OCSA Academy Parent's Page

04/14/2026

What do you want for your child?

To be a person of great intelligence, skill and character? To to be self-reliant, self-regulating and self-confident?

Certainly, that would be ideal so that your child learns to take on the world with vigor and engage in activities with passion and prowess.

What does this have to do with sport? Or with the sport training?

In every endeavor, children learn by doing. To swim by swimming, to paint by painting, to sing by singing, to dance by dancing. You know this as these are your best memories of childhood. You never questioned that motivation comes from doing the very thing you love. And nobody expected you as a novice to be a master. Hopefully you had space in school, music and art to make mistakes, sing out of tune, to paint outside the lines.

In fact, you would not want it any other way.

Let´s reconsider what effective training looks like. We do know from experts in child development and skill acquisition that…

Intelligence comes from making autonomous decisions.
Skill come from ex*****on in context.
Character comes from persistently trying and resiliently dealing with errors.
Joy comes from playing.

In other words, training must be faithful to the challenges present in the game.

We would not want to cling to status quo soccer training just to satiate our desire for order. We would not want a training program that does not maximize the potential of our child.

Line drills – an orderly illusion of learning.
Laps – a distraction from development.
Circuits – visually interesting yet ineffective.

We do not want to cling to the myth that dissecting a sport into disparate parts prepares our children for the game anymore than dry land back strokes prepares a child for the pool, that pedaling in the air prepares a child for the bike, that kicking a ball prepares a child for the match.

Instead, we would want to see cooperative, competitive and contextual training during which players are scanning their environment, making decisions, executing their choices and assessing the efficacy of those actions. Scan, choose, do. And we do not want to waste one moment more as our children deserve more. When you see these exercises guided by a patient and caring coach you are in the right place if indeed you want your child to be intelligent, skillful athlete of courage and resilience.

Rondos – develop intelligence, skill and character.
Position Play Exercises – develop intelligence, skill and character.
Training Games – develop intelligence, skill and character.
If it does not look as orderly as kids lined up dribbling through colorful cones or passing the ball back and forth, perfect. Not perfectly orderly but perfect for your child´s development.

If your child is to learn to become intelligent, skillful and courageous, then he/she must train to be so. He/She must immerse himself/herself in holistic training. He/She must wrestle in context, must get messy for mastery and must fail to succeed.

You don’t want the same-old debilitating drills. You want a well-researched and well documented program that serves your child - the child you want to take on the world with vigor, win, lose or draw.

- Coach Eric

03/19/2026

Long term development is a long progress. Trust the process…

11/18/2025

Truth in youth sports is realizing that the game is theirs. Realization is knowing that our role as parents is not to mold them into what we dream, but to let them dream for themselves. When we allow them to be children first, athletes second, we give them the freedom to grow into their own truth.

Coach E.

11/12/2025

Barcelona and Real Madrid - Fall 2025
Excellence!!!

10/26/2025

Long ago I posted this, have we done better as parents? Self reflection…

What kids think of their how parents watch their sporting events.

10/16/2025

What Sport Means for Our Younger Players

At this stage, sport is not about chasing perfection, it’s about discovering who you are, how you grow, and how you treat others along the way. It’s a training ground for character, not just competition. Every training session, every game, every moment is a chance to build habits that last far beyond the field.

We believe sport for youth players should:

• Grow the whole player, not just their skills, but their mindset, confidence, and emotional resilience.

• Teach life lessons, like effort, teamwork, humility, and how to bounce back from setbacks.

• Build identity and belonging where every child feels safe, valued, and part of something bigger.

• Encourage curiosity and ownership players learn to ask questions, solve problems, and take charge of their development.

• Focus on progress, not perfection. We celebrate improvement, grit, and the courage to try again.

Wins and losses fade. What stays is the joy, the discipline, and the relationships they build through sport.

Coach E.

10/10/2025

For educational purposes.

10/04/2025

For educational purposes.

09/13/2025

A Reminder

“He trusts you,” she said.

I was the one who pushed him.
The one who held him accountable.
Yet somehow, he trusted me.

That season wasn’t about soccer.
It was about courage.
About facing fears.
About finding the beauty beneath them.

He challenged me to be more patient.
Less judgmental.
More present.
To live the mission even when I was too tired to model it.

A boy and a coach.
His transformation.
My reminder.

Too often we chase results and miss the point.
The point is the player.
The person.
The trust.

And trust is a gift.

- Coach E.

08/29/2025

College Freshman Preseason

Back in 2009, I had just dropped off my son at college in the hills of North Carolina, Brevard. It was the start of his freshman preseason.

Maybe it was the father in me that couldn’t let him go without one last piece of advice. Maybe it was because I had lived the athlete’s life many years earlier playing soccer in the military, not in college and thought I had some wisdom to share. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what other fathers said in moments like that, but I chose my “less‑is‑more” approach.

“You’re the freshman play with humility, but play like you know how.”

I carried those words with me as I drove east, leaving him in the mountains while I returned to our home on the Crystal Coast. I knew humility wasn’t a trait the world seemed to value as much anymore. Society rewarded the brash, the bold, the self‑promoters the ones who told you they were the best, not the ones who quietly proved it.

I remembered when jerseys carried only numbers, not names. When you played for the school, the unit, or the team not for yourself. When your locker was just a small cage, not a shrine to the ego.

Humility, I believed, was never for the meek it was a step toward mastery. It was never for the pathetic it was a path to perspective.

Even decades after my own playing days in the service, I believed freshmen should arrive humble willing to respect the upperclassmen and women who knew the history and heartbeat of the program. If rookies were the ones bagging balls and collecting cones, then so be it. Play with confidence. Play smart. Outplay the upperclassmen if you must, but just play.

With that, my son headed to training, and I began the long drive back to the coast.

Of course, my “short version” advice never stayed short. Before my drive on another trip, I sent him a message not about soccer, but about what mattered more.

“I’m proud of the young man you’ve become, son. Enjoy this adventure. I love you.”

- Coach E.

08/20/2025

A Fresh Start

Here we go again.

The summer heat still lingers, and yet a new soccer season is already upon us. I often wonder if one year simply rolls into the next without enough pause to reflect on what we’re doing or why we’re doing it.

Over time, I’ve come to understand something important: soccer isn’t inherently important. It matters only because we decide it matters as coaches, players, parents, and fans. We are the ones who attach meaning to this curious little game where young athletes try to send a ball into a net… or not.

Not important.

And yet deeply valuable, for reasons unique to each of us. As we begin this new season, I’d like to share why I believe the game, like so many other sports, is meaningful.

Our Why: To promote learning and joy.

That’s it. Nothing more complicated than that.

I used to believe winning was everything. It’s not.
I used to think losing defined you. It doesn’t.
I once tied my ego to ninety minutes on a scoreboard. I don’t anymore.
I thought outscoring the opponent meant you were better in all ways. It doesn’t.
I believed the end could justify the means. I no longer do.

What I do believe is that our highest responsibility as coaches is to cultivate learning and joy. The best teachers do this whether in math, music, or summer camps and so should we.

We are in the business of learning and joy.

Do our players grow in intelligence, skill, and character because of our coaching?
Do they genuinely enjoy coming to train and compete?

These are the true metrics of youth sports. Of course, we still pursue the win in front of us but the more lasting victory is if our athletes choose to keep playing, learning, and loving the game for years to come.

I’ve lost my “why” before. More than once. But I also know that when I stay anchored to it, I’m offering the very best of myself to the young people I serve.

So, before the referee blows the first whistle of the season, let’s take a collective breath. Let’s step onto the field with clarity of purpose: to promote learning and joy.

We’ll revisit this at the season’s end. But for now, we know exactly who we can be when we lead with intention, have fun, and model the behavior we want to see.

Enjoy the season.

Coach E.

08/13/2025

Let’s talk about middle schoolers.

Will a 12-year-old make it to college soccer or beyond?
Truthfully, no one knows. Not me. Not you. Not even the college coaches.

Some kids who shine early will fade.
Some late bloomers will surprise us all.
The journey is unpredictable, and the game itself is evolving faster than ever.

So what’s an eighth grader to do?
Keep playing the game.

Play the next play. The next game. The next season.
Enjoy the game. Enjoy the friendships.
Let the sport be a source of joy, not pressure.

I affectionately call middle schoolers the “brat pack.”
They’re a whirlwind of hormones, growth spurts, and contradictions.
Some are six feet tall. Some still seem six years old.
They’re distracted, determined, delightful, and occasionally derailing.
They’ll forget their cleats but never their phones.
They’ll test your patience and steal your heart.

So what should parents do?
Keep enjoying the game.

Not just soccer.
Enjoy the game of growing up.
Of ice cream and ice packs.
Of car rides and conversations.
Of friendships and folly.

Middle schoolers are chaos personified.
Where they’ll end up? Nobody knows.
Not even them.

So let’s love them especially when they drive us crazy.
Lead them especially when they push back.
And laugh with them every chance we get.

Hold on tight.
They’re worth every mile of the ride.

Coach E.