Feature: Right To Dream To Answer Ghana�s Striking Problem

The most criticized poor scoring rate of strikers of all the national teams and in the Premier League would soon be talk of the past. That was my instinctive reaction the very moment I arrived for one of the training sessions at the Right to Dream Academy. I was so marveled to see several kids as young as ten-years playing on a standard pitch and being thought the art of goalscoring while being encouraged to be innovative in front of goal. I got even more convinced of my conviction watching drill upon drills which are well calculated to teach the real basics of how goals are made and scored. The details involved cuts across from which part of the foot to use at which time to the ball weight and size proportionate to the ages of the players and so on. This is a sharp contrast of what we are used to while growing up where the only thing that mattered was who could dummy the most within a highly congested area. A set of two teams with at least seven members each on a small grassless surface, playing football to eventually score in small posts to win the game. No wonder we have churned out massive numbers in classy, effective and potent midfielders as against strikers over a period. This has been our culture which has proved very costly for us as a country in our ability to win games convincingly by scoring far superior goals. However, with the emergence of the Right to Dream Academy, one could be assured of a safe future for this country in the striking department. �This is the most important part of a talents development into becoming a very effective striker,� Tom Vernon who was keenly interested in the u-11�s told GHANAsoccernet.com. �At this age, we only teach them the basic techniques in scoring goals, no power shooting, just how to guide the ball to their intended target. �And as they grow and their muscles become stronger, comes the power which when added to the already learnt technique should transform you to one of the finest strikers. �This is how it�s done all over Europe and trust me these kids here will be the ones scoring goals for fun for the national teams.� I honestly did not need that assurance from Tom, I had seen it for myself, only if such tuition is given to our young players in this country outside this academy, we will be producing far more potent strikers, to much that perhaps we could even export.