Suburban American Soccer Player

SIMONMAGUS

SILVER
A Huge Deficiency in the Suburban American Soccer Player

It’s well known one of the advantages players outside the US have is pickup ball.

Across the globe, players of all ages from 7 year olds to adults benefit from the street game – that informal pickup culture the American player lacks. The barrio, as hispanic/latino cultures call it, is where strong mentalities, ball skills (of the smooth, not mechanized variety), and the dark arts of the game are forged.
  • This is something you can’t get at your club.
  • This is something you can’t get with personal training.
And this is something that is critical to top-level player development, perhaps most critical.

If a player doesn’t have this throughout their early developmental years … well, the player will likely never have “it”.

http://blog.3four3.com/2017/05/02/a-huge-deficiency-in-the-suburban-american-soccer-player/
 
A Huge Deficiency in the Suburban American Soccer Player

It’s well known one of the advantages players outside the US have is pickup ball.

Across the globe, players of all ages from 7 year olds to adults benefit from the street game – that informal pickup culture the American player lacks. The barrio, as hispanic/latino cultures call it, is where strong mentalities, ball skills (of the smooth, not mechanized variety), and the dark arts of the game are forged.
  • This is something you can’t get at your club.
  • This is something you can’t get with personal training.
And this is something that is critical to top-level player development, perhaps most critical.

If a player doesn’t have this throughout their early developmental years … well, the player will likely never have “it”.

http://blog.3four3.com/2017/05/02/a-huge-deficiency-in-the-suburban-american-soccer-player/

Old News...
 
A Huge Deficiency in the Suburban American Soccer Player

It’s well known one of the advantages players outside the US have is pickup ball.

Across the globe, players of all ages from 7 year olds to adults benefit from the street game – that informal pickup culture the American player lacks. The barrio, as hispanic/latino cultures call it, is where strong mentalities, ball skills (of the smooth, not mechanized variety), and the dark arts of the game are forged.
  • This is something you can’t get at your club.
  • This is something you can’t get with personal training.
And this is something that is critical to top-level player development, perhaps most critical.

If a player doesn’t have this throughout their early developmental years … well, the player will likely never have “it”.

http://blog.3four3.com/2017/05/02/a-huge-deficiency-in-the-suburban-american-soccer-player/
So then why is half of Mexico, Central America and South America in the USA?
I will take the clean water and security of the USA anytime. Plus there aren't any goats running lose in the streets.
 
So then why is half of Mexico, Central America and South America in the USA?
I will take the clean water and security of the USA anytime. Plus there aren't any goats running lose in the streets.
lol This White Power Skinhead takes the saying "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit" to a whole nother level.
 
Our kids need the pickup games, spontaneous one on one, pick up games in street or park like we used to play with football or basketball. Until our kids are doing that repeatedly working on their moves and touches that they are confident to use anytime until they are second nature you are not going to make a special player. Pull Back V, switch foot moves, change direction moves, left/right foot dribble, has got to be as natural as our basketball kids with crossover moves, both hand dribble. We don't have that yet. Thats why I started the topic on standards. Kids at Flight 1 / DA level at this age should have a certain minimum level of skills. What are the skill sets you think our kids should have by now?
 
lol This White Power Skinhead takes the saying "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit" to a whole nother level.
Soccer in the USA will never be on par with soccer nations. That is just the truth. We just have too many things to do here, not sure about the white power skin head thing, but whatever. You have to take the good with the bad.
 
Good that 3four3 is trying to do something about it with their players club, But you will notice they only go to U13 and its at a central facility. while its never too later you really need to start young to make a difference and have a bunch of local programs doing similar things.
http://343coaching.com/3four3-players-club-1b-landing/

You need open space and streets without cars going at all hours to play ad-hoc. Not too many places in SC where that is the case anymore. Basketball pickup is easy, there are existing courts and places where you can go and its doesn't cost $ normally. Soccer pickup at established places cost $ but it should be no different than free swim at the city pools but there is simply not enough field space or coaches who are interested yet, but maybe things will change?

I'm glad both my kids learned to play "jungle" style in the neighborhood "streets" (too much of a housing boom & density nowadays IMO) & indoors before then played on the bigger pitches & had coaches. You really can't teach toughness, either have that naturally or you don't. The small sided incentives will help eventually at the young ages but more free flowing pickup games which the clubs could do instead or addition to the "Friday skills" sessions could be another avenue. That and play Futsal, most places have pickup
 
Good that 3four3 is trying to do something about it with their players club, But you will notice they only go to U13 and its at a central facility. while its never too later you really need to start young to make a difference and have a bunch of local programs doing similar things.
http://343coaching.com/3four3-players-club-1b-landing/

You need open space and streets without cars going at all hours to play ad-hoc. Not too many places in SC where that is the case anymore. Basketball pickup is easy, there are existing courts and places where you can go and its doesn't cost $ normally. Soccer pickup at established places cost $ but it should be no different than free swim at the city pools but there is simply not enough field space or coaches who are interested yet, but maybe things will change?

I'm glad both my kids learned to play "jungle" style in the neighborhood "streets" (too much of a housing boom & density nowadays IMO) & indoors before then played on the bigger pitches & had coaches. You really can't teach toughness, either have that naturally or you don't. The small sided incentives will help eventually at the young ages but more free flowing pickup games which the clubs could do instead or addition to the "Friday skills" sessions could be another avenue. That and play Futsal, most places have pickup

Maybe the parks can get funding to change some of the tennis courts in parks to Futsal courts. We also still need the best athletes. We probably only have 1-5% of our top athletes playing soccer, once that grows to 10-20% we will start seeing results faster.
 
The only way that this happens is if calsouth offers some type of incentive for local clubs to organize pickup games on the weekend or summer/spring time that's open to anyone who wants to play (by age group) . Futsal style 4 v4 or 5 v5. 10 minute games. Similar to what's happening in cities all over the world.
 
So then why is half of Mexico, Central America and South America in the USA?
I will take the clean water and security of the USA anytime. Plus there aren't any goats running lose in the streets.
They are here to teach you English. They came to teach you the difference between lose and loose. Or maybe that is how your immigrant relatives spelled it and it is ingrained in your immigrant DNA.
 
Give us a list of skill sets. Seriously start us off. Maybe pick a pro and what they offer.
I was serious about the USWNT, they actually have the fundamentals down. Basically what boys should have now and with practice performed at a much higher pace.
 
Jungle ball at this age won't produce "dark arts" skills. Too late. If anything it would reward poor habits.
I'm still curious as to why others still admire the Kliebans' new clothes.
Yes of course beginning at this age its definitely not going to produce world-class talent. The excerpt is merely outlining a major flaw in the suburbanites game.

But I do highly recommend it for all futboleros to stay strong, sharp, and move with precision of an F-14 fighter jet. Professional players like Wayne Rooney till this day get their street game on to maintain elevation.

Poor habits 101
 
I do think that playing street soccer for hours, with some coaching on organized teams is the formula for soccer greatness. There are so many great players with individual style and flair that developed this way.

Zidane developed this way and he has stated in interviews that he favors players where he can detect the "street" element in their play.

But it's a formula that will work only in countries without high quality education. Our kids are in school and have homework that takes up a lot of time. Plus you need a soccer culture where kids can play against other skilled players in local pickup games easily. We don't have that.

That combination, kids with free time playing against each other a lot instead of focusing on school, is really present only in poorer neighborhoods of S. America and Europe.

The other way, drilling kids in academies and cutting back on schoolwork, is what the W. Europeans do. After they crunch a massive percentage of youth through their academy system, they will get a bunch of decent pros and a few superstars. But the vast majority of those kids will be good semi-pro players only, and they won't have the education or background to be something else. It's the reason why there's so many qualified soccer coaches in W. Europe

That's the way things are going in all sports. In Russia, Spain, Slavic countries, there are kids with dreams of going pro tennis that practice 4-5 hrs. a day and do very little school. Canadian kids with NHL dreams do limited HS schooling and live away from home with host families and play for semi-pro teams.

The reality is, if you want to be a pro in your 20s, you're going to have to devote your teens to that sport.
 
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