Best way to teach possession ball?

[Unregistered]

I know what my experience is and would put that up against all the coaches with the foreign accents ....most of which agree with me not you!

You didn't answer the question. Why don't you share your experience with the rest of us oh wise one so we can judge for ourselves. That and agree with you about what? That half of them don't know comprehend possession soccer? That after all is what you said.

[Unregistered]

So only a caoch can see what is on the field?

You didn't answer the question. Why don't you share your experience with the rest of us oh wise one so we can judge for ourselves. That and agree with you about what? That half of them don't know comprehend possession soccer? That after all is what you said.

So are you saying that to be a judge of what we see on the field you have to be a coach? What you have to be is a student of the game and regularly watch the best and talk with the best to know what we have here in our neighborhood is not uniformly quality coaching with a complete understanding of the nuances of possession soccer.

I am a parent whose player has been coached by all levels of what Oregon has to offer AND by those outside the "dome" including college and professional coaches some of whom have played and coached in Europe. Along the way I had the privilege of talking to each of them about the game and the strategies for teaching at various levels. Uniformly they said what I and others here have tried to convey and that is the mentality of possession soccer starts with the first kick and the training from the earliest ages and builds through the ages.

Do I need to be a coach to HEAR those comments from the best? Do I need to be a coach to SEE the results on the field?

Are there 20 coaches in the Metro area that understand and are committed to possession soccer? Yes. Is that enough? Hell No. How many clubs are committed to teaching possession soccer from day one? In my experience watching soccer in the state for the last 10 years only FC has a commitment to anything approaching possession soccer and BSC is a recent convert. Do I cut the others slack for the behavior of the WIN NOW attitude of parents that prevents them from making a similar commitment? Yes.

Do we as parents need to become more educated about the concept of development soccer and demand a more sophisticated model of teaching? No doubt.

The question I have for you is why are you defending a system that clearly does produce the finished products on par with other regions? Yes we produce athletes statistically on par but our regions record for producing players with high soccer IQ and a complete skill set is far behind the others and the only reason for that is that the MAJORITY of training our players gets is not on par with those regions.

[Unregistered]

So are you saying that to be a judge of what we see on the field you have to be a coach? What you have to be is a student of the game and regularly watch the best and talk with the best to know what we have here in our neighborhood is not uniformly quality coaching with a complete understanding of the nuances of possession soccer.

I am a parent whose player has been coached by all levels of what Oregon has to offer AND by those outside the "dome" including college and professional coaches some of whom have played and coached in Europe. Along the way I had the privilege of talking to each of them about the game and the strategies for teaching at various levels. Uniformly they said what I and others here have tried to convey and that is the mentality of possession soccer starts with the first kick and the training from the earliest ages and builds through the ages.

Do I need to be a coach to HEAR those comments from the best? Do I need to be a coach to SEE the results on the field?

Are there 20 coaches in the Metro area that understand and are committed to possession soccer? Yes. Is that enough? Hell No. How many clubs are committed to teaching possession soccer from day one? In my experience watching soccer in the state for the last 10 years only FC has a commitment to anything approaching possession soccer and BSC is a recent convert. Do I cut the others slack for the behavior of the WIN NOW attitude of parents that prevents them from making a similar commitment? Yes.

Do we as parents need to become more educated about the concept of development soccer and demand a more sophisticated model of teaching? No doubt.

The question I have for you is why are you defending a system that clearly does produce the finished products on par with other regions? Yes we produce athletes statistically on par but our regions record for producing players with high soccer IQ and a complete skill set is far behind the others and the only reason for that is that the MAJORITY of training our players gets is not on par with those regions.

I'm not defending anybody, merely pointing out that your argument was a bit overstated. For example, I played here and overseas and I don't remember one being more fun than the other. Maybe that was just my experience. I actually agree with you that FC has had the most consistent coaching philosophy and that they do try to teach them to play.

[Unregistered]

I'm not defending anybody, merely pointing out that your argument was a bit overstated. For example, I played here and overseas and I don't remember one being more fun than the other. Maybe that was just my experience. I actually agree with you that FC has had the most consistent coaching philosophy and that they do try to teach them to play.

I disagree with you.

The only club teaching possession soccer on both the girl's and boy's side are Westside and Eastside.

FC Portland is living off their past success. They are no better and arguably worst than the rest.

[Unregistered]

I disagree with you.

The only club teaching possession soccer on both the girl's and boy's side are Westside and Eastside.

FC Portland is living off their past success. They are no better and arguably worst than the rest.

Unless FC has had a complete change in philosophy that's gone unnoticed I'd disagree with you. Likewise, unless Westside and Eastside recently decided to practice differently than they play, there is much less club wide consistency in how they play from team to team. Both Eastside and Westside have had some really good teams (Gunners, Internationals, Premier, Galacticos, Roma, Liverpool etc.) but there is also way more independence in how they play from team to team. I'm not saying that's good or bad, only that it's what I've seen. That's primarily on the boys side over the past 10+ years. Maybe it's changed or changing. On the girls side I think both THUSC and FC offer a more consistent approach. So does LO/OSSA/Crossfire for that matter.

[Unregistered]

I disagree with you.

The only club teaching possession soccer on both the girl's and boy's side are Westside and Eastside.

FC Portland is living off their past success. They are no better and arguably worst than the rest.

Laughable. None of these clubs are teaching possession.

[Unregistered]

I'm not defending anybody, merely pointing out that your argument was a bit overstated. For example, I played here and overseas and I don't remember one being more fun than the other. Maybe that was just my experience. I actually agree with you that FC has had the most consistent coaching philosophy and that they do try to teach them to play.

More fun than the futility of kick and chase as it relates to an individuals contribution to a team game.

The anti possession crowd say that trying to teach possession skills at a young age or rec level takes the fun out of the game.

I have had many a discussion with players who learned the game overseas and they describe a process of building fundamentals with more rigor yet within a system that provided rewards and games that rewarded the skill development.

[Unregistered]

More fun than the futility of kick and chase as it relates to an individuals contribution to a team game.

The anti possession crowd say that trying to teach possession skills at a young age or rec level takes the fun out of the game.

I have had many a discussion with players who learned the game overseas and they describe a process of building fundamentals with more rigor yet within a system that provided rewards and games that rewarded the skill development.

That is definitely true that overseas there's much more emphasis in how you play than there is scoring and winning. There's a time and place for winning but here it seems like that's all there ever is even in a kick around game. I've never really understood that.

[Unregistered]

The coach of my daughter's team is very disciplined and hard core about foot skills and possession. We had a great group of girls going back to U11, and I know they have learned a lot, BUT his stubborn and disciplined approach has cost us five of the best players on our team. Our girls pass well and control the ball, but there are times they need to press and a long through ball (50/50 ball) will get you a dang goal. But he says he doesn't want to sacrifice disciplined/smart play for winning games.

So here we sit sliding backwards as a team because the horses as I call them, the fast strong smart girls, have all been recruited to a team that has been winning. So while a lot of girls on our team have grown dramatically in their abilities, we have lost the best players and have some weaker players on the field. A lot of good players minus the best players means we lose a lot of games that we look like we are playing better than the other team (that will put the ball over the top to score).

My daughter is really frustrated and wants to change clubs to follow her friends, though I don't know if she would even make the first team (probably, but...).

The parents are frustrated. The measuring stick in the US in winning games and having fun. That might not be the best case in the world for development. Nobody really cares how they do it in England or Spain or Russia. Judge all you want. Girls want to have fun and win. We are with a very good club and they have a great development philosophy but parents are unhappy and the girls aren't very happy.

I am not saying that playing disciplined soccer is bad, but in our case, the lack of balance has hurt. I won't comment on the ethics of the other club recruiting our players...

[Unregistered]

The coach of my daughter's team is very disciplined and hard core about foot skills and possession. We had a great group of girls going back to U11, and I know they have learned a lot, BUT his stubborn and disciplined approach has cost us five of the best players on our team. Our girls pass well and control the ball, but there are times they need to press and a long through ball (50/50 ball) will get you a dang goal. But he says he doesn't want to sacrifice disciplined/smart play for winning games.

So here we sit sliding backwards as a team because the horses as I call them, the fast strong smart girls, have all been recruited to a team that has been winning. So while a lot of girls on our team have grown dramatically in their abilities, we have lost the best players and have some weaker players on the field. A lot of good players minus the best players means we lose a lot of games that we look like we are playing better than the other team (that will put the ball over the top to score).

My daughter is really frustrated and wants to change clubs to follow her friends, though I don't know if she would even make the first team (probably, but...).

The parents are frustrated. The measuring stick in the US in winning games and having fun. That might not be the best case in the world for development. Nobody really cares how they do it in England or Spain or Russia. Judge all you want. Girls want to have fun and win. We are with a very good club and they have a great development philosophy but parents are unhappy and the girls aren't very happy.

I am not saying that playing disciplined soccer is bad, but in our case, the lack of balance has hurt. I won't comment on the ethics of the other club recruiting our players...

What you describe is one of the core issues. While I can't speak to what is truly going on from a coaching perspective with your DD's team, it sounds like he might be doing the right thing from a developmental perspective short of the losing of players problem you describe. But parents, and even the kids themselves, will generally place more credence to winning than development. Given a choice between first rate development on a losing team and playing for the state champion and 99% will opt for the latter.

[Unregistered]

The coach of my daughter's team is very disciplined and hard core about foot skills and possession. We had a great group of girls going back to U11, and I know they have learned a lot, BUT his stubborn and disciplined approach has cost us five of the best players on our team. Our girls pass well and control the ball, but there are times they need to press and a long through ball (50/50 ball) will get you a dang goal. But he says he doesn't want to sacrifice disciplined/smart play for winning games.

So here we sit sliding backwards as a team because the horses as I call them, the fast strong smart girls, have all been recruited to a team that has been winning. So while a lot of girls on our team have grown dramatically in their abilities, we have lost the best players and have some weaker players on the field. A lot of good players minus the best players means we lose a lot of games that we look like we are playing better than the other team (that will put the ball over the top to score).

My daughter is really frustrated and wants to change clubs to follow her friends, though I don't know if she would even make the first team (probably, but...).

The parents are frustrated. The measuring stick in the US in winning games and having fun. That might not be the best case in the world for development. Nobody really cares how they do it in England or Spain or Russia. Judge all you want. Girls want to have fun and win. We are with a very good club and they have a great development philosophy but parents are unhappy and the girls aren't very happy.

I am not saying that playing disciplined soccer is bad, but in our case, the lack of balance has hurt. I won't comment on the ethics of the other club recruiting our players...

Welcome to being a feeder club. Been through that and it sucks for the kids that stay. Team just starts sliding down division by division.

[Unregistered]

What you describe is one of the core issues. While I can't speak to what is truly going on from a coaching perspective with your DD's team, it sounds like he might be doing the right thing from a developmental perspective short of the losing of players problem you describe. But parents, and even the kids themselves, will generally place more credence to winning than development. Given a choice between first rate development on a losing team and playing for the state champion and 99% will opt for the latter.

Exactly. We've had bad coaches but great players and won. And everyone was happy. Good coaching is important, but 75% of success is having those smart, fast, athletic kids. Not disparaging the disciplined approach, but I do have to say it is very hard to get buy in from the parents and more importantly the kids, that want to win.

[Unregistered]

The coach of my daughter's team is very disciplined and hard core about foot skills and possession. We had a great group of girls going back to U11, and I know they have learned a lot, BUT his stubborn and disciplined approach has cost us five of the best players on our team. Our girls pass well and control the ball, but there are times they need to press and a long through ball (50/50 ball) will get you a dang goal. But he says he doesn't want to sacrifice disciplined/smart play for winning games.

So here we sit sliding backwards as a team because the horses as I call them, the fast strong smart girls, have all been recruited to a team that has been winning. So while a lot of girls on our team have grown dramatically in their abilities, we have lost the best players and have some weaker players on the field. A lot of good players minus the best players means we lose a lot of games that we look like we are playing better than the other team (that will put the ball over the top to score).

My daughter is really frustrated and wants to change clubs to follow her friends, though I don't know if she would even make the first team (probably, but...).

The parents are frustrated. The measuring stick in the US in winning games and having fun. That might not be the best case in the world for development. Nobody really cares how they do it in England or Spain or Russia. Judge all you want. Girls want to have fun and win. We are with a very good club and they have a great development philosophy but parents are unhappy and the girls aren't very happy.

I am not saying that playing disciplined soccer is bad, but in our case, the lack of balance has hurt. I won't comment on the ethics of the other club recruiting our players...

Please don't take offense, but this is the problem with youth soccer in our country. From your post I would never leave this coach, the problem is with the parents who took their kids elsewhere to win at a young age. I have posted about this many times, but the parents who do this are hurting the development of their daughter, no question about it.

If the "horses" left, they will remain horses. If they remain, they would have been transformed into a player. Decide if you want your daughter to play for a team developing soccer players or livestock.

Extremely disappointing that this is even a topic.

[Unregistered]

Please don't take offense, but this is the problem with youth soccer in our country. From your post I would never leave this coach, the problem is with the parents who took their kids elsewhere to win at a young age. I have posted about this many times, but the parents who do this are hurting the development of their daughter, no question about it.

If the "horses" left, they will remain horses. If they remain, they would have been transformed into a player. Decide if you want your daughter to play for a team developing soccer players or livestock.

Extremely disappointing that this is even a topic.

We are probably moving, but it is not the parents choice. My daughter is unhappy. She is competitive and losing 70% of their games is just not fun. She wants to be a better soccer player, but I don't think there are many people that enjoy losing even with the moral victories.

But honestly, losing the really good players has lowered the quality of the experience and development. My daughter talks about how frustrating it is to want to pass/drop the ball but not trust her new teammates who just aren't very good. Bad first touches and lack of confidence.

I have tried to convince her to stay, but I cannot in good conscious push her to play in a place where she is not happy. Especially when quite a few other girls are planning to leave.

Don't put this on the parents. Some of the parents drove the move, but the kids who we know very well, are very competitive and losing just puts a cloud over them.

So the big question is how do you balance disciplined development with winning?

[Unregistered]

Please don't take offense, but this is the problem with youth soccer in our country. From your post I would never leave this coach, the problem is with the parents who took their kids elsewhere to win at a young age. I have posted about this many times, but the parents who do this are hurting the development of their daughter, no question about it.

If the "horses" left, they will remain horses. If they remain, they would have been transformed into a player. Decide if you want your daughter to play for a team developing soccer players or livestock.

Extremely disappointing that this is even a topic.

The girls that left are probably some of the best players in the state at this age level. I didn't mean to disparage them. I just meant that they are big, fast and talented. Horses was probably a poor choice of words on my part.