Coaches - What do you look for?

Supermodel56 said:
Agree - although I think identifying desired aggressiveness is tough - for example, you take a kid who's got great skills, plays aggressive against opponents, and knows better than to take balls away from teammates vs another teammate who is bigger, less skilled, but knocking other kids on their ass, constantly steals the ball away from their own teammates to try to score and impress the coach... Player 1 never even gets to show her aggressiveness because she doesn't stoop to that level and Player 2 makes the team but 2-3 games into the season she's consistently turning the ball over because she won't pass and opponents know to just target her.

Do coaches actually notice that and see the difference to select the "right" player? Or are tryouts intended to just be every boy/girl for himself and soccer IQ goes out the window? Does soccer IQ ever get taken into consideration?
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I would not want to make a general statement about coaches in that regard. YMMV
 
espola said:
I would not want to make a general statement about coaches in that regard. YMMV
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That's fair... It was more rhetorical and I probably should've rephrased the question... but I guess it's because I've seen it quite a few times and as for my DD, it's tough because the question is do I "coach" her to do the same thing and take the ball back from same teammate or others (which is totally against her character) or tell her to play her game and risk not getting to show her skills because teammates won't pass to her, steal the ball away, etc...

does that make sense?
 
Supermodel56 said:
That's fair... It was more rhetorical and I probably should've rephrased the question... but I guess it's because I've seen it quite a few times and as for my DD, it's tough because the question is do I "coach" her to do the same thing and take the ball back from same teammate or others (which is totally against her character) or tell her to play her game and risk not getting to show her skills because teammates won't pass to her, steal the ball away, etc...

does that make sense?
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A good coach should be able to recognize and correct that behavior.
 
Supermodel56 said:
Agree - although I think identifying desired aggressiveness is tough - for example, you take a kid who's got great skills, plays aggressive against opponents, and knows better than to take balls away from teammates vs another teammate who is bigger, less skilled, but knocking other kids on their ass, constantly steals the ball away from their own teammates to try to score and impress the coach... Player 1 never even gets to show her aggressiveness because she doesn't stoop to that level and Player 2 makes the team but 2-3 games into the season she's consistently turning the ball over because she won't pass and opponents know to just target her.
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Stealing the ball from their own teammates?!? And is she knocking other team or her own players on their ass?? LOL. Any normal coach would tell that girl, "what the heck are you doing?"
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Stealing the ball from their own teammates?!? And is she knocking other team or her own players on their ass?? LOL. Any normal coach would tell that girl, "what the heck are you doing?"
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You'd be surprised... omg, have I got stories for ya... and coach never said a thing (at least not that we're aware - which to be fair we shouldn't hear about it if he did - but the behavior continued throughout the season...) I'll also add that in just about every other aspect, the coach was actually fantastic - which is why I find the attention on aggressiveness so fascinating.
 
Supermodel56 said:
You'd be surprised... omg, have I got stories for ya... and coach never said a thing (at least not that we're aware - which to be fair we shouldn't hear about it if he did - but the behavior continued throughout the season...) I'll also add that in just about every other aspect, the coach was actually fantastic - which is why I find the attention on aggressiveness so fascinating.
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In addition to aggressiveness, mental resilience is mandatory to foster growth - on AND off the field.

Below is a clip of Jacqueline Novogratz, a highly successful entrepreneur/philanthropist who shares a few thoughts on this topic which in my experience, directly correlates to sports, business and the game of life.

Link: https://www.forbes.com/video/5334588524001/
 
Wait, someone just double check my count here: we're 4 pages in and we've had one coach respond so far? So then 3.9 pages of parents talking about what they think about what coaches think? Got it. Carry on.
 
Mystery Train said:
Wait, someone just double check my count here: we're 4 pages in and we've had one coach respond so far? So then 3.9 pages of parents talking about what they think about what coaches think? Got it. Carry on.
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Socal United said:
I wanted to say the same thing since I was the coach but it went the route it normally does.... :)
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Lol. Maybe so..... But in all reality, the parents are the most relevant, impactful coach a player will have in their life.
 
Supermodel56 said:
Umm... if you read what I said, the average height on the USWNT is between 5'6"-5/8"... (excluding keepers). So yes, on average, they're slightly taller, but we're not talking super tall - either... Not like comparing football or basketball players to normal people. Not a single player over 6ft and you have several very good impact players 5'6 and under. Which again, size should be less important than skill, speed, and IQ.

Tobin Heath: 5'6"
Carly Lloyd: 5'8"
Alex Morgan: 5'7"
Crystal Dunn: 5'1"
Julie Johnston: 5'7"
Ali Long: 5'7"
Mallory Pugh: 5'5"
Kelly O'Hara: 5'5"
Christen Press: 5'7"
Becky Sauerbrunn: 5'7"

Just to name a few...
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The USWNT is not taking the average, they are taking the exceptional. All college programs want the exceptional, however, I would be willing to bet that once the exceptional are committed, size will play a big role in where scholarship dollars are spent.
 
Bdobyns said:
The USWNT is not taking the average, they are taking the exceptional. All college programs want the exceptional, however, I would be willing to bet that once the exceptional are committed, size will play a big role in where scholarship dollars are spent.
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That doesn't even make sense... if the most exceptional players are on average between 5'6"-5'8" why the hell would scholarship dollars all of a sudden favor bigger players?

Maybe check out TopDrawerSoccer and look at the top 100 freshman recruits... here's the top 10 and last 10 so you can see the consistency. in fact, as you go down the list, it would appear that all things equal, more shorter/avg height players are selected. What it tells me is that height/size in itself is not really an advantage for soccer in the long run - if your DD's projected height on the growth chart falls between 5'6"-5'8" you're in pretty good shape. Even in the top 10 recruits, less than half are over 5'8" and only one player over 6ft.

#1 - Jessie Fleming: 5'3"
#2 - Ella Stevens: 5'9"
#3 - Deyna Castellanos: 5'6"
#4 - Tierna Davidson: 5'10"
#5 - Taylor Kornieck: 6'1"
#6 - Jennifer Westendorf: 5'9"
#7 - Annika Rodriguez: 5'2"
#8 - Kristina Schuster: 5'7"
#9 - Kaiya McCullough: 5'8"
#10 - Chloe Froment: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'7.5" Range: 5'2"-6'1"

#91 - Beattie Goad: 5'7"
#92 - Avery Hay: 5'6"
#93 - Chandler Backes: 5'9"
#94 - Emily Hess: 5'4"
#95 - Doro Greulich: 5'10"
#96 - Hugrun Olafsdottir: 5'7"
#97 - Alyssa Jefferson: 5'5"
#98 - Ali Russo: 5'4"
#99 - Mary O'Hara: 5'4"
#100 - Laura Hamilton: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'6.3" Range: 5'4"-5'10"
 
Supermodel56 said:
That doesn't even make sense... if the most exceptional players are on average between 5'6"-5'8" why the hell would scholarship dollars all of a sudden favor bigger players?

Maybe check out TopDrawerSoccer and look at the top 100 freshman recruits... here's the top 10 and last 10 so you can see the consistency. in fact, as you go down the list, it would appear that all things equal, more shorter/avg height players are selected. What it tells me is that height/size in itself is not really an advantage for soccer in the long run - if your DD's projected height on the growth chart falls between 5'6"-5'8" you're in pretty good shape. Even in the top 10 recruits, less than half are over 5'8" and only one player over 6ft.

#1 - Jessie Fleming: 5'3"
#2 - Ella Stevens: 5'9"
#3 - Deyna Castellanos: 5'6"
#4 - Tierna Davidson: 5'10"
#5 - Taylor Kornieck: 6'1"
#6 - Jennifer Westendorf: 5'9"
#7 - Annika Rodriguez: 5'2"
#8 - Kristina Schuster: 5'7"
#9 - Kaiya McCullough: 5'8"
#10 - Chloe Froment: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'7.5" Range: 5'2"-6'1"

#91 - Beattie Goad: 5'7"
#92 - Avery Hay: 5'6"
#93 - Chandler Backes: 5'9"
#94 - Emily Hess: 5'4"
#95 - Doro Greulich: 5'10"
#96 - Hugrun Olafsdottir: 5'7"
#97 - Alyssa Jefferson: 5'5"
#98 - Ali Russo: 5'4"
#99 - Mary O'Hara: 5'4"
#100 - Laura Hamilton: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'6.3" Range: 5'4"-5'10"
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Really, you don’t get it? How many WNT players are there? How many D1 programs are there? There is more scholarship money out there than spots on the WNT. Of course you are going to get more girls that are around the 5’6” range because that is where the majority of girls fall. The number of girls 5’8” and above are more rare and thus that much more desired. Doesn’t mean that they are better. When a D1 programs has a chance to grab defenders and forwards that are tall, they will take the risk. My little turd is 5’6” and with studs, she can say 5’7”. Many D1 coaches told us that they want center backs that are tall and that if she wants to play defense, she will be playing outside back.

BTW watch out for that #9 on your list.
 
Supermodel56 said:
That doesn't even make sense... if the most exceptional players are on average between 5'6"-5'8" why the hell would scholarship dollars all of a sudden favor bigger players?

Maybe check out TopDrawerSoccer and look at the top 100 freshman recruits... here's the top 10 and last 10 so you can see the consistency. in fact, as you go down the list, it would appear that all things equal, more shorter/avg height players are selected. What it tells me is that height/size in itself is not really an advantage for soccer in the long run - if your DD's projected height on the growth chart falls between 5'6"-5'8" you're in pretty good shape. Even in the top 10 recruits, less than half are over 5'8" and only one player over 6ft.

#1 - Jessie Fleming: 5'3"
#2 - Ella Stevens: 5'9"
#3 - Deyna Castellanos: 5'6"
#4 - Tierna Davidson: 5'10"
#5 - Taylor Kornieck: 6'1"
#6 - Jennifer Westendorf: 5'9"
#7 - Annika Rodriguez: 5'2"
#8 - Kristina Schuster: 5'7"
#9 - Kaiya McCullough: 5'8"
#10 - Chloe Froment: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'7.5" Range: 5'2"-6'1"

#91 - Beattie Goad: 5'7"
#92 - Avery Hay: 5'6"
#93 - Chandler Backes: 5'9"
#94 - Emily Hess: 5'4"
#95 - Doro Greulich: 5'10"
#96 - Hugrun Olafsdottir: 5'7"
#97 - Alyssa Jefferson: 5'5"
#98 - Ali Russo: 5'4"
#99 - Mary O'Hara: 5'4"
#100 - Laura Hamilton: 5'7"
Avg height: 5'6.3" Range: 5'4"-5'10"
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Maybe the tallest (6+) girls aren't playing soccer in college? Basketball, volleyball? It is strange though.
 
NoGoal said:
Here is interesting video on straight line speed vs zigzag speed/quickness. Ronaldo vs a Sprinter.

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That is really interesting! I was just reading on how taller people are supposed to be faster because they have longer strides - but this could explain why "shorter" people actually may have an advantage in soccer since you're not always running in a straight line... perhaps once you reach a certain height and/or stride length, there are diminishing returns... it also differs for men vs women due to differences in center of gravity.

Bdobyns - its true if you look at the breakdown, defenders seem to skew taller, as are keepers. Different positions require different skill sets and body types.... while there are always exceptions to the rule, the lesson may be that as you train, bear in mind positions that are more natural to your body type.
 
Supermodel56 said:
That is really interesting! I was just reading on how taller people are supposed to be faster because they have longer strides - but this could explain why "shorter" people actually may have an advantage in soccer since you're not always running in a straight line... perhaps once you reach a certain height and/or stride length, there are diminishing returns... it also differs for men vs women due to differences in center of gravity.
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Except in this test Ronaldo was actually taller than the sprinter. The other thing is Ronaldo does both straight line and zig zag running during the game, thus would be used to both and have experience with both. The sprinter would only be used to straight line. Give him a few months running the zig zag and I'm pretty sure he would cut down his time. My DD has really long strides which gives her great straight line speed. The coach has worked with her on shortening her stride for certain situations to help with quicker changes of directions.

One thing I've always felt is that shorter girls might have an advantage with balance while running and getting bumped. A taller girl might be able to be knocked off her stride a bit easier. This is just a feeling, with no data to back it up. :)
 
Speed= stride length + strike rate

Any player overstriding and striking/running on their heels is actually pumping the brakes.
 
Finally, people are starting to get that height is not all that important in soccer. Yes, you need height if you're a center back or a forward to win headers and hold the ball. But everywhere else on the pitch (not including air situations) height can work to your disadvantage. Tall people (over 6'2" for men and maybe 5'8" for women) tend to be slower/less quick.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Finally, people are starting to get that height is not all that important in soccer. Yes, you need height if you're a center back or a forward to win headers and hold the ball. But everywhere else on the pitch (not including air situations) height can work to your disadvantage. Tall people (over 6'2" for men and maybe 5'8" for women) tend to be slower/less quick.
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I would even venture to say you don't need all tall forwards depending on formation and skill levels - better to mix it up, give the defense different looks and styles of play to deal with, and exploit the mismatches.
 
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