Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

because every parent demands their U10s win tournaments and possession takes a long time to develop into a winning style where as long ball needs a few kids with strong kegs and fast strikers

Possibly two of the most over generalized posts ever posted, not to mention staid. Spoken by people that likely never played but just watch and pontificate.

you don't need an appreciation of the beautiful game to see midfielders constantly kicking the ball as hard as the can and two fast kids will ball skill constantly trying to run to get the ball behind the defenders

Ball in net equals goal. That’s an efficient way to do it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

because every parent demands their U10s win tournaments and possession takes a long time to develop into a winning style where as long ball needs a few kids with strong kegs and fast strikers

Spot on. We were told that we weren't in it to win it. We were in it to teach the kids. Those that disagreed moved on. This is from U12-U15 .... They are more fun to watch than most professional matches. Took some of the kids to see United and they were making fun of the professionals for playing kick ball. ...... Slowly, America will get it. But only slowly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

Coach here-

Nope I'm not Tommy but wouldn't mind that paycheck! I've played against several of their teams. They appear to have similar approaches to the game, some more possession based than others. I haven't played against any that I would describe as "kick and run" but I wouldn't doubt that some exist.

To get back on topic, I'm not sure if OP answered but is this coach new to your team? Are there many new players? I still think your coach should have a decent grasp by now on which system(s) would work best for your team, but just curious what other factors there are.

Coach has been around for years and we have 2 new players.

Coach here -

Don’t believe that other guy, I’m the real coach. Maybe the kids are just out of practice because of Covid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

Coach here-

Nope I'm not Tommy but wouldn't mind that paycheck! I've played against several of their teams. They appear to have similar approaches to the game, some more possession based than others. I haven't played against any that I would describe as "kick and run" but I wouldn't doubt that some exist.

To get back on topic, I'm not sure if OP answered but is this coach new to your team? Are there many new players? I still think your coach should have a decent grasp by now on which system(s) would work best for your team, but just curious what other factors there are.

Coach has been around for years and we have 2 new players.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

Coach here-

Nope I'm not Tommy but wouldn't mind that paycheck! I've played against several of their teams. They appear to have similar approaches to the game, some more possession based than others. I haven't played against any that I would describe as "kick and run" but I wouldn't doubt that some exist.

To get back on topic, I'm not sure if OP answered but is this coach new to your team? Are there many new players? I still think your coach should have a decent grasp by now on which system(s) would work best for your team, but just curious what other factors there are.

Anonymous wrote:Do clubs/ coaches let parents know what playing style they are trying achieve?
My DS's U15 team's coach has changed the formation about 3 times and the team doesn't seem to have an idea of what style they play. (Possession, long ball, high press...etc.) We have only played 2 games and the boys have been practicing since June. I'd figure by now it would be locked in.
Confusion reigns supreme on the sideline at our games. (both spectators and the bench)
I'd like to hear what others' experiences are.

I also have the opinion that this coach is not good.

My guess would be that your coach does not understand how to coach.

There is nothing wrong with changing tactics and formations per se - all pro clubs do exactly that. And formations can change independent of "style" - at least to some degree.

However - whether it is a good idea for a U15 team depends on the base of understanding that the team already has - and the coach's ability to communicate clearly. If the team does not already have a really solid grasp of playing possession football, decision making/willingness to pass backwards/judging when to attack, building from the back, quick passing, movement on and off the ball and how to create room for passes etc. then switching things up every week just results in confusion - which seems to be what you are seeing.

I saw exactly the same thing on my DS' team one year when his coach (who had a had a long playing career at a high level in Europe, US and Central America) attempted to treat them like adult professional soccer players. He would arrive at the game field with a tactical plan for the opponent that the kids had never seen before, let alone practiced, and spend fifteen minutes explaining how they would be playing today. The consequence was that the kids usually had no idea what they were supposed to be doing on the field and - exactly as you suggest - confusion ran amok on the sidelines and the field.

In general with kids it is better to teach and maintain a consistent style every week and maybe tweak one or two details - perhaps reading the keys as to how and when to press for example, or reconfiguring the midfield shape - but no more than that. It's no different to math really - you shouldn;t try and teach a kid calculus before they have a fiorm grasp of algebra. It doesn't mean calculus is wrong, but it does mean the teacher (who might be a great mathematician) is not a very good teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

Any parent can reasonably watch an opponent and determine or not if they play a nice style. There are clubs my kid has faced where I thought they played a nice brand of soccer and Alexandria is one of them.

It is ok to give credit to other clubs who do a nice job with their program.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have a kid at SOCA, but they are the club with the best playing style. They are true to their mission too.

I will remind you of what a prior person stated and it must be true after all

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation


or in your case SOCA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

PP here.

Don't see where I "lauded" the club. More like "described" it. Congrats on being the first flying monkey.

I don’t have a kid at SOCA, but they are the club with the best playing style. They are true to their mission too.

Arlington is too far for us, but I think their girls teams seem to have a consistent playing style that works

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

I 2nd Alexandria's program and I don't have a kid in it. The commute doesn't work for us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

i'm sorry your kid didn't make the top team

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

Alexandria has a style. I've never had a kid there, but every time we've played them they've been true to their style of possession and playing out of the back at every level.

I know...soon the howling monkeys will fly in with complaints about their TD's salary. Whatevs.

What person comes on a board and lauds a program who doesn’t have a kid in it? The TD must be working hard on trolling/marketing on DCUM to get the Alexandria reputation up so he can extract more shekels from the locals... maybe Tommy will come back under his NOVA soccer coach handle, or is just now the anonymous ‘coach here...’?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every club in the area claims to play possession, but everyone outside of the club will tell you the club plays direct/long ball/kick and run.

because every parent demands their U10s win tournaments and possession takes a long time to develop into a winning style where as long ball needs a few kids with strong kegs and fast strikers

Possibly two of the most over generalized posts ever posted, not to mention staid. Spoken by people that likely never played but just watch and pontificate.

you don't need an appreciation of the beautiful game to see midfielders constantly kicking the ball as hard as the can and two fast kids will ball skill constantly trying to run to get the ball behind the defenders