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Youth coaches not getting it

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    Youth coaches not getting it

    Every year I see youth coaches pick the better athlete over the player that is more technical with higher soccer IQ. Coaches get smitten with the size and speed and say . “ give me 2 years with that kid and he will be elite “ they NEVER become elite . They help those coaches compete that day to win that weekend, and typically by the 2nd or third year those athletes are cut. Funny the technical player with the high soccer IQ is still on the roster ! How much better would the the technical players be if they were appreciated more from the start and developed . The athlete that never practices outside of team trainings will be never become elite And this is why US Soccer is not succeeding. Coaches shame on you.

    #2
    Originally posted by Renegade View Post
    Every year I see youth coaches pick the better athlete over the player that is more technical with higher soccer IQ. Coaches get smitten with the size and speed and say . “ give me 2 years with that kid and he will be elite “ they NEVER become elite . They help those coaches compete that day to win that weekend, and typically by the 2nd or third year those athletes are cut. Funny the technical player with the high soccer IQ is still on the roster ! How much better would the the technical players be if they were appreciated more from the start and developed . The athlete that never practices outside of team trainings will be never become elite And this is why US Soccer is not succeeding. Coaches shame on you.
    If the more technical player with higher soccer IQ continues to develop physically, they will surpass the better athlete in time. The sweet spot for technical development is middle-school. By high school, it is mostly tactics and fitness. The problem is, at every level there needs to be a modicum of athleticism. You only have so many spots for "slow, but technical midfielders".

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      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      If the more technical player with higher soccer IQ continues to develop physically, they will surpass the better athlete in time. The sweet spot for technical development is middle-school. By high school, it is mostly tactics and fitness. The problem is, at every level there needs to be a modicum of athleticism. You only have so many spots for "slow, but technical midfielders".
      I have no spots for slow midfielders, but, to the OPs point, there should be plenty of spots for average- or just-above-average speed (not really fast) midfielders that are technical and smart. I would not sacrifice speed in either of my cb positions nor in at least one or two of the wing/f positions (where you can sacrifice some technical), but in the central midfield, I would definitely take a reasonable runner with great vision and technical ability who is not selfish over a track star with marginal technical and a lower soccer IQ. I am very surprised that soccer coaches, for the most part, have not figured out better that some kids are more apt for certain positions (and trying to match kids talents to positions that they can be more successful in). Taking a fast and aggressive, but less technical kid and forcing them into a CMF spot is a recipe for parking the bus and getting countered on quickly, often. Those kids belong squarely in front of a goal (on either side of the field) or out on the wing where they can run and do not have to rely on technical skills.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        I have no spots for slow midfielders, but, to the OPs point, there should be plenty of spots for average- or just-above-average speed (not really fast) midfielders that are technical and smart. I would not sacrifice speed in either of my cb positions nor in at least one or two of the wing/f positions (where you can sacrifice some technical), but in the central midfield, I would definitely take a reasonable runner with great vision and technical ability who is not selfish over a track star with marginal technical and a lower soccer IQ. I am very surprised that soccer coaches, for the most part, have not figured out better that some kids are more apt for certain positions (and trying to match kids talents to positions that they can be more successful in). Taking a fast and aggressive, but less technical kid and forcing them into a CMF spot is a recipe for parking the bus and getting countered on quickly, often. Those kids belong squarely in front of a goal (on either side of the field) or out on the wing where they can run and do not have to rely on technical skills.
        You are talking old school soccer. High level teams do not want marginal technical kids on the back lines either. The last think you want is to be dispossessed in the defensive 1/3, in front of your goal, and that is exactly what you are describing. It sounds like high school ball.

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          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          You are talking old school soccer. High level teams do not want marginal technical kids on the back lines either. The last think you want is to be dispossessed in the defensive 1/3, in front of your goal, and that is exactly what you are describing. It sounds like high school ball.
          Listen, everyone wants fast, technical kids with vision and size across the board, but it just ain't happening. In the US (and much of the world as well), everyone drafts speed first then technical and few players have both .... even less have great intuition, so you have to take what you have and play them in the best possible spots for the team and their own success. My point was that I would sacrifice some speed in the middle and technical at CB, Wing, or F.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Listen, everyone wants fast, technical kids with vision and size across the board, but it just ain't happening. In the US (and much of the world as well), everyone drafts speed first then technical and few players have both .... even less have great intuition, so you have to take what you have and play them in the best possible spots for the team and their own success. My point was that I would sacrifice some speed in the middle and technical at CB, Wing, or F.
            Get a clue pally. Never kicked a ball huh?

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              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Get a clue pally. Never kicked a ball huh?
              What's a ball? We can't all be as lucky as your kids team to have a deeply talented, technical, smart, and athletic bunch with your precious child at the helm no doubt. Has your kid's team ever played out of state? You should get out more.

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                #8
                Depends on the age. My D had horrible skills for a while but was athletic enough to stick around. Essentially, coaches felt you can't teach speed.

                Once her skills came around she was able to combine the two.

                Any slow player would like to be fast. But, not all fast players are skillful. You either need both, or have such great vision you can mitigate your lack of speed.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Depends on the age. My D had horrible skills for a while but was athletic enough to stick around. Essentially, coaches felt you can't teach speed.

                  Once her skills came around she was able to combine the two.

                  Any slow player would like to be fast. But, not all fast players are skillful. You either need both, or have such great vision you can mitigate your lack of speed.
                  So often, on the other side though, fast players NEVER take the time to work on and acquire the skills when they are younger because they dont know and their coaches are happy to let them run like fools as long as the team is winning. They are happy dumping in hat tricks by running down long balls and outrunning the little kids on other teams. Currently, there is a kid on my daughters team now who was scoring 80% of their goals 2 years ago because of this and now she rarely gets 2 touches on a ball before she turns it over. Her mom can't understand what is happening and says that her daughter is getting very frustrated. She is still one of the fastest kids on the field consistently, but she has no technical skills whatsover and even less of a sense of the game.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    So often, on the other side though, fast players NEVER take the time to work on and acquire the skills when they are younger because they dont know and their coaches are happy to let them run like fools as long as the team is winning. They are happy dumping in hat tricks by running down long balls and outrunning the little kids on other teams. Currently, there is a kid on my daughters team now who was scoring 80% of their goals 2 years ago because of this and now she rarely gets 2 touches on a ball before she turns it over. Her mom can't understand what is happening and says that her daughter is getting very frustrated. She is still one of the fastest kids on the field consistently, but she has no technical skills whatsover and even less of a sense of the game.
                    Totally agree. But, those kids usually get found out pretty quickly as they get older.

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