I am a NOVA Soccer Coach. AMA

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[Post New]10/01/2019 00:30
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NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s the latest a kid can start and still be good enough to be in the middle of the pack. DS is interested, but we didn’t have the fund$ this year.

Thanks!


That sucks, Hopefully your kid is in Rec this year! A lot of clubs do have endowments if you need it. Anyways, it really depends as every kid is different but I would say no later than U12 but regardless, your player needs to be practicing every day and has to love the game. If they don't love it enough to play it outside of practice then it may be a difficult.

What kind of practice do you think is most important on players own time?


Just get touches in. Do touch drills, juggling, first touch passing against a wall. You can find a lot on Youtube.
[Post New]10/01/2019 00:32
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NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:DS is a U12 player that works on his own and is technically advanced than most in his age group and probably older age groups as well. He cannot seem to break into a top team due to size, speed, and aggressiveness and ends up training/playing with lesser skilled players. What would be your advice as we have repeated this cycle for 2 years now looking for other training environments so he can at least train with players that have a good first touch and do the basics well like passing/receiving and dribbling? At this point I feel he gets more from these training environments than his club team and am pretty sure he agrees.


I'd say he needs to get evaluated at multiple clubs. Try out for other competitive top teams and see where he would be at. There can only be two reasons- either he is indeed more technical and is getting overlooked or the size/speed/lack of aggression and is not as technical as maybe it seems is really the reason why he is not being selected. I would even think about finding someone qualified to take a look and watch his games and they can probably give you a better unbiased assessment.
[Post New]10/01/2019 00:34
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NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:What’s the shortest a successful high school player can be? DS isn’t going to be a giant.


Depends on the HS she is trying to play at as well as how technical she is. If she is very technical, fit, and smart on the ball, no reason why she shouldn't be able to get on at a HS team
[Post New]10/01/2019 08:06
quote
Anonymous
Is there a big difference between the kids who start rec before 5, and those who wait until 6 or 7? I mean, obviously that first year will be a learning curve, but does it even out by middle school? I have always thought toddler sports were ridiculous, but since we have your attention, I would love to confirm that. ( Or be proven wrong.)
[Post New]10/01/2019 08:11
quote
Anonymous
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s the latest a kid can start and still be good enough to be in the middle of the pack. DS is interested, but we didn’t have the fund$ this year.

Thanks!


That sucks, Hopefully your kid is in Rec this year! A lot of clubs do have endowments if you need it. Anyways, it really depends as every kid is different but I would say no later than U12 but regardless, your player needs to be practicing every day and has to love the game. If they don't love it enough to play it outside of practice then it may be a difficult.

What kind of practice do you think is most important on players own time?


Just get touches in. Do touch drills, juggling, first touch passing against a wall. You can find a lot on Youtube.


Any favorite Youtube skills videos?
[Post New]10/01/2019 08:34
quote
Anonymous
Coach,

How important is being proficient with both feet (dribbling, passing and kicking) for U12 Girls? Are most or all ECNL U12/13 girls proficient with both feet?
[Post New]10/01/2019 08:50
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s the latest a kid can start and still be good enough to be in the middle of the pack. DS is interested, but we didn’t have the fund$ this year.

Thanks!


That sucks, Hopefully your kid is in Rec this year! A lot of clubs do have endowments if you need it. Anyways, it really depends as every kid is different but I would say no later than U12 but regardless, your player needs to be practicing every day and has to love the game. If they don't love it enough to play it outside of practice then it may be a difficult.

What kind of practice do you think is most important on players own time?


Just get touches in. Do touch drills, juggling, first touch passing against a wall. You can find a lot on Youtube.


Any favorite Youtube skills videos?


+1 I came here to ask about that. I didn’t play soccer as a kid, so I have no idea which youtubers know their stuff. Numbers aren’t always a great indication. One of the most popular videos about changing a headlight is popular because the guy is a moron, and takes the bumper off. Any direction would be appreciated! Thanks for doing this!
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:17
quote
Anonymous
Coach, my U13 kid has been playing for a small club’s top team for a few years now and had several coaches. He has a slender build, is fast with the ball, has better than average footwork and better than average vision in passing. He is good in cutting in and intercept but is usually not aggressive or persistent in defense. He enjoys nutmegging more than shooting, and he provides lots of assists. All coaches put him in the wings, and he seems happy about it. The coaches told me his biggest weakness is shooting, but he doesn’t get the chances to shoot playing winger. Is always playing winger the best thing for his development? What would be your advice? Thanks.
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:23
quote
NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:Is there a big difference between the kids who start rec before 5, and those who wait until 6 or 7? I mean, obviously that first year will be a learning curve, but does it even out by middle school? I have always thought toddler sports were ridiculous, but since we have your attention, I would love to confirm that. ( Or be proven wrong.)


I wouldn't say rec matters too much. What does matter is familiarity with the ball and how early that starts. Your kid could go play rec, learn absolutely nothing and maybe practice and learn some technical soccer skills. There's actually a lot of studies done on this, specifically by Tom Byer, an American who is responsible for much of the technical soccer development in Japan. Basically the TLDR is if your player starts learning and getting used to dribbling/basic ball mastery techniques at an early age, they will be further ahead. Take two kids, one of them starts getting used to dribbling the ball at age 4 while the other never touches a soccer ball then starts playing Rec at age 7. That kid who started at age 4 already has 3 years of practice and familiarity than the age 7 kid. Skill Acquiesce actually has been studied to slowly decrease as a kid gets older, so the earlier start, the better. Hopefully that answers the question.
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:26
quote
NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:Coach,

How important is being proficient with both feet (dribbling, passing and kicking) for U12 Girls? Are most or all ECNL U12/13 girls proficient with both feet?


Extremely important. You've got to have two good feet, especially for passing. Imagine being a midfielder and only being able to use your right foot. That means you can only open your body up to the right say. So essentially, you are one-dimensional. You've got to be able to receive the ball on both feet to be able to have the option to play either side. Now you definitely don't have to have shooting prowess with both feet but you've got to be able to dribble and pass with two feet. Also, the weak foot doesn't get better over time. It has to be worked on and practiced every single day. That's why using both feet is supposed to be highly emphasize when players are really young because its much easier to get both feet improving at that age compared to as they get older.
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:29
quote
NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:Coach, my U13 kid has been playing for a small club’s top team for a few years now and had several coaches. He has a slender build, is fast with the ball, has better than average footwork and better than average vision in passing. He is good in cutting in and intercept but is usually not aggressive or persistent in defense. He enjoys nutmegging more than shooting, and he provides lots of assists. All coaches put him in the wings, and he seems happy about it. The coaches told me his biggest weakness is shooting, but he doesn’t get the chances to shoot playing winger. Is always playing winger the best thing for his development? What would be your advice? Thanks.


Around U13 is when positional specialization starts to be nailed down. Obviously I've never seen your kid play before but if he is quick and technical, then he should be able to cut inside and shoot on his preferred foot. I don't think him playing as a winger is hampering his development if he's good at it. If he wants to get more shooting chances, he should watch Youtube videos of wingers like Hazard, Robben, Ronaldo and watch how they cut inside from the wing and create shooting opportunities for themselves
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:30
quote
NOVASoccerCoach
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s the latest a kid can start and still be good enough to be in the middle of the pack. DS is interested, but we didn’t have the fund$ this year.

Thanks!


That sucks, Hopefully your kid is in Rec this year! A lot of clubs do have endowments if you need it. Anyways, it really depends as every kid is different but I would say no later than U12 but regardless, your player needs to be practicing every day and has to love the game. If they don't love it enough to play it outside of practice then it may be a difficult.

What kind of practice do you think is most important on players own time?


Just get touches in. Do touch drills, juggling, first touch passing against a wall. You can find a lot on Youtube.


Any favorite Youtube skills videos?


Just youtube 1000 touch drill or daily dribbling drills for soccer. It's all about repetition and ball mastery, not about learning fancy tricks
[Post New]10/01/2019 09:50
quote
Anonymous
Coach,
How many practices a week do you think are needed for a team to successfully compete in the higher divisions of a league (U13)? DS’ new team only does two as opposed to former team’s 3, and I’m concerned it’s not enough but maybe quality over quantity is more important? Thanks.
[Post New]10/01/2019 10:23
quote
NOVASoccerCoach
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Anonymous wrote:Coach,
How many practices a week do you think are needed for a team to successfully compete in the higher divisions of a league (U13)? DS’ new team only does two as opposed to former team’s 3, and I’m concerned it’s not enough but maybe quality over quantity is more important? Thanks.


In my personal opinion, 3 but I know clubs that operate with 2. If it's only 2 a week then there should be a heavy emphasis on training at home in order to keep touches up. But also, if you have a fantastic coach you can get by with 2
[Post New]10/01/2019 10:33
quote
Anonymous
NOVASoccerCoach wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DS is a U12 player that works on his own and is technically advanced than most in his age group and probably older age groups as well. He cannot seem to break into a top team due to size, speed, and aggressiveness and ends up training/playing with lesser skilled players. What would be your advice as we have repeated this cycle for 2 years now looking for other training environments so he can at least train with players that have a good first touch and do the basics well like passing/receiving and dribbling? At this point I feel he gets more from these training environments than his club team and am pretty sure he agrees.


I'd say he needs to get evaluated at multiple clubs. Try out for other competitive top teams and see where he would be at. There can only be two reasons- either he is indeed more technical and is getting overlooked or the size/speed/lack of aggression and is not as technical as maybe it seems is really the reason why he is not being selected. I would even think about finding someone qualified to take a look and watch his games and they can probably give you a better unbiased assessment.


We did what NOVA coach suggests. Our kids were at a very political club where your fate is set at U9. Then, if you try out elsewhere they look at what team you are on on the registration form and you will be assigned a sh*t field before the tryout. The field of the rejects so to speak.

We looked around and found a great Club that was very much focused on soccer iq and technical skill and tryouts were not all small-sided scrimmages ---but rondos and many other drills. They both ended up on first team and as a result the past few years they have been playing first division in a strong league and getting to go to State Cup, etc. These are opportunities that they never would have got on a 2nd or third team elsewhere. The speed of play is so much faster and I could see if you stayed on a 2nd team too long how you would fall behind. Also, many of their teammates came from first teams of some pretty good Clubs so they are practicing with much higher skilled players.

I tried to buy into the ---work your way up BS---but when your kid does everything asked and is continually beating kids on upper team and for some reason the Club never dips down into the pool---you need to move for a different opportunity.

We had many unbiased soccer ppl----brutally honest former pro Uncle, outside coach, friends, etc. watch our kids prior to make sure it wasn't us watching with blinders on. Frankly, I am one of the biggest critics of my kids' play. We are not the type that think our kids are great at everything. I can see when kids are better and in the past I could see when they weren't ready for a higher team, etc. When we had a Coach at the former Club tell us we needed to get out because they were getting screwed over---it made the decision easy.
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