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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 10, 2018 12:49:24 GMT -5
Back in my playing days 10-15 years ago, it was so much easier for parents and players to figure out the teams they fit on and for college coaches to figure out where to scout talent.
It was RPL and Select soccer with ODP - all the ODP and RPL players I knew went to/fielded division one offers. The ones on the top tier RPL teams were going big D1 (SEC, ACC, etc). I was on a middle of the table Athena A team with a short commute from home, I have no idea where we would have fallen in todays world.
I don't envy those trying to navigate the youth soccer world now. Too many politics and break off leagues to make an informed decision.
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 30, 2017 6:39:56 GMT -5
I wish I had been taught to defend, so I'd have something to give my kids. My coach was Scottish and all he wanted was for defenders to head every punt and get stuck-in.. Are there any good video or written resources on defending? I have always found this session useful if you have an hour to watch:
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 12, 2016 13:56:06 GMT -5
Disappointing... USA outplayed Sweden badly in that game. The wrong team is going through. Ehh our defense was sketch. And can someone please explain why the hell you have Kristen Press take a PK when she hadn't put anything on goal since getting on the field. ^^^^ same thought. She stepped up at #5 and I shouted NOOOOO
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Post by volunteercoach on Jan 6, 2016 6:29:48 GMT -5
Our HS boys have conditioning starting tomorrow. They were told to bring running shoes. No cleats. I think fitness without a soccer ball is a wasted opportunity. Agree but HS regulations prohibit a coach from seeing any student trying out touch a ball until tryouts. Weird rule but three coaches have confirmed this. All the HS coach can watch prior to official tryout is conditioning Yes, coaches can't coach in a competitive setting or have any sort of practice/scrimmage with any players attending their high school during the school year (starting August) until the 18th of this month. They can work with 1 or 2 players at a time in 'skill building' drills but that's all. Our school normally has 50+ on the girls side.3 teams, each taking 16-20 depending on the numbers and skill level with the goal to not cut any from the program if possible. If there are 8th graders playing on a 9th grade team, high school students can not be cut.
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Post by volunteercoach on Oct 23, 2015 11:33:02 GMT -5
So the late year (Aug-Dec) 2002's could only be 8th graders next year but will have to play U15 soccer. So will U15 have spring? The earlier year 2002's will be 9th graders with high school soccer. What a mess. Either no spring season for some or double seasons for others. What we call U14s now have what you call double seasons in the Spring if they are playing Middle School or JV (8th and 9th graders), and those U14s that are 9th graders that play High School have double seasons as well. Yes I know it happens now (I was a U14 in 9th grade) but there were very few of my peers that had a spring season as the age cutoff for school is September some time (not sure exactly what it is now). When I made varsity it was physically demanding playing high level select and HS at the same time. I was also never in a situation where I wouldn't have a season to play. Had I played with my birth year I still would have had varsity as a freshman in spring and no club. My point in saying is that without a spring U15 next year, 4 month of 02's may not have a season to play (if they are 8th graders...which the September to December kids will be...and their respective high schools wont allow them to play up) or 8 months of 02's will have double seasons (as 9th graders) which is a lot more kids playing two seasons as opposed to the few August babies that have to deal with it now.
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Post by volunteercoach on Oct 23, 2015 11:11:44 GMT -5
So the late year (Aug-Dec) 2002's could only be 8th graders next year but will have to play U15 soccer. So will U15 have spring? The earlier year 2002's will be 9th graders with high school soccer. What a mess. Either no spring season for some or double seasons for others.
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Post by volunteercoach on Oct 19, 2015 6:55:44 GMT -5
How often does this get updated? Very cool!
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Post by volunteercoach on Oct 7, 2015 9:30:27 GMT -5
Maybe once the coach has a few years to get his recruits in the results will shift. With a roster 30+ deep you would think they could find a starting 11 that could put up more points and not concede 3-4 goals in a game...
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Post by volunteercoach on Sept 18, 2015 13:40:55 GMT -5
You can put on training clinics that are outside of the normal practice times. That can give the time to focus on developing more technical parts of the game for the individual players. Start a juggling club for the association and give the kids rewards whenever they reach a juggling milestone. Anything that can string together the boys & girls side and can be used at multiple ages.
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Post by volunteercoach on Sept 18, 2015 13:05:47 GMT -5
Yes! Keep it fun. Even up to U13, they are just kids...they are goofy and funny and it is a big part of their social lives to be out playing soccer. I do think there is too much yelling in youth soccer (more on the select side), walking around tournaments I am amazed at what I hear come from coaches and parents alike. If it requires a verbal berating to get your team focused or motivated there are way too many issues to count, fear isn't the way.
Building confidence is key. Catch them doing something right and praise to the high heavens. Catch them doing something wrong, ask them/show them how to correct, ask them why perhaps the play failed (Socratic method, gets the entire team thinking) or tell them what other options were available rather than the route they picked - set them up for success.
In one of my coaching classes the instructor said you should be able to coach kids in any country, any language, any age. With minimal words, show them what you expect then let them show you. The kids want to learn, they want to have fun and many will learn much quicker by doing.
At the end of the day, they want to please their parents and their coaches. The more confident they feel in their game, the more likely they will be to pursue the sport and spend that extra time necessary to develop into a better player. The goal should be for your team to say "awwww can we play for 10 more minutes?!?" when you say practice is over.
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 24, 2015 9:59:37 GMT -5
Depends on the age...an hour for my older ones where I get there an hour before as well. They spend 10-15 mins getting gear on and juggling/passing while I set up for warm ups to begin at 45 before kickoff. Younger ones it depends on whether its a tourney or not. 45 mins standard where I am there 5 or so minutes before that.
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 21, 2015 11:24:33 GMT -5
I have seen girls from ECNL to Athena B/C get recruited. Lots of factors in play here...the big one being where your kid would like to get an education and what the realistic level they could play at would be.
Typically, ECNL is going to be the route to bigger D1, maybe even D1 in general. Yes...there are those outliers who get recruited without playing there but they are the exception not the rule.
I coach HS and most college recruiting is done at the club level. Yes, I've had smaller schools contact about juniors/seniors that may be interested in playing (I have all club players on my team from ECNL to Athena C), but they aren't typically schools you would even know existed. I can say pretty confidently that every girl that has graduated out of my program could have played somewhere, now whether its where they would want to go to school is a different story.
The athletes should do a little work to get on a coaches radar (unless they are they next mia hamm of course). If they are interested in a school, reach out, try to watch some games to see if they could realistically be part of the team, go to the school camps if you think you could contend for a slot on the future squad. Its about being realistic about your current skill.
That being said, I spoke with a D2 coach in Georgia earlier this year, said half the roster was ECNL. He said now the talent pools are so spread out its hard to get out and see talent. He wasn't even sure if they were going to watch the State Cup semis that year, as he didn't know if it would be worth the time...
In my day, there was no ECNL. Just Athena, RPL and ODP. At that point the best kids were ODP/RPL followed by Athena A. It made life a lot easier.
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 19, 2015 7:53:25 GMT -5
Since US Soccer is letting each state decide their implementation for 2016...has GA soccer said it will be mandatory for 2016?
It may be less chaotic to give clubs/players that flexible year to figure out what they will do. Like many have said before, smaller clubs will be most affected.
Side note: I have a late August birthday and was the youngest in my grade but the oldest on my club team. Hindsight, I wish I would have played with my birth year in terms of recruiting. So for me in the spring of 9th grade, I had both club soccer (U14) and varsity soccer.
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Post by volunteercoach on Aug 14, 2015 8:27:01 GMT -5
I am presuming this is rec?
Either way, implementing possession style play is going to be the way to go (and aligns with ga soccer/us soccer). That will break into four areas: 1.technical, 2.team shape, 3.tactical movement and 4.decisions on the ball. At their age and level(again presuming rec), I would say focusing heavy on 1 and 2 will help a good bit. With areas 3 and 4 touched on once there is enough technical ability among the individual players and a holistic understanding of team shape/roles on the field.
Academy level, they would probably be more into areas 3/4 depending on the team.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jul 6, 2015 7:55:06 GMT -5
I know that I bought into the negative hype on Jill Ellis and the team, and I definitely learned something. The future looks bright if more players like Morgan Brian are in the natonal pool. I am such a HUGE fan of this team, but still not sold on Jill Ellis. She would still be unsuccessfully rotating forwards and outside mids in a defunct 442 if it weren't for the Rapinoe/Holiday mandatory benching. The Germany and final game last night showed what kind of potential this team has to become unbeatable...man was it fun to watch. The Olympics should be really interesting next year! I did read an interesting article on Dawn Scott (the fitness coach) and her marginal gains approach. It was obvious the physical/athletic superiority of the US team last night. I hope US Soccer can retain her as shes already tried to leave once.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jul 2, 2015 11:58:24 GMT -5
I was at the game (it was AWESOME) only a few rows up between midfield and the 18 area on one side. I have been to a lot of soccer games but this was hands down the best because I was so close to the field. Watching from home it is very easy to pick apart the players and the refs. The reality of the situation was it was a very fast, physical game, something that I think gets lost on TV giving the birds eye view. The JJ foul happend on the other end of the field so I didn't get a good view, she was lucky to get away with the yellow, though the German player did embellish. I watched Rapinoe get absolutely rocked all game. It's like they were out for blood on her, they were probably the most physical against her. The Morgan foul, in real time from my view looked like it was a PK. Again, it was a bit dramatic on her end but it looked to occur in the box (looking at clips afterwards I would say it was outside). The only person at that point who could have said otherwise would have been the AR and she was far side. At the pace Morgan moves forward, it was so difficult to see at field level. And the OHara goal...it was so fast. The cross, the finish, just lighting speed.
I guess what I'm trying to say is at this level of play, calls at field level would be SO hard to make. The referee did miss a lot on both ends but she let them play ball. Maybe a box referee can be used in the future, who knows.
Also watching the game, Morgan Brian is such an understated, great player. So smart with the balll and organized. I think her in that role has helped this team tremendously.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 23, 2015 6:18:02 GMT -5
What were everyone's thoughts on the game last night?
First half was frustrating, many solid attempts on goal with nothing coming to fruition. The volley Wambach hit was a rocket...what a great save from Columbia's keeper, the look on Wambachs face said it all like ''how on earth did that not go in'. You could feel the frustration coming from the team having to go to half 0-0. Lloyd was nowhere to be found, through the game I thought "is she even playing" too many times. Holiday I thought was better but will be on the bench Friday.
Second half was what it was. Morgan's early run changed the game (still don't feel as though she is 100%), had the keeper not brought her down it was almost a sure goal. Considering they went man down, I think Columbia played well, got forward a few good times. Once Wambach came off and Brian/Press were on, there were a couple glimmers of brilliant soccer. The combination play was quick and creative. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Chalupney. After the game was over, the vibe was strange. The looks of almost relief/worry for the next round on many of them.
Defense looked pretty solid, only one point in the game where it got very disorganized in the back. They will help to keep this team advancing.
I'm guessing for China Ellis will bring in Brian-CM and Press-OM. I hate Press out wide, she seems out of sorts when she has to play defense in her own half. She just gravitates towards the goal and could be a true striker if they stopped the boom forward mentality.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 18, 2015 9:49:35 GMT -5
What's interesting to me is the US Soccer Curriculum recommends teams to play a 433, either as a 4231 or 4123 variation. IF a team were to play a 442, it is stated that the midfield should be a diamond to allow flank play for the outside backs. Ellis said Lloyd and Holiday were both 6's against Nigeria...uh...what? I guess the national team doesn't need to follow their own curriculum.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 17, 2015 6:38:37 GMT -5
So much lacking in the US attack, leaves me very underwhelmed. Not to mention it taking half a dozen corners to finish one. BUT, if anything, this world cup has highlighted Johnston and Sauerbrunn. What a pair of CB's they are! Rampone has been a staple there for so long, it was hard to imagine anyone being able to step in and fill her role. Nigeria should have never been able to play through the CB's that easily (i.e. the heavy recovery 1v1 play by Johnston)...very telling of the US midfielders. Lets hope getting out of the group on top lights a fire for next week.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 14, 2015 7:45:07 GMT -5
Agreed with all the comments above. My preference would be to pull many of the older players, they are either too apathetic or just incapable of keeping up with play anymore, really can't figure out if it's one of those or a little of both. Julie Johnston has proven her ability to break up plays, but has a history as a midfielder. Could be a great option for DCM. Brian is still green but let her grow at the ACM role (Hermann trophy winner). Heath is one of the trickiest on the team and does decent out wide. Leave Rapinoe and tell her her to play a few touches sooner. O'Hara and Press (both Hermann trophy winners as forwards and ex Stanford teammates) could probably do some damage up top together. Both are true strikers, converting OHara made sense for the previous team but they obviously need her ability as opposed to the run mentality of the other forwards. Leaves a CB spot open...should have pulled up Dunn (Hermann trophy winner) as well. Plenty of options, the veterans aren't pulling their own. Klinnsmann is bringing in the younger ranks and it seems to be working, maybe Ellis should take notes. Though it seems the vets have her in their pocket....
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 9, 2015 8:22:33 GMT -5
The world has definitely caught up. The older players seem pretty set on trying to grind out goals on very direct play. The younger ones seem to want to play a different game. The chemistry is obviously off (in my opinion). Playing a 442 doesn't spotlight some of the depth they could have forward. The Leroux/Press goal was just textbook. To me, Press can't be as much of a threat out wide. Her goal against France just shows her natural ability to find the net. I would love to see three up top, Press, Morgan, Leroux/Wambach. All of them are high scoring threats. It's just been strange to watch the last few games, with some of the athletes on this team it shouldn't be so painful to watch at times. Much to my dismay, Solo kept the US in that game last night. Australia was dangerous in the first half. If they had the stamina to stay with the US in the second half, it could have gotten bad. I will say though, it was quite obvious the impact Rapinoe has on the success of this team.
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Post by volunteercoach on Jun 4, 2015 8:04:15 GMT -5
I'm not familiar with how it works on the guys side...but on the girls side this is nothing new. After U15, it becomes absolute insanity on the girls side. Teams fold, girls quit playing. I think starting at U16, they really start figuring out how far they want to go/can go soccer wise. There are the ones chasing a big D1 scholarship trying to find the best team with most exposure (typically ECNL/Tophat), there are the ones content playing Athena B/C and will just keep playing without really worrying about the outcome and just want to play the game. The toughest ones are the kids who are Athena A/R3PL. They will get looks but maybe not from schools they would be interested in academic wise. Not to mention, the girls start driving/have a little more freedom to socialize outside of soccer and boys really come into the picture
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Post by volunteercoach on May 29, 2015 6:21:24 GMT -5
Wondering, do players on a team have any impact on who gets on? ,my daughter has guest practiced, and will play high school with the girls on the team she wants, and they want here can they influence a coach? What age? I wouldn't say the players themselves could influence the coach. Presuming the girls she knows are some of the core/impact players on that team, if she can stick with them at tryouts and play well with them, she will get noticed for sure. I watch to see how new players assimilate with players I'm familiar with, especially the impact players on the team.
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Post by volunteercoach on May 26, 2015 11:01:35 GMT -5
As paterfamilias said, typically club coaches will coach a different gender in each. GHSA has rules in place where you are not allowed to work with more than 2 kids from your HS team during the school year (conditioning, weight training is not included in that). From the rule book: (c) A GHSA coach (certified teacher or community coach) may not coach a non-GHSA team in a competitive setting during the school year that includes any player(s) who participate in the sport he/she coaches at the member school. EXCEPTION: In a situation in which the child or step-child of the coach is the only player on a non-school team from the coach’s school, the coach would be exempted from this rule. I've seen that rule and I've heard the 'no more than 2' statement. The rule doesn't allow 2, as I read it. Where does the exemption for up to 2 players come from? From my understanding, you cant coach a team with your players on it during the school year regardless (unless its your own child). The no more than 2 is applicable only if you are doing separate training with the individuals (with a ball outside of season during the school year) not in a competitive play/team setting. Coaches can only condition and weight train with really no restrictions outside of the activities being "voluntary". I think GHSA likes to make the rules confusing for everyone.
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Post by volunteercoach on May 26, 2015 8:29:17 GMT -5
As paterfamilias said, typically club coaches will coach a different gender in each. GHSA has rules in place where you are not allowed to work with more than 2 kids from your HS team during the school year (conditioning, weight training is not included in that).
From the rule book: (c) A GHSA coach (certified teacher or community coach) may not coach a non-GHSA team in a competitive setting during the school year that includes any player(s) who participate in the sport he/she coaches at the member school. EXCEPTION: In a situation in which the child or step-child of the coach is the only player on a non-school team from the coach’s school, the coach would be exempted from this rule.
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Post by volunteercoach on May 18, 2015 9:00:44 GMT -5
I played against KOH in my high school days. She was a forward then, I didn't really understand what it meant to be a national level player (we had all heard she had just returned from a trip with one of the YNTs). I thought surely she can't be THAT good....
...boy, was I wrong. As soccerfan30 said, she alone ran a clinic, absolutely demolished me/my back line. Keeper kept the game from being embarrassing and I learned first hand what separates the good from the great. Very humble too as I remember, let her game do all of the talking.
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Post by volunteercoach on Apr 23, 2015 8:51:43 GMT -5
I have also heard great things from players who have had him as a coach! Should be a good hire for TYSA.
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Post by volunteercoach on Apr 22, 2015 6:24:48 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the thought out responses! spectator and soccer papi, it sounds like you guys have encountered some great coaches along the way! The insight from the parents side is invaluable in my opinion. Not just because you see the results of practice (games) but also because you hear feedback from the players themselves.
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Post by volunteercoach on Apr 17, 2015 12:28:28 GMT -5
coachjd: I have considered club coaching for a while now and have stayed on the fence. I love the HS atmosphere and how much fun it can be. Not sure club would be as enjoyable to coach. Maybe I'm wrong... There are coaches in my area that actually do both. That is what I am hoping I could do. I love coaching, and I would say I am a fairly good coach. Most of my players say so as well (at least to my face, who knows what they say else where... ha) and they are involved in different clubs in the area, but I want to learn more and become better as there is still a ton that I could learn and many areas I could improve. However, I don't currently have a membership to Georgia Soccer, and without that getting my next few lisences is fairly/really expensive. If I had to choose between coaching a club and coaching at a high school though. I just don't know what I would choose. It would be a tough choice, and one I would have to consider carefully I think. I have run into the same issue with talking to GA soccer about getting licensed. A few years back, they said I would be considered a GA soccer member though I didn't have a club affiliation. At that point I decided to postpone certification. Last year I got in touch again and was told that I would now have to pay non-member fees which get pretty costly! So I'm back debating :/
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Post by volunteercoach on Apr 17, 2015 10:11:01 GMT -5
jack4343: Thanks for the response, effort definitely being the key word there!
coachjd: I have considered club coaching for a while now and have stayed on the fence. I love the HS atmosphere and how much fun it can be. Not sure club would be as enjoyable to coach. Maybe I'm wrong...
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