Anyone playing in the Bethesda Premier Cup this weekend? Any insight or good teams / competition to watch?

http://events.gotsport.com/events/Default.aspx?eventid=61132

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

.

Please reread what he said, he was talking about reaching a higher level to being on his way to making a difference on the field if he were to play on the first team. You don't think he was talking about learning how to dribble, receive with both feet, shoot with your laces, how to do a push-pass. right? Because those very, very, basic skills are learned in 5-10 year old age group.

PP here. The comment was mainly with regard to the bold part in the previous comment: for youth soccer development which stage is the most crucial, before u16 or u16-u18?

If you want to be a world class player, all of the youth stages are crucially important for development. That's not typically what people are talking about on DCUM though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

.

Please reread what he said, he was talking about reaching a higher level to being on his way to making a difference on the field if he were to play on the first team. You don't think he was talking about learning how to dribble, receive with both feet, shoot with your laces, how to do a push-pass. right? Because those very, very, basic skills are learned in 5-10 year old age group.

PP here. The comment was mainly with regard to the bold part in the previous comment: for youth soccer development which stage is the most crucial, before u16 or u16-u18?

First, I believe context is the important part of all of this. Pulisic is speaking pretty much to elite level players who have the potential to go pro. These are kids who have exceeded their development at all the appropriate stages. And in the U.S., when kids reach 16 and older, if they are in a MLS academy they are not developed in the same way as similar prospects would be in Europe. He mentions how he was thrown into games at 17 and kids on MLS teams sit the bench. These are years when their technical skills are able to match elements of the tactical game but they are not being met here in the states as they are in Europe.

But to answer your point more directly, if you can't control and manipulate the ball you could be a tactical savant and it wouldn't matter, you will not be good at soccer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't we develop 20 kids out of the millions of kids that are playing?

Aside from the pay "big bucks" to play system. It is partly because we don't have enough good coaches who truly understand the game. We joined a local DA program mainly because of a Coach with a great resume/reputation, however, said Coach left for another local program over the summer....so now we are suffering with the replacement coach who clearly does not belong at this level. We have literally been outscored something like 20-1 in the last month or so, and can barely compete. Despite loosing most of the season so far, the Coach has not changed anything with his approach/tactics. I could argue my kid is almost regressing at the DA level because of inept coaching.

Please name these clubs, how else will parents make decisions with incomplete information, let the club's compete in an efficient market.

Kids playing rec soccer will not develop into professional soccer players. It is not really the same sport as Travel/club soccer. The club system in this country only captures those players who can pay. The club system misses many potentially great players because the club is not making money developing/selling players. In other countries(Europe, Latin America, etc), the club scouts are every where looking for player. They know about the 6 or 7 year old who show a talent for soocer. These kids are watched, recruited and given formal training with the hope that they will develop and their contracts will be sold for money.

A. Who doesn't start as a recreational player? If they're discovered at age 6, where were they playing at age 5? ("Street soccer" is recreational, too.)

B. What can you tell about a player at age 6?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

.

Please reread what he said, he was talking about reaching a higher level to being on his way to making a difference on the field if he were to play on the first team. You don't think he was talking about learning how to dribble, receive with both feet, shoot with your laces, how to do a push-pass. right? Because those very, very, basic skills are learned in 5-10 year old age group.

PP here. The comment was mainly with regard to the bold part in the previous comment: for youth soccer development which stage is the most crucial, before u16 or u16-u18?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

.

Please reread what he said, he was talking about reaching a higher level to being on his way to making a difference on the field if he were to play on the first team. You don't think he was talking about learning how to dribble, receive with both feet, shoot with your laces, how to do a push-pass. right? Because those very, very, basic skills are learned in 5-10 year old age group.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

What? Who has said anything like that? Are you thinking of the common statement that 8-12 are the key years for developing foot skills? That's certainly true, but it's only one piece of development. The tactical understanding you get from playing in a good European academy is one of the things that is almost impossible to replicate here.

Remember the European academies get paid if a player develops. So there is a lot of pressure to produce. The academies put money into scouting, recruiting, improving training, hire the best coaches, firing people, cutting players, etc. In the US system, the club/academy get paid regardless of the players develop. Each player generates a fixed amount of revenue regardless of how the player develops. This is just another thing that works against the US.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

What? Who has said anything like that? Are you thinking of the common statement that 8-12 are the key years for developing foot skills? That's certainly true, but it's only one piece of development. The tactical understanding you get from playing in a good European academy is one of the things that is almost impossible to replicate here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

The technical foundation of footwork is laid down mostly by 12. The fundamentals of the tactical elements of the game are laid down by 16 or so and then from 16 years old and upward the merging of technical proficiency with a tactical understanding begin to merge.

I think what Pulisic is saying is that up until 15/16 years old everything was pretty much 'wax on, wax off" but by the age of 16/17 it was time to do some effing karate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Remember lots of people said the most important development stage pretty much ended before u16?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

So the passport didn't give him his talent right... it was the fact that he was able to go to Europe to train. Before he would be invited to Europe however, he needed to be a good enough prospect here. So let's say a player is in a MLS academy, he has school, practices a couple hours a day, a game on Sunday, hangs out with his/her friends on weekends, maybe smokes weed, has enough comfort at home. I would say most of these players are not in the right setting anyway to push them to reach a higher level and be able to compete for a homegrown contract and position in their MLS academy first team. In most academies in Europe, that is the goal, to gain a role in the first team.

I had seen a lot of conversation about whether asking our players that are talented and that want to continue their soccer career was a smart idea, Pulisic's article seemed to push that further to the 'yes, go to Europe if you have the opportunity' group.

Anonymous wrote:It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.

And he stresses how much his Croatian passport made a difference in his prime developmental years. Stressed how very important it was in the most critical developmental 16-18 year old window.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't we develop 20 kids out of the millions of kids that are playing?

Aside from the pay "big bucks" to play system. It is partly because we don't have enough good coaches who truly understand the game. We joined a local DA program mainly because of a Coach with a great resume/reputation, however, said Coach left for another local program over the summer....so now we are suffering with the replacement coach who clearly does not belong at this level. We have literally been outscored something like 20-1 in the last month or so, and can barely compete. Despite loosing most of the season so far, the Coach has not changed anything with his approach/tactics. I could argue my kid is almost regressing at the DA level because of inept coaching.

Please name these clubs, how else will parents make decisions with incomplete information, let the club's compete in an efficient market.

Kids playing rec soccer will not develop into professional soccer players. It is not really the same sport as Travel/club soccer. The club system in this country only captures those players who can pay. The club system misses many potentially great players because the club is not making money developing/selling players. In other countries(Europe, Latin America, etc), the club scouts are every where looking for player. They know about the 6 or 7 year old who show a talent for soocer. These kids are watched, recruited and given formal training with the hope that they will develop and their contracts will be sold for money.

Anonymous wrote:Why can't we develop 20 kids out of the millions of kids that are playing?

Aside from the pay "big bucks" to play system. It is partly because we don't have enough good coaches who truly understand the game. We joined a local DA program mainly because of a Coach with a great resume/reputation, however, said Coach left for another local program over the summer....so now we are suffering with the replacement coach who clearly does not belong at this level. We have literally been outscored something like 20-1 in the last month or so, and can barely compete. Despite loosing most of the season so far, the Coach has not changed anything with his approach/tactics. I could argue my kid is almost regressing at the DA level because of inept coaching.

Please name these clubs, how else will parents make decisions with incomplete information, let the club's compete in an efficient market.

It's "official", Pulisic says you try harder when you go to Europe, and he's saying he's always had a winning mentality, that sounds like the mind of a hungry player. Exactly the opposite of the rest of the USMNT that did see themselves playing in WC as a given. Read the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/amp/#ampshare=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/christian-pulisic-usmnt-world-cup/

It's a quick and good read.