Are we going back to graduation year from birth year?

[Unregistered]

They also let younger/smaller players play down. In other words they're dictating what everyone else has to do but doing their own thing.

Their also experimenting with bio-banding where they are assigning players to play down based on their physical/maturity level.

[Unregistered]

Their also experimenting with bio-banding where they are assigning players to play down based on their physical/maturity level.

How the hell do they propose measuring maturity level?

[Unregistered]

Their also experimenting with bio-banding where they are assigning players to play down based on their physical/maturity level.

This is just another example of USSF stealing a page from European programs, but not bothering to read the whole book. This is just ONE thing that European programs might do, but they do it in conjunction with a lot of other evaluation and training techniques. There is nothing predictive in how good of a soccer player a child will be when looking at height/weight at a point in time in their physical development. You can put children of the same size together and still get huge differences in where they are in their physical development in turns of muscle and brain (reaction, processing, etc.) development. That’s why some kids are faster or better dribblers than others at certain ages, but that doesn’t mean anything long term. And the worse part is that once they are placed in a group, that probably defines the attention and training they’ll get. The bigger, faster kids will still get the attention and the smaller, slower group will get less. Huge blow to a kid’s ego too to be grouped down because they are a few inches shorter than their peers. And this grouping will only apply in USSF DA training settings? What about games, and what happens when the child goes on to HS or college teams?

The real issue is that American soccer is about bigger, faster, stronger and that translates on the field into run and boot ball directed by the joy stick coach with no understanding of control, possession, and making decisions. We are trying to compete with our immediate neighbors to our north and south in Concacaf who are influenced by our style or vice versa while the rest of the world is playing and moving to a higher level of play. That’s why we get beaten by Japanese, etc. who are smaller on average when we hit group stage at the WC.

[Unregistered]

This is just another example of USSF stealing a page from European programs, but not bothering to read the whole book. This is just ONE thing that European programs might do, but they do it in conjunction with a lot of other evaluation and training techniques. There is nothing predictive in how good of a soccer player a child will be when looking at height/weight at a point in time in their physical development. You can put children of the same size together and still get huge differences in where they are in their physical development in turns of muscle and brain (reaction, processing, etc.) development. That’s why some kids are faster or better dribblers than others at certain ages, but that doesn’t mean anything long term. And the worse part is that once they are placed in a group, that probably defines the attention and training they’ll get. The bigger, faster kids will still get the attention and the smaller, slower group will get less. Huge blow to a kid’s ego too to be grouped down because they are a few inches shorter than their peers. And this grouping will only apply in USSF DA training settings? What about games, and what happens when the child goes on to HS or college teams?

The real issue is that American soccer is about bigger, faster, stronger and that translates on the field into run and boot ball directed by the joy stick coach with no understanding of control, possession, and making decisions. We are trying to compete with our immediate neighbors to our north and south in Concacaf who are influenced by our style or vice versa while the rest of the world is playing and moving to a higher level of play. That’s why we get beaten by Japanese, etc. who are smaller on average when we hit group stage at the WC.

What part of experimenting did you not get? Did you do any research on the limitations of it, how it would work here, etc. before going on your rant?

[Unregistered]

This is just another example of USSF stealing a page from European programs, but not bothering to read the whole book. This is just ONE thing that European programs might do, but they do it in conjunction with a lot of other evaluation and training techniques. There is nothing predictive in how good of a soccer player a child will be when looking at height/weight at a point in time in their physical development. You can put children of the same size together and still get huge differences in where they are in their physical development in turns of muscle and brain (reaction, processing, etc.) development. That’s why some kids are faster or better dribblers than others at certain ages, but that doesn’t mean anything long term. And the worse part is that once they are placed in a group, that probably defines the attention and training they’ll get. The bigger, faster kids will still get the attention and the smaller, slower group will get less. Huge blow to a kid’s ego too to be grouped down because they are a few inches shorter than their peers. And this grouping will only apply in USSF DA training settings? What about games, and what happens when the child goes on to HS or college teams?

The real issue is that American soccer is about bigger, faster, stronger and that translates on the field into run and boot ball directed by the joy stick coach with no understanding of control, possession, and making decisions. We are trying to compete with our immediate neighbors to our north and south in Concacaf who are influenced by our style or vice versa while the rest of the world is playing and moving to a higher level of play. That’s why we get beaten by Japanese, etc. who are smaller on average when we hit group stage at the WC.

1. Boys soccer don't matter in the US of A
2. Who won last World Cup

you beautiful game people.
It's like us saying Bob Cousy represents the modern basketball player

[Unregistered]

1. Boys soccer don't matter in the US of A
2. Who won last World Cup

you beautiful game people.
It's like us saying Bob Cousy represents the modern basketball player

This total lack of understanding about the game is responsible for the state of soccer in the US.

The OP was dead on. Watch a la liga game or two.

[Unregistered]

What part of experimenting did you not get? Did you do any research on the limitations of it, how it would work here, etc. before going on your rant?

You don’t brag about an experiment or use it as a marketing tool until you’ve done it for considerable time, evaluated the results, and they are superior to what you would have had otherwise. Please read the USSF announcement below from only the second “test” of this experiment and look at how many times they use superlatives like “groundbreaking”, “landmark”, etc. and pat themselves on the back for moving US soccer forward. This is not the measured wording or approach you would use if you were taking a scientific approach and waiting for the results, which in the case of development would take years to see. Just more BS from USSF. And BTW, they are experimenting with your kids.
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/202...nds-initiative

[Unregistered]

You don’t brag about an experiment or use it as a marketing tool until you’ve done it for considerable time, evaluated the results, and they are superior to what you would have had otherwise. Please read the USSF announcement below from only the second “test” of this experiment and look at how many times they use superlatives like “groundbreaking”, “landmark”, etc. and pat themselves on the back for moving US soccer forward. This is not the measured wording or approach you would use if you were taking a scientific approach and waiting for the results, which in the case of development would take years to see. Just more BS from USSF. And BTW, they are experimenting with your kids.
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/202...nds-initiative

You really don't understand marketing, do you?

[Unregistered]

This total lack of understanding about the game is responsible for the state of soccer in the US.

The OP was dead on. Watch a la liga game or two.

Agreed the problems with us soccer are systemic, and come from not really understanding the game. From young ages the kids that are rewarded and noticed are basically the ball hogs, the ones that dribble to much, are selfish and occasionally score, results don’t seem to matter as long as the kid looks good, and passing and possessing is never noticed or rewarded. That’s why the pass/posses style of soccer much of the rest of the world plays does not really happen in the US. People preach pass, pass, posses etc but those kids that actually try to play soccer the right way are never noticed or rewarded. So why would they keep trying to play the right way? I’ve had five kids playing soccer through the years at various levels and this is what I’ve come to notice. It really doesn’t pay to be the pass/possess team player.

[Unregistered]

You really don't understand marketing, do you?

Gee, does it involve press releases where you promote that you’ve found the Holy Grail of development after hosting an 80 minute scrimmage? Gotta make the donors believe we are moving in the right direction.

[Unregistered]

How the hell do they propose measuring maturity level?

It's babble under the guise of science .... translated, it means they can do whatever they want whenever they want ..... but all of the rest of you need to follow our rules to the letter of the law!

[Unregistered]

It's babble under the guise of science .... translated, it means they can do whatever they want whenever they want ..... but all of the rest of you need to follow our rules to the letter of the law!

They measure bone growth to determine biological age vs chronological age. That’s the point... why force kids who hot puberty early (say a 6ft tall 8th grader) play against a player that is a “late bloomer” because they share the same birth year? Not much different than trying to band late birth year players with early birth year players. Physical and mental development happens at different times and rates.

Too often, success at very high levels pre and during puberty comes down to physical overmatches that go away after puberty. It’s not difficult to understand... too bad here in the US, coaches focus too much on physical traits.

[Unregistered]

Agreed the problems with us soccer are systemic, and come from not really understanding the game. From young ages the kids that are rewarded and noticed are basically the ball hogs, the ones that dribble to much, are selfish and occasionally score, results don’t seem to matter as long as the kid looks good, and passing and possessing is never noticed or rewarded. That’s why the pass/posses style of soccer much of the rest of the world plays does not really happen in the US. People preach pass, pass, posses etc but those kids that actually try to play soccer the right way are never noticed or rewarded. So why would they keep trying to play the right way? I’ve had five kids playing soccer through the years at various levels and this is what I’ve come to notice. It really doesn’t pay to be the pass/possess team player.

not only do they constantly reinforce this ball hog behavior, it's also with scorers vs the rest of the team. Not often do you hear about a star keeper, defender, or central mid. the players that get all the recognition are the ones that can make 10 bad passes, lose the ball on the dribble constantly but they score a goal and everyone praises them.

[Unregistered]

not only do they constantly reinforce this ball hog behavior, it's also with scorers vs the rest of the team. Not often do you hear about a star keeper, defender, or central mid. the players that get all the recognition are the ones that can make 10 bad passes, lose the ball on the dribble constantly but they score a goal and everyone praises them.

That's sports. Goalscorers always get the love. Plenty of times I've walked off the pitch having played well, dirty, sweaty, beat up....Forward who has the knack of being in the right place at the right time to touch home and a 1-0 win gets the accolades.

The reality is, for the most part, other positions are interchangeable for goalscorers are hard to find. yes, I know, some teams have a center mid or a defender (rarely, but does happen) who runs the show, but you still need someone who can finish consistently.

Ronaldo once had a game where he had something like a half-dozen effective touches and 3 went in. Can't stand the guy, personally, but scoring is an art like no other.

[Unregistered]

They measure bone growth to determine biological age vs chronological age. That’s the point... why force kids who hot puberty early (say a 6ft tall 8th grader) play against a player that is a “late bloomer” because they share the same birth year? Not much different than trying to band late birth year players with early birth year players. Physical and mental development happens at different times and rates.

Too often, success at very high levels pre and during puberty comes down to physical overmatches that go away after puberty. It’s not difficult to understand... too bad here in the US, coaches focus too much on physical traits.

not that they would do this in soccer but I remember when I was younger football was by weight,