’s brain is developing at it’s fastest rate in their early years, and a youth’s brain is 85-90% developed by the end of the 5th year. The program uses soccer skills mastery as it’s delivery mechanism, which sets the child up for early success when they join an organized youth soccer program.
Through the learning skills taught through the program, children can accelerate their brain (Cognitive) development to include their academic, social, emotional, and physical (motor) skills. Historically, the development of motor (physical) and brain (cognitive) skills in children were viewed as independent processes involving different parts of the brain, with the cerebellum thought to be only responsible for motor functions such as balance and rhythm. Modern scientific developments have demonstrated, however, that the cerebellum is also involved in thinking, remembering, decision making, reading, controlling emotions and social skills.
Is there scientific data to back up these claims?
Harvard University’s Dr. John Ratey, author of 13 books and one of the world’s leading researchers in exercise and brain development says that “the acquisition of skills- math skills, piano skills, soccer skills- and the encouragement to acquire skills is absolutely fundamental in the development of the brain. Exercise optimizes the brain and body and sets it up for learning. It produces growth factors, one of which is called BDNF, which I call ‘miracle-grow for the brain’ or brain fertilizer. Tom Byer’s Soccer Starts at Home® is opening the door for a complete rethink as to how we encourage children to learn sports.”
A University of Houston study involved 500 children ages 5 and 6 with half of the children performed the Soccer Starts at Home® programming 15 to 20 minutes daily, while the other half did not (control group). Academic testing performed at the beginning and ending of the 12 week study showed that the Soccer Starts at Home® participants improved their Math and Reading scores between 3-4%, and the control group did not improve their scores. In addition, the Soccer Starts at Home® participants decreased their sedentary activity by 11.7%, whereas the control group did not.
A Stanford University study showed that 5 year-olds doing the Soccer Starts at Home® programming over an 8 week study period had improved focus, according to 93% of their parents.
Sign up or learn more about Tom Byer and the purpose of the Soccer Starts at Home® methodology by clicking the link below:
