It’s no secret US Youth Soccer suffers from a serious lack of street soccer. Everyone knows it but a solution is never offered. Now there is. LFA Rush's Free Play (“street soccer” or “pick-up”) which is available in the same way as High Repetition Training: “Show up and play.” LFA Rush provides the fields, equipment and supervision, and the players do the rest. There is absolutely no coaching. Games consist usually of small-sided numbers, 3v3, 4v4, 5v5, etc. Free Play occurs not once a week but almost every day, and like High Repetition Training, is only beneficial when accessed with high regularity.

The power in Free Play is that it’s the only time a player can explore and experiment free of worry about mistakes and other systematic inhibitors attached to Team Training. Exploration and experimentation are essential in transitioning newly-learned technique into game form, essential in building self-confidence and identity, and essential in promoting independent thought, all characteristics that elevate a robotic player into a chess master.

Pick-up soccer is arguably one of the most enjoyed ways to play soccer. It’s a shame it’s so rare in our culture and given the lowest consideration, but this is because US Soccer sees it as an ineffective development tool. LFA Rush strongly disagrees. The game itself is a great teacher of the game.