Reflections from an aging soccer dad

[Anonymous]

Like overhanded runners can maybe learn to run properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - I agree and have seen the impact these issues on my kids.

To me, the model of "you are only on the team for a year and we re-evaluate every Spring" is stupid and makes kids and coaches disengage. There is no incentive to develop kids and no club commitment to their well being, at least for the vast majority of players who are not the top 5% of the talent pool on a real pathway to the top. For those tip-top kids, fine. But seriously, don't tell me that's how it works with elite European Academies or on professional teams, because that's not where most kids are or where they will end up.

Does it really matter of your team if kids who are not likely to play beyond high school is in the 2nd or 3rd division of EDP? Is that important enough to cut kids who work hard but aren't quite there yet? And the year to year commitment works both ways for bubble and non-bubble players - you may get cut from the team with your friends and/or your friends get cut from your team while you remain. It is especially bad for girls. With so many clubs out there, this idea that kids should be shifted around each year is detrimental to their development. I can't quite figure out if it is a matter of club survival, coaching ego, the need to please insane parents who are demanding wins, or just the fact that everyone else does it so it is too hard to be different, but I know it is not good.

Not to sound too much like a soft soccer mom, but if more more clubs provided a more positive experience for players and had better communication with parents, there would be less moving around, which would promote stability in teams. Let's face it, the reason top teams are constantly taking in outside kids is because good players leave strong teams each year. Why is that? Rather than accepting this as a given, why don't we explore this and try to change it?

Here is a crazy idea. How about instead of posting the social media picture of the team winning a tournament (even if it is the lowest bracket), maybe clubs should brag about how long their players of been with the club or on a particular team, or show multiple B or C team players who worked their way to a top team, or quote parents who appreciate the regular, meaningful feedback their kids receive, regardless of what team they are on. Instead of bragging that a team is going to be in whatever league is the most elite this year, show that your teams (at all levels) are placed in appropriate leagues with appropriate competition. I would be more interested in learning more about player retention than wins and losses.

Oh, and have fewer teams. I know it is so tempting to take thousand of dollars from idiotic parents just so they can brag about their kid's "travel team" in their social circles while their hapless kid goes through the motions with no real interest in getting better, but be better than that. If we had fewer travel teams, then maybe rec leagues would become a realistic option, both at younger ages and for those older kids feeling burnt out from years of tryouts, and driving up and down the East coast, and the pressure to win. For kids who love that competitive environment- fine, offer that. But we do NOT need to have 8 roughly equal teams in a 30 mile radius traveling all over beginning at 8 years old when they could just play each other. I'm not sure we need it at 15. Instead of having low level C teams and giving them nothing at high cost, maybe offer pick ups or other ways that late bloomers can get playing time and improve their game.

There has to be a better way.

Finally, I have some personal observations about video games. To be sure, some of the attrition from organized sports is about lazy parents (I'm one of them) who don't do enough to limit video game time and stupid kids who get sucked in. But at the same time, I see why my kid has gotten sucked in. Because video games are fun. Because he can find similarly interested gamers and play with them, thereby having control over his playing environment. Because he sees how his practice makes him better (which is not always the case in club sports). When he fails, he just starts another game, and is not berated by any adult or threatened with a demotion or time on the bench. Video games, to him, are safe and the environment more within his control. Club soccer is often unfair, random, influenced by politics. It involves more driving time than playing time. All of these factors make organized sports less fun and video games more appealing.

YES. Make youth sports FUN again!

[Anonymous]

My kids are in college and played their entire lives- Super Y, EDP, CCL, etc were never sold as being the best, and any quick research wouldve shown you that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in college and played their entire lives- Super Y, EDP, CCL, etc were never sold as being the best, and any quick research wouldve shown you that

Not true of CCL North. Back when it started, the CCL leadership where constantly out in the community and on social media trying to convince families that it was an "elite" league and vastly superior to all other local and regional options for development and college placement. And if you were around DCUM from the early days of the giant "Travel teams around NOVA let's discuss!" thread, you'd know that a lot of people actually believed the hype, no matter how the seasoned among us tried to help them sort fact from fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Technical work is important, but being in shape and having speed makes technical work more impactful. Slower players have a harder time getting to the ball when it matters and defending as effectively. All are soccer skills. Part of what is makes Mbappé who he is is the incredible speed he has along with the technical skills he uses that speed with.

How do you make a slow player fast?

No more McDonalds. Lots of sprints and power training. Lots of speed work with the ball. It will help. They will always have some genetic limits but they can get faster.

[Anonymous]

Depending on age, running gait/balance can be helped much earlier than people think. When my son started at 4/5, he was slow and fell constantly. One evening, I ended up at a wedding and was talking to an HS track and field coach. I explained my son's running/falling issues, and he had some interesting suggestions. He went on to tell me half of his season is spent teaching kids to correct running technique before beginning any specialized event training. His thought was that because of changes in childhood behavior, the children are not getting enough experience in natural movement on the balls of their feet. He suggested that I play Hopscotch and make games where the kid had to hop on one foot to play. Any game, but the big thing was to get them hopping on one foot at a time. Then, he suggested breaking down the movement of just swinging your arms while sitting and pretend to answer a phone with each hand. Again, very little kid level. Nothing perfect, just get them in the ball park.

I tried it for a few months when my kid was 5. Nothing rigorous, just every once in a while if there was nothing to do in the house or they were bored on a weekend; we would play hopstoch or the floor is lava and hop across pillows to safety, etc. After while, and in the next season, I noticed a difference. Not as much falling, not always behind the pack. That would progress year over year, even without the games at home. I started a little earlier with my youngest at 2/3 and it worked just as well.

I've seen it at games a lot. The slow or unbalanced kid, and most times it is them being uncomfortable balancing on the balls of their feet when they run or have to turn quickly. So that changes everything else. Their knees do not come up because they are landing on their heels/outstep and there arms/body is working against them instead of with them. This is not a replacement for real agility training for correct form or anything like that, but a very basic level for a kid that looks a little uncomfortable. It's easy to see most times. If they are pretty comfortable, this won't help.

So, depending on the age (maybe under 10 or 11), you can do a lot to make a slow kid faster/balanced by just spending some time getting them more comfortable on the balls of their feet with little games like Hopscotch. I bet a lot of them do not even know how to play the game. I would really suggest not making it training. It is a game and play it just like the game; chalk, coins/rocks and all.