Female physical attributes for positions
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Anonymous
| I'd say keeper and defender height matters most, but a team is made up of a lot more midfielders and forwards than defenders and keepers, so it would seem logical the number of sub-5'6" girls is greater. |
Anonymous
Nobody was talking about volleyball or basketball as it related to soccer. It is well understood that height matters in those two sports. The discussion here is the over simplification that just being 5'9" is some kind of free pass to D1 soccer and those kids who are 5'4" just need not apply because they are not even being looked at by colleges. It simply isn't rue in either event. |
Anonymous
No body is saying that at all. What we are saying is that height is one factor when a coach recruits a player. Depending upon a position, such as defender or goalie, height would be weighted higher compared to other factors such as foot skills. An attacking midfielder for instance (#10), requires the most foot and passing skills and IQ, so height is not as a big factor compared to other positions. |
Anonymous
That has been what I have been saying. |
Anonymous
We all know this...its just one parent of a tall kid who needs everyone else to believe that his kid is the next big thing for the simple fact that shes.........tall. |
Anonymous
I think it is more the belief that being bigger is always better that is largely a false narrative. Bigger is a desirable trait for certain positions beyond obviously keeper but being good at soccer is what matters the most. And the skill sets of a great midfielder would allow them to play in multiple positions for short periods but they would likely never truly excel at those positions. A tall fast player could play some midfield but may not excel there either but can get by for short periods of time. There is nothing wrong with utilizing the attributes that one was born with but it is wrong to confuse genetics with talent. Even among big players there will always be a range of talent. Being 5'9" might get you some early looks from UNC but at some point you have to better than hundreds to thousands of kids who want that same spot. Coaches are looking at the totality of the player and in some cases position/size play a part of that equation, in others, size is just not the advantage or determining factor many hope it is. |
Anonymous
| Outside backs are very similar to wingers and mids. It's the CB and goalies that need height. |
Anonymous
| ^this is why fast midfielders are so desirable. They can play mutiple positions if they have speed. |
Anonymous
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As a short-isn defender (5'5") who played in the ACC i can say the type of player who would make me quake in my boots to defend would have been a female Ibrahimovic or Zidane. Huge and skilled. I'd much rather mark someone i can physically match up with.
That being said there really aren't that many elite huge women forwards (someone like a Wambach, Sinclair or morgan). I think you can always have a slightly more phyiscially imposing back on a team to try to make a giant, but since a lot of the best forwards are on the smaller side, there's no reason why a smaller defender can't match up with them. And for me the attributes I would look for the most in a player is competitiveness above anything physical. Look at Rose Lavelle. She looks like she should be sitting at a table at a craft fair selling homemade jam or something BUT she is ultra competitive and tough as nails. |
Anonymous
Yeah, we’ll take your unsupported opinion over an actual study. Sure. |
Anonymous
In soccer longer strides means fewer touches on the ball. Fewer touches on the ball mean fewer decisions and opportunities with the ball which makes for a much less dynamic player. This type of player is great North-South in getting up and down the field but they aren’t very good laterally with the ball or in tight space. |
Anonymous
Nonsense. Go tell that to Alex Morgan. |
Anonymous
Nonesenes Take a look at 1:21 mark. Look at that GIANT touch cutting back. She almost lost the ball because it was so big. A player like Lavell or Messi would have had no less than two options, one of which was to split the defenders and go direct to goal versus taking a giant end around. She is simply not capable at speed to split defenders in that type of limited space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdsImZ5MVHk |
Anonymous
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Yes, stride length is one part of speed. ONE PART!. Another major part is stride frequency. Most people use the word "turnover". Its basically how fast you can you pick up and put down your feet. Everytime you do this, you accelerate. Very few people in the world (like elite sprinters) have the ability to have long strides and quick turnover. Most good athletes have one or the other. We will save quick twitch muscles for another day.
In a sprint, the runner explodes for the first few yards with a shorter stride and higher turnover. The sprinter does not open up their stride until later. In the game of soccer, a player will have very few opportunities to open up their stride. Therefore, stride length is not as important. I say its not important at all. Not enough straight aways. In the game of soccer, shorter strides and higher turnover is more important. Thats explosion. |
Anonymous
Alex.Morgan is a non-dynamic poacher with a good strike...sometimes. |