I am a NOVA Soccer Coach. AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, I was talking about time and money, those types of sacrifices would have to be made to let her play DA, if she makes it of course. But I’ve seen some of the other players on the team she’s interested in, would not say she’s too far behind them if behind at all.

Keep in mind that you should be comparing your player to the top five kids on the team of rising U13's to make comparisons. Not all of the kids on that current team will make DA the following year.

Try the one or two top players on the team....specially coming from a small club.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:What can refs do to teach coaches the Laws of the Game?

(For example -- no, a keeper doesn't have to have both hands on the ball to have possession. That came up in one of my games this season.)

For some refs, they need to know the game first before teaching coaches. I understand some calls are subjective, but then some are just wrong.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:What can refs do to teach coaches the Laws of the Game?

(For example -- no, a keeper doesn't have to have both hands on the ball to have possession. That came up in one of my games this season.)

TBF there are at least as many refs who get that wrong as coaches.

In addition to the situation when a GK pins ball on ground with one outstretched hand, the other most common incorrect no-call I see is when an attacker challenges while the ball is between GK's hands but he is still bobbling it -- hasn't fully secured it yet. Most refs seem to think the NFL rule applies (where a dropped ball in that circumstance would be an incomplete pass rather than a fumble, b/c the receive never had possession). According to Law 12, the ball being between the GKs hands is enough to constitute possession in soccer. The purpose of the law is to protect the GK from injury.

Refs not knowing how to apply this rule correctly cause a lot more damage than stupid coaches yelling about it.

[Anonymous]

Hey coach,
So u12 girls. I can see some girls getting better and others seem to be standing still. It’s just happening pretty fast. It seems to becoming a more technical game. Some of the big fast girls who were stars last year(and before) are now just okay or worst. They are consistently beat by the technical girls. I am I just seeing things? What will happen when they move to the full size field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is it your experience that defenders and goalies have communication issues?

Frustration coming from DC that instructions are ignored ... for example, telling defender to play wide or carry ball and it is played back with opponent bearing down. Then when mistake is made, the defenders complain.

Suggestions on ways to improve? Is it true that defense should always be deferring to goalie on how she/he wants them to play? Like asking to mark player and then defender decides to give space, leading to unmarked players in box.

Based on my observation, I see this with full time goalies that didn't get enough field experience. I'm hoping the coach chimes in but i really have a hard time seeing a specialized goalie below U13, they just don't have the field experience needed to communicate effectively. In fact, I've seen them give the completely wrong instruction.

This is for high school varsity goalie that plays club so experience and knowledge is not the issue. Simple commands like "away" instead result in pass back to goalie on wrong foot under pressure. They're easy mistakes that could be avoided if defenders listened. So that's why the question asked is if this is normal or should the goalie be the rightfully frustrated.

[Anonymous]

Another question re U12 girls. DD is a holding midfielder on a U12 team of an ECNL club. Her strength is quick and accurate passing with both feet. In her last year before transitioning to ECNL, is there anything that she should focus on in particular to do well at the next level?

[NOVASoccerCoach]

Anonymous wrote:Another question re U12 girls. DD is a holding midfielder on a U12 team of an ECNL club. Her strength is quick and accurate passing with both feet. In her last year before transitioning to ECNL, is there anything that she should focus on in particular to do well at the next level?

If she has the technical parts down, she should start figuring out when she can make passes forward to break lines of the opposition. Best holding mids are spatially aware of where they are on the field, know if they can receive and turn on the ball and make a pass forward.