If speed is your kid’s best asset…

[Anonymous]

I have so say it's fascinating to watch at u13 the players whose primary claim to fame was aggressiveness and size no longer being as valuable if they have no speed and no touch. One of our 'star' players from last season is no longer a starter because their main skill was 'overly' aggressive. My kid is a small and fast one with decent foot skills and is finally being given a chance. At u12, the bigger kids took up more space on the smaller field so it didn't matter if they couldn't pass and didn't have speed; that's no longer true and it's delightful to watch.

[Anonymous]

Kids who are bigger early on but lack skills and real speed hit a wall. My kid is short but strong and has always been one of the fastest (with and without the ball) is one of enjoying seeing the kids who were once the biggest on the field back off and be intimidated by other players. When you have always been small, you learn to be quick and aggressive at an early age.

[Anonymous]

There is a girl in the older age groups that is easily the fastest around. She can change the tempo and outcome of the game. Having a good shot and soccer IQ is also important with her speed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so say it's fascinating to watch at u13 the players whose primary claim to fame was aggressiveness and size no longer being as valuable if they have no speed and no touch. One of our 'star' players from last season is no longer a starter because their main skill was 'overly' aggressive. My kid is a small and fast one with decent foot skills and is finally being given a chance. At u12, the bigger kids took up more space on the smaller field so it didn't matter if they couldn't pass and didn't have speed; that's no longer true and it's delightful to watch.

Why is it delightful to watch though?

[Anonymous]

We’ve got a girl on our U12 team who’s really fast, aggressive, and goes full speed, but she has almost no soccer IQ and struggles with first touch and shooting. The coach always starts her, and I can’t help but wonder how long that’s going to last.

[Anonymous]

Some coach will always take a chance on a player that has exceptional speed. Have seen so many of those types though that dribble right out of bounds, always take a shot with no angle what so ever, only to have it hit the outside of the goal, or go right to the keepers hands who is on the near post, out run their team so have no one to cross the ball too. Develop the other aspects of your game and then your speed will be effective. This reminds me of the football coach who is always keeping an eye out for the track star thinking they can turn them into an elite player, only to have them returning punts after 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some coach will always take a chance on a player that has exceptional speed. Have seen so many of those types though that dribble right out of bounds, always take a shot with no angle what so ever, only to have it hit the outside of the goal, or go right to the keepers hands who is on the near post, out run their team so have no one to cross the ball too. Develop the other aspects of your game and then your speed will be effective. This reminds me of the football coach who is always keeping an eye out for the track star thinking they can turn them into an elite player, only to have them returning punts after 2 weeks.

+1 I was the fast kid with poor ball control. I ended up playing collegiate d3, but could have easily played d1 if I had put effort into technical skills. I slacked and barely practiced, but speed still got me to the top of the pecking order until college came around. I regret not refining ball skills more given my speed, but I don't know that my parents could have convinced me to try harder when I was younger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some coach will always take a chance on a player that has exceptional speed. Have seen so many of those types though that dribble right out of bounds, always take a shot with no angle what so ever, only to have it hit the outside of the goal, or go right to the keepers hands who is on the near post, out run their team so have no one to cross the ball too. Develop the other aspects of your game and then your speed will be effective. This reminds me of the football coach who is always keeping an eye out for the track star thinking they can turn them into an elite player, only to have them returning punts after 2 weeks.

+1 I was the fast kid with poor ball control. I ended up playing collegiate d3, but could have easily played d1 if I had put effort into technical skills. I slacked and barely practiced, but speed still got me to the top of the pecking order until college came around. I regret not refining ball skills more given my speed, but I don't know that my parents could have convinced me to try harder when I was younger.

OP here. The last two posts have been helpful. DC plays defense more than anything else, but when they play wing I have occasionally seen them outrun their team or take an ill advised shot. Hardly ever dribbles out of bounds and usually looks to pass rather than take on a bunch of defenders. Has a nice cross that has resulted in a couple of assists so far this season. But ball control is definitely not where some of their teammates are and it does lead to them losing the ball too often in a 1v1 situation.

PP I think my DC is like you in that I don’t really think I can convince them to work harder on technical skills at least not on their own at home. They will either want to get better or they won’t. If DC does start showing interest in working harder, what kinds of activities would you recommend? No soccer background in our household so not sure besides practicing juggling. I think part of the problem is it’s boring to train alone.

[Anonymous]

Super boring, but if your kid can make practice part of their routine even 10 mins of ball work and juggling every day will be a huge difference. All you need is a ball and a wall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super boring, but if your kid can make practice part of their routine even 10 mins of ball work and juggling every day will be a huge difference. All you need is a ball and a wall

Those who choose to embrace the mundane become the best technical players

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did soccer work out for your kid in the long run? Just curious what the next couple years might look like as mine heads into middle and high school. Their speed is probably the only true standout aspect of their play. They can close down on just about anyone including high level players. Also a good passer. Not the best technically (but has improved) and decision making is lacking at times.

For those with a kid like this, did they stick with soccer or switch to track/cross country or something else? Kid works hard in practice and supplemental group training but isn’t that kid doing lots of things on their own. Not yet sure if they will decide they want to put that kind of work in or not. I can’t imagine they can get to that next level with just speed, but I admittedly don’t know much about soccer and what coaches look for as they get older. Just curious to hear how it turned out for kids who are similar.

Mine was average skilled but fast. Honestly she was at some times not really into it and would disappear for big chunks of the game. Though she remained on the top team. This happened because once every third game or so she would just run by everyone or some how show her speed in a meaningful way.

It seemed she would make the highest team where she was able to run by everyone. Not much more to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have so say it's fascinating to watch at u13 the players whose primary claim to fame was aggressiveness and size no longer being as valuable if they have no speed and no touch. One of our 'star' players from last season is no longer a starter because their main skill was 'overly' aggressive. My kid is a small and fast one with decent foot skills and is finally being given a chance. At u12, the bigger kids took up more space on the smaller field so it didn't matter if they couldn't pass and didn't have speed; that's no longer true and it's delightful to watch.

Why is it delightful to watch though?

oh gosh... for so many reasons. mainly karma though. Going way back, my DS was the only one out of his u8 cohort to go straight to the third team. He was a 'starter' (for whatever that means at that age) on that u8 team but somehow got overlooked when making decisions for u9. The tall u8 players, many who weren't starters at u8, went straight to the top team. U10 year, DS moves up to second team and some of the tall kids were dropped from the top team to second team. Those tall kids were starters for first part of the season, my DS not so much. By end of season, my DS was a starter, the other kids were not. Some of those tall kids that had been moved down from first team quit soccer because they were 'unfairly' being moved down according to the parents. Going into u11 year, i'm thinking that with my kid being a starter on a very good second team, he'll have a decent chance at top team. Nope, they brought in a bunch of external kids (not overly a surprise) that were tall and aggressive (not a surprise) for the tall team. Then the second team got a last minute new coach and a couple more kids came down from the top team (from that original cohort) and we repeat the u10 year again.. my kid doesn't start because they're too small.. the kids moving down from the top team start at the beginning of the season but not at the end. Some of them quit because their families liked being on the top team but hate being on the second team. Then its u12 tryouts and we have a new TD who's watching practice. They see my kid and they make a note to the coach along the lines of 'this kid is technically better than most of your top team players, move them onto the top team'. So DS finally gets moved up to top team. The only remaining kids from that u8 cohort are moved down from the top team and suddenly they can't talk to my family anymore. They were happy to be friends with our family while their kids were on the top team, but once my kid moves to the top team, they want nothing to do with us and we're relegated to the passive aggressive head nod and move on greeting. Shockingly, at u12, my kid is not a starter at beginning of the season. Then, by the end of the season, they're starting despite being small. Even then, coach is like, "u13 is different, i can't have short kids that get pushed around on the team, regardless of how good they are. And btw, i'm bringing in some tall and aggressive kids from another team that I used to coach." U13 season starts and suddenly those tall and aggressive kids (the new ones and the ones from last year) aren't adapting too well to the big field- its too much running, they never learned positioning, and they can't make easy passes on the field. Suddenly, after being told my kid wasn't good enough because they're too small for years... and now they're a starter because the big & tall kids never learned technical skills. I mean, coach rewarded them with playing time just for being big and aggressive, so I can see why they'd be pissed now. But we've been dealing with our kid getting overlooked for more than 4 years, and no one else cared. So yeah, it's hard to shed a tear when someone else's son isn't getting playing time when they wouldn't talk to us because my kid wasn't a starter. And yet now, all the other families of starters want to be friends with us since my DS is a starter, while the parents of the newly non-starters just glare at us. All this is such soccer bs at the end of the day and i hate all of that. I get why everyone wants their kid to be a starter, i just don't have much sympathy for those who treated us poorly while we were slowly moving up the soccer ladder and while my son was told by each coach that they couldn't be a good player because they were small.

So yeah, i'm delighted because no coach ever gave my kid special treatment and no parent ever thought my kid was good enough for the top team, and "suddenly" they're a starter on a great team despite being small. I imagine my kid isn't the only small kid on that journey, but no one has ever given my kid a fair chance. For all the other parents of small & good kids, just remember that it takes longer to move up the ladder along with some luck, but it is so much more meaningful at each step because you know your kid had to earn that spot, despite their poor genetics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have so say it's fascinating to watch at u13 the players whose primary claim to fame was aggressiveness and size no longer being as valuable if they have no speed and no touch. One of our 'star' players from last season is no longer a starter because their main skill was 'overly' aggressive. My kid is a small and fast one with decent foot skills and is finally being given a chance. At u12, the bigger kids took up more space on the smaller field so it didn't matter if they couldn't pass and didn't have speed; that's no longer true and it's delightful to watch.

Why is it delightful to watch though?

oh gosh... for so many reasons. mainly karma though. Going way back, my DS was the only one out of his u8 cohort to go straight to the third team. He was a 'starter' (for whatever that means at that age) on that u8 team but somehow got overlooked when making decisions for u9. The tall u8 players, many who weren't starters at u8, went straight to the top team. U10 year, DS moves up to second team and some of the tall kids were dropped from the top team to second team. Those tall kids were starters for first part of the season, my DS not so much. By end of season, my DS was a starter, the other kids were not. Some of those tall kids that had been moved down from first team quit soccer because they were 'unfairly' being moved down according to the parents. Going into u11 year, i'm thinking that with my kid being a starter on a very good second team, he'll have a decent chance at top team. Nope, they brought in a bunch of external kids (not overly a surprise) that were tall and aggressive (not a surprise) for the tall team. Then the second team got a last minute new coach and a couple more kids came down from the top team (from that original cohort) and we repeat the u10 year again.. my kid doesn't start because they're too small.. the kids moving down from the top team start at the beginning of the season but not at the end. Some of them quit because their families liked being on the top team but hate being on the second team. Then its u12 tryouts and we have a new TD who's watching practice. They see my kid and they make a note to the coach along the lines of 'this kid is technically better than most of your top team players, move them onto the top team'. So DS finally gets moved up to top team. The only remaining kids from that u8 cohort are moved down from the top team and suddenly they can't talk to my family anymore. They were happy to be friends with our family while their kids were on the top team, but once my kid moves to the top team, they want nothing to do with us and we're relegated to the passive aggressive head nod and move on greeting. Shockingly, at u12, my kid is not a starter at beginning of the season. Then, by the end of the season, they're starting despite being small. Even then, coach is like, "u13 is different, i can't have short kids that get pushed around on the team, regardless of how good they are. And btw, i'm bringing in some tall and aggressive kids from another team that I used to coach." U13 season starts and suddenly those tall and aggressive kids (the new ones and the ones from last year) aren't adapting too well to the big field- its too much running, they never learned positioning, and they can't make easy passes on the field. Suddenly, after being told my kid wasn't good enough because they're too small for years... and now they're a starter because the big & tall kids never learned technical skills. I mean, coach rewarded them with playing time just for being big and aggressive, so I can see why they'd be pissed now. But we've been dealing with our kid getting overlooked for more than 4 years, and no one else cared. So yeah, it's hard to shed a tear when someone else's son isn't getting playing time when they wouldn't talk to us because my kid wasn't a starter. And yet now, all the other families of starters want to be friends with us since my DS is a starter, while the parents of the newly non-starters just glare at us. All this is such soccer bs at the end of the day and i hate all of that. I get why everyone wants their kid to be a starter, i just don't have much sympathy for those who treated us poorly while we were slowly moving up the soccer ladder and while my son was told by each coach that they couldn't be a good player because they were small.

So yeah, i'm delighted because no coach ever gave my kid special treatment and no parent ever thought my kid was good enough for the top team, and "suddenly" they're a starter on a great team despite being small. I imagine my kid isn't the only small kid on that journey, but no one has ever given my kid a fair chance. For all the other parents of small & good kids, just remember that it takes longer to move up the ladder along with some luck, but it is so much more meaningful at each step because you know your kid had to earn that spot, despite their poor genetics.

This was so long I didn’t read it all, but geez, you sound bitter and paranoid. I have a kid who is very fast and tall and aggressive. That must really make you mad! Not every kid who is tall is slow and lumbering, and not every small kid is fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have so say it's fascinating to watch at u13 the players whose primary claim to fame was aggressiveness and size no longer being as valuable if they have no speed and no touch. One of our 'star' players from last season is no longer a starter because their main skill was 'overly' aggressive. My kid is a small and fast one with decent foot skills and is finally being given a chance. At u12, the bigger kids took up more space on the smaller field so it didn't matter if they couldn't pass and didn't have speed; that's no longer true and it's delightful to watch.

Why is it delightful to watch though?

oh gosh... for so many reasons. mainly karma though. Going way back, my DS was the only one out of his u8 cohort to go straight to the third team. He was a 'starter' (for whatever that means at that age) on that u8 team but somehow got overlooked when making decisions for u9. The tall u8 players, many who weren't starters at u8, went straight to the top team. U10 year, DS moves up to second team and some of the tall kids were dropped from the top team to second team. Those tall kids were starters for first part of the season, my DS not so much. By end of season, my DS was a starter, the other kids were not. Some of those tall kids that had been moved down from first team quit soccer because they were 'unfairly' being moved down according to the parents. Going into u11 year, i'm thinking that with my kid being a starter on a very good second team, he'll have a decent chance at top team. Nope, they brought in a bunch of external kids (not overly a surprise) that were tall and aggressive (not a surprise) for the tall team. Then the second team got a last minute new coach and a couple more kids came down from the top team (from that original cohort) and we repeat the u10 year again.. my kid doesn't start because they're too small.. the kids moving down from the top team start at the beginning of the season but not at the end. Some of them quit because their families liked being on the top team but hate being on the second team. Then its u12 tryouts and we have a new TD who's watching practice. They see my kid and they make a note to the coach along the lines of 'this kid is technically better than most of your top team players, move them onto the top team'. So DS finally gets moved up to top team. The only remaining kids from that u8 cohort are moved down from the top team and suddenly they can't talk to my family anymore. They were happy to be friends with our family while their kids were on the top team, but once my kid moves to the top team, they want nothing to do with us and we're relegated to the passive aggressive head nod and move on greeting. Shockingly, at u12, my kid is not a starter at beginning of the season. Then, by the end of the season, they're starting despite being small. Even then, coach is like, "u13 is different, i can't have short kids that get pushed around on the team, regardless of how good they are. And btw, i'm bringing in some tall and aggressive kids from another team that I used to coach." U13 season starts and suddenly those tall and aggressive kids (the new ones and the ones from last year) aren't adapting too well to the big field- its too much running, they never learned positioning, and they can't make easy passes on the field. Suddenly, after being told my kid wasn't good enough because they're too small for years... and now they're a starter because the big & tall kids never learned technical skills. I mean, coach rewarded them with playing time just for being big and aggressive, so I can see why they'd be pissed now. But we've been dealing with our kid getting overlooked for more than 4 years, and no one else cared. So yeah, it's hard to shed a tear when someone else's son isn't getting playing time when they wouldn't talk to us because my kid wasn't a starter. And yet now, all the other families of starters want to be friends with us since my DS is a starter, while the parents of the newly non-starters just glare at us. All this is such soccer bs at the end of the day and i hate all of that. I get why everyone wants their kid to be a starter, i just don't have much sympathy for those who treated us poorly while we were slowly moving up the soccer ladder and while my son was told by each coach that they couldn't be a good player because they were small.

So yeah, i'm delighted because no coach ever gave my kid special treatment and no parent ever thought my kid was good enough for the top team, and "suddenly" they're a starter on a great team despite being small. I imagine my kid isn't the only small kid on that journey, but no one has ever given my kid a fair chance. For all the other parents of small & good kids, just remember that it takes longer to move up the ladder along with some luck, but it is so much more meaningful at each step because you know your kid had to earn that spot, despite their poor genetics.

This was so long I didn’t read it all, but geez, you sound bitter and paranoid. I have a kid who is very fast and tall and aggressive. That must really make you mad! Not every kid who is tall is slow and lumbering, and not every small kid is fast.

Not PP, but your kid better gain some skills or he will be riding the bench.

[Anonymous]

If the mystery kid is a girl, switch to lacrosse.