How Technical are the Girls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

Are you being seriously? If you are, I should be sending my DD to MMA training instead of foot skills training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Because there are only 25 women on the National Team and a player should learn how to play the game properly because they will likely have kids themselves to teach the game to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

I am all for technical skills and training but don’t see a problem with reinforcing these things as well. They are not mutually exclusive. Some would say body positioning itself can be technical skill. It’s just something you cannot practice on your own.

[Anonymous]

To PP:

football (soccer) praises technical skills and fast creative thinking.

If your team has that it doesn’t matter if opposing team is big and tall and whatever else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To PP:

football (soccer) praises technical skills and fast creative thinking.

If your team has that it doesn’t matter if opposing team is big and tall and whatever else.

This is not the way the top-ranked women's college teams play. They play physically and with a good dose of kickball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To PP:

football (soccer) praises technical skills and fast creative thinking.

If your team has that it doesn’t matter if opposing team is big and tall and whatever else.

This is not the way the top-ranked women's college teams play. They play physically and with a good dose of kickball.

Right. So, again, it all depends on your kid’s goals.

USWNT is very long odds for most girls, but they are getting more technical than they’ve been in the past. Trending towards Lavelles and away from Wambachs.
Want to play pro, especially in Europe, after college? You absolutely need technical skills.
Want to play in college and go no further (that is, where most of the “GA/ECNL” girls discussed on this board will be)? It is not necessary to have great technical skills if you have other things in your portfolio (speed, size, aggression). It’s a different and uglier game for about half the top 20 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

I am all for technical skills and training but don’t see a problem with reinforcing these things as well. They are not mutually exclusive. Some would say body positioning itself can be technical skill. It’s just something you cannot practice on your own.

It’s hard to acquire technical skills and they are not needed so why bother? No one, not even the “coach” has come on here and said you need technical skill to play “elite” girls travel soccer. It’s the opposite. You need aggression followed by speed or physical play. Technical ability is way down the list of skills. If it makes the list at all. It really is not something you should waste your time with for the girls. Different story for the boys side. People would laugh if you told them you paid HP elite for training sessions on hip checking.

Girls are selected at u13 for the elite teams. If you are not on an ECNL/GA team by u13 your chances of making an ECNL/GA are very slim. Now if you make the team there is very little competitive pressure because the only players the coaches will look at are from other ECNL/GA teams. Most ECNL/GA stay put so no real competition. Technical skill will not get a girl on an ECNL/GA team- speed, physicality and size will. Technical skill training is a waste of time for the girls. Hit the weight room is a better option.

[Anonymous]

Technically the girls are as good as the boys

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Technically the girls are as good as the boys

I coach girls. This is not true.

Some girls are amazing and get very very close. But the anatomy and biological physiology impedes women to acquire the SAME level of men.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

I am all for technical skills and training but don’t see a problem with reinforcing these things as well. They are not mutually exclusive. Some would say body positioning itself can be technical skill. It’s just something you cannot practice on your own.

It’s hard to acquire technical skills and they are not needed so why bother? No one, not even the “coach” has come on here and said you need technical skill to play “elite” girls travel soccer. It’s the opposite. You need aggression followed by speed or physical play. Technical ability is way down the list of skills. If it makes the list at all. It really is not something you should waste your time with for the girls. Different story for the boys side. People would laugh if you told them you paid HP elite for training sessions on hip checking.

Girls are selected at u13 for the elite teams. If you are not on an ECNL/GA team by u13 your chances of making an ECNL/GA are very slim. Now if you make the team there is very little competitive pressure because the only players the coaches will look at are from other ECNL/GA teams. Most ECNL/GA stay put so no real competition. Technical skill will not get a girl on an ECNL/GA team- speed, physicality and size will. Technical skill training is a waste of time for the girls. Hit the weight room is a better option.

This is a pretty ignorant post.

Elite requires both technical play and athleticism. If you lack some speed then you had better be technical

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

I am all for technical skills and training but don’t see a problem with reinforcing these things as well. They are not mutually exclusive. Some would say body positioning itself can be technical skill. It’s just something you cannot practice on your own.

It’s hard to acquire technical skills and they are not needed so why bother? No one, not even the “coach” has come on here and said you need technical skill to play “elite” girls travel soccer. It’s the opposite. You need aggression followed by speed or physical play. Technical ability is way down the list of skills. If it makes the list at all. It really is not something you should waste your time with for the girls. Different story for the boys side. People would laugh if you told them you paid HP elite for training sessions on hip checking.

Girls are selected at u13 for the elite teams. If you are not on an ECNL/GA team by u13 your chances of making an ECNL/GA are very slim. Now if you make the team there is very little competitive pressure because the only players the coaches will look at are from other ECNL/GA teams. Most ECNL/GA stay put so no real competition. Technical skill will not get a girl on an ECNL/GA team- speed, physicality and size will. Technical skill training is a waste of time for the girls. Hit the weight room is a better option.

This is a pretty ignorant post.

Elite requires both technical play and athleticism. If you lack some speed then you had better be technical

No it’s dead on and it is reality.

[Anonymous]

Coach here:

Full disclosure, I don't currently coach a ECNL or GA team. I also don't have visibility to every single ENCL team in the local area (let alone nation wide).

That being said, the teams I have seen play, and girls that I have trained at that level possess some measure of all of these things.

Can physical ability compensate for some lack of technical ability - sure, we see this even at the highest levels of the game for both men and women, lets not kid ourselves here. It also works the other way around w/ technical ability.

That all being said, it's much easier to find athletes than technical players. It's also (in my opinion) easier to tech technique for youth players than it is to try and teach speed, strength etc. In fact I'd argue it's more important to each the technique early on than those other things.

I think the unfortunate situation is, due to the results based nature of how teams are judged by many parents (and to some extent clubs) until someone can consistently beat those super athletic teams with very technical teams you're not going to see a demand for change from the paying customer.

Having said all that, there are still teams and perhaps clubs that try to do things the "right" way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the top collegiate level, there’s very little emphasis on technical skill in the women’s game. Even the best all time program at UNC is famous for emphasizing aggression and athleticism over technical ability.

This is why players like Heath and Lavelle stick out so much, and why ultimately US women’s soccer will be surpassed by other countries with a (male) tradition emphasizing technical ability that has been passed on to their girls’ development as well.

Everyone is saying that USWNT, NWSL, Women’s College Teams and other US girls/women’s teams all value aggression, size, and speed In this case, why bother practicing foot skills, juggling, etc. especially if you know your DD lack size and speed.

Who says they bother with it? It’s a waste of time. A GA/ECNL team in the area got individual training from one the training places talked up here. You know what they worked on? How to hip check your opponent. That’s rights no juggle, no skill training, no lock your ankle, etc. just training on how to be more physical.

I am all for technical skills and training but don’t see a problem with reinforcing these things as well. They are not mutually exclusive. Some would say body positioning itself can be technical skill. It’s just something you cannot practice on your own.

It’s hard to acquire technical skills and they are not needed so why bother? No one, not even the “coach” has come on here and said you need technical skill to play “elite” girls travel soccer. It’s the opposite. You need aggression followed by speed or physical play. Technical ability is way down the list of skills. If it makes the list at all. It really is not something you should waste your time with for the girls. Different story for the boys side. People would laugh if you told them you paid HP elite for training sessions on hip checking.

Girls are selected at u13 for the elite teams. If you are not on an ECNL/GA team by u13 your chances of making an ECNL/GA are very slim. Now if you make the team there is very little competitive pressure because the only players the coaches will look at are from other ECNL/GA teams. Most ECNL/GA stay put so no real competition. Technical skill will not get a girl on an ECNL/GA team- speed, physicality and size will. Technical skill training is a waste of time for the girls. Hit the weight room is a better option.

This is a pretty ignorant post.

Elite requires both technical play and athleticism. If you lack some speed then you had better be technical

No it’s dead on and it is reality.

I have a very young daughter and I really hope that both technical and athleticism is valued. How can you the parents support girls soccer that is 95% long ball? If the parents support this by allowing their daughters to play this style, then they are just as guilty as the coaches. You all only care about winning. It's really sad. There are definitely coaches out there that teach and encourage technical soccer.