Thank you for being part of our Virtual Season! Our Virtual Season is coming to an end after nine weeks of instructional soccer videos and challenges. We hope this season has helped players and families stay active and engaged despite these unique circumstances. Play Where You Stay's vision focuses on allowing all children to grow up learning the world's game, and we continued to offer that by adapting to new social distancing rules with a consistent online presence. We hope that our diverse videos - ranging from soccer skills to knowledge - helped our players attain a deeper understanding of our coaches' unique perspectives and backgrounds. Thank you to all of the players, families, and supporters who have helped make this transformation successful. Keep an eye out this week for updates about our developmental practices and competitive teams. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our players, and we will continue to follow all the return-to-play guidelines. We cannot wait to get back on the field soon!   Skills We covered the basics skills of soccer during the last 9 weeks as well as some of our coaches' backgrounds. We taught unique stories about different teams like Flamengo and Celtic, and stadiums like

On week 8, Coach Felipe shared his story and passion for Flamengo and Maracana Stadium Coach Felipe talks about his favorite team Flamengo and goes over the history of Maracanã, one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. Felipe is from Rio and has been going to Maracanã since he was 6 years old with his family. Maracanã was built to serve as the flagship venue for the 1950 World Cup. It is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and two World Cup Finals took place there in 1950 and 2014. If you ever get the chance of visiting Rio de Janeiro, you should go visit Maracana! Click on the image below to watch it! We are glad to have Felipe in our program and to share his love for soccer and Maracana with our community! "The first time I went to Maracana I was 6 years old. I went with my dad and I'll never forget it!"   Challenge of the week Juan is the PWYS Week 8 Challenge Winner! He plays for the Midtown 04' Team and showed great creativity! Juan will win a jersey, soccer ball, and a set of cones! Thank you to everyone who submitted

1st PWYS Interview - Midtown SC 01' player Paulo and Coach Lucas The first two guests of the 1st Play Where You Stay interview were Coach Lucas and the Midtown player Paulo. Paulo shared his story and college plans while listening to Lucas's experience in High School, Club, and College Soccer. Paulo is a senior at Central High School and wants to play soccer while getting his degree in Business. Lucas, a member of the CBU's Men's Soccer Team, went through the same process two years ago and gave Paulo some important advice. We are glad to have both of them in our program and we will continue to help them reach their goals! "I'm thankful to play for Midtown SC. It made it easier for me to be seen by college coaches!" Paulo Ndezarenko, Midtown 01' "Having Play Where You Stay in Memphis it's great because it gives the opportunity to everyone that wants to play soccer and I'm glad to be a part of that!" Lucas Drumond, PWYS Coach Challenge of the week Abram is the PWYS Week 7 Challenge Winner! He plays for the Midtown 04' Team and showed a great "Hocus Pocus" skill. Abram will win a jersey, soccer ball, and a

In week six, our great coaches introduced "The Elastico" skill and fun drills you can do in your backyards! This week, coach Felipe taught "The Elastico" skill. This skill is used by the most technical players around the world and it's a great way to combine the use of the inside and the outside of the foot. A fun drill that worked on ball control and passing was also taught by Coach Lucas. Check it out on our social media pages and give it a try with one of your household members! To increase your knowledge about the game, Coach Bernardo went over how transfers work in soccer. Find out about the Top 3 highest transfers in the history of soccer! Thank you to all the players, parents, and supporters that have been supporting this Virtual Season. We will continue teaching new skills that will help all the players increasing their technique and love for the game! Skills This sixth  week of the virtual season, our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Passing "The Elastico" Handling - Goalkeeper Scooping - Goalkeeper We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on

In week five, Coach Riley introduced Goalkeeper Distribution and Coach Maxi went over some rules related to Fouls and Misconduct! This week, coach Riley worked on Footwork and Distribution. These two techniques are essential to the goalkeeper position! Coach Maxi went over Free kicks, penalty kicks, and yellow and red cards. We hope you all enjoyed this week's sessions and videos! Thank you to all the players, parents, and supporters that have been supporting this Virtual Season. We will continue releasing meaningful content on our social media pages! Skills This fifth  week of the virtual season, our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Footwork Distribution Reaction Soccer rules Free kicks Direct Free kick Indirect Free kick Penalty kick Yellow and Red cards We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on their own and that will improve their skills and knowledge about the game. Challenge of the week Felicien is the PWYS Week 5 Challenge Winner! He showed great stepover skills!  Felicien will win a PWYS jersey, a soccer ball and a set of cones to play soccer. Thank you to everyone who submitted their videos! We will post next

On week four, our coaches focused on teaching more rules of the game and different workouts! This week, our great coaches introduced new ways of staying fit at the same time they reviewed important rules and skills! Thank you to all the players, parents, and supporters that have been supporting this Virtual Season. We will continue releasing meaningful content on our social media pages! Skills This fourth  week of the virtual season, our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Goalkeeper drills Ball Control, Turn and Pass Core workout Soccer rules Duration of the match Start and restart of play Ball in and out of play Determining the outcome of the match Offside rule We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on their own and that will improve their skills and knowledge about the game. Challenge of the week Enock is the PWYS Week 4 Challenge Winner! He is part of the Midtown 04' Boys Team and showed great juggling skills with his head. Enock will win a PWYS jersey, a soccer ball and a set of cones to play soccer. Thank you to everyone who submitted their videos! We

On week three, our coaches introduced Goalkeeper Skills and Headers! This week, our great coaches sent us videos from different soccer techniques filmed in their backyards. Our main priority is to ensure that all our coaching staff is safe and following all the social distancing rules. Thank you to all the players, parents, and supporters that have been supporting this Virtual Season. We will continue releasing one instructional video per day on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as a weekly challenge! Skills This third  week of the virtual season, our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Goalkeeper drills Headers Ball Control with Chest and Thigh Soccer Rules We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on their own and that will improve their skills and knowledge about the game. Challenge of the week Itzel is the PWYS Week 3 Challenge Winner! She is part of the Midtown HS Girls team and showed juggling skills. Itzel will win a PWYS jersey, a soccer ball and a set of cones to play soccer. Thank you to everyone who submitted their videos! We will post next week's challenge this weekend. Follow

On week two, our coaches focused on Positioning and Finishing Skills! After a great first week, our coaches started introducing more advanced techniques while teaching the different positions on a 4-4-2 formation. Thank you to all the players, parents, and supporters that have been supporting this Virtual Season. We will continue releasing one instructional video per day on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as a weekly challenge!                                       Skills This second week of the virtual season, our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Volley technique Shooting Positioning Ball Control We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on their own and that will improve their skills and knowledge about the game.   Challenge of the week Yoshua is the PWYS Week 2 Challenge Winner! He is part of the Midtown 04 Boys team and showed great skills and creativity. Yoshua will win a PWYS jersey, a soccer ball and a set of cones to play soccer. Thank you to everyone who submitted their videos! We will post next week's challenge

It was great to see some of our players, parents, and supporters interacting with our Instructional Videos and Weekly Challenge! We know it's a difficult time for everyone, but it was great to see all the engagement with our Instructional Videos and the Challenge of the week! We want to thank you all for being part of this first week! We started this Virtual Season by reviewing basic skills and making sure that all the drills could be performed in small indoor or outdoor spaces, following all the social distancing rules. Skills This first week our coaches taught a variety of skills that players can work on by themselves: Wall passes Cruyff Turn Zidane roulette Stepover Ball taps We will continue to focus on different drills that the players can practice on their own and that will make them improve their skills and knowledge about the game. Challenge of the week Grey is the PWYS Week 1 Challenge Winner! He showed great skills in his video and was really creative at the same time. Grey will win a PWYS jersey, a soccer ball and a set of cones to play soccer. Thank you to everyone who submitted their videos! We will post next week's challenge this weekend. Follow

Play Where You Stay Virtual Spring Season starts Monday, March 23rd! Our Play Where You Stay coaches have planned a virtual season to keep our players engaged and moving, even when they're stuck at home. We know it's a difficult time for both parents and kids, and we want to offer as many options to safely practice your soccer skills as possible. During our new online season, you and your players can Play soccer Where You Stay — in your home, backyard, or neighborhood, following all the social distancing procedures.  Our mission is to create a future in which every child has a chance to grow up with the world’s game, so we will have live virtual practices twice a day for 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and one weekly challenge. Every session will be free and open to everyone.  Weekly schedule: - Live instructional practices with our coaches 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) Two One sessions a day Morning session - 11 am (Central Time) Afternoon session - 4 pm (Central Time) - Weekly skill challenge Released every week with a coach demonstrating the challenge Participants have until every Friday at 12:00 pm to send their videos to: learn@playwhereyoustay.org (901) 864-2800