Ted Kroeten is the founder of Joy of the People, a non-profit in the Twin Cities focused on free play as a way to develop more instinctive, resourceful soccer players (and people). A former player, long-time coach and current soccer parent, Kroeten believes that up to at least the age of 14, the best way for kids to improve is by playing for fun with their friends, with minimal supervision and basically no coaching.
Ted Kroeten is the founder of Joy of the People, a non-profit in the Twin Cities focused on free play as a way to develop more instinctive, resourceful soccer players (and people). A former player, long-time coach and current soccer parent, Kroeten now believes that up to at least the age of 14, the best way for kids to improve is by playing for fun with their friends, with minimal coaching and supervision. It's an interesting idea, one that a lot of people don't accept, and I tried to ask Ted as many good questions about it as I could. Roughly 3,000 children participated in some kind of free play soccer at Joy of the People last year. Two players who grew up in the program trialed at Werder Bremen in the fall.
https://twitter.com/JOYofthePEOPLE
https://www.joyofthepeople.org/