Christian Lavers on Identifying And Watching A Developmental Saboteur in Youth Soccer

[Guest]

Christian Lavers:

Developmental saboteurs use one or two players as their weapons and tools. They identify the best players at a young age (9-13 usually), those players who are already either physically advanced or technically advanced, (neither of which occurred with any aid from the coach), and then begin to become exceptionally close to their parents."

[Guest]

In club soccer, developmental saboteurs usually coach primarily at the u10-u14 age groups.

[Guest]

Having succeeded at identifying the most advanced player(s) and recruiting these player(s) to their teams, the developmental saboteur then proceeds to win most games at these young ages by “playing at soccer” – using competitive results to bolster their aforementioned claims.

[Guest]

Through misunderstandings in the community of the truths of what development actually looks like, developmental saboteurs are often regarded as “good coaches,” even as they quietly and competently destroy the long-term potential of their players.

[Guest]

Developmental saboteurs use the game for their own benefit and destroy the potential of the game to benefit their players. They do this by selling promises they can’t keep, and misleading parents and players with ambiguities laced with buzzwords. They are successful just long enough in on generation in order to move on to the next one with their artificial track-record of success.

[Guest]

This protects the naivety of these players and their parents – without other different information they are left with only one source of information, the wrong one.

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Their potential is being lost at the ages where it is most important that they learn the most. Their long-term futures are being destroyed for the short-term goals of the development saboteur.

[Guest]

Christian Lavers is a key founder and the president of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), US Club Soccer - Strategic and Technical Consultant, and FC Wisconsin Technical Director

[Guest]

This begins to explain why we're seeing all these short posts and resurrections of old threads. it's not somebody trying to bury sh*t. It's somebody generating "new" posts that are mostly garbage, for more eyeballs, clicks and ad revenue and the compensation is by the post.

[Guest]

Christian Lavers is a key founder and the president of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), US Club Soccer - Strategic and Technical Consultant, and FC Wisconsin Technical Director

So the president of the Elite Developmental Saboteur League is telling everyone how his league operates. Got it, thank you for the explanation.

[Guest]

So the president of the Elite Developmental Saboteur League is telling everyone how his league operates. Got it, thank you for the explanation.

Post of the year. Now I know the playbook. I'll be a top ECNL coach soon.

[Guest]

This post scares me .What should I do if I think my kid has one of these?

[Guest]

So the president of the Elite Developmental Saboteur League is telling everyone how his league operates. Got it, thank you for the explanation.

I hear you, it seems like you have to be a jerk sometimes to get assigned higher teams.

[Guest]

Dealing with a coach whom I'd label as a developmental saboteur has been quite an eye-opener. He is really friendly, and he recently extended an invitation for my child to attend a 'pretend-tryout' with his team. No need to pay, just show up.

He's fully aware of our commitment to another club in a different league… but he suggested that participating in his tryout would bolster the tryout's appearance and He basically said it’s going to help him get more players.

Initially, I found his gesture quite welcoming and flattering. After all, we were on a break, and the idea of my child getting some extra training seemed like a win-win. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

By involving my child in this 'pretend-tryout,' he's essentially using them as a pawn to create a false impression of genuine interest from strong players in joining his team. It's a deceptive tactic aimed at attracting other players, and it certainly leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[Guest]

Dealing with a coach whom I'd label as a developmental saboteur has been quite an eye-opener. He is really friendly, and he recently extended an invitation for my child to attend a 'pretend-tryout' with his team. No need to pay, just show up.

He's fully aware of our commitment to another club in a different league… but he suggested that participating in his tryout would bolster the tryout's appearance and He basically said it’s going to help him get more players.

Initially, I found his gesture quite welcoming and flattering. After all, we were on a break, and the idea of my child getting some extra training seemed like a win-win. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

By involving my child in this 'pretend-tryout,' he's essentially using them as a pawn to create a false impression of genuine interest from strong players in joining his team. It's a deceptive tactic aimed at attracting other players, and it certainly leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I think I know which coach this is , he has been burning a lot of new hopeful players with this scheme.