Winning vs losing team

[Guest]

Half my roster are glue players: They cheer and get water and work to do a lot in a few minutes. All of them I recruited hopefully they would be more than that.

I don't recruit glue players who don't play.

I don't know if your definition of "glue player" is the same as most peoples' definitions. Glue players aren't just players that sit on the bench and play minimal minutes. Real glue players are ones that you don't want to take off the field, because they are consummate team players who care only about making the right plays that help the team win instead of flashy players looking to do all the scoring. They are called "glue players" because they hold the team together.

I don't recruit or coach college, but I've done so for club and high school, and glue players tend to be players that don't jump off the page at you when you watch a game, but that you come to appreciate after seeing them play over the course of a season. They have good character. They are disciplined and dedicated, always seem to make the right decisions, be in the right place at the right time. Not sure why, but I tend to notice that holding mids are most frequently this kind of player...

[Guest]

I don't know if your definition of "glue player" is the same as most peoples' definitions. Glue players aren't just players that sit on the bench and play minimal minutes. Real glue players are ones that you don't want to take off the field, because they are consummate team players who care only about making the right plays that help the team win instead of flashy players looking to do all the scoring. They are called "glue players" because they hold the team together.

I don't recruit or coach college, but I've done so for club and high school, and glue players tend to be players that don't jump off the page at you when you watch a game, but that you come to appreciate after seeing them play over the course of a season. They have good character. They are disciplined and dedicated, always seem to make the right decisions, be in the right place at the right time. Not sure why, but I tend to notice that holding mids are most frequently this kind of player...

I was trying to shoehorn it to make it fit into the discussion since someone else brought it up.

If it matters, I've always considered a glue player is a non-star that keeps a team together. That could be by doing the dirty work, or it could be not always on the pitch. I played in college, and our captain never started and never played a lot. But he was a great guy and made a positive impact on everyone he was around.

Anyway, doesn't really have anything to do with whether it's better to watch a good team play vs. playing on a bad team.

[Guest]

All the parents talking about losing is part of development play for PDA and think it’s worth staying regardless. Losing at u9 maybe, once you get to u11 you should either be surrounded by a good team or move on.

[Guest]

All the parents talking about losing is part of development play for PDA and think it’s worth staying regardless. Losing at u9 maybe, once you get to u11 you should either be surrounded by a good team or move on.

And, all the parents who advocate their kids sitting on the bench of a winning team are only interested in the post-game celebration pics to put on FB. Plus, think of the money you save by not doing laundry!

[Guest]

Two of my kids play futebol :) Lets call them John and Jim. John is on a low level team, starts, and plays most of the game (usually is subbed at the end of each half so that non-starters get to play too). John would be a solid sub on a high level team. Jim recently moved up to a higher level compared where he was before. He's a backup, who does not see much play time if any. Both are happy in their own way. John gets to play a lot and loose a lot as well. Jim's team wins a fair bit, he no longer has to deal with bad coaching, poor play by teammates, and raves about how good the practices are. However, Jim is only doing it because he knows he will very likely start next year. So, IMHO, at the end of the day, whatever your/your kid's goals are - getting noticed by recruiters, getting better as a player, having more fun, etc., play time will be more important. When Jim and John grow up and have kids of their own, they won't be telling them the memories of sitting on a bench. They will recall the tough games they lost and won (or tied :) Their kids won't care (not would it really matter anymore) if it was ECNL/MLSN/EDP Flight 1 or 15 :)

[Guest]

Two of my kids play futebol :) Lets call them John and Jim. John is on a low level team, starts, and plays most of the game (usually is subbed at the end of each half so that non-starters get to play too). John would be a solid sub on a high level team. Jim recently moved up to a higher level compared where he was before. He's a backup, who does not see much play time if any. Both are happy in their own way. John gets to play a lot and loose a lot as well. Jim's team wins a fair bit, he no longer has to deal with bad coaching, poor play by teammates, and raves about how good the practices are. However, Jim is only doing it because he knows he will very likely start next year. So, IMHO, at the end of the day, whatever your/your kid's goals are - getting noticed by recruiters, getting better as a player, having more fun, etc., play time will be more important. When Jim and John grow up and have kids of their own, they won't be telling them the memories of sitting on a bench. They will recall the tough games they lost and won (or tied :) Their kids won't care (not would it really matter anymore) if it was ECNL/MLSN/EDP Flight 1 or 15 :)

How old are John and Jim?

[Guest]

Two of my kids play futebol :) Lets call them John and Jim. John is on a low level team, starts, and plays most of the game (usually is subbed at the end of each half so that non-starters get to play too). John would be a solid sub on a high level team. Jim recently moved up to a higher level compared where he was before. He's a backup, who does not see much play time if any. Both are happy in their own way. John gets to play a lot and loose a lot as well. Jim's team wins a fair bit, he no longer has to deal with bad coaching, poor play by teammates, and raves about how good the practices are. However, Jim is only doing it because he knows he will very likely start next year. So, IMHO, at the end of the day, whatever your/your kid's goals are - getting noticed by recruiters, getting better as a player, having more fun, etc., play time will be more important. When Jim and John grow up and have kids of their own, they won't be telling them the memories of sitting on a bench. They will recall the tough games they lost and won (or tied :) Their kids won't care (not would it really matter anymore) if it was ECNL/MLSN/EDP Flight 1 or 15 :)

It's very rare that I read something on TS that has a good deal of logic in it. Bravo!

[Guest]

How old are John and Jim?

John is pre-teen, Jim is a teen.

[Guest]

John is pre-teen, Jim is a teen.

What are their pronouns?

[Guest]

Pre high school age. In ECRL … playing about 30 mins or less .. team is good for the league. Not fantastic though. Coaching seems good so far.

Honestly, if it is ECRL, even a mid or top level team it isn't worth staying for 30mins a game. RLs rarely every make the ECNL teams the following year especially when transitioning from pre-HS to HS age teams and you certainly aren't going to get their with 30mins a game. Best advise would be either a D1 USYS or GA team that you'd get more than 30mins a game with. Even a bottom end ECNL team with 30mins a game would be a ton better for recruiting. Either way you and your kid need to look realistically at what level they wish to play in college. They aren't going to a top tier school or a P4 school to play but most any local D1 should be accessible no matter which league they play in.

[Guest]

I haven’t met a kid who likes to lose.

[Guest]

Honestly, if it is ECRL, even a mid or top level team it isn't worth staying for 30mins a game. RLs rarely every make the ECNL teams the following year especially when transitioning from pre-HS to HS age teams and you certainly aren't going to get their with 30mins a game. Best advise would be either a D1 USYS or GA team that you'd get more than 30mins a game with. Even a bottom end ECNL team with 30mins a game would be a ton better for recruiting. Either way you and your kid need to look realistically at what level they wish to play in college. They aren't going to a top tier school or a P4 school to play but most any local D1 should be accessible no matter which league they play in.

Similar situation. Already made up my mind to leave the team if she doesn’t earn more playing time. The team isn’t that great anyway. Not worth the travel to hardly play.

[Guest]

I am guessing that the winning team has better players. The player would be practicing with a group of players that have more talent than the team that is not so good, right? Training with quality players 3xś a week can only make a better player. Also, the better team will be higher flighted in showcases when the time comes, and that is really important.