Training Sessions, coach/player ratios, and player pools.

[Guest]

On TS there is so much back and forth on teams being better or clubs being better, but can we talk about the trainings since this is what our money goes towards.
We are coming off our first year dealing with player pools. I have to ask others what they think. We did not like the amount of kids per coach. Sometimes one coach with two full teams mixed up. The team didn't develop, or gel as a team and individuals were not getting what they needed.
Moving into mid-season we are wondering, is our kid developing? Is the team? Should we pay extra for privates to be sure? Practicing in the backyard can only do so much. There is a lot of trust between coach and parent as we assume coach has our players best interests at heart and they would only do a player pool if they thought it was the best for the player. But, we don't think so. Our kid doesn't think so. I think kids do better with smaller ratios in the classroom and on the field.
How do we know when we sign a contract that a coach will not combine teams and practice with 35-40 kids at once? I really don't think they will tell us.
Even if we watch a training today, they could change their training plan over the summer.

Upon research I found this on Soccer Training Solutions...

Player/Coach Ratios for Under 6 and Under 8
It’s common to hear a recommendation that for 4-6 years olds, there should be a coach for every 6-7 kids. At U-8 level, play should be a maximum of 4v4 so that each player can have a chance to develop age-appropriate technical skills. So that works out to a ratio of one coach for every 8 players. On a practical level, at this age group this will usually mean having additional parents helping out the coach.

Player/Coach Ratios for Under 10, 12, and Older
As players get older and develop more maturity and independence, the number of players for each coach can start to increase. At the U-10 and U-12 levels, some teams may be able to get away with one coach for every 15 or 16 players.

And when you get to still older age groups, such as high school, the guidelines change somewhat as play continues to diverge into a variety of levels of competitiveness. A high school accommodating a wide range of skill levels would typically require a lower ratio (a smaller number of players per coach) than a select club team, for example. A ratio of 20:1 can be common on many teams, but in order to ensure that all of the players are getting enough individual attention, that number would ideally be a bit lower.

[Guest]

On TS there is so much back and forth on teams being better or clubs being better, but can we talk about the trainings since this is what our money goes towards.
We are coming off our first year dealing with player pools. I have to ask others what they think. We did not like the amount of kids per coach. Sometimes one coach with two full teams mixed up. The team didn't develop, or gel as a team and individuals were not getting what they needed.
Moving into mid-season we are wondering, is our kid developing? Is the team? Should we pay extra for privates to be sure? Practicing in the backyard can only do so much. There is a lot of trust between coach and parent as we assume coach has our players best interests at heart and they would only do a player pool if they thought it was the best for the player. But, we don't think so. Our kid doesn't think so. I think kids do better with smaller ratios in the classroom and on the field.
How do we know when we sign a contract that a coach will not combine teams and practice with 35-40 kids at once? I really don't think they will tell us.
Even if we watch a training today, they could change their training plan over the summer.

Upon research I found this on Soccer Training Solutions...

Player/Coach Ratios for Under 6 and Under 8
It’s common to hear a recommendation that for 4-6 years olds, there should be a coach for every 6-7 kids. At U-8 level, play should be a maximum of 4v4 so that each player can have a chance to develop age-appropriate technical skills. So that works out to a ratio of one coach for every 8 players. On a practical level, at this age group this will usually mean having additional parents helping out the coach.

Player/Coach Ratios for Under 10, 12, and Older
As players get older and develop more maturity and independence, the number of players for each coach can start to increase. At the U-10 and U-12 levels, some teams may be able to get away with one coach for every 15 or 16 players.

And when you get to still older age groups, such as high school, the guidelines change somewhat as play continues to diverge into a variety of levels of competitiveness. A high school accommodating a wide range of skill levels would typically require a lower ratio (a smaller number of players per coach) than a select club team, for example. A ratio of 20:1 can be common on many teams, but in order to ensure that all of the players are getting enough individual attention, that number would ideally be a bit lower.

What is the question?

[Guest]

What is the question?

It's someone pretending to be knowledgeable

[Guest]

I think he’s talking about Select. 50 players
per coach.

[Guest]

These are the questions:

Moving into mid-season we are wondering, is our kid developing?
Is the team?
Should we pay extra for privates to be sure?

Answers:
No kid not developing with that many kids.
No the team will not improve or gel.
Yes pay for privates if you haven’t seen improvement but go outside of club for privates.

[Guest]

To the OP:
Late April is way past 'mid-season'
'practicing in the back yard' is EVERYTHING
if you can't tell if your kid is developing then she probably isn't
it would be hard to find 50 top kids in the state that should be practicing together, never mind at one club

[Guest]

These are the questions:
Moving into mid-season we are wondering, is our kid developing?
Is the team?
Should we pay extra for privates to be sure?

Answers:
No kid not developing with that many kids.
No the team will not improve or gel.
Yes pay for privates if you haven’t seen improvement but go outside of club for privates.

If you have to go outside for privates regularly, you're at the wrong club. Privates should be to work on specific improvements, or GKs rhat need it more often because not all clubs have decent GK training

[Guest]

To the OP:
Late April is way past 'mid-season'
'practicing in the back yard' is EVERYTHING
if you can't tell if your kid is developing then she probably isn't
it would be hard to find 50 top kids in the state that should be practicing together, never mind at one club

If you can't tell your kid is developing then she probably isn't** - you just lost all credibility with this statement and you started off so good. Too bad. But I agree backyard practice great and 50 kids too many for one coach

[Guest]

Privates don't do ****. That's just money hungry clubs/ coaches sucking you dry. You defending your kid in the yard or kids playing with other kids, siblings.. best private training you can get and free.

[Guest]

Privates don't do ****. That's just money hungry clubs/ coaches sucking you dry. You defending your kid in the yard or kids playing with other kids, siblings.. best private training you can get and free.

Of course pickup games are great but in the US there's fewer opportunities for that. Privates can be helpful with the right trainer working on specific things. Semi privates with a few similar level players is better, and cheaper.

Never use a trainer from your club. If your club is pimping out a lot of coaches that's a red flag. If for some reason it can't be avoided make sure the coach has nothing to do with your kid's team. There's loads of good trainers out there not at your club.

All players that really want to improve should be doing work on their own.

[Guest]

Privates don't do ****. That's just money hungry clubs/ coaches sucking you dry. You defending your kid in the yard or kids playing with other kids, siblings.. best private training you can get and free.

you have obviously never had a good coach for one-on one- but ideally the better coaches that do this training are smaller group coaches

[Guest]

you have obviously never had a good coach for one-on one- but ideally the better coaches that do this training are smaller group coaches

You obviously have I take it? Please share. Tell us about the illusion you experienced when you thought your daughter was learning something during a 100$ privates every week. You could have just played with her in the backyard for free, no experience needed. Just have her try to score on you, or dribble around you, etc. But mayb you like throwing money away.

[Guest]

The highest correlated factor for development is the intrinsic motivation of the player. You can have the best coach and pay for all the private training you want and the kid that plays with the ball on their own will likely end up more comfortable with the ball and a better player. I wouldn't pay for extra training, or put my kid on a top level team if they weren't spending significant time with the ball outside training.

[Guest]

The highest correlated factor for development is the intrinsic motivation of the player. You can have the best coach and pay for all the private training you want and the kid that plays with the ball on their own will likely end up more comfortable with the ball and a better player. I wouldn't pay for extra training, or put my kid on a top level team if they weren't spending significant time with the ball outside training.

Great advice, but unfortunately will fall on deaf ears my friend. Also if I may say, top level teams are overrated.

[Guest]

You obviously have I take it? Please share. Tell us about the illusion you experienced when you thought your daughter was learning something during a 100$ privates every week. You could have just played with her in the backyard for free, no experience needed. Just have her try to score on you, or dribble around you, etc. But mayb you like throwing money away.

I agree. I cancelled her piano teacher and did the same. I'll also stop paying for swim lessons, ski lessons, and the math tutor. I can do all this on my own. I mean, I don't play the piano, and am terrible at math. But, I can manage to stay afloat in a pool and have skied before, so I can handle all this.