# We're doing youth soccer wrong: Tournaments can be detrimental to children



## jpeter (Apr 25, 2019)

In moderation tournments are ok, prefer the single game a day format  but this one has some good points:
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865633311/Were-doing-youth-soccer-wrong-Tournaments-can-be-detrimental-to-children.html?

"Claudio Reyna, National Soccer Hall of Fame player — and Jason Kreis' boss at NYCFC — puts it best: “For me, it’s irrelevant if coaches win state cups, regional cups, and national cups. How many trophies they have in their cabinet isn’t important. It’s about the kids, it’s not about you. We care about how many players you develop rather than how many tournaments you win.”

The pressure is ramped up when the obvious goal of winning is emphasized in the tournament setting. All the negative aspects of a win-first mentality we’ve discussed in previous parts in this series are amplified as well. These games offer very few learning opportunities for children. As games take on bigger importance, the screaming from the sidelines ratchets up several notches. Players become so riddled with fear they often seek refuge on the sidelines by feigning or exaggerating injury.

The unequal playing time problem is even more evident in tournaments, with advanced children expected to carry the weight of the entire team, while less-advanced players drive long distances only to sit on the bench. Children are often subjected to playing on fields that are too large for their ages. Asking young players to play 11 v 11 on adult-sized fields before the age of 13 is counterproductive to their development and health.

The risk of injury is dramatically increased as players compete in as many as five or six games in a two-day stretch. Research has shown when players compete in two games in a single week, rather than just one, their risk of injury increases by an alarming 600 percent"

Nutritional demands placed on children are often overlooked. As their muscles are depleted of glycogen stores, they become fatigued, which not only reduces their performance, but increases their chance of injury as well. The options offered at most tournaments — burgers, hot dogs and fries — leave a lot to be desired.

Many tournaments are held in the summer when temperatures often exceed the recommended threshold for youth sports. Children can lose up to a liter of water during a typical game, and being less adaptable to heat than adults, often experience signs of heat stress (headaches, dizziness, cramps). It is not uncommon for a child playing a tournament to suffer heat stroke, a potentially life-threatening condition. Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics (of which I am a fellow) recommends canceling all athletic activities when the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT, a measure of heat and humidity) exceeds 85 degrees F? Yet organizers, coaches and parents often march their kids out in 100 degree weather believing they are helping these youngsters.

Parents, falling into the “reverse-dependency trap,” push for tournaments to see how their kids compare against “the best.” As we discussed previously, due to the variable rates of development for children at these young ages, this assessment is pointless and serves no purpose other than to boost adult egos.

There is a false mantra in youth soccer that says, “If you want to be the best, you have to play against the best.” This actually makes little sense when you look at the science. Playing against significantly superior teams, in a competitive setting, only serves to increase fear of mistakes. It decreases the opportunities for young players to have time on the ball. While they may still be able to work on some defensive skills, even these opportunities are less beneficial than when playing against more closely matched opposition. Coaches, who often have no prior knowledge of their opposition’s skill level, cannot appropriately plan for their players’ learning challenges.

Another way

It is true some parents and children actually enjoy tournaments despite these negative aspects. Many point to the joy of visiting a new city and experiencing different styles of play than they are accustomed to locally. Parents typically enjoy the social opportunity of tournaments in the form of a long weekend away from work, sitting around hotel lobbies with other parents, discussing their team’s highlights. And much to the chagrin of hotel staff, the kids obviously love getting away with their friends and finding mischief in pools and hallway ice machines.

There is another way for parents and players to experience the social perks without the need for a tournament. In fact, some clubs around the country have begun to implement positive changes. For instance, a team could vote on a city they would like to visit, contact a couple of clubs in that area and schedule one friendly game each day of the weekend. These games would almost assuredly be less pressure-filled, and the team and parents would still have the social benefits of traveling.

Another option is the soccer festival, which can mean different things, but primarily removes the focus away from winning and places it on the celebration of the sport. Some are simply tournaments where no scores or standings are recorded, and teams play a round-robin format. Unfortunately, kids and parents are keen to keep score and figure out which team was “the best” anyway. Some clubs have moved to internal soccer festivals in which players from various skill-level teams and ages can be split up randomly, perhaps into World Cup countries, where they compete for prizes in small-sided games. These typically allow the kids to enjoy the fun of competition without the pressure to perform and win at all cost.

There is an endless stream of expert opinion and scientific research warning about the dangers of traditional soccer tournament for young soccer players. It is time for change. At these age levels, the belief that playing against the top-competition is the only way to improve, is false. We know that time on the ball is one of the biggest predictors of success in the developmental ages of youth soccer.


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## myself (Apr 25, 2019)

"Players become so riddled with fear they often seek refuge on the sidelines by feigning or exaggerating injury."

I can only describe the tone of this article as "alarmist" because of statements like these. It takes the extreme example and uses that to bash the tournament format in general.

"The risk of injury is dramatically increased as players compete in as many as five or six games in a two-day stretch."

This is one of my pet peeves about Vegas Cup, but it's over 3 days. I still think it's too many games to play in a short time span.


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## jpeter (Apr 25, 2019)

myself said:


> "Players become so riddled with fear they often seek refuge on the sidelines by feigning or exaggerating injury."
> 
> I can only describe the tone of this article as "alarmist" because of statements like these. It takes the extreme example and uses that to bash the tournament format in general.
> 
> ...


Yeah I agree, some of the alarmest stuff is a stretch but other points are good for discussion.  The injury risk does go way up in my experience at a certain rate of too many games in too short of time

Having seen what shape my kids are in after 6 games in 3 days, I wish there are ways to go about things.  The one a day format even if it takes a week like what some of the overseas or Dallas Cup tournments do is preferred for say u16+ but that adds so much to the cost of tournaments don't see that happening much.


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## whatithink (Apr 25, 2019)

"Asking young players to play 11 v 11 on adult-sized fields before the age of 13 is counterproductive to their development and health."

This made me chuckle - my kids fall on the younger end of the spectrum, so Aug-Dec. So in any given soccer year in AZ (Aug-Jul season) none of them will ever be the age they are playing "under". So my U13 child will be 12 for the duration of their U13 soccer career etc. so their U13 season is "counterproductive to their development and health."

Now under the old system they would be U12 and all the kids would have turned 12 during their U12 year (unless playing up obviously). That was obviously stupid though and counterproductive to their development or some such thing ...


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## focomoso (Apr 25, 2019)

jpeter said:


> There is a false mantra in youth soccer that says, “If you want to be the best, you have to play against the best.” This actually makes little sense when you look at the science. Playing against significantly superior teams, in a competitive setting, only serves to increase fear of mistakes. It decreases the opportunities for young players to have time on the ball.


A thousand times, this.


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## seuss (Apr 25, 2019)

focomoso said:


> A thousand times, this.


Why participate in competitive soccer at all?
Why not stay 100% recreational and 100% local? Perhaps music?
There is a choice.


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## focomoso (Apr 25, 2019)

seuss said:


> Why participate in competitive soccer at all?
> Why not stay 100% recreational and 100% local? Perhaps music?
> There is a choice.


Where did this come from? 

If "If you want to be the best, you have to play against the best," is false, that doesn't mean "playing with the worst or not playing at all is better". I pulled my son out of DA because he was playing not to make mistakes rather than trying to advance the play and he wasn't improving. Down in flight 1, he gets way more touches and is free to try things that might fail - encouraged to, actually - and is improving dramatically. If he were struggling in flight 1, I would move him down to flight 2 and so on. If it gets to the point where flight 1 isn't challenging anymore, we'll go back up to DA. The point is that kids need to play at their actual level, not below it and not above it. Neither of those helps at all.


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## Paul Spacey (Apr 25, 2019)

Some alarmist stuff for sure but in general it's a very good article with some excellent points; many of which we have all known for a long time.

The number of games in an average weekend tournament is crazy, we all know that. It's not a subjective thing; it's backed up by science, facts and studies from many countries. One game on a weekend is ideal; two is absolute tops and anything more than that is harmful and massively increases injury risk. Despite this, I have to admit that some of the teams at our club played more tournaments this season than we originally planned and we got quite a few injuries because of it. Lesson learned.

Looking ahead to next season, we will only be entering a handful of tournaments (including State Cup) and will focus instead on more scrimmages. We won't be traveling out of State at all for games; we did Vegas Players Showcase this year and it's not worth it IMO, either financially or from a 'player exposure to coaches' perspective, unless you are DA or in the top bracket which kind makes sense in terms of coaches watching players.


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## Kicker4Life (Apr 25, 2019)

Playing against the best only creates an environment of “fear of making mistakes” if the Coach fosters this environment.


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## Supermodel56 (Apr 25, 2019)

focomoso said:


> A thousand times, this.


Not really. What experiments or mistakes are we talking about here? Learning to perform and make good decisions under pressure is a critical skill, not just for sports but for life. for some this is a natural skill, others learned. 

It’s ridiculous to think we should not play tournaments because some kids are all of a sudden afraid to make mistakes.


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## sdb (Apr 25, 2019)

The main reason not to play tourneys is simply the number of games played over a weekend (up to 6 if you make a final in many instances) and the increased likelihood of injury. There is no way that the benefits, if any, justify the risk to kids. As a poster above said, the data and science is clear on what happens when players play in multiple games a week — 6x increase in the likelihood of suffering an injury. When I think about the major injuries on our teams, they always have occurred in the 4th or 5th game. Tournaments are about putting money in the pockets of clubs, organizers and venues ($10 x 3 for parking at Silverlakes).


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## younothat (Apr 26, 2019)

Keep in mind this is a older article (15') written by Scott a pediatrician so his perspective is not that of a typical parent or that current but there are a few points to consider.

My kids have played in their share of 6 games tournaments (Surf, Cerritos, NHB, Vegas, etc)  back then (4yrs+ago)  when  U12 was 11v11 on bigger fields.  Some of those where brutal I recall and took my kids a while to recover,  was always fun to go all the way but it did take there toll and we were front row witness to all the exhaustion. By the 5-6 game the soccer is not all the great normally anyway so even when they won most of the finals it wasn't all that pretty, and we often times questioned if it was "worth it" ?

ECNL & DA came into the picture which my kids thought was a good change since they where promoting few more meaningful games,  before this my kids would play 80+ plus games a year or more (Daughter played 11 tournaments one year and needed 2 months off at one point, not from injury but just from overplaying).   The DA one game a weekend or two when you play out of area teams has worked better for them.

Since then some things have changed and others not so much since 2015.   The 2017 Player Development Initiatives (PDIs) and new standards came along; small-sided games, 4x4,7x7, 9v9 for U12, etc, field sizes reduced etc.

My son had several overuse type injuries / rehabs before we figured out things and routines to minimize these things.   Looking back I think that's the one think I could have done a better job of helping them manage,  playing 500+ games before (9 years, avg 55 games a year) U17 was a bit much and I lost count after that but my daughter told me she had played around 800 games by the time she finished High School (played all 4 years). How she managed to avoid any really injuries was a miracle if you ask me (since she was like only one of the players that managed this that we know),  keep on the presidents lists and work her last two year is something I told her i was really proud of as she goes off to college.

Tournaments are a staple of youth soccer, big $$ makers, and there not going away but some have modified or offered alternatives since 2015'.   The college showcases...3 games,  Man City 4 games max, (3 Pool, 4th game 1v1, 2v2,) etc.   Play 2 consecutive days, rest 1 day, play the 4th day DA format at some of the tournaments.   All the overseas or European ones go a week or 5-7 days if 6 games are needed and they all think we are crazy to cram that many games into such as short time time without adequate time for rest and recovery.   Dallas Cup does something similar to a limited extended.

Some change has happen and the younger kids with the smaller sized fields maybe be able to handle things better than the past but for the 11v11 groups and olders choose/plan carefully in what to enter and have adequate rosters,  tough balancing act but overplaying normally catches up sooner or later.

Enjoy your time with your kids, before you know it their driving and off on their own, although I spent countless hours shuttling them around I kind of miss the time we spend together talking in the car about everything or listening to their music since they don't like "oldies"


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## carla hinkle (Apr 26, 2019)

I do think things have changed somewhat for the Youngers since 2015 -- my daughter who is U13/2007 is playing 11 v 11 for the first time this coming season. The smaller fields & shorter game times at the younger ages are a big improvement. I've also noticed that for Youngers, sometimes tournament games are a little shorter than league (5 min shorter per half). It doesn't seem like much but it helps on the margins, I think. I agree that 11v11/Olders is where the real problems are with over playing and exhaustion.

But don't get me started on playing in the heat!! That is one thing that really bothers me. Tournaments away from the coast in July/August are really, really bad. No kids should be playing a multi game tournament at Galway (or similar) in July.


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## timbuck (Apr 26, 2019)

Do we really need a doctor to write an article to explain to parents that having your kid play 2 or 3 games per day might do more harm than good?
Whether its 10 year olds or 16 year olds -  It's just not a good idea. And certainly not to do on on multiple weekends in a row.

Go out and run a 5k (20-30 minutes) or 10k (40-60 minutes) in the morning at "Race pace" (not an easy jog. Really try to run your fastest for that distance).  Then come home.  Eat a crappy lunch.  Then go and do it again 2 hours later. Then do the same thing again the next day.  I guarantee that each performance will have a very measurable dropoff from the one previous.  Oh- but the final run you do is the "most important" and you need to "win".
Then have a 90 minute practice again the next day.
I know that my 40-year old body would take 2 weeks to recover from that.  Maybe longer if I really hurt something.  Kids bounce back much faster than adults -  But with their bodies still growing and maturing -  I think the long term toll may be worse.


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## watfly (Apr 26, 2019)

Kicker4Life said:


> Playing against the best only creates an environment of “fear of making mistakes” if the Coach fosters this environment.


Unfortunately there seems to an epidemic of coaches that create this environment and they're clueless as to the negative impact it has on the kids' performance.  

As far "if you want to be the best, you have to play the best" theory, it works for some kids and not with others, each kid is different.  It works for my son.  I believe most of his development has been from playing with the "best" kids and not a whole lot from coaching.  He can get frustrated playing with kids that aren't quite up to snuff, particularly those that lack soccer IQ.  Having said that, he plays his fair share of "just for fun", no coaching, no pressure indoor and futsal with friends.


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## full90 (Apr 26, 2019)

@watfly agree. We've also coached our kids from home that being uncomfortable is ok. Being challenged is how we become our best. For one kid that is no problem. For the other it's really hard. But there is a balance between having some success and really having to work to stay afloat. A good coach coaches each kid where they are and provides opportunity for both. But cowering on the sidelines because they are afraid to make a mistake? Come on. That's a kid issue, a parenting issue, a coaching issue or a club issue. DOn't lay that on a sport or a tournament structure. Good grief. (And I hate multi game tournaments for all the reasons everyone has said. But the idea that that structure causes kids to play fearful is crazy).


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## focomoso (Apr 26, 2019)

Supermodel56 said:


> It’s ridiculous to think we should not play tournaments because some kids are all of a sudden afraid to make mistakes.


That isn't what I said. If you care to, reread my post, specifically what I quoted. My make mistakes comment was about being at the right level of play, not tournaments in general.


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## Grace T. (Apr 26, 2019)

focomoso said:


> That isn't what I said. If you care to, reread my post, specifically what I quoted. My make mistakes comment was about being at the right level of play, not tournaments in general.


I'd argue the tournaments did it too.  My son's, the GK, former team had him take the goalkicks which weren't as far as the opposite 1/3 but past the half and accurate, or to play it short and built from behind.  They practice the backpass very early on.  My son is a killer with the back pass (just had one in a scrimmage last night with a new team that led to an assist).  Coach encouraged passing not kick ball.  They played well undefeated in the lower brackets at the end of the summer tournament and then advanced in to the 2 round playoff.

By the rounds, same coaches were screaming at the kids to kick it out of bounds, or smack down the line....they had ordered the big center back to just smack the ball down the field on goalkicks....and they ordered the team not to do the backpass (even though they had never gotten in trouble back there).  The coaches now started screaming instructions at the kids.  All of that demoralized my son (who was now a glorified foosball player) and he started playing really tentatively....he didn't come out on the one v ones because he was afraid of giving up a ball or getting juked....he's letting his defenders clear instead of rushing out for them (which the assistant coach now makes it worse, particularly for his ADHD brain, by yelling at him "that was yours").  All the kids begin playing more frantically and poorly.  They make it to the finals, are at a 1-0 lead at the half....a defender makes a mistake by hanging back in the corner denying an offside to a running striker....my terrified 9 year old (now exhausted from 5 games) son sits on his line.....striker chips it to the corner.  Coaches scream at the defender, scream at my son, parents are throwing their hats on the floor in frustration.  Son gets up very slowly off the ground (just done).  Rest of the team gives up at this point....another fast counter and they lose 2-1.


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## timbuck (Apr 26, 2019)

Oh -  and in my 5k/10k example -  Do it on turf in Norco.  In august.  With cleats on.


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## Grace T. (Apr 26, 2019)

Grace T. said:


> I'd argue the tournaments did it too.  My son's, the GK, former team had him take the goalkicks which weren't as far as the opposite 1/3 but past the half and accurate, or to play it short and built from behind.  They practice the backpass very early on.  My son is a killer with the back pass (just had one in a scrimmage last night with a new team that led to an assist).  Coach encouraged passing not kick ball.  They played well undefeated in the lower brackets at the end of the summer tournament and then advanced in to the 2 round playoff.
> 
> By the rounds, same coaches were screaming at the kids to kick it out of bounds, or smack down the line....they had ordered the big center back to just smack the ball down the field on goalkicks....and they ordered the team not to do the backpass (even though they had never gotten in trouble back there).  The coaches now started screaming instructions at the kids.  All of that demoralized my son (who was now a glorified foosball player) and he started playing really tentatively....he didn't come out on the one v ones because he was afraid of giving up a ball or getting juked....he's letting his defenders clear instead of rushing out for them (which the assistant coach now makes it worse, particularly for his ADHD brain, by yelling at him "that was yours").  All the kids begin playing more frantically and poorly.  They make it to the finals, are at a 1-0 lead at the half....a defender makes a mistake by hanging back in the corner denying an offside to a running striker....my terrified 9 year old (now exhausted from 5 games) son sits on his line.....striker chips it to the corner.  Coaches scream at the defender, scream at my son, parents are throwing their hats on the floor in frustration.  Son gets up very slowly off the ground (just done).  Rest of the team gives up at this point....another fast counter and they lose 2-1.



The shame of it all too is that it was a really great, tight exciting soccer game.  The better team indeed did win.  But the kids didn't enjoy it (at least not as much as the early games when they played lose and great) and the expectations of winning (as more was put on the line) and the adult's reaction to those expectations (I won't go as far as to say ruined it for them) detracted from both the fun of it and the level of play.

By contrast, my son's little bronze team was placed against a silver elite team rising to gold.  No expectation to win whatsoever.  Coaches just shouted a lot of encouragement.  29 shots on goal (not to mention the many many more off target).  My son had the time of his life and learned a lot that one day.  Saved a penalty, saved a wild de Gea foot save, had 3 extension dives.  Held them 3-1 the first half...then his team (playing no subs) gave up the second have....he did great until the other time found their mark with the high balls and his weakness.  9-1 but my son came off with a great smile on his face...he knew he had earned the respect of his coaches, his teammates, and the parents on both sides of the field.  Yeah, they played a lot of kick ball that day and my son's CB took many more goalkicks than he did and it was all punts.  But such a learning experience without having all the pressure.  That's probably my favorite of all the games he's played


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## SoccerGeek (May 3, 2019)

Supermodel56 said:


> Not really. What experiments or mistakes are we talking about here? Learning to perform and make good decisions under pressure is a critical skill, not just for sports but for life. for some this is a natural skill, others learned.
> 
> It’s ridiculous to think we should not play tournaments because some kids are all of a sudden afraid to make mistakes.



I agree with you! If a player is afraid to make mistakes and can’t handle the pressure. The sad truth is he does not belong at that level. 

European tournaments put there players under intense pressure. Are american soccer parents saying that they are doing things wrong? 

Its plain and simple in europe. The player can not handle the pressure. They cut the player. 

Why are we so afraid to call it like it is. Not every player is going to make it. Sorry!


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## CopaMundial (May 3, 2019)

SoccerGeek said:


> I agree with you! If a player is afraid to make mistakes and can’t handle the pressure. The sad truth is he does not belong at that level.
> 
> European tournaments put there players under intense pressure. Are american soccer parents saying that they are doing things wrong?
> 
> ...


Ummmm...because they pay.


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## ChargerPride (May 3, 2019)

There is truth to all of these opinions, and many factors that can't be generalized simply to make a point. As a parent who has kids who play on a club because our collective agreement is that they like it enough to be as competitive as possible , and they are good enough where it makes sense. It is my desire that they put their best foot forward and I giving them a chance to try and excel. This is a choice , why, because we are trying to get the best out of the opportunity. Of course each child matures on the pitch as they do in life. That is why it's important to be realistic. Unfortunately, a lot of parents fail and believe that their kid is the diamond in the rough. Hence they push and well we all know that it's not always the best approach.  

As a result of all this, parents plunge money into clubs for some of the wrong reasons, even go the the best club, because if my kid is on the best club that wins. My kid will be a winner. Winning seems to be the be all end all. What better way to show that winning is good. Winning league, winning every tournament including state and hopefully national. We all fall for it to some degree, which is why there are so many current tournaments, and as new clubs emerge, so will new tournaments.  Doesn't always work out as many clubs have multiple teams for every age group, and well, there are only so many spots on its top teams. 

In the end. It's about the money, always has been. Large or small, each and every club/league uses tournaments to make money, the more prestigious tournament, the more we as parents have to have our kids on a team that are invited or are playing in said tournament. Then to make matters worse, as they get older.  Tournaments are geared to advertising that college scouts are attending these tournaments. Now my kid will be seen, will get that elusive scholarship. It was all worth it. That's basically the breakdown. I know, as I was writing this I thought it was more complex.

After all I am a simple soccer parent who has seen a lot in a few years, and still have a few more to go. I was fortunate to have my kids join a club that recognizes these issues, and even more so to find coaches that realize it too. Yet even within the club, I have seen coaches who still play too many tournaments. In the end, it's about what is best for the kids, as parents, we should find the happy median. It might not appeal to the masses for winning, but I have always told my kids. I don't care if your team didn't win, if you played your best, and if your team also tried their best as well and you see improvement. Then that's fine. TBuhat might not work for every parent, child, club, team, coach, or organization, but in the end each family makes their decisions and if discussed with all involved, hopefully in the future, so realistic and positive changes can be implemented. Until then, see you on the pitch....


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