The early puberty crowd definitely gets all the attention at u14 and under, but as a well known local coach once said, you can't really predict how good a player is until after puberty. Most of those fast kids and big kids and the big&fast kids at u11 flame out by u16/17 when everyone else has caught up with equal levels of hormones and growth spurts. I can think of so many "goats" who were identified early by ODP, US Soccer, etc, who are now just meh, and being surpassed by others. Of course, US Soccer et al won't admit their mistake and drop them from consideration, but college coaches and pro scouts will see the difference.
Most misunderstood position in soccer. "My kid is big, fast, and has a strong leg...he's/she's a striker." Often heard quote. Then watch the kid play and they:
this is accurate on every level , boy or girls.... its a marathon not a race and if your not putting in the extra effort every week, you will fall behind
An ex player & coach I know (played champions league and capped nationally, youth coach and now coaching a pro team who won their domestic league) used to crack up at the juggle infatuation. Sure you should be able to keep it up a few times, on each foot etc., but its all about being able to control the ball when you receive it, esp. in tight situations, and then about being able to put it where you intend to put it, either short, medium or long passes - or in the goal. You should be able to do that with both feet ideally. He would ping 20 & 30 yard passes to the kids and land it at their feet every time, without exception. I saw him play 6v6, small goals and he scored for fun, not by beating players, just by banging it into the corner (any corner) every time, flawlessly - both knees were done, couldn't run very much, overweight and you could see he was a zillion levels above every other coach on the field despite all of them having their played in college or played "pro" (US) creds, and being a decade or two younger than him.
Keep the juggling within context of the rest of what I said.
Johan Cruyff: “Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus.
We’ll I can’t argue with the true greatest of his time if not all time.
.The rest was fine, its the juggling that's annoying. I think it was Zuoma, CB for Chelsea, who said he'd never done more than 5 juggles in his life.
Juggling needs to be done with purpose beyond just making it to a certain number. Most touches should be low, but the high juggling helps to learn to control high balls. Juggling while walking and better yet running is very helpful to control the ball in many situations. Players should be able with just their dominant foot and with just their non-dominant foot, all the while doing the low, high and juggling while moving. Of course other skills should be worked on and more time should be spent on horizontal ball movement drills than juggling. But juggling skills are helpful anytime the ball is not on the ground.
It’s better to be versatile. My son plays center mid, wing and full back. In his new team he was a backup winger until the coach asked who wanted to start as full back, he raised his hand and has been a starter ever since.
There is a crazy balance you and your child need to achieve between what position they want to play and what position they may be best inclined to play. You also need to keep in mind the inexact of science of prediction. Will they stop growing at 5'5 or be 6'4. Are they a possession type player or will they do better playing direct. The best possession cm I know just switched teams since his new coach plays direct and he has been a possession player his whole career. No matter what, you will need to be flexible and pivot many many times.
I don't think the statement about smaller boys at a young age is true. Lots of great flight 1 teams with smaller players at young teams. Smaller boys play different positions and have to be more agile. The 7-9th grade years is when size becomes an issue because puberty comes later for some and may create a 1.5 feet height difference. If your player has not developed great footskills and quickness, the puberty years can be tough. If your player is having a hard time hanging with bigger players during puberty, it's not a bad idea to drop a flight or two until they can handle it. Some small players can hang and some can't. Be realistic and observant as a parent. It's ok to drop off to another flight to protect your child and prepare him for the future. Don't let flight dictate the puberty years, let growth and development do it. When your child is 16, that's when scouts start paying attention unless they're an early bloomer and already 6 feet by 14. Some kids will get noticed first but others will remain noticed once they hit their stride. Scouts know about puberty too.
