can a private soccer coach help 8-yo DS who's not a fast kid with his game?

[Anonymous]

OP - I'm the Gary Lineker poster. I think it's unlikely that your son is going to discover at the tender age of 8 whether striker is his true position or not. Don't listen to people who tell you (and him) that he should give it up now. Speed helps, but it's not everything. Build his skills, increase his game smarts -- he'll figure out which position he should play and whether this is his sport or not.

Also, as he gets older I hope he comes to understand, as some posters have noted, that scoring goals is a wonderful, essential thing, but it's not the whole thing -- and scoring is not done by strikers alone. Defenders who are good at winning head balls often score goals when they are brought up to be on the receiving end of corner kicks. Smart midfielders often find themselves in position to take a shot -- and usually it's the strength and accuracy of their shot, not their footspeed, that determines whether they will score regularly.
Finally, as a lifelong midfielder and sweeper, I would hope your son gets as interested in assisting on goals as he is in scoring them. There's an old saying among midfielders (who know the value of well-timed pass that enables another player to score): "I didn't score a goal -- but I MADE a goal."
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

op here - just a quick thank you to those who posted positive and helpful info. i read them all and really appreciated your input. cheers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - I'm the Gary Lineker poster. I think it's unlikely that your son is going to discover at the tender age of 8 whether striker is his true position or not. Don't listen to people who tell you (and him) that he should give it up now. Speed helps, but it's not everything. Build his skills, increase his game smarts -- he'll figure out which position he should play and whether this is his sport or not.

Also, as he gets older I hope he comes to understand, as some posters have noted, that scoring goals is a wonderful, essential thing, but it's not the whole thing -- and scoring is not done by strikers alone. Defenders who are good at winning head balls often score goals when they are brought up to be on the receiving end of corner kicks. Smart midfielders often find themselves in position to take a shot -- and usually it's the strength and accuracy of their shot, not their footspeed, that determines whether they will score regularly.
Finally, as a lifelong midfielder and sweeper, I would hope your son gets as interested in assisting on goals as he is in scoring them. There's an old saying among midfielders (who know the value of well-timed pass that enables another player to score): "I didn't score a goal -- but I MADE a goal."

Good luck!

Excellent post! Always important to praise the assist.

[Anonymous]

spaniards and dutch coaches reading this thread would be shocked.

He's u8, the MAIN thing he learns right now is a genuine love for the game, an immaculate first touch off both feet, and good technical skills such as passing and then moving into space to receive the ball again and dribbling the ball with confidence.

none of these things requires speed, forget scoring, forget any of these things. There are players even age at 20 (pro's) who get shifted later into positions they never knew they were good at before.

Anglo (american, british) football coaching is shambolic.

[Anonymous]

First you aren't going to find a decent coach for $20 / hr. I think paid significantly more for a shared hour with 2 other kids.

Second i would like to enroll him in a clinic which are fun and focused on skiils development. Stoddert has them and other clubs too. 8 is a great age to start as most start them in travel teams then. tryouts are in the spring and you can get some feedback from the clinic on whether to pursue that.

I have 3 kids in travel soccer. They have all developed differently and have different strengths. None have that striker mentality but have been successful and had fun nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:spaniards and dutch coaches reading this thread would be shocked.

He's u8, the MAIN thing he learns right now is a genuine love for the game, an immaculate first touch off both feet, and good technical skills such as passing and then moving into space to receive the ball again and dribbling the ball with confidence.

none of these things requires speed, forget scoring, forget any of these things. There are players even age at 20 (pro's) who get shifted later into positions they never knew they were good at before.

Anglo (american, british) football coaching is shambolic.

obviously you know more soccer than me but for avg 8 yos the fun is to score and to win, no matter what sport, and that motivate them to work on all those skills you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i'm willing to spend perhaps $20/hr to hire a college kid to train 8-yo DS one-on-one to help him improve his game. he's not a fast kid so always late to the ball and never has a chance to take a shot. but if he has better foot skills and tactical skills i think he can perhaps have a better chance to score? he really wants to score some goals and i think it's important to keep him interested/motivated to continue to play...

would love to hear from those who've used private coaches before. tks!

OP here - his season ended yesterday, didn't score any goal since the first game, but he's had probably the most fun in two years (partly because they win a lot), responded well to the coaches, and was really happy he's part of the team. i'm just posting to share this but mostly remind myself that us adults sometimes over think too much and don't give the kids enough room to grow or trust them as big kids. he can't wait for winter soccer to begin. cheers!

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear your update OP! Love the more "room to grow" approach you took. IMO, clinics are fine but what message do we send kids when we hire special help to boost their self esteem? Especially at that that tender age and for a recreational activity? He probably gained more by letting it unfold naturally and succeeding through average coaching and teamwork. Well done with a light touch OP!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for updaing OP, glad he had a great season! And I dont know about you but I am sooooo damn glad soccer season is OVER! Now I can get my life back! (I've got one in travel, plus ODP, plus he does referring for the rec league. My other one does rec soccer and academy training).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm willing to spend perhaps $20/hr to hire a college kid to train 8-yo DS one-on-one to help him improve his game. he's not a fast kid so always late to the ball and never has a chance to take a shot. but if he has better foot skills and tactical skills i think he can perhaps have a better chance to score? he really wants to score some goals and i think it's important to keep him interested/motivated to continue to play...

would love to hear from those who've used private coaches before. tks!

OP here - his season ended yesterday, didn't score any goal since the first game, but he's had probably the most fun in two years (partly because they win a lot), responded well to the coaches, and was really happy he's part of the team. i'm just posting to share this but mostly remind myself that us adults sometimes over think too much and don't give the kids enough room to grow or trust them as big kids. he can't wait for winter soccer to begin. cheers!

The nice thing about soccer is you can be a great player but never scorer goals. A single wonderful player will not make a good team.