Town/Club Tug -o-War

[Unregistered]

This statement is basically why USA cant compete on the world stage. A child will forgo being taught proper technique for the satisfaction of winning.

At u12 chances are the "elite" team is being coached possesion and smart decision making, finding teammates and passing to feet. The direct team will go right at the goal and many times will find success (or a goal if thats success).. theyve learned nothing but hey they won. When they get older I promise they will not find it as easy to be successful vrs elite players without developing those skills early on

Example...An E teams will often stress working the ball from the back which requires players spreading out and passing the ball around their own half. A non trained team is more direct and will certainly exploit a bad pass while the "elite" team is trying to move the ball around and go to goal as the E team is spread out and exposed..
Ive torn my hair out many time and bit my tongue through those years.. now our kids are a joy to watch.
BTW U12 is almost too late to learn and unless a kid is super fast where less skill is forgiven. They find it harder than you think to join that Elite team ..

Excellent post and right on the mark.

[Unregistered]

A big issue is that many of the coaches are good about volunterring their time but don't know much about the game. I know I coached when the kids were young because our town just couldn't get enough people to volunteer.

So perhaps since you have more insight into the game, your town's soccer could be improved if you would volunteer to coach.

I do and have for the last 7 years over 3 kids. And, yes, I still believe the above to be true.

[Unregistered]

U11. No surprise here really. Needham town is very talented, Bolts don't really develop younger players, pluck players from the better clubs.

Friday, May 27, 2011
FC GREATER BOSTON BOLTS 1 NEEDHAM STRIKERS 2

http://events.gotsport.com/events/re...ex=Boys&Age=11

Actually, it was the U10 Bolts playing up in the U11 division against Needham's U11s. So they weren't the same age, just like the previous poster suspected. The two U11 Bolts teams played each other in the finals of the top U11 division in that tournament, and those teams primarily consisted of players who had been with the Bolts for two years or more.

[Unregistered]

This statement is basically why USA cant compete on the world stage. A child will forgo being taught proper technique for the satisfaction of winning.

At u12 chances are the "elite" team is being coached possesion and smart decision making, finding teammates and passing to feet. The direct team will go right at the goal and many times will find success (or a goal if thats success).. theyve learned nothing but hey they won. When they get older I promise they will not find it as easy to be successful vrs elite players without developing those skills early on

Example...An E teams will often stress working the ball from the back which requires players spreading out and passing the ball around their own half. A non trained team is more direct and will certainly exploit a bad pass while the "elite" team is trying to move the ball around and go to goal as the E team is spread out and exposed..
Ive torn my hair out many time and bit my tongue through those years.. now our kids are a joy to watch.
BTW U12 is almost too late to learn and unless a kid is super fast where less skill is forgiven. They find it harder than you think to join that Elite team ..

Great post. I will generalize and say many parents and coaches don't understand this philosophy. That said, many understand it yet still want to win so kick and run wins over development. The great coaches are those that understand this concept and no that winning at u12 and under is about developing players and not the final score.

Take 3v3 or 4v4 soccer no keeper at u6-u8. The fastest kid can kick the ball far, chase it and score at will. No defenders and no keeper. Not so hard to do, but parents and coaches cheer like nuts because this is the next big star-right? Lets move up to 6v6 maybe u10 with defenders and keepers. Well that fast kid has kicked the ball hard and is chasing it down and surely will score right?...opps, kicked it right to the opposing teams defenders or keeper who controls it and plays it out of the back with some nice 1v1 moves. So all that scoring in an empty net just doesnt translate to the same thing once you add defenders and keepers. Maybe the kid is really fast and instead of scoring 10 goals a game the kid is scoring 2 or 3 playing 6v6 and the kids team is still winning and the parents still think this is the "it kid." Lets move up to u12-bigger field, 8v8 or 11v11 and that crazy little offsides rule. Speed can still be a huge factor, but now you have an 11 year old who doesnt know how to play the ball. Kid is in traffic with a defender or two and gets stripped of the ball over and over again. No shots on goal because the kid is being outplayed by those kids who at 6-10 years old were working on foot skills and 1v1 moves---those are the kids who are the real winners, and those are the kids who end up on the elite teams. You can absolutely teach kids at 6-10 years old how to play the game correctly, and you can even keep it fun enough that they arent paying attention to the score-they are just proud of themselves for doing a drag back, or having a nice pass to a teammate or some other "move" their development over winning coach taught them. I suspect this is why some clubs and town teams are more successful than others once the kids are old enough for it to actually matter who is winning the game.

[Unregistered]

Originally Posted by Unregistered
U11. No surprise here really. Needham town is very talented, Bolts don't really develop younger players, pluck players from the better clubs.

Friday, May 27, 2011
FC GREATER BOSTON BOLTS 1 NEEDHAM STRIKERS 2

http://events.gotsport.com/events/re...ex=Boys&Age=11

Actually, it was the U10 Bolts playing up in the U11 division against Needham's U11s. So they weren't the same age, just like the previous poster suspected. The two U11 Bolts teams played each other in the finals of the top U11 division in that tournament, and those teams primarily consisted of players who had been with the Bolts for two years or more.

Yes. I was the prior poster. It was my son's U10 Bolts team playing in the U11 Division. In fact, they did lose to the Needham U11 team. However, that game could have gone either way.
Not to take anything away, from the Needham team as they played well. It was also not the better Needham U11 team, which was in the other bracket and went to the finals and lost to a very much superior Conn. team.
As for players on the Needham teams; three or four play on club teams; 3 for Bolts and 1 or 2 for MPS.

[Unregistered]

Originally Posted by Unregistered
U11. No surprise here really. Needham town is very talented, Bolts don't really develop younger players, pluck players from the better clubs.

what kind of dumas post is this? Bolts develop players starting at U8, and they are the top boys club in the state, which is why they have the academy program.duh,ok? The best kids on the Needham team were Bolts. Plus the needham team was u11 & the Bolts were U10. Need a brain much??

[Unregistered]

Originally Posted by Unregistered
U11. No surprise here really. Needham town is very talented, Bolts don't really develop younger players, pluck players from the better clubs.

Friday, May 27, 2011
FC GREATER BOSTON BOLTS 1 NEEDHAM STRIKERS 2

http://events.gotsport.com/events/re...ex=Boys&Age=11




Yes. I was the prior poster. It was my son's U10 Bolts team playing in the U11 Division. In fact, they did lose to the Needham U11 team. However, that game could have gone either way.
Not to take anything away, from the Needham team as they played well. It was also not the better Needham U11 team, which was in the other bracket and went to the finals and lost to a very much superior Conn. team.
As for players on the Needham teams; three or four play on club teams; 3 for Bolts and 1 or 2 for MPS.

Seriously.......U10 / U11? Come on...really..............really..........

[Unregistered]

Boot IT!

[Unregistered]

You have to play club at some point to develop as a player to the higher levels but at the younger ages there are plenty of kids that don't play club for whatever reason and are good soccer players. Our sons town team is u12 and the two best players don't play club soccer because of club hockey and club baseball. They love soccer though and playing with their friends. Why are they the best? Its true that their are some club players on the team with a higher degree of technical skill as soccer is their number one sport but they don't influence the game nearly as much as the other two do with raw athletic talent. I'm sure if they focused on soccer full time they could ramp up the skill level quickly at this age.

This is the reason why we don't win on the world stage. It's because our best athletes pick these other sports. Its not a skill v. athleticism argument. If American soccer values athleticism more so than other countries its because they have to. To say that the top players from other countries are not great athletes because they are also tremendously skilled is just false. We have to in many cases pick the best athletes from the lot that soccer is left with and then hope that their is skill also in that lot. Hopefully as soccer grows in this country more top athletes will pick it from a young age and develop the skill to go along with the athleticism but we're just not there yet as a country.

[Unregistered]

As a former club player and current coach at the high school level I understand and appreciate the value of club soccer, but i think club soccer, and its many differnet entities and levels, is loosing sight of what sports are all about, fun. People on here are taking about 10 yearolds like they are all going to be professional soccer players, i wonder what number willbe playing soccer in highschool, i have seen plenty of club players play other sports. It is great to see the level of play rise largely due to the growth of club soccer, but its gone to far when it has become an industry. (ie MPS). All the practicing these kids get is great, but I wonder if they would benefit from opportunities to play soccer in a less structured enviroment, pickup games create players with imagination and a sense for the game. Many club players i have coached are technically flawless, but lack the atheletic and soccer sense kids develop when they are allowed freedom to just play with no now worries. Club soccer also has increasingly become such an image thing, often promoted by the clubs, with their expensive warmups and practice gear. Stop trying to profit off of kids playing a game, it shouldnt be a bussiness. Another issue i have is many clubs practicing in the fall, have had players complain at practice they tired because on our day off they had club practice, are you makinf these kids that much better with these few practices or are u wearing on their bodies and minds. Club soccer most certainly has its place, but i think the adults in charge need to really take a look at what it has become and where it is going.

[Unregistered]

In response to last post, i think one reason soccer looses out on many of the best atheletes at is that players are asked at an early age to make a nearly year round commitment to soccer, it has always been this way, but seems to be happening more often and at a younger age. In american culture soccer does not have the same allure as most of the major sports, so when these kids are forced to choose between baseball, lacrosse and now even basketball, because team must train indoors, sadly soccer often looses out when the choice is made. This is inevitable but forcing kids to choose younger and more definatively is not going to help with the talent pool. If at 10 years old I had to choose between soccer and basketball i wouldnt have ended up playing d1 soccer, i would have been an average high school basketball player.

[Unregistered]

In response to last post, i think one reason soccer looses out on many of the best atheletes at is that players are asked at an early age to make a nearly year round commitment to soccer, it has always been this way, but seems to be happening more often and at a younger age. In american culture soccer does not have the same allure as most of the major sports, so when these kids are forced to choose between baseball, lacrosse and now even basketball, because team must train indoors, sadly soccer often looses out when the choice is made. This is inevitable but forcing kids to choose younger and more definatively is not going to help with the talent pool. If at 10 years old I had to choose between soccer and basketball i wouldnt have ended up playing d1 soccer, i would have been an average high school basketball player.

Please don't go there with that same worn out excuse. There are more kids playing soccer in the US then some countries entire population. The athleticism of those top youth players has been proven by fitness testing to be exactly the same as kids all over the world in professional academies. Athleticism is not our problem!!!

[Unregistered]

Please don't go there with that same worn out excuse. There are more kids playing soccer in the US then some countries entire population. The athleticism of those top youth players has been proven by fitness testing to be exactly the same as kids all over the world in professional academies. Athleticism is not our problem!!!

No but reading comprehension seems to be.

[Unregistered]

No but reading comprehension seems to be.

I'll say! Was that poster even responding to the right post? There was no connection.