Mistakes happen

[Grace T.]

U13. Not too many shots in games. I’ve known the kid for over 2 years and even when he wasn’t playing in goal he was very subdued and quiet. The type of kid where you have a hard time remembering what their voice sounds like since you don’t hear them. I’m assistant so I’m at every practice and game. That’s interesting Grace, I’ll check out the program although that is too much $. I noticed his practice attendance was low and he stopped going to the GK training. His mom says he doesn’t believe in himself.

Unfortunately 12-13 is the age where: a) those GKers that are not physically fit (if they are playing at higher levels) begin to stop being effective...if he's heavy and out of shape and your team is advancing in the ranks, he was going to quit anyways because he won't be effective at all since he won't be able to extension dive and will be too slow to sweep and 1v1; b) for those GKers that struggle with confidence, it's the age (according to my son's GK coach) where he usually sees them quit...it's no longer worth it to them if they don't think they can play college, the pressure is too darn much, and it's no longer fun....if they don't find a mentor it's hard for them to survive the pressure without cracking; c) the not too many shots in the game thing also isn't great (for him)...it means he isn't busy particularly if you guys aren't playing from the back and he isn't using his feet (he may be just praying he doesn't have to do anything in a game)...and when you guys face higher level or stronger competition, he won't be ready for it....GKing is like the Goldilocks of soccer...you don't want too many shots, you don't want too few, you want them just right.

Small story: When my son was U10 he was on a team he didn't get any shots on and the team was routinely winning 10-0, 9-0, 8-1...think the closest score was 6-2. He thought he was doing awesome. They then advanced up the ranks in league and state cup and all of a sudden he's giving up goals. He's confidence gets really shaken. Plus, the coach's expectation was just through the roof on stuff he had never seen in game before. Coach afterwards told him he had no business whatsoever being a goalkeeper. That shattered him. If he hadn't had a strong mentor, and he didn't love the position that much he would have hung it up right then and there and he almost did

 

[Jar!23]

Unfortunately 12-13 is the age where: a) those GKers that are not physically fit (if they are playing at higher levels) begin to stop being effective...if he's heavy and out of shape and your team is advancing in the ranks, he was going to quit anyways because he won't be effective at all since he won't be able to extension dive and will be too slow to sweep and 1v1; b) for those GKers that struggle with confidence, it's the age (according to my son's GK coach) where he usually sees them quit...it's no longer worth it to them if they don't think they can play college, the pressure is too darn much, and it's no longer fun....if they don't find a mentor it's hard for them to survive the pressure without cracking; c) the not too many shots in the game thing also isn't great (for him)...it means he isn't busy particularly if you guys aren't playing from the back and he isn't using his feet (he may be just praying he doesn't have to do anything in a game)...and when you guys face higher level or stronger competition, he won't be ready for it....GKing is like the Goldilocks of soccer...you don't want too many shots, you don't want too few, you want them just right.

Small story: When my son was U10 he was on a team he didn't get any shots on and the team was routinely winning 10-0, 9-0, 8-1...think the closest score was 6-2. He thought he was doing awesome. They then advanced up the ranks in league and state cup and all of a sudden he's giving up goals. He's confidence gets really shaken. Plus, the coach's expectation was just through the roof on stuff he had never seen in game before. Coach afterwards told him he had no business whatsoever being a goalkeeper. That shattered him. If he hadn't had a strong mentor, and he didn't love the position that much he would have hung it up right then and there and he almost did

That’s crazy that coach said that to your son. Lots of kids are quitting at this age. Yes, the GK is a bit on the heavier side right now and the team was becoming more competitive. I’ll never know if it is healthier for him to keep playing or to stop. At this age, it can still be hard to tell if kids are playing because they want to or if they feel pressure from their parents. It just saddens me to see a kid seem so down. Sometimes I’ve seen him show up to practice with tears in his eyes.

Over the years, I’ve encountered several parents who would get so upset if their kid was put in goal. My own kid is short and a string bean right now, mostly center mid. He loves to fool around and go in goal during free play. My youngest wanted to try soccer at 7. I take him to practices for a few months. This was early on in the pandemic so games had not started. Coach has him practicing a lot in goal. I thought he was pretty good too. Wow I thought to myself that the coach won’t have to deal with a disgruntled parent. Unfortunately my kid quit and his scatter brain has already moved on to other things.

 

[Grace T.]

That’s crazy that coach said that to your son. Lots of kids are quitting at this age. Yes, the GK is a bit on the heavier side right now and the team was becoming more competitive. I’ll never know if it is healthier for him to keep playing or to stop. At this age, it can still be hard to tell if kids are playing because they want to or if they feel pressure from their parents. It just saddens me to see a kid seem so down. Sometimes I’ve seen him show up to practice with tears in his eyes.

Over the years, I’ve encountered several parents who would get so upset if their kid was put in goal. My own kid is short and a string bean right now, mostly center mid. He loves to fool around and go in goal during free play. My youngest wanted to try soccer at 7. I take him to practices for a few months. This was early on in the pandemic so games had not started. Coach has him practicing a lot in goal. I thought he was pretty good too. Wow I thought to myself that the coach won’t have to deal with a disgruntled parent. Unfortunately my kid quit and his scatter brain has already moved on to other things.

No sane parent would put their kid in goal. The pressure is intense even at the lower levels and it can crack em. There are lots of kids who would be athletically good at it too but don't have the dedication or mental toughness for the position.

At 7, they shouldn't even be playing with goalies. No reputable goalkeeper coach will take them at 7 (most won't until 9/10), and even at 8/9 the focus is on diving safely and positioning and being brave with the loose balls. You can't really even start to learn the techniques (with the exception of some unicorns) until about age 10 because your body coordination just isn't there. The expectation at that age should be split time as a field player, slap away shots sent directly to you, and rush out for the lose balls. A coach that requires diving, 1v1 or coming out for a corner/cross doesn't have proper expectation and is putting the player at risk. When parents of the very little ones ask me for advice as to what the best thing they should do to make their kids GK, I tell them play baseball as an outfield player.

 

[Jar!23]

No sane parent would put their kid in goal. The pressure is intense even at the lower levels and it can crack em. There are lots of kids who would be athletically good at it too but don't have the dedication or mental toughness for the position.

At 7, they shouldn't even be playing with goalies. No reputable goalkeeper coach will take them at 7 (most won't until 9/10), and even at 8/9 the focus is on diving safely and positioning and being brave with the loose balls. You can't really even start to learn the techniques (with the exception of some unicorns) until about age 10 because your body coordination just isn't there. The expectation at that age should be split time as a field player, slap away shots sent directly to you, and rush out for the lose balls. A coach that requires diving, 1v1 or coming out for a corner/cross doesn't have proper expectation and is putting the player at risk. When parents of the very little ones ask me for advice as to what the best thing they should do to make their kids GK, I tell them play baseball as an outfield player.

I think the youngest age group for league play is U9? My kid was one year younger with a fall birthday. I am a bit relieved he decided he didn’t like it. For my U13 kid, one of his teammates used to spend half time in goal. The dad hated it and basically told coach he would pull his son from the team. Well I guess the dad is vindicated now because now the kid is the team’s top scorer.

 

[Yousername]

No sane parent would put their kid in goal. The pressure is intense even at the lower levels and it can crack em. There are lots of kids who would be athletically good at it too but don't have the dedication or mental toughness for the position.

At 7, they shouldn't even be playing with goalies. No reputable goalkeeper coach will take them at 7 (most won't until 9/10), and even at 8/9 the focus is on diving safely and positioning and being brave with the loose balls. You can't really even start to learn the techniques (with the exception of some unicorns) until about age 10 because your body coordination just isn't there. The expectation at that age should be split time as a field player, slap away shots sent directly to you, and rush out for the lose balls. A coach that requires diving, 1v1 or coming out for a corner/cross doesn't have proper expectation and is putting the player at risk. When parents of the very little ones ask me for advice as to what the best thing they should do to make their kids GK, I tell them play baseball as an outfield player.

I guess I must be insane then because when my daughter started gravitating toward keeper at 8, I told her to go for it. Good keepers are hard to find and are sought after. Kind of like a true left footed left back… a real unicorn. I knew that if she had the talent, there would be no shortage of attention, requests for guesting, and youth national team call ups So far, shes got great things going for her, so I guess my insane gamble is paying off.

 

[Grace T.]

I guess I must be insane then because when my daughter started gravitating toward keeper at 8, I told her to go for it. Good keepers are hard to find and are sought after. Kind of like a true left footed left back… a real unicorn. I knew that if she had the talent, there would be no shortage of attention, requests for guesting, and youth national team call ups So far, shes got great things going for her, so I guess my insane gamble is paying off.

There’s a shortage of girl keepers in SoCal. There’s an extreme shortage of good girl goalkeepers (which means if they have the strong mindset they have a lot of options open to them)

It’s less tight on the boys end. It means there’s also less pressure on the girls since some coaches are happy to just have a keeper. But level to level and age to age, much more than field players, and on average the girls are multiple skill levels behind the boys. There are girls out there that can rock out with the boys and they are awesome to see…but on the whole compared to the boys on average the girl keepers are poor. Not really pc but by age 12 that’s very apparent.

 

[MamaBear5]

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That’s crazy that coach said that to your son. Lots of kids are quitting at this age. Yes, the GK is a bit on the heavier side right now and the team was becoming more competitive. I’ll never know if it is healthier for him to keep playing or to stop. At this age, it can still be hard to tell if kids are playing because they want to or if they feel pressure from their parents. It just saddens me to see a kid seem so down. Sometimes I’ve seen him show up to practice with tears in his eyes.

Over the years, I’ve encountered several parents who would get so upset if their kid was put in goal. My own kid is short and a string bean right now, mostly center mid. He loves to fool around and go in goal during free play. My youngest wanted to try soccer at 7. I take him to practices for a few months. This was early on in the pandemic so games had not started. Coach has him practicing a lot in goal. I thought he was pretty good too. Wow I thought to myself that the coach won’t have to deal with a disgruntled parent. Unfortunately my kid quit and his scatter brain has already moved on to other things.

If the kid is coming to practice with tears in his eyes it is time to have a serious conversation with the parents. At the end of the day this sport should be fun and if they aren't having fun they shouldn't be doing it - especially in the keeper position. There is so much pressure put on the keepers that the one between the posts should LOVE being there.

 

[socalkdg]

There’s a shortage of girl keepers in SoCal. There’s an extreme shortage of good girl goalkeepers (which means if they have the strong mindset they have a lot of options open to them)

It’s less tight on the boys end. It means there’s also less pressure on the girls since some coaches are happy to just have a keeper. But level to level and age to age, much more than field players, and on average the girls are multiple skill levels behind the boys. There are girls out there that can rock out with the boys and they are awesome to see…but on the whole compared to the boys on average the girl keepers are poor. Not really pc but by age 12 that’s very apparent.

My daughters keeper training for the last 1.5 years has been with a group of boys now aged 16-19 and that has been a blessing. She is 16 and the 16 year old boy that has been training is just now starting to pass her up, but it is still close. They don't take it easy on her and all training is equal for all participants. Sometimes she trains with two other girls from the club and you can see the difference in the training.