Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is your child's team record better, the same, or worse than you think the team is?

Is the team getting better?

Are individual players improving?

Our team filled some holes on the bench going from U13 to U14, so there isn't much drop off when sending in subs. Our record is better, but I can't tell if we're getting better overall, because our competition is worse. We moved from CCL to ECNL-R. I was never a big CCL fan, but I don't think ECNL-R is any better. If anything, there are more bad teams than CCL had and less middle of the pack type teams.

Yep, I've said it before that the clubs leaving CCL were leaving an ok league for an inferior one. Those clubs improved the level of ECNL-R but the level of the new competition to those clubs is now weaker than it was when they were in CCL.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Barca Academy would play technical/possessive but lose more because of mistakes being capitalized upon due to that style of play. No joysticking and they want 3 dimensional passing, etc. Not passing back or allowing mistakes in the middle could lead to more W's....

If the team cannot build from the back they will not be able to as they grow as a team. Teaching them and having them build from the back early is essential. Eventually the team will be able to play the technical/possessive style as well as playing over the top when need that quick goal.

That's the problem having them play the tech/possessive style early on because it allows pressing teams to capitalize on the defensive mistakes. But you'll see as the team gets older they'll be much stronger in the back with less mistakes.

This is a bit hopeful. Teams don’t always end up stronger in the back or with fewer mistakes. Younger kids should have the basics of defending and attacking taught and reinforced. All the adults pushing this style or that style are focusing on the wrong thing. I.e. building from the back is a tactic to keep possession only after it is deemed that there is not an opportunity to score or move forward with possession. It is the third choice of a thinking soccer player. Teaching kids it is the best way or essential is teaching the game incorrectly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Barca Academy would play technical/possessive but lose more because of mistakes being capitalized upon due to that style of play. No joysticking and they want 3 dimensional passing, etc. Not passing back or allowing mistakes in the middle could lead to more W's....

If the team cannot build from the back they will not be able to as they grow as a team. Teaching them and having them build from the back early is essential. Eventually the team will be able to play the technical/possessive style as well as playing over the top when need that quick goal.

That's the problem having them play the tech/possessive style early on because it allows pressing teams to capitalize on the defensive mistakes. But you'll see as the team gets older they'll be much stronger in the back with less mistakes.

It also changes at U13 when they move to the bigger field. Building from the back becomes really hard by U11/12 because the field is short and players are fast enough to beat the ball to most spots. On a bigger field, the teams that worked on passing out of the back will see the fruits of their work because there is much more space. The high pressure from the other team will look like a dog chasing butterflies and tire themselves out

Anonymous wrote:Barca Academy would play technical/possessive but lose more because of mistakes being capitalized upon due to that style of play. No joysticking and they want 3 dimensional passing, etc. Not passing back or allowing mistakes in the middle could lead to more W's....

If the team cannot build from the back they will not be able to as they grow as a team. Teaching them and having them build from the back early is essential. Eventually the team will be able to play the technical/possessive style as well as playing over the top when need that quick goal.

That's the problem having them play the tech/possessive style early on because it allows pressing teams to capitalize on the defensive mistakes. But you'll see as the team gets older they'll be much stronger in the back with less mistakes.