Tom Byer Talks About Disrupting Traditional Youth Player Development With One Simple Change

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In a ninety-minute conversation, I tried to dissect one of the most well-known and respected, but also most misunderstood people in the youth soccer development landscape.

Tom Byer, author of the book Soccer Starts At Home, has a very simple message that he really tries to hammer home in this episode and every time that he jumps on a podcast or talks to the media.

He thinks kids should be comfortable with having a ball at their feet before they enter the traditional structured team training environment.

And he believes that parents can start the player development process long before the kids sign up for their first team experience.

A recent tweet from Tom reads,

“There's 23.7 million families in the US with kids under the age of 6yrs old. Start with these young families and create a Culture of understanding centered around the importance of kids learning the Basics for the game. Teach this before organized play and watch what happens.”

Tom has been in the business of player development for over two decades, with the bulk of his work taking place is Asia.

He recently ran a pilot program in Washington with U.S. Soccer that seemed mysterious to some that weren’t intimately involved with the project. But Tom doesn’t shy away from putting all of the rumors to rest. Actually, explaining that program and his involvement with US Soccer was one of the main reasons Tom wanted to come on the show.

Him and I have been trying to link up for awhile now and our paths briefly crossed in New York City in late 2017 and we were able to meet in person for the first time. It was great to actually meet him and shake his hand.

Tom’s wesbite
Tom’s Twitter
Tom’s YouTube

Towards the end of the conversation you’re about to hear, Tom actually mentioned that he signed up and went through the free 7-week course here at 343coaching.com.

He said, “You will learn more by watching one or two of their videos than you might learn in any fulltime course.” You’ll hear Tom say more about why he signed up and what he likes about the 3four3 programs.

The online courses here at 3four3 are what help drive this podcast. You can choose between a free 7-week course or the premium multi-phase course, both give you an inside look at the cutting edge training methods that are being used at the top levels of the game from youth to pro.

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