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Anonymous wrote:NOVASoccerCoach wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a versatile player, who excels at multiple positions, I wonder what positions coaches of high level teams (DA and ECNL) consider to be the hardest to fill?
Striker and a good Center Midfielder (Especially Holding Mids) are by far the most difficult positions to play and the most difficult positions to find. They are extremely niche positions and require a lot of positional intelligence.
My U15 DS plays 6 or 8. Any advice on thing he could do to enhance his "positional intelligence"? It seems to me that coaches in the US have not much to convey in this regard.
Watch and study as much film as possible. On the field you always have to be thinking how I can be available. The biggest thing is just watching 6's operate. Watch the best ones play. Busquets is an obvious one. Go on Youtube and there is plenty of film analysis on how they move.
Anonymous wrote:What skills should they have and what are they usually working on at this age?
I know positioning is still a work in progress but other skills?
Simple answer, don't read into all the other extensive.
At U12, player should be able to dribble with close control and technique, have decent 1v1 abillity, able to receive and turn on the half turn, be able to use both feet to receive and pass the ball, should be able to protect and make accurate passes in games. If they are misplacing 50% of their passes than it's an issue. I would say you are well off as a middle-of-the road player at U12
Anonymous wrote:is it really worth it to play DA/ECNL, with all the traveling and expense?
how many of these kids really make college soccer as the end game?
If your kid wants a new challenge, is considering playing in college and/or is interested in a career possibly in soccer in the future, playing in the DA/ECNL is a great resume addition to have if they want to coach.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My son is a U12, and the coach generally plays him as a left back, which he's pretty good at. He's not a big or tall kid, but somehow, seems to be a good fit for the position. He doesn't mind being a defender, but wants to get some experience in the midfield (not interested in striker or wing, and not right of those positions either, but wants to try any of the midfield positions). The problem is, our team has kids who are good as forwards, but only one other kid who is good at defense (a right back), and so generally, DS and this kid are always defenders. The great thing is that they both pretty much get 100 percent playing time, but the downside is that they never get to try other positions. DS has asked to try midfielder, and has been allowed to in scrimmages, but never in a game.
Any advice?
Always good to get experience at other positions but the coach must see that he is a natural left back. As he moves on to U13 and U14, mastering the play at a particular position will be important. Especially at Left Back. Outside of goalie, that is the hardest position to fill with competent players.
Is your son left-footed? If he's not then he's probably going to slot in as a centerback. Leftbacks have to be left footed when they get older. Obviously I haven't watched your DS but I wanted to jump in on this thread for some guidance. Fullback is an important position but it's not a difficult position to fill. Often you'll find fullbacks be 2nd choice wingers or shoter centerbacks. I'd say your DS continues to work and try to be tidy in midfield in scrimmages. Not saying playing where he is at is bad but he needs to make sure he is extremely technical and a great defender if he wants to keep progressing as he gets older. This is only of course is if he has ambitious aspirations for the future.
Definitely the coach. A good coach that likes your player will probably also have great connections.
Anonymous wrote:NOVASoccerCoach wrote:Anonymous wrote:What does a girl's soccer player outside of ECNL/DA have to do to get recruited by a top 25 women's soccer program? It seems like few programs recruit at the non-ECNL/DA showcases. I know ID camps help but even those camps, ECNL/DA players get more attention. It seems like even the top non-ECNL/DA clubs don't have high placement at top schools.
Girls usually no. Boys it depends.
Coach, what is the ultimatum age for a girl to join ECNL? Also, what is the latest age should a girl join ECNL?
If they can play at that level, I wouldn't say there's any "latest age"
Earlier the better obviously
Anonymous wrote:What does a girl's soccer player outside of ECNL/DA have to do to get recruited by a top 25 women's soccer program? It seems like few programs recruit at the non-ECNL/DA showcases. I know ID camps help but even those camps, ECNL/DA players get more attention. It seems like even the top non-ECNL/DA clubs don't have high placement at top schools.
Girls usually no. Boys it depends.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
As parents, how do you when to tell your kid that it is time to specialize in one sport in order to maximize one potential?
You don't. You tell him what the coaches said. Then you tell him it's up to him to decide if he wants to prove them wrong or if he wants to follow their advice. If he is passionate enough about his football he can find a way to make the tennis help him rather than hinder him.
Agree with this.
Anonymous wrote:NOVASoccerCoach wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread, Coach!
I think you answered my question in your earlier comments, but I want to get your thoughts. I'm a parent of an undersized, technical U14 boy who has played for higher level EDP club that has increasingly bloated rosters. Although my son has been fortunate to be picked to be on the rosters, he comes in off the bench and does not always get that much playing time. Some boys on the team do not get selected for game day rosters at all. Worse still, the club will have its top players from a younger age group play up, so that in a weekend, these boys play for their own team and then start for the older age group as well, while other players get limited playing time or don't even make the roster at all. I can understand if this is a DA club, but it isn't.
The training is good, and the coaches tell parents that training, which includes scrimmages, is more important that playing time in actual games. Do you agree with this? It seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that the "better" kids keep getting better, and the mid-tier kids fall farther behind when they don't play. For smaller kids who have yet to hit their growth spurts, can team training advance development if there is little playing time in games? In retrospect, I wish he had moved on a year ago because he's so afraid of making mistakes and getting benched that he looks like he isn't playing hard.
Nah, that's bullshit and I hate that type of crap clubs try to pull. Scrimmages are great but nothing replicates the actual game environment against opposition where both teams know the game matters more than a scrimmage. I don't want to know what club this is because it's awful that some kids don't even get selected for a game day roster.....this is youth soccer! If this was at the DA or ECNL level I could understand, but as you said it's not. Also the fact that they are playing their youngers getting more game time than the players that are actually in that age group is terrible. I'd leave that club ASAP and find a club to get your kid some playing time come game day.
For players to get better they need to be playing in training, learning from training then practicing what they learned in the game environment. Get your kid out of that club asap. What a shitshow of a club. Apologies for my language as your account of what that club does really pissed me off and is what's wrong with soccer in this area.
Edit: Didn't even read your last comment. If your player is afraid of making mistakes at U14 because he thinks it may get him benched, get him out of that club. Players need to make mistakes to learn, it's the only way and if that is going to jeopardize playing time at U14, that is utterly ridiculous.
This was my son’s experience at his former club, almost to the letter. (In fact, we may know each other). Coach, I appreciate your advice and outrage! Had we not already switched clubs, we would have taken your advice and cut bait. Everything you’ve said about this is spot on. DS is far happier now, more confident and no longer wants to quit the sport altogether. Keep up the great thread - you have some very helpful, even-handed things to say and it’s appreciated.
Thanks so much, just want to help. I'm glad your DS is having a fun time playing soccer now. Glad you all escaped the toxic clubs and found a nice home to play a great sport. Appreciate the love.
Anonymous wrote:Agree with others that this thread has been useful and interesting. There’s no doubt that a lot of coaches and clubs are careless with the players who sign up in good faith to learn and improve.
I’m curious about the flip side as well. I’ve seen a lot of people who seem on the surface to be decent and rational treat coaches absolutely terribly. If their kid doesn’t get the playing time or starting positions they think the kid deserves, they will trash the coach, club, and other players on the team to anyone who will listen (including on DCUM!). Have you seen that sort of parent behavior in your coaching time? How do you handle it? Is it predictable which types of people will behave that way? Do you talk about problem parents with other coaches in your club?
Yes, the flip side happens all the time. I honestly think its because there's so much disconnect between coaches and parents. I think if coaches were to just communicate to parents what they were doing more often than not than parents would understand. You can almost think of parents as the media in professional sports, except in professional sports, the coach is required to come out and speak about the team. Now in pro sports, there are of course things kept under wraps all the time but a coach who does a good job with the media knows what to say and how to phrase things so things are kept at the bay. My belief is that because coaches don't communicate to parents at all, that's why parents go nuts. I think if coaches sent an email out or something if they do anything they know from the ordinary eye is out of turn, and just explain themselves to a very basic degree, parents would be satisfied.
Having said that, if you are a parent, stay in line with your coach. If you want your kid to get more playing time you absolutely cannot go bezerk with your coach. If your player isn't getting enough time, get your player to ask the coach, that's the best solution. If you really have to step in, email/talk to the coach and say "Hey, my kid doesn't seem to be getting X playing time which I can understand and respect. What are ways/things my kid needs to improve on and what can he do at home so he can earn more time?" If things don't get better, just move clubs. Plain and simple.
TLDR: Be respectful to your coach and your player will be in good standing. If you are a dick to your coach things are going to start going south. Not because the coach will punish your kid because of your behavior (some do though which I think sometimes is reasonable if the parent really is going nuts) but you have to realize your kid is a representation of not only himself/herself but also you as well. You are directly associated with your kid, there's no way to remove that connection if you are acting out.
Anonymous wrote:Impossible at 11. You may be able to eliminate some from the mix but you cannot pick the ultimate too players. If you could, there would not be so so many one and dones at all the different ID opportunities out there. Many, but not all, kids that were dominant at 11 are no longer dominant as older teens.
Yeah when I made this thread I definitely meant eliminate, not select who would be.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This thread started out on a bad foot, but since then you have actually given some very good answers. Thanks. It can be so hard for parents even when they mean well the make good choices for the kids when the system is really not set up with the kids in mind so good advice from someone with experience can be very helpful.
Yes, it is helpful to have a professional see that we, as parents, are not entirely crazy. Or that we are crazy, but not for the reason coaches claim.
I look back and realize that I would have never let a teacher, or a scout leader, or any other adult treat my child, or any other child, in the manner I've allowed in soccer. And we PAID for the privilege. And truth be told some of it was vanity and prioritizing adult relationships, not the best interest of the kids. I kept thinking that kids need to be tough, resilient, pick themselves up when they are knocked down, etc. But there is a line between disappointment, as in "I'm sorry, your ability to win 1 v. 1s just isn't where it needs to be right now to play on this top team by I've talked to B team coach and he's going to work with you on this next year" and keeping them in an environment that is so arbitrary, uncoordinated, political, and unmotivating that all but the strongest wind up wanting to walk away. The impact of treating young athletes this way extends way beyond sports into other areas of life.
A while back, there was a long thread about how club soccer is a year to year proposition and one persistent poster kept saying that if your soft kid can't take it, go play rec. Why does that have to be? Why should time consuming youth activities be set up to be strictly year to year (or even season to season propositions), with little caring or committment beyond that, or frankly, even during that year? It's like what if we moved kids randomly to different schools each year and then blamed them for not making friends quickly or having trouble adapting academically after the move. Oh, and each school gets to pick a handful of favorites who stay at the same school to receive small group instruction, and to serve as examples to the transient kids how much better they could be if they just worked harder and learned how to adapt. Post on social media about the incredible academic accomplishment of these star students. Send them around the country for enriching experiences. Invite others to come to your school, so that they too, can achieve like the superstars. Meanwhile, one inexperienced teacher is assigned to go through the motions of teacher the large pool of transients about whom they have no information. Complain? Why? Your struggling kid is obviously stupid and lazy and nothing I, as a teacher, can do will make him better. He needs to figure it out or find a new school. Seriously, why can't he figure it out? Do you not see how well our top students are doing? Follow us on Instagram. If the kid is struggling at any point in the school year, or even has a few bad days in a row, the school can bring in a bigger and better student from a different school and shift your kid into the loser pool somewhere else. Should have worked harder and grown more this year son! And parents, seriously. Adjust your expectations. Your child is obviously not the next Einstein, so there is no reason for us to help him meet academic expectations. Get real. He would be on Instagram too if he had what it takes. It's all about effort, you know.
That's what the system feels like to me. It works great for the stars, and maybe the most naturally gifted and mentally tough. But not every team should be run like the highest level DA or ECNL. Travel soccer clubs have teams with all types of kids. How will these kids be confident enough to try and fail when there's no stability or adults that care about them? There is little incentive to be the best they can be (which, gasp, might not be THE best), because the favorite slots are limited. And if you aren't THE BEST, you don't matter. Why try?
And on and on it goes. Obviously I'm being dramatic, but it is not far from the truth.
I agree with you. Reason why its a season long commitment is on one side, there are developmental benefits but on the other because it's a cash grab. Two, I agree as well with your assessment that not every team needs to be run at DA/ECNL level. I also agree with you on the amount of bullshit that happens with just being a dick to kids about their ability. You have to just find a coach who sticks out for the players and a coach you trust will side with the player rather than the club when push comes to shove. Hard to find sometimes.
Edit: Btw your school analogy is fantastic.
Anonymous wrote:This thread started out on a bad foot, but since then you have actually given some very good answers. Thanks. It can be so hard for parents even when they mean well the make good choices for the kids when the system is really not set up with the kids in mind so good advice from someone with experience can be very helpful.
Thanks, I appreciate it. Just want to help.
Anonymous wrote:NOVASoccerCoach wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread, Coach!
I think you answered my question in your earlier comments, but I want to get your thoughts. I'm a parent of an undersized, technical U14 boy who has played for higher level EDP club that has increasingly bloated rosters. Although my son has been fortunate to be picked to be on the rosters, he comes in off the bench and does not always get that much playing time. Some boys on the team do not get selected for game day rosters at all. Worse still, the club will have its top players from a younger age group play up, so that in a weekend, these boys play for their own team and then start for the older age group as well, while other players get limited playing time or don't even make the roster at all. I can understand if this is a DA club, but it isn't.
The training is good, and the coaches tell parents that training, which includes scrimmages, is more important that playing time in actual games. Do you agree with this? It seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that the "better" kids keep getting better, and the mid-tier kids fall farther behind when they don't play. For smaller kids who have yet to hit their growth spurts, can team training advance development if there is little playing time in games? In retrospect, I wish he had moved on a year ago because he's so afraid of making mistakes and getting benched that he looks like he isn't playing hard.
Nah, that's bullshit and I hate that type of crap clubs try to pull. Scrimmages are great but nothing replicates the actual game environment against opposition where both teams know the game matters more than a scrimmage. I don't want to know what club this is because it's awful that some kids don't even get selected for a game day roster.....this is youth soccer! If this was at the DA or ECNL level I could understand, but as you said it's not. Also the fact that they are playing their youngers getting more game time than the players that are actually in that age group is terrible. I'd leave that club ASAP and find a club to get your kid some playing time come game day.
For players to get better they need to be playing in training, learning from training then practicing what they learned in the game environment. Get your kid out of that club asap. What a shitshow of a club. Apologies for my language as your account of what that club does really pissed me off and is what's wrong with soccer in this area.
Edit: Didn't even read your last comment. If your player is afraid of making mistakes at U14 because he thinks it may get him benched, get him out of that club. Players need to make mistakes to learn, it's the only way and if that is going to jeopardize playing time at U14, that is utterly ridiculous.
Thanks for your honesty. Truth is, most clubs in the DMV value winning above all else. Actually, my son's story is a good one if you ever get to share it to fight for a healthier system. I misstated his age. He's actually a small U15.
We probably won't have to find another club because he wants to quit soccer entirely, even though he's having fun now playing for his school's varsity team. And it sucks, because he's good and he loved it for so long. All of the adult bullshit, club politics, and downright abusive behavior on the part of coaches suffocated his love for the game. And he was one of the kids who got on the rosters and in the games. It should also be a message to parents - when you see coaches and clubs treating OTHER kids like crap, move on, because sooner or later, it might be your kid on the receiving end.
Hate to see it, that sucks. But major bright side is that your kid is going to have a blast playing HS Varsity. HS Soccer is for the most part always a memorable experience. It's one of those things you look back when you're older and it's always you're glad you played HS Soccer, no matter if your HS team sucked or was good. Anyways, I really do feel bad for you all. That sucks but I'm glad your kid is still playing soccer and involved with HS.
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread, Coach!
I think you answered my question in your earlier comments, but I want to get your thoughts. I'm a parent of an undersized, technical U14 boy who has played for higher level EDP club that has increasingly bloated rosters. Although my son has been fortunate to be picked to be on the rosters, he comes in off the bench and does not always get that much playing time. Some boys on the team do not get selected for game day rosters at all. Worse still, the club will have its top players from a younger age group play up, so that in a weekend, these boys play for their own team and then start for the older age group as well, while other players get limited playing time or don't even make the roster at all. I can understand if this is a DA club, but it isn't.
The training is good, and the coaches tell parents that training, which includes scrimmages, is more important that playing time in actual games. Do you agree with this? It seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that the "better" kids keep getting better, and the mid-tier kids fall farther behind when they don't play. For smaller kids who have yet to hit their growth spurts, can team training advance development if there is little playing time in games? In retrospect, I wish he had moved on a year ago because he's so afraid of making mistakes and getting benched that he looks like he isn't playing hard.
Nah, that's bullshit and I hate that type of crap clubs try to pull. Scrimmages are great but nothing replicates the actual game environment against opposition where both teams know the game matters more than a scrimmage. I don't want to know what club this is because it's awful that some kids don't even get selected for a game day roster.....this is youth soccer! If this was at the DA or ECNL level I could understand, but as you said it's not. Also the fact that they are playing their youngers getting more game time than the players that are actually in that age group is terrible. I'd leave that club ASAP and find a club to get your kid some playing time come game day.
For players to get better they need to be playing in training, learning from training then practicing what they learned in the game environment. Get your kid out of that club asap. What a shitshow of a club. Apologies for my language as your account of what that club does really pissed me off and is what's wrong with soccer in this area.
Edit: Didn't even read your last comment. If your player is afraid of making mistakes at U14 because he thinks it may get him benched, get him out of that club. Players need to make mistakes to learn, it's the only way and if that is going to jeopardize playing time at U14, that is utterly ridiculous.