By Vincent Liu
Town Crier Correspondent
Mtn. View-based soccer clinic stresses fun and fundamentals
If you’re looking for a soccer baby-sitting service with a laissez-faire atmosphere where kids roam free with little supervision, Calichicas may not be for you.
If you’re looking for a soccer camp with a high-intensity play-to-win focus and boot-camp-style drills to match, Calichicas may not be for you.
But if you seek a soccer clinic where basic fundamentals are taught in a structured, low-key and personal manner, Calichicas may be just what you’ve been searching for.
Mostly through word of mouth, several local parents have discovered a soccer clinic that has become the rave of their participating daughters. Calichicas is a new organization within the Mountain View-Los Altos Soccer Club that fields two girls soccer teams in the under-19 and under-13 age groups to compete in the California Youth Soccer Association-North league. Last year the club started a soccer clinic for girls 13 and under.
What makes the clinic unusual - and a hit - is that the teaching is done mostly by teens playing for the under-19 team.
The clinic’s motto is “Teaching sound fundamental soccer while having fun.” Judging by the enthusiastic feedback from students attending this summer’s clinic - concluding this week at Mountain View High - the Calichicas appear to be living up to their motto.
Comments from clinic participants, some as young as 5, included phrases such as “learning team stuff,” “helping each other,” “learning to get along with others,” “learning to depend on each other,” “communicating with teammates” and “making new friends.”
Alexis Daniels, 8, whose bubbly enthusiasm was only exceeded by her rapid-fire chirping, said “These big sisters are so nice,” referring to the high school counselors.
Tania Morimoto, 12, said the clinic has taught her to “be part of a team; not just kicking the ball but passing it; getting help to each other; and learning new tricks.”
The most popular “new trick” seemed to be passing the ball backward. For a number of these girls, who had always been taught to go only forward, it was a revelation. Clinic director Ahmad Saidin calls it “360-degrees passing,” which means distributing the ball in any and all directions to maintain possession.
The clinic is the brainchild of Saidin, a soccer purist and mentor for 35 years and the current junior varsity girls coach at Mountain View High. Under his direction, the basic “possession soccer” concepts and skills are stressed during the daily training routine.
During the morning, ball-control passing is taught and demonstrated collectively, and drills are held in smaller groups by counselors. During the afternoon, scrimmages focus on moving the ball from one end of the field to the other through a series of short passes and continuous runs into open spaces. Counselors participate in the scrimmages to apply the concepts and maintain flow. Scoring is not emphasized.
The results are remarkable. At the first day of the weekly clinic, some girls were bunching up and chasing after the ball, a common sight in many of the lower-age games. Midway through the clinic, the girls were properly spaced and moving the ball effectively. By the last day, it was second nature.
“I’m teaching these kids beautiful soccer,” Saidin said. “After all, this is how soccer is taught to the youth in the rest of the world.”
The Calichicas were founded in the summer of 2000 by eight girls from the Mountain View High JV squad. The group went to Hawaii that summer to play soccer and have fun in the sun, and it was such an enjoyable experience that they decided to make it an annual event. To raise money for subsequent soccer excursions to exotic places, they - along with Saidin - hit on the idea of big sisters training little sisters.
The first clinics were conducted in the spring and summer of last year for 75 girls, and the proceeds financed a return trip to Hawaii. This year’s clinics will fund a July trip to Costa Rica.
After the initial success, Calichicas expanded their scope.
At the end of last summer, they held a clinic for parents. The purpose: to educate parents to better understand soccer, appreciate the intricate skills of the game and to display proper conduct toward the players, coaches and referees. The next parents’ clinic is set for Sunday at Mountain View High, with proceeds going to the school’s JV soccer program.
For Saidin, who volunteers his time for all the activities, these clinics are an opportunity for the organization to give something back to the community. Two percent of the clinic proceeds are donated to a worthy cause in the area. Last year the team donated money to a battered women shelter in Mountain View; this year, it will go to Green Pastures, a home for the mentally retarded.
For Stephanie Adams - who coined the name Calichicas - and her founding teammates, what started as a fund-raising idea to benefit themselves has been transformed into a feeling of altruism.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with these young kids and it’s fun to see them improve,” she said. “I look forward to coming back for more.”
For the youngsters, the feeling is mutual. All hands were enthusiastically raised when asked if they would like to return. To a person, they adored these “big sisters” and so do their parents. Julie Iskow and Julie Caulfield, each with two daughters signed up for the back-to-back clinics, called the counselors great role models.
Perhaps the most memorable event of the clinic occurred at the end of last week’s session when the participants and counselors ran around the field plastering each other with water balloons and shaving cream. For these fleeting moments, they were all just girls having fun.
For more information on the clinics, send e-mail to coach@calichicas.org.
