Technical Footwork Training: Good or Bad?

[Anonymous]

Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

How so?

[Anonymous]

Are they bad? No. But they suffer heavily from diminishing returns.

The problem is that "Technical Training" usually just means "Ball Mastery." While cone drills look great on Instagram and build initial confidence, they rarely translate to the game.

If you stay in these programs too long, they teach bad habits:
• Heads-down dribbling (no scanning).
• Holding the ball too long.
• Zero explosiveness over distance.

Think of it this way, freestyle jugglers aren’t footballers, and cup stackers aren’t boxers.
Top academies like Ajax or Barca don't train in a vacuum. They teach technique within the context of the pitch (e.g., practicing a specific pass from the actual touchline).

Use these trainers to build base comfort, but realize that eventually, your player will graduate. At a certain point, isolated cone drills stop making you a better soccer player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

How so?

Rarely are these moves tied to high IQ play. For some special players, they use these skills as part of a larger skill set. But it seems that those players are in the minority.

So we end up with a few higher skilled players and a bunch of ball hogs that are worse than had they just listened to the coach and played within their system. And that has a negative effect on team play and performance.

And what’s the deal with the flying arms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

Your company wants to hire the person who can solve problems or the person who hands off everything to coworkers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they bad? No. But they suffer heavily from diminishing returns.

The problem is that "Technical Training" usually just means "Ball Mastery." While cone drills look great on Instagram and build initial confidence, they rarely translate to the game.

If you stay in these programs too long, they teach bad habits:
• Heads-down dribbling (no scanning).
• Holding the ball too long.
• Zero explosiveness over distance.

Think of it this way, freestyle jugglers aren’t footballers, and cup stackers aren’t boxers.
Top academies like Ajax or Barca don't train in a vacuum. They teach technique within the context of the pitch (e.g., practicing a specific pass from the actual touchline).

Use these trainers to build base comfort, but realize that eventually, your player will graduate. At a certain point, isolated cone drills stop making you a better soccer player.

Your exposure to Technical 1v1 coaching is limited and low-level

Since you think it's all head down dribbling around cones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

Your company wants to hire the person who can solve problems or the person who hands off everything to coworkers?

How about a person who doesn’t just create problems? Pass the ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

Your company wants to hire the person who can solve problems or the person who hands off everything to coworkers?

How about a person who doesn’t just create problems? Pass the ball.

The world's top academies will prefer and take a kid who dribbles through everyone the wrong way and scores and own goal, than the passer who can't and treats the ball like a hot potato

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

Your company wants to hire the person who can solve problems or the person who hands off everything to coworkers?

How about a person who doesn’t just create problems? Pass the ball.

They said solve problems

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

Technical skills is bad

Boot Ball is good

Or maybe pass the ball to the next open player?

Your company wants to hire the person who can solve problems or the person who hands off everything to coworkers?

How about a person who doesn’t just create problems? Pass the ball.

The world's top academies will prefer and take a kid who dribbles through everyone the wrong way and scores and own goal, than the passer who can't and treats the ball like a hot potato

A handful can dribble through a few defenders. The majority can’t, but that doesn’t stop them from trying over and over and over and step over and step over and losing the ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

How so?

Rarely are these moves tied to high IQ play. For some special players, they use these skills as part of a larger skill set. But it seems that those players are in the minority.

So we end up with a few higher skilled players and a bunch of ball hogs that are worse than had they just listened to the coach and played within their system. And that has a negative effect on team play and performance.

And what’s the deal with the flying arms?

The flying arms are the INSTANT sign the kid is a ball hog / trained too much solo and not within the team concept. Arms flying and head down every single time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the whole technical training thing good or bad for youth soccer? I see or hear about a new trainer seemingly everyday.

Feels like it’s creating more bad players than good.

How so?

Rarely are these moves tied to high IQ play. For some special players, they use these skills as part of a larger skill set. But it seems that those players are in the minority.

So we end up with a few higher skilled players and a bunch of ball hogs that are worse than had they just listened to the coach and played within their system. And that has a negative effect on team play and performance.

And what’s the deal with the flying arms?

The flying arms are the INSTANT sign the kid is a ball hog / trained too much solo and not within the team concept. Arms flying and head down every single time.

Why is the team concept important for U-littles?
You ever see a team get recruited?

You want a winger, attacking mid or forward who can only pass?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they bad? No. But they suffer heavily from diminishing returns.

The problem is that "Technical Training" usually just means "Ball Mastery." While cone drills look great on Instagram and build initial confidence, they rarely translate to the game.

If you stay in these programs too long, they teach bad habits:
• Heads-down dribbling (no scanning).
• Holding the ball too long.
• Zero explosiveness over distance.

Think of it this way, freestyle jugglers aren’t footballers, and cup stackers aren’t boxers.
Top academies like Ajax or Barca don't train in a vacuum. They teach technique within the context of the pitch (e.g., practicing a specific pass from the actual touchline).

Use these trainers to build base comfort, but realize that eventually, your player will graduate. At a certain point, isolated cone drills stop making you a better soccer player.

Sounds like you are with the wrong trainer