Reply to If you have taken your son to an overseas soccer tournament, etc, did you find it to be worth it?

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Reply to "If you have taken your son to an overseas soccer tournament, etc, did you find it to be worth it?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We did a trip to Amsterdam a few years ago that was pretty incredible from both a soccer and fun perspective.  It was organized by a guy from NY who scouted kids all around the country and basically brought an "all-star" type team of 11 and 12 year olds.  They trained each day at Ajax, and competed in several friendlies against local Dutch teams, then went to the Marc Overmars tournament in Epe and played against teams from Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.  The boys got to play against the youth teams from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven (both outstanding, as you'd expect).  It was good for them to see how far behind the top teams they were as well as how well they compared to some of the others in terms of both skills and athletic ability.

I think the trip was really inspiring for the kids.  It was definitely a blast for the parents to hang out in soccer clubhouses throughout the country.  We passed on all the international trips that were offered by our club though.  Most seemed like more soccer tourism than real training, which is fun, but expensive for what you get.[/quote]

What were the most noticeable gaps between the US kids and the top European kids? e.g. were they able hang athletically but not as advanced in terms of skills and know how?[/quote]

DP here.  For us, when our son played in the Netherlands and Italy, the biggest gap was in the soccer IQ (particularly in movement off the ball and decision making with the ball) and the speed of play.  There was also a gap in skills, but it was not as large.  [/quote]

There is also a huge gap in technical ability, but most don't notice it because they are only focused on "skills."[/quote]

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