Boys 05

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Was a certain ex-ADF "starter" who's parents do not drive a beat up 1998 Honda Accord picked for this team?

[Unregistered]

I heard one current ADF player picked and scholarshipped. He is a rare talent and this will be great for him if that's true. I don't know of any "ex-ADF" kids that have anything close to that kind of the talent or skill to compete at that level.

[Unregistered]

I heard one current ADF player picked and scholarshipped. He is a rare talent and this will be great for him if that's true. I don't know of any "ex-ADF" kids that have anything close to that kind of the talent or skill to compete at that level.

Really? Now I know that team is a politically driven. "Rare" talent does not exist from ADF, Westside, crossfire, or any other club in Oregon for that matter at this age yet. The closest to rare is the parent who is honest about their kids pro prospects....

[Unregistered]

I am sure a certain right wing whose parents drive a beat up 1998 Honda Accord will be paying thousands for this "last minute" group/trip that was not planned before state cup schedules were released right.... You sir are a complete joke, stop talking you just keep digging your club a bigger hole....

I think different things are being discussed here. At any rate--what's wrong with Generation Adidas, other than your kid isn't going and neither is mine?

Some soccer parents are like crabs in a frigging bucket...

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Really? Now I know that team is a politically driven. "Rare" talent does not exist from ADF, Westside, crossfire, or any other club in Oregon for that matter at this age yet. The closest to rare is the parent who is honest about their kids pro prospects....

Now this is closest to truth. There are a handful or 11-year-olds who are currently far better than their peers. Some of 'em are playing in GA. Some of 'em are not.

Whether they will be better than their peers in three, five, or eight years is another question. Puberty is the great destroyer of soccer dreams. Heck, even moving to 11v11 will change the dynamics of which kids are successful on the pitch and which are not.

[Unregistered]

Now this is closest to truth. There are a handful or 11-year-olds who are currently far better than their peers. Some of 'em are playing in GA. Some of 'em are not.

Whether they will be better than their peers in three, five, or eight years is another question. Puberty is the great destroyer of soccer dreams. Heck, even moving to 11v11 will change the dynamics of which kids are successful on the pitch and which are not.

I have to chime in now...said child from ADF is not elite. I can also think of a couple kids in this age group, who have the drive and work ethic, that are close to being in that category...but they are not yet. And none of them are my son.

[Unregistered]

Now this is closest to truth. There are a handful or 11-year-olds who are currently far better than their peers. Some of 'em are playing in GA. Some of 'em are not.

Whether they will be better than their peers in three, five, or eight years is another question. Puberty is the great destroyer of soccer dreams. Heck, even moving to 11v11 will change the dynamics of which kids are successful on the pitch and which are not.

Many players quit the game after puberty when they finally discover they'll never be beyond average. It's a hard sport to master and most can't teach so kids never properly develop. Certain cities around the U.S. have the right trainers to develop. Unfortunately Portland is not one of them.

[Unregistered]

I have to chime in now...said child from ADF is not elite. I can also think of a couple kids in this age group, who have the drive and work ethic, that are close to being in that category...but they are not yet. And none of them are my son.

OP said "rare talent" not "elite". This could be true but puberty will greatly impact how most of these kids play.

[Unregistered]

ADF and FC coaches were not told to take a bye on that weekend so their players could skip out with the Timbers. Some clubs take a bye because it's Easter. If that's what happened behind closed doors by the new Timbers DA coach it's more than shady but corrupt business practices are just a normal part of Brazilian culture.

You are absolutely correct and that is the same for Copa. Copa had no idea about this little field trip to Dallas at the time of scheduling. It was sprung as a complete surprise and not really well received. There was no bye requested by Copa and no special schedule requests to accommodate Dallas Cup. There's a lot of corruption, but don't assume who's responsible if you really don't know.....and clearly you guys don't know.

[Unregistered]

Many players quit the game after puberty when they finally discover they'll never be beyond average. It's a hard sport to master and most can't teach so kids never properly develop. Certain cities around the U.S. have the right trainers to develop. Unfortunately Portland is not one of them.

Average compared to what?

Actually, the word you want is "median". The median youth soccer player is in rec. The median classic player is on a non-premier team. The median player for a premier team won't make RTC; the media RTC player won't make ODP, and so on up the line. There are 300 million or so people living in the US, and 500 spots on MLS rosters, give or take. You can do the math.

In terms of finding and developing pros, it's very much looking for the needle in the haystack. All of our kids are almost assuredly straw.

And the biggest limitation (for the US) is cultural. The problem 'Merica has is not that we're a black hole devoid of coaching talent, and anyone who knows anything about the game steers clear of our shores; the problem is the culture is not steeped in soccer the way it is steeped (depending on where you live) in baseball, football, hoops, or hockey. This is changing--when I grew up, my parents knew diddly game, other than it was played by children and foreigners; but now a generation is growing up who watch soccer, not the NFL or the major leagues, on TV, and who play it in the street.

A fair criticism of the (premier-level) coaches around here is that some of them have a love affair with tricksy little midfielders, who can dribble around the pitch with the ball on a string (and some of them even will PASS the ball), but who may not make it past teenage years when the game gets more physical. This is, perhaps, an overreaction to the prevalence of bootball styles--focusing on high work rates and raw athleticism, but producing players who are technically deficient. This style of soccer has a place in second-level pros, but tends to get clobbered in first-class soccer leagues. And some coaches err in focusing on tactics first, prior to technique--before teaching kids how to run a tiki-taka offense, they first have to be adept at passing and receiving the ball quickly and accurately.

[Unregistered]

You are absolutely correct and that is the same for Copa. Copa had no idea about this little field trip to Dallas at the time of scheduling. It was sprung as a complete surprise and not really well received. There was no bye requested by Copa and no special schedule requests to accommodate Dallas Cup. There's a lot of corruption, but don't assume who's responsible if you really don't know.....and clearly you guys don't know.

nobody was "told" to take a bye, but conveniently and by complete coincidence I am to believe they were not scheduled for games this upcoming weekend. The group was registered for the tournament already and was being assembled from above mentioned teams long before state cup schedules posted so regardless of what you try to say, nobody is buying it. You talk out of both sides of your mouth...

[Unregistered]

nobody was "told" to take a bye, but conveniently and by complete coincidence I am to believe they were not scheduled for games this upcoming weekend. The group was registered for the tournament already and was being assembled from above mentioned teams long before state cup schedules posted so regardless of what you try to say, nobody is buying it. You talk out of both sides of your mouth...

The teams were unaware of an 05 DA team playing in Dallas, so if this little scheduling magic did happen, it was by Timbers administration and not the teams themselves. Stop trying to point fingers by blaming Copa, FC, ADF and any other team you believe is behind this escapade. That is just ridiculous. Believe me, the teams themselves are not interested in accommodating the Timbers right in the middle of State Cup. Maybe it has a lot more to do with it being Easter weekend than you care to acknowledge. Should probably stop throwing out theories and your ideas as fact on this. You don't know what you are talking about.

[Unregistered]

Point of clarification:

The Timbers have sent a U12 team to the Generation Adidas U12 tournament in Frisco, TX. This is a different tournament than the Dallas Cup, which is also going on right now down in the Dallas area, but AFAICT has no local teams participating.

Referring to the Timbers going to the "Dallas Cup" is confusing and incorrect. The Dallas Cup is a specific (and highly prestigious) tournament held in Dallas, but is not where the Timbers DA team is at. They're at GA.

[Unregistered]

Safe to assume many of these boys will be on the 05 DA team in the fall.

[Unregistered]

Safe to assume many of these boys will be on the 05 DA team in the fall.

i'd guess close to zero