Elite Soccer's mission to develop more creative players, we look at beach soccer as the answer?

A group of youngsters play excitedly on the beach wrestling the ball free from one another in an effort to keep the magical sphere at their own feet and at times in the air. With self-taught creativity and flair, they move towards scoring a goal by striking the ball between two sticks in the sand.

None of them are wearing any footwear; the focus is on the ball. Win it and be the great Madjer of Portugal, lose it and track the ball carrier as if you were Buru of Brazil. The beauty of beach soccer allows for not only the game to be the ultimate teacher, but for the imagination to run wild on the sand. Combined with the sun and the sea you have the ultimate beach soccer venue!

The beach can be Wembley Stadium or Maracana. You can surround yourself with the likes of Allan, Pasquali, or Amarelle. Each goal scored or flash of brilliant play can be met with thunderous applause from the admirers watching the match whilst bathing on the beach. You are only limited-by your own imagination. Only on the beach can one's mind create such an atmosphere. Only on the beach can players be free from overbearing coaches who curb imagination and stifle creativity.

The beach soccer mentality can and must be the cornerstone to any player's development.
And let it not be said that the beach soccer mentality is just for young developing players. At every level of development, beach soccer can be implemented into training regimes. As a football coach and a FIFA Beach Soccer Instructor, I have implemented it on a very regular preseason basis, the opportunity for my players to just play on the sand. Some days its small sided games, others it is full side. No coaching from me, just play. Figure things out on your own whilst improving your fitness at the same time.

But why beach soccer? Well, strictly in terms of youth player development, the reasons are quite simple!

• First and foremost, it lets the game' be the teacher. The game, in its own intrinsic way, can offer more than any coach can imagine. Look at the development of the Brazilian players. Their game is born on the beaches of Rio with foot volley.
• Similar to playing in Rio on the beach, beach soccer can be played on any beach with sand. If there can be a multitude of youngsters playing on the sand, why not beach soccer too! Grab the ball and go! Goals can be quite simply be two jumpers on the sand. It is the simplicity of having any space of sand as your field of dreams. At the FIFA World Cup Euro Qualifiers draw in Barcelona in 2008 I spoke to the Spanish beach soccer legend Amarelle and he told me he trained every day by himself on a small area of sand in the docks, kicking the ball at a wall. That year he went on to be the joint top FIFA World Cup scorer in France Marseille!
• There's no time limit! In the over organized world of youth football, all too often kids are bound to their practice times. Endless summers can be spent on the beach with a ball!
• As far as equipment is concerned, all you need is a ball.  I can recall in my youth packing a football in my bag and riding my bike to the beach, I was at Wembley!
• You don't need a lot of players. One on one, two on two, three on three (or as we now term "small sided games") these are all okay its the sand that offers the biggest challenge making you think more and work harder.
• One often hears about having a 'feel' for the ball; certainly in beach soccer, without shoes and with the ball moving unpredictably over the sand, the development 'feel' is enhanced.
• The coach, and in particular, the youth coach is removed as the possible deterrent of maximizing the player's creativity. Too many youth coaches have an X's and O's mentality, feature themselves as the focal point, and invariably over-coach. The true youth coach understands the delicate balance between teaching and free play (beach soccer).
• Simplicity. Beach Soccer in its purest form is a simple way to play the game. No frills. Inexpensive. Best of all, it ignites the creative process both physically and psychologically, which forms the basis of imaginative play and a creative player