Announcement

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 10:30 AM

Why is it that people always feel the two have to be mutually exclusive?

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 11:07 AM

here we go again

Happy new year. For those who do not read history you are inevitably going to repeat the same old bull-****e. This discussion goes on and on...until it stops, only to be rehashed. As someone who has been involved in youth soccer for almost a decade here are some New Year's advice:

1. Make sure you child is having a great time
2. Find a good coach that can connect with kids.
3. Although a coaching license does not guarantee anything, it does indicate some training
4. Find a club/team closer to your home to avoid painfully long rides to and from practice
5. Don't spend more than 2000 (2500 at the most) on club fees, uniforms, and tournament fees.
6. Make sure you child is having a great time
7. Save up plenty of ice cream money for when they lose games.
8. Make sure you child is guaranteed a minimum amount of playtime. Sitting on the bench sucks.
9. If your child is not on the 'A' team then realize that you are helping to pay for the 'A' team.
10.Make sure your child is having a great time.

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Why is it that people always feel the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Couldn't agree more.

If you develop players the right way they will win.

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Couldn't agree more.

If you develop players the right way they will win.

I get what you are saying but that isn't always the case. I saw a game a couple of months ago where one team (i'm guessing U12/13, was 11v11) was technically better, played better soccer, and looked like a much better team than the other. However, the other team with inferior players for the most part won because they had a fully grown player who they kicked the ball up to and he was much faster than the defenders, scoring multiple goals in the game.

The parents were cheering the boot-ball because their team was winning. That's natural, as their child's team is being successful. Having said that, if you make clear that your number one goal is to develop players and PLAY them, rather than have them be a tool for a more talented players success and winning in the process, parents should be just fine with that.

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 07:07 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I have been involved in youth soccer for many years and it is clear that winning can get in the way of young players' development. But if we don't win many parents get upset and players leave! I truly struggle with what approach to take. Should I just let the better players leave or should I try and develop a competitive team?

If your team is undefeated and winning games by a margin of 3 or more goals per game your team is seeded improperly and wasting its time. Ideally you want a team that is at about 50% winning with a margin of victory or loss of 1 goal. This means your team is being challenged. If your team goes 0-8 but is competitive in every game at under U12 I would not be the least concerned.

**Unregistered** · 01-01-2013, 08:37 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

If your team is undefeated and winning games by a margin of 3 or more goals per game your team is seeded improperly and wasting its time. Ideally you want a team that is at about 50% winning with a margin of victory or loss of 1 goal. This means your team is being challenged. If your team goes 0-8 but is competitive in every game at under U12 I would not be the least concerned.

I agree with the first half of this, but not so much for the second half. If you are 0-8 then you are 0-8. The problem is either with the kids or the coach. Since most of these younger kids are athletic and have the ability to be developed, then I would blame the coach. Nevertheless, you should move you team down a division to allow a different look for the team. If you were 0-8 I doubt that you will suddenly become 8-0 in the lower division. This would also give a team from a lower division a chance to move up to better competition. This is called relegation and it is a good thing. On this note, I do like what MAPLE has done with the U11s.....two division 1 brackets.

**Unregistered** · 01-02-2013, 10:34 AM

This is called relegation and it is a good thing.

Yup, that's why the US produces so many fantastic soccer players. We do a great job developing skillful, tactically astute soccer players thanks to promotion and relegation of teams before puberty.

**Unregistered** · 01-02-2013, 10:49 AM

I agree with the first half of this, but not so much for the second half. If you are 0-8 then you are 0-8. The problem is either with the kids or the coach. Since most of these younger kids are athletic and have the ability to be developed, then I would blame the coach. Nevertheless, you should move you team down a division to allow a different look for the team. If you were 0-8 I doubt that you will suddenly become 8-0 in the lower division. This would also give a team from a lower division a chance to move up to better competition. This is called relegation and it is a good thing. On this note, I do like what MAPLE has done with the U11s.....two division 1 brackets.

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Yup, that's why the US produces so many fantastic soccer players. We do a great job developing skillful, tactically astute soccer players thanks to promotion and relegation of teams before puberty.

I did qualify my support of relegation by showing support for what MAPLE as done by having two first division brackets. Perhaps this is what should be done for the younger ages. You have to agree, however, that playing a beating a team 10-1 (+/-) is not great for either teams development.

As for the US producing better soccer players, statistically, there is a greater number of US players participating abroad in 2012/2013 than there was a decade ago. I am by no means suggesting that 'relegation' has anything to do with this, however, your sarcastic tone and comment (perhaps I am assuming wrong) is not supported by any hard data.

**Unregistered** · 01-02-2013, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I agree with the first half of this, but not so much for the second half. If you are 0-8 then you are 0-8. The problem is either with the kids or the coach. Since most of these younger kids are athletic and have the ability to be developed, then I would blame the coach. Nevertheless, you should move you team down a division to allow a different look for the team. If you were 0-8 I doubt that you will suddenly become 8-0 in the lower division. This would also give a team from a lower division a chance to move up to better competition. This is called relegation and it is a good thing. On this note, I do like what MAPLE has done with the U11s.....two division 1 brackets.

I did qualify my support of relegation by showing support for what MAPLE as done by having two first division brackets. Perhaps this is what should be done for the younger ages. You have to agree, however, that playing a beating a team 10-1 (+/-) is not great for either teams development.

As for the US producing better soccer players, statistically, there is a greater number of US players participating abroad in 2012/2013 than there was a decade ago. I am by no means suggesting that 'relegation' has anything to do with this, however, your sarcastic tone and comment (perhaps I am assuming wrong) is not supported by any hard data.

Perhaps the snide comment about relegation was in response to the many over-the-top parents who place way too much emphasis on winning, particularly at very young ages. I would suggest that the opposite is just as bad: the pc notion that winning/competition is somehow detrimental to youth dev.

**Unregistered** · 01-02-2013, 02:38 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Perhaps the snide comment about relegation was in response to the many over-the-top parents who place way too much emphasis on winning, particularly at very young ages. I would suggest that the opposite is just as bad: the pc notion that winning/competition is somehow detrimental to youth dev.

Everthing in moderation is how ones diet should be approached. Perhaps this topic winning vs. development....relegation vs. everyone wins a trophy....is the same.

Only a foolish coach (and parent) would ever coach a kid to lose. At the same time, the obsession with winning and keeping weaker kids from playing is bad. On this latter note, I have never liked the idea that the club has to fill the roster. While it is clearly a business decision, it is the one thing that reduces playtime. Parents should be wary of their own child's time in the game. If it is less than 30-40% then it is time to look elsewhere and consider other options. Your child is just one tryout from being cut or dropped to a lower team.

**Unregistered** · 01-06-2013, 02:39 PM

You might want to watch 60 Minutes tonight when they do a segment on the Barca youth academy.

"Barcelona's soccer team may be the best of all time thanks to a unique training system that produced 17 of the football club's current 25 first-line players - including Lionel Messi, considered the best player in the world. Bob Simon reports on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT."

Youth academy nurtures top soccer stars
"Many soccer fans believe that Barcelona's professional team is the best there is. Some even think it's the best collection of players ever assembled in the sport's 150-year history. Bob Simon profiles the Spanish "football" club and the training system it built that produces such gifted players that nearly 70 percent of the current team is manned by its graduates.

....Stressing academics, sports and discipline, the academy, originally housed in an 18th century farmhouse called La Masia, is difficult to get into and easy to be kicked out of. Says La Masia alum and Barca star player Cesc Fabregas, "I was very lucky and I am not just talking about the football. I am talking about manners, values, education at school," he tells Simon. "The only thing is, you have to study a lot...they are very strict, but it's worth it," says Fabregas, who came to La Masia when he was 10. Asked by Simon how a Masia student would fair if he were more inclined to go out for good time than to train, Fabregas replies "You'll be out, very, very quick."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_16...-soccer-stars/

**Unregistered** · 01-06-2013, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Happy new year. For those who do not read history you are inevitably going to repeat the same old bull-****e. This discussion goes on and on...until it stops, only to be rehashed. As someone who has been involved in youth soccer for almost a decade here are some New Year's advice:

1. Make sure you child is having a great time
2. Find a good coach that can connect with kids.
3. Although a coaching license does not guarantee anything, it does indicate some training
4. Find a club/team closer to your home to avoid painfully long rides to and from practice
5. Don't spend more than 2000 (2500 at the most) on club fees, uniforms, and tournament fees.
6. Make sure you child is having a great time
7. Save up plenty of ice cream money for when they lose games.
8. Make sure you child is guaranteed a minimum amount of playtime. Sitting on the bench sucks.
9. If your child is not on the 'A' team then realize that you are helping to pay for the 'A' team.
10.Make sure your child is having a great time.

What if my kid is having a great time because he's ultra competitive and loves winning? His coach is fine, he's on the first team, and he isn't a big fan of ice cream.

Should I look for a less successful team so he can work on losing gracefully?

**Unregistered** · 01-06-2013, 06:37 PM

One can't separate development from winning and vice-versa. Any player fully developed needs to have the winning culture instilled in him/her. Tough to do that without emphasizing winning.

**Unregistered** · 01-07-2013, 12:01 PM

The real problem is too many parents can't handle the losing. It never dawns on them that their child might not be good enough to win so when they lose they freak out and have to buy into an environment losing isn't an option.