About UNITED – UNITED Soccer Club

Founded in 2013 as a community youth soccer club in Collierville, TN, UNITED Soccer Club has grown into a professional soccer organization with two teams competing in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), UNITED Revolution in the UPSL Premier Division, and UNITED Predators in UPSL Division One.

All UNITED SC’s players, coaches, staff and supporters follow a comprehensive philosophy…

At UNITED Soccer Club, we play with heart, sacrifice, discipline, and class each and every time we hit the pitch, never forgetting that we, as a family, pursue an excellent brand of soccer.

Or to put it in simpler terms…

Here’s more detail about UNITED’s philosophy…

Overall Philosophy

We believe in playing attacking, possession-based (oriented) soccer played by technically proficient thinking players.

Players and teams that are able to outsmart their opponent and execute their ideas will be more successful in achieving their game objectives.

We believe in players who play with pride, passion and perseverance and we strive to cultivate these qualities in our players.

Foundational Principles on Players

Personality, Game Intelligence and consistent Execution of the Decision Making process are key characteristics that we consider in our players in order to successfully implement our Philosophy on Soccer.

UNITED Soccer Club players are:

Personality

Players who take pride in everything that they do and who take responsibility for all aspects of their own development-on and off the field
Players who are passionate about the game of soccer and who strive to excel in everything that they do
Players who are humble, respectful and preserving at all times. Players who are constantly striving to push back limits. To improve and learn something new

Game intelligence

Players who are capable of making correct decisions on the ball consistently
Players who are capable of making correct decisions without the ball consistently
Players who display a special quality-creativity, disguise, “nose” for the ball in the
penalty box, ability to take advantage of certain game situations

Execution

Players who are able to execute various components of the game consistently
with excellent technique and in optimal physical condition during the entire length of the match
Players who have special qualities within their technical arsenal of skills and know when to apply them
Players who maintain focus and remain disciplined throughout the game, but who are not afraid to make their own choice to express their individuality for the betterment of the team

Foundational Principles on Teaching

UNITED believes…

that training is the most influential preparation for competition. We believe that during training, all players must be exposed to realistic game situations to help in their development and to properly prepare them for competition. During training players must learn to train the way they are expected to play.
that training should focus on a simultaneous development of game intelligence (decision making) and the execution of the decision making process. Players will best develop when exposed to a training environment that offers variable situations with lots of uncertainty, that provides ample opportunities for players to make decisions (solve problems) and that requires players to develop a variety of skills to execute those decisions.
in a training environment that promotes a more active participation of the player and involves less prescriptive teaching methods by the coach. Players are encouraged to take ownership in their own development and coaches are encouraged to create the best conditions for players to learn and acquire new skills.
that the role of the coach during the training process is to be the facilitator and to guide the players to reach their own conclusions when solving various soccer problems.
that during coaching the coach should set realistic expectations, use positive reinforcement, reward the right behavior and reinforce the effort as well as the accomplishments.
that the coach should serve as the ultimate role model and should strive to develop the whole person and not just the soccer player.

Methodology

Our teaching methodology takes into account the following three principles:

Adaptation Principle

Start with observations of players and plan everything according to the level of the players.
Be a facilitator and create an environment where players are able to develop naturally.
Recognize that each player is a unique individual with their own unique learning needs.
What may work for one player, may not be suitable for the learning needs of another player and the coach should adapt their teaching methods to each player accordingly.

Progression Principle

Increase/progress the difficulty level of soccer activities once you observe a desired level of improvement in the players. The players will not progress if they are not presented with new challenges, but will easily get frustrated if the new challenges are presented to them too soon, when they are not yet ready to deal with the increased demands. Careful observation and coaching expertise are key factors in the implementation of the Progression Principle.

Continuity Principle

Give continuity to the learning process; allow players the time to learn and be patient as the learning process takes place. Give the players as many chances as they need to ensure that their development needs are met at each stage of their development.