They don't have to be bigger for chrissakes. Christian Pulisic was tiny playing up two age groups. I am so tired of dipshit coaches that only pick size at U-9. ![]() |
I'm the mom of two amazing players who happen to be short. Fortunately, every coach they've ever played for has seen beyond their size. They have speed, fearlessness and terrific foot skills. And size is not a limitation in pro soccer. What if Barcelona had passed on Messi because of his size? Here's a great article on the success of small players in pro soccer. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/in-soccer-being-short-can-help/372617/ |
I was talking to a technical director at another club recently about the competitive level of current U9 boys teams and stuff. He asked, "Have you seen Vienna play? (rhetorical) They are Fing pathetic. Sure they score goals and get results but they can't string 3 passes together. They have 4000 kids over there and that's what they are putting on the pitch. I'd be embarrassed." |
Lets just get this straight for a minute. There is a real live adult out there who just went on an internet message board and singled out a specific and identifiable group of small children (Vienna u9 boys) and called them f-ing pathetic. There is only one f-ing pathetic person in this scenario and it is not the little boys. |
"Lets just get this straight for a minute. There is a real live adult out there who just went on an internet message board and singled out a specific and identifiable group of small children (Vienna u9 boys) and called them f-ing pathetic. There is only one f-ing pathetic person in this scenario and it is not the little boys."
Although the PP was referencing the U9 boys I don't think that the criticism was on the boys but instead on the people running the program and how they are not teaching the game the correct way but instead just relying on size and speed which down the road means nothing. With so many participants, the product that they should be putting out should be better. |
Sorry but that is exactly what it said. It said have you seen them play they are f-ing pathetic. There is no reference to those who are currently running the club, no reference to size of players. I appreciate that you are trying to read it in a more charitable way (maybe you, like most, can't believe someone would actually write that about little boys) but your interpretation seems to be a bit of a stretch from what it actually says. |
I have a pretty decent soccer resume, and I've seen the current Vienna U9s. The technical staff turnover hurt them a bit in the fall, and in tryouts, they picked a lot of fast/big kids. But they're good. They had ball skills drilled into them during Eddie Lima's tenure, and now they've got good coaches in place. They'll be fine. You have to take VYS criticisms from other technical staffs with a grain of salt. A couple of people out there have an ax to grind. Beats the hell out of some U9 teams that think they're great because they've learned to shove other kids around, knowing the refs rarely call anything. Or rack up a bunch of goals pressing goal kicks. |
Maybe the poster took the TDs words about the program and didn't do a good job of putting it on here. I personally think that a reflection of playing style comes down to coaching and the kids not getting the proper education. You can teach a young player anything and after some work they'll be able to do what you're asking for. It's not overnight but it does take time. If you have 10 players who have excellent ball control and 1v1 skills but don't teach them how to play a combination passing/movement style game as a team, you can't expect to see it on the weekends. Each of those players is going to try to take everyone on by themselves. At this age you have to be able to encourage the individual but start building the team playing process. |
That's great. Our big club likes to win young. They think they can teach the big kids skill. Then by 12-13, the big bumbling idiots still suck and have zero ball skill so they finally demote them after 4 years and bring in players developed elsewhere. |
They are also worse than colleges when factoring in race as a prime selection criteria. ![]() |
It looks good for club stats though... |
There's a GRAIN of truth here. The former assistant technical director for that age group was under the impression that U9s and U10s can't pass the ball. He considered 1v1 skills much more important. I disagree rather emphatically, but he's not alone in that -- a lot of McLean coaches have had the same approach. So if you want to come in here and say you're not a fan of that guy's style, OK. That's a legitimate debate. But if you want to extrapolate that 44 kids are "f-ing pathetic" ... no. Just ... no. And the "4,000 people" card is pretty silly. Vienna has a lot of rec players. They took five travel teams out of the current U10 group, and STILL the House league continued to grow. Should Vienna be "blamed" somehow because kids who come out to play rec soccer for the first time at U9 and U10 aren't very good? Vienna's not that big a town. It just happens to have a lot of kids playing sports -- mostly baseball, basketball and soccer. That's a good thing, right? |
Yep. Those kids will end up being better developed. 8-12 is when ball skill is most important. Clubs that do this lose in the younger years, but have better developed players in the long run. People think we are crazy for walking away from a winning club, but the training is subpar. Kick and run wins in the younger years, but your kid will suck in the later years. |
+100 not sure if we are at same big club, but a gander at our top teams supports this theory. |
I agree with you that the kids should never be criticized here but I was trying to see it from the TDs perspective and I wouldn't think he would do that that since he's main job is to develop kids. More of a criticism of his peers. Seeing how many on this board are not happy with the direction and coaching at VYS I was reading it in that way. I personally think that VYS with their small town feel and large number of players (maybe not 4k) could be in a lot better situation. I'm an outsider but have heard from many VYS parents who are continuously talking about leaving. I think they should be doing a better job of developing a culture that everyone in the community wants to be a part of and not leave at the competitive level. I think they have it at the Rec level. |