WWC 2023

The advice to my son when he played as a keeper was to either go for the ball or stay on the line. Playing halfway was only to the benefit of the attacker.
I couldn't care less about where a keeper stands as long as they are cutting off angles and/or putting enough pressure on the attacker so that they aren't completely in control of their shot decision.
 
I'm going to disagree with you a bit here. While goalkeeping is a little more precise than playing in the field, there are no absolutes in soccer. Like the overcoaching article mentions, coaches need to avoid using terms like "always" and "never". Soccer is the most situational sport with multiple variables you have to assess in a split second. Falling back to the 6 may have been the appropriate decision in your son's circumstance, but never sliding feet first would be taking a very valuable tool out of a keeper's tool box. It's effective, albeit with risk. Personally, I haven't seen it result in as many red cards as you have experienced. These risk/return equations are all things that a soccer player needs to understand to develop their soccer IQ. One of my pet peeve's is seeing a goalie rush out to stop a 1v1 and suddenly stop and backpedal in retreat. That typically doesn't end well as you've released much of the pressure on the attacker and are likely off-balance as you backpedal. Even if you've made the wrong decision to charge the attacker, you're only going to compound the problem by retreating.
Not much to disagree with here, only on the margins. As usual a thoughtful reply:
-You don't go feet first in the box because it is much more effective to block, starfish, slide/smother, do the crucifix, do the Crazy Ivan, or do a sliding davis than feet first. There's just so many more effective techniques (and the one that's the right answer more than 1/3 of the time is actually the hold) than sliding with your feet that it is almost never the best answer and something the youngers and untrained really tend to do. Sliding feet first is reserved 100% for out of the box and then, as you say, subject to the risk/return equation (and the proper way to execute it anyways is more like a swinging gate than a studs up feet forward slide which even if it makes contact with the ball is technically a red card offense). I agree 100% on once you make a decision, whether in goal or on the field, you have to go with it, "usually".
-There are some absolutes in soccer. You should "always" be aware of your surroundings and cognizant of the potential play making passes. You should "always" be ready to receive the ball on offense, regardless of your position on the field. You should "always" if defending switch to a defensive mode if the team has lost the ball. You should "never" lose sight of your positional reference on the field. You should "never" lose sight of the potential pass opportunities around you. You should "never" jump on a throw in and give it away due to a technical foul. I agree one problem is that many "usually" are interpreted to always such as never toe poke the ball on a shot.
 
I couldn't care less about where a keeper stands as long as they are cutting off angles and/or putting enough pressure on the attacker so that they aren't completely in control of their shot decision.

If you are in no man's land (get caught neither close enough to pressure, nor far away enough to cut off with some reaction time), you do neither. "Usually" that's a position between the PK and the 6 also know as "the corridor of death" on crosses, or any time the player (keeper or otherwise) is moving when a shot is being taken and there is more than 5-7 feet distance from the ball.
 
While "pay-to-play" is an issue, it's just a subset of the bigger issue which is the economic engine that drives competitive youth soccer. It is a business, nothing more, nothing less. We all fall for it hook line and sinker -- just like we fall for other things our kids are involved with. There are good coaches with good intentions for sure, but they're playing catchup all the time and have to resist the demands of the economic engine. Now, if kids were playing pickup soccer like they do with basketball, these good coaches wouldn't have to be playing catchup all the time. Kids who play pickup build a love of the sport and are especially gifted soccer IQ wise. As Cruyff said "Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches". I personally think US Soccer should invest in creating a program that helps build futsal courts around the country with easy access. Even turfed ones would do.
 
While "pay-to-play" is an issue, it's just a subset of the bigger issue which is the economic engine that drives competitive youth soccer. It is a business, nothing more, nothing less. We all fall for it hook line and sinker -- just like we fall for other things our kids are involved with. There are good coaches with good intentions for sure, but they're playing catchup all the time and have to resist the demands of the economic engine. Now, if kids were playing pickup soccer like they do with basketball, these good coaches wouldn't have to be playing catchup all the time. Kids who play pickup build a love of the sport and are especially gifted soccer IQ wise. As Cruyff said "Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches". I personally think US Soccer should invest in creating a program that helps build futsal courts around the country with easy access. Even turfed ones would do.
While I agree futsal is 100% an essential part of the equation kids are never going to pick it up that way if that’s all they get. The learning needs to be directed. Otherwise we’d have a bunch of Latino teams blowing the academies out of the water because those kids play at recess.

to correct the mistakes someone has to impart the knowledge. That’s either the coaches (see complaints above about winner take all), the parents (see complaints above about low parent soccer iq…if there was high iq ayso would be all we need) or The culture (most kids with their short attention spans and busy schedules are not sitting there watching epl games….hell my kid can’t even get a friend to go on a free ticket to lafc league cup tomorrow). Otherwise kids just will repeat their mistakes because kids are dumb and don’t know any better and can’t even reason well.The reason Americans find soccer frustrating is because it’s not a pure team sport. It’s chess with athletics thrown in.
 
So WC1 at 18 and WC2 at 22 and you are done! Makes no sense!!!
Makes total sense. Why start at 18? Start when you are peak and likely after college as in the USA with TITLE IX use college as training and school.
Graduate college ~22 play till ~ 28 - get a life. This is a handicap league just like the para league. Nobody cares or watches. This is not a job.
The Para athletes are not claiming they need more pay. The biggest accomplishment of the women's team was getting equal pay for 10% of the eyeballs. It was not winning soccer games.
 
Well everything is relative and typically based on your personal life experiences. Maybe Rapinoe should spend some time in some objectively oppressive countries. That seems to have made an impact on Brittany Griner.

It only made an impact on BG because she got caught for drug possession in Russia. She has shown nothing but complete disdain for this country.
Once she got caught and was potentially facing years behind bars she was weeping and all the SJWs were onboard to free her as if she were some innocent victim of circumstance. Then we traded her for a known Russian arms dealer.."The Merchant of Death." That's kind of like putting the fox back in the hen house. If she hadn't gone thru all that she'd still be giving the middle finger to the USA while enjoying the freedom this country provides, and making money in the process.
Another one I wouldn't piss on if she were on fire.
 
Sweden-2 / Japan-1
Japan waited a bit too long to step on the gas. And had two late opportunities, including a PK to change the score but couldn't convert.
 
Makes total sense. Why start at 18? Start when you are peak and likely after college as in the USA with TITLE IX use college as training and school.
Graduate college ~22 play till ~ 28 - get a life. This is a handicap league just like the para league. Nobody cares or watches. This is not a job.
The Para athletes are not claiming they need more pay. The biggest accomplishment of the women's team was getting equal pay for 10% of the eyeballs. It was not winning soccer games.
The convo is about the WNT, the elite of the elite. College is a crap development ground for those players. If you are not in that bracket, then college is the way to go, i.e. for the 99.99% of players, given their earning potential as a pro currently.
 
Like it. Would help GKs with their feet too, especially now that 6 and 7 year olds are showing up to training. How can we get you on the national board?

Goalkeepers should always spend some time playing the small sides, quick feet drills as part of their training.

To your previous point, 98% of coaches know nothing about goalkeeping. And no 2 hour, Frans Hoek merit badge class is going to change that. Goalkeepers need to be trained by goalkeepers.
 
Goalkeepers should always spend some time playing the small sides, quick feet drills as part of their training.

To your previous point, 98% of coaches know nothing about goalkeeping. And no 2 hour, Frans Hoek merit badge class is going to change that. Goalkeepers need to be trained by goalkeepers.
The problem though is that the goalkeeper (even if they choose to sit on the line for everything and have a big legged defender boot everything) is going to impact how the rest of the team, including the defensive line, is required to play. It impacts the entirety of the game and the entirety of how the game progresses from the first touch. What you are essentially saying is that 98% of coaches don't know how to teach the game. What's worse, most clubs do not (unless the coach was a former GK or its an academy team) have a goalkeeper integrated onto staff of the teams. Even the galaxy, for example, it's because of the travel and the head GK coach usually travels with the first youth team, hard to get them to go to see the games unless it's an at home tournament. The vast majority of clubs don't even have that-- they have goalkeeper coaches that do training but have no input whatsoever on the teams.
 
While "pay-to-play" is an issue, it's just a subset of the bigger issue which is the economic engine that drives competitive youth soccer. It is a business, nothing more, nothing less. We all fall for it hook line and sinker -- just like we fall for other things our kids are involved with. There are good coaches with good intentions for sure, but they're playing catchup all the time and have to resist the demands of the economic engine. Now, if kids were playing pickup soccer like they do with basketball, these good coaches wouldn't have to be playing catchup all the time. Kids who play pickup build a love of the sport and are especially gifted soccer IQ wise. As Cruyff said "Footballers from the street are more important than trained coaches". I personally think US Soccer should invest in creating a program that helps build futsal courts around the country with easy access. Even turfed ones would do.
We’re still #1 with basketball. Organized ball compliments the sport, but does not crowd out the development of hours invested in free pickup ball.
 
We’re still #1 with basketball. Organized ball compliments the sport, but does not crowd out the development of hours invested in free pickup ball.

I agree there's a balance in basketball with organized ball and free pickup ball, particularly that gives kids essentially skills when they are very young. But Europe hasn't caught up through pickup ball....they caught up by implementing a similar academy system to soccer. Furthermore, the impact on basketball from pickup will be greater. It's a higher scoring game where the tactics matter less. Basketball is a very much an athletic sport. Soccer is more like chess with athletics thrown in. Gridiron football is almost like warfare: generals moving the right or wrong pieces around the map.
 
Like it. Would help GKs with their feet too, especially now that 6 and 7 year olds are showing up to training. How can we get you on the national board?
I also like the idea that goalkeepers should receive supplemental training with other goalkeepers in addition to attending all training with their team and participating in each drill. Again, until they are at least 12, maybe older.
 
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