Not with the coach yelling to hit it big each time a defender possessed the ball. Just north and south, no lateral movement whatsoever. |
Isn't that Arlington's method? |
Easy to sit behind a computer and criticize Arlington, isn't it. But it depends on which Arlington team and age. I've seen some young Arlington Teams doing possession soccer in the top two (Red and White) teams, but maybe more long ball and run in their lower teams NCSL and ODSL). I don't have much experience with the older U15 and above. |
I recently saw the Arlington DA U12 team dominate VDA with possession, and consistent build up out of the back. Oscar has those boys playing well. I think the score was either 4 or 5-0. I was certainly impressed from what I saw. |
Looks like they don't post the results for DA U12 games. Guess Arlington is one of the strongest teams as usual. Any other team can fare well against them in that group? |
DC United and Baltimore appear to be the other strong teams in that group.... |
The older Arlington age groups are whiners who are more preoccupied with currying the ref's favor than actually playing soccer. They're not bad by any means, but their gamesmanship is pathetic. |
Ah. Yeah, that's bad. But not the first time a club's lower teams have coaches that aren't with the program (in the metaphorical sense). |
I thought I heard that DC United U12 crushed Arlington DA U12. But I think they have one big pool and the two teams that they make could probably look very different from week to week. |
Don't they all have A and B teams and play stronger vs stronger? |
I would go with private training options like HP Elite or GoldenBoot. If they have classes that fit your schedule and budget they provide better training than any club. Both still have spots open for winter training. http://goldenbootsoccer.com/winter-program/master-winter-schedule.html https://www.hpeliteandbeyond.com/winter-20172018-clinics/ |
Arlington’s U12 DA is their former Red team. DC United pulled from all over. |
Question for more experienced parents... My son played in a tournament this weekend and the team got destroyed. Team is focused on individual skill development rather than creating a team. You could very clearly tell that because the kids really had no idea how to play a game as a team. Skill wise, they seemed ok, but they just couldn't get anything going as a team. Should I be concerned? Should I be looking for another team this spring? My kid seemed a little upset that they did so poorly. |
I should add on to previous post that the kids are U10, but really 1/2 the team was U9. |
Until the kids have strong foundation of technical skills it is very difficult to ask them to play as a tactical unit. If the players can only control the ball 50% of the time it is difficult for them to properly coordinate their actions on the field. Your coach sounds like he is doing what is right by the kids if they are developmentally behind in the technical aspects of the game. They simply cannot execute overlaps and quick through balls if they are not comfortable with the ball. That said, no club can develop kids footwork exclusively. Footwork is something the player has to own and work on themselves. At a certain age and level a players technical skill is an expectation and the training simply requires a basic level of competence and comfort on the ball. |