"Development" - A Scam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, I have boys but someone posted a link to a girls U13 or 14 championship game and it looked like a rec game. I can't believe Girl Dads! are so intense when that is what the games look like.

Which championship?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has improved dramatically just playing at recess every day. It's awesome and free and there are no coaches or adults telling him what to do.

I’m trying to get my son to stop playing at recess because it’s worse than tackle football. The amount of injuries is crazy!!

[Anonymous]

I agree that it's not the clubs job to develop players, particularly at the older ages. Once you are in HS, you as a player, if serious about the game, better be putting in the work outside of your club training in order to get better. That's technical training, speed and strength training, even just watching high level soccer.

But, if you have a good situation with the club and coach at a younger age, it can make a huge difference and certainly is an exception rather than the norm. My child lucked out and had a great club coach for 3 years before they were a teen. That coach was great at teaching, working with the players and also sharing with parents. Child had a early growth spurt and was like a stork on ice for a bit. Coach pointed out what can help manage this change and we, outside of the club, provide our child with additional training that helped them use their new found size as a benefit rather than a negative.

But, not the club, it was on the player and us to help get there.

Interesting conversation. I look at my child's team and it is pretty clear the players that are doing extra work outside of their regular training and those that are not. It's on the player, not the club for sure.

[Anonymous]

What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

[Anonymous]

If you count MLS, MLS Next Pro, USL Championship and USL 1 there are 103 professional clubs in the USA for a population of 342M, a ratio of roughly 3.3M people per club.

That ratio is 650k per club in England, 1.5M per club in Germany, 1.8M per club in France and 1.1 M per club in Spain.

The USA would need to triple the number of professional clubs to reach the same ratio as those countries, which shows why our players are often so far behind. Development is left up to the drive of individual players/families rather than through dedicated professional settings. For every player here in the USA that puts in hours of extra work each week, there are thousands who don't and we wonder why our players are so far behind the rest of the world.

On a another note, I often find it amusing to listen to parents from high level club teams complain about how terrible other players and teams are playing. Believe me, there is a world of difference between even the worst MLS Next or ENCL player and the average youth player in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

I agree, practicing with a team for 6 hours a week - if your child is not developing then something is wrong. There should be development happening, speed of play, 1v1, tactical, etc.

If your child wants to be a standout on a top team, consider adding another 2-4 hours of individual technical skill, strength and fitness.

Of course there are exceptions, early bloomers whose athletic traits compensate for a lack of technical skill or dedication. But the majority of these players are reeled back in to the pack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

Making money. Open your eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

I agree, practicing with a team for 6 hours a week - if your child is not developing then something is wrong. There should be development happening, speed of play, 1v1, tactical, etc.

If your child wants to be a standout on a top team, consider adding another 2-4 hours of individual technical skill, strength and fitness.

Of course there are exceptions, early bloomers whose athletic traits compensate for a lack of technical skill or dedication. But the majority of these players are reeled back in to the pack.

2-4 hours a week? Woof...that is way too low for top players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, I have boys but someone posted a link to a girls U13 or 14 championship game and it looked like a rec game. I can't believe Girl Dads! are so intense when that is what the games look like.

The exodus of top USA women leaving for euro leagues is all that evidence you need that despite what you are seeing now from 12 and 13 year olds; these girls are in one of the best youth soccer environments in the world until they are 15 here in the US. After 15 Euro academies have caught up. Japan and Brazil as countries are not too far behind for youth development either. Lets be honest once a country like Brazil allows young girls to play as much as young girls play here, its over for girls soccer too in terms of dominance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many of you are getting scammed by claimed or perceived "development" at clubs. How much development do you think is happening during 3 training sessions a week and a workout? With 20+ kids to care about? Maybe a little bit of film study? How many clubs have more than one coach per team? How many coaches have more than one team! Think about it and wake up...development happens outside of clubs.

For those who are serious believers in their club's "development" (you are the perfect customer!), what are some examples of your player developing strictly because of your club?

Kids get more development playing pickup soccer than most of these clubs.

Sure. Philly Union Academy is the same at DCU. Barcelona Academy is the same as Villareal. Got it. No difference. All of the Philly Union and Barcelona results are because the kids were playing alot more pickup. Let me go signup for the closest club to me. Thanks for the advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

I agree, practicing with a team for 6 hours a week - if your child is not developing then something is wrong. There should be development happening, speed of play, 1v1, tactical, etc.

If your child wants to be a standout on a top team, consider adding another 2-4 hours of individual technical skill, strength and fitness.

Of course there are exceptions, early bloomers whose athletic traits compensate for a lack of technical skill or dedication. But the majority of these players are reeled back in to the pack.

This is why people don't have honest conversations about serious development because the amount of work a high-level baller puts in does not appear reasonable and appears obsessive. A highly motivated kid will replace all of your standard Roblox, video game and doom scrolling time with touches and still maintaining pristine grades. The result is an extra 1-3 hours EVERY day on top of team training. That not factoring in informal small sided games after school or organized on the weekends and organically. Team training should be focused on high-level development, not "scrimmaging" against the best of the best. Fitness, ball mastery and small-sided free play should all take place outside of team training.

[Anonymous]

Nobody develops anything. You do all the work, club steals your kid and claim they developed them. It is all about the club’s image.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of you are getting scammed by claimed or perceived "development" at clubs. How much development do you think is happening during 3 training sessions a week and a workout? With 20+ kids to care about? Maybe a little bit of film study? How many clubs have more than one coach per team? How many coaches have more than one team! Think about it and wake up...development happens outside of clubs.

For those who are serious believers in their club's "development" (you are the perfect customer!), what are some examples of your player developing strictly because of your club?

Kids get more development playing pickup soccer than most of these clubs.

Sure. Philly Union Academy is the same at DCU. Barcelona Academy is the same as Villareal. Got it. No difference. All of the Philly Union and Barcelona results are because the kids were playing alot more pickup. Let me go signup for the closest club to me. Thanks for the advice.

This takes the cake as the dumbest response. Couple quick ones...the kids at those academies in Spain have played TONS of pickup in the streets and at school. Still that isn't the point. The point is these clubs are not academies so stop thinking they are and developing kids. Go take a nap. The kids that get to those academies have been developed outside of the club environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of you are getting scammed by claimed or perceived "development" at clubs. How much development do you think is happening during 3 training sessions a week and a workout? With 20+ kids to care about? Maybe a little bit of film study? How many clubs have more than one coach per team? How many coaches have more than one team! Think about it and wake up...development happens outside of clubs.

For those who are serious believers in their club's "development" (you are the perfect customer!), what are some examples of your player developing strictly because of your club?

Kids get more development playing pickup soccer than most of these clubs.

Darn, your kid that bad. Speaking for yourself I see

No clown. My son has developed very nicely outside of the club environment. I don't expect anything in development out of clubs because I have a brain.

Nice, drop right into name calling and insults. Impressed. You kids must be real jewels if they act like you. Am sure your kid is great like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is happening at practice 3-4 days a week and at games if not "development" ?

I agree, practicing with a team for 6 hours a week - if your child is not developing then something is wrong. There should be development happening, speed of play, 1v1, tactical, etc.

If your child wants to be a standout on a top team, consider adding another 2-4 hours of individual technical skill, strength and fitness.

Of course there are exceptions, early bloomers whose athletic traits compensate for a lack of technical skill or dedication. But the majority of these players are reeled back in to the pack.

This is why people don't have honest conversations about serious development because the amount of work a high-level baller puts in does not appear reasonable and appears obsessive. A highly motivated kid will replace all of your standard Roblox, video game and doom scrolling time with touches and still maintaining pristine grades. The result is an extra 1-3 hours EVERY day on top of team training. That not factoring in informal small sided games after school or organized on the weekends and organically. Team training should be focused on high-level development, not "scrimmaging" against the best of the best. Fitness, ball mastery and small-sided free play should all take place outside of team training.

We have a player like that on our team. The amount of extra work done to be a "high level baller" is at the top end of your spectrum... Still probably the slowest, least athletic player on the team but can juggle in the thousands!