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Post by soccerfan30 on Jun 26, 2016 12:42:06 GMT -5
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Post by sweeper on Jun 26, 2016 19:49:20 GMT -5
Ah yes, the asinine assumption that the reason US soccer is failing is because the pool of players is too limited because of the cost involved in youth soccer. Iceland is a country of 350k which might give you a pool of 30k youth players; I have seen more players than that at Academy Cup. Iceland started implementing a development curriculum approximately 10 years ago and now has players in most of the European top leagues. The next incorrect assumption is that if only the top American athletes played soccer, the US could compete. I will tell you that many great athletes already compete in this sport in the US but Americans have to realize that soccer is as much a skill and art as it is an athletic endeavor. American sports are the embodiment of athleticism and strength so much that great athletes that have never played American football before can start playing at 18-20 and still be successful. There will never be an 18 year old athlete that picks up a soccer ball for the first time and becomes successful. Soccer requires too much skill and game IQ for that too happened.
My playing career was long over before I came to this country but I am experiencing US soccer development with my son. Here is what I have found that I believe is hindering the development of soccer in America:
- The primary ways coaches improve teams is through recruiting not developing. A coach who wanted my son to play for him excitedly told us how he was in the process of recruiting 7 top players. On the drive home my son asked me if the coach would recruit a player for his spot if he ever messed up.
- In general, coaching is not at a high level. My 13 year old nephew can discuss tactics at a much higher level than any 17 year old RPL level player I have met
- Coaches coach to win the next game, tournament . - parents are too involved in their kids 'soccer career'. Many parents don't trust the coach will do the right thing for their kid - Size and speed are always favored over skill, even at Academy and in early Select years. If US youth soccer was responsible for trying to find an artist to create a work like Michelangelo’s David they would round up every lumberjack they could find because they can swing a hammer/ax really hard and fast.
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Post by rifle on Jun 26, 2016 20:13:37 GMT -5
Ah yes, the asinine assumption that the reason US soccer.... This deserves far more than a "like". Nothing but truth.
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Post by setpieces on Jun 27, 2016 17:24:00 GMT -5
Ah yes, the asinine assumption that the reason US soccer is failing is because the pool of players is too limited because of the cost involved in youth soccer. Iceland is a country of 350k which might give you a pool of 30k youth players; I have seen more players than that at Academy Cup. Iceland started implementing a development curriculum approximately 10 years ago and now has players in most of the European top leagues. The next incorrect assumption is that if only the top American athletes played soccer, the US could compete. I will tell you that many great athletes already compete in this sport in the US but Americans have to realize that soccer is as much a skill and art as it is an athletic endeavor. American sports are the embodiment of athleticism and strength so much that great athletes that have never played American football before can start playing at 18-20 and still be successful. There will never be an 18 year old athlete that picks up a soccer ball for the first time and becomes successful. Soccer requires too much skill and game IQ for that too happened. My playing career was long over before I came to this country but I am experiencing US soccer development with my son. Here is what I have found that I believe is hindering the development of soccer in America: - The primary ways coaches improve teams is through recruiting not developing. A coach who wanted my son to play for him excitedly told us how he was in the process of recruiting 7 top players. On the drive home my son asked me if the coach would recruit a player for his spot if he ever messed up. - In general, coaching is not at a high level. My 13 year old nephew can discuss tactics at a much higher level than any 17 year old RPL level player I have met - Coaches coach to win the next game, tournament . - parents are too involved in their kids 'soccer career'. Many parents don't trust the coach will do the right thing for their kid - Size and speed are always favored over skill, even at Academy and in early Select years. If US youth soccer was responsible for trying to find an artist to create a work like Michelangelo’s David they would round up every lumberjack they could find because they can swing a hammer/ax really hard and fast. I agree with ALL of your points. I have a few questions for you since you were not "raised" with this American soccer philosophy... - How long do players typically play for an academy in your country (until they're selected to the senior team)? I understand that some players are cut from the pool but may come back at older ages and make the team again. We have a mentality that "the grass is always greener" at the next club so it's easy for many parents to be courted by other clubs
- How much time is spent with skill training, tactical, and strategic training where your from vs. the U.S.? I see this as a major problem since many U.S. kids aren't immersed in soccer culture like the rest of the world. We don't watch it much on TV (due to so many other professional sports) and we don't play much in an unstructured environment (like pickup games of basketball)
- My experience with three local clubs has been that the coach teaches very very basic skills and focuses the team on decision making drills and scrimmages. I've actually been told that technical skill should be taught and paid for individually. Is this common in other places in the world?
- There is certainly a win today at the cost of developing tomorrow. Bigger, faster, stronger is definitely more of a focus in the U.S. Are players evaluated based on skill, tactics in your country vs. size/speed? Which is more important during that evaluation process?
- Sometimes I am one of those parents that don't completely trust the coach for many of the reasons stated above. My kid has played on a 2nd level team for most of academy. We actually turned down playing on the top team this year because the coaching was better on the second team. More parents need to realize that it HAS to be about development vs. being on the top team and winning at all costs
I'd be interested to know how you would approach correcting these problems with U.S. youth soccer.
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Post by touchlinedad on Jun 28, 2016 10:53:20 GMT -5
Sweeper, you're comments are spot on, especially about development. During the recent tryouts, I encountered a team that would rather try to recruit other Classic 1 players than take a chance on a player who had played at lower levels. The recent U.S. loss to Argentina was a classic example of how we do not develop players. Every Argentine player had a better touch than our team. If we could only get coaches and parents to put as much emphasis on a good first touch as they do on winning, we would be a lot better off. I also would support getting rid of tournaments, especially at the Academy level. That time and energy would be better spent on practicing technique or playing pickup games, where players could improve without all the pressure of trying to win.
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Post by parentsoccerfan on Jun 28, 2016 13:40:41 GMT -5
Ah yes, the asinine assumption that the reason US soccer is failing is because the pool of players is too limited because of the cost involved in youth soccer. Iceland is a country of 350k which might give you a pool of 30k youth players; I have seen more players than that at Academy Cup. Iceland started implementing a development curriculum approximately 10 years ago and now has players in most of the European top leagues. The next incorrect assumption is that if only the top American athletes played soccer, the US could compete. I will tell you that many great athletes already compete in this sport in the US but Americans have to realize that soccer is as much a skill and art as it is an athletic endeavor. American sports are the embodiment of athleticism and strength so much that great athletes that have never played American football before can start playing at 18-20 and still be successful. There will never be an 18 year old athlete that picks up a soccer ball for the first time and becomes successful. Soccer requires too much skill and game IQ for that too happened. My playing career was long over before I came to this country but I am experiencing US soccer development with my son. Here is what I have found that I believe is hindering the development of soccer in America: - The primary ways coaches improve teams is through recruiting not developing. A coach who wanted my son to play for him excitedly told us how he was in the process of recruiting 7 top players. On the drive home my son asked me if the coach would recruit a player for his spot if he ever messed up. - In general, coaching is not at a high level. My 13 year old nephew can discuss tactics at a much higher level than any 17 year old RPL level player I have met - Coaches coach to win the next game, tournament . - parents are too involved in their kids 'soccer career'. Many parents don't trust the coach will do the right thing for their kid - Size and speed are always favored over skill, even at Academy and in early Select years. If US youth soccer was responsible for trying to find an artist to create a work like Michelangelo’s David they would round up every lumberjack they could find because they can swing a hammer/ax really hard and fast.
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