Honest question: ECNL vs. ECRL

[Guest]

So you are saying that a player can't be skilled without having strength?

I disagree with that above statement . Look at rose lavelle. She gets knocked off the ball all the time. Yet she’s the most skillful and creative midfielder on the national team.

[Guest]

I disagree with that above statement . Look at rose lavelle. She gets knocked off the ball all the time. Yet she’s the most skillful and creative midfielder on the national team.

Yeah, I don't really understand that above statement either. We've all see that little kid with amazing skills that can play with kids much older even tho s/he doesn't have the physical strength of those older kids.

[Guest]

Yeah, I don't really understand that above statement either. We've all see that little kid with amazing skills that can play with kids much older even tho s/he doesn't have the physical strength of those older kids.

I think he’s not talking about ulittles. He’s right. When you get to the top players you cannot dribble the ball through 4 players across the middle of the field. No one can. It’s bad tactics. The successful teams including Spain play 1-2 touches and move it. That means spacing, positioning, passing accuracy, ability to
handle pressure and strength to make the play all become a premium. Yes at times taking a player 1v1 is a good play but it’s a minor part overall in comparison

[Guest]

I think he’s not talking about ulittles. He’s right. When you get to the top players you cannot dribble the ball through 4 players across the middle of the field. No one can. It’s bad tactics. The successful teams including Spain play 1-2 touches and move it. That means spacing, positioning, passing accuracy, ability to
handle pressure and strength to make the play all become a premium. Yes at times taking a player 1v1 is a good play but it’s a minor part overall in comparison

I'm not specifically talking about u-littles either. And you are reenforcing my point that strength can be considered separately from skill. You can have great spacing, positioning, passing accuracy, ability to handle pressure etc while at the same time lacking some strength...and have that lack of strength be the attribute that keeps you on the ECRL team instead of getting to the ECNL team.

[Guest]

This isn’t personal as I’m fairly confident I don’t know the child discussed here, but I deal with so many players and parents who think they are middle of pack skill wise and aren’t at all. If the player isn’t strong enough to finish good chance she is not as skilled as you think. She probably had great dribbling and in ball skills but that’s such a small part of the game. If you don’t have finishing strength, you don’t have crossing strength, crisp passing strength, breaking lines strength, defending strength and so much more. Strength plays such a massive role in soccer and limits the ability of so many players. Parents like to blame the size of their kid, but it’s almost always strength and not size holding them back. Couple this with overly individual training (think futsal all-Stars) and you get kids who often lack understanding and soccer IQ.

I look at it differently. There are probably more players on the ECNL team that are there because they are more physically developed in strength and speed over other players than they are in skill. A player who is simply late in physical development is far more likely to be more advanced skill-wise at this age because they can't simply rely on their physical strength and speed to win. They have to develop their skillset more in order to be competitive with bigger/faster/stronger players. This is exactly the argument that is often made about the USWNT...that they've been dominant for so long because they are better physically than they are skill- and soccer-IQ-wise, and now that the rest of the world is catching up to the physical development in the women's game, the USWNT is struggling more because they can't just rely on their physical superiority.

[Guest]

I look at it differently. There are probably more players on the ECNL team that are there because they are more physically developed in strength and speed over other players than they are in skill. A player who is simply late in physical development is far more likely to be more advanced skill-wise at this age because they can't simply rely on their physical strength and speed to win. They have to develop their skillset more in order to be competitive with bigger/faster/stronger players. This is exactly the argument that is often made about the USWNT...that they've been dominant for so long because they are better physically than they are skill- and soccer-IQ-wise, and now that the rest of the world is catching up to the physical development in the women's game, the USWNT is struggling more because they can't just rely on their physical superiority.

Exactly why technical ability is so important. Being technical doesn’t mean you have to dribble around opposing players. It means you will play faster in tight situations and not panic. Quick passing and moving it key.

[Guest]

I look at it differently. There are probably more players on the ECNL team that are there because they are more physically developed in strength and speed over other players than they are in skill. A player who is simply late in physical development is far more likely to be more advanced skill-wise at this age because they can't simply rely on their physical strength and speed to win. They have to develop their skillset more in order to be competitive with bigger/faster/stronger players. This is exactly the argument that is often made about the USWNT...that they've been dominant for so long because they are better physically than they are skill- and soccer-IQ-wise, and now that the rest of the world is catching up to the physical development in the women's game, the USWNT is struggling more because they can't just rely on their physical superiority.

If you watch the older age groups in ECNL you would realize size is secondary to skill. Speed of decisions moves the ball more than foot speed. Of course there are some giant players but the top teams aren’t on top because of their size.

[Guest]

If you watch the older age groups in ECNL you would realize size is secondary to skill. Speed of decisions moves the ball more than foot speed. Of course there are some giant players but the top teams aren’t on top because of their size.

When did anyone bring up size? I thought we were talking about strength?

[Guest]

Size matters! Bigger faster stronger is a real thing. Doesn’t mean u can lack in technical skills. But when you have it all your a force. In any sport without weight classes size is a big factor.