You have to read the comments at the bottom because they are spot on. I have a little trouble with this statement although it does have it's positives too:
SA: When you go to watch DA games, what will you be looking for?
MIRIAM HICKEY: There’s not one right way to play. Sometimes the team that plays the long ball wins the game. And at the top level, it’s about winning. But in youth development programs, it’s about players being able to recognize situations on the field. To be able to adjust what they’re doing and react to it and solve those soccer problems on their own without someone on the sidelines telling them what they need to do.
When I watch a team under pressure not use their goalkeeper to relieve pressure, and instead kicking the ball out of bounds to reset, that’s usually a sign that you have a coach who’s not developing their team.
If a goalkeeper makes a save and all she looks for is to punt it – she doesn’t look if there are opportunities to build out of the back -- that’s usually an indicator the team has not been given the opportunity to develop.
At 14 and 15, it’s already a little late. That needs to be taught when they’re 8, 9, 10. That’s when you don’t care if you get scored on five times -- as long as over the course of a year these players learn to recognize those situations.
For me, it’s a player’s game. I’m looking for coaches who inspire their players. Who let their players make decisions. Coaches who are giving information instead of, “Hey that was a good job” or just telling them what they did wrong.
I believe in short information and letting the game flow.
