Oysa state cup

[OrSoccerMom]

Clarification

I wanted to clarify that I don't see anything wrong with private training if your child enjoys it and thinks it is beneficial then why not...especially if you can afford it. Trying to better oneself is always a good thing. I think the previous poster had an excellent point about academics. Even if you are a great soccer player you had better make the grade if you desire college level soccer. My kids are so incredibly busy that I sometimes worry about them. In spite of all of that they do they are still able to make really good grades and seem to participate in many different activiites.

Also, I think being well rounded is a good thing too. I will say that I know a few parents that seem to only think about soccer and push their kids to do way too many things soccer related. If the kiddo is wanting to do it then by all means. If the parent finds themselves pushing the kid and only allowing the kid to participate in soccer then I think there could be an issue. These kids are often the ones who one day say I'm done. As much time and effort as we put into soccer as parents we have to remind ourselves that this is about the kids, not us.

[Unregistered]

I think we have done maybe 5 or 6 private trainings when my daughter was younger. I don't know that she would benefit that greatly from it as she needs to rest some too. She still has a life in spite of all the club, ODP, regional yada yada stuff. She keeps fit though doing track, running, working out and all that. It hasn't seemed to hurt her yet not doing private training. I was surprised because I didn't even think that it was that prevelant. I don't think most of the highest level players do it, as none of the players we are familiar with do.

So, in order to get playing time there are clubs that are requiring private training? Do you have to train with specific coaches? If so, I would question that policy. Playing time has never been an issue for us as she plays almost 100% of the time.

Yes keeping balance in our children’s life is difficult in these times. I think if you asked the ODP parents about their additional training you would find that a majority do some form of additional training.

Most kids who excel at sports in the early years do so because they have a physical gift that allows them to stand out, however as they get older and the winnowing process weeds out the less committed and less talented what you find is that your child ends up playing among his/her peers and at which time they have choices to make.

If they want to stay competitive and extend their career they need to invest more time than just what they get with their team. Does that mean that you have to spend a boat load of money on private or small group lessons? No. What it does mean however is that they need to become students of the game and learn how to work on their own game by themselves or with another team mate. They need to work on juggling skills and a wide variety of 1 v 1 moves.

The benefit of having your child’s skills regularly evaluated by a professional coach or knowledgeable parent is that it gives them feedback and access to the finer points of each skill and advice on what aspect of those skills THEY need to work on.

Soccer is not unique in this area. Because of the money involved (scholarships) ALL youth sports have become this intense.

[OrSoccerMom]

The ODP kiddos are already juggling many committments. The areas that I see many of the players falling behind in at the HS age is amazingly not skill but fitness. We have all seen those kids that have exceptional ball skills but they just can't seem to get there before the competetion in the high level games. Those players who possess both skill and the ability to play an entire game at full speed seem to be coveted by all the coaches : ODP and club alike. Take what I say with a grain of salt since I can only speak for what I know first hand. We do ODP and have made it as far as the regional pool but even those exceptional players that we know do not do private training. I really don't think that many of the ODP starters are doing private training.

Maybe if there is an area of skill that is lacking then training could be very beneficial. It is still hard to simulate game situations by oneself though so I would think training in a group would be more productive. Then you run into the issues of different coaches liking different styles of play. We have seen huge variances in play style between say an ODP and club coach... to the point where they were in direct conflict with one another. As an example, if you are a forward then the ODP coach wants you to push up always. Conversely, the club coach had an expectation of dropping way back for those players that have speed and stamina.

I don't really know what the answer to training is and we may end up doing some group training if we could find the right group as we are playing in an out of town club and only practice on weekends.

[Unregistered]

The ODP kiddos are already juggling many committments. The areas that I see many of the players falling behind in at the HS age is amazingly not skill but fitness. We have all seen those kids that have exceptional ball skills but they just can't seem to get there before the competetion in the high level games. Those players who possess both skill and the ability to play an entire game at full speed seem to be coveted by all the coaches : ODP and club alike. Take what I say with a grain of salt since I can only speak for what I know first hand. We do ODP and have made it as far as the regional pool but even those exceptional players that we know do not do private training. I really don't think that many of the ODP starters are doing private training.

Maybe if there is an area of skill that is lacking then training could be very beneficial. It is still hard to simulate game situations by oneself though so I would think training in a group would be more productive. Then you run into the issues of different coaches liking different styles of play. We have seen huge variances in play style between say an ODP and club coach... to the point where they were in direct conflict with one another. As an example, if you are a forward then the ODP coach wants you to push up always. Conversely, the club coach had an expectation of dropping way back for those players that have speed and stamina.

I don't really know what the answer to training is and we may end up doing some group training if we could find the right group as we are playing in an out of town club and only practice on weekends.

After watching ODP for 3 years I can agree with ALL of your observations. I would however add this one thing to the discussion. The more styles your player is exposed to increases his/her skill set and therefore if they have college ambitions there are more college coaches who they can appeal to!

It’s very simple really, the more your child knows about the game and can do with & without the ball the better player they are going to be. How they get that knowledge is up to them. You can only provide the opportunities of which small group and private training should be considered among the choices.

[OrSoccerMom]

You are right about experience with different coaching styles. I think that has helped my daughter more than anything else. The two consistent things that she is rated top notch on by all of these coaches are (1) setting the standard for stamina and endurance and (2) being coachable. She seems to have a knack for doing exactly what she is told by coaches.

The past couple of years she has been exposed to so many different coaches. Some she loves, some she doesn't but she always gives it her all. I know there is some major ODP opposition on this site but I would credit most of her exposure to her participation in ODP. That is where she has worked with the most college coaches. To that end it is invaluable.