NoGoal
DA
Unfortunately, defending is not the responsibility of only the back 4....All of the field players are defenders also and this should have been taught by the club coaches.
Girls Development Academy
- Thread starter Swoosh
- Start date
MakeAPlay
DA
I honestly think that the reason that $C won the championship last season because they were willing and able to play direct against the teams that were superior to them. A team with a tough defense and the ability to get in behind an opponents backline is tough. It also helps if they can strike from distance and are extremely physical too.
MakeAPlay
DA
The best defensive teams have forwards that track back and midfielders that don't let player run free at the backline. The less often a centerback gets pulled away from the middle the better. A certain centerback that I know of gets pretty upset when she gets pulled away from the middle due to midfielders and wide players not tracking runners.
Exactly. Which is why the defensive (holding) midfielder is such a tough position as well. Responsible for defending, maintaining possession and initiating offense.
NoGoal
DA
and why the strategy vs possession teams is to drop deep aka park the bus and counter attack. We see it all levels of the game from club, YNT, national teams and pro teams.
Everyone talks about Barca and their possession game, but let's not forget the back to back reigning UEFA Champs is Real Madrid.
outside!
DA
Where are the easy positions to play?
NoGoal
DA
If you ask my DD who has played the 10, a false 9, 7 and 11, and the 2 and 3 positions. She will say the 7 and 11 positions.
outside!
DA
Thanks NG, but I was being a smart ass with my question. Since you responded, my DD has played every position with her current team (including GK a few weeks ago). When they play a 3-5-2, she says outside mid is the most running since they play box to box. I think all the positions are difficult to play well. Its like asking which symphony instrument is easiest to play well.
NoGoal
DA
My DD said the same, winger/wingback runs a lot defends and has to attack.
MakeAPlay
DA
The 8 on my player's team routinely has her GPS hit 9-9 and a half miles in a game! She almost hit a 60 on her beep test so she is extremely fit (and has to be).
Thanks NoGoal you beat me to it. RM has never really been identified as a possession team. Sure they play in Spain, La Liga which is possession oriented but they are a counterattacking/direct team. I don't see anyone diminishing the fact that Real won two Champions Leagues ( I hate em and am I Barca Homer) by saying yeah they won but they won direct. They won! Map get over it. I will take $SC anyday over fascist UC! They won a Natty. The only people that try to diminish it are a few on here that think they play "possession" more than SC. UCLA does not play Barca possession so get over it. They play sorta possession. USC played sorta possession against Stanford and NC last year and smashed them. They did not play sorta possession against WVU. As Nogoal profoundly described it, we absorbed the pressure and countered/played direct and won. There are quite a few on our team that could play possession. But definitely not enough in the final or enough with the proper IQ to play it under those circumstances. Who remembers WVU? Oh they played possession - and they lost! Who the f' cares. WVU was the only team we played all year that was more athletic than us. They choked in the mental/tactical department. Possession soccer is a fundamental teaching tool. If you have that foundation you can play any style and employ any tactic. I believe it is not vice versa. If you only have learned to play direct jungle soccer you cannot play possession. You do not have the fundamental tools. If there are those that believe that the DA is going to change it you are confused. For the "most" part the same tools that were coaching in ECNL that US Soccer didn't like are now the DA coaches. What do you think you are going to get? Is there going to be a revolution of possession oriented new female soccer players being created? Doubt it. The only ones that will be developing them are the ones that were doing it before whether in or out of DA/ECNL/not in either.
MakeAPlay
DA
First of all @pulguita I love you to death and agree with you 95% of the time so let me start with that. Now let's talk about $C and possession. You say that the only team that was more athletic than your beloved Trojans was WVU but I clearly remember them looking pretty thugish and bad against a more athletic, more possession oriented and just plain better UCLA team. Next, to say that UCLA doesn't play possession is just down right false and you know it. Do they play like Barca? Of course not. Do they have the best possession pieces in the country? Ask the U20 WNT what they think about UCLA's possession. Yes the $C rugby team won the national championship last year. Mills still plays like a thug in the league. Johnson still looks average in front of g0al. Prudhomme still hasn't gotten into a game. Freeman is the only one that is playing well as a pro and I can show you video of her getting megged by a UCLA player in that game (not to mention she wasn't even the best defender on the field that night!). I also remember a certain player laying Morgan Andrews out just to send her a message and dispossessing her repeatedly. Was Alex Anthony even in that game? I ask because my player said that she wasn't very good and she made her look pretty average. You know that $C isn't a possession team. They have the chance to prove it this year. They will be preseason number one but we all know the truth.
Enjoy the Natty. My player plans on getting one herself this year along with plenty of hardware to come along with it.
Totally agree on the UCLA game but one league game does not a National Championship make. I know what my kid is and at her heart she is a possession player. There are a few more on her team and it will be up to them to tilt the scale in their favor. At the end of the day they play the way the staff wants them too. You know it will be a struggle when an unnamed individual says ya know if Beach played in the ECNL you wouldn't play the way you do. That unknowingly and unintentionally was probably the greatest complement he could have paid her. It also pretty much sums up the mentality here in the US. Although it seems nice what the U20 WNT says I would not be quoting anything the NT has to say about anybody as a definitive complementary comment. They have no clue what this or that looks like as evidence by theirs and every other NT level of play. People would be insane to rank SC as preseason number one. They lost 6 senior starters? I am excited that your player has those aspirations I would expect nothing less. Their are those that have a certain mentality and those that don't. Ours are winners that's just the way they think. I have always tried to focus mine on do whatever you have to to help the team and if you are successful everything else falls into place.
I'm only overzealous for wanting to discuss the pro & cons and ins and outs of this new system. People have to put personal feelings about teams and singular players aside for that to work and this is really the wrong place for it.
Agreed. Have to say the season seemed to turn around when the young lady at the 6 found her passing groove to go along with her outstanding defense. I'm eager to see how they replace all those outstanding upper classmen. That from an UCLA fan.
DAs were given strategies, formations and curriculum to use by US Soccer. It very detailed and tailored to every position. There are enough variations to have coaches adjust for their personnel available, but all teams are suppose to be using that format. The object being any girl called up will be able to play the system with minimal introduction. I have read the actual information (so did my DD), so it's not hearsay. I'm not sure if there are repercussions for not doing following the guidelines. That wasn't included with what we were given and of course would be a deterrent from not following the guidelines.
I have no clue if ECNL did that or does that.
This is why I said we went to So Cal Showcase with objective one being to put into effect what we have been training on and having guests who never practiced with us scuttled that.
It wasn't a right way, wrong way thing.
A good game for my girl at the 8 varies between 6-8.5 miles a game. Depends on the competition level. She does 5-7 miles when playing the 6 and 4-5 when playing the 4&5. Played the 10 for the first time in a long time the other day but she didn't wear it. Would have been nice to see it.
Crazy thing is a defender can be in the right place but have the hips turned wrong and boom - own goal. I have a special affection for defenders because the only position with more pressure to not make mistakes or the team pays is goalkeeper. I just happen to have one of those too.
I don't veil words. It's one of my major faults because I'm not concerned with the feelings. The words were meant as I said it. Each team had two different objectives.
If me saying your team trying to win a tourney you paid to play in is considered a slight, we don't have the same perception. Let's agree to disagree.
chargerfan
GOLD
You are cherry picking what I said but that's fine. I'm just surprised you guys couldn't pull out a win since apparently your girls move and pass the ball like the uswnt.