Club Soccer Scam v2.0

[Unregistered]

I would've posted this in the other "scam" thread, but that's already been decimated.

I found this interesting. Clearly a strong opinion of one side of the story in terms of club soccer and its coaches. I think the view is every bit hyperbolic as it is fair when you take all of the points together, but still worth reading.

http://soccermommanual.com/whats-bet...nteer-coaches/

[Unregistered]

Great article!

Wow, that article sums up exactly what I've been thinking now for years. My kids have been associated with 4 different clubs and each time, we've been disappointed with the quality of the coaching. Don't get me wrong - we had one coach who was excellent but a little crazy, and of course we keep going back for more, so how smart can I be?

The other coaches all had good credentials and had previously played the game at a high level. They wore their expensive Adidas gear and talked like coaches. But, in the end, they were charlatans! They didn't know how to teach the game or run a practice. Most would arrive late, leave early, and couldn't answer a question clearly. One of my daughters asked her coach how the 2 forwards should be moving in a 4-4-2 and he couldn't tell her. My other daughter told the coach that players were confused by his hybrid 3-5-2 formation and he benched her for not paying attention. (Yet, other players confirmed that he never explained the formation to them.)

I coached all three of my kids' town teams as a volunteer and I felt like I was more prepared and worked harder than what I've seen from club coaches. I spent hours preparing practice plans, with progressions for skill development. I pored through the USSF materials, which recommend small-sided games for youth players, and made sure I was doing my best to teach the kids. I planned my practices to the minute, and set up my cones for drills ahead of time, so that there was no standing around. The goal was to maximize touches on the ball, while increasing fitness. I kept statistics on everything that the kids did during practice and used those numbers for determining playing time (funny how much harder kids work when they see you with a clipboard keeping track of their every move).

Yet, most club teams have full-sided scrimmages every practice, where each player may touch the ball only a few times. By U14, skill development goes out the window, even though first touch is usually sorely lacking for many players. For girls, there should be ACL prevention training, but most clubs don't have it. Basic strategy, like how to set up a wall properly, or running set plays with precision, are lacking. All of this for the privilege of paying a couple of thousand dollars a year. I feel like a sucker! O.K., I am a sucker...

[Unregistered]

Excellent article. It describes exactly what I have seen over the past 25-30 years.

It could even go deeper, there are so many other points that could be addressed.

[Unregistered]

I would've posted this in the other "scam" thread, but that's already been decimated.

I found this interesting. Clearly a strong opinion of one side of the story in terms of club soccer and its coaches. I think the view is every bit hyperbolic as it is fair when you take all of the points together, but still worth reading.

http://soccermommanual.com/whats-bet...nteer-coaches/

Thanks for posting this!

[Unregistered]

Guess what? If you think it's a scam, STFU and leave us alone.

[Unregistered]

Guess what? If you think it's a scam, STFU and leave us alone.

ouch - I think the OP angered the great beast that is MPS.

[Unregistered]

I thought the article was pretty weak. I've had three kids in club soccer for a number of years now and have not had this experience where the coaches are bad a volunteers would be better. It's up to the parent to find the right club and ensure that the coach that will be coaching the team is qualified and dedicated. I have been pleased with the coaches that we have bad...they were qualified, focused on development, fair to most players and committed to the team. On the other hand...the volunteer coaches ways have a primary agenda....which is to make sure that their kid is #1.

[Unregistered]

I thought the article was pretty weak. I've had three kids in club soccer for a number of years now and have not had this experience where the coaches are bad a volunteers would be better. It's up to the parent to find the right club and ensure that the coach that will be coaching the team is qualified and dedicated. I have been pleased with the coaches that we have bad...they were qualified, focused on development, fair to most players and committed to the team. On the other hand...the volunteer coaches ways have a primary agenda....which is to make sure that their kid is #1.

And isn't that also your agenda?

[Unregistered]

Guess what? If you think it's a scam, STFU and leave us alone.

Guessing you're one of those collecting a paycheck. Your post sort of validates what the article was saying.

[Unregistered]

Guess what? If you think it's a scam, STFU and leave us alone.

OP here. I went to great lengths in my description to not call club soccer a "scam" and even noted the article has plenty of hyperbole. Your response leaves to me guess that you either don't think club soccer shouldn't be subject to any criticism, or it if should be, simply doesn't have anything wrong with it. That's an absurd position, whether you're on the outside as a parent or inside as a coach (or DOC/administrator). As both, I have no difficulty acknowledging the good and the bad across youth soccer. I'm curious to understand why you can't say the same.

[Unregistered]

OP here. I went to great lengths in my description to not call club soccer a "scam" and even noted the article has plenty of hyperbole. Your response leaves to me guess that you either don't think club soccer shouldn't be subject to any criticism, or it if should be, simply doesn't have anything wrong with it. That's an absurd position, whether you're on the outside as a parent or inside as a coach (or DOC/administrator). As both, I have no difficulty acknowledging the good and the bad across youth soccer. I'm cucan I So what capacity you function as in rious to understand why you can't say the same.

Can I ask first what your function is in your club? Are you just a coach or really a DOC?

[Unregistered]

What strikes me about this article is that it simply does not address the economics of today. It would be great if we could have all volunteer coaches, but we are in much different times than the 70's and 80's. Certifications cost money. Fields cost money, especially turf. Moreover, soccer back then was a fringe sport at best. I graduated HS in the mid 80's and we did not have a soccer team, but we did have plenty of other fringe sports at the time, including hockey, wrestling, male and female volleyball, lacrosse.

I get the extreme costs for training. And it is unfortunate. But I also do not see all this volunteer expertise training for anything else including music, dancing, gymnastics, ice skating, etc.

And really, "every youth coach in the US coaches for Team USA?" Name me another sport or activity that even comes close to following such a mantra.

[Unregistered]

Can I ask first what your function is in your club? Are you just a coach or really a DOC?

What difference would that make? I suppose I could just post my resume.

My point was that I have children who play club soccer, so I'm on that side of the equation. I also have also coached soccer, including club, so I fully appreciate that side as well.

[Unregistered]

What strikes me about this article is that it simply does not address the economics of today. It would be great if we could have all volunteer coaches, but we are in much different times than the 70's and 80's. Certifications cost money. Fields cost money, especially turf. Moreover, soccer back then was a fringe sport at best. I graduated HS in the mid 80's and we did not have a soccer team, but we did have plenty of other fringe sports at the time, including hockey, wrestling, male and female volleyball, lacrosse.

I get the extreme costs for training. And it is unfortunate. But I also do not see all this volunteer expertise training for anything else including music, dancing, gymnastics, ice skating, etc.

And really, "every youth coach in the US coaches for Team USA?" Name me another sport or activity that even comes close to following such a mantra.

Well said. I came away with many of those same thoughts (and I'm about your age as well).

[Unregistered]

OP here. I went to great lengths in my description to not call club soccer a "scam" and even noted the article has plenty of hyperbole. Your response leaves to me guess that you either don't think club soccer shouldn't be subject to any criticism, or it if should be, simply doesn't have anything wrong with it. That's an absurd position, whether you're on the outside as a parent or inside as a coach (or DOC/administrator). As both, I have no difficulty acknowledging the good and the bad across youth soccer. I'm curious to understand why you can't say the same.

Maybe you want to rethink the title of the thread.