WWC 2023

Carlsbad7 said:
What I know about life is that you have to go "all in" on anything you do if you want to be the best + do it professionally.

Learned this lesson back in college when I was playing in bands. I played in bars on weekends, had a job at night during the week, + took classes during the day. I'd rub elbows with people that took music seriously + that's all they'd do. When you're living out of your car or in the rehearsal space + if your next meal comes from the bands success or failure you either get good or you starve.

The same concept applies to sports at the highest levels. If you want to be the best + do it professionally you have to go all in. The good thing about going all in is that you'll quickly discover if playing professionally is something you can do.
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BTW the "going all in" concept is why the USWNT crapped out.

GA + ECNL + even College Soccer aren't true Soccer Academies. College Soccer is the closest but only because there's 1 team for players attending 4 years of college.

A true Soccer Academy focuses on Soccer and that's it. Players go to "class" which is all Soccer theory and tactics + for the rest of the day they practice and play soccer. If you're good you stay if your bad you go. That's it there's no in-between.
 
Luis Andres said:
100%. If you all recall how much heat I got a few years ago for my gung-ho approach to training and technical development when my DD was younger. Many of you said she would burn out and be quitting by 13. I took a gamble back then and it paid off. She is now more motivated than ever to train and fight for her dreams & goals. She decided to pull out of ECNL and I’m supporting her decision. It’s about her and not about her friends. She gets it. She will play MLS next with boys this season, first because she earned her spot in making the team & because she found a whole new world of connecting with the ball that was not present in a girls team.

On the girls side she had become a great individual player that can create on her own to score and assist. But she realized that in order to learn how to play the right type of soccer that will be effective at the higher levels, she would need to be around players that can connect the ball at her level and have the right ideas in moving with and without the ball. I believe she will be the only girl playing MLS next in So Cal this next season. Now that the Thompson sisters have graduated from the league. Having a few tournaments under her belt she is doing great so far because the system that she trains now is a perfect fit for her technical skill set, speed of play and explosive acceleration that she has. She can run 30m sprint in 4.16 seconds which is phenomenal for a girl. She is a “total football” system type of player that comes from a background of having played in every position on the pitch. She loves to play fast and move the ball in a possession style manner. However she would not do well in a direct and physical boys team because the ball would move to slow and she would get quickly out powered by strong teenage boys. If she were to play in a direct system she would need to go back to ecnl.
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Know exactly what you're talking about. Mine plays with a boys team every Friday. ;-) Not MLS Next but a competitive group.

Boys move faster then girls + are stronger + take more risks. Being able to play with a boys team + being exposed to a different style of play is a secret weapon for girls.
 
ESPANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1-0

Great game. England didn't show up until the 2nd half..and even then they didn't play all that great. England GK came up huge on the 2nd half PK.
Kept them in the game with that save, otherwise it would've been over if Spain got that 2nd goal.

U-17, U-20, and now the Big One. Nice
 
pewpew said:
ESPANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1-0

Great game. England didn't show up until the 2nd half..and even then they didn't play all that great. England GK came up huge on the 2nd half PK.
Kept them in the game with that save, otherwise it would've been over if Spain got that 2nd goal.

U-17, U-20, and now the Big One. Nice
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I'd say their youth systems is working eh? I didn't know they had u17, u20 until they said it this morning on the broadcast. When will we(USA) get it right?
 
Veritas said:
Women peaking in their 20's physically and skills wise? Where did you hear that load of sh.. I completely disagree. Girls finish developing much faster than boys. If they are 14/15 and did not get the skills and touch needed to play at the highest level they are done... They will never develop the skills and proper touch after that. After puberty most girls go south if they did not develop before...
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I said they peak later. They also develope earlier. Search "when do women physically peak" and you will see 30's vs men late 20s.

It is my experience, girls develop before boys, but few "get" the game until later. I've officiated hundreds of games of many ages. It is not the same.

Women do things in 20s they could not do in teens. I've been told that by WNT players. My daughter told me that. The coach of the 2010 College Cup champs that recruited her told me that.

Other data:
There are no male cycling time trial World Champions in their 40s. There are multiple women world champions 40+.

To soccer - why keep such an old team if the kids can do as well?
WNT average age is 30+
MNT average age is 25.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
What I know about life is that you have to go "all in" on anything you do if you want to be the best + do it professionally.

Learned this lesson back in college when I was playing in bands. I played in bars on weekends, had a job at night during the week, + took classes during the day. I'd rub elbows with people that took music seriously + that's all they'd do. When you're living out of your car or in the rehearsal space + if your next meal comes from the bands success or failure you either get good or you starve.

The same concept applies to sports at the highest levels. If you want to be the best + do it professionally you have to go all in. The good thing about going all in is that you'll quickly discover if playing professionally is something you can do.
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... or truly WANT to do.
 
espola said:
I was a little off -- through the first 56 games (48 group play and 8 round of 16 games) there have been 9 games that ended with a 0-0 score, 13 games at 1-0, and 8 at 2-0. All other scores happened 4 or fewer times. The oddball is the 6-3 score when France beat Panama.
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Through all the games, including the third-place game, we ended up with 14 1-0 games, 10 0-0 games, and 8 2-1 games, plus other scores scattered around as noted above.
 
Luis Andres said:
Someone sees the light....

I've been saying the same thing...

"These systemic problems have left the USWNT “massively short of creative talent,” Hayes wrote. She cited OL Reign and USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle as one player who has that creativity, though “she’s not always given the platform that a No. 10 would be here in Europe.”
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Set the girls free and see them blossom. I know daddy wants their dd to go to college and so does the ECNL and I can appreciate that, I truly do. The top female soccer players in our country had to get Unicorn grades, Unicorn SAT scores, must be a Unicorn human being and basically STFU and do as told from the Club, the Doc and the coach or else. They also had to train 5 days a week and be the best Unicorn soccer player as well. That is a tall order and the stress put on their brains, minds and body is cruel and inhumane. Talk about slaves. We had some nasty PAY-FOR-PLAY requirements for our dds. I see big change Luis. Set the girls free!!!
 
Luis Andres said:
Someone sees the light....

I've been saying the same thing...

“My feeling is that the U.S. as a nation will have to adapt its expectations around international success in women’s football. It is not that the team are necessarily failing, and it is not just about this team or this coach. For the U.S., there needs to be a bigger conversation about their collegiate system and youth development as well as the NWSL.”

"These systemic problems have left the USWNT “massively short of creative talent,” Hayes wrote. She cited OL Reign and USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle as one player who has that creativity, though “she’s not always given the platform that a No. 10 would be here in Europe.”
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www.instagram.com

Identity Hybrid, LLC on Instagram: "Didn’t I say this a couple months back? 🤔🤔😏 #youthsoccer #youthsports #ecnl #mlsnext #clubsoccer #usyouthsoccer"

12K likes, 0 comments - identityhybrid on October 13, 2023: "Didn’t I say this a couple months back? 🤔🤔😏 #youthsoccer #youthsports #ecnl #mlsnext #clubsoccer #usyouthsoccer".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
She’s not one of my favorites, but she’s on target.
 
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In women's soccer there's a clearly defined path to pro which is marketed and sold to parents. Parents respond by throwing $$$ at everyone along the way to make things happen. In the end you get players that like soccer but don't really love it. Its gotten players to where they are + makes their parents happy. Also with women's soccer parents spend just as much time trying to exclude new players as they do trying to get their kid on the top team.

With Boys/Men's soccer it's much simpler. The best player plays. It's that easy, you don't have all the drama / nonsense. Also because there's a Pro option top talent moves up the ladder as fast as it needs to. This means you don't end up with super teams that stagnate + dominate XYZ league.

Unfortunately there's too much $$$ to be made for those that are ok exploiting players which means nothing is going to change.

Maybe if true women's pro clubs happen in the US that play in leagues not setup like MLS with a true academy program underneath things will change.
 
Luis Andres said:
You mean a clearly defined path to college, not pro, right? I don't see a clear, defined path to go pro for women in the USA. There is a path, but it's not clear. But the ECNL path to college is clear. NWSL clubs need to take over the girls' side and create academies like MLS academies are doing with boys. Until the USA allows the transfer of youth players from club to other clubs with a financial incentive, then things will start to change, as the financial incentive will now be there to truly develop soccer players, not just recruit workhorses. Until then, pay-to-play wins. Having all the emphasis on continually recruiting the best athletes that can run fast to go fetch the long ball, or the striker that can run fast to get to the box first for the cross from the speedy winger, to get the "results" just to win games so they can come out on top and poach the best players from the other clubs next season... I'm not saying it's wrong to recruit the best athletes, but we want to recruit the best athletes that are true soccer players. Those who have technique and tactical awareness. Those who understand the fundamental principles of when to dribble and when to pass. Those who understand how to play as a team. Those who understand how to protect the ball, how to dribble with technique, and how to move off the ball for the benefit of the team and not the individual. Maybe then, things will change... In the meantime, we as parents are stuck trying to develop the intangibles that European players get from their pro academies. You as a parent need to do this intangible development yourself, as it does not exist in the current club system. Many American pay-to-play club Directors of Coaching & American “Private Trainers” have no clue about these intangibles.
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Imagine if Pro Womens Soccer teams were able to offer 100k signing bonuses and 100k per year as a base salary for all players in the league.

When womens soccer becomes popular enough to warrant those type of paychecks everything will flip in the US.

Right now womens top talent has 2 choices. Either you go pro and maybe make 50k per year (on average) or you play in college and get a decent degree along the way. Unfortunately, the numbers just don't make sense yet.

If you could make 300-400k playing pro a couple of years you'd see much more players going this route because you could always use the $$$ to pay for college at a later date.
 
Luis Andres said:
You mean a clearly defined path to college, not pro, right? I don't see a clear, defined path to go pro for women in the USA. There is a path, but it's not clear. But the ECNL path to college is clear. NWSL clubs need to take over the girls' side and create academies like MLS academies are doing with boys. Until the USA allows the transfer of youth players from club to other clubs with a financial incentive, then things will start to change, as the financial incentive will now be there to truly develop soccer players, not just recruit workhorses. Until then, pay-to-play wins. Having all the emphasis on continually recruiting the best athletes that can run fast to go fetch the long ball, or the striker that can run fast to get to the box first for the cross from the speedy winger, to get the "results" just to win games so they can come out on top and poach the best players from the other clubs next season... I'm not saying it's wrong to recruit the best athletes, but we want to recruit the best athletes that are true soccer players. Those who have technique and tactical awareness. Those who understand the fundamental principles of when to dribble and when to pass. Those who understand how to play as a team. Those who understand how to protect the ball, how to dribble with technique, and how to move off the ball for the benefit of the team and not the individual. Maybe then, things will change... In the meantime, we as parents are stuck trying to develop the intangibles that European players get from their pro academies. You as a parent need to do this intangible development yourself, as it does not exist in the current club system. Many American pay-to-play club Directors of Coaching & American “Private Trainers” have no clue about these intangibles.
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My dd gets more of the technique/dribbling/quick reaction/tactical awareness training from one Toque futsal training session than she did from 10 club soccer practices.

By the way, good luck in Barcelona.
 
Squishy said:
My dd gets more of the technique/dribbling/quick reaction/tactical awareness training from one Toque futsal training session than she did from 10 club soccer practices.

By the way, good luck in Barcelona.
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All the girls my DD grew up with, that have and will go onto playing college ball at prominent programs, spent a significant time with futsal.
 
Luis Andres said:
Could you imagine if the girls got to experience something like this? The financial incentive is there to develop players. That means not only money but also notoriety for the academy, which attracts the most technical athletes. The best train with the best, and they form deep friendships and bonds on the field, which translates to good team chemistry. When this starts to happen on the girls' side, then US soccer's job will be simple because the academies have done their job developing potential professional players that make a good fit for youth national team players.

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This is exactly why smaller countries with less players will start dominating women's soccer. The whole academy model is just starting to happen for women. Soon (in the next 15 years) women's academies will be on par with men's programs. Once this happens the USWNT will never win big games.
 
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