Harsh Reality for your Beloved Soccer Player

[Anonymous]

Nova coach, so what are you (and other coaches) doing about this? If there is truly only a small % of players that will make it, why take money from kids that aren't? Put all those D1 candidates together into one group, instead you are taking money from kids that won't ever succeed according to your assessment.

[Anonymous]

Coach, does your advice apply to boys DA players as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach,

Thanks for coming into this forum and sharing your perspectives. Lots of parents, including me, want to know if their DD has any chance of making a college team whether it be D1, D2, or D3. My DD loves paying at Midfield so what you success in several of your posts is great info.

This forum is full of know-it-all parents that never even played HS soccer but yet pretend to be experts.

I hope you keep up with this thread or even start new threads. While you might not what to identify yourself, please start a thread with “Coach: xyz topic” so people like me knows it’s you. Thank you!

No problem. I'm glad I could be of help. I grew up playing soccer in the area for powerhouse club, moved out and experienced what the environment is like in different areas now am back here coaching so I can understand what kind of toxicity is present in this area and it stinks because there is so much talent in this area compared to others. Will label my posts in the future. Hopefully no posers.

I'm calling BS. No ECNL/GDA/DA coach from a strong club would post anonymously on a forum like this.

Can you just go away? If you think this is BS, go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nova coach, so what are you (and other coaches) doing about this? If there is truly only a small % of players that will make it, why take money from kids that aren't? Put all those D1 candidates together into one group, instead you are taking money from kids that won't ever succeed according to your assessment.

Great idea. Again, I'm just a coach not an executive. I'm not in charge in charging your player, etc. Also, clubs exist to provide competitive soccer to players not to feed D1 schools. My job is give your kid a great experience playing soccer and being the best they can be. Obviously every kid has specific goals of their own. This goes into the whole pay-to-play landscape throughout the whole country. Don't tie the individual coach with the screwed up landscape of how soccer works in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NOVA Coach here. Here's what I have to say about all your ECNL dreams for your kid. Harsh reality is by U12 most can already make an assessment on whether your kid will be good enough for D1. This is not only from technical standpoint but from a Soccer IQ standpoint. If you watch your kid and your kid is losing the ball 50% of the time, can't beat players 1v1, can't dribble or looks to get rid of the ball quickly it's pretty much a wrap for your D1 hopes for your kid. Record your kid's stats whenever they touch the ball and you'll be shocked.

Scouts in England say "I don't care what you can do before puberty".

[Anonymous]

U9 G Rec parent/coach here with a question if I can: does it mean keeping the ball is the most important skill in youth soccer then? If there's only one soccer skill (other than the love of the game) I could help my DD/players develop would this be it? Just want to stress these are rec players with no superior athletic abilities nor understanding of the game. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U9 G Rec parent/coach here with a question if I can: does it mean keeping the ball is the most important skill in youth soccer then? If there's only one soccer skill (other than the love of the game) I could help my DD/players develop would this be it? Just want to stress these are rec players with no superior athletic abilities nor understanding of the game. Thanks.

Hey Coach here- I would say so for U9/U10 just teaching them basic soccer fundamentals. Teaching them being comfortable with the ball. To be honest your platform right now is almost the same as other U9's who are just starting off in travel. Just teach them dribbling, dribbling, dribbling. It will be messy and it will take time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NOVA Coach here. Here's what I have to say about all your ECNL dreams for your kid. Harsh reality is by U12 most can already make an assessment on whether your kid will be good enough for D1. This is not only from technical standpoint but from a Soccer IQ standpoint. If you watch your kid and your kid is losing the ball 50% of the time, can't beat players 1v1, can't dribble or looks to get rid of the ball quickly it's pretty much a wrap for your D1 hopes for your kid. Record your kid's stats whenever they touch the ball and you'll be shocked.

Scouts in England say "I don't care what you can do before puberty".

It’s very easy for them to say when the most popular and dominant sport in England is soccer and every boy at the playground is playing soccer way before puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NOVA Coach here. Here's what I have to say about all your ECNL dreams for your kid. Harsh reality is by U12 most can already make an assessment on whether your kid will be good enough for D1. This is not only from technical standpoint but from a Soccer IQ standpoint. If you watch your kid and your kid is losing the ball 50% of the time, can't beat players 1v1, can't dribble or looks to get rid of the ball quickly it's pretty much a wrap for your D1 hopes for your kid. Record your kid's stats whenever they touch the ball and you'll be shocked.

What general age and what level do you coach? This would help some. I'm not asking this to troll because there is potential for a good topic to be discussed here.

I’ve coached all ages, and worked with D1 college coaches who also coached in the club. My main stomping grounds have been around U12-U15 but spent a lot of time in zone 1 age group as well.. By U12/U13 you can pretty much pick out which players can be in the pool for a D1 school. Your player has to have a certain combined level of polished technique with soccer intelligence. Not to mention if your player is a struggling athletically wise it’s going to be difficult because the college game is all about athletes (which is stupid but how it is in this country)

Is it possible to predict potential "late bloomers"? And if so, how do you keep the players and the parents engaged?

Coach here again- My initial post was for the majority of players, of course there are some late bloomers. The late bloomers have to be technically sound though. Technique is something that can be taught and has no baring in athletic ability. Your player could be technical but unathletic. If this is the case your player may struggle if they are in an environment with a lot of athletes since the game will be quicker. If your player is unathletic they have to compensate with technique and extremely high soccer IQ. This is the case with pro players. You can take a lot of spanish players as examples. Players like Iniesya, David Silva are not the most athletic players but they are extremely technical and are extremely smart with and without the ball. They know how to use their body to protect the ball even against bigger opposition. If your player is technical but unathletic they also have to be extremely scrappy, “fearless” and aggressive in defense. This is a lot of info but honestly just scratches the surface for this topic.

No some kids just better at technical play because of eye foot coordination and vision. That is a part of athleticism. It’s just different from being fast, quick or strong. They maybe not be the burner but you always watch when they get the ball. You could train a 100 kids, same amount of time and same drills. At the end if the season, 2-3 kids will just be head and shoulders above every other kid in terms of technique. This is really true for the girls side.

These kids at u12 dumb down their game. Now if you are luck to get two of these type kids on a team. It’s pretty fun to watch. Also these type of kid can play with u15 player at u12.

hmm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the assessment for goalies? At what age do you see Division I potential?

As soon as they hit their growth spurt.

So if they never spurt but keep growing steadily?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach,

Thanks for coming into this forum and sharing your perspectives. Lots of parents, including me, want to know if their DD has any chance of making a college team whether it be D1, D2, or D3. My DD loves paying at Midfield so what you success in several of your posts is great info.

This forum is full of know-it-all parents that never even played HS soccer but yet pretend to be experts.

I hope you keep up with this thread or even start new threads. While you might not what to identify yourself, please start a thread with “Coach: xyz topic” so people like me knows it’s you. Thank you!

No problem. I'm glad I could be of help. I grew up playing soccer in the area for powerhouse club, moved out and experienced what the environment is like in different areas now am back here coaching so I can understand what kind of toxicity is present in this area and it stinks because there is so much talent in this area compared to others. Will label my posts in the future. Hopefully no posers.

Another vote for BS here.

Also, “coach” needs to register an account here and post only from that account to be taken seriously. Otherwise anyone can write “coach here” in their anonymous post and there’s no way to differentiate.

I'm calling BS. No ECNL/GDA/DA coach from a strong club would post anonymously on a forum like this.

Can you just go away? If you think this is BS, go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach,

Thanks for coming into this forum and sharing your perspectives. Lots of parents, including me, want to know if their DD has any chance of making a college team whether it be D1, D2, or D3. My DD loves paying at Midfield so what you success in several of your posts is great info.

This forum is full of know-it-all parents that never even played HS soccer but yet pretend to be experts.

I hope you keep up with this thread or even start new threads. While you might not what to identify yourself, please start a thread with “Coach: xyz topic” so people like me knows it’s you. Thank you!

No problem. I'm glad I could be of help. I grew up playing soccer in the area for powerhouse club, moved out and experienced what the environment is like in different areas now am back here coaching so I can understand what kind of toxicity is present in this area and it stinks because there is so much talent in this area compared to others. Will label my posts in the future. Hopefully no posers.

I'm calling BS. No ECNL/GDA/DA coach from a strong club would post anonymously on a forum like this.

Can you just go away? If you think this is BS, go elsewhere.

Another vote for BS here.

Also, “coach” needs to register an account here and post only from that account to be taken seriously. Otherwise anyone can write “coach here” in their anonymous post and there’s no way to differentiate.

[Anonymous]

Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

Coach here- agree with your comments. Not only that but do parents realize how difficult being a D1 athlete is? It is an incredibly difficult and demanding soccer-school balance. Not only that, it takes incredible amount of mental fortitude with high demands from coaches, teammates, etc. Not only that but then you have to tie in what they are going to do after college. Sometimes it's difficult for student athletes to get a meaningful degree and put efforts into their life after college. Professional soccer is even more of a longshot! Definitely not discouraging anyone from having D1 aspirations but it takes the right kid with the right makeup. Collegiate soccer is not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

Coach here- agree with your comments. Not only that but do parents realize how difficult being a D1 athlete is? It is an incredibly difficult and demanding soccer-school balance. Not only that, it takes incredible amount of mental fortitude with high demands from coaches, teammates, etc. Not only that but then you have to tie in what they are going to do after college. Sometimes it's difficult for student athletes to get a meaningful degree and put efforts into their life after college. Professional soccer is even more of a longshot! Definitely not discouraging anyone from having D1 aspirations but it takes the right kid with the right makeup. Collegiate soccer is not for everyone.

Every once in a while I will see a D1 athlete. They are really noticably. The last girl I saw was u12 and every coach(basketball, lacrosse, soccer, track, etc) was crazy about her. I saw her play basketball for the first time. By the end of the season she was the best player on the court.

I really do not think parents on these top teams at large clubs really understand an athlete like this. She is not just the fastest kid on your top team. She is the fastest kid in the league two years up. This does not mean she will play D1 or become a star college player. She would have to have the right coach, the right mantallity, luck, etc.