Football Philosophy
We will create an environment where we teach a creative, attacking and possession-focused style of football built on a solid foundation of technical skills. This Dutch style, known as “Total Voetbal,” fosters an environment free from the fear of failure, where our players can explore and be creative without the fear of making mistakes. We believe that such an environment, one without limitations, is where our players can grow the most and realize their potential both as a player and a person. The motivation to play unbound, attractive football must be greater than the fear of losing or making a mistake.
Mistakes are inevitable and games may be won or lost through players taking risks, such as building up from the back. For this reason, we never benchmark our success purely on match results.
In addition to growing the player’s technical skills and tactical acumen, we aspire to develop our players’ physical prowess and psychological resilience. In terms of physical development, psychomotor skills, coordination, dexterity, strength, and speed are important in football as well as other areas of life. As for physiological development, teaching resilience and mental toughness is essential on the pitch and will help players navigate challenges they will inevitably face off the pitch. While we stress that winning is not always important, we also emphasize that wanting to win is important.
At our heart we are competitors, and we aim to develop champions. We will always coach, train and play grounded in our philosophy. DARE Futbol Academy uses a 12-month training curriculum structured around monthly themes, weekly topics, and daily activities. This curriculum ensures players receive comprehensive, progressive development across all key areas of the game.
Monthly Training Themes:
June & December - Progressive Possession: Receiving under pressure, passing, team play, playing through the thirds, possession with purpose, dominating the ball, counter movement, and positional rotation.
July & January - Defending/Pressing: Individual and unit defending, defending against long/direct passes, transition to attack, use of offside, triggers to press as a team, and defending against overloads.
August & February - Counterattack: Dribbling at various speeds, technical skills, supporting and penetrating runs, quick team attacks, and transition to attack.
September & March - Changing the Point of Attack: Combination play, playing across the pitch, long passing, use of width/length/depth, counter movement, and positional awareness.
October & April - Attacking Wide Areas/Final Third: Crosses, cutbacks, overlaps, underlaps, using full backs and wide players, finishing, and shooting.
November & May - Combination Play: Short passing, tight space play, one/two touch combinations, and playing against a press.
Training Squad Participation:
The academy will conduct 1.5-hour training sessions five days per week except for chosen
holidays and other designated “No Training” days. This will typically occur Monday through Friday.
Academy leadership may change the training schedule at their discretion.
Match Squad Participation:
▪ Selection for the match squad will depend on player eligibility, readiness, and team needs.
▪ The academy will strive to schedule an average of two friendly matches per month with local competitive teams.
▪ The academy will also take part in local, regional, and/or national tournaments, dependent on team availability and competition level.
▪ Match play will reinforce the training curriculum and offer competitive opportunities for individual and team growth.