Fort Lewis College / Rio Rapids Durango "Mini Kickers Soccer School" services the u5-u9 age groups (Pre K - 3rd Grade).  For the Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 year, this encompasses the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 birth years. Registration opens every Fall and Spring as separate "seasons" and there is also an option to register for both seasons.  The FLC / RRDSC Mini Kicker program includes age group trainings and games twice a week.

Character Building- Our effort is to develop young people through the sport of soccer. Further, our approach is to develop fundamentally sound soccer players.  This takes the effort of learning to play and compete correctly as our main focus, we want children to have fun and practice dealing with the emotions that sometimes get in the way of this.

Appropriate Development- Understanding how children develop cognitively and physically is a major element of our approach.  Therefore, our players will learn the fundamentals in the correct order, keeping in mind the young player is not interested in sharing…yet!  Ball Mastery first, dribbling and controlling a ball are the first step, as the ball and playing with it are why players play.  We hope that by 7 we are proficient and will then begin to shift into passing and spacial understanding to create the ability to share the ball.

Focus- The current environment is to focus on game outcomes, we want to change this.  This detracts from correct development, and our belief is that focusing on tactics to win games, destroys long term technical development.  Confidence is hard to maintain, but we believe we can help by creating a more pressure free environment.

“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” Jack Dixon

How do we do this?- A guided discovery model is our approach, and peer/play based and positive coaching are the foundational parts of the environment.  Kids are naturally curious, so the more experience they have with playing, the more capable they become.  Most important, they feel joy in the soccer ball, and this grows curiosity. We aim to foster a courageous player and person in our efforts.

Conclusion: Let’s not let our kids take short cuts. Let’s train to be successful, and win later in life when it matters.