Private coaches for the elite kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Kid is very good but not elite level. ECNL but not MLSNext. Could likely get there with this kind of training, but no, we can’t afford it. That is my beef. It’s a massive advantage to be extremely wealthy in so many areas… and here is yet another one, where I was just thinking team training and kid practicing on their own (which he does every day) is enough. Such is life.

There are plenty of ECNL players with better college options than MLSNext players. And no, they aren’t all getting expensive training year around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Kid is very good but not elite level. ECNL but not MLSNext. Could likely get there with this kind of training, but no, we can’t afford it. That is my beef. It’s a massive advantage to be extremely wealthy in so many areas… and here is yet another one, where I was just thinking team training and kid practicing on their own (which he does every day) is enough. Such is life.

There are plenty of ECNL players with better college options than MLSNext players. And no, they aren’t all getting expensive training year around.

That's the fiction statement of the year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

There's not data yet because it's too "new". Just like ECNL was "new". Girls Academy. National League. NPL. Some czar of US Sports and soccers need to send down a decree and unify some system on both the boys AND girls side or this will just continue to be an "elite"/moneyed sport in the US

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

There is a top study that quantifiably shows kids who over-focus on a single sport during the u12-u9 range are more likely to peak early and burn out early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Kid is very good but not elite level. ECNL but not MLSNext. Could likely get there with this kind of training, but no, we can’t afford it. That is my beef. It’s a massive advantage to be extremely wealthy in so many areas… and here is yet another one, where I was just thinking team training and kid practicing on their own (which he does every day) is enough. Such is life.

There are plenty of ECNL players with better college options than MLSNext players. And no, they aren’t all getting expensive training year around.

It is getting harder and harder to get a good college spot as an American soccer player. Far more players, especially on the men's side, are coming in from abroad. Recently, it has become a more viable option for international women too. Don't invest in soccer right now just thinking you'll get the money back via scholarships (especially for the guys who typically split scholarships to begin with).

[Anonymous]

I try to keep tabs on what is required to be invited to a US National Team camp, and it seems players that receive invitations are getting lots of extra individual coaching…. Regardless of the extra coaching source, the coaches who ID these kids are looking for both great drive and great technical skill. That stand out technical skill usually is not being taught/ coached during regular travel team practice. But rather it is specifically being coached and drilled by very good coaches who know what they are doing and know how to teach those skills.

[Anonymous]

I've seen a number of good kids who have parents who played soccer or another sport in college (not shocking). They are involved in a lot of non-skill based training, which I'm sure saves $$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I try to keep tabs on what is required to be invited to a US National Team camp, and it seems players that receive invitations are getting lots of extra individual coaching…. Regardless of the extra coaching source, the coaches who ID these kids are looking for both great drive and great technical skill. That stand out technical skill usually is not being taught/ coached during regular travel team practice. But rather it is specifically being coached and drilled by very good coaches who know what they are doing and know how to teach those skills.

You also don't want to discount the connections in the relatively small elite coaching world. Having person x vouching for you can be a big deal and can be worth paying them for the private coaching.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to add in the obvious of other than being coachable... when you commit to a sport or team you have to show up. I don't care if you are the only goalie or score 80 percent of your squads goals. When you split sports and.dont show up you lose the confidence of your Coach and Teammates

[Anonymous]

I've been around alot of the top top youth players and their parents in the NOVA area for years and I don't think one of them (or their parents) have ever thought soccer was an investment to get a college scholarship. Noone has even mentioned scholarships ythat I can think of except to say how few their are for boys. We all know there is very little scholarship money in soccer, so I wish posters would stop bringing this up like they are sharing something that everyone doesn't know. Anyway...the most important thing that a kid can have and you the parent can help him with that requires ZERO money is...to have a love for the game. To absolutely love it. Loves the training. Loves the journey. Loves the challenge. Loves to compete. Loves to improve. Is humble. Loves to get feedback. Works on his mindset. Etc. I promise you, if your kid has this, he's better off than 98% of the richest kids. Because I tell you...all this elite private training that you might be thinking about is no different than anything you find on YouTube. You don't need to be an elite coach to learn the basics and you can never be too good at the basics...first touch, shooting with both feet, ball mastery, dribbling, The fact that you said your kid works everyday...that's the key. Consistency! The other part of it is the group of kids he hangs with. You get 10 kids at his level or better meeting regularly to train together and play pick up...he will learn speed of play, scanning, etc. None of this requires money. I wish your kid the absolute best of luck. It's a grind. But don't let the lack of money for elite camps discourage you or your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

There is a top study that quantifiably shows kids who over-focus on a single sport during the u12-u9 range are more likely to peak early and burn out early.

That's not specific to MLS Next players dropping out by HS Junior year.
That's the statement made above. Where is the evidence of that is the request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

There is a top study that quantifiably shows kids who over-focus on a single sport during the u12-u9 range are more likely to peak early and burn out early.

That's not specific to MLS Next players dropping out by HS Junior year.
That's the statement made above. Where is the evidence of that is the request.

MLS Next "started" in 2020. The same year half of our region had closed fields for six+ months. There's not going to be any meaningful data yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized something important yesterday. My kid begged me to take him to the park in the freezing rain to practice defending goals and run laps. Also on the field was an older kid getting a private training session. The coach was pulling teeth to get this kid to work through drills and the kid had a good attitude, but not the natural talent or the gritty, raw *drive* that my kid has. And that other kid can't do a single thing to gain those things.

Wait until puberty. lol. A lot of boys and girls that used to be like that lose the love of the game when they grow interest in the opposite sex. Also- the tedium of travel soccer and the way it is run so early can really burn kids out by HS.

That said --my Senior is still like your son, but I think the fact that he was injured for a 1.5 years early HS is the reason he still has a burning passion while a lot of boys on his MLSNext and ECNL teams stopped playing around Junior year.

I would love to see verifiable factual data that shows the amount of kids playing MLS Next who voluntarily dropped out of soccer by their Junior year in High School.

There's not data yet because it's too "new". Just like ECNL was "new". Girls Academy. National League. NPL. Some czar of US Sports and soccers need to send down a decree and unify some system on both the boys AND girls side or this will just continue to be an "elite"/moneyed sport in the US

Socialist!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been around alot of the top top youth players and their parents in the NOVA area for years and I don't think one of them (or their parents) have ever thought soccer was an investment to get a college scholarship. Noone has even mentioned scholarships ythat I can think of except to say how few their are for boys. We all know there is very little scholarship money in soccer, so I wish posters would stop bringing this up like they are sharing something that everyone doesn't know. Anyway...the most important thing that a kid can have and you the parent can help him with that requires ZERO money is...to have a love for the game. To absolutely love it. Loves the training. Loves the journey. Loves the challenge. Loves to compete. Loves to improve. Is humble. Loves to get feedback. Works on his mindset. Etc. I promise you, if your kid has this, he's better off than 98% of the richest kids. Because I tell you...all this elite private training that you might be thinking about is no different than anything you find on YouTube. You don't need to be an elite coach to learn the basics and you can never be too good at the basics...first touch, shooting with both feet, ball mastery, dribbling, The fact that you said your kid works everyday...that's the key. Consistency! The other part of it is the group of kids he hangs with. You get 10 kids at his level or better meeting regularly to train together and play pick up...he will learn speed of play, scanning, etc. None of this requires money. I wish your kid the absolute best of luck. It's a grind. But don't let the lack of money for elite camps discourage you or your kid.

Awesome post. TY!