# Can I get your Advice?



## Marco Marquez (Aug 14, 2017)

The reason I'm writing is because I'm about to put together a new series of improving your soccer game tips. I've been a member for not too long now and have read many passionate soccer lover's posts and I am wondering when it comes to improving your soccer game, what’s the single biggest challenge that you’ve been struggling with?


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## chargerfan (Aug 14, 2017)

Marco Marquez said:


> The reason I'm writing is because I'm about to put together a new series of improving your soccer game tips. I've been a member for not too long now and have read many passionate soccer lover's posts and I am wondering when it comes to improving your soccer game, what’s the single biggest challenge that you’ve been struggling with?


You would have to ask my kids.


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## mirage (Aug 14, 2017)

I agree with (LA) chargerfan saying ask players.

That said, most kids probably won't tell you that managing their parents maybe one of the biggest obstacles.

After seeing my older kid age out this year and younger now U16, from U6 days, three key things jump out at me.  I have rarely seen a player that can do these three things.

1) 1st touch on the ball, especially in traffic/crowded small space, regardless of how the ball gets there (e.g., on the ground, in the air, hard or easy).  Vast majority of turnover or missed opportunity occurs because the touch is poor.  Its a vital part of being technical player.

2) movement without the ball for most player is pedestrian and average.  It a team sport and movement without the ball can be vital to the success of the game.  Some are design to drag the defender with you to create space for someone else, or increase probability of successful pass, or simply making a run at the right time and the angle for attacking or defending.

3) Mental toughness and smart field awareness.  Its all psychological and soccer IQ.

I think we focus too much on shooting and passing and just pressuring for the sake of pressuring the opponent.  Just playing brut force method and not playing really smart.


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## Marco Marquez (Aug 15, 2017)

Mirage thanks!

Those are great points and it's a shame that this happens.


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## SoccerFan4Life (Aug 16, 2017)

Soccer IQ is probably the biggest challenge with most kids under the age of 12.   Kids can have great footwork and speed but Soccer IQ /movement off ball are difficult to teach.  Would love to see short videos on how to improve Soccer IQ.   Our kids will not sit down and watch soccer every other day on TV.


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## sandshark (Aug 16, 2017)

Teach the kids to love the game and to play for the love of the game, teach them to play for themselves and to always be honest with the coaches and parents on what they truly want out of soccer. Set up a side class for parents and give them the reality of the negative impact youth sports can have on little kids if the parents & coaches are freeking IDIOTS about the sport!!
Teach families to play for FUN FIRST and make sure everyone involved is having more fun than NOT. Teach the parents how to deal with the coaches and clubs as they push families for more time and money, give the families reality based expectations on how to handle the path to college ball. BE HONEST don't sell them a line of BS!


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## espola (Aug 16, 2017)

High balls, bouncing balls, preparing for balls that come all the way through the pack on a corner kick, keepers wandering out of the PA with the ball in hand, when not to head the ball ...


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## Striker17 (Aug 16, 2017)

sandshark said:


> Teach the kids to love the game and to play for the love of the game, teach them to play for themselves and to always be honest with the coaches and parents on what they truly want out of soccer. Set up a side class for parents and give them the reality of the negative impact youth sports can have on little kids if the parents & coaches are freeking IDIOTS about the sport!!
> Teach families to play for FUN FIRST and make sure everyone involved is having more fun than NOT. Teach the parents how to deal with the coaches and clubs as they push families for more time and money, give the families reality based expectations on how to handle the path to college ball. BE HONEST don't sell them a line of BS!


This is just so true. My favorite is when coaches want them to have the relationship with them not the parents. Uh they are 11! No. Parents give up way too much control and trust to people who are not invested. Parents argue more with teachers at schools than they do with coaches who spend just about the same time and are held to little in terms of accountability, behaviors and emotional development of their children. The lives I have seen ruined or marred by youth coaches in a short time are in the hundreds and that is a major issue in youth sports. 
This is a business and you should treat it as such with zero emotion. 
There should be a separate marketing and navigating pitfalls class.


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## Marco Marquez (Aug 16, 2017)

SoccerFan4Life said:


> Soccer IQ is probably the biggest challenge with most kids under the age of 12.   Kids can have great footwork and speed but Soccer IQ /movement off ball are difficult to teach.  Would love to see short videos on how to improve Soccer IQ.   Our kids will not sit down and watch soccer every other day on TV.


I appreciate your feedback.

Sorry to hear that Soccer IQ is a big challenge for U12.


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## Marco Marquez (Aug 16, 2017)

Sandshark thanks for sharing!

You opened my eyes to something different.

That’s really interesting. I agree with you that soccer should be played for fun in the early stages.


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## sandshark (Aug 16, 2017)

Marco Marquez said:


> Sandshark thanks for sharing!
> 
> You opened my eyes to something different.
> 
> That’s really interesting. I agree with you that soccer should be played for fun in the early stages.


Soccer or any sport @ any age should always be played for fun until your getting paid - then it should be a fun job!


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## timbuck (Aug 16, 2017)

Is your kid "playing soccer" or "working soccer". 
Some people make a designation between "rec" and "competitive" sports. 
Even at the lowest levels of rec sports kids are still "competing". 
And at the highest levels of any sport you aren't getting paid to do it is "recreational".


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## sandshark (Aug 18, 2017)

WTH


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 18, 2017)

Two thoughts here. 

One is first touch..  a good first touch buys you time and space.  Forget the trainers and coaches. They won't teach it. You want your son or daughter to have a good first touch..?  Just hurl soccer balls at them from the time they're small. And I mean really chuck those balls fast and hard high and low. Most kids stick out their leg or jump to head..  that doesn't work, the ball will just ricochet and bounce farther away. A good first touch is a catch really. Like when a baseball hits the glove and you bring your glove back to absorb the impact. So have your son or daughter to catch with their feet, and never head the ball when you can CATCH with your chest. But I'm telling you.. screw dribbling around a million cones all day or how many juggles you can do. Drop that ball out of the sky a hundred feet and develop the CATCH.. first touch and OMG everything else will follow. 

Second is soccer I.Q. and you can't teach that. Some people have and some just don't get it.


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## timbuck (Aug 18, 2017)

You should make them kick a bowling ball to get really strong.  Maybe a basketball to start and build up to a bowling ball. 
And to teach quickness, throw wrenches at them. Teach them to dip, duck, dive and dodge. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 18, 2017)

Alright to timbuck where and what team is your kid on??  You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine smart ass?


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 18, 2017)

Dr. Richard Hurtz said:


> Alright to timbuck where and what team is your kid on??  You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine smart ass?[/QUOTE





timbuck said:


> You should make them kick a bowling ball to get really strong.  Maybe a basketball to start and build up to a bowling ball.
> And to teach quickness, throw wrenches at them. Teach them to dip, duck, dive and dodge. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.


well?


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## timbuck (Aug 18, 2017)

I hope she makes the "globo-gym" team someday. Patches O'houlihan used to coach her.


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## sandshark (Aug 18, 2017)

Why would this guy tell you where and what team his DD is on? What could possibly be the reason you want that info? What good could come from you having that info?

You were joking on the other post about hurling balls @ your kid right?


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 18, 2017)

Why would I joke about throwing soccer balls at my kid?  Do soccerballs not come flying at your kid in games?  It's soccer people.. balls get kicked and they get kicked hard and fast..  look it's only my advice. If you all think I'm a joke because you think I'm rough by hurling balls at my kids then the real joke is on you. Your child is never gonna progress in this sport if you roll balls softly at him or her. Good luck cuddling your children. Maybe they will make it to the national team one day.


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## Striker17 (Aug 18, 2017)

That's why TOCA rocks! Agree first touch and whether it be a high speed ground or lob- best thing I did for my DD at 10!


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## Striker17 (Aug 18, 2017)

Not to sound like a total nerd but I combine track and soccer practices by dropping soccer balls from the stadium top seats over the side down to DD...or by the stairs down. Control is everything. From that height and speed when she can pancake it or laces down it's beautiful. It's also how she likes to be warmed up.


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## Fact (Aug 18, 2017)

Dr. Richard Hurtz said:


> Two thoughts here.
> 
> One is first touch..  a good first touch buys you time and space.  Forget the trainers and coaches. They won't teach it. You want your son or daughter to have a good first touch..?  Just hurl soccer balls at them from the time they're small. And I mean really chuck those balls fast and hard high and low. Most kids stick out their leg or jump to head..  that doesn't work, the ball will just ricochet and bounce farther away. A good first touch is a catch really. Like when a baseball hits the glove and you bring your glove back to absorb the impact. So have your son or daughter to catch with their feet, and never head the ball when you can CATCH with your chest. But I'm telling you.. screw dribbling around a million cones all day or how many juggles you can do. Drop that ball out of the sky a hundred feet and develop the CATCH.. first touch and OMG everything else will follow.
> 
> Second is soccer I.Q. and you can't teach that. Some people have and some just don't get it.


I agree that you cannot teach soccer I.Q.  You either have it or not.  My son had a teammate that the coach was really excited about because he had blazing speed. (Eventually a D1 track star). The problem was that he did not know what to do with the ball when he got it and was always easy to get offsides despite the coach trying to pound every scenario into his head.

I also agree about first touch.  I never allowed my kids to head the ball and that was one of the best soccer decisions we made.


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 19, 2017)

Striker17 said:


> Not to sound like a total nerd but I combine track and soccer practices by dropping soccer balls from the stadium top seats over the side down to DD...or by the stairs down. Control is everything. From that height and speed when she can pancake it or laces down it's beautiful. It's also how she likes to be warmed up.


I'm in total agreement with Strker


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## Dr. Richard Hurtz (Aug 19, 2017)

Fact said:


> I agree that you cannot teach soccer I.Q.  You either have it or not.  My son had a teammate that the coach was really excited about because he had blazing speed. (Eventually a D1 track star). The problem was that he did not know what to do with the ball when he got it and was always easy to get offsides despite the coach trying to pound every scenario into his head.
> 
> I also agree about first touch.  I never allowed my kids to head the ball and that was one of the best soccer decisions we made.


Im also in agreement with Fact 100%


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## espola (Aug 19, 2017)

Fact said:


> I agree that you cannot teach soccer I.Q.  You either have it or not.  My son had a teammate that the coach was really excited about because he had blazing speed. (Eventually a D1 track star). The problem was that he did not know what to do with the ball when he got it and was always easy to get offsides despite the coach trying to pound every scenario into his head.
> 
> I also agree about first touch.  I never allowed my kids to head the ball and that was one of the best soccer decisions we made.


I disagree with never - there are times when heading is the right move - or example - saving a shot on goal, making or setting up a shot on goal, when your opponent is attempting to head  the ball - but there are many times when it is better to bring the ball to the ground and keep it than just bouncing it back to the opponents.


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## Fact (Aug 19, 2017)

espola said:


> I disagree with never - there are times when heading is the right move - or example - saving a shot on goal, making or setting up a shot on goal, when your opponent is attempting to head  the ball - but there are many times when it is better to bring the ball to the ground and keep it than just bouncing it back to the opponents.


Ok never say never. As they got older there were a few times that they headed the ball in what they considered a very important game and where the header changed the outcome, or where someone they thought was important was watching the game.  To me it was never that important.


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## espola (Aug 19, 2017)

Fact said:


> Ok never say never. As they got older there were a few times that they headed the ball in what they considered a very important game and where the header changed the outcome, or where someone they thought was important was watching the game.  To me it was never that important.


When kids first learn to head the ball, they seem to put it into action every chance they get.


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## Fact (Aug 19, 2017)

espola said:


> When kids first learn to head the ball, they seem to put it into action every chance they get.


That's kids with a lack of self control or low Soccer IQ.

The amount of headers I see in mid-level games today is ridiculous.


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## Chalklines (Aug 19, 2017)

Striker17 said:


> That's why TOCA rocks! Agree first touch and whether it be a high speed ground or lob- best thing I did for my DD at 10!


Did you buy the machine? What did you pay? I haven't seen one for less then $8k


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## Striker17 (Aug 19, 2017)

Chalklines said:


> Did you buy the machine? What did you pay? I haven't seen one for less then $8k


No they have the center in Costa Mesa and also futsal now


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## Chalklines (Aug 19, 2017)

Striker17 said:


> No they have the center in Costa Mesa and also futsal now


How often do you guys train on the machine?

A new center just opened up down the street from us and they offer group TOCA sessions for $25 on specific days


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## Striker17 (Aug 19, 2017)

Chalklines said:


> How often do you guys train on the machine?
> 
> A new center just opened up down the street from us and they offer group TOCA sessions for $25 on specific days


I think there are cheaper nights than that. Give them a call, set some things up. They have been great. 
I have to say though like I said a cheap way is to go to a stadium and drop some balls. It's fun and costs zero- use the stadium steps, back wall etc. 
You can replicate it a lot. 
I try to save dollars when I can!


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## Soccersoccersoccer (Aug 19, 2017)

Toca has now recently opened up a location in Lake Forest btw.


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## Chalklines (Aug 19, 2017)

Striker17 said:


> I think there are cheaper nights than that. Give them a call, set some things up. They have been great.
> I have to say though like I said a cheap way is to go to a stadium and drop some balls. It's fun and costs zero- use the stadium steps, back wall etc.
> You can replicate it a lot.
> I try to save dollars when I can!


What are you paying in your area per session?


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## sandshark (Aug 19, 2017)

Dr. Richard Hurtz said:


> Why would I joke about throwing soccer balls at my kid?  Do soccerballs not come flying at your kid in games?  It's soccer people.. balls get kicked and they get kicked hard and fast..  look it's only my advice. If you all think I'm a joke because you think I'm rough by hurling balls at my kids then the real joke is on you. Your child is never gonna progress in this sport if you roll balls softly at him or her. Good luck cuddling your children. Maybe they will make it to the national team one day.


There is literally no way your serious? So I'm going to laugh with you as we are all falling for your off the wall humor  
I'm sure, actually I am positive there are freaks out there that do crazy stuff like that! Crazzzzy


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