Is college soccer more similar to Club or HS

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My kid goes to a NESCAC school. She played at one of the big 3 clubs in CT. She was very used to a possession oriented game. One of the first training sessions at college, she received the ball, saw that no one was open and passed it to a defender on the other side of the field. Suddenly she hears the coach start screaming "we dont play like that - we go forward". So yeah - very expensive HS on steriods....

because whatever school that was is typical of all ...smh.

[Unregistered]

Makes me wonder why are we making the kids play possession "build from the back" soccer in middle school and HS (if they do DA) if by the time they get to college it all goes out the window?

Garbage question. Go watch the 20 games on every night on cable. We watch pac 10 games. Building, testing, assessing, recycling, possessing... high school soccer is garbage

[Unregistered]

Simple answer is it depends what School you go to. its a vicious cycle created by how we develop players and what parents seem to want to pay for - WINS.

Intelligent soccer requires intelligent well rounded players. The USA does not produce them because parents do not have the patience or foresight to accept that losing may be part of development. Clubs get paid for doing what parents want. just look at the GDA/ECNL fiasco if you doubt that.

The most successful College program is a gloried kick and rush team - UNC.

The fastest way to being competitive is to play physical soccer because athletes and a very rigid game plan is easy to implement quickly. With almost unlimited subs, you can enforce your discipline by subbing out kids who dont comply and rolling another athlete out there.

US soccer on College is set up to be this way through bad rules, bad refs and games crammed into a short season.

Having said all that , there are teams who try and play - Wake Forest, Duke, Stanford, UCLA, USC, FSU, Penn State etc. Almost all the programs that do have established coaches who are not coaching in fear. Funny things is when one is upset/beaten by a team playing the anti-soccer mentioned here, its more incentive to join the dark side.

its much easier in soccer to stop the other team from playing and hope, than it is to go out an dictate a game playing positive attractive soccer.

[Unregistered]

Simple answer is it depends what School you go to. its a vicious cycle created by how we develop players and what parents seem to want to pay for - WINS.

Intelligent soccer requires intelligent well rounded players. The USA does not produce them because parents do not have the patience or foresight to accept that losing may be part of development. Clubs get paid for doing what parents want. just look at the GDA/ECNL fiasco if you doubt that.

The most successful College program is a gloried kick and rush team - UNC.

The fastest way to being competitive is to play physical soccer because athletes and a very rigid game plan is easy to implement quickly. With almost unlimited subs, you can enforce your discipline by subbing out kids who dont comply and rolling another athlete out there.

US soccer on College is set up to be this way through bad rules, bad refs and games crammed into a short season.

Having said all that , there are teams who try and play - Wake Forest, Duke, Stanford, UCLA, USC, FSU, Penn State etc. Almost all the programs that do have established coaches who are not coaching in fear. Funny things is when one is upset/beaten by a team playing the anti-soccer mentioned here, its more incentive to join the dark side.

its much easier in soccer to stop the other team from playing and hope, than it is to go out an dictate a game playing positive attractive soccer.

Santa Clara, UVA

[Unregistered]

Nonsense. Clearly not watched a top College team then ...

Not the poster. Some top programs do play nice quality soccer. It's just a very small percentage unfortunately.

[Unregistered]

Garbage question. Go watch the 20 games on every night on cable. We watch pac 10 games. Building, testing, assessing, recycling, possessing... high school soccer is garbage

Nonsense. There's no college playing true possession style soccer out there. 3 passes strung together should not be the barometer.

[Unregistered]

Very few college programs play good soccer. QU was referenced earlier and actually they keep it on the ground and play relative to other programs.

As far a physicality goes, D2 is typically the most like a roller derby. They don’t have much money and with the exception of a few of them most schools are light academically.

D3 at the upper end is pretty decent soccer. Middlebury, Amherst, Williams and MIT are loaded with kids who had decent D1 prospect but choose these schools for obvious reasons

Any D1 roster is filled with kids that would be the best player at their respective Hs in CT. How it looks on the field is typically up to the coach. CCSU for example has a ton of super athletes. They have an FSA coach so probably not attempting to look like Barcelona

I think there are some armchair QBs on here that love to cut down kids, coaches and programs. The top D1 colleges play well. The top D2 and D3 schools do as well, but it’s a slower version. As you go down the ladder, the style and level drops a bit, as it does with club. But to say college soccer is HS on steroids is a silly comment. There are kids on every HS team including the best ones, that can’t even trap a ball. There is not a single college player in the top 15-16 on their team that cannot. And coaches do not tell them to smash it forward. Because that isn’t a recipe for success or I’d agree with you. They do need to win. But that isn’t how to do it. Most college teams try to play. How successful they are at it depends on the skill of their team and the athleticism of their opponent. The one thing I noticed from my daughter’s college team is that the game is much more physical than HS or club. Kids are stronger bc they’ve been in the weight room and have matured. Refs let a ton go. But I have yet to see a college game where the team didn’t “try” to play. They might not all be successful at it but they certainly try. People seem to confuse not being able to play with not trying to play.

[Unregistered]

Nonsense. There's no college playing true possession style soccer out there. 3 passes strung together should not be the barometer.

Ignorant comment. Stick to politics.

[Unregistered]

that coach sounds like 99% of parents at club and HS games

I can't handle the morons yelling "play forward" with the team nursing a 1 goal lead with 5 minutes left

Yes, far better to play backward and lose the ball near your own 18 on a bad touch. LMAO. There is a time to play and a time to be direct. The smart player knows which is which.

[Unregistered]

Yes, far better to play backward and lose the ball near your own 18 on a bad touch. LMAO. There is a time to play and a time to be direct. The smart player knows which is which.

Yeah, so not sure what this has to do with my point? Obviously the context matters, but a back pass out of pressure to retain possession beats hoofing it down field (play it forward!), does it not? I'm talking about a team with players who can control the ball. Not your kids team, I get it.

[Unregistered]

Yeah, so not sure what this has to do with my point? Obviously the context matters, but a back pass out of pressure to retain possession beats hoofing it down field (play it forward!), does it not? I'm talking about a team with players who can control the ball. Not your kids team, I get it.

In the final minutes, do you think your kids team will be A) not under pressure if they had the lead and B) would be better off playing it backwards while protecting the slim lead? That’s just foolish. Someone slips. Awkward touch. EPL teams would go direct in that situation. Your kids team especially shouldn’t do it. Your daughter can’t trap a wet bag of cement. Then again, they’d probably be losing so it’s a moot point.

[Unregistered]

Nonsense. There's no college playing true possession style soccer out there. 3 passes strung together should not be the barometer.

Pull your know nothing daddy melon out of the sand. D1p

[Unregistered]

Not the poster. Some top programs do play nice quality soccer. It's just a very small percentage unfortunately.

Because we produce a small percentage of kids capable of actually playing that way when faced with speed, strength, physicality and organized defenses. College is the first time many have EVER faced a significantly better team.

So many posters fail to understand that in College, most of the teams are at least organized and fit.

Because you can dominate some GDA/ECNL/NPL team after you have recruited their better players to your super club does nto mean you can do it in College with a weaker relative supporting cast

[Unregistered]

Because we produce a small percentage of kids capable of actually playing that way when faced with speed, strength, physicality and organized defenses. College is the first time many have EVER faced a significantly better team.

So many posters fail to understand that in College, most of the teams are at least organized and fit.

Because you can dominate some GDA/ECNL/NPL team after you have recruited their better players to your super club does nto mean you can do it in College with a weaker relative supporting cast

Here’s where I disagree with your statements:

“Have ever faced a significantly better team”.....
Better team, or better athletes? Huge difference.

“at least organized and fit”.....
Fit? You must be kidding. Have you seen what some of these division I girls look like? Overweight and NOT fit! You can get away with this when you can sub so much!

“Because you can dominate”.....
Rambling. The top under 18 club team in CT could likely beat and outplay any non Division I team in CT.

[Unregistered]

Here’s where I disagree with your statements:

“Have ever faced a significantly better team”.....
Better team, or better athletes? Huge difference.

“at least organized and fit”.....
Fit? You must be kidding. Have you seen what some of these division I girls look like? Overweight and NOT fit! You can get away with this when you can sub so much!

“Because you can dominate”.....
Rambling. The top under 18 club team in CT could likely beat and outplay any non Division I team in CT.

I agree except for the last part. D1 teams are all working with a strength and conditioning coach. Go watch Yale. Decent level program. They have some strong athletic beasts. Seniors in high school would struggle with that