US Youth Soccer Heading Down Wrong Path?

Not sure that was aimed at me, but assuming it was, I agree. But anyone who thinks "inner city" youth will lead the way to the soccer promised land better check themselves, boyyyeeeee.

As mentioned previously, in many ways this sport, in this society, is perhaps a little more complicated than others. But rocket science, it should not be.

 

"better check themselves, boyyyeeeee."

lol...

I just dont like the skyrocketing price of soccer - and also the commitment required from parents so their kid can get a look. That is not going to bring the best talent into the light - it will only bring the best talent that has both the money and the parental support.

There are of course exceptions to this rule. But I can tell you that I have some quality players here that would have never gotten a look without the help of someone that knows the system. What about the kids that dont have that someone? There is a lot of talent we are missing - that is my point, and I hope - that as a youth system - we can get that sorted.

 

I agree, Jensers. U.S. soccer is still second banana to many, who participate in other sports, that would make a recognizeable impact. And it does not pull many potential participants for other reasons.

But while youth soccer and its level of participation and skill is what it is, it is nowhere near what it could be with a well-developed plan to not only get more youth involved, from any background or location (as skilled athletes come from every background), but also with an approach that takes into consideration the dynamics that exist and the approach that works best for that area and the youth involved. I don't think a cookie cutter approach will work, but again perhaps we should look at a mixture of philosophies and strategies that are proven to work, along with sprinkles of good old American ingenuity, inventiveness, and creativity.

I'll start working on the book now. You and Don should partner with me. I'm thinking of calling it "Total Joga" or "Soccer Bonito", but I am open to ideas.

 

Question: 20 years ago.. before the age of the internet... just how many 'player academies' were there in the US?

Besides Bradenton, there are now what? Friedel's in Cleveland, Beckham's in LA easily come to mind for me... but there is also Crystal Palace, and I think there are at least two in Texas.

I DO find jensers' previous comments on 'English' import coaches interesting. And what about the 'camps'?
That has been going on for a LONG time, sort of a holiday for them to come over and put on 'camps with the proper accent'.... and what have we seen from it?!!!

 

I agree with that too. For far too long, the accent was immediate qualification, and the U.S. youth soccer community was too naive to realize that some of the fellas lacked the proper credentials. But soccer moms (and dads) still loved the accent, and in many places that probably still rings true. Time to move beyond that bit of ridiculousness.

 

One thing - I can understand the "tournament" mentality because Tournaments really are fun for the players - its like a little vacation with all your friends - who wouldnt want to do that? Also - As may have been implied, it also gives a club an opportunity to win something - which is good for business, but I have to agree that the author is right in saying that is not the best thing for the game.

Writing a book eh? Wow - This is a huge subject! What are the problems with our youth development and how can we use the examples around us to fix it?

Lets see - some chapters:

The loss of players between 15 and 18 yrs old
The invisible player pool
The English influence
11v11 and its effect on youth development
Soccer as a business
Youth athletics in American Culture
(Including the dynamic of High School Athletics vs. Club)
What does the youth system look like in other countries?
i.g. - Scouting, coaching education, small sided, free play, alignment , who pays, how players enter the system, where/how are players showcased, how does the education system factor in...

Also - finding a single line system of player progression and dismissing the current war between systems out there - like the battle between the old club systems and the new, and all that against high school, ODP, and community leagues.

I am not as educated on the international systems as I would like to be - and most of what I have read or been told sounds a lot more like opinion than fact. Would be a very interesting topic to research.

 

Yeah, I had just returned from an X-mas party, if you know what I mean. I'm going to edit it.

 

Dont know if this was aimed at me but probably was. I didnt say, nor did anyone else that I read, say anything about inner city kids "saving" US soccer. They are mostly uninvolved in soccer and are the kids that would do free play soccer, if they were interested in the sport. You advocated free play yourself.

 

And we're off!

Great points that deserve more attention. Keep 'em coming.

 

I thought that I would resurrect this thread because of something happening on my son's U11 team. It is a competitive team that you have to be chosen for but is is only for kids that live in our city. It is not run by a club that is trying to make money or to attract the best soccer players in our area.

Since mid fall the coaches have started playing the kids in mostly one position and my kid has mostly been playing right defense. They play 8 v 8 and this is their first season with the offsides rule (although not for indoor).

I think 10 and 11 year olds are way too young to be playing only one position. If it were to continue, I think it would have a negative impact on their game and on the level of soccer talent in our community. While a coach can convince a kid that it is better that he play this one position, every kid wants to play some offense. It has bummed my kid out and I'm afraid it is the type of thing that could turn kids off to soccer. I have already noticed it affecting his game and several of the other kids' games. When they play an easy team, my son will get 10min at forward or midfeild and he now plays much more conservatively - he plays not to make a mistake rather than to create an opportunity.

Just wondering what others think. Do you think kids this age should start playing a specific position? If not, what age do you think it is appropriate to start giving them a specific position? For me it is high school because until then you really dont know what type of size/strength/speed they have.

 

Absolutely, just playing one position hinders so much about their development in the game. That was how we "developed" kids when I was playing in school, 20 years ago. It certainly hindered us, if you were a defender or GK you probably handled the ball like it was radioactive. That also turns kids off the game. It's hard enough to keep the best athletes in soccer, we don't need that also.

High school is possibly the age where they should start to specialize because then they will have an idea of where their talents are, but even then beware. As a point of reference, Hope Solo, the USWNT GK, was an all-star forward in her high school days and scored some crazy amount of goals.

Do speak to the coaches, and good luck in your efforts. In the meantime, try to keep your son's chin up. Everyone's parents spout off the cliche that adversity builds character, but there is a reason why old cliches persist.

 

Hopefully it is just a matter of coaches who dont realize what they are doing to have a negative impact and they will sort it out. There are a lot of things that I have seen done to restrict the development of the players, but most of the time it appears that the coaches simply dont realize it.

There are however situations where a coach that knows better - is not as concerned about the development of the player as he/she is about a winning record. At the 6-13 year-old ages this seems ridiculous, but this goes back to the idea of youth soccer as a business, and that is a dead horse.

 

Jensers, I dont think the "soccer as a business" applies here because both of these coaches are doctors doing this for about $300. They've gotten caught up in wanting to win for the sake of the boys when it will ultimately work against the boys. Anyway, they are human and I will use this as an opportunity to build some character (sorry Steve) by telling my son to show them at practice what he can do on offense. If it continues into next season we will probably say something because it really doesnt make sense and is against the philosophy of our club (we'll see what that is worth).

Anyway, I'm still interested in what people think is the right age to start playing a position. So far Steve and I agree that high school is at least the right time to start doing it. Anyone think it is earllier or later and why?

 

I see both sides of it. It's important for kids to know early-on that good defensive tactic, which is hard to acquire part time, is greatly important to the team.

On the other hand the kids have not yet fully cemented the 'love of the game', which allows them to accept a non-offense position. And it's obvious that 'fun' still plays a large part in that.

I cant tell you what to do, other than help him understand a defensive role, and the joy of taking the ball away from one of the other team's strikers, thus ruining the other guy's 'fun'. Sounds vaguely nasty but kids understand that.

 

pettyfog makes sense (whoa, did I just type that??). Defenders in many cases should be your best athletes. And while 11 year olds in positions may be too soon, it is not necessarily too much sooner than you would want. If a child is going to compete effectively in high school, he or she needs to learn the position by 8th grade, before they make that step.

Sounds like your child is still getting some time at other positions, but not enough to their or your liking, and that is worth bringing up to the coaches, for now. But very soon, it is time consider positions where your child will have the best chance to make the largest contribution.

They can still change positions throughout high school and college, but knowing a position and knowing it well, will at least help secure one thing that will definitely help the progression of your childs skills, and that is PLAYING TIME.

 

In my illustrious career as a youth player I can remember being a defender since about the 3rd grade. Although that was where I spent most of my time my coach did rotate players through. When there were enough players added to the field about a couple years after 3rd grade I was cemented in midfield. I was defense minded and I still loved the game. Even as an established midfielder I was thrust into attacking positions occasionally.

My coach was very good about playing time. Everyone played for good chunks of the game. Unfortunately, the emphasis kept being on winning and being in GREAT (really, really great) shape. After 6th grade I called it quits. It required more commitment than I was willing to give.

On another note, I basically played with the same group of kids and had the same coach for about 80% of my "career". We consistently placed 1st and 2nd in tournaments. I never really realized how good we actually were. We only lost to one team consistently (and they had kids that were too old to participate in our age group). Wow, brings back the great memories of winning a tournament.

 

I am out of the system as my kids are grown (AKA College Tuition). However, everything revolves around too much travel and supporting kids who have parents that can afford to stay in hotels in other towns playing on weekends when they are not playing locally. Evey local club has travel squads.
Meanwhile, the kids with parents of less means get no support. Under this system, Beckham would have never come out of East London.
I would not let my kids travel. My daughter was a pretty good player but had more fun than her friends who spent more weekends in hotel rooms and less playing on the street in our neighborhood. I was viewed as an odd ball because my kids actually played soccer at home year round (many times in the street) for fun in addition to their season. Maybe that is why most of the travel kids went back to video games between seasons rather than "playing" year round. We are organizing the fun out of the game.

 

How long is the season?

 

I appreciate everyone's input.

jlough, I agree about about the playing too much thing. Our kids may play too much but they certainly dont play as much as many of the other kids on their travel team. A lot play travel and premeir which can amount to 64 games a year plus any tournaments that they play in. To put that in perspective, I think US soccer's Development Academies limit their players to 30 games per year. Our boys play soccer (well sort of becasue they often arent using a soccer ball) for fun on their own everyday so I'm hoping that's an indication their not playing too much.

The good news is my U11 son scored two goals yesterday. On one he was playing defense and he saw a ball coming out towards him. He sprinted to it and drove a shot just out of the goalie's reach. Very nice. Then he got to play midfield (he asked the coach if he could) and he flicked one around the goalie and into the net. Not pretty but a goal is a goal.