First 50
The right activities and the efficiency of your training sessions only get you to 50%.
By the “right activities / exercises” I mean right with respect to your philosophy of course.
For instance, what’s the point of doing activities that work possession out of the back, if all you do in games is allow your back line to be playmakers? If your back line is going to be bypassing the midfield or trying to filter balls and thread the needle, why work possession?
Now, presuming the exercises you run in your sessions are perfectly architected to support your vision, you’re still only at 50%.
And that’s an F!
Second 50
The remaining 50% is in the delivery. Meaning, more than laying out the cones and having players go through the exercises in mindless fashion. This 50% is the hard part! This is the art of coaching!
It involves not only understanding all the nuances involved with the exercises and the context in which they fit, but also the communication, charisma, and leadership to make it all come together.
In other words, how close does one come to squeezing out the best in every player in the appropriate context?
I wonder where you think coaches are operating at …
What do you think they score in each?
My hope is this gives you an alternative form of guidance from the Win/Loss columns.
Great point. As a high school coach it so easy to get caught up in drills but not define to the players the principle behind those drills! We do a huge disservice to our players when we don’t challenge them mentally as hard as we challenge them technically and physically.
Not just high school.
All coaches. All levels. Top to bottom! No one is excluded from this.
Proper drills and delivery are dead on. But “execution” (game time execution) needs to be added. That’s where rubber hits the road and little Jose can show what he’s learned. Of course he will make mistakes, but that’s how they learn. The cycle of drills / training, coach feedback, and game experience. Then go back to drills / training to work on what you learned in the game and hopefully the coach can share that feedback at practice and develop drills accordingly.
I’m also a believer that coaches shouldn’t go crazy yelling at players in games (frothy-mouth yelling that doesn’t pass along anything technically meaningful or provide solutions). Screaming is related to desire to win. If coaches care about long-term development, they are more accepting of a player’s exploration into trying different things. Sit quietly and observe. Then offer up sage advice on why something didn’t work or wasn’t best option. Allow the player to think for himself.
Einstein had some good quotes:
“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
I’d rather have a player who experiments and learns from that, over a player who follows orders like a zombie and doesn’t have confidence or imagination to take chances. Of course he needs to have some level of discipline, but the more he experiments, the more it builds confidence and allows him to flourish by teaching himself. Talking through reasons something worked or didn’t and options helps the player think for himself. Reference back to above quotes to understand why. Barking orders creates zombies. And zombies don’t do well on their own!
One of the many ailments to American soccer is over-coaching. Not allowing kids to think. Coaches want zombies for the W-L. Good for coaching resume, but bad for little Jose over long-term.
The type of teaching Gary is describing here is necessary at all levels of the game, from U5 thru elite professional soccer. Isn’t this one of the keys for Barcelona?
See what Cesc Fabergas has to say:
‘I’ve learned a lot tactically.
‘I know my position on the pitch a lot more. Before I was free to do whatever on the pitch at Arsenal, and I wasn’t tactically good.
‘I was playing wherever I wanted, up and down. Here I have to work much more for the team, individually, and think about the team tactically.’
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/896511-barcelonas-cesc-fabregas-says-he-didnt-trust-arsenal-teammates#ixzz1xVyy06bs
This part of coaching is absent on way to many practice fields and game hundles in the USA.
“communication, charisma, and leadership to make it all come together.”
Here is where most coaches fail miserably. This is what I have been trying to say that a real coach needs to look like a “coach” not santa claus or some clown.
Einstein had some good quotes:
“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
Was Einstein always correct? I believe you need the perfect balance of teaching and learning through experimentation.
You can’t just let players have the freedom to do whatever they think is creative. Players need breadth and depth in their skill level and understanding of the game. Age appropriate training is extremely important to get from a F to an A. At the youngest ages under 12, players need to become a master parrot.
Unfortunately most masters are clowns so kids become master clowns themselves.
I feel most “winning” youth coaches are about a C at best. Good but “losing” youth coaches are about a B at most. Personally I have never met a youth coach that is B+ or better.
I agree with this post just about 100%. Until puberty the kids have to copy a mentor or they will miss out on the important years where important technical soccer skills are most learnable, mostly I’m thinking learning ball handling skills. They are certainly not watching the skill masters on TV, the local coaches can’t show them and left to their own devices kids will neglect these skills until they realize after puberty that they are crucial and by then it’s too late and then they over-compensate with aggressiveness and physicality… and guess where we are? The positive news is the next generation of volunteer coaches are slightly more enlightened to this than the last, TV coverage of the masters (Messi, Ronaldo, Ozil, etc) is getting more pervasive and the kids themselves are getting better younger so there is a peer pressure to learn soccer skills at a young age or be on the field looking stupid as you get beat time and time again. Again, I think it the culture war of US soccer “fresh air and exercise” versus “standard international soccer”. Slowly, the international standard is creeping in because it is better, but there is a huge resistance by traditionalist who don’t really care about the skill, beauty or competitive element of soccer, but enjoy it nonetheless for other reasons.
BTW, I grade myself a B-. Hopefully I can get to B/B+ by the end of the year.
How do you coaches rate?
I’m an A+… My DOC told me so…
Oh wait… my club doesn’t have a DOC…
Problem? lol
Typical DOC: the guy who takes the strongest team, claims to be the best coach. Opportunity missed.
Is it just me or is this message board full of people who have already “drank the juice”?? Everyone on here comes across so enlightened as to what is needed and all the rest – including myself. But doesn’t the change need to come by reaching out on a personal level not only to Directors of Coaching, but also individual volunteer coaches? Wouldn’t more be served by spreading the gospel than typing some rants?
Yes, I “evangelise.” Been working very closely with an old-school coach from England who has recognized the errors of his ways and what he was taught, by virtue of seeing the changes I brought about in his own sons approach and play. And I’d grade myself a C or C+ maybe?
My guess is the only ones who can get B+ or higher are those with professional experience, either as a player themselves, or as one who was mentored in a professional coaching environment. (ie, Jose Mourinho). Is Mourinho an A? I don’t know. Can he coach kids? I don’t know.
And you are correct, Thiku. I have studiously tried to implement such a system with my teams with very good RELATIVE success (we’re doing it much much better than any other club in the area) but I have no illusions that professional Barca coaches are light years ahead on what they see and teach as compared to me. But you have to start somewhere and be humble enough to know that you are just scratching the surface, that every training session your kids can teach YOU something about how to do something better, and that there are people out there who are better than you at what you do so seek them out and learn from them. But, at the same time, don’t be afraid to try to do the right thing in the right way, even if you fall short of the ideal.
“Wouldn’t more be served by spreading the gospel than typing some rants?”
It’s tough when you have been kicked out of youth organizations. How do you reach out to DOCs, coaches, parents? They all think you’re crazy. I tell them come get professional coaching for FREE.
I try to give parents options but they just ignore me.
I don’t think you need professional experience to get B+ or higher. My son’s kindergarten teacher is an A+. There is no need to compare her with high school or college teachers.
Mourinho is an A when coaching European professionals. Could he coach USA or Canadian players, maybe not. I believe a successful coach has to be culturally connected with their players. Goes back to personality, communication, charisma, and leadership.
As Joan Vila, the technical director of the Catalan Soccer Federation who spent more than two decades with the Barcelona as a player and a coach, said, “It is so difficult to reproduce our model. In reality, our idea of play could be transportable without problems, but what nobody thinks about is the difference between “copying” and “understanding”. Nobody thinks about this. People from all over the world come to see the training sessions of Barca and they can take all the notes they want. ‘Three touches, then one touch, one without defenders, two defenders, 30 meters, 40 meters’, but to copy a training session does not equal copying the idea because the language possesses many things in its interior.”
“I have seen trainers come from half a world away to attend training sessions for Infantiles and Cadetes. They take notes of the exercises, ask questions of the coaches from the club, but it will be difficult for them to successfully extract all the keys of this very peculiar philosophy. And if they do it, even more difficult will be if they can harness all the energy of an club, all the will of the coaches and the players to follow a model so unique and atypical. For all of them, many complications wait for any potential imitator of this language”, says Vila. “What are they trying to accomplish? What are the fundamentals? What are the soccer concepts that this or that exercise is designed to work on? How do you accomplish an objective through an exercise? If you desire to improve something, you must have two or three methods that you can use, so that the player really understands the underlying basis for improvement. For instance there are the triangulations that they will try to institute but that bore so many others. But it is the triangulations, the tiki-taca, that possess very deep content of supporting a team mate, solidarity, fooling the opposition by showing one way in order to leave them behind. This is to say, there is much contained within the idea. And to copy by rote makes no sense. It’s one thing to see a training session and a whole different thing to understand the training session. This, definitely, is the big difference.”
Absolutely 100% on the money!!!!!!
That is why there is so much to write about, talk about, and demonstrate (video). The process on this site has barely begun.
This is one of my favorite video sites:
http://www.allasfcb.blogspot.com/
It has a lot of videos with some nice basic tactical/movement. I use the videos for my boys to watch pointing out various movements (that were not necessarily the point of the original video) that we go over in practice. I use videos like this in conjunction with “FC Barcelona: A tactical Analysis” by Terzis Athanasios to teach my boys specific movements in conjunction with various keep away/small sided games.
Hincha, thanks for the link. That’s why I’m here.
Hincha, love this…what nobody thinks about is the difference between “copying” and “understanding”.
Any clown (DOC) can copy a training session. It’s takes intelligence to understand.
Completely agree with comments about the need for discipline. Players just can’t go around doing what they want. Need right mix of freedom, discipline, and teamwork.
So many variables that influence soccer. Hard to master them all as a player and coach. And that’s why I love the beautiful game so much. Always room to get better. The players who never wanting to stop learning with a passion for the game are the ones who go far. Same can be said about coaches.
“The players who never wanting to stop learning with a passion for the game are the ones who go far.”
Kana, can I buy some of these players from you? Where are they?
I wish we could create a player pool outside of US Club so we can borrow and train them. It’s tough working with players who don’t have the talent and/or desire to work hard.
Players who tink they are elite but don’t have the mental capacity to reach that level is just as big an issue as improper coaching.
Wish I knew those players too! My son is into soccer and has said for years he wants to be a pro, but he is far from the passion needed to play at highest levels. Too into PS3, iPhone, and playing games on Internet.
Glad to hear I am not the only father with this challenge. Sounds like my son is in the same boat as your son.
I told my kids to sit down and watch a Euro Cup game. They replied, “We have better things to do with our life” Damn kids 🙂
Why are ppl so down on DOC’s in USA? It seems like they are useless twits if you believe the internet. There have to be some very good ones out there? Surely the majority know what they are doing? The Technical Directors (what we call DoC’s in BC) are all very capable that I’ve met and when they run sessions/teams/evaluations do an excellent job. They all have similar standards/experience to the American DOC’s I’ve come across.
I imagine the biggest issue is not DOC’s but rather the volunteer coaches and other “well meaning” coaches that don’t adequately understand development etc. And this issue will only be resolved when more and more professional teams are developing full u6-u18 programs, and a proper u19-u23 reserve program to supplement a first team – as well as residency.
ThiKu, in my area DOCs run the show. They get paid and charge the high prices for club soccer. They are ultimately responsible for all the crap. They decide the future of players and coaches. Many have little soccer experience and intelligence.
I was told, “every DOC should be fired and take an administrative position”
I am a volunteer coach and I have never met anyone like myself in youth soccer.
If these guys have “little soccer experience and intelligence” then why are they being hired? Furthermore, why are the paying members of the club allowing them to continue in their role? After all, club boards, presidents, DOC’s are employees of the parents who pay the fees for their child to be at the club. If they aren’t providing the service as required/demanded then they should be removed and held accountable. Now this is a fine line b/c the vast majority of the parents “have no clue” but you know what I mean.
You identified the problem in your final sentence. Even good clubs can easily loose their way when the “clueless” majority claim too much power.
DOC’s have the experience, they often have high level playing experience, and typically licences. Unfortunately most of them do lack the intelligence soccer wise, but are excellent con-artists making, there are a lot of things they do that sound nice to well intentioned parents that don’t really understand. The playing experiences and the licences are one of them by the way, these are clearly not a bad thing, but it also doesn’t mean that they really know how to coach. Then there are things like affiliations where they say they use certain training programs, where either the programs suck but sound nice, or they don’t know how to implement them. Another example off the top of my head is “cool” team names, preferably you try to get a professional team to allow you to wear their uniforms, getting nothing in return except higher fees, and a cool name. If you can get the professional name, you simply add “select” or “elite” or “premier” to make people concieve that they are “select”, “elite”, or “premier” level teams and players, when they really aren’t. These are the reasons people don’t like DOC’s because most of them do these things, not all but most. At the same time though, is it really hard to blame them, their only incentive is to keep bringing in more checks, they get paid the same if every team wins a national championship or if every team gets knocked out of the first round of division 3 regionals. They also get paid the same if 0 players play college or pro or if all of them play college or pro. I’m not saying I would do these things if I was a DOC, because I think you can both win and get people on board with you while doing things the right way, but at the end of the day, it’s easier and less risky to do all these things to make sure that they keep their jobs and put food on the table. It is totally opposite in other countries where none of these cons work because you are not after checks from parents, you are after keeping your job, and the only way you keep your job is by winning and producing quality players.
Kevin, I agree with you.
Which team is the best from this club?
XXX Club 03 Select 1
XXX Club 03 Select 2
XXX Club 03 Elite 1
XXX Club 03 Elite 2
XXX Club 03 Elite 3
XXX Club 03 Elite 4
XXX Club 03 Premier
Answer: They all suck!
Kevin, well said. Most clubs in my area are simply a collection of teams that all wear the same uniforms and have fancy names. DOC is just a fancy title that gives them a bigger paycheck and a few more administrative tasks to make them look busy when not coaching their teams.
Seriously! Let’s make a collection of 3four3 teams and leave your clubs.
Do you guys have BALLS?
“After all, club boards, presidents, DOC’s are employees of the parents who pay the fees for their child to be at the club.”
Canadians are so innocent 🙂
Board members, president, TD are “puppets”. The DOC hires himself. Non-profit organizations are all about profits.
Must of the DOC’s I’ve run into suck!
“how close does one come to squeezing out the best in every player”
Not close at all. I have a very difficult time applying most of the information presented at coaching seminars, blogs, websites, etc. because it is too high level and requires advanced players.
I think coaches assume way too much. Most players I see under 12 are at the infancy stage. They are still learning how to walk. Most can’t even run in a straight line or tell the difference between left or right.
I don’t work with the top 1% so give me something I can use.
Isn’t the concept of trying to “squeeze out the best of every player” applicable regardless of age or level of play?
Obviously you must be the judge of what a player and team is capable of, and consequently do your best to:
1) select appropriate exercises
2) estimate what the proper execution looks like with respect to your players
We’ve coached at the lowest club levels.
I agree Gary. The key is to understand childhood athletic/psychological/emotional development and pick developmental appropriate exercises. At the youngest age levels its going to be a lot of technical work (if they don’t already have it) and small sided games (its picking and implementing appropriate games that is key). As you gain coaching experience from hundreds then thousands of hours of work (and its the only way to get to be a good coach, like everything in life there are no shortcuts) you gain experience on what to expect, what works, what doesn’t, how to modify an exercise to get the required result. But you’re always analyzing and tweeking your system, your exercise based on your players to optimize the desired effect of every drill/exercise/game you do. You don’t just throw out on exercise and not think about how its going and how to make it better. And at first there will be a lot of experimenting and learning on what exercises work, what doesn’t and what tweeks to do (just because a book says its good doesn’t necessarily make it so for what you are trying to accomplish). Don’t be afraid to try new things but be ready to know how change/modify them if they aren’t getting the desired effect (but don’t forget the “beans on a plate” theory of Pep Guardiola and others at Barca: like beans on a plate, if you just let them sit for a while they will settle themselves into their natural positions after a while. In other words, don’t be too quick to jump in on an exercise (or game situation) that doesn’t seem to be working. Give the players a chance to settle and figure it out.
Gary, you are definitely right. I just want to squeeze too much too fast.
Dr Loco, it sounds like you may be making the mistake I made for many years. I spend most of my time coaching at the recreational soccer level between the ages of 5-14). I realized a few years ago that I was setting the bar too low for my kids and doing a disservice to them. I have found over the last few years that the higher I set the bar the higher they achieve. You are right there are limits to how fast you can go and how far you can get. Just don’t limit your expectations to the lowest common denominator.
Wolfgang, this is what I do take recreational players and develop them so they can compete against competitive teams. It’s not easy but fun when it works.
Does anyone want to start a decentralized soccer club with a flat-structure?
Dr Loco, sounds like we are following a similar path. I know I have had greater and lesser degrees of success with my rec teams. Some of it is due to my own abilities and limitations and some of it is different kids want different things from soccer.
Gary,
Are you or your brother going to be at Region IV Regionals next week in Phoenix?
Also, just for interests sake, wondering what Argentinian team are you guys “fanaticos” of? I personally will always be extremely appreciate of Pellegrini for the wonderful River teams he coached in 2003-04 and “El Loco” Bielsa for his Newell’s teams, and I can’t remember what coach led the Velez Sarsfield teams from a few years back. All successful, attacking, stylish teams.
Is there an academy (associated with a professional team or not) in Argentina that you also look to for inspiration/guidance who seems to regularly produce great players themselves (and not poach other teams players)?
Unfortunately there are no regionals for U11.
Hopefully we win our State Cup next year. 🙂
Brian: River Plate
Myself: Velez of the 90s under Bianchi, and through Chilavert’s tenure.
Don’t know about “fanatico” though …
No specific Argentine academy we study. And I haven’t really looked into the details of “poaching” down there, but I know the ‘big clubs’ are always getting players from the ‘smaller clubs’. I also know a whole bunch of clubs can boast having had eventual international and world class players in their youth programs.
How many Doc’s or Technical Director’s have put together curriculum for their clubs from PeeWee Academies thru their youth ranks? How many continually educate their staff in implementing those curricula? How many coaches actually have written training plans that follow the clubs training plan and furthermore have tools in place where those coaches can analyze their training sessions and critique themselves on what worked, what didn’t, how can I make this drill more functional, how can I communicate better with my players, etc? How many DOCs and TDs go out and analyze and work with their coaches on training sessions? I think this is a very small number from what I have observed. Aren’t these fundamental to building a real system within a club. Hell, US Soccer doesn’t even have this within their own ranks. We have closed training camps and local coaches aren’t even allowed to watch. It is not possible to overlay a club philosophy on a staff if certain parameters are not in place and unfortunately this is where 95% of all youth clubs in the US fail.
I was thinking about this very problem and was going to ask Gary to make it a topic of a future post. Who out there is coaching coaches? The licensing programs out there only provide coaches with a toolbox of drills and approaches. Just like players need ongoing and regular observation and guidance to improve, coaches need to be observed and critiqued by someone with more experience so they can continue to grow and improve. Watching one game or practice session doesn’t do the trick. Ongoing and regular feedback is needed.
This is one man’s opinion, informed by a few years recently with two kids in select soccer, plus a lifetime observing and playing the game.. So others will surely have differing perspectives.
I think any club that has a TD or DOC that is primary coach for more than one team, sets him up to accomplish very little beyond “his” team. Talk is cheap. If you have a philosophy, and don’t spend the time teaching, observing and critiquing your staff, what’s the point of a DOC/TD?
I agree, I do not understand at all how a doc wouldn’t have a regular dialogue with all the coaches in the club and hold occasional coaches meetings to make sure everyone is on the same page. They instead just seem to get through the day to day grind with no real plan it’s quite bizarre really. This is why you hardly if ever see a club and see the doc or coaches stamp, there is no identity. Quality should and will change from team to team but when you see a club that you know well regardless of age you should be able to clearly identify the way that they play. I have never seen this once in Florida and it is shocking!
If soccer clubs were companies most would go out of business. They charge too much money and produce a bad product. There is no quality control. Bad customer service with NO REFUNDS.
^Shulz Academy seems to have a pretty good rep for DOC involvement and style of play don’t they? What about Weston as well?
Up here in the Northwest the Crossfire group seems to be relatively consistent across the top teams in their club. And in my province of BC, there is one club called Coquitlam Metro-Ford that plays a very consistent style throughout their top teams. Obviously, as with most clubs, all 2nd tier and down teams are generally on their own – reason? There are only so many “qualified” coaches and as such are generally coached by a parent of the team. Nothing against them, but that should only be the case at rec levels.
You might be right ThiKu. There seem to be a few clubs in the Seattle area that are more robustly organized. I am not willing to cut them slack with the 2nd tier teams though. IF you are not going to give direction to those teams then why take the same money from those players and parents? Yes the coaches might not be your top coaches so they should be developed as well at least to the level that they can prepare players for the opportunity to make the top team and fit into the club system.
I am in Portland and unfortunately our clubs a way behind. Before Clive Charles passed away the FC Portland club was headed in the right direction. But when they lost his leadership they lost their way.
Do they charge the same for 2nd tier and lower? Up here in BC there is a price set for 1st tier, a lower price for 2nd tier, a general price for 3-5th tier, and then rec soccer is either the same as or lower than 5th tier. Which makes sense.
The only reason I give somewhat of a pass to the 2nd tier and down teams is b/c of who they generally have available to coach. As well, DOC’s are generally giving attention to the first tier teams. In that sense, each club should prob have a 1st-2nd tier DOC and then a 3rd-rec tier DOC, and those two DOC’s work together to build a club-wide strategy/technique. Problem is of course financing that. Rec kids aint’ gonna wanna pay more for some coach to coach their coaches, and the rec and lower tier coaches aren’t going to want to attend sessions and meetings because they are doing it for their kid and just want to be there for that reason.
It’s not as simple as saying “DOC’s suck.” There is much more to it.
ThiKu, yes it is simple. Everything about soccer should be SIMPLE. DOCs suck, clubs suck, parents suck, coaches suck. There is no reason to tolerate it.
Maybe Canada is better but not the US.
Gary,
Looking beyond win/loss is your post. Most clubs and coaches talk about “development” but they only care about wins. We have too many win-addicts and not enough marathon runners. Short term gratification is much better than long-term successes. Why? Partly becasued club soccer has no financial gain in getting a player to pro ranks. Clubs pump out college prospects; not players looking to step into a professional side B-team as it is everywhere else. This goes back to my posts about college soccer. We can talk all we want about DoCs, coaches, licensing, continuing education, etc — as long as the “so what” of club soccer is college soccer: we will continue to flounder. We have system of risk / reward. No system to funnel our best prospects to the highest levels of soccer learning. And college isn’t it! Until some sort of financial gain can be give to clubs related to developemnt and placement of top talent, why should they bother? If they get scholarships, they are successful. That’s what’s wrong! Going to college is great . . . if you want to be a white collar worker. But s pro soccer player???
“as long as the “so what” of club soccer is college soccer: we will continue to flounder”
Kana, I don’t believe college soccer is at fault. It’s the lack of understanding from parents, players, and coaches. DOCs propragate lies and myths.
You say, “No system to funnel our best prospects to the highest levels of soccer learning.”
If you want to be the best I have no problem leaving the US for advanced learning. Most of the kids I coach are immigrants. I think many would go outside the US to become a professional soccer player.
Top athletes want to compete with the best. We are in an international world. Maybe 20 years ago it was difficult but not now.
Dr. Loco — Agree it’s easier now than 20-years ago. IMHO, college soccer plays a role, but one day our best talent (ones who prefer to seek a pro career ahead of an education) should go overseas. But i’d say it’s still 99% college. I belive USA needs a “system” for those not interested in college and don’t need to go to Europe. I know that’s asking a lot, but it would be nice. And going to Europe poses issues with passport / work permit rules of EU. So USA does in fact need viable alternative. Maybe what FC Toronoto is doing (a real European style academy) is way forward as is regional IMG-type centers of excellence.
Whitecaps FC have a much more “European style academy” than do Toronto in that they have a residency program. That being said, Toronto need not invest in an academy b/c they have serious talent living within a close(ish) drive to their practice facility due to large population. Vancouver have to reach much further for top-end talent (ie, Bryce Alderson and Russell Teibert, both from Ontario).
TFC have a great academy though and most of their HG signings have worked out. A few have been signed and not played but are still about 18 years of age, so no rush there.
Why do you focus on European style of doing things? Why overseas?
We are in the Americas. Is it because of the British influence? Is that all we know?
I hear Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile have excellent training and developmental programs for top players.
Students from all over the world come to universities in the US, some as high as 40%. They come because the US is the best. What’s wrong with US players going outside to get professional training if we are not the best?
Hi Kana,
That’s what the following post implied:
http://blog.3four3.com/2011/03/05/requirement-for-mass-soccer-player-development/
And I also agree college soccer isn’t the fault. Not sure it’s anyone’s fault. USA soccer is maturing and I’m offering up options to improve. Our system is what it is and college is major path to pro. I think that needs to change and American kids need domestic alternative other than college. And NPSL or USL are a level or two behind European model.
Gary,
A post I’d like to see is “how does a coach provide environment to promote creativity, vision, unpredictability”? This goes back to quotes about curiosity being more important than knowledge. How do we spark curiosity and the confidence in young players to mature into a Neymar or Messi? Or is that style of play not fitting of USA? Maybe we’re more German, where a well-oiled machine is our style?
I look at Mexico (U23 and younger) and they have that certain “it”, that flair we don’t have. Why is that? Does saying “White Men Can’t Jump” come into play? Maybe we lack the rhythm or maybe we don’t allow players that level of freedom at younger ages due to club soccer stifling it? Can’t Samba with chains on your feet.
Why is it Spain and Argentina play so fluid, interchanging positions, quickness of dribble, and constant movement? Why is USA not producing that? We talk about many scapegoats, but what truly are root causes? Can’t blame it on everything. The 80/20 rule almost always applies. What is the 20% contributing to 80% of USA’s inability to produce a Neymar or play like Argentina? This sort of stuff fascinates me and I like to think about it and would love to hear other viewpoints.
Off top of my head, some things that bother me in US soccer:
• Playing 11 v 11 too early. Small-sided games forces players to touch the ball numerous times. Can’t hide out in defense booting ball up-field. Do that up to about 12 or older as other countries do. Encourage freedom to dribble . . which creates up next problem . . .
• Don’t keep score until at least U12. This creates the focus on winning. Again, this is how many countries do it. Once we remove “W” from the mind, it opens up willingness to let players play and learn for themselves through mistakes and not worrying about losing the game or being demoted to lower division. The focus then becomes development rather than rewarding Wins.
• More time at practice spent on individual skills vice tactics, especially at younger ages where ball master should be #1 focus.
I know this won’t happen as it impacts the almighty dollar as our system is currently based, but i can still hope.
“White Men Can’t Jump” and they can’t do other things either.
Yes! We talked about that ready.
It goes back to culture, color, ethnicity, economics. Soccer is not a rich man’s sport but a sport of the common lower working class.
Find the kids in the urban areas and you will get the “ghetto syle” dancing soccer in your face! Stay away from rich, bland suburbia unless maybe if you need stoic defenders and a huge goal keeper.
Ask Kephren he knows all about it.
“USA vs Guatemala: Clint Dempsey Saves USA but Other Scorers Will Need to Step Up ”
Clint Dempsey is “ghetto style” and the best player in the US.
This is completely misguided and absolutly ridiculous to neglect an entire culture in the country!!! The bullshit argument that white suburban guys can’t play the beautiful game can be put to bed very quickly just off the top off my head with Samir Nasri, and Kaka. Both affluent upbringings, and white, both abolutely brilliant trequartistas. It is not about skin color, let’s not become France in the 2010 World Cup. Environment is what makes the player not skin color. It pisses me off that you could hate somebody and throw them to the wolves in the soccer or world, or any world simply because of income or skin color. This is about creating brilliant soccer players and nothing else, and all races and all types of people are capable of being both horrible and brilliant players.
Color of your skin is such a touchy subject in the US.
Nasri is Algerian heritage. Isn’t that Africa? Kaka is Brazilian.
What’s your point?
What cultures are you neglecting in this country? Black, Latino, Indian, Asian, Italian, Afghan?
Culture and color are inextricably linked.
“all races and all types of people are capable of being both horrible and brilliant players”
That is definitely true just ask NFL and NBA players.
Love that Jeremy Lin. Can’t stand that fool Floyd Mayweather.
Kana, do the Barcelona boys look German? Do they look like the USMNT? Do they look like MLS teams? Do they look like college teams?
That’s a big NO. They might look like Cal FC.
Explain to me Ben Lederman then, a white kid from America, he must really suck huh? Wearing number 10 for Barcelona’s youth academy’s A team.
Ben is probably more Spanish by now.
Color doesn’t decide everything. It’s just a factor. Different colors can cross over to different cultures. For example, latino and white kids can join the blacks as seen in the hip-hop and reggaeton culture.
Urban culture. Think about it.
Use the 3 C’s in selecting players – culture, color, character.
Idiotic comment
This is a ridiculous remark. Dr. Loco, you really need to parse your thoughts more. As I understand your point, we shouldn’t have tryouts– just look at the kid’s skin and eye color, home address, and parent’s birth certificate to decide whether you want to pick him up or not. Good luck with that. Adolfo. That’s not why I came to this country.
Now you are wasting our time here.
What if they are Latino but can’t dance? Confusing situations abound?
You can choose to ignore what I say. That’s fine or you can choose to understand it. If something is a fact and you consider it idiotic does that make you right?
Check out the “Dream Team”
http://www.8and9.com/blog/the-dream-team-documentary-video/
8 blacks (67%)
4 whites (33%)
Soccer’s dream team would be
15 black/brown (65%)
8 white (35%)
It’s just simple math.
Fascinating analysis.
I’m assuming latinos are brown. Where does that leave asians and indians? Or are your categories just white and other, ignoring the vase differences between the cultures and races lumped in as other? But anyway.
Anyway, the dream team had zero latinos (or asians or indians) that I am aware of.
Does it therefore follow that a soccer dream team would also feature zero latinos, asians, or other non-black or white players? You know, since the representation on race should be assumed to be the same in both cases?
If not, then on what assumption do we go forward and say the introduction of “brown” to the “brown/black” category should continue to be about the same? You know, since we are throwing in several unrepresented races into the mix when moving from basketball and soccer, why do the percentages hold in any form or fashion.
Why not just go on the quality of each individual player and also recognize that players across culture can learn from and eventually play like each other.
You know, like the famous Dutch coaches greatly influencing Barcelona club. Now, Spain plays more in the traditional Dutch fashion than Spain, and ironically present-day Dutch plays more in the fashion of traditional Spain.
You have some baggage to get over, man. Which is cool – I just hope like hell you aren’t coaching any “non-browns”, given your attitude.
Or could it be th
So just throw technique, insight and communication out the door for culture, color and character? Yeah, I’m sure that’s the entire idea that Johan Cruyff built things upon.
“So just throw technique, insight and communication out the door for culture, color and character?”
No that’s just too simplistic. Come on. You still have to coach players. Try reading between the lines and don’t take it so literally.
This is the problem with youth coaches I see. There is too much rigidity and not enough flexibility in their approach.
I have plenty of flexibility in my approach. This is a forum where what you mean must be communicated in written words. It is you who put down the simplistic idea in your post. Don’t try to throw your poorly communicated idea back at me.
I agree that technique is very important but I think as early as u9 or u10 you can start introducing players to 2v1 situations and helping them discover why certain techniques work and don’t work in certain situations. Technique + game intelligence = true skill.
Hi Kana,
There is a lot to write about with respect to “creativity”.
Interestingly it has virtually nothing to do with the things that are typically cited (some of which you’ve shared).
Culture is the fundamental culprit.
But we can’t just throw that word “culture” around without deconstructing exactly what’s going on.
I have not seen anybody really do that. In fact, most of the “culture problem definitions”, while logical, are wrong.
Kephern’s theme in this regard, is most on point.
I also know where Dr Loco is coming from, but culture is the driver. For instance, there are “white boys” that can play, but why? Why is it the exception? And how much impact can a coach really have when it comes to “creativity”?
I’m going to take these topics head on. But it’s not going to be settled in one post.
“And how much impact can a coach really have when it comes to “creativity”?”
I think the answer to that question really depends on the age with which you are working. 15 and up, probably not much. Even by 10-14 a their personalities are already developed in a lot of respects. With younger players though I do think coaches have an enormous influence in the development of creativity. No, you can’t create it out of whole cloth, but coaches can foster it, encourage it, reward it, and hold it out as a model; or they can stifle it, criticize it, reward only results, encourage “safety first” mentality in play, and otherwise make kids afraid to fail, afraid to try.
In our program there are kids that I’ll work with from age 4 1/2 to 9 years old. Among them are a dedicated few that I’ll see 3+ times per week for up to 2hrs a session. The style of play that I encourage, and the things I discourage; what I choose to praise or not to praise, to correct or not to correct, … over time has a huge impact on the type of players they’ll become. Consistently praising attempts at creative solutions to game situations (be it by individual skill, off the ball movement, combination play) — even when they fail — goes a very long way. In fact for the fragile ego of a young player, praise when something like that fails is even more important than when it succeeds. It seems so simple and yet at this critical, formative age, so many coaches get it so wrong – either b/c they know nothing about how the game is played at the highest levels or, even worse, what they do know is restricted to the English style and they end up parroting all of those idiotic commentators we have to suffer through on ESPN this month.
Helping them pick their role models is another part of it. A one-two or multi-pass sequence will be rewarded with a comment on how they look like Barcelona. A player making a jinking run will be called “Messi”, some step-overs and he’ll get a “Ronaldo”, gliding around a player with “la croquete” will be called “Iniesta”, and so on … Something truly genius with a generous amount of flair gets the “dinho” suffix at the end of their name. Just as one of your teams – where you have a “little Neymar”. It is both a reward and incentive. It communicates to all of the players what type of player you like, which is what they will try to become.
Someone explain this: why is Rocky Marciano “The Last Great White Hope” in boxing?
Can any color, race, ethnicity or whatever you want to call it excel in boxing?
Why is US soccer so afraid to change? Do you want to be good or continue being bad?
What is wrong with a USMNT that is primarily black and brown sprinkled with a few whites?
Am I blind or did I just describe football and basketball???
Do want soccer to be like tennis, golf, gynmastics and swimming? Personally I don’t have that kind of money.
I’m not afraid to change. I just prefer not change towards poor assumptions and borderline rascism.
“Klinsmann is asserting that in addition to the emphasis on education and the college game in the US, soccer is a rich kid sport, while in the rest of the world it’s a poor kid sport. ”
Who is rich and who is poor in this country? It’s not about racism. Open your eyes.
Amen.
Dr. Loco – You weren’t talking about who’s rich and who’s poor. You were talking about skin color. There are a lot of people of all colors who are poor in this country. WAKE UP!
“There are a lot of people of all colors who are poor in this country. WAKE UP!”
In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians.
Please educate yourselves if you wish to improve.
You write this like it proves your point. Far from it. It shows poverty is disparately distributed but it is far from showing there are not ‘a lot of people of all colors who are poor.’
There are 38M Black people in the US. 27% of that figure is just more than 9M.
There are 14M Asian. 12% of that figure is just more than 1.4M
There are 220M White people in the US. 10% of that figure is 22M.
There are 50M Latino people in the US, 26.6% of that figure is about 13M
There are substantial numbers of all races, and excluding a percentage as high as 10% from quality soccer development environments is a shame, much less percentages greater than 25%. But, any figure in the millions or tens of millions is nonetheless a great deal to write off as not a lot.
I do get you are frustrated, but it is far from admirable for that frustration to be misplaced, and especially since as a youth coach you are dealing with children who had no part in the problems of our society you have to check that stuff at the door (or sideline). Period.
Talking about revolution. Bad. Giving kids opportunities regardless of race. Good.
“Giving kids opportunities regardless of race. Good.”
EXACTLY!
Where did I say anything about percentages? Let me help you out with what you quoted from me:
“There are a lot of people of all colors who are poor in this country. WAKE UP!”
So why didn’t you educate yourself and tell me the straight number of poor people by race? Clearly because you wanted to twist the facts to go against my factual statement. Eric already cleared things up for you though.
How Racist Are We? Ask Google
Race and Ethnicity
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/race/index.html
UWM Soccer Coach Fired
Coach Chris Whalley Accused Of Using Racial Slurs
According to an African-American player, Whalley once said in practice to “keep the thinking up to the white people.”
Racism has been part of the US since the beginning.
Gary, write a blog about racism in soccer. Sorry to get off the topic.
Dr. Loco has gone LOCO. Choosing a player by the color of his skin is racist.
“Choosing a player by the color of his skin is racist.”
Finally someone agrees! Please tell that to all the coaches in the US.
Interesting debate happening here. Dr. Loco i understand some of your points but they can be misconstrued by saying only color is the determing factor. When actually culture is based on the environment you live in that bring a group of people of together that define them. Case in point I’m African American who grew up in military family for the 1st 5yrs of my life (so i moved around a lot) and then all of a sudden divorce and all of the sudden i left a cozy suburb for rural predominantly black North Carolina. I was told i talk “white” not black enough etc.
Me being dark skinned thought wait that’s stupid but pretty much my culture was driven by my environment. So when i came there they did things differently because the culture was derived more from black people, they had a certain style, music etc and so i grew up in that as well. Eminem grew up in a neighborhood similar to the one i did so thats what makes him be who he is, but without him growing up in a black hip hop centric culture he’s not the Eminem we see today.
So why do i say that, is to think about who are the most overlooked cultures when it comes to building the American Soccer Culture, Latinos and African Americans (in my opinion). I’m not talking about picking players for teams either, i mean “CULTURE”. Meaning that soccer currently in the US is seen mainly through a white suburban view, so Gary’s post about diving riled up most ppl from there, where latinos may have seen it differently. Again no problem with either but culturally have different views. If you can see we have not included or sought to build our soccer culture from Latinos or African Americans because 1st (let me be honest) Latinos there is a underlying racism i see from US Soccer in letting them into the American soccer fabric….pretty much US Soccer is scared to put them in charge because they couldn’t culturally control them, because they would dictate change in views across the whole board and that is not acceptable for those at the top. 2nd the African American I look at Brazil and think man i see Neymar’s, Dinho’s in the hood all time chilin but they don’t who they are why??? Well have we actually sought to see how an African American would see the game??? Or do we show up doing clinics, putting them in drills etc. They have to relate, they have to wait for this…….”FEEL” the game. What i do with Joga is make the game their own, even in the black hip hop culture, in DC they do it like this, but in NY its like this etc.
For Dr. Loco those from Latin culture many times “Feel” the game when they play together i see it in my youth teams when 2 kids from Latin backgrounds come together and have an immediate connection in their play. It doesn’t mean though that another kid from another culture can’t but, it does help define a style of play if the players culturally come from the same background. In Joga VA mostly suburban I play hip hop at our street soccer and i got white, black, latino, african etc dancing but that’s because i started a culture that was absent. In Joga DC inner city black children when it becomes culturally acceptable, than accessible than the game will take off from there because it will become more than a game to them it will define them.
You know when Brazil took over: The poor blacks and whites took the game from rich mostly white and started to play the game the way they saw it, so u see the samba skills etc, they do that in the hood, not in the burbs, so we can get One-offs, but really until those cultures pretty much do it themselves US Soccer won’t let them in….
There are two sets of issues that are being bundled together.
One set is based on cultural and socioeconomic issue – which kids have a desire to work hard and improve themselves (this is largely a parenting, culture issue but also a socioeconomic issue, that is experiencing abundance as a child, being spoiled can contribute to a weakened work ethic when not checked by cultural and parenting controls), which kids want to learn the sport of soccer vs other sports (this is largely a cultural issue), which kids have access to the best facilities, development opportunities such as camps, ODP, etc. (another socioeconomic issue).
The other set deals with the creation and transfer of tacit knowledge. This is basically an cultural and social anthropological issue. For the same reason it will take China decades to sail a navy with the same expertise as traditional seafaring nations despite tremendous investment, it is taking the prevailing US soccer infrastructure decades to mature. It takes generations – the first coached by daddy coaches supplemented by immigrants, then first-generation US players who become coaches, and then finally second-generation US players who were coached by competent American coaches – all the while process and infrastructure are put in place, competing philosophies meld into a coherent and compatible, if not universal, worldview. We are in between the second and the third phases of this process. The Latino community has no need for this process, they are historically grounded in the game. They have been “sailing” for generations. The community of white and black players and coaches are catching up.
It is nothing fundamental about races, it is everything fundamental with how cultures and societies are created, grow and mature, and then adapt or evolve.
You have to unbundle these two separate issues and understand the root causes.
Perfectly said, Eric. And it is compounded by the fact that over the last 30 or so years the soccer establishment (ODP, clubs, etc) have turned to Britain to supply the U.S. soccer scene with its few professional coaching jobs and for its guiding philosophy. It is changing now but there is still much influence from this legacy.
Hi Eric,
been meaning to reply to your post. I don’t think because we have 2nd generation coaches, players who want to play a certain style that that will all of a sudden produce a great soccer nation. A Country Gary brings up many times is England, has facilities, coaches, huge clubs etc, but something culturally seperates them and the rest of UK Islands from the rest of Western Europe in terms of play. Remember when all the UK missed the Euros LOL, i was so happy why, it showed they don’t know what hell they are doing, they have no clue…
I think you all agree with me that English soccer views and values are mainly driven from an Anglo Saxon point of view. I don’t think many other cultures really influence english soccer, correct me if i’m wrong.
Germany has pointed out to its direct out-reach and recruitment of Turkish players has led to a new multicultural Germany and has improved their style of play somewhat.
France was the same, zidane, thuram, etc There’s a culture behind their style of play that binds them together, that over time will not come from the suburban culture because i really feel they do not live for it, breathe, live for it. I started my club in the burbs i’m been able to convince a great group of ppl to believe in it, but a majority of my talent that plays 7 days a week is foreign, latino, middle east, african etc…There will of course be one-offs but remember we are competing with Argentina’s, Brazil’s those kids dream about being Messi and Pele’s do we really have enough kids in the burbs wanting that?
You mentioned this: “The community of white and black players and coaches are catching up.”
The Black Players or black culture in soccer has not even started. Walk to any city ask who messi is, they don’t know, they don’t know the game. Those who get lucky like i did to play get sucked into this dumb your black, fast, and strong rhetoric that pretty much doesn’t produce the right players for the top level (marvel wynne anyone). We have not defined the African American style of play yet, it has not been defined in our hoods yet, when it does, the game will go beyond a game, to a passion, to a livelihood. That’s why you have durant and lebron, after kobe, after mj, after magic, after kareem, after wilt etc….bball means so much to the african american community whether urban, rural, or suburban. When Afr. Americans weren’t allowed to play with whites they took they game made it their own, change the way it looked and when they let us in we took over! Now that sounds scary to US Soccer and doesn’t take 4-5 generations, takes about 20 years, of cultural awakening that leads to a style, passion, than coaching/preparation, than opportunity. That’s about how long Brazil went from Robotic English style football of the 1930’s to the 1950’s when Pele came along….
Now we have a HUGE Latino and immigrant influence about they want to play but the top doesn’t want that if they did they would see the gold mine in front of us, but they are dumb so they try to put their hopes only in winning rights to host world cups, oh well qatar changed that!
Interesting thoughts. Let’s pull the thread one more strand.
We are in agreement that the English (and Scottish) have exerted a substantial influence on the US game, particularly at the youth and club level.
Why is this so? Others can probably answer better than I, but I think the primary reasons are two-fold: 1) a ‘direct’ game fits a country that is relatively immature – that is, in the face of poor technical skills, the direct style is the best avenue to win 2) the Englishmen were most accessible to the suburban, club soccer movement as it emerged.
What would it take to reduce the prevalence of the English mentality? Well, a naive buyer does not have the knowledge to discern between good and bad products. It takes a savvy buyer to conclude that the ‘direct’ style has a very low ceiling and the total-futbol,tiki-taka style possession game offers a much higher ceiling BUT you can only take advantage of it with an expanded approach to development which emphasizes both increased individual technique and also cohesive team play (soccer IQ). That is a pretty nuanced conclusion – one the second generation is much more likely to find, as the second generation of coaches 1) has some inherent knowledge of the game, having grown up with it b) but is naturally looking ways to improve.
What is different about the US from England? England is limited by a group-think mentality. They are trapped by their own history, to a way of thinking. You may have seen some reviews of the England-France game – an an objective observer I thought they were run off the ptich. The English reaction held many favorable reviews of the traditional “English” goal, a wide arcing cross into a physically imposing target forward.
The US is much more heterogeneous than England. The US citizens are much more used to a melting pot of ideas and cultures. You noted that Germany and France benefited from melding multiple cultures and approaches together. That process is something the US is very used to and I believe is already in process within the soccer community.
To your last points, why don’t kids want to be great soccer players, or if they do, why is their work ethic wanting, once again you are bundling two different issues. The 2-3 generations rule deals with only one side of the coin – the process of improving coaching and instruction. The ‘player pool’ problem is a whole different issue.
Whether other cultures influence the English game, not as much maybe for the reasons I stated but look around and there are signs the English are totally ignorant of or resistant to the need to change. Several managers received high acclaim for fielding progressive tactics in the EPL this year, Roberto Martinez is widely regarded as having utilized a 3-4-3 to save Wigan from relegation over the back half of the season. Rodgers gained acclaim for employing a tiki-taka style at tiny Swansea and supposedly will be bringing that style to Liverpool.
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/rodgers-barca-and-tiki-taka
“it is taking the prevailing US soccer infrastructure decades to mature. It takes generations”
Eric, you are assuming this process is linear. Maybe that is the problem with US soccer. It does not have to be modeled like a manufacturing plant.
A process can be non-linear.
I made no such assumption. You have completely missed my point.
This is the exact opposite of a manufacturing plant. It is the creation and transfer of tacit knowledge within a human system.
What path could the US have taken, starting from zero tacit knowledge of the game in the suburban club system, than the one I described?
The race stuff is just idiotic, and what a way to turn off people from the game. Van Persie and Schweinsteiger look pretty white to me, and everybody thinks they are world class. Van Persie is the son of upper middle class artists. About as far away from the cultural influences you all are hung up on as one can. But he grew up in Rotterdam around lots of people who know soccer and he lived it, that’s the culture that is important.
Its more than a little disingenuous to associate Argentines with latino culture. Its a pretty white culture, white in an Italian way, but its not at all the mestizo culture of most of the rest of South America. And ask any Brazilian or Bolivian and you’ll get an earful about Argentina’s racism-not any better than the U.S. sort, maybe worse. Again the culture is soccer knowledge, not any particular ethnic background.
“The race stuff is just idiotic” … You know what they say about arguing with idiots.
Culture is soccer knowledge and DNA otherwise known as genetic makeup.
Please swap and replace the following terms (race, color, ethnicity) in my posts with DNA.
I don’t wish to be so radical. Unfortunately I feel a revolution requires blood shed ala Che.
Herein lies the problem I see in US soccer. The top 1% is selected and developed from the white subgroup of Americans. If we want to take a faster, non-linear approach to compete against the world’s best I recommend you select the top 1% from black, brown, white, yellow, etc subgroups. Over time (approx. 20 years) the best selection of players will emerge to create a dream team. That combination of players will come from culturally diverse backgrounds and provide the highest levels of skill, creativity, intelligence, and athleticism seen in the US to date.
You will see that after selecting the top 1% in every subgroup and developing them to be professional players, one subgroup will be dominate just like in other sports such as football and basketball.
Allow everyone an equal opportunity to compete so the nation as a whole can win globally.
I don’t know why I’m taking the bait. I guess I didn’t take sufficient note of Gary’s post on June 6.
But … I’m not sure if you are aware the things are not as black (or brown) and white as you are suggesting.
Look at the youth national teams. This page has a list of the US Men’s residency rosters since 1999. A pretty diverse mix wouldn’t you say? It certainly looks nothing like 99% white as you suggest.
Take the Cal FC guys. Several of those ‘undiscovered’ players had been in the national team pool at youth levels.
Problems in US soccer bad enough without obscuring or distorting.
1) Our instruction at the youth level (to all races, but Latino is relatively better) is poor and generally focuses on the wrong things, leaving players tactically underdeveloped and mentally underprepared.
Access to club, ODP etc are pay for play, limiting access to upper level instruction.
2) There is what Bruce Arena has referred to a ‘black hole’ in terms of development opportunities for elite players at around 17 years old (college isn’t a good enough development environment and pro opportunities are limited in number, and even there the reserve league and lower divisions are poor development environments). This is what bit the Cal FC guys, but newsflash, there are (plenty of) black and white players that were bit by the same problem.
3) The domestic professional league has a very low budget, and play is uninspiring and generally not entertaining, The league gets very little national coverage.
These are the problems. They face pretty much all races. There are factors like pay for play that are unfair, but when you consider the system that pay for play gets you into, it isn’t really that great of an advantage.
Sorry, the link I forgot to copy is
http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/Youth/US-Under17-Men/Residency.aspx
Yes, whites cannot play soccer! pssst — just don’t tell Germany, England, France, and Czech Republic teams that! hahaha. too many seekers and too few beacons….
“Racial divide driving a wedge into soccer’s grassroots”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2005/jun/17/ussport.football
“It’s black and white ”
http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/06/its-black-and-white.html
Interesting reading.
“Teams from the Valley are not running to East LA for games.”
Does anyone know how the games are played in East LA? It’s been many years since I’ve been there.
How are the coaches and players?
Yes, racism exists in the US and in US Youth soccer. And, it should and must be addressed. However, you still have to fix the other part of the problem – you have the same factory producing the players.
Spain has the highest ration of UEFA Pro Level coaches in the world with 1 for every 190 players and has an amazing total of 24,000 UEFA Pro, A and B coaches. Not surprising Spain has the best soccer, they have the best coaches!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/01/football-coach-shortage-england.
Lincoln, good article.
Spain, Italy, Germany have the most UEFA Pro Level coaches but is it because they have the most professional teams? Personally I do not feel you need professional coaches under the age of 14-15. Perhaps the US can become more like Brazil and Argentina. Don’t these countries produce the most footballers in the world? The young talent in the US can then be exported elsewhere for professional coaching.
We just need to get young coaches up to B grade level. The kids themselves can rise to about +2 grades above their coach at which point they can graduate and move on to a higher level coach internationally. Let’s focus on producing the raw talent first before changing the professional scene in the US.
^are you for real?