If you have taken your son to an overseas soccer tournament, etc, did you find it to be worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a trip to Amsterdam a few years ago that was pretty incredible from both a soccer and fun perspective. It was organized by a guy from NY who scouted kids all around the country and basically brought an "all-star" type team of 11 and 12 year olds. They trained each day at Ajax, and competed in several friendlies against local Dutch teams, then went to the Marc Overmars tournament in Epe and played against teams from Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The boys got to play against the youth teams from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven (both outstanding, as you'd expect). It was good for them to see how far behind the top teams they were as well as how well they compared to some of the others in terms of both skills and athletic ability.

I think the trip was really inspiring for the kids. It was definitely a blast for the parents to hang out in soccer clubhouses throughout the country. We passed on all the international trips that were offered by our club though. Most seemed like more soccer tourism than real training, which is fun, but expensive for what you get.

What were the most noticeable gaps between the US kids and the top European kids? e.g. were they able hang athletically but not as advanced in terms of skills and know how?

In general, I'd say the decision-making/speed of play and organization were the main things that stood out. Plus the fact that both PSV and Ajax were stacked. All the kids on their teams were good to great athletes, with great skills, and were very fit and super-intense. The guy who organized our trip had selected the US kids for their skills, and overall our group had better touch than the majority of the kids on the other Dutch and N. European teams we played.

This was not just my impression. The Ajax staff who accompanied our group noted that, like other American teams they'd seen in recent years, our boys had excellent skills and athleticism, but were pretty clueless on positioning They talked about how high-level US youth teams (including our youth national teams) increasingly will often not only win games against their international counterparts, but play very skillful soccer while doing so. But we fall off starting at U16 or so due to a lack of game awareness, which they attributed to a lack of tactical sophistication from the coaches in our system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a trip to Amsterdam a few years ago that was pretty incredible from both a soccer and fun perspective. It was organized by a guy from NY who scouted kids all around the country and basically brought an "all-star" type team of 11 and 12 year olds. They trained each day at Ajax, and competed in several friendlies against local Dutch teams, then went to the Marc Overmars tournament in Epe and played against teams from Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The boys got to play against the youth teams from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven (both outstanding, as you'd expect). It was good for them to see how far behind the top teams they were as well as how well they compared to some of the others in terms of both skills and athletic ability.

I think the trip was really inspiring for the kids. It was definitely a blast for the parents to hang out in soccer clubhouses throughout the country. We passed on all the international trips that were offered by our club though. Most seemed like more soccer tourism than real training, which is fun, but expensive for what you get.

What were the most noticeable gaps between the US kids and the top European kids? e.g. were they able hang athletically but not as advanced in terms of skills and know how?

DP here. For us, when our son played in the Netherlands and Italy, the biggest gap was in the soccer IQ (particularly in movement off the ball and decision making with the ball) and the speed of play. There was also a gap in skills, but it was not as large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a trip to Amsterdam a few years ago that was pretty incredible from both a soccer and fun perspective. It was organized by a guy from NY who scouted kids all around the country and basically brought an "all-star" type team of 11 and 12 year olds. They trained each day at Ajax, and competed in several friendlies against local Dutch teams, then went to the Marc Overmars tournament in Epe and played against teams from Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The boys got to play against the youth teams from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven (both outstanding, as you'd expect). It was good for them to see how far behind the top teams they were as well as how well they compared to some of the others in terms of both skills and athletic ability.

I think the trip was really inspiring for the kids. It was definitely a blast for the parents to hang out in soccer clubhouses throughout the country. We passed on all the international trips that were offered by our club though. Most seemed like more soccer tourism than real training, which is fun, but expensive for what you get.

What were the most noticeable gaps between the US kids and the top European kids? e.g. were they able hang athletically but not as advanced in terms of skills and know how?

DP here. For us, when our son played in the Netherlands and Italy, the biggest gap was in the soccer IQ (particularly in movement off the ball and decision making with the ball) and the speed of play. There was also a gap in skills, but it was not as large.

There is also a huge gap in technical ability, but most don't notice it because they are only focused on "skills."

[Anonymous]

As long as you look at it as a vacation with some soccer on the side, these trips are fine.

But unless you're on a REALLY high level team, this is just a highly expensive ego-trip.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, between attending a tournament where your kid will likely play 4-6 games if lucky OR attending next year's Euro 2020 tournament where you could see 4-6 quality national teams in competition, I'd take the latter.

[Anonymous]

I find soccer camps in Europe better (and cheaper) options than tournaments. He will be taught by better coaches, interact much more with the locals, and you will not need to stay around.

[Anonymous]

International tours for good quality teams can be an amazing experience