Soccer is more than a sport for Scott Mosier – it’s a way of life.
Coach of Salesianum’s soccer team, Mosier fills his off-season leading week-long summer soccer camps at the Hockessin Soccer Club, where he’s been director of coaching for the past six years.
And he must be doing something right; nine HSC teams will be representing Delaware at the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Championships in West Virginia next week, a testament to the success of the club’s coaching strategy, he said.
“For kids 8 to 12 years old, we really preach individual development,” he said. “We lose games at younger ages because of it.”
As coach at Sallies, Mosier sees the mistakes talented high school players make and shares those experiences with the younger players at HSC so they can avoid making the same mistakes down the road, he said.
Developing kids at the youngest age possible is the key to their success, he said, and Mosier’s strategy helps players develop fundamentals like dribbling, passing and shooting before concentrating on playing as a team.
Hockessin Soccer Club is unique because there are players of all different levels who have a host of different goals, from playing Division I soccer to just kicking a ball around, Mosier said.
“Trying to manage the needs of both of those groups is difficult,” he said.
One trend he’s noticed since he started at the club is the increasing popularity of soccer. Right now, the World Cup likely has a lot to do with it, he said, but overall the number of coaches who have played the game is increasing, and that is spurring more interest in today’s youth.
Parents have also started to notice that soccer is more than just good exercise, he said, and can be a way to help children develop life skills.
“When they miss shots and face challenges and handle adversity, I think that teaches them about the world around them,” he said.
Even over the course of a week-long summer camp, Mosier said he sees kids grow and build confidence.
Seeing them develop characteristics that will help them be successful in life is the most rewarding part of coaching, he said.
