Need advice...

[Anonymous]

U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

[Anonymous]

I guess the question can be rephrased to say what are the components of soccer intelligence and what does your son have and not have?

[Anonymous]

When you say he looks great at practice, do you mean scrimmages or drills?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

Parents are often the worst judges of talent so be wary of that and get others opinions. If he has good technical skills and is not obviously lacking physically, then it is likely to be his movement off the ball that is lacking. Watching pro games vs his own games may help expose that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

What position does he play? Oftentimes at that age the kids with the best technical skills are not the ones scoring the goals, it’s the direct type soccer players who rely on the long ball to score. This changes dramatically as the kids get older and defenders get better & bigger, and the kids with the technical skills are able to maintain better possession and have better passing accuracy.

If speed of play is an issue, check out the thread asking if speed of play can be learned. Very helpful info there.

Whatever summer camp you send your son to, make sure it’s attended by committed players and has serious but fun coaches. The strongest clubs all offer summer camps for non-club players. One week won’t cut it either, to get the most out of it your DS will need at least two. I think you’ll be surprised at how much progress your DS will make under these circumstances. Consistent summer training (and I mean 4 weeks every summer) has been the single most important factor in my DS’ playing trajectory (assuming excellent technical skills as a baseline).

[Anonymous]

Here’s the link to speed of play thread:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/805236.page

[Anonymous]

Here's the thing -- at 12 a kid, no matter how good, needs to continue to improve on everything. But, realistically, what you can focus on day-to-day is improving your personal ball skills.
That can be done by yourself. Sure, find a good camp that will be fun for a week, towards the end of summer. Between now and then though work on individual ball skills.

There are a ton of things on you-tube that can be guideance and fun. Buy a pump and a bunch of balls -- they do not have to be great ones. They can be used. get a dozen and a ball bag. It's easier to work on a skill if you are not always chasing down/retieving balls.

Do challenge him to get good a juggling. By the end of the summer he could basically be able to juggle a thousand times and do some tricks to make it fun. (Once you can do 100 times you can do 1000). That and a wall/ball he can do easily at home. Working on chipping -- yes that can be done in the backyard too -- get a garbage can. How many balls can he chip in? How many while moving?

Start slow and in control -- get faster and faster while in control. He will not be an expert by the end of the summer but he will be much better.

Have him get up in the morning to "go to work". If he spends 90 minutes every morning say from 8-9;30 he will not lose out on anything fun, and he will get much better. He can take a ball on vacations too.

[Anonymous]

My son is the opposite -- not great in drills but much better in games. In my son's case, he doesn't yet have the best technical skills, but he does have a lot of stamina, speed, grit and fearlessness. Stamina, at least, is something that can improve over a summer. I'd also recommend watching a lot of professional soccer (women's world cup starts soon or watch some MLS games). That will help with understanding positioning on the field and anticipating plays. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Ask his coach.

Always ask a coach at end of season for 3 areas to improve. Ask what is my child weakest at? And why?

The parents that ask this show that they are willing to learn and be part of the process and that they know the player is
Still growing.

Play your kid in pickup in the summer against older players and younger players so he has to
Challenge himself to keep up or to dominate. It is hard to break a cycle when you are a good kid slotted In mentally on a role in a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say he looks great at practice, do you mean scrimmages or drills?

Thanks everyone for the great advice. If I have to be honest, drills for sure, more average in scrimmages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

Parents are often the worst judges of talent so be wary of that and get others opinions. If he has good technical skills and is not obviously lacking physically, then it is likely to be his movement off the ball that is lacking. Watching pro games vs his own games may help expose that.

What does movement off the ball mean? Never thought of that! When the season starts up again will try to get a video of a game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

What position does he play? Oftentimes at that age the kids with the best technical skills are not the ones scoring the goals, it’s the direct type soccer players who rely on the long ball to score. This changes dramatically as the kids get older and defenders get better & bigger, and the kids with the technical skills are able to maintain better possession and have better passing accuracy.

If speed of play is an issue, check out the thread asking if speed of play can be learned. Very helpful info there.

Whatever summer camp you send your son to, make sure it’s attended by committed players and has serious but fun coaches. The strongest clubs all offer summer camps for non-club players. One week won’t cut it either, to get the most out of it your DS will need at least two. I think you’ll be surprised at how much progress your DS will make under these circumstances. Consistent summer training (and I mean 4 weeks every summer) has been the single most important factor in my DS’ playing trajectory (assuming excellent technical skills as a baseline).

Mostly in the wings also he also plays defending or attacking mid sometimes so it's not about scoring. Thing is the low-technical skills teammate is able to set up the plays, providing assists every single game, occasionally score and is able to run back and defend when necessary while DS did not score and had maybe one assist all season. So not really talking about those fast kick and chase players. I have wondered if i's like chess and DS just can't see the next few steps while some of his teammates can.

Reading speed of play thread. Thank you for the link.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the other kid has good soccer IQ which may be what your son needs to improve on...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U12 boy has a not so great season and is looking to improve his game over the summer. He's not a kid who will play in college but we enjoys playing and we want him to feel good about himself and be the best that's possible for him. Coach has not been helpful. We were told DS's technical skills are excellent, probably the best on the team. He's fast and athletic. He is one of those kids who looks great in practice but then so-so in the games. He has a teammate who is the opposite. Also fast and athletic but his technical skills are apparently the worst on the team. But he does very well in games. DS is puzzled and I don't know enough about soccer to explain what his teammate has that he does not. I saw this type of question come up recently and the explanation is usually that a child who does well in practice but not as much in games lacks confidence or is afraid of physical contact. DS doesn't seem to have these problems.

What are we missing? Could it be DS is not able to anticipate opponent's moves? Can drills or coaching can help?

Parents are often the worst judges of talent so be wary of that and get others opinions. If he has good technical skills and is not obviously lacking physically, then it is likely to be his movement off the ball that is lacking. Watching pro games vs his own games may help expose that.

What does movement off the ball mean? Never thought of that! When the season starts up again will try to get a video of a game.

Movement off the ball meaning what does he do when he does not have the ball.

[Anonymous]

When you say he looks great at practice, do you mean scrimmages or drills?


Thanks everyone for the great advice. If I have to be honest, drills for sure, more average in scrimmages.

This is my son as well. I spoke to his coach, and he feels it is an issue of confidence. He encouraged DS to play as many pickup games with better players as possible to improve both his skills and confidence. Luckily there are many better players at DS's school and in our neighborhood, so that is easy enough to do. There is no formal way for DS to practice with a higher-level official team.