Thanks for being honest Doc. I can read through the tea leaves. We need good Docs and because you were honest, it makes you a good Doc. Do you forbid posting or warn parents about the forum? I was told by four Docs in Socal that posting is not allowed and they knew my original screen name. Do you support TMs snitching on parents for posting who were told not to?yes
yes I am a director at a GA club. You need to take a break from the internet
Is club soccer a waste of time/money for youngers (under 10 yo)?
- Thread starter Socal-Soccer-Dad
- Start date
Wondering what's better for development for youngers:
1. Play on a lower flight team and play the position you desire. More freedom to roam and dribble.
2. Play a higher flight but play the backfield when the kid wants to score. Expect to play possession and pass and not much dribbling.
1. Play on a lower flight team and play the position you desire. More freedom to roam and dribble.
2. Play a higher flight but play the backfield when the kid wants to score. Expect to play possession and pass and not much dribbling.
under 10? Pick #1
If you're playing soccer to enjoy the game, why play where you don't want to?
Some kids want to win and some kids don't care. My kid wants to win and she will play where she is told to play. The last thing any coach wants to hear is, "My little one plays CM, wink wink." Also, I taught my dd to never tell a coach what position you expect to play and how much play time. I told her to work hard and the coach will put you where he wants you. To this day I have never told a coach what position my kid plays. Each game and coach is unique and I feel soccer coaches should play his players in the spots he deems best for the team to win. Winning is the best development, moo. My dd played defense her first two years of club. Then she was moved to Striker and then wing. CM and especially the #10 spot seemed to be the most everyone wanted. She got some good sniffs at the #10 and she did really well but it takes toll on you and you have to be in tip top shape to run all around the field calling for the rock.
1. Some kids know early on that's what they want to do. I tried everything possible to get my kid out of club soccer. At age 10, he had a coach tell him he had no business playing soccer and no future in it (cut him right after losing a playoff game). His OT and school counselors even told him to get out. He had a teammate scream at him once in the middle of a game to go back to AYSO. Tried to get him into martial arts, tennis, equestrian, swimming, lacrosse and water polo. Wouldn't take but the kid (with a lot of hard work) managed to get competent, and then good and move up the ranks.
2. The incentives in youth sport are all messed up by college recruiting and scholarship. It's caused an arms race where kids are specializing in sports earlier and earlier because in order to keep up with the others, you have to do your 1000 touches a day. It used to be just a decade ago that the United Soccer Coaches wouldn't recommend kids go full time goalkeeper til at least age 12. Reputable goalkeeper coaches wouldn't take them until age 10. Now days, you see full time goalkeepers at the camps age 7 or 8, and 8 year old keepers expected to perform advanced moves like diving, 1v1 and coming out for crosses when they should be spending their first year of training on learning safety and the how to catch. As a result, 11 is fairly old now to be jumping into the club soccer scene, at least in SoCal. It's not just limited to sports BTW. You see it in honors math (CLC or Kumon anyone?), spelling, the arts, music and dance.
3. If they aren't sure about other sports, it's a great idea to expose them to a bunch of sports before they commit to one. Unfortunately, even for lower level flight 3/bronze teams, it's a year long commitment making that difficult. But because of the reality of sports specialization, while in the ideal it might be great to make them well rounded athletes, as far as the colleges are concerned, they don't really care. They recruit for particular sports and being "well rounded" (in sports or otherwise) only checks a box. You don't get "credit" if you already play a sport for playing another. It's sad, but the significance of a "well rounded" athlete is fading in our society.
The GK life right there and how mean some people are to GK and their parents. My poor son GK story is for the ages and I swear the last soccer match of his young life. It was AYSO U something. Playoff against the smashing pumpkins. Very wet damp evening so grass is wet and that makes the soccer ball faster and Skippy when kicked off the grass. Well his last game was OT and golden goal rules were in play. My son let a very soft and I mean soft shot skip by him and through his legs we lost. Holy you know what happened? He ran off the field and went straight to the car crying and so pissed. The defense players yelled at him and all the parents just looked at me like it was all my fault. I took my kid to Thrifty and he totally forgot about it. I didn;t get in the car and yell at him for not listening to my advice before the match. I just told him and the family were going to get a triple scoop and he was happy
What I have observed with flight 1 is kids' level are more even. You can have multiple kids that are good enough to play striker/forward. Who ends up getting the position has something to do with team politics and whose parent kiss up to the coach more.
I have repeated a glib response to this question several times over the years. The ideal situation for a young developing player is to be the weakest starter. The player will have to work to keep his starting role and will benefit from exposure to and playing with players better than himself.
This is not true on most teams. It depends on the coach. The kids with a nose for the goal, and isn't great at defending, will generally be the striker. Kids have different personalities and like to do different things. Not all great soccer players make great strikers. Good coaches know their kids personalities over time and will place them where appropriate for the team and the player's development.
If your child loves playing a certain position and wants to control that, then play on lower flight.
I disagree. Strikers are the most athletic kids. They can play any position and be successful.
Oh boy, that reminds me of story long ago out in Lake Elsinore. We had three parents who said their kid plays CM or their living to Temecula United. Coach promised all three parents their kid would play CM. Back then it was 7 v 7 and just one CM. Oh God, what a nightmare of a season. Plus, one of the dads challenged me to a fight in the parking lot after our teams State Cup shellacking. The coaches love ass kissers and those who turn their cheek, that's all I can say about that. Pay to play is good for the coach, trust me.....lol
We will have to agree to disagree then. Messi would not been a great center back or outside back. Ronaldo wouldn't have been a good 10, but maybe centerback.
You can be the most athletic and be successful at any position, but if you don't have a nose for the goal, then you can't be a striker.
If you are athletic, have a nose for the goal but make bad decisions when cutting off attackers, then you can't play Center back.
If you're athletic but not a fantastic passer and see where the runs and spaces are on the whole field, then you're not going to be a great midfielder.
I've seen plenty of fantastic forwards that aren't fantastic as midfielders or center backs. Can they play it based on their athletic abilities? Yes. Are they going to be as good as an athletic person with all the attributes needed for that particular position? NO.
On a top team, a few players will be able to play multiple position but not all of them.
What flight are you playing in? I mean, your kid, but you get the point, Tier 1 Strikers have to play defense and offense all game or they sit on the bench. Defense is trying to steal the ball from the defenders or GK. Also fight for the ball when you get it taken from you and not act like that should never happen. On top of that, YNT coaches will take a top Striker and put them on defense.
We're referring to top teams and your point about YNT is consistent with what I'm saying, a striker on one team may be better suited for a different position on a better team, because someone else has a better nose for the goal.
Defending as a CB is very different than defending as a forward or as a midfielder. It's more than just fighting to get the ball or pressing- it's reading how the play is likely to unfold and cutting off the angle so a shot is hard to take or easy for the goalie to defend against. It's the ability to command the back line and force everyone to step up when necessary. It's working with the midfields to cut off all the possible scenarios coming at them. Not all strikers have this ability. I know many strikers that couldn't do this if they tried but are phenomenal at finding a way to get the ball behind the net with all their body parts.
Ok, I see your point and I agree 100%.
Edouble
BRONZE
My son is in the same boat right now, great technical skill but just lacks the size to keep up in flight 1. Even worse is if he makes a few mistakes and loses the ball, he gets benched while other bigger kids in the team have more room for error. He's barely 9 so he also understands he will grow and all he can do is continue to work on his technique. I feel like I'm just paying for club so that he plays against better and bigger players so that it helps him adapt later on. Thankfully we train outside of club and he plays futsal where he excels more in.
Totally different from what I've seen play out. I've seen a lot of coaches hide players at the 9 because those players don't have the skill necessary to play more complex roles (CB, 8 and 6). You pretty much just need to run fast and have a reasonable shot. Now if you're talking false 9 or something more complex, then yeah you need to be more competent.
We are talking about starting strikers, not bench player coach put in as a third striker because they can't be trusted in the back field.
I have a problem with Emma's statement that "The kids with a nose for the goal, and isn't great at defending, will generally be the striker." That is not true at all especially in the youngers. Kids who are most athletic and most skilled become strikers. Everyone of them can excel in defense just as well.
Yeah, that just doesn't align with what I've seen. I'm mostly talking about youngers for what it's worth. As they get older, everyone is skilled on the field. I think this perception is highly dependent on the style of play the kids are playing. In a more possession based approach you will see some of the most skilled players in the midfield. If the team plays more directly you probably won't see the same thing.
I use the word generally because there are definitely exceptions. There are a few excellent strikers, but definitely not "all", who are also excellent defenders.
Soccer is fun because there's more to it than just athleticism. The biggest, fastest, strongest players don't always end up successful. There's decision making, calmness, quickness, agility, peripheral vision, planning, communication, grit and hard work.