Playing styles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How difficult is it for a team to switch to possession type style and what type of players does a team need?

(I am asking because possession soccer is more effective but it seems coaches don’t play or practice this style much.)

Possession style is not the most effective strategy to win at the younger ages. Players need good foot skills/touch/ability to make accurate passes to be good at this style. Playing good possession style soccer is a multiyear commitment.

Some coaches/clubs select players for size and speed alone and just let them play. These teams/clubs tend to be more effective at the younger ages and not so much at U18 level.

Agreed. High risk when young, but if people stick with it and the team has requisite skill and comparable athletes, high reward as they get older. Depends on what kind of things you want your kid to learn, both in soccer and outside of it. We are at a club known for possession style (and went there for that reason) but there are a lot of variations and subtleties depending on the coach/team when it comes to these styles. Best not to worship at any altar.

There is zero proof that possession is more effective at older ages. People who are possession obsessed and clubs that are exclusively possession are actually harming the development of our players. Free the kids to be creative and think on their own.

For this, any club will do. You don't need coaches or clubs for this.

Interesting. Which clubs do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is great for technical skilled players. But please don't fool yourself . Big strong fast athletic players can always be taught "technical" skills. However small less athletic technical players can not be taught to be genetically more athletic, bigger ,faster, and stronger, Its simple science people you are better in the long run to try to develop natural athletes rather than wasting your time on small slow "technically sound players as they have a lower ceiling.

not really- someone playing for the first time as a 16 year old will never have the touch of someone playing constantly since they were a tot. If you really care about what makes the best players- its the ones who are highly technical, fast, and strong. It's not an either or thing when there are plenty of kids who have both

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is great for technical skilled players. But please don't fool yourself . Big strong fast athletic players can always be taught "technical" skills. However small less athletic technical players can not be taught to be genetically more athletic, bigger ,faster, and stronger, Its simple science people you are better in the long run to try to develop natural athletes rather than wasting your time on small slow "technically sound players as they have a lower ceiling.

not really- someone playing for the first time as a 16 year old will never have the touch of someone playing constantly since they were a tot. If you really care about what makes the best players- its the ones who are highly technical, fast, and strong. It's not an either or thing when there are plenty of kids who have both

Your always better off trying to develop a natural athlete teaching technical skills to them. You can never teach the the technical Kid to be superior athletically. your right about the 16 yr old athlete just starting out. The key is to focus on the athletic kids early. No what most soccer parents want hear but is the truth. Most US soccer players are simply trophy kids bought for the satisfaction of the parents. 98% of all youth soccer players in the USA will never play on an organized team past the youth level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is great for technical skilled players. But please don't fool yourself . Big strong fast athletic players can always be taught "technical" skills. However small less athletic technical players can not be taught to be genetically more athletic, bigger ,faster, and stronger, Its simple science people you are better in the long run to try to develop natural athletes rather than wasting your time on small slow "technically sound players as they have a lower ceiling.

not really- someone playing for the first time as a 16 year old will never have the touch of someone playing constantly since they were a tot. If you really care about what makes the best players- its the ones who are highly technical, fast, and strong. It's not an either or thing when there are plenty of kids who have both

Your always better off trying to develop a natural athlete teaching technical skills to them. You can never teach the the technical Kid to be superior athletically. your right about the 16 yr old athlete just starting out. The key is to focus on the athletic kids early. No what most soccer parents want hear but is the truth. Most US soccer players are simply trophy kids bought for the satisfaction of the parents. 98% of all youth soccer players in the USA will never play on an organized team past the youth level.

Correct and anyone that says any different has no experience in sports. This is exactly the same for any sport, from club to college to pro.

[Anonymous]

Possession style is a tough style to teach. One technical weak spot on the team will mess up the entire possession flow of the game. Everyone needs to be technically sound. Takes a few years to gel that together.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Very interesting discussion and inputs regarding possession soccer and technical skills.

I agree with one poster that mentioned that possession soccer with 1-2 touches then passing the ball reduces ball handling skills and creativity. During Rec, my DD’s coach kept yelling for her to pass the ball right away but I told her to dribble the ball out of pressure so she can learn/practice her foot skills and then pass the ball. This helped her tremendously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is great for technical skilled players. But please don't fool yourself . Big strong fast athletic players can always be taught "technical" skills. However small less athletic technical players can not be taught to be genetically more athletic, bigger ,faster, and stronger, Its simple science people you are better in the long run to try to develop natural athletes rather than wasting your time on small slow "technically sound players as they have a lower ceiling.

not really- someone playing for the first time as a 16 year old will never have the touch of someone playing constantly since they were a tot. If you really care about what makes the best players- its the ones who are highly technical, fast, and strong. It's not an either or thing when there are plenty of kids who have both

Your always better off trying to develop a natural athlete teaching technical skills to them. You can never teach the the technical Kid to be superior athletically. your right about the 16 yr old athlete just starting out. The key is to focus on the athletic kids early. No what most soccer parents want hear but is the truth. Most US soccer players are simply trophy kids bought for the satisfaction of the parents. 98% of all youth soccer players in the USA will never play on an organized team past the youth level.

the fact is that there are tons of natural athletes who have been playing their whole lives. That line of thinking that we should take corner backs and teach them to soccer worked when soccer was limited to kids who were too uncoordinated for baseball or football. Now there are kids who are the elite athletes who already have the touch that takes years to develop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with one poster that mentioned that possession soccer with 1-2 touches then passing the ball reduces ball handling skills and creativity. During Rec, my DD’s coach kept yelling for her to pass the ball right away but I told her to dribble the ball out of pressure so she can learn/practice her foot skills and then pass the ball. This helped her tremendously.

Teams need dribbling skills to play possession, especially building out under pressure where a lot of 1v1 battles develop in the back and midfield. Teams like to high press these days and possession teams like to invite that pressure to unbalance the defense. The dribbling point is a good one though. Dribbling under pressure is encouraged early to learn dribbling because it is harder to learn than passing. Same with possession. Building out from the back is harder to learn than long-ball, but has the teams get older, you'll see more of a mix with building out the default choice, but possession teams more than willing to long ball it to mix things up. Regardless of whether the team is possession oriented, long-ball oriented, or a mixture, creativity is always needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which has the best club:
Vienna
Alexandria
Loudoun
McLean

From that group - Alexandria. I would take Arlington ahead of any of them though.

I would not. Some of Alexandria teams consistently beat Arlington's higher teams. Ranked #1 in the US. Physical size matters a lot more at Arlington. As the kids age up, non-Arlington kids displace the majority of the squad.

Develop and then move at a later date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which has the best club:
Vienna
Alexandria
Loudoun
McLean

From that group - Alexandria. I would take Arlington ahead of any of them though.

I would not. Some of Alexandria teams consistently beat Arlington's higher teams. Ranked #1 in the US. Physical size matters a lot more at Arlington. As the kids age up, non-Arlington kids displace the majority of the squad.

Develop and then move at a later date.

We are at Alexandria, and I am pretty sure they are not ranked #1 in the US or even necessarily VA. But the rest of this seems sound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is a tough style to teach. One technical weak spot on the team will mess up the entire possession flow of the game. Everyone needs to be technically sound. Takes a few years to gel that together.

Your point is valid although I would suggest that in my experience, you can get away with one weaker player. Not two though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Possession style is great for technical skilled players. But please don't fool yourself . Big strong fast athletic players can always be taught "technical" skills. However small less athletic technical players can not be taught to be genetically more athletic, bigger ,faster, and stronger, Its simple science people you are better in the long run to try to develop natural athletes rather than wasting your time on small slow "technically sound players as they have a lower ceiling.

not really- someone playing for the first time as a 16 year old will never have the touch of someone playing constantly since they were a tot. If you really care about what makes the best players- its the ones who are highly technical, fast, and strong. It's not an either or thing when there are plenty of kids who have both

Your always better off trying to develop a natural athlete teaching technical skills to them. You can never teach the the technical Kid to be superior athletically. your right about the 16 yr old athlete just starting out. The key is to focus on the athletic kids early. No what most soccer parents want hear but is the truth. Most US soccer players are simply trophy kids bought for the satisfaction of the parents. 98% of all youth soccer players in the USA will never play on an organized team past the youth level.

the fact is that there are tons of natural athletes who have been playing their whole lives. That line of thinking that we should take corner backs and teach them to soccer worked when soccer was limited to kids who were too uncoordinated for baseball or football. Now there are kids who are the elite athletes who already have the touch that takes years to develop

Natural athletes are born, but I think elite athletes are created/developed. C. Ronaldo was a natural athlete but his ridiculous workout regimen made him an elite athlete.

The big question is how do you or can you determine if a kid is a natural athlete at the age of 10/11 year olds before puberty kicks in? It’s easy to tell if a kid is is not a natural athlete (ie uncoordinated , etc.) but difficult to determine the athletic ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which has the best club:
Vienna
Alexandria
Loudoun
McLean

From that group - Alexandria. I would take Arlington ahead of any of them though.

I would not. Some of Alexandria teams consistently beat Arlington's higher teams. Ranked #1 in the US. Physical size matters a lot more at Arlington. As the kids age up, non-Arlington kids displace the majority of the squad.

Develop and then move at a later date.

I'm referring specifically to Arlington's academy teams and that coaching staff - so U13 and up. They most definitely do not select for physical size. I would have no problem with a suggestion to play for Alexandria at younger ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with one poster that mentioned that possession soccer with 1-2 touches then passing the ball reduces ball handling skills and creativity. During Rec, my DD’s coach kept yelling for her to pass the ball right away but I told her to dribble the ball out of pressure so she can learn/practice her foot skills and then pass the ball. This helped her tremendously.

Teams need dribbling skills to play possession, especially building out under pressure where a lot of 1v1 battles develop in the back and midfield. Teams like to high press these days and possession teams like to invite that pressure to unbalance the defense. The dribbling point is a good one though. Dribbling under pressure is encouraged early to learn dribbling because it is harder to learn than passing. Same with possession. Building out from the back is harder to learn than long-ball, but has the teams get older, you'll see more of a mix with building out the default choice, but possession teams more than willing to long ball it to mix things up. Regardless of whether the team is possession oriented, long-ball oriented, or a mixture, creativity is always needed.

I agree with all of your points. Kick ball is not bad if used at a particular time and place and done correctly with accuracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which has the best club:
Vienna
Alexandria
Loudoun
McLean

From that group - Alexandria. I would take Arlington ahead of any of them though.

I would not. Some of Alexandria teams consistently beat Arlington's higher teams. Ranked #1 in the US. Physical size matters a lot more at Arlington. As the kids age up, non-Arlington kids displace the majority of the squad.

Develop and then move at a later date.

I'm referring specifically to Arlington's academy teams and that coaching staff - so U13 and up. They most definitely do not select for physical size. I would have no problem with a suggestion to play for Alexandria at younger ages.

I love how an anonymous poster states definitively that physical size matters more at Arlington. Seriously, you have no clue. The original discussion was about playing styles, maybe stay with that. For example, Alexandria loudly boasts how they are a possession club and how that is the most effective way to play the game. Interestingly, when you look at the clubs older teams (u17-u18/juniors and seniors), both the boys and girls teams ranks fall between 16-42 in VA. For the size of that club, this is a significant underperformance. For players fully developed inside the club under a possession system, we have been told they will be stronger players. Either: 1) possession system training at young ages does not lead to better results ( in fact it may be detrimental); 2) Alexandria is not effectively teaching possession; or 3) something else. Clearly the narrative about possession style training, at least at Alexandria, results in the negative outcomes.