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From a coach and development perspective I thought Waldrum's comments were interesting:
“First and foremost she’s got a great soccer brain. She understands the game, she reads the game well,” he said. “She’s a student of the game. A lot of our players participate in soccer, but they’re not all in in terms of being engaged in growing their game by watching other teams play, by watching other players, by breaking down video. That’s where Morgan has a little bit of an edge.” -
I agree. I have a female player currently playing D1. It drives me nuts that she and her teammates rarely watch any professional soccer. But they will watch NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. I think they are actually more likely to go watch the college teams play football, basketball and baseball than they are to go watch the men's team play soccer. As a result, there lack of understanding of what the game should look like is evident in the game they play.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Guess it depends on the situation. My daughter is always watching the men's team and several of her teammates are dating guys on that team.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Very interesting to hear. I've talked about this with other parents and coaches and I feel strongly about it, but it just seems to be the way it is for most people. Kids play, which is great, but they are passing fans of the game at best and a development opportunity is lost.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
While I do coach, I did the season ticket thing when my kids were younger and I have no doubt they benefited from watching the professional game as much as they have. Seems to me soccer is, or at least has been, vastly different than most other sports in terms of the kids who play other sports are fans of the game at the same time in greater numbers and there's just a different impact developmentally from watching it (or not).Comment
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It is not really about watching soccer it is about being consumed by it. I would venture that this is one of the things that differentiates the very good from the great. There's a certain level of passion that becomes the difference maker. I think that focus and a personal drive to improve are what pushing players to get from ordinary to good, from good to very good, from very good to great. The great ones are completely consumed by being great. Is there any doubt that MA will attain her goals? Sure sounds like she is consumed by attaining them.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Different conversation, an extension of the first, but I agree with you.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
My kids aren't going to play college soccer, but that doesn't mean they're notably smarter players to the point of notably making up for not being as strong or fast as an equally skilled player. I attribute some of this, as anecdotal as it is, to watching (and talking about) the game (in terms of hours, I'm guessing by a factor of hundreds compared to their peers). And I've asked players I've coached over the years regularly who watches, from just another Revs game to the World Cup and I'm not surprised by how few watch the game at all, and then by those who tell me they do.
If it didn't make any difference, I don't think Waldrum, for one, would make the comments he did. If it can make a difference for Andrews, to whatever extent it has, it can make some difference for anyone else.Comment
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I agree. Watching soccer games, especially the pros, would help a youth player better read a game and help,them improve as a player. But my D1 player never watches pro games, with only exception being the month or so when the World Cup and Olympics come around. Same with her teammates. Rarely watched the pros when they were youth players, and rarely watch it now. They do watch their collegiate men's soccer home games, but mainly because several are dating a player.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Morgan Andrews is a true anomaly. Not only because of her raw talent, but because of her passion for the game. It's clear from her comments that she LOVES watching video, watching soccer, and could do it happily all day long. And that, I believe, has elevated her game even above her ACC peers.
Name one other player you know who is that devoted. Most players enjoy the game, but it is a small pocket of their lives---even d1 players. They do not live and breathe it like MA.Comment
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I was at ODP this past spring when I heard several girls talking about the World Cup. They admitted to being totally uninterested about the WC.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
I was amazed that they had so little interest.Comment
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Honestly, mine does simply because we have always connected love for the game with being good. From an early age we always taught that we are good at the things we love and encouraged that love of soccer. The way I always figured it is if you have that love and enjoy doing the work then it really becomes about the limits of your physical abilities.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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You are good at the things you love or you love the things you're good at. Different scenarios for motivation.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Notre Dame faces a tough away game tonight at Virginia Tech. If they lose they'll fall to 0-2 in the ACC. At 5-3-1 overall, they haven't had an easy time of it so far this year.Comment
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My daughter loves soccer. She plays all year, school and club. She's hurt now but since she's been out, she's rarely missed attending practice or games, and has done so for only dr apts. She watches EPL games, goes to college games, goes to see the Revs, and follows the USWNT religiously (steams games). Since she's been watching games on TV, she has really become a student of the game. She critiques plays, compares game situations to situations she's been in, and applies techniques seen in professional soccer to her game. There is no doubt in my mind that watching soccer and videos of her games or training a has helped her game.Comment
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