Reply to can a private soccer coach help 8-yo DS who's not a fast kid with his game?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wouldn't invest in private training unless he's committed to improving his play, not just "scoring a goal".

It might also be helpful to talk to him about the entire concept of teamwork and playing a position. [b]By U9 kids are beginning to gravitate to offense, mid, or defense. If he's not aggressive, he's probably not a natural forward, and could serve his team better in another spot. [/b]

My DS, now in high school, is a natural defender. He has scored a handful of goals in his entire life. He became good at soccer by concentrating on tactics, footwork, and reading the field.[/quote]

or maybe those who gravitate toward offense are simply better with the ball which almost always means they have played and trained longer and/or harder.

[/quote]

I don't think that's it. I've seen great players who excel at defense or mid, but [b]don't have the "go for the goal" mentality you see in strikers[/b].

You really need to talk with your kid and try to figure out what he wants. If he's trying to get to the ball and score, but being beat out by his teammates, working on those skills could help. But if he is saying "I want to score goals" but not showing it in his behavior on the field, he might benefit from being told that a team is made up of kids playing a variety of roles. A team of all strikers will lose every time, because they have no defense.[/quote]

This is exactly it.  Strikers are unique. A cherry-picker-somebody that just hangs out in front of the goal hoping for an easy score will never excel as a striker and be weeded out pretty quickly.  Stikers need the inborn 'hunger for the goal' and speed.  We have a kid that was a high scorer in early grades because his dad (the coach) would put him right in front of the goal and tell him to stay there.  The kid scored in the early years for easy shots or ball deflecting off his body by accident.  He is a decent player, but not striker material.  He is also lazy.  He won't give chase to the ball.  Contrast to the other kid who is now striker that is  gentle passive kid--but on the field his face lookers killer and he has a natural drive to the goal.  He also will not give up but keep powering through.[/quote]

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