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Post by mourinho on Oct 21, 2016 6:32:50 GMT -5
Every parent thinks they have the next Messi or Alex Morgan to say the least. Do we honestly think that real talent can be identified at the age of 8 or 9 yrs old in American youth soccer? is this age group enough to segregate the faster and stronger players from the the rest?
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Post by spectator on Oct 21, 2016 8:26:09 GMT -5
Most parents forget that Academy really is about TEACHING not winning. And yet when those same kids get to Classic/Athena, those same parents will complain about lack of development.
These are kids - growing and developing at different rates. Academy is the time to work on foot skills, small sided play and vision on the field. I'm not a fan of putting kids on the full field at U12 or younger - they aren't strong enough to make the passes and crosses needed to play effective soccer - that's when you'll get the big defender booming it out of the back to the fast forward and completely negating the midfield. And some parents think that's good soccer.
For the 8-9-10 year olds the most important thing is keeping it fun while teaching them this beautiful game. Encourage the younger players to go juggle on their own or kick against a wall (or garage door in our case - still see those dents - LOL) or just go play pick up games with their friends. Let them love the game while learning it and maybe - just maybe - they will be the next Messi or Morgan. But they have to LEARN first and kids that age learn better if it's got a little fun in the mix
Add to this mentality the now gazillion levels and leagues that call themselves elite so of course the parents playing for young Messi to play think he's the best thing to set foot on the pitch and get full blown crazy by the time he's U15.
But short answer to your question - no, I don't believe you see real 'talent' in an 8 year old still learning how to position himself on the field versus just chasing the ball with his teammates. If you hear laughter while he's doing it, though, that talent may come because he's enjoying the journey to get there.
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Post by forsythsd on Oct 21, 2016 11:34:45 GMT -5
No, "most" parents don't think their kid is the next superstar. That's ridiculous.
Most parents are simply facilitating an activity their child enjoys, and taking pleasure in whatever growth occurs.
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Post by spectator on Oct 21, 2016 12:24:59 GMT -5
No, "most" parents don't think their kid is the next superstar. That's ridiculous. Most parents are simply facilitating an activity their child enjoys, and taking pleasure in whatever growth occurs. I'll concede the 'most' is a reach but far from ridiculous. In all the years my kid has played, I've seen quite a few parents get entirely too wrapped up in winning games versus developing the talent. When you have set rosters for U10 Academy teams with no movement between teams, that's when you will see the parents who care more about SIC rankings for a bunch of 9 year olds than actually helping their child learn the game. Academy parents were the reason my kid quit refereeing. Got sick of being screamed at by parents who didn't know the game.
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Post by rifle on Oct 21, 2016 16:21:57 GMT -5
For all the talk from clubs about "developing" players, do any of them communicate a curriculum and explain what they're working on in a given year?
In my opinion, parents would be more accepting of watching kids learn tactics and creativity, even at the expense of a few wins.. IF the clubs would/could communicate their methods.
Example: things that may expose teams to give up some goals - like playing out of the back - while the players learn to work their way around trouble? How many players do you know that left a team because their team did this stuff? How many parents had a clue what was going on?
My experience is limited, but I think clubs suck at communicating and controlling expectations. Mostly to their own detriment.
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who
Jr. Academy
Posts: 15
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Post by who on Oct 22, 2016 6:27:12 GMT -5
Well, in my limited experience, in many instances I believe they can be. When my player was 9, although I knew essentially nothing about soccer I identified several players who were clearly better at that age than the others. Those players are all either playing in D1 now or are committed to D1 for next year. Athletic talent does make itself apparent at that age. The team from that age group who were commonly known as the midgets has been very successful beginning at around age 9-10. Many of those girls still are together & most if not all are committed to D1 schools. Of course coaching & development are reasons why they got there but the inherent raw talent was apparent, even when they were 8-9 years old.
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Post by newposter on Oct 22, 2016 10:36:36 GMT -5
Unfortunately many parents believe players will catch up through development. In some cases that may be but it's important to understand that some players are innately more athletic and some players will never get to their level just as some are more artistic or better at math. It's called genetics so yes as the poster said some players separate at 9 or 10 just look at the 15 year old playing MLS.
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Post by rifle on Oct 22, 2016 13:00:57 GMT -5
At age eight or nine, I don't think you can identify every player with potential to become a baller - but a trained scout can probably guess with 75% accuracy.
Some kids climb out of their shell later, so it's risky to dismiss anyone at that age.
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Post by soccerparent02 on Oct 22, 2016 13:17:03 GMT -5
Rec soccer...there's no pressure or ask to drop to lower team.
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Post by mourinho on Oct 24, 2016 6:32:05 GMT -5
No, "most" parents don't think their kid is the next superstar. That's ridiculous. Most parents are simply facilitating an activity their child enjoys, and taking pleasure in whatever growth occurs. I'll concede the 'most' is a reach but far from ridiculous. In all the years my kid has played, I've seen quite a few parents get entirely too wrapped up in winning games versus developing the talent. When you have set rosters for U10 Academy teams with no movement between teams, that's when you will see the parents who care more about SIC rankings for a bunch of 9 year olds than actually helping their child learn the game. Academy parents were the reason my kid quit refereeing. Got sick of being screamed at by parents who didn't know the game
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 24, 2016 8:15:53 GMT -5
Its not an exact science thats for sure. But you can see the kids who typically get it and understand the game. The question is always does their physical abilities continue to mature and allow them to keep up as the game gets quicker and quicker.
There are many kids that thrive for various reasons in small sided soccer (ie 9v9 or less) but it never translate to 11v11 full field play. I see this more often than not also with kids that look like phenoms at 6v6 but then disappear at 8v8/9v9 because of the field size transition and the switch to more "true soccer"
I've also seen my hand full of kids that are logit phenoms during training sessions and scrimmages, because I like to refer to them as street ballers. They can't play within the confines of "rules" and positions or keeping shape, they just play and hence they struggle during organized games.
I would like to see more true friendly's at these age groups -- meaning once a month, 4 clubs get together and play a handful of games amongst each other. Maybe for example play 20 minute halfs, or the kids just play each team for 30 minutes. anything to get some competitive games in. I know field space and logistics can be tough, but I don't think you even need refs. Just let the kids play, its about them. heck even mix the kids up if you need to.
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