THAT
THAT JUST
THAT JUST MAKES YOU DANCE? THIS PIZZAS MAKE ME WANT TO
DANCE.
DANCE.
DANCE. TOMORROW IS NATIONAL PIZZA DAYS
AGO TO CRISP AND THEY WILL FIX
YOU UP.
YOU UP.
YOU UP. DOES LITTLE DONNIE HAVE A
REALLY GOOD ARM ON HIM AND YOUR
ASK YOURSELF, IS HE TOO YOUNG
TO START WITH SPORTS?
WE MET UP WITH A COACHING
EXPERT WHO SAYS THE SECRET TO A
GREAT ATHLETE STARTS AT HOME
AND MUCH YOUNGER THAN YOU MIGHT
THINK.
THINK.
THINK. >>> GOOD MORNING GUYS, WE HEARD
GREAT ATHLETE SAID THEY RAN
BEFORE THEY WALKED, AND ARTISTS
SAID THEY SANG BEFORE THEY
TALKED.
TALKED.
TALKED. THE GREATEST SOCCER PLAYERS OF
ALL TIMES, HE WAS AN ATHLETE
FROM THE GET-GO, LEARNING HOW
TO PLAY SOCCER BEFORE HE COULD
READ AT THE AGE OF FOUR.
SOME SAY TEACHING FINE MOTOR
SKILLS BEFORE THE AGE OF EIGHT
IS A WASTE OF TIME BUT WORLD-
RENOWNED SOCCER EXPERT TOM BIER
INSTEAD FOCUSES ON THE AGES 2-
6, HE'S EXCITED TO TELL US THE
IMPORTANCE OF IT.
ALL RIGHT, TOM, HERE WE ARE,
WORKING WITH DEVANTE TODAY,
THESE KITS ARE ABOUT TWO YEARS
OLD?
OLD?
OLD? TELL
OLD? TELL US, YOU GO ALL OVER THE
WORLD TO SOME OF THE BIGGEST
AND GREATEST CLUBS IN GERMANY
AND ENGLAND, THEY TEACH A
DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY.
DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE, TAKE US
THROUGH THE TRADITIONAL
PHILOSOPHY VERSUS THE
PHILOSOPHY THAT YOU ARE
TEACHING AND TRYING TO
INFLUENCE PARENTS?
INFLUENCE PARENTS? >> MOST BELIEVE THAT THE
DEVELOPMENT OF PLAYERS, HAPPENS
FROM AROUND THE AGE OF EIGHT OR
NINE OR 10, THE REALITY IS THE
SOCCER WORLD HASN'T CAUGHT UP
TO WHAT NEUROSCIENCE NOSE, AND
THAT'S THAT SKILL ACQUISITION
HAPPENS AT AN EARLIER AGE, EVEN
AS YOUNG AS TWO.
IF YOU LOOK AT GREAT PLAYERS,
ALL OF THEM GOT THERE EARLY AGE
START BETWEEN 2-5, THEY ALL
CREDIT THERE PARENTS WITH THEIR
DEVELOPMENT.
DEVELOPMENT. IT'S A DIFFERENT THOUGHT
PROCESS BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE
BELIEVE THAT YOU DEVELOP
PLAYERS YOU NEED MORE COACHES,
EDUCATION, IT'S ABOUT BUILDING
MORE FACILITIES, BUT IT'S ABOUT
THESE PARENTS, ENGAGING WITH
THEIR KIDS, AND IGNITING THAT
KIND OF LOVE FOR THE SPORT.
>> THAT'S AWESOME.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A BOOK,
SOCCER STARTS AT HOME.
THAT HAS GONE RAPID WILDFIRE,
AND IT'S REALLY PICKING UP, SO
STUCK SOCCER STARTS AT HOME,
TELL US WHAT THAT REALLY IS
ABOUT AND THE BENEFITS OF IT?
>> IT WAS IN 2006 I WAS DOING
AN EVENT IN JAPAN, I WAS
SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS FOR THESE
LITTLE TINY BALLS, AND MY FIRST
SON HAD JUST STARTED WALKING,
SO I THOUGHT SMALL BALL, SMALL
CHILD, I ASKED MY SPONSOR,
ADIDAS, I SAID CAN YOU SEND ME
A FEW BALLS TO MY HOUSE, A HUGE
BOX ARRIVED WITH ABOUT 20
BALLS, I PUT TWO OR THREE BALLS
IN EVERY ROOM AND FROM DAY ONE,
WHEN MY CHILD WOULD PLAY WITH A
BALL, I WOULD DISCOURAGE HIM
FROM PICKING IT UP, I WOULD
ENCOURAGE HIM TO DO MORE
MANIPULATION, HOLD THE BALL
BACK, STOP START, LEARN TO
PROTECT THE BALL FROM AN EARLY
AGE AND I DOCUMENTED HIS
DEVELOPMENT WITH MY PHONE.
AND NOT ONE CHILD BUT TO CHILD
CHILDREN, THAT I BECAME
OBSESSED ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AND
STUDYING IT.
STUDYING IT. THERE'S 211 COUNTRIES IN FIFA.
ALL OF THEM HAVE CULTURES THAT
ARE CONDUCIVE TO THIS.
NO SECRET SAUCE OF COACHING AT
A YOUNG AGE, IF YOU UNDERSTAND
THAT, THEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE
ROLE OF A PARENT IS CRUCIAL.
>> A LOT OF PARENTS, I KNOW
WHERE WE LIVE, IT'S NOT THE
SPORT THAT THEY KNOW BEST, BUT
YOU ARE SAYING, YOU DON'T EVEN
REALLY NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING
ABOUT SOCCER, TO REALLY GET
THIS GOING.
THIS GOING. >> IT'S SIMPLE THINGS, FIRST OF
ALL, IF YOU USE A SMALL BALL
WITH A SMALL CHILD, AT THE
ENTRY LEVEL, IT'S NOT A GAME,
IT SHOULD BE ABOUT MANIPULATING
THE BALL.
THE BALL.
THE BALL. >> YOU SEE THE RELATIONSHIP,
THEY'RE ASSUMING MORE BENEFITS
THAN JUST LEARNING HOW TO PLAY
SOCCER, THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN A DAD AND A MOM, AND A
SON AND A DAUGHTER, AND THAT
THEY ARE ENJOYING TO EXERCISE.
SO MANY GREAT THINGS.>> IS A
GREAT THING IS THAT WE KNOW
THAT KIDS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY
ACTIVE, BUSY COGNITIVE
BYPRODUCT, THEY DO BETTER
ACADEMICALLY.
ACADEMICALLY. SO, A LOT OF PARENTS AND
ESPECIALLY WHERE I AM IN ASIA,
THEY LOOK AT SPORTS AS A
DISTRACTION TO EDUCATION BUT IF
THEY DO, THEN YOU ARE LIMITING
YOUR CHILD'S ABILITY TO LEARN,
BECAUSE NOW WE KNOW FROM A
NEUROSCIENCE THING, THERE ARE
MANY PLUSES.
MANY PLUSES. >> I'M ONE OF THOSE PARENTS
HAVE A VERY STRONG-WILLED
CHILD, MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD
DAUGHTER HAS A MIND OF HER OWN.
I WOULD IMAGINE THIS KIND OF
INTERACTION HELPS WITH THAT,
TOO, AND THEIR BEHAVIOR AT ALL
OF THAT STUFF?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. ESPECIALLY NOWADAYS WHEN KIDS
ARE SO ATTACHED TO GADGETS, SO,
THIS IS A WAY TO AT LEAST TRY
AND COMBAT THAT, AND GET THE
MORE INTERESTED IN SPORTS FROM
AN EARLY AGE.
THAT'S WHY I'M SO HAPPY THAT WE
ARE PARTNERING WITH THE HOUSTON
PANAMA, BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY,
THEY'VE GOT THE PROFESSIONAL
TEAM HERE, ALSO OTHER THINGS,
THEY'VE GOT A BIG MEGAPHONE
THAT THEY CAN SPEAK TO PEOPLE,
AND WE ARE TRYING TO UTILIZE
THAT TO BASICALLY GET TO THE
COMMUNITY AND TRY AND HELP
DEVELOP OTHER PLAYERS.
>> I WANT TO BRING ZACH IN, HE'S
GOING TO JET SET ACROSS THE
WORLD, HOW CAN PEOPLE HERE IN
HOUSTON GET INVOLVED WITH THIS?
>> WE ARE GRATEFUL TO HAVE TOM
HERE, HE'S HELPING US GET THE
WORD OUT AND GET PEOPLE EXCITED
ABOUT SOCCER.
ABOUT SOCCER. HE'S GOT A CHANCE TO CHANGE THE
WAY THAT HOUSTON LOOKS AT
SOCCER.
SOCCER.
SOCCER. BUILD A LOVE FOR IT AT AN
EARLIER AGE.
EARLIER AGE. FOR US, AS A CLUB, OUR GOAL IS
TO FIND WAYS TO PARTNER WITH
TOM AND IMPLEMENT THIS ACROSS
THE HOUSTON MARKET ON AN
ONGOING BASIS.
ONGOING BASIS. WE ARE TALKING WITH CORPORATE
PARTNERS ON HOW TO MAKE THIS A
GREAT THING FOR HOUSTON.
PUT SOCCER IN PEOPLE'S HOMES.
BUILD A LOVE FOR IT.
WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH
SOME OF THE FINE DETAILS, STAY