The Fast Starters program is aimed at 5-7 year olds, and is fun, but with a focus on player learning, and the development of basic soccer skills.

The purpose of the program is to teach individual skills, and that it's okay to experiment and try them on a soccer field. This is imperative at all age groups, but unfortunately, from the moment young boys and girls start playing travel soccer, games, winning games and using the percentage plays will - directly and indirectly - affect their ability and desire to experiment. That isn't what it says in “the brochure”, but it's true. When real competition is introduced, people play to win not to learn, and in many cases, training sessions become reactive to results, rather than pro-actively teaching players skills. By way of a context / example of this, English Premier League Youth Academies used to have hundreds or even thousands of people watching some of their games, as young as U9, U10 and U11. While arguably a great experience for the kids, it could never be described as the best learning environment for young players, with every mistake cheered or booed by thousands of people.

At Manchester United, the plan to combat this was a skills-based program with a number of 4v4 games going on simultaneously instead of "mini-Premier League" games. These took place without referees, with players keeping score, and with parents and supporters kept back from the side of the field to give the players some space. This allowed young players to experiment and try skills they had learned, without the consequences of risking a game being won or lost in a pressured environment. At Manchester united, every youth player plays every position, and the focus is on new trying skills and learning to execute them in game situations. At around ages 12-14, positions and results etc were more forcibly developed. The system was developed and implemented by Rene Mulensteen, who is still at Manchester United initially as the technical skills director, and now as the assistant Head Coach to Sir Alex Ferguson.

This detailed background is necessary to genuinely understand the philosophy behind the Fast Starters program. The coaches are experts, and will teach the young boys and girls to be as skilled as they can be at this age. However, the transition from performing a skill in training and doing it in a game situation is difficult - for anyone at any level. In order for it to best happen, we work to create the best possible learning environment, particularly in the games part of each week. This isn't a liberal perspective on youth soccer from someone who doesn't believe in competition - believe me, we all like to win. However, our staff team, genuinely and passionately believe in what we are doing, and this program is an opportunity to create something special for all the kids involved. There should be a difference in approach between six and sixteen year old players, and there’s plenty of time to focus on results later.