Team Quality Vs Playing Time

[Guest]

You need to take a major step back if you're talking about stronger/weaker teams at 8. Come back when she's 11

lol, lmao even

[Guest]

I do agree with this. Many people here are all focusing on the games. Real development comes in practice. Find a club where your child wants to go to all of the practices every week. Start with that.

All this is accurate except for the "real development comes in practice" part. In fact, because the vast majority of coaching in this country uses the "command" approach, there is very little development happening in practice. Real development happens in games. Unless the practice environment is focused on exercises that promote fluidity and decision making, practices are for the most part a missed opportunity.

[Guest]

All this is accurate except for the "real development comes in practice" part. In fact, because the vast majority of coaching in this country uses the "command" approach, there is very little development happening in practice. Real development happens in games. Unless the practice environment is focused on exercises that promote fluidity and decision making, practices are for the most part a missed opportunity.

What is the "command" approach?

[Guest]

What is the "command" approach?

Command style coaching consists of the coach making all the decisions. The coach takes full control by explaining exactly what needs to be done and the role of the athlete is to listen to, absorb, and comply with the coach's commands (Martens, 2012).

Let me exemplify... let's run a drill where we attack down the wings. Swing the ball out wide, one player makes a run to the first post another to the back post, another to the top of the 18, finish with a first touch shot or header. See it all the time. Even looks great and parents drive away thinking how wonderful their kid's coach is. Unfortunately, it contains very little decision making for the player and near zero transfer of knowledge to the real game.

[Guest]

All this is accurate except for the "real development comes in practice" part. In fact, because the vast majority of coaching in this country uses the "command" approach, there is very little development happening in practice. Real development happens in games. Unless the practice environment is focused on exercises that promote fluidity and decision making, practices are for the most part a missed opportunity.

Couldn't disagree more. Most kids touch the ball for about 2 minutes in the course of a game. That's not development.

[Guest]

Command style coaching consists of the coach making all the decisions. The coach takes full control by explaining exactly what needs to be done and the role of the athlete is to listen to, absorb, and comply with the coach's commands (Martens, 2012).

Let me exemplify... let's run a drill where we attack down the wings. Swing the ball out wide, one player makes a run to the first post another to the back post, another to the top of the 18, finish with a first touch shot or header. See it all the time. Even looks great and parents drive away thinking how wonderful their kid's coach is. Unfortunately, it contains very little decision making for the player and near zero transfer of knowledge to the real game.

And this is common? Huh, my kid played club soccer for 10 years and never had a coach who used this style.

[Guest]

Couldn't disagree more. Most kids touch the ball for about 2 minutes in the course of a game. That's not development.

No all of development is "on ball".

[Guest]

Couldn't disagree more. Most kids touch the ball for about 2 minutes in the course of a game. That's not development.

people have very different ideas of what constitutes development. what is it to you? Individual? Collective? i look at it like this. Most players have a set of core tools. Thats individual. Learning how to use those tools effectively to make a team better is what? Training drills are a way of refining individual skills.The sooner you place the emphasis on game results, the more players limit their toolbox to that which is already effective. Often, thats physical tools because differences in those are the easiest to exploit. Coaches start to overload with structure. Players who dont fit that structure immediately are buried or discarded.

Agree on the touches part, but the other minutes off the ball are part of the game. Learning how best to integrate your tools into the game is part of development. Free play is a good way of observing where players feel more comfortable etc.


"And this is common? Huh, my kid played club soccer for 10 years and never had a coach who used this style."

What style did they use?

[Guest]

What style did they use?

My kid has had a number of coaches over 10 years. If limiting to the Martens Successful Coaching definitions (per "Command Style", I would characterize the majority of them as "Collaborative Style", where coaches provide guidance rather than specific instruction, enabling the players to make their own decisions while the coach offers insight on how to approach things. The best ones were the ones who on game day would talk to the players before the game, at halftime and after the game, but during the game is mostly silent. Also, have seen/met coaches were were "Submissive Style" (some accuse them of being lazy), and I certainly know some coaches have a reputation for "Command Style", but honestly my kid has never had one of those.

[Guest]

My kid has had a number of coaches over 10 years. If limiting to the Martens Successful Coaching definitions (per "Command Style", I would characterize the majority of them as "Collaborative Style", where coaches provide guidance rather than specific instruction, enabling the players to make their own decisions while the coach offers insight on how to approach things. The best ones were the ones who on game day would talk to the players before the game, at halftime and after the game, but during the game is mostly silent. Also, have seen/met coaches were were "Submissive Style" (some accuse them of being lazy), and I certainly know some coaches have a reputation for "Command Style", but honestly my kid has never had one of those.

Your kid experienced the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of coaches use command style during practice AND games. Just go over to one of the Forekicks facility and spend a couple hours roaming around from field to field.

[Guest]

Couldn't disagree more. Most kids touch the ball for about 2 minutes in the course of a game. That's not development.

The game is not played just with the ball, quite the contrary, the vast majority of the game is played without the ball.
So, while it is important for kids to get lots of touches in practice, it's just as important for them to learn how to play without the ball... pressuring, closing space, creating space, deception, scanning... the list on actions performed without the ball is a long one.

[Guest]

Your kid experienced the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of coaches use command style during practice AND games. Just go over to one of the Forekicks facility and spend a couple hours roaming around from field to field.

I dunno...been around youth soccer for a lot of years, and while I have definitely seen some command-style coaches out there, I don't think I could say that "most" are like that. Maybe those are just the ones you hear.