The FA, Areas of Focus, Lions and Lionesses

The FA is short for The Football Association. It is England's organization of their soccer teams like the United States USSF (United States Soccer Federation). The FA, or England, has a logo with three lions on it. They call the men's team the Lions and the women's team the Lionesses. 

Does the US need an animal mascot? I don't know. But I do appreciate England's Lion identity. 

With the FA, they have created a campaign called "We Only Do Positive." Seems they have had some issues on their side of the pond with youth soccer. You can find out more at TheFA.com/Respect.

I had a meeting with a parent this past week and we discussed the Player Improvement Plan they had for their daughter. With the Areas of Focus, I walked them through using those items as focal points for pre- and post-game conversations in the car driving or just walking from the field. 

And then I saw a video that really grabbed me. It is quite a bit in line with what I was seeing as positive interactions with our players. My daughter is not old enough to play sports yet. But I hope I interact with her as the father does with his young athlete in that video. 

Enjoy and let's keep these Lions and Lionesses fighting for joy within the game, improvement as players and growth as young people!