On Sunday, Feb 24th, BC Force players had an opportunity to train with Greg Ryan, former US Women’s National Team coach and current head Women’s soccer coach at the University of Michigan.  Coach Ryan was an instructor at the 2nd Annual Boulder Coaches Symposium hosted by BC Force and Boulder Indoor Soccer.  Coach Ryan’s first session of the day focused on "soccer conditioning" excerises and techniques used by the US Women’s National Team. His second session of the day focused on different ways to effectively get behind the defensive line and beat the offside trap.  He talked about bent runs, angled runs, runs parallel to the offside line in addition to chipping balls into space behind the line.  After several drills executing the various runs and playing the ball thru the defensive line into space Coach Ryan set up controlled 3v3 scrimmages which also utilized 2 neutral players in the attack.  This was a fantastic opportunity for the team, something most youth soccer players can only dream of.

Bill Hempen, University of Colorado Women’s Head Coach and several Buffs, including US National Team player Nikki Marshall, preceded Coach Ryan’s sessions. Nate Shotts, Director of Coaching for Colorado Youth Soccer led off the event.  Bobby Muuss, University of Denver Head Coach led a entertaining coaching progression he uses with his NCAA Division I program.   Brian Crookham, Colorado Rapids, Youth Director concluded the full day event.

Coaches from the BC Force, other youth clubs and high school programs spend the full day watch the training session and participating in Q&A sessions with the guest clinicians.  The event was a success and the BC Force looks forward to co-presenting next year’s event.