Lots of recent posts about development vs recruitment, and why don't teams develop their own players. But I see only 3 main categories in which players can develop: 1) improve their athleticism (which is a solo activity, running, HIIT, weight training on their own time, etc), 2) technical skills improvement (which again should be mainly a solo activity, dribbling, aerial, wall exercises done by a motivated player on their own), and 3) practicing with fast, athletic players. Of these 3 the only thing a team can provide you with is #3. Some coaches are better than others in that they are better teachers, have better drills, offer more correction, etc but fundamentally what the team offers is #3. Which is why a kid can train on their own but still be unprepared for high level games with fast players and why a kid can be on a high level team but lack development, because they are not training or practicing skills on their own. This is why good teams are always trying to recruit more athletic players and also why kids who lack athleticism fall behind no matter how long they've trained with a particular team. And of course, less motivated players fall behind as well, as their technical skills are surpassed.
Point being, parents who blame teams for cutting players whom they "haven't developed" in their system don't know what they're talking about. Practicing with fast skilled players can only get you so far.
Point being, parents who blame teams for cutting players whom they "haven't developed" in their system don't know what they're talking about. Practicing with fast skilled players can only get you so far.
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