Anthony Masiel

Inner-foot Passing in Soccer: Microteaching Reflection

1. What was the most important thing you tried to teach your students?
The most important thing I tried to teach my students was the proper form of inner-foot passing.
I was trying to teach them how to pass the soccer ball accurately with the inner foot. Also, I
informed the students of the importance of passing as it relates to soccer, as well as other
invasion-type sports, such as basketball, football, hockey, etc. I informed them that passing is
important because it helps us to advance the ball up the field, and because it helps create holes in
the defense, thereby making it easier to score.
2. Were students interested/motivated to learn during the lesson? Why or Why not?
I felt that the students were slightly more engaged in todays lesson than they were the last time I
taught them, which I believe has more to do with their familiarity with, and growing level of
comfort around, our class than anything else. They were all quiet while I was giving instruction,
and there seemed to be a slight elevation in interest when I was going over the cues and when I
asked questions to check for understanding. Still, though, Id have liked to see more enthusiasm
amongst the students. Again, I realize that this is a tough age to crack, so Im content with our
progress with them, but I still want more from them. Anyway, the students seemed pretty
motivated when they were engaged in activity. I could tell that they were all trying to perform
the cues as I taught them, and whenever I provided corrective or evaluative feedback, they
adjusted their technique and became more successful. I think they were motivated because the
task was simple enough for the struggling students to be successful 70-80% of the time, but I was
also able to manipulate the task slightly for the more advanced students so as to make it more
difficult, which kept the activity from becoming too stale for them. So, overall, the interest of the
students was slightly higher than previously, but their motivation level was appropriate.
3. What aspects of the lesson were implemented differently than you planned? Why did that
happen?
The only aspect of the lesson that I implemented differently than initially planned was when I
extended the task for those students who were finding it too easy. I had planned on making their
gates more narrow, which I did, and creating more space between them as they practiced their
passing. Instead of having the students move further back, though, I told them that if they
thought the task was too easy, they should try inner-foot passing with their opposite foot. The
reason I changed this was because of the chaos of the balls. While some groups were extremely
proficient, there were others who were kicking the ball in all sorts of directions. If I were to
create more distance between certain groups, I thought that it would be even more chaotic
because the students would then be kicking the balls harder in an effort to get them to their
partners who were now standing further away. The extra umph behind the kicks would have
likely been at the sacrifice of ball accuracy. Instead, by having students use their opposite foot,
they were forced to concentrate more on the cues, and were more concerned with accuracy of ball
placement than with kicking it hard.
4. What surprised you in your lesson?

Anthony Masiel
The thing that surprised me most in the lesson was how uncoordinated some of the students were.
I thought that the task I put the kids in was one that was pretty simple and fundamental, but the
diversity in skill level was vast. I thought there would be more students who Id have to extend
the task to than what wound up being the case.
5. If you were to teach this lesson to the same group of students, what would you do differently?
Why?
Next time, if able, I would have the activity in the grass. We had it on the blacktop simply
because thats where all of us had been stationed previously, but it took a little away from the
lesson because there were times where students had to chase after their run-away balls. In the
grass, the balls wouldnt roll as fast or as far, so I think the students would get more practice, and
would also have a little more success. I also think that practicing soccer skills on the grass would
increase interest and motivation because its more authentic. Soccer isnt played on the asphalt,
so I dont know why we keep setting up there.