Athleticism

[Anonymous]

Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

So all these parents on here are able to compare all these kids' 5-10 yard yard sprint times while watching a kids soccer game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

So all these parents on here are able to compare all these kids' 5-10 yard yard sprint times while watching a kids soccer game?

If the kid has explosiveness, you don't need to be an expert to notice it. We are not talking about marginal differences in speed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

So all these parents on here are able to compare all these kids' 5-10 yard yard sprint times while watching a kids soccer game?

If the kid has explosiveness, you don't need to be an expert to notice it. We are not talking about marginal differences in speed.

The physical differences are usually marginal. I'd venture than many if not most of the kids who appear to have physical burst actually have mental "burst" in anticipating or timing a movement. They process and react faster than surrounding players to make it appear that they have moved faster. Mental processing and actuation is part of athleticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

So all these parents on here are able to compare all these kids' 5-10 yard yard sprint times while watching a kids soccer game?

If the kid has explosiveness, you don't need to be an expert to notice it. We are not talking about marginal differences in speed.

The physical differences are usually marginal. I'd venture than many if not most of the kids who appear to have physical burst actually have mental "burst" in anticipating or timing a movement. They process and react faster than surrounding players to make it appear that they have moved faster. Mental processing and actuation is part of athleticism.

Does it matter how a particular kid closes a 5-10 gap first?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are talking about being fast. Can someone tell me what being fast means? How fast is fast? Over what distance? 5 yards? 10 yards? 30 yards?

Coaches are mostly interested in short sprint explosiveness, i.e., 5-10 yards. There are some plays in which 30-50 yard sprint comes into play, but there are not that many of those during the course of the game. It is helpful to have both shorter and longer sprint explosiveness, but if you have to choose a short 5-10 yard burst is more important. Those who excel at 100 or 200 meters are not necessarily the best in 5-10 yard burst.

So all these parents on here are able to compare all these kids' 5-10 yard yard sprint times while watching a kids soccer game?

If the kid has explosiveness, you don't need to be an expert to notice it. We are not talking about marginal differences in speed.

The physical differences are usually marginal. I'd venture than many if not most of the kids who appear to have physical burst actually have mental "burst" in anticipating or timing a movement. They process and react faster than surrounding players to make it appear that they have moved faster. Mental processing and actuation is part of athleticism.

True, but some players just have another gear. Some players have a lot fo stamina and can run for 90 minutes, others have less stamina but great acceleration.

[Anonymous]

I've been thinking about this discussion and one thing that is under athleticism, but is rarely talked about is coordination. I have noticed talk of "explosiveness", but in reality, too me, it is really the ability to balance and shift their body quickly enough. I don't think that in this sport you can really maintain the speed of play without some basic ability balance and shift. I have seen plenty of "Slow looking kids" that have good balance are are able to play quickly. So, less about a dash/sprint, but more shift and turn. This also applies to the reaction time, yes you need to read the play, but that does you no good if you can't move/shift your body quickly to the next position it needs to be in. I think this is when coaches/clubs get lazy and just select for basic athleticism, because they are going to focus on the technical/tactical part, but maybe not the coordination. Which really more gymnastics/dance.

Everytime that I see the "slow kid/person", there is one thing that I always see, and that is they are uncomfortable balancing their body. Especially if they have to change direction or shift. Most of the time, I see them running/walking and their gait is all heels and the middle of the foot. Never using the balls of their feet. If they just spent sometime getting comfortable bouncing one one foot at a time on their balls and toes, after a year they will be much "faster" than they were before. Not because they got bigger/stronger, but really because when they need to shift their body on one foot (ie. run/turn/shift), they can and make whatever play they need to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been thinking about this discussion and one thing that is under athleticism, but is rarely talked about is coordination. I have noticed talk of "explosiveness", but in reality, too me, it is really the ability to balance and shift their body quickly enough. I don't think that in this sport you can really maintain the speed of play without some basic ability balance and shift. I have seen plenty of "Slow looking kids" that have good balance are are able to play quickly. So, less about a dash/sprint, but more shift and turn. This also applies to the reaction time, yes you need to read the play, but that does you no good if you can't move/shift your body quickly to the next position it needs to be in. I think this is when coaches/clubs get lazy and just select for basic athleticism, because they are going to focus on the technical/tactical part, but maybe not the coordination. Which really more gymnastics/dance.

Everytime that I see the "slow kid/person", there is one thing that I always see, and that is they are uncomfortable balancing their body. Especially if they have to change direction or shift. Most of the time, I see them running/walking and their gait is all heels and the middle of the foot. Never using the balls of their feet. If they just spent sometime getting comfortable bouncing one one foot at a time on their balls and toes, after a year they will be much "faster" than they were before. Not because they got bigger/stronger, but really because when they need to shift their body on one foot (ie. run/turn/shift), they can and make whatever play they need to make.

A lot of truth to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been thinking about this discussion and one thing that is under athleticism, but is rarely talked about is coordination. I have noticed talk of "explosiveness", but in reality, too me, it is really the ability to balance and shift their body quickly enough. I don't think that in this sport you can really maintain the speed of play without some basic ability balance and shift. I have seen plenty of "Slow looking kids" that have good balance are are able to play quickly. So, less about a dash/sprint, but more shift and turn. This also applies to the reaction time, yes you need to read the play, but that does you no good if you can't move/shift your body quickly to the next position it needs to be in. I think this is when coaches/clubs get lazy and just select for basic athleticism, because they are going to focus on the technical/tactical part, but maybe not the coordination. Which really more gymnastics/dance.

Everytime that I see the "slow kid/person", there is one thing that I always see, and that is they are uncomfortable balancing their body. Especially if they have to change direction or shift. Most of the time, I see them running/walking and their gait is all heels and the middle of the foot. Never using the balls of their feet. If they just spent sometime getting comfortable bouncing one one foot at a time on their balls and toes, after a year they will be much "faster" than they were before. Not because they got bigger/stronger, but really because when they need to shift their body on one foot (ie. run/turn/shift), they can and make whatever play they need to make.

A lot of truth to this.

Athleticism includes many aspects and not just the typical big, muscular, fast, agile, etc. that has already been discussed.

It also includes:

- Fast anticipation / reaction time (mental)
- Quick Twitch Muscles
- Faster Muscle Memory

As for coordination, I am sure it can be developed but some kids seems to be born with more coordination than others. I noticed this in my DD’s first year in Rec. soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what Cruyff said about Pep Guardiola (as a player):

Barça wanted to get rid of him [Guardiola]. They considered him scrawny, bad defensively and ineffective in the air. What nobody saw was that he had the basic qualities to go far: he had game intelligence, speed in his execution, technique. If I hadn't been at Barcelona, for sure he would have been sold to a Segunda Division club.

How many Guardiolas, Xavis, and Iniestas sit on the benches around the DMV because they make the correct play, which is sometimes to pass the ball sideways or back? A ton.

And don't tell me that if the NBA played soccer USA would be world-beaters. The best American player is 5'9" and 160. The best player in the world is smaller. You think other countries don't have athletes?

Shut up.

Player pool size? There are 11 million people in Belgium and 3 million youth soccer players in the United States. Our pool is plenty big enough.

Our model sucks. Clubs are funded by parents, who want. to. see. their. kids. win. There is no incentive to develop players. Even if they do develop a pro-caliber player, it's just until the kid gets a bigger opportunity and leaves the club.

Europe works because good coaches teach kids how to play--all kids who want to--and make their money developing players. That's it.

Every word of this ^^^

Agree. We have the player pool to succeed already. We don’t have the skilled coaches, the professional training environment, or the financial incentives, though the latter is changing somewhat with the pathway to Germany that has opened up the last few years.

We haven't tapped into our player pool. If we put together a quality affordable program with our best coaches. Set it up in most of our lower income urban areas and ran it successfully for 10 years. Then we could start to reap the rewards of our homegrown talent. We would be a top 5 soccer power in the world. Instead we based off of capitalism have our best funded programs privatized and set up to profit. Where do you make the biggest profit ? White suburbia of course, Its also slim Pickens when it come to athletic talent.

You don’t know much about the strength of our player pool or the scarcity of capable coaches

[Anonymous]

This is a very interesting article:

A study from the University of Queensland: Most Important Attribute for Soccer Success

https://www.stack.com/a/new-study-reveals-the-most-important-attribute-for-soccer-success

[Anonymous]

I read a study the other day that indicated higher density populations were at no more COVID risk than very rural areas. Of course, the authors were high density development policy advocates and were ignoring the quality and availability of healthcare and using death rates as success criteria.

Bottom line, a study can say anything the author wants, depending on how the author decides to control it. This was data on players playing at the highest levels, not a randomized set of players. In other words, all other things being relatively equal, skill is a differentiator. Duh.

Translation: a slow kid can pass the ball as sharply as a tack and will not make it at the highest levels. Skill and athleticism are both very important, and as has been discussed on this thread, a good portion of "skill" is also an athletic ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read a study the other day that indicated higher density populations were at no more COVID risk than very rural areas. Of course, the authors were high density development policy advocates and were ignoring the quality and availability of healthcare and using death rates as success criteria.

Bottom line, a study can say anything the author wants, depending on how the author decides to control it. This was data on players playing at the highest levels, not a randomized set of players. In other words, all other things being relatively equal, skill is a differentiator. Duh.

Translation: a slow kid can pass the ball as sharply as a tack and will not make it at the highest levels. Skill and athleticism are both very important, and as has been discussed on this thread, a good portion of "skill" is also an athletic ability.

Is your definition of highest level - travel soccer? That’s not a very high level. You can have slow skilled kid, fast unskilled kids and slow unskilled kids in travel soccer at the highest level. I have seen them. Some of those kids will play in college. Elite travel soccer is just not that high of a level. College is not that high of a level either. Just stop with travel soccer is about elite athletes. Yes there are some but there are a whole lot who are not.
If you are the fast player on your team, you are not playing at a high enough level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read a study the other day that indicated higher density populations were at no more COVID risk than very rural areas. Of course, the authors were high density development policy advocates and were ignoring the quality and availability of healthcare and using death rates as success criteria.

Bottom line, a study can say anything the author wants, depending on how the author decides to control it. This was data on players playing at the highest levels, not a randomized set of players. In other words, all other things being relatively equal, skill is a differentiator. Duh.

Translation: a slow kid can pass the ball as sharply as a tack and will not make it at the highest levels. Skill and athleticism are both very important, and as has been discussed on this thread, a good portion of "skill" is also an athletic ability.

Not really. The higher level of play the more skilled everyone is. The ability play with high skill at a higher and higher pace and speed is what filters. But you just can’t be fast to play soccer. In fact having a ball at your feet certainly limits a players speed. Only skill with the ball allows a player to move at nearly top speed with the ball. You cannot be fast with the ball without high skill.