The Girls 2007 Thread

[Unregistered]

Not sure why so many people look around at this age. We are staying with great friends and continuing to try and get better. Taking young girls off teams for the dreams of D1 college is crazy. Let them have fun for a few more years you think the ecnl teams wont want good players in a couple years?

Agreed. We are going to have our D stay at present level for next season,(start of her 2nd year U12). Even if club offers her a spot on a higher team, (which we suspect may happen), we will return this summer for at least another year & hopefully her present teammates will do the same. We believe the higher commitment requirements for a more advanced team are not going to be our cup of soup. Besides, our D attends all available practices & most extra clinics & our thoughts are she's improving at a great pace. The extra commitments don't seem to be cost or time effective...as to be more of an improvement than what she's getting now.

[Unregistered]

Not sure why so many people look around at this age. We are staying with great friends and continuing to try and get better. Taking young girls off teams for the dreams of D1 college is crazy. Let them have fun for a few more years you think the ecnl teams wont want good players in a couple years?

Bingo!
ECNL clubs gather the best players (from all over) on the top team for the recruiting years.
Of course 3 or 4 of their homegrowns emerge as legit stars each year, but 5x are just tagged B-teamers. In clubs defense, they are usually right

[Unregistered]

U9-U12 are some of the most important years for skill development. Hard to keep them on a “Fun” team where they aren’t develiping and then expect them to just somehow catch up when they are 13, 14 & 15.

[Unregistered]

U9-U12 are some of the most important years for skill development. Hard to keep them on a “Fun” team where they aren’t develiping and then expect them to just somehow catch up when they are 13, 14 & 15.

You're not wrong. It's a critical time, and club must have quality foot skills and IQ training.
Serious Question: for better or worse what is valued more at highest level - very technical girl that can juggle all day but lacks speed/size or the specimen that may lack some skills but blows around through or over?

[Unregistered]

We are really happy with our daughter’s development. They have a good program, beautiful fields, close enough drive. For those reasons we are staying. We are hoping that tryouts will bring in some new talent. There’s definitely going to be some leaving.

[Unregistered]

You're not wrong. It's a critical time, and club must have quality foot skills and IQ training.
Serious Question: for better or worse what is valued more at highest level - very technical girl that can juggle all day but lacks speed/size or the specimen that may lack some skills but blows around through or over?

They will find a spot for either of those two types. For me, I’ll tKe the technically sound players all day.

[Unregistered]

They will find a spot for either of those two types. For me, I’ll tKe the technically sound players all day.

And your team will look great losing

[Unregistered]

And your team will look great losing

And therein lies the rub.
Welcome to Soccer in America.

The irony of this dichotomy is that the inverse is true at top flight levels (epl, la liga, etc...) where technical dictates the game.
Drop a league or two in any country and you will see soccer at its most physical style, where strength and aggression are the nature.
The US clubs and US soccer try to sell a product that applies to maybe 5% of the world, while the 95% are told on ts that their technical skills aren’t good enough.

Why can’t we have both?
Nobody expects 12 yr olds to dunk, but we expect them to receive a ball like Messi (ignorance?).

[Unregistered]

Too funny. Trying to align results with rankings when at this age kids are trying to figure out how to play. Instead of concentrating on a he foundation needed for later , when it matters, you mucklucks are ranking teams

We have no chance on improving at this rate

[Unregistered]

Too funny. Trying to align results with rankings when at this age kids are trying to figure out how to play. Instead of concentrating on a he foundation needed for later , when it matters, you mucklucks are ranking teams

We have no chance on improving at this rate

When will you accept that no one in club soccer gives a hoot about US Soccer. We care about OUR OWN KIDS, and pposting "Elite Champions" on Fb, along with faux NLI signings to "Academic" colleges (D3)

[Unregistered]

And, yet, some of us...many of us, hope for more in the game. We hope for a culture of soccer to take hold.

That won’t happen as long as we have ridiculous d!ck measuring threads about who’s better

[Unregistered]

And, yet, some of us...many of us, hope for more in the game. We hope for a culture of soccer to take hold.

That won’t happen as long as we have ridiculous d!ck measuring threads about who’s better

What constitutes a “soccer culture”?

[Unregistered]

What constitutes a “soccer culture”?

Kids that get up and as they walk to the kitchen to eat breakfast, there's a ball at there feet. Watching TV, they aren't on the couch, they are standing and working on Coerver skills. Kids that go to their 2-3 practices a week, but practice in the backyard on off days. Who come home from school and watch a recorded game. Who get up Saturday and Sunday mornings and watch the EPL for 5 hours. Who have families who encourage them to play because it's a damn fun game to; not because they can win and put it on FB. Families who maybe didn't grow up with the game, but have learned to love it for what it is.

So, these kids can impart that love they've learned today to their kids.

It's call loving the game for the game itself, not for FB posts.

[Unregistered]

What constitutes a “soccer culture”?

It means that more people pay attention to the FA Cup or Champions League finals.
It means that folk stop looking at soccer through the lens of their kids.
It means that we stop the illusion of soccer as a vehicle to college-there is no other sport that rivals that stupid line of reasoning with such perseverance.
It means that we accept we will never be a soccer power, but we start to enjoy all levels of the game.
It means that ESPN covers soccer like other sports
It means that we begin to support local teams, much in the way of baseball (lower level leagues) that have ties to local communities.
It means that if your kid is cut or chooses not to play, you and your family still support the game.

But, the above will never happen because we are a selfish lot whose sole purpose, for the majority, is to get our jolies out of our kids playing a sport, instead of actually enjoying the sport they play.

[Unregistered]

It means that more people pay attention to the FA Cup or Champions League finals.
It means that folk stop looking at soccer through the lens of their kids.
It means that we stop the illusion of soccer as a vehicle to college-there is no other sport that rivals that stupid line of reasoning with such perseverance.
It means that we accept we will never be a soccer power, but we start to enjoy all levels of the game.
It means that ESPN covers soccer like other sports
It means that we begin to support local teams, much in the way of baseball (lower level leagues) that have ties to local communities.
It means that if your kid is cut or chooses not to play, you and your family still support the game.

But, the above will never happen because we are a selfish lot whose sole purpose, for the majority, is to get our jolies out of our kids playing a sport, instead of actually enjoying the sport they play.

I don't think its necessarily selfishness. Most people our age didn't grow up playing the sport or following the sport. Our families and friends followed our local football, baseball or basketball teams, not soccer, and that tends to be what adults spend their entrainment time and dollars on. Not many watch soccer now outside of the big events. We're not really raising soccer fans either but it is slowly building towards a stronger culture. It's tough when the sport is fighting several well entrenched sports + soccer is so often joked about in popular culture. Spend any time outside of the US and you'll see what soccer cultures really look like.