The Development years - Direct (Kickball) versus Possession Style

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

Correct. And technical training also covers passing and trapping with proper TECHNIQUE. Not just moves and foot skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

you are not a soccer player nor a coach. Go away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

Non-value added post. “Select the right type of players.” What a fool. It’s called coaching dumb ass. And it IS a tactic AND a style of play. Teach both direct and possession. It is possible. Believe it or not humans can learn both. Maybe not your kid, but many can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

you are not a soccer player nor a coach. Go away.

Actually I am both. You? You coach HS? Because that is kind of BS I would expect to hear from a HS coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

Non-value added post. “Select the right type of players.” What a fool. It’s called coaching dumb ass. And it IS a tactic AND a style of play. Teach both direct and possession. It is possible. Believe it or not humans can learn both. Maybe not your kid, but many can.

Oh please. You cannot develop every kid into a soccer player just like you can't develop every kid into a tennis player or a pianist. And there is definitely the "right type of player" to play possession soccer. High soccer IQ is one of the most important qualities. But meatheads like you will never get that.

[Anonymous]

Some players who make it all the way are very smart. Others aren’t. Not many are outright dumb, but there’s a lot more to it than IQ. If IQ were as much king as you think it is, soccer fields would be ruled by nerds. They are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some players who make it all the way are very smart. Others aren’t. Not many are outright dumb, but there’s a lot more to it than IQ. If IQ were as much king as you think it is, soccer fields would be ruled by nerds. They are not.

LOL ...spatial awareness is nerdy. Do you even know what soccer IQ is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some players who make it all the way are very smart. Others aren’t. Not many are outright dumb, but there’s a lot more to it than IQ. If IQ were as much king as you think it is, soccer fields would be ruled by nerds. They are not.

Some dumb soccer coach at a big club in the DMV told us his best players weren’t very smart (probably because the kickball style requires zero intelligence). It goes against several scientific studies on elite soccer players around the world.

When professional soccer players were tested on “executive function”—a key aspect in memory, multitasking, and creativity—they scored significantly higher than the general population. In fact, elite players belonged to the best 2 to 5 percent of the total population, says Predrag Petrovic, Ph.D., the lead researcher and professor at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute In Stockholm analysed the cognitive performance of footballers in Sweden's top flight as well as a lower league and concluded that the players who scored most highly in the test tended to score the most goals. In addition, top division footballers outperformed lower division ones and footballers as a whole were in the top two percentile for the population by this measure. The measure the scientists used was broader than IQ, taking into account the players' creativity, cognitive flexibility, working memory and processing speed.

According to La Vanguardia magazine, the midfield of Barcelona and Spain team, has an IQ score of 170, much higher than IQ of the rest of the world. Pique was considered to have an IQ level of 140 in the past. However, in the interview of La Vanguardia, his father, Joan Pique, stated that his son had just done the IQ test again and his newest IQ score is 170. With that IQ score, Pique has overcome Frank Lampard and become the most intelligent football player in the world and also higher than Albert Einstein (160). Because of the highest IQ score, the Catalan midfield is ranked in top 0,001% super brilliant people in the world.

Many start playing young and forgo formal education which is why there is a false perception on their intelligence.

One of the scientists involved in the study, Torbjõrn Vestberg, was not surprised by the findings.
"To be a footballer you must have physical ability and speed," he said. "But that doesn't help if you don't have a brain that knows what to do."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

Non-value added post. “Select the right type of players.” What a fool. It’s called coaching dumb ass. And it IS a tactic AND a style of play. Teach both direct and possession. It is possible. Believe it or not humans can learn both. Maybe not your kid, but many can.

Oh please. You cannot develop every kid into a soccer player just like you can't develop every kid into a tennis player or a pianist. And there is definitely the "right type of player" to play possession soccer. High soccer IQ is one of the most important qualities. But meatheads like you will never get that.

I feel sorry for your kids and those that you coach. Go ahead and keep selling kids short. That displays your ignorance. Most kids are smarter than you think and can learn both styles of play, if you know how to coach them. Every kid can learn how to play piano and tennis also. Too varying degrees of success of course, but they can all learn. Same with Math, English, History, Science, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Direct soccer is not the same as kickball. Kickball is simply kicking the ball forward to advance it with no real intent on getting the ball to a certain teammate. We can all agree the pure kickball is a poor approach unless completely outmatched and the team is simply fighting for its life. Even then it would be better to attempt to play good soccer.

Direct soccer is a conscious tactic to swiftly but accurately positively penetrate the other team’s defense causing a breakdown or numbers mismatch and therefore a scoring opportunity. Direct soccer tactics are great and when mixed with possession soccer create superior results. Just ask Liverpool and France. Too much possession stagnates an offense (see Germany’s performance in 2018 WC and Japan women’s recent performance against Argentina). Too much direct soccer spreads your own defense thin leading to counter attack opportunities. They must be balanced and taught consistently by coaches including the subtle art of understanding when to possess and when to be direct.

Thank you. All of these people talking about kickball, but misunderstanding actual tactics of playing direct.

But again, direct play is not something that should be prioritized at any of the youngest age groups. The focus on results and direct play at the young ages is why we have "top" players unable to do the basics like passing and trapping accurately to the correct foot, with the correct foot and with the body in the correct position. Those are the intricacies that are not taught here and kids at U9 are definitely capable of starting to learn these things so that they become engrained in them as players.

My impression of Arlington (the team accused of kickball here) is that at the younger ages the focus is very heavy on the technical basics, and much less on tactical game day play (i.e. possession, direct, etc). Ironically the author in another thread praised the Arlington White team for playing his approved-of style, even though they have the same coach and training as the team he dislikes so much, so this should all be taken with a little salt for sure.

Possession is a style of play and not a tactic. You can't just flip the switch and instruct your team to play possession. It has to be trained, you have to select the right type of players, it has to become the team's identity.

Non-value added post. “Select the right type of players.” What a fool. It’s called coaching dumb ass. And it IS a tactic AND a style of play. Teach both direct and possession. It is possible. Believe it or not humans can learn both. Maybe not your kid, but many can.

Oh please. You cannot develop every kid into a soccer player just like you can't develop every kid into a tennis player or a pianist. And there is definitely the "right type of player" to play possession soccer. High soccer IQ is one of the most important qualities. But meatheads like you will never get that.

You can teach decision-making which translates to increased soccer IQ. Don’t be a jackass.

[Anonymous]

That’s the whole point, isn’t it? That if you’re having kids play “direct,” they’re not learning about decision-making and building their soccer iq. So-called “direct” play for younger age groups is almost invariably the product of lazy/poor coaching.

[Anonymous]

In a way, yes. Although balance is needed. Playing out the back and possession/position play is designed to bait the opponent into pressing higher up, which opens up space behind the defensive bloc and between the lines so you can make second and third level passes. Not so much kickball, but accurate long passes with a purpose. Of course the foundation for everything comes out of technical proficiency and an understanding of why you are doing things. It’s cause-effect and using the ball as a tool to move the opponent and creating/closing down the space they might move into/away from. If the opponent doesn’t press up, then you can remain patient, maintain control and switch the POA to create penetration, once again manipulate the space/opponent and create scoring chances, assisting the assist or getting advanced area actions (penetration).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s the whole point, isn’t it? That if you’re having kids play “direct,” they’re not learning about decision-making and building their soccer iq. So-called “direct” play for younger age groups is almost invariably the product of lazy/poor coaching.

Exactly. Kickball can be effective at younger ages, but the kids do not develop. And when these players grow up, they play something like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQdu_rz0imo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a way, yes. Although balance is needed. Playing out the back and possession/position play is designed to bait the opponent into pressing higher up, which opens up space behind the defensive bloc and between the lines so you can make second and third level passes. Not so much kickball, but accurate long passes with a purpose. Of course the foundation for everything comes out of technical proficiency and an understanding of why you are doing things. It’s cause-effect and using the ball as a tool to move the opponent and creating/closing down the space they might move into/away from. If the opponent doesn’t press up, then you can remain patient, maintain control and switch the POA to create penetration, once again manipulate the space/opponent and create scoring chances, assisting the assist or getting advanced area actions (penetration).

Correct. That is the balanced approach and it requires decision making. Good post. The other posters that don’t understand this, simply never will. They will cling to their pure possession style of play and their kids will be worse off for it. Possession is great, as is direct. Teach, learn, and use both.