RandomSoccerFan
GOLD
Interesting! Yes - that's the same coach. Someone affiliated with the team can likely decide to merge the teams/results on SR, or they can decide to leave it separate. FWIW, Ajax Green 2010G is 20th in state right now.
G2010 Status?
- Thread starter SuperSoccerStar
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Interesting! Yes - that's the same coach. Someone affiliated with the team can likely decide to merge the teams/results on SR, or they can decide to leave it separate. FWIW, Ajax Green 2010G is 20th in state right now.
New Blues coach? Isn’t he doing a good job with the ECRL team? They are top of the bracket. What’s the deal with the ECNL team, missing pieces?
Chalklines
GOLD
Who are the best coaches for this age bracket?
Throw out W-L record and and newer coaches with ZERO experience. I'm talking about coaches who have actually produced and developed players who have gone on to succeed. Coaches who have won for years and have a track record for getting players to the next level beyond youth soccer.
Just because the Blues cant win every tournament it doesn't mean Abner cant produce and develop top players anymore.
Throw out W-L record and and newer coaches with ZERO experience. I'm talking about coaches who have actually produced and developed players who have gone on to succeed. Coaches who have won for years and have a track record for getting players to the next level beyond youth soccer.
Just because the Blues cant win every tournament it doesn't mean Abner cant produce and develop top players anymore.
100% agree + check out his Blues profile...
.
Specifically...
"Rogers has mentored and developed 13 players to Professional ranks, 31 to Regional teams, and 24 to National teams. Five of his players have played in World Cup competition."
Willy Falcon
SILVER
Several coaches are still trading on accolades and achievements of decades ago, or at least several years ago. I am in no way discounting their achievements, but just like in any sports, including at the professional level. Reputation becomes bigger than reality. And reputation makes recruiting 1000% easier. If you get the best players and have the backing of the biggest clubs it's much easier to appear to look amazing.
A ton of great development takes place with coaches that are completely under the radar and do it a lot of the time with small clubs. Big clubs, with big budgets recruit rather than truly develop. Just my opinion and observations.
SoccerSpoiler
SILVER ELITE
can you name a coach from a small club who has developed great players?
Maybe but you have to keep in mind that for every successful coach theres 100s of unsuccessful coaches. Are there new and upcoming coaches that elevate the game? Yes 100%. They're just few and far between.
Reguarding Abner + Blues they're going to continue to draw talent (the same way Surf does) over time they'll end up being one of the top teams in the nation.
So question for the group regarding coaching skills. Who is the better coach? The coach that can take lesser skilled/lesser athletic girls and get them to compete against more skilled/more athletic teams or the coach that can use replacement fear and pressure to ensure hard work and work rates? My daughter is probably going into ecnl next year, but I am looking to develop and train her to handle and exceed expectations that start their freshman year in high school. I'm not so concerned about maximum performance at 11. I want her hitting her max performance stride in high school with health and a strong work ethic. We've already seen injuries and pressure take away from team performance at this age group along with player mobility and club politics.
I know the drill with all of these teams. I love Surf's style of play with possession and development of players. I know these programs start focusing on wins and , sure, that always comes down to pressure and discomfort, but I just wonder if it's so bad to avoid that stress for as long as possible before it really counts. My daughter is pretty athletic and very good at her position, so I want her to do as much as she has to to keep up, but I'm weary of abusing her body and mind. Thank you all for your thoughts?
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
Yes. I can also name plenty of coaches at large clubs that do not develop.
Heres how you can tell teams/clubs have flipped from development to going all out for wins. Try and figure out the number of players (especially for girls) that are out with injuries like ACL etc (repetitive use type issues). I'll tell you a secret ALL top teams as the players get above U12 start losing players to injuries. The reason for this is because top team players are doing practice 3-4x a week + Futsal + Private Training/Lessons and games on weekends and and they're maintaining amazing grades. Some players bodies can handle the stresses others cant those that cant get hurt + will need to make a decision to hang up the cleats or not.
Interesting, so some girl athletes will be genetically advantaged to handle the amount of training it takes to stay at the top and others may not? I've kind of always thought that you have to at least be at the top to worry about injuries or burn out, so you have to get there first. I do also think that some will have a natural genetic advantage with athleticism. You can teach soccer, but you can't teach size and athleticism. If blessed with experience, skill, and athleticism, one should just make sure not to burn out or get injured probably? I just worry that the extra abuse to win at 12 won't make much difference compared to the result of extra work at 16? I'm an outlier guy, so I think the first goal is to always stay at or near the top, but the parent has to see what skills or development are needed to get their kid to the next level. These high level coaches will box in and train girls for what their teams need to win not necessarily train the tools and skills that will make the girls versatile and relevant for college.
If you want to get your kid ready for college then find a good PT. Tell the PT what your kid needs to work on and be in control of her development, imo that’s the best way to help your DD.
A club coach’s main focus is implementing their system and getting everyone on the team to play within that system. It’s hard to focus on a individual when there’s 16-20 other kids on the team. They want kids they can plug and play imo. It’s hard to develop a individual in a team setting with just 1 coach unless they have position coaches on staff… I haven’t seen it.
A really good PT will develop her individually and help her fit into whatever system her club coach runs. Everything else is gods plan… Injuries, burnout, athleticism, etc. Just pray and enjoy the ride, they’re only this age for a short time brother.
Well said Bris DAD. My personal opinion is that it helps for the parent to know and watch soccer. The coach develops and trains the team to win, but it's an advantage for a parent to see areas that need work or that will be necessary to dominate as these girls age especially with competitive positions that require dynamic top of class skills.
I don't blame the coaches one bit and I love what we have gained thanks to all of our coaches, but I just know the game and life is not fair. First rule in Soccer Club is life is not fair imo. You need to be irreplaceable and relevant at all times or you are replaceable and irrelevant.
I hear Alex Morgan did not start playing soccer until she was 14, so I just wonder if it's an advantage to have less wear on the tires so to speak? Certain positions require more size and athleticism than others, so I'm sure it's different for certain positions and athletes. I am just getting a good taste for what coaches look for in ecnl and it's not the most soccer skilled player sometimes, so an extra 5 hours of technical ball mastery may not help a girl that needs to work on intensity and work rate. It's a balance and a parent who understands the game gives an advantage imo.
More technical players with higher soccer IQs tend to start playing earlier. But "beautiful" soccer doesnt always win games. Sometimes the ones with limited skills just finds a way to will themselves into scoring goals, or being an amazing defender.
The two attributes I can say will open doors are size and drive. Size is self explanatory, the big kids get picked first + will have more opportunities. Drive is the desire to play + win. As a parent you can guage drive using the "push / pull" theory. Meaning are you the one pushing your kid to go to practice or are they the one that's pulling you to take them to practice or events.
Coaches want drive over anything else because it's something they can shape + make better.
my sister played on this semi - pro summer team after college , basically all the girls are either former or current D-1 players . She played against Morgan, and Alex couldn’t have been older than 18 or 19 at the time and I remember her being the best player on the field , and it wasn’t particularly close . That’s amazing if she started playing at 14
SoccerSpoiler
SILVER ELITE
Alex Morgan started club soccer at age 14. Before that she had played Ayso and other sports. She is not the most technical player given that she started late but she is a very good athlete with above average speed. Rumor is she tried out for Blues back in the day before 14 and she was not accepted into club soccer because she was too raw. Times have changed though and you can’t take this example of Morgan for granted. The women’s game today is demanding more technical ability as it has evolved. So trying to follow her path, one would just be rolling the dice to make it far in the sport.
Don't forget the grain of salt. Morgan is a super athletic striker. I think of Ibrahimovic or other fast, strong, athletic goal box finishers. Now midfielders, wings, etc. need incredible footwork, speed, soccer iq, grit, LUCK, etc. to play at those high levels. Certain positions require more technical skills. I would trade some technical skill for that drive to compete and win though at age 14 to 16 with size and athleticism. Soccer skill is very subjective, so I would want every advantage for my daughter, but not at the cost of overwork and burnout at 15. There is a balance and put harshly, most will not make it as you will need athleticism, strength/size, technical skill, position dominance and awareness, drive to compete and win, grit, luck, and most of all love to play the game.
In a way, we're all rolling the dice with our approach one way or the other though right? All I hear about is burnout and injury in high school, so we're rolling the dice with the hard training, but then if you don't train hard enough, you probably won't need to care about burnout or injury, so rolling the dice as well. It's a balance imo. I have a feeling our daughters will decide how hard they want to train and know if it's working out for them. I have a feeling at some point they know if it's worth the hard work and toll. My nephew burned out in high school, but it was because his road was coming to an end, so I can't help, but think most high school kids burn out when they feel the road is closing for them. Let's also not forget all the mental illness out there as well though. Parents need to be balanced and encourage recovery, time off, etc. and hope the kid has enough athleticism and skill to dominate their spot. I think I need to add good parents and family life to the list of needs! It's a tough road.
JustaSpectator
SILVER
Going into the 2nd half of the ECNL season and you were spot on with the movement and it's not even May/June. Also correct with the 1st yr of ECNL exposing a lot.