New Club Search Season Full Swing

[Anonymous]

This should be interesting

What are the top three elements you are looking for in the new club for your DC and why?

What is the biggest reason you are leaving your current club?

[Anonymous]

Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

Not sure thats the assignment 😂

[Anonymous]

I have a small late birthday 2015. I'm leaving to find a club that doesn't put way too many kids on a lower level team. Looking for a smaller club that lets the kids play. I'm not sure if it exists but I will try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a small late birthday 2015. I'm leaving to find a club that doesn't put way too many kids on a lower level team. Looking for a smaller club that lets the kids play. I'm not sure if it exists but I will try.

Go to LMVSC, they focus as lot on scrimmaging and equal playing time...they are usually short on kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This should be interesting

What are the top three elements you are looking for in the new club for your DC and why?
-Development with feedback to the players with player development sessions, Knowing who the actual coach will be and knowing their coaching style, within 40 minute drive to practice

What is the biggest reason you are leaving your current club?
-Lack of development (scrimmaging too much & games day only letting the team punt the ball out of the back instead of learning how to build the play from the back), Coach not correcting deficiencies on the team (player attitudes or not correcting players who are selfish with the ball), Coach not providing individual player feedback. I.e. watching the team have problems in the fall and by mid-spring all the same issues are present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

Hard works FAVORS those who put in the hard work

[Anonymous]

We see people talk about 'development' often in the forum

What is development to you U8 to U14 and how do you see realistically the contribution of local clubs to your kid's individual development?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We see people talk about 'development' often in the forum

What is development to you U8 to U14 and how do you see realistically the contribution of local clubs to your kid's individual development?

Clubs have resources and they can Manage the Coaches and Playing Environments. They Can help player development in a few ways:

-Spend 1 day per week working on foot skills, ball mastery. (Some clubs work on this for 5-10 minutes only as a warm up.)
-Conduct 2-3 player performance reviews per year. (Some clubs don't do this at all.)
-Bring in the Coaching Director/ Technical Director of Director of Coaching to oversee a few practices and have them work with the current coach. (Some Clubs never utilize other coaches on staff to round out practice sessions.)
-Go over game footage or hold tactics sessions. (Some clubs record the games and then the coach never goes over that footage with the kids.)
-Incorporate some measurable amount of fitness or skills for the players.... timed half mile for example or counted juggles. Reward kids who beat their records each season. (Some clubs just have kids run with no real measure. Some clubs have kids juggle, but there is no measure or reward for doing well.)
-Bring in some well thought out drills for offense and defense. (Some clubs just do basic passing drills and rondos over and over, with scrimmages... no plays are being developed.)
-Utilize US Soccer's developmental framework for youth soccer players and help the kids in those areas. (Coaches learn about those player needs, but never go back to incorporate those items.)
-Work on 1 theme at practice for 2 weeks and look for improvements in the game. (Some clubs don't work on anything with a theme at practice and then they don't expect much at the game on the weekends.)

These are a few examples of successes in player development that clubs can accomplish.... if the coach gets lackadaisical and the club does not have much oversight... players won't develop as much as they could. I have been on teams that scrimmage a lot and they are not that much better at the end of 9 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This should be interesting

What are the top three elements you are looking for in the new club for your DC and why?
-Development with feedback to the players with player development sessions, Knowing who the actual coach will be and knowing their coaching style, within 40 minute drive to practice

What is the biggest reason you are leaving your current club?
-Lack of development (scrimmaging too much & games day only letting the team punt the ball out of the back instead of learning how to build the play from the back), Coach not correcting deficiencies on the team (player attitudes or not correcting players who are selfish with the ball), Coach not providing individual player feedback. I.e. watching the team have problems in the fall and by mid-spring all the same issues are present.

Sounds like you are leaving Arlington.

[Anonymous]

So, we have been at a few clubs now. Team 2 at each (so maybe Team 1 is treated differently). But all comments above have applied to all of them:

1. Favoritism for the kids who physically developed more (big, strong, fast kids, over kids who are technically and/or tactically better)
2. Lack of player development in any logical way (love the weekly plan outlined above! If only!) - too much scrimmaging (without active coaching as part of it).
3. Politics, politics, politics

If anyone finds a club that even fixes 1 of these, sign me up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

Hard works FAVORS those who put in the hard work

I always laugh when parents get upset if their kid doesn't start or get a lot of play time. There is ONE THING coaches care about at any competitive travel club - winning. If your kid is good enough they will start and get play time. If they are not their play time will be less. Don't blame the coaches. Their job is to win games. This isn't rec league. It's competitive travel.

Two years ago I was talking to parents who complained their kids weren't playing as much as others. I stayed quiet. But, I knew their kids never practiced at home. They never did any extra training. They came to practice and games and that's it. Other kids, the ones who started and played more, were training at home. Even basic stuff like juggling for 10-15 minutes a day or doing possession drills at home for 5-10 minutes. It adds up and the better players always find the field more.

Don't blame the coach your kid isn't playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We see people talk about 'development' often in the forum

What is development to you U8 to U14 and how do you see realistically the contribution of local clubs to your kid's individual development?

Clubs have resources and they can Manage the Coaches and Playing Environments. They Can help player development in a few ways:

-Spend 1 day per week working on foot skills, ball mastery. (Some clubs work on this for 5-10 minutes only as a warm up.)
-Conduct 2-3 player performance reviews per year. (Some clubs don't do this at all.)
-Bring in the Coaching Director/ Technical Director of Director of Coaching to oversee a few practices and have them work with the current coach. (Some Clubs never utilize other coaches on staff to round out practice sessions.)
-Go over game footage or hold tactics sessions. (Some clubs record the games and then the coach never goes over that footage with the kids.)
-Incorporate some measurable amount of fitness or skills for the players.... timed half mile for example or counted juggles. Reward kids who beat their records each season. (Some clubs just have kids run with no real measure. Some clubs have kids juggle, but there is no measure or reward for doing well.)
-Bring in some well thought out drills for offense and defense. (Some clubs just do basic passing drills and rondos over and over, with scrimmages... no plays are being developed.)
-Utilize US Soccer's developmental framework for youth soccer players and help the kids in those areas. (Coaches learn about those player needs, but never go back to incorporate those items.)
-Work on 1 theme at practice for 2 weeks and look for improvements in the game. (Some clubs don't work on anything with a theme at practice and then they don't expect much at the game on the weekends.)

These are a few examples of successes in player development that clubs can accomplish.... if the coach gets lackadaisical and the club does not have much oversight... players won't develop as much as they could. I have been on teams that scrimmage a lot and they are not that much better at the end of 9 months.

Before U10 drills should be done at home not during practice. By U11 and especially U12 players should already have the basic ball mastery skills down. If not, they don't belong in travel soccer. Stick with rec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

Hard works FAVORS those who put in the hard work

I always laugh when parents get upset if their kid doesn't start or get a lot of play time. There is ONE THING coaches care about at any competitive travel club - winning. If your kid is good enough they will start and get play time. If they are not their play time will be less. Don't blame the coaches. Their job is to win games. This isn't rec league. It's competitive travel.

Two years ago I was talking to parents who complained their kids weren't playing as much as others. I stayed quiet. But, I knew their kids never practiced at home. They never did any extra training. They came to practice and games and that's it. Other kids, the ones who started and played more, were training at home. Even basic stuff like juggling for 10-15 minutes a day or doing possession drills at home for 5-10 minutes. It adds up and the better players always find the field more.

Don't blame the coach your kid isn't playing.

If your team rewards kids that work hard and perform than Kudos to that team! Share the name of that team because many of the parents here would love to be on a team like that. However, do NOT kid yourself that there are other teams that do not implement that system. These coaches are human and with that comes all the good, bad and ugly when it comes to practices, starting lineups and play time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving SYC because our current coach plays favoritism.

Hard works FAVORS those who put in the hard work

Ha! You mean the coach favors the kids who pay extra for his personal training sessions.