Athleticism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See this spoken about on this forum often, think it deserves its own thread. How important is it to be fast

I'm going to keep this in the context of youth sports. If I'm putting a team together I think it's more important not to be slow.

The biggest advice I give to players and parents are factors that will exclude them from making teams.

In the scope of tryouts, there are generally 3 piles. Yes, Maybe and No. You want to avoid being in the no pile. There are some things that will rapidly put you in the no pile - terrible technique and lack of athleticism (among others). There are degrees to this, but an obviously SLOW player (compared to peers) stands out - you don't want to stand out in a bad way.

[Anonymous]

Oh by the way who decides how technical your kid is? The mediocre coach? A coach can make or break your player. If in the 10-12 years you parents have been taking your kids to practice and games but you DIDN'T learn the MOST important skill parentsmust get, forget about your kid be in the coach list. Kiss the coach’s as&

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've crossed into the absurd. In a board concerning soccer travel, how is the development of a la liga player remotely relevant? The best youth player in the entire region probably isn't good enough to ever remotely sniff a la liga roster. Most of the best echelon of travel soccer players will top out playing for Coastal Carolina if they're lucky, moving from travel to even a DIII roster is a success if that's the kid's goal. Messi's experience at la masia has about as much in common with the ECNL as an ECNL experience does with U5 tykes

Exactly, which is why you develop all the players to their potential and let time, puberty and the Gods sort it out.

[Anonymous]

Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

Other than keeper exactly what makes you think a basketball player would make a good soccer player? You do realize how rare the height required to play basketball is.

What would a offensive lineman accomplish in soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

I wish every person who makes the same “our best athletes play x” argument would first watch this:

https://youtu.be/8COaMKbNrX0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

I wish every person who makes the same “our best athletes play x” argument would first watch this:

https://youtu.be/8COaMKbNrX0

Lots of people make that argument. Because it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

I wish every person who makes the same “our best athletes play x” argument would first watch this:

https://youtu.be/8COaMKbNrX0

Lots of people make that argument. Because it's true.

You didn’t watch the video. Cool cool cool

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every parent with delusional thoughts always what about Messi? He was an unbelievable athlete at 8 years old!!!!! Why don't we see more American Messis? We have plenty but they choose to play basketball or American football. The top Athletes in most of the world have soccer as their choice sport. Our top athletes play basketball or football. Could you imagine if you had given John Wall a soccer ball and had him in year round club soccer at age 8? he would be playing up 2-3 years by the time he was 12. If you take the basketball away and work with him with a soccer ball only from age 8 he would be a top 5 player in the world. he has proven to be a superior athlete and has ball handling skills amongst the best in world. There is no reason to think given the same training he wouldn't be a top technical soccer player.

I wish every person who makes the same “our best athletes play x” argument would first watch this:

https://youtu.be/8COaMKbNrX0

Lots of people make that argument. Because it's true.

You didn’t watch the video. Cool cool cool

because it's true if it's posted on the Internet? SMH

[Anonymous]

I will tell you from our NBA players like Alen Iverson if he would have soley been exposed and trained to play soccer he would be the greatest American soccer player of all time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Pro level players are superior ATHLETES first that learned technical skills. Never do you see a technical player learn to be a superior athlete. With that said Ill take my chances developing the kid who's an athlete over the the skilled kid with mediocre genes.

No, develop them all and let time sort it out.

God people are so dumb.

This is what 99% of travel parents want to hear . "develop them all". Reality is its only the 1% that will actually develop to a high level.

So first off you do develop them all because you are starting before puberty. A fast athletic u17 player will run circles around a fast athletic u10 player. You just do not know what a player will look like after puberty - some small slow players growth and become fast big player. Many of those great athletic u10/u11 players just do not develop physically and are slow and small by u17. They just developed early but are over taken.

Secondly you can be a great athlete and not develop technically. There is a misperception that anyone can develop technical skill if you just work at it. It’s not true or all players would be very close technically- specially in the pros. Each player’s technical abilities has a floor and a ceiling. It is very similar to other traits like speed, quickness, physicality, spatial awareness, etc. Everyone has a range in which it can be improved to a certain level. You can not make a slow payer fast and you can not take a bad technical player and make them technical. It just does not happen. Go ask Jozy Altidore.

It’s like this a fast kid without technical ability = role player. A slow kid with technical ability = role player. All of them could start in travel soccer at the highest level. Many will play in college but not the pros. A fast kid with technical ability = solid payer. A fast kid with technical ability and high soccer IQ = all star.

you CANNOT have a slow technical kid or a fast untechnical kid starting at the highest level of youth travel soccer once 11v11 starts. actually you can, but then you are probably just helping out pay the bills

They start playing 11v11 at ages 11 and 12 (U13). For boys, the majority have not physically matured. Your statement is purely ridiculous. My son was one of the smaller ones. Highly technical put U13/U14 his stride was much shorter than those with early growth.

He's 14 and a U16 this Fall and had a major growth spurt his year at just under 6Feet and (probably 2-3 more inches orthopedist said). His physicality has caught up with his high speed/soccer processing IQ and great ball skil/technicality.

You are in for a very large surprise if you think U13 for boy is telling of anything.

This.

Dads are in for a really big surprise by the time their sons are 16/17. The pack changes a lot for the places that are choosing on merit and not just passing along the same team to team each year. The Clubs you actually have to fight for your spot every single year---those elite teams look very different with Males at age 16/17.

It's way too easy for early developers to dominate. And, actually, when they hit the big field you will see less technical physical players dominating. The kids that grow late are screwed until down the road. But, ACTUALLY, they are not. If they stay motivated having to rely on smarts, ball skill and quick processing to keep up what they lack in physicality will be a blessing when they grow (and very often surpass the early growers in size).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will tell you from our NBA players like Alen Iverson if he would have soley been exposed and trained to play soccer he would be the greatest American soccer player of all time.

I don’t know why you just picked him.

If our fastest and most agile NFL players had just soccer to play as a sport since childhood, the USA would be incredible and dominant. Some players have 4.2 secs 40 yard dash speeds. It might be a little slower with the ball, but you know what I mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will tell you from our NBA players like Alen Iverson if he would have soley been exposed and trained to play soccer he would be the greatest American soccer player of all time.

I don’t know why you just picked him.

If our fastest and most agile NFL players had just soccer to play as a sport since childhood, the USA would be incredible and dominant. Some players have 4.2 secs 40 yard dash speeds. It might be a little slower with the ball, but you know what I mean.

+1 but not necessarily for the 4.2 speed. The coordination, the agility, the quickness. Many kids in the US make the choice to play WR or DB instead of soccer because of the culture. Imagine if that were flipped en masse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will tell you from our NBA players like Alen Iverson if he would have soley been exposed and trained to play soccer he would be the greatest American soccer player of all time.

He had quickness and a crazy shiftiness that would apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will tell you from our NBA players like Alen Iverson if he would have soley been exposed and trained to play soccer he would be the greatest American soccer player of all time.

I don’t know why you just picked him.

If our fastest and most agile NFL players had just soccer to play as a sport since childhood, the USA would be incredible and dominant. Some players have 4.2 secs 40 yard dash speeds. It might be a little slower with the ball, but you know what I mean.

Again, Americans looking at combine numbers as some kind of qualifier. Do you know how many combine heroes wash out of the NFL every year, many never see significant playing time.

Everyone is fast but you need more than just speed.

This is why we are so bad at soccer.