I think you are being generous with 3 our of 4 times. It's more like 1 out of 4, especially once the testosterone starts to surge. 1 out of 4 they are doing what the coach tells them to. 1 out of 4 they might do something experimental and challenging. 2 out of 4 they are neglecting prior instructions given and/or goofing around because they think they know better (but really don't). Boys once the juice starts flowing are idiots. The game evolves despite them because of the vast differences in body types, and the fact they all begin to revel in it and think they are supermen.
Spain Women and thoughts on ECNL
- Thread starter Highlander
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I always shake my head when we hear about coaches taking athletes over players with good technical skills. We never hear about such a thing in basketball because the game is different. As noted on this thread, at an early age, it's easy to win at soccer with better athletes, as players with the technical skills to overcome this athleticism are rare, even in Spain, I would guess. The challenge of changing our culture to accept "development over winning" is daunting. Instead, US Soccer should support changing the game of competitive youth soccer. Have two games in one. Half of the game day is spent with the same game they play now. The other half is spent playing a "small-ball" game without a goalie, emphasizing the skills and tactics of possession. I won't claim to know any offhand, but Deza used many, and I'm sure we could find an appropriate one. I just realized this could also double the number of trophies per tournament.
Well we already have something like that. Futsal. It’s 5v5 and it will enhance your technical skills, speed of play tenfold. What clubs should do is start their baby league futsal program. Similar to what Blues did last year. Have them play futsal until about 14/15 simultaneously with soccer. Once more clubs follow path. You start a futsal league and you have a season for it and tournaments. One of the reasons why my DD can play with boys is because of her technical ability and fast speed of play from the last few years of futsal. She’s a 3 time futsal national champ and arguably the best 2010 girl futsal player in the country..
I think you are spot on with the boys tending to not follow directions all the time. Girls seem to do whatever Doc says verbatim but boys are a little bit more rebellious. As far as going back to play with girls well she knows very well that she needs to play different. With boys she can actual play soccer. Pass and move. Make the runs. Does not have to hold the ball too long because every boy is technical like her so it’s like a machine where all the moving parts just work together nicely. On the other hand with girls she has to be that player who relentlessly attacks and creates the opportunity for the others. The type of player Americans love watching take over a game, beat a bunch of defenders with speed, yada yada. She needs to play the fire Marshall game: Constantly out there putting out fires when playing mid and be the go to player offensively to make things happen. While it’s nice to play that way, for me it’s not soccer. But this is what Americans love to see.
Luis, I played indoor soccer as a youth. Is futsal similar? Do they keep score and have prizes for the champs? Anyway, we played AYSO 11 v 11 in the Fall and Indoor Soccer in Winter/Spring. I loved kicking against the wall in indoor. I don't think futsal allows you to kick against the wall? I like the idea though. I will admit, I helped my daughter chase medals as a youth and it was addicting, especially because she won so many big tournaments and championships. However, looking back, we need to develop the youth locally and play locally and not teach winning. Winning might be how to collect a ball in the air or learning how to bend it like Messi. If you become a Messi or OM at 13, well then you can move to Spain to play full time prodigy and learn from the champs, who worked hard and chased that world cup trophy this time at WC. I really like the back and forth were having here.
there is a big difference between futsal and arena soccer which you are referring to. Arena soccer has walls so you can pass to yourself. Futsal has out of bounds lines like a basketball court. So you gotta be way more technical to manage the ball from going out of bounds. You need to make accurate pin point passes and keep the ball moving fast. It’s very team oriented. Yes they do have scores but that’s what makes it fun for the kids. Because they get to score way more. I’ve seen games where teams are up 8-2 and within 5 minutes it could be 8-8. Very intense to watch and nerve racking. I can tell you from experience being in the biggest games in the country.My wife has had to walk away a few times cause she couldn’t handle the nerves. I don’t know how some of the little ones do it but it makes them mentally tough as well. Since it’s only 4 field players and 1 goalie you can have 1 player take over like Kobe Bryant and they become the hero of the game.
I love that part since I’m a big basketball fan. I
Think you would love it if you love B ball. Not saying I encourage them to do that but it’s possible because 1/5 can affect the game much more than 1/11. In outdoor soccer it does not make sense. But futsal well it’s ok at times especially if there are minutes to go and you down by a small margin. You need that player to do something special.
Agree x1000 about young players and futsal.
More touches + faster speed of play + higher scores. Basically everything players do on the field is amplified.
Once you hit 11v11 Futsal skills aren't as helpful because the field opens up + players start doing tactics that aren't the same as small sided games. But having a strong base of footskills that comes from futsal is never a bad thing. Players just need to understand that field and futsal are 2 seperate things on an 11v11 field.
What's funny is after your kid plays Futsal as a younger you'll be able to see the movements it encourages. In a 7v7 game once you know what to look for it's easy to tell which players are playing Futsal and which ones likely arent.
Have to agree with this. In fact, my daughter and 2 pals won a 3 v 3 tournament against boys because they understood passing lanes, forwards are defenders and defenders are forwards. Those small sided games teach an awful lot and, IMO, don't get utilized enough.
All players that want to play at the top level should play Futsal until the age of 14/15. Clubs need to invest in this much more. South American, Portugal, and Spain youth systems demand it. It’s great that your DD plays futsal, however…..
The futsal national championships, whether USYF or USSF are nothing to brag about. Most of the futsal is not good. Most of the coaches at these tournaments have no clue what they are doing. As your daughter ages up to the u15/16 futsal age groups, they can’t even find enough teams to enter the tournament in Kansas City. Hence, combined age groups to fill the brackets. Got a few national futsal national titles in my household too, so been there, done that, and not paying for the X-country experience to play against some poor futsal clubs. Furthermore, the US women’s futsal national team is the worst of pay to play. If you’ve got $10 grand to drop, they will sign you immediately to the “National Team” to go play for a week over Xmas in Spain or Portugal.
I like futsal over Indoor.
I stood next to Anson Dorrance a few years ago watching an ECNL showcase game and we started chatting about futsal. He said that with about 90% accuracy, inside of 10 minutes watching the ECNL match, he could tell me which players played futsal…and he was right!
I feel honored. My dd played in some fun and hard fought 3x3 tournaments when she was around 8-11. Speed is nice but faking one out and moving without the ball can win you a medal in these big 3 v 3 tournaments. It's fun to watch and all the girls get touches. We won it all one year and lost playing up another year. Shooting Stars and each player had a tutu for their uniform.
In Spain kids play small sided field games with 3/4 goals until U14. It's why sometimes Spanish teams struggle at Mic because it's usually 2 academy teams being pushed together in an 11 v 11 squad. Where they actually get a lot of their futsal experience is at elementary school recess on what would be basketball courts for us. On the academy lane the futsal and field players are very much considered separate tracks, separate games, because after the younger ages, as Carlsbad points out, the futsal skills don't really translate as well. The other reality is they do futsal because they have too....field space in Spain is much much much more limited than field space in the United States so in reality rec teams do futsal for that reason.
p.s. my kid played with his cousin's rec team the year I did a 3 month work stint in Spain. Our most crappy ass fields in downtown in LA have nothing on the crappy ass field with no nets they practiced on. Field quality doesn't translate to success. Otherwise Salt Lake City with its immaculate fields would be producing our best teams at every level.
Like I said in Futsal EVERYTHING is amplified.
- footskills
- speed of play
- small sided tactics
- number of shots on goal
- number of goals
- parents screaming for their player/team
- parents grouping up with other parents to make superteams
- parents willing to pay whatever it takes to win
- refs accepting hundred dollar bills to "keep it fair" ;-)
- crazy tournaments that feel like Mad Max beyond Thunderdome
As a spectator I like it more than field soccer. Your kid doesn't even have to win all the time to have fun because there's so much excitment in air.
kickingandscreaming
PREMIER
Futsal is useful, but we wouldn't be having this discussion if it were the answer. It exists, and we still are in the state we are in with technical development. Something has to change. My point is to approach the change that needs to occur by incorporating it into our existing, high-participation, competitive youth soccer. Doing so might even increase participation in futsal as players develop more skills that are transferrable.
The competition has gotten much better over the past few years. But you still have the kick ball teams that go all out playing soccer on the futsal field. They'll park the bus and the worst part is when the goalie becomes quarter back trying to lob the ball to the big strong striker cherry picking for the goal. However my daughter's futsal team is all about playng the right way. No kickball, triangle passing, good stuff. Since we just won nationals we are invited to go to Spain at the end of the year to batttle some of the top Spanish futsal teams like Barcelona. I hear they are very good. So let's see what happens should be fun. The one player from San Diego Waves Melanie Barcenas, the 15 year old who got signed not too long ago played futsal and she was very good at it. Argusbly the best player in her age group at the time. My DD looks up to her so she has been a role model to her,
Wouldn't you agree that if US soccer made futsal a requirement for the younger ages then it may help? The problem is not enough kids play futsal. So you will never have that pool of players. In other countries like Brazil and Spain, if you play soccer you also play futsal when you were young. It's part of the culture.
I‘ve known Mel since she was 9 years old. DD played with Mel and her dad‘s/uncle’s futsal club for years. Jill Ellis use to drop in Friday nights to watch our group play. That’s how Jill got connected with Mel.
So futsal played the right way, I know a “little” about that. Already watched in person the youth USA national team play against Barca and Royal Madrid youth teams over the fast few years. Competitive, and the US team showed well. Every year we won nationals we got the invite to Europe. Go if you want, but it’s a money grab. Best part is the tours of Camp Nou, La Masia, and the Bernabau. My opinion, if u want the full experience, go to the USYF national team selection tryouts in KC, and do it with the National team. Some years they go to S America instead. But it’s still a money grab.
Lou and Luis know their stuff 100%. Thanks for sharing. My dd played one season of futsal and it was a kickball team and no fun and so we bailed. It looked dangerous to be honest. I see if played right, then it's hug benefits. I wish my dd had a chance to play futsal. I heard about Mel playing futsal and you can see her confidence with the ball. Thoughts on Hacky Sack?
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