CSA, SJEB, STA flocking to ECNL in full Flight

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Sorry but every goalie I have seen started off as something else and was pushed into being the goalie. Some parents would rather nudge their way onto a top squad as keeper then allow the kids to enjoy the game and develop on the field. Also seen kids leave because they were being used to much as a goalie because other parents would complain when their kid had to play in net. Learning how to play and having the exp in net at a young age helps them to develop an understanding of the position. Having kids at the younger ages play multiple positions is the way to teach the game. Some might find they like a certain position more or that they are even better at one they were never put in. So for a team to be trying to recruit a player at the u11 leave is just dumb.

The majority of GKs my D has known do not follow this pattern. Yes, they start off as something else, but at some point they decide that GK is what they like. Reasons range from not liking the running required of being a field player to loving soccer but not having the speed/skills to be a high-level field player, to simply loving making the stops. Only know one player who used being a GK to nudge their way onto a top squad, but the kid simply doesn't have the athleticism to be anything other than GK to be on that squad.

A for future reference, the best goalies come from the worst teams. Anyone can look good if the def only allows 2-3 shots and the goalie might let in 1. That goalie on the garbage team getting nailed 20x a game and letting in 3 is advancing faster and is most likely better.

I agree that the best GKs come from teams that aren't the best, but coming from "the worst" teams probably means the GK doesn't get much experience with receiving pass-backs and playing with her feet.

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This is all true. I'd add to point 4 that the coaches trying to evaluate been your kid and whomever they have already on the team when you go in for a workout is laughable. You look and their keeper can't scoop the ball, has terrible positioning, etc, but the coach is looking at stuff like punt distance (not accuracy) and an inch difference in physical height.

It took a long time for my kid to realistically evaluate herself in game performance. Being able to tell the difference between a bad game with 1 or 2 goals against and a good game with 6 against was a challenge, but when you start to read the game from a 10,000 ft. perspective instead of just goals and saves things change. She began to see all of the things that led to goals, what really mattered in game, and what she needed to work on for the next time. It's a mentally challenging and thankless position.

"It took a long time for my kid to realistically evaluate herself in game performance. Being able to tell the difference between a bad game with 1 or 2 goals against and a good game with 6 against was a challenge"

Just curious, how do you do that? Can you please provide some guidance?

I had my children trained and played at goal for two very silly reasons: 1) Not afraid of the ball 2) Be able to read the game.

They accomplished 1) but haven't been successful in 2). I know watching professional games help but the question is "how" to watch the game like a player.

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"It took a long time for my kid to realistically evaluate herself in game performance. Being able to tell the difference between a bad game with 1 or 2 goals against and a good game with 6 against was a challenge"

Just curious, how do you do that? Can you please provide some guidance?

I had my children trained and played at goal for two very silly reasons: 1) Not afraid of the ball 2) Be able to read the game.

They accomplished 1) but haven't been successful in 2). I know watching professional games help but the question is "how" to watch the game like a player.

Don't sell #1 short. So many kids are afraid of the ball and/or contact with a field player (opposing or otherwise). I've seen kids who play the position shy away from plays, try to save the ball while turning their head, and land wrong when coming up for a save because they are scared. You have to have a certain mentality for the position, and just because you have physical characteristics doesn't mean you can play it.

#2 took years. Part of it was watching professionals and their interviews. Part of it was actually speaking with some of those same professionals, her primary gk coach at length, and even the parent of a girl who plays gk for a d1 school. She originally played for a team that would typically give up at least 20-25 shots on net a game, and sometimes much worse against better teams. Futsal games would give her double. No one can save that many shots on a consistent basis. We started keeping track of her stats so that she would see the difference between goals against, saves, etc. to help with perspective. Then we would ask her about the goals against, what lead to them, what she thinks she could have done differently, and what kind of adjustments she thinks she needs to make. We put the thinking and decision making after the game on her because the expectation was for her to make those calls in game so how was afterwards different. It really helped. She still gets upset if goals go in (if you aren't competitive with yourself, this is the wrong position and sport), but she can outline who lost which pass, who didn't cover which person, who made x mistake, etc. and also give an honest assessment if she was at fault or if the save was at all possible. They have to love it.

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That is great and that everyone should play it! Totally the opposite of the message given in the DA days....typically hypocritical.

Our doc was clear that HS can be great for social reasons but that for soccer it is wildly different depending on your school and the kids who participate and some towns have great programs and coaching, most are not great and some are really not good. He said they understood many kids always wanted to do it and are glad at least the ussf rules don’t put them in the position to have to deal with it anymore.

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The majority of GKs my D has known do not follow this pattern. Yes, they start off as something else, but at some point they decide that GK is what they like. Reasons range from not liking the running required of being a field player to loving soccer but not having the speed/skills to be a high-level field player, to simply loving making the stops. Only know one player who used being a GK to nudge their way onto a top squad, but the kid simply doesn't have the athleticism to be anything other than GK to be on that squad.



I agree that the best GKs come from teams that aren't the best, but coming from "the worst" teams probably means the GK doesn't get much experience with receiving pass-backs and playing with her feet.

As a gk parent, this is bs. My daughter decided to be a gk because of her athleticism. She is the fastest girl on the team. She is an excellent basketball player which helped develop her hand eye coordination. She is 5ft 9 and has awesoMe foot skills. To assume a goalie is fat, slow and unskilled shows what a crappy team your kid plays for.

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As a gk parent, this is bs. My daughter decided to be a gk because of her athleticism. She is the fastest girl on the team. She is an excellent basketball player which helped develop her hand eye coordination. She is 5ft 9 and has awesoMe foot skills. To assume a goalie is fat, slow and unskilled shows what a crappy team your kid plays for.

Never said fat, slow or unskilled. D played for a team that asked 5 girls to play rotational goalie. None had ever played in goal before BUT while they provided depth for the bench doubling as a goalie gave them the edge to play on this team which they all wanted. They went to training and 3 of them became very good. The following season when 2 were asked to switch to a more permanent status as goalie and the other 3 had already left only 1 decided of those 2 decided to stay on as a full time keeper with the other moving on to an equally skilled team as a field player. In the few years since the converted goalie has developed into a great keeper and should be in line for a good scholarship when the time comes. Two of them that didn't want to become a goalie and left became a great field player now start on top level teams while the other 2 are on USYS teams as field players.

So, yes, from my exp; no one Ive seen ever starts soccer a decides to be a goalie unless it is the only way to see significant field time. All around it is sad though as everyone should really play the position. If you can understand what the player opposite from you is feeling you can better understand how to play against them. Versatility over specialization, any good coach would rather have an above average player that can play anywhere over the super star player that can't be moved.

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As a gk parent, this is bs. My daughter decided to be a gk because of her athleticism. She is the fastest girl on the team. She is an excellent basketball player which helped develop her hand eye coordination. She is 5ft 9 and has awesoMe foot skills. To assume a goalie is fat, slow and unskilled shows what a crappy team your kid plays for.

Why is it bs that some of the kids I know who are GKs aren’t athletic enough to be high level field players? I never claimed to know your daughter, so not sure why that’s relevant.

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Our doc was clear that HS can be great for social reasons but that for soccer it is wildly different depending on your school and the kids who participate and some towns have great programs and coaching, most are not great and some are really not good. He said they understood many kids always wanted to do it and are glad at least the ussf rules don’t put them in the position to have to deal with it anymore.

Our DoC always bashed HS soccer and indicated that lots of injuries occur there so good that the USSF did not allow it. So if injuries were a concern then why not now? Seems a bit hypocritical.

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Our DoC always bashed HS soccer and indicated that lots of injuries occur there so good that the USSF did not allow it. So if injuries were a concern then why not now? Seems a bit hypocritical.

Our DoC is a HS soccer coach, as are a number of staff coaches.

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Our DoC is a HS soccer coach, as are a number of staff coaches.

And a former DA DoC as well?? That would be quite hypocritical....

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And a former DA DoC as well?? That would be quite hypocritical....

No, he was never a DA DoC. However, one of the DA staff coaches was a HS coach.

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Why is it bs that some of the kids I know who are GKs aren’t athletic enough to be high level field players? I never claimed to know your daughter, so not sure why that’s relevant.

This is BS! Good goalkeepers need to be more athletic than field players. They need to use their feet and be able to distribute the ball. So technically they are field players and goalkeepers. I guess you have not witnessed high level teams where the ball is played out of the back.

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Really still talking about goalkeepers?

This is BS! Good goalkeepers need to be more athletic than field players. They need to use their feet and be able to distribute the ball. So technically they are field players and goalkeepers. I guess you have not witnessed high level teams where the ball is played out of the back.

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This is BS! Good goalkeepers need to be more athletic than field players. They need to use their feet and be able to distribute the ball. So technically they are field players and goalkeepers. I guess you have not witnessed high level teams where the ball is played out of the back.

Did you know that Hope Solo was an amazing field player before she switched to a goal keeper. The one position that Americans can match up against any other position in the world is the goalie position. To play the position you have to be extremely athletic, fast, quick, smart to read the pitch as well as amazing hand/eye coordination. Tall basketball players make great keepers. The best goalies play the position like an additional “sweeper” who gets the team going offensively. Ever watch Manuel Neuer on Bayern?
Anyone who watches Liverpool can see how important the position is to Klopp. The goalie is part of the offense not just stopping shots on goal.

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And a former DA DoC as well?? That would be quite hypocritical....

A DA DoC being hypocritical.....Never