What gets us in trouble is that anyone, absolutely anyone, can be a “coach”. Everyone’s got thoughts and a narrative about the game. And no matter how ill-developed, incoherent, or superficial they may be, that falls into the philosophy bucket. Everyone’s got activities. And everyone can take a player, or two, or 22, and […]
Freestyle “let the kids play” versus Formal Structured Competitive
Both the ‘freestyle‘ game and the ‘structured‘ game are critical. But much like the rec & pro mindsets, each has their place. Freestyle This is the place for tons of experimentation and individual play. This is where you “let the kids play”. Where you: Dribble all you want Long ball all you want Play on […]
Chivas USA is a Lemon
In case you don’t follow us on Twitter or Facebook, we were in St. Louis, Ft. Lauderdale, and Indianapolis last week for the MAC Hermann award, MLS combine, and MLS superdraft, respectively. The most worthwhile thing to mention from the combine and draft is the comportment of Chivas USA. I think it’s safe to assume […]
Quality Pro Player Development or Recreation? People don’t know the Difference.
Before we go any further, something must be made clear. A line must be drawn between two camps: Those who ultimately view soccer as recreation. Those who are about creating professional footballers of the highest quality. Both have vastly different requirements. 1) Recreation This does not mean the ‘rec soccer community’ – as in reserved […]
Who Developed Him?
A player ‘makes it‘, and then everyone who’s ever touched him claims development credit. So who’s responsible? All of them? Some of them? None of them? And how can credit (or blame) be distributed? Age So at what age(s) was a certain player under the tutelage of a certain coach? Much is made of “the […]
Winter Camp for Ballers!
Similar to what we did last year in LA/Orange County, we’re thinking of getting some badasses together several days this month. Pros, college All-Americans, former youth National Team, and other ballers will be there. If you’re 17 and up and want to come out and get a flavor for this … you can! One Requirement 100% Commitment! […]
Jose Mourinho Documentary
Because what we stand for is genuine passion, and the genuine pursuit and study of excellence. This is a man with the courage to expose his humanity. To expose his inner self even if it transcends what others have outlined as acceptable. And that not only makes him remarkable, but I believe is the enormous […]
Matters of Circumstance
Who ‘makes it’ versus who doesn’t is just as much a matter of circumstance as it is a player’s quality. Ben Lederman wasn’t some phenom, out of this world, player. But before we proceed, let’s get something clear: he was a player with good qualities and potential before he left to Spain. And having seen him […]
Map to the Gold Standard (version 1) Infographic
This is going to be an iterative process. Here’s the base version containing fundamental requirements.
Truths in Soccer
Everything is not just a matter of opinion. Let’s go beyond the box scores… Let’s talk about the other truths: The probability of scoring from 40 yards, is lower than from 8 yards. The probability of dribbling by 1 defender is higher than dribbling by 2. The probability of connecting a 5 yard pass is […]