Excessive fitness training

[Anonymous]

Coaches please hold my dd accountable and push them to be the best they can be.

Here are some good videos on why the coaches are testing and holding players accountable, if youre kid comes home and does not want to improve and complains, pull them out and save some money. They wont go far.


England WNT (Physical and mental side of testing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeJNYhfBUyc

USWNT (Why they test, What they do with data)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCdg7x3hXIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem is really the context not the requirement of fitness.

Most kids are not in shape having missed a spring season and that should not be a surprise to any rational adult or coach.

Normally lack of fitness with players could be more punitive but with a protracted quarantine during the entirety of the spring season a lack of fitness across an entire team should be expected and dealt with more pragmatically.

Getting back into shape always sucks but piling on kids who may have had varying degrees of opportunity to stay in soccer shape is the wrong message at this particular time.

Just encourage the kids and lay out a proper plan to get them back to where they need to be. Using scare tactics are unnecessary at this point when most kids are in the same boat.

Every kid in the DMV playing travel soccer has a pair of sneakers, they can run and have a good level of aerobic fitness.

[Anonymous]

but the world cup and the scholarships, we must have the most highly trained young lads oh wait that is what the parents want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem is really the context not the requirement of fitness.

Most kids are not in shape having missed a spring season and that should not be a surprise to any rational adult or coach.

Normally lack of fitness with players could be more punitive but with a protracted quarantine during the entirety of the spring season a lack of fitness across an entire team should be expected and dealt with more pragmatically.

Getting back into shape always sucks but piling on kids who may have had varying degrees of opportunity to stay in soccer shape is the wrong message at this particular time.

Just encourage the kids and lay out a proper plan to get them back to where they need to be. Using scare tactics are unnecessary at this point when most kids are in the same boat.

Problem is most soccer coaches are people that played in college and then got some coaching licenses. 99% of coaches have no idea how to lay out a "proper" plan that addresses everything a soccer player needs. Most coaches just make kids do whatever they did when they were young. What really needs to happen is that clubs get certified strength and condition professionals on staff. People that actually went to school for this to create and oversee a proper plan. Most coaches don't even know...should kids static stretch before a game? After? Is running laps OK? What if they do it with a ball? Should I have them do sprints? Well what's the best distance? When are we training speed vs conditioning? Are ladders good or bad? Can coaches correct running mechanics? Can they identify imbalances/other mechanical issues? Should coaches talk to kids about diet? That's a whole different topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all club coaches and technical directors:

We've noticed a lot of excessive fitness "training" requirements in youth soccer. Enough is enough. Beep tests, repetitive long distance running, unrealistic timed runs, penalizing players for being "unfit", mind games and ridicule, sending kids for additional "fitness" training in addition to club training, scaring players into compliance for fear of not making it to the next level, and on and on. It must be addressed, since it is either abusive or borderline abusive. I'm no snowflake, nor are my players, but it is time for some honesty.

Rest and recovery are essential components of training young athletes. Running kids 6 days a week increases potential for injury. This year alone, I've seen stress fractures, muscle cramps, muscle pulls, excess fatigue due to heat/heat exhaustion, vomiting, nausea, and emotional breakdowns, among other things. This is unhealthy. It is not building strong, young athletes, it is tearing them down.

Kids need more than the obvious: frequent and necessary water breaks, adequate rest and recovery, positive encouragement. Kids have additional stressors and uncertainties of COVID, returning to school/online school, interrupted social interactions, sleep deprivation/abnormal sleep patterns, political strife and division, race relations, financial uncertainty of families, lost jobs, parents working from home, uncertainties of college recruiting, uncertainty of game schedules for the season, eating disorders/body image issues, social media pressures, and all kinds of other things.

Coaches, you're not a BUDS instructor for the Navy SEALS, weeding out the unfit and mentally weak for combat operations. Your job is not to get kids to tap out and ring the bell, as though you're the gatekeeper to a D1 soccer career for a 12 year old girl. Your job is to build great soccer players who are not only strong mentally and physically, but who love and appreciate the game for life.

Please take the time to acquaint yourselves with the Positive Coaching Alliance. https://positivecoach.org/

Please, be better coaches. Recognize what it means to be a good coach versus an abusive one. Educate yourselves, parents and coaches, so we can all objectively spot and eliminate bad behaviors at our clubs. And when you see bad behaviors, stand up.

I liked "Coaching ABUSE: The dirty, not-so-little secret in sports":
https://www.competitivedge.com/coaching-abuse-the-dirty-not-so-little-secret-in-sports/

Let's gather good resources to help educate our coaches and clubs. Let's all do better.

+1,000,000,000,000
Amen!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:but the world cup and the scholarships, we must have the most highly trained young lads oh wait that is what the parents want.

The best get stabbed in the ear for blood samples when they are testing, but oh no my kid has to run a few miles to get in shape

Liverpool Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttx8QuFMjZ8

[Anonymous]

Would hate to be a coach or teacher these days. Parents, it is okay for your kid to be uncomfortable and have to work for something.

[Anonymous]

A big part of staying in "soccer shape" is running for endurance. If your kid could not do that on their own during the spring and summer, you are being suckered into travel soccer.

Move them into rec or mid-level (like MSI Classic or Sam Select, or an in-house league). My nephew plays MSI Classic and his team competes (and wins) against travel teams. Look for your kid's age group in the results and reach out to the coaches of the winning team. A lot of these winning teams are organized by soccer clubs with professional coaches rather than volunteer coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Rest and recovery are essential components of training young athletes. Running kids 6 days a week increases potential for injury."

Both myself (46) and my wife (48) run 4-5 miles 6 days a week and i feel fresh and healthy, To play soccer you need a high level of fitness.

If non elite travel programs are holding players accountable for not being in shape this is good. If the Elite clubs are not testing and holding players accountable that is concerning. If you do not want to run dont play soccer.

I assume you are saying coaches are saying players wont play on the field or make it to the next level if they are not in shape?

This is simply stating the obvious is it not?

This is the second post where an adult unnecessarily touts their own physical accomplishments. Kudos to you, folks, for congratulating yourself on an anonymous message board!

The OP is talking about 12 year-olds. The #1 goal at this age is keeping it fun so the kids stay in the game. Skill development, fitness and other goals should of course be addressed, so long as it is not at the expense of having fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Rest and recovery are essential components of training young athletes. Running kids 6 days a week increases potential for injury."

Both myself (46) and my wife (48) run 4-5 miles 6 days a week and i feel fresh and healthy, To play soccer you need a high level of fitness.

If non elite travel programs are holding players accountable for not being in shape this is good. If the Elite clubs are not testing and holding players accountable that is concerning. If you do not want to run dont play soccer.

I assume you are saying coaches are saying players wont play on the field or make it to the next level if they are not in shape?

This is simply stating the obvious is it not?

This is the second post where an adult unnecessarily touts their own physical accomplishments. Kudos to you, folks, for congratulating yourself on an anonymous message board!

The OP is talking about 12 year-olds. The #1 goal at this age is keeping it fun so the kids stay in the game. Skill development, fitness and other goals should of course be addressed, so long as it is not at the expense of having fun.

I think coaches should set expectations at u12, if you are not in shape you wont get minutes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Rest and recovery are essential components of training young athletes. Running kids 6 days a week increases potential for injury."

Both myself (46) and my wife (48) run 4-5 miles 6 days a week and i feel fresh and healthy, To play soccer you need a high level of fitness.

If non elite travel programs are holding players accountable for not being in shape this is good. If the Elite clubs are not testing and holding players accountable that is concerning. If you do not want to run dont play soccer.

I assume you are saying coaches are saying players wont play on the field or make it to the next level if they are not in shape?

This is simply stating the obvious is it not?

This is the second post where an adult unnecessarily touts their own physical accomplishments. Kudos to you, folks, for congratulating yourself on an anonymous message board!

The OP is talking about 12 year-olds. The #1 goal at this age is keeping it fun so the kids stay in the game. Skill development, fitness and other goals should of course be addressed, so long as it is not at the expense of having fun.

I think coaches should set expectations at u12, if you are not in shape you wont get minutes

+1. OR it should OBVIOUSLY clear to ALL parents before they accept an offer that the coach will play everybody, etc. My expectations of the coach of a top team are to hold very high standards and push the kids to be the best they can be. I don't agree in everyone running 5 miles before practice, but if a kid is not in shape and negatively affects the team then he should move the kid down off the team. There are so many leagues and teams in this area so they is a team for everyone. The top teams...they should be held to a different level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would hate to be a coach or teacher these days. Parents, it is okay for your kid to be uncomfortable and have to work for something.

Oh please. I don't think any coach ever had to deal with a roster with 80% of the kids were likely dramatically out of "soccer shape". There are smart ways to address the problem versus being punitive.

Yelling at kids for being out of shape this year is not acceptable. Running, sprinting, intense technical work can get the kids where they all need to be without coming off like a dick.

Only coaches in denial were expecting the kids to be back in August in shape after such a long layoff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem is really the context not the requirement of fitness.

Most kids are not in shape having missed a spring season and that should not be a surprise to any rational adult or coach.

Normally lack of fitness with players could be more punitive but with a protracted quarantine during the entirety of the spring season a lack of fitness across an entire team should be expected and dealt with more pragmatically.

Getting back into shape always sucks but piling on kids who may have had varying degrees of opportunity to stay in soccer shape is the wrong message at this particular time.

Just encourage the kids and lay out a proper plan to get them back to where they need to be. Using scare tactics are unnecessary at this point when most kids are in the same boat.

Every kid in the DMV playing travel soccer has a pair of sneakers, they can run and have a good level of aerobic fitness.

If you are calling them sneakers you probably think your kid recreating the original training montage in Rocky would be ideal. Put the cotton sweats on, drink some raw eggs, run in your sneakers and finish the day off by punching frozen sides of cow at the local meat plant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would hate to be a coach or teacher these days. Parents, it is okay for your kid to be uncomfortable and have to work for something.

There are different clubs that cater to different kids, but everyone wants their kids on the best team at the most competitive club - and then they want that coach to cater to their kid and wonder why things don’t work out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would hate to be a coach or teacher these days. Parents, it is okay for your kid to be uncomfortable and have to work for something.

There are different clubs that cater to different kids, but everyone wants their kids on the best team at the most competitive club - and then they want that coach to cater to their kid and wonder why things don’t work out

Yes, a lot of kids that can’t handle the level their parents put them at, there is always a team/club for the level of soccer/mental/physical for you’re kid. The Rec kids are not being held to a fitness standard, have them play there and enjoy the sport.