A couple questions from the parent of younger children (3 kids under 12) for those with older kids. In the instances where you've seen a group of kids play together from a young age through their late teens, how common is it for the top 1 or 2 players to remain the most talented all those years? Conversely, how often do you see significant movement up or down in talent levels over time? What do think the most important factors are in a player's improvement over time? Just curious what opinions are out there...
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We just talked about this yesterday. My daughter was looking at her town team from u12, the top team, very successful. Only 3 girls still play at the high school level, all 3 also play club. My son was similar, very few of the best kids when he was young kept with it when they got into high school. He was the only one who stayed with club.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
There isn't movement up or down really, just kids choosing other sports or other activities. The kids that stayed with club and put in the time and hard work are still playing and are successful. The best training, club and competition is what will impact improvement the most. -
This is a really good question. I think there was an article way back addressing this.
Honestly, if your child is under the age of 10, there may be signs of him being a talented player. But at that age, there are a lot of things that can deceive you. For example, lets say your child is 8 and has great speed and strength. As he grows older, the players around him also grow. Some at the age of 8 might have not hit their growth spurt yet. Also, as players get older, the pool of talent gets significantly smaller; thus, there is much more competition.
I've been watching my son and daughter grow up in a soccer environment and quite frankly, players who seem to be the best on the field at the age of 6 or 8 don't seem to be the best when they are 14, 15, 16 and so on.
It's all about the drive and passion. Practice harder.Comment
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Well I think it depends what makes them the best player? Is it their speed and size or their touches and footwork? If it is their speed and size others will eventually catch up and that once 'awesome player' will be average or below average if it is their touches and footwork and that player continues to excel then yes odds are they will still be the most talented.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Speed and Size
So, the last couple of responses reference the reason behind a child being a top player at a young age. Makes a lot of sense...speed and size advantage is probably temporary, where touches and footwork are potentially a more sustainable advantage (as long as there's drive and passion, as referenced above). Touching a soccer ball as much as possible, and working on dribbling, juggling, moves, etc... are obviously beneficial in that regard. But, in terms of games/competition, does it then make sense that kids should be playing up against bigger/faster players so they are forced to learn moves to get around defenders, and so they can't rely on their physical attributes? I have an 8 yr old son who does very well within his own age group. That's a combination of playing a lot, but also size and speed at this age. I also have a 6 year old, who has played with that 8 year old and his peers a lot...he's developed many more moves, and looks much more comfortable dribbling through traffic, but he's at a disadvantage in terms of size (especially) and speed (a little)...am I doing my 8 year old a disservice and setting my 6 year old up for success? They both have a ton of passion for the game...and they feed off of each other...so I view my job as keeping it fun for them...but also trying to put them in the best situations to succeed.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Not unusual for a younger sibling to be better than the older one. Couple of reasons, one is they are introduced and interested because the sibling is playing. Second because he now has someone to copy, who because of age, and experience allows younger one to try things. One way to be creative is to try stuff, and at a young age he is not playing and competing in games. So creativity works nothing to lose. As they start improving they start getting attention from sibling whether it is noticing that they got some game, or helping them by showing them, how to improve.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
One reason that american's as a group struggle at soccer, is the lack of exposure to quality players, and quality leagues. With all the TS experts half of them would not know much if anything about soccer in the world, in the EPL, in the National level.
No passion for the game.
But if your brother is playing and inside you want to impress him, you work hard to do things he does, only to get his attention you have to work harder at the game itself. Many younger siblings get stuck on the sidelines every Sat & Sun, watching them play and playing with a ball by themselves. KEY WORD working/playing with the ball, at the park, in the backyard.Comment
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Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Perfect example is Dempsey. He was scouted juggling a ball on the sidelines during a game where his older brother was playing.Comment
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Too many things play into the mix to predict success. My daughter was a dominating player from ages 6 - 10 - mostly based on her dribbling, ball control and speed.
Since 10, she has gone through multiple growth spurts that made her touch on the ball just horrid at times requiring a couple months t get back - just in time for another growth spurt.
Now at 15, she's almost 5'10" with very long legs that she's still growing into. While she could have quit after "losing" her touch - she loves the game and has changed her game in recent years to be more focused on winning balls, super agressive tackling, and distributing balls from the center.
She's not as flashy as she once was and doesn't score as often but she has carved out a nice role playing most of every game for a regional-bound club team.
The most important thing is that she's still playing because she loves the game - while other more talented teammates have fallen byt he wayside because they wanted to have more sleepoers and social-life.
You can do all the right things but passion and physical ability will ultimately dictate how your kids want to compete - best advice, get them good coaching and don't worry about playing up and keep giving them reasons to love the game.Comment
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I can remember seeing Shaenon Williams juggling a ball on the sidelines of his older brother's state cup games out at UMASS. He went on to the youth USMNT and now plays for Philly in the MLS.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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