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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've heard a lot about the younger boys age groups at Alexandria and heard about how they play a pretty good possession style game. How about the older age groups?

Do they also follow the same style of play? Haven't heard much about them, was wondering if anyone had any insight into the older teams. Do they play ccl1 or edp? Are they competitive outside of the DC metro area?[/quote]

The club plays the same style, however, as kids get older U13 and up, kids start moving clubs. I am not in Alexandria but my son plays them every year in CCL and I know a lot of the older boys come from other clubs. Not many have been there from the start. Not sure what happens to the players or what it says about the club's playing style. Just an observation.[/quote]

There’s really nothing unique about them at the older age groups. The top talent has left by U15, most of the kids are there to keep sharp for HS, and their results are average. Although they’ll profess otherwise, the style of play is not too different than most clubs in the area. If you see them playing a very direct opponent, it may seem like they are different but they are not. The majority of teams in the DMV play possession style.[/quote]

For the OP, you can go and watch for yourself.  The style at earlier ages is markedly different than all but a handful of clubs/teams in the area.  At older ages, kids at top clubs and teams are taught how to play properly, so there is less difference at older ages, meaning that other kids are finally being taught like they can actually do something beyond kicking and chasing the ball.  S[b]tarting with this younger is helpful for most kids because there is a bunch of garbage that older kids have to unlearn[/b] after they have been coached poorly.  But playing within this kind of structure can undoubtedly limit the willingness and ability of individual players to express themselves as freely as they want. [/quote]

I thought it was pretty universally acknowledged that enforcing a rigid of system of play at young ages kills creativity and is ultimately detrimental [/quote]

You are wrong, just like an idiot who says every player on the basketball court has the greenlight to do what they want.  You can learn both creativity and judgment, and if you don't learn the disclipline of possession, you are for the most part pretty useless as a player, with neither the touch nor the confidence to do the right thing on bigger fields with more players.  I thought that was pretty damned well universally acknowledged.[/quote]

if that's true, why aren't Alexandria's teams more successful and why are other teams able to shift style to possession (and be better than Alexandria at it)? US soccer has team tactics as something that should be emphasized stating with adolescence [/quote]

Teams can teach any style of soccer at any age, and it is certainly true that most kids will absorb the basic idea within a few weeks and become quite proficient at execution - as bounded by their technical ability - in a period of a few months.  That misses the point though - getting the kids to play this way when they are younger helps develop their technical ability because they spend more time using the skills they will need both in practice and in games.

So any club with a good coach can recruit players with good technical ability and teach them to play well quite quickly.  What Alexandria does is develop players with good technical ability.  They're not unique - there are other clubs and coaches who develop players well too.

At older ages Alexandria loses many of their best players to teams that play in more competitive leagues - which, of course, leaves them playing on a more level footing with other clubs.[/quote]

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