Yes--many ingredients to soccer IQ, innate, learned, coached, observed. On coaching, I remember a little nugget from my early little league baseball days: A coach trying to teach me to play outfield said simply "Don't move until you know where the ball is going." Great reliable 'fallback' advice that comes back to me 40 years later when I'm playing beer league softball. There are lots of these little "reminders" that can help kids "fake it until they make it" with soccer. Some might call them "Coaching Cliches" but they are over-used for a reason: they work. Some of my favorite "fallbacks":
--Outside defenders need to tuck back into the near post when they get beat on wing--fast!
--Central defender needs to come cover the ball carrier who just beat the outside.
--Runs to the posts get goals.
--Move after you pass; move to receive a pass.
I'm sure real coaches have many of these nuggets that help players develop reliable, fool-proof patterns of play that they can lean on while they learn the improvisational stuff that can't be coached.
One note on watching youth soccer--watching "screwups" is a great way for "slow learners" to pick up on some basics that they just can't get from playing--and that the pro game moves too fast to understand. Case in point: We had a kid a few years ago who just couldn't understand basic offside rules. Good athlete, decent player, constantly whistled long after he should have known better. I made him walk behind the an AR at a u11 game and watch how the calls were made. Might have drove the ref crazy, but seeing obvious "youth screwups" broke down the rule for the kid and helped his soccer IQ.
--Outside defenders need to tuck back into the near post when they get beat on wing--fast!
--Central defender needs to come cover the ball carrier who just beat the outside.
--Runs to the posts get goals.
--Move after you pass; move to receive a pass.
I'm sure real coaches have many of these nuggets that help players develop reliable, fool-proof patterns of play that they can lean on while they learn the improvisational stuff that can't be coached.
One note on watching youth soccer--watching "screwups" is a great way for "slow learners" to pick up on some basics that they just can't get from playing--and that the pro game moves too fast to understand. Case in point: We had a kid a few years ago who just couldn't understand basic offside rules. Good athlete, decent player, constantly whistled long after he should have known better. I made him walk behind the an AR at a u11 game and watch how the calls were made. Might have drove the ref crazy, but seeing obvious "youth screwups" broke down the rule for the kid and helped his soccer IQ.
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