Why Get To Green?
The Green Armband is Level 3, also known as an Intermediate Player. Here are some reasons why you need to Get To Green:
- The hardest part of getting your juggling green level is being able to do 10 juggles calmly. Controlled, calm juggling improves touch and two-footedness. It makes the synapses in your brain fire faster, and therefore all your skills end up looking smoother.
- Level 3 Green Juggling is the Avila break-through level because being able to do 10 juggles (along with the other green prerequisites) almost always coincides with a major decrease in “unforced errors.”
- Players with a Green level in juggling (Level 3) are sometimes allowed to sub-in with Level 4 (Yellow Armband) and Level 5 (Black Armband) players. These are our advanced and elite players.
- The most important reason to get to Green overall is that it automatically qualifies you for the Avila Scrimmage Program and that is a lot of fun! (some Orange level Scrimmages may be available).
- And finally, if you’re overall level is Level 3 Green, players start to regularly use Reverse Process Rhythm (RPR) drills much more frequently.
What is RPR?
RPR stands for Reverse Process Rhythm and is the trademark of Avila Creative Soccer. It is a tactical awareness methodology pioneered by Coach Eryck when he was doing his Masters in Sports Coaching.
The Point of RPR is to teach Possession
There are many Avila RPR drills in the Avila Vault. The point of any of them is to help improve the player’s ability to possess. Possession broken down is really five sepearate things:
Movement, Spacing, Distribution, Technique, and Connectivity.
RPR is the Avila Method
Specifically, what’s special about any Avila RPR Drill, is that all 5 components of Possession are taught in any single RPR Drill.
The hardest part about becoming an Avila-Certified Trainer for example is going through our vault of drills and learning how to teach the RPR Method.
As a result no matter why players join Avila Soccer, the eventual common denominator is that all players who pass through our doors become proficient at Possession.
Possession in the Soccer World
Possession in the soccer world refers to a style of play where teams distribute the ball amongst themselves and “space it out” or hold the ball by shifting as a group with the goal of tiring the opponent out. Once lulled to sleep the idea is to strike where the other team has left holes or “spaces” open in the defense due to fatigue that goes with never having the ball, eg. chasing it.
Don’t we all want our kids to shift with the play as it unfolds-maintaining the proper positioning to both receive and distribute the ball?
Possession is a type of Genius
In the end, RPR focuses on all the aspects of Possession. Possession is a type of genius that merits training and is a missing link for many players who often have skill but don’t seem to gel with the “unit” well.
It’s an intangible aspect of the game that goes untrained. The more players engage in RPR drills at Avila, the sharper their performance will be.
Learn about the Avila Five Pillars of Possession
Watch an RPR video
For starters, It’s easy to spot that the drill above never ends; which doesn’t allow the player “down time” and encourages mental endurance or what some people would refer to as assertiveness.
The players must maintain the “rhythm” of the drill immediately in “reverse” as the “process” of finding ones teammates starts all over again with no break to recalibrate. As you watch the video, you will notice that all the players involved must be ready to go again instantly all the while maintaining proper “spacing.”
We chose RPR Drill #23 from the Avila Vault because of its emphasis on Spacing. Spacing for Coach Eryck is a word almost synonymous with the word “Possession.” It’s the most important of all the Possession components.