I believe anyone can make a difference.
But here we encounter the usual problem of language.
Why?
Well, because words break!
They ALL do, if driven hard enough.
Do you make a difference?
Depends on what you mean by difference, doesn’t it?
The Problem
The fact that words can be made to break, is at the heart of many, if not most or all, debates. And is the common tool of anyone protecting their worldview – you can always twist the meaning of a word to suit your position.
Or sometimes you’re not twisting the word itself, you’re morphing the context to fit the word.
The challenge then, to understanding each other, ourselves, and our environment, is to establish good boundaries to our context.
Yeah, easier said than done! Nonetheless, here I go …
What is the ‘difference’ you are making?
If you want to get real, you’ve got to appreciate these concepts:
- Magnitude
- Longevity
- Scale
In other words:
- How large is the change between what was, and what is (or will be).
- How long will it last?
- Is it to an individual? To a group? To a nation? To the globe?
These, I believe, help better frame the touchy subject of ‘who makes a bigger difference‘?
People like to be all warm and fuzzy and say nobody is more important than anybody else. But it’s simply not true when it comes to a well-defined matter.
Would you come to me for neurosurgery?
Soccer
What are the distinctions between the difference Sunil Gulati makes, and myself?
Or how about Jurgen Klinsmann and Brian Kleiban?
Clearly we think our work matters. But it’s not the same is it?
Or how about an exceptional rec coach versus a coach at the highest youth levels?
Both important yes, but different.
This is something so many people tend to lose sight of.
Steve Jobs’ impact on the iPhone, or the mobile industry, was not the same as a technician on the factory floor.
Context
If we are talking about MLS or the National Team fielding a quality product, who are the people that can make the greatest and most immediate impact?
It’s not me!
I can’t pick the rosters, hire coaches, or institute policy.
Similarly, there’s a distinction between the rec coach and the high level club coach. One is the gateway to college and pro ranks, the other not so much.
Of course ‘development’ should happen at every level, and of course every contribution influences. But there is a difference in magnitude and scale.
We have to know where we stand, to know where we’re going.
Exactly Gary! Which is why I like to blame USSF and ODP as much as possible. The USDA clubs develop the player, but its USSF and ODP that have the power and influence to identify players for National Team duty, which in turn helps them with pro opportunities and continuously improving our level of play and definition of a top US soccer player. But they need to do far better job of identifying players in the margin.
As I said in different thread, we don’t need more 6’3″ players or basketball power forwards or physical specimens. We need to up the ante on finding players with ridiculous ball skills, superior tactical awareness, the quick thinkers. Those should be our first 3 qualifiers for being on ODP or USSF National Pool. Things like speed, power, size are secondary discriminators. Until ODP and USSF turn that corner, they are not making a difference in terms of magnitude, scale, longevity.
They need to make the switch from La Furia to Matador like Spain did.
Kana,
I think the problem is not ODP or USSF as an institution; every country needs some type of national governing body per sport. I think the biggest problem is the older coaches (at all levels) who don’t understand modern football (what most people in this blog call possession game). I’ve seen it many times at the Region IV ODP tournaments and camps. There are so many skilled players with a strong foundation and intelligence. Those kids get less time on the field because the coaches prefer the the taller, bigger, more physical, and often, less skilled player…the prefer the game of probability; pick a big kid to kick the shit out of the ball 15 times and he might score 1 or 2 goals. I personally have given up on the whole ODP thing. What I do now is develop the kids so they can go overseas to play in Catalunya at the highest levels. It makes more sense to have talented (American) players go to a region in the world where, if they have the skill, they will be able to develop and compete at a much higher level, and actually become pros. There is little to no future in the US for skilled players…coaches like dinasours (big bodies and little brains) to go running after the ball…one year in Catalonia (Spain) with a top team in 1st division (youth) is better than 3 years anywhere els (and maybe 5 years in the US).
“We need to up the ante on finding players with ridiculous ball skills, superior tactical awareness, the quick thinkers. ” Do these players exist much with U13 and above? I know clubs in my area do not select specifically for these traits (as primary traits), unfortunately, and focus more on the fast physical players. Sure, it’s easy to blame the ODP and USSF but I think these players are often deselected before they even have a chance to be seen by the ODP. Those traits ultimately require others around you with similar traits otherwise those abilities won’t work. Put a tactical quick thinker with ball skills and surround him with a bunch of fast, physical players and he’ll likely be considered the weakest link on the team because those physical players aren’t able to play possession soccer and the type of game being played will make a quick thinker with tactical awareness just a weak player.
Exactly my point Mog!
Mog,
I skilled player with a strong modern football foundation is fast too; the problem is that most coaches don’t see past height…
Real tiki-taka is fast and requires players to be physically fit.
I’ve seen kids who are super stars in Argentina and Brazil go tryout for farm teams in Barcelona (e.g. RCD Espanyol)…they are talented and fast but don’t understand the tiki-taka game…they get to Barcelona and can’t touch the ball! I’m not talking about some rich kid that can get to Europe and tryout. I’m talking about kids that are already playing for Argentine and Brazilian top futbol base teams (what you call academy teams in the US). Coaches need to take more time in understanding modern football so they can teach correctly. And, it would help to have better evaluators at ODP to find those “diamonds in the rough” with the skills to take the US to the next level instead of continously picking the same old crappy athletic player to win some meaninless U14 international tour and then fail at every major int’l competition later on.
I have been following this blog for a while. A lot of good stuff in the early days. Thanks for that.
But the blog seems to start repeating itself nowadays.
For example, you can see these everywhere – Youth coaching is bad. Jungle ball is bad. High school and colleague soccer suck. U.S. soccer suck. Possession soccer is good. Actually we all know that.
If you really want to make a difference,please just share more real life coaching experience. We,youth coaches will learn and follow.
Cast, Agreed for the need to move on…everyone can rant, the reason we pay so much attention to Gary’s rants is that he has shown he can also deliver on the field, big time…hopefully he figures out a way and he is willing to expand the range and depth of his influence into more operative tools…the question is the most important thing here really are the principles…if people don’t understand, accept these principles it’s hard to move on. One of Gary’s constant themes has been the importance of a set tactical work. You have to accept this principle if you want to move on. But what that means in practical terms varies and changes…even between top quality teams…even within a top quality possession team…even within Barca…the principle is the foundation…you need a set tactical work:
“The foundation of any positional system is repetition. Identical placements are repeated again and again in the same phases of the game. Ronaldo and Reus, Borussia and Real defensive keys giving rise that each player, when and where it receives the ball, knows by heart the options he has. Such routine can lead to long-term predictability, hence all who choose this type of model (Van Gaal, Emery, Guardiola, Benitez …) are forced to change the system each season, but the agility in making decisions that develops in players compensates for that in their opinion.”
Abel Rojas, Ecos del Balon
http://www.ecosdelbalon.com/2012/10/borussia-dortmund-real-madrid/
“La base de cualquier juego de posición es la repetición. Se repiten colocaciones idénticas una y otra vez en las mismas fases del juego Ronaldo y Reus, claves defensivas de Borussia y Real dando pie a que cada futbolista, reciba donde reciba la pelota, sepa de memoria las opciones que tiene, dicho mal y pronto. Tanta rutina puede derivar en previsibilidad a largo plazo, de ahí que todos los que optan por este tipo de modelos (Van Gaal, Emery, Guardiola, Benítez…) se vean forzados a cambiar de sistema cada temporada, pero la agilidad en la toma de decisiones que suelen desarrollar en los jugadores les compensa -en su opinión, cabe añadir-. “
More on set tactical work from a master…the principle is always the same, the details vary…at youth level you could argue that maybe the details should be much more consistent, but then you need to make sure to find the right competitive level for you
“Does AZ (dutch champion under Van Gaal) plays like your Barca?
Van Gaal: The styles do not seem much because quality always commands. With Barca always played in rival camp, open, possession and pressing high up. In AZ I have good players but less quality, and quality is what sets the style if you want to be competitive. Now use a more defensive and we scored a lot of goals transitions at the counter.”
http://www.mundodeportivo.com/gen/20090425/53689568961/noticia/van-gaal-el-barsa-de-pep-juega-mejor-que-el-mio.html
“Ls estilos no se parecen mucho porque la calidad siempre manda. Con el Barça siempre jugábamos en campo rival, abiertos, con la posesión del balón y presionando muy arriba. En el AZ tengo jugadores buenos pero de menos calidad, y la calidad es lo que te marca el estilo si quieres ser competitivo. Ahora uso un sistema más defensivo y en las transiciones marcamos muchos goles, a la contra.”
Louis Van Gaal
Cast- You can learn a tremendous amount from reading everything on this blog. Is the content repetitive? Sometimes. Is it because of the initial post? Not really, in my mind. It’s dragged to the same topics over and over again as the threads grow.
With that said- you can learn a lot more from having an actual conversation with this ‘ranter’ we follow religiously. Gary was nice enough to sit with me during their games this weekend and discuss some interesting topics, explain what the teams are working on, and just shoot the shit for awhile. I can vouch, again, that this blog barely scrapes the surface of their work with these youth teams that we’re now very familiar with. And, again, this blog may or may not be the best platform for them to display and discuss their work. It’s a lot to take in, but most of all, it’s a lot of work to put it out there, if done the right way.
But interestingly enough, him and I did talk for a bit about the topics that Nuno has brought up.
Set tactical work… yes. If you want your team to play a certain way, they have to train for it. Repetition… yes. If you want your team to play a certain way, they have to train for it. (Did I just repeat myself?)
He brought up this point… and I’m paraphrasing…
You worked on playing out of the back for two training sessions? They still can’t play out of the back? Well, my team can play out of the back. My team trained for it at every session for a year!
Funny cuz my team manager says I’m always repeating myself. It doesn’t get old to me til they get it. It doesn’t seem like players and parents get it so I keep repeating it.
I have always had my team play out of the back, not always well, but we did it. But this season they GOT IT!!!! They play so comfortably out of the back now and have no fear switching the field around our own 18…..why? We rehearse at training how we are going to play out of the back at EVERY training session! We literally go through it EVERY single session. It’s the constant repetition of movements that made the difference.
I told them, “We are going to go through this until you guys can do this in your sleep!” When you watch Gary/Brian’s team play you can see that it is automatic……it is done so well, you can tell it’s been rehearsed over and over and over and over again. It’s the only way you can learn to do something correctly…….constant repetition! Do you learn to juggle 100 times in a row over night? No way? Why would playing out of the back be any different. It takes constant repetition to do it correctly every time.
It was such an eye opener for me to watch Gary/Brian’s team play for the first time. You could tell that there was a system at work. It was like a well oiled machine!
There is so much more to learn, but what I learned from watching their team play was invaluable!
One of the previous comments noted working on the element of playing through the back line in every session for a year. I have been consistent in what I teach, but never to that degree. Also my understanding of the Barca way has been they can play their style of soccer because they have the talent in players to be able to. A sentiment I’ve picked up that other coaches share (most recently the Celtics).
As this is my understanding, my approach has been to strip everything down to its fundamentals. My players have to be better than everyone in 1v1’s, then 2v2’s, then all the way up to 11v11’s to get to that standard of play. No shortcuts. Hence the no pass objective in games. It’s amazing how good kids can be when they are forced to play a certain way, kind of the sink or swim mindset. I prefer to refer to it as soccer immersion. You learn more by being immersed in the objective and doing versus, rehearsing and coach discussion. Glad to hear a few of you out there doing things similar with other elements of the game.
The no pass condition was a concept I borrowed from a book about a small town American football team “Our Boys: A Perfect Season”. Their program stressed the fundamentals of football and they ran the same system from little league up through high school. Seems most successful high level programs in any sport require a consistent way of playing from kids through their top program. Good fundamentals, even when it comes to physical play in football means you have leverage against larger opponents. Brains can be your brawn.
Overall the girls that have gone through this process with my teams excel in 1v1’s, 1v2’s and some in 1v3’s (yes, it’s how we train). Now is how to convert that technical ability into something truly special like Barca as we still are picked off by teams that are faster and more aggressive in play? Playing through the back is a great concept, but covers only one element of total possession soccer. How do you possess at the heart of the field? What do the angles of the passes and support need to look like (consistent theory)? Through trial and error I think I’m figuring it out. Passing through the center (spine) should rarely go south-north if you want to go forward. Out to the flank and back inside passing to the same point seems more effective as fundamentally it puts the ball in front our player so they don’t have to receive and turn with the ball, they can see where pressure is most dangerous, see if there are forward options, and if the ball is lost, they are in a goal side position to both the ball and opponent to immediately press to win it back.
Completely off topic, but I’m trying to figure out the curriculum I’m going to be running with my high school girls team in the spring and the playing from the backline is something we’ve done very well. It’s a matter of how can we be more successful in advancing the ball forward in dealing with pressure not only in front of us, but from our blind areas behind and beside us which isn’t something you have to deal with too much when playing near a the touch line or byline. Am I stumbling onto some fundamental themes when it comes to possession soccer at the heart of the field, or am I just stumbling? Like many of you, I don’t want to waste a season doing the wrong things and I’m sure there’s a few of you out there that are a few years ahead of me in terms of what I understand are the keys to Barca possession success. This is something I’ve been working towards for the past 2 years doing it the way I understand how. It’s time to be influenced by a few of you.
“Repetition… yes.”
“My team trained for it at every session for a year!”
“We literally go through it EVERY single session. It’s the constant repetition of movements that made the difference.”
“It’s the only way you can learn to do something correctly…….constant repetition!”
“It takes constant repetition to do it correctly every time.”
As a coach you don’t need to impress your players with how much you know. It’s the simple details that make the difference. I learned this in a basketball clinic. I wish I had learned this a year ago. My sessions used to be different every time. Now I just repeat it every time until they master it and don’t have to think about it.
My players keep asking me, “Coach when are we going to practice shooting?” My reply, “don’t be a fool that’s not important now.”
Regarding shooting. I think the worst thing for America is the goal posts with nets that exist all across the country. Kids are fixated on shooting. Parents want to see their kids shoots. Fans want to see goals. As a result our game never develops beyond running and shooting.
The real game is dribbling, passing, and moving. I also learned this in basketball clinic.
Thank you for the feedback.
It’s good that you want more!
But please consider this:
Why can’t I just have this entire site just be 1 single page that lists all the things that ‘suck’?
How effective would Martin Luther King Jr been if he stopped “repeating” himself? I mean how many times do you have to say racial inequality ‘sucks’. Come on Dr. King … ‘move on’ already!
Questions:
If you all know the stuff that’s written here, what are you doing here?
Go forth, and be a badass already! Go make your massive difference! Go build your own 3four3 and do it ‘the right way’!
What are you waiting for? Magic pixie dust?
This reminds me of how ‘everyone seems to knows how to be an effective leader or teacher’, but so few actually do it.
p.s. ‘Knowing’ and ‘Understanding’ are totally different things.
p.p.s. There’s some more tough love coming everyone’s way in a couple hours. I think this blog is about due for that, again.
2 words for you, “rondo drill”. everything else can go fuck off.
As a youth and HS coach, I try to stay current with our soccer culture and as everyone has said before, we all know what is lacking but we don’t seem any closer to defining it and mapping a course of action to fill that void. For my players, I generally try to stay away from defined play and X’s and O’s and seek to help players develop more creativity, sharper focus, and better game vision. At times, it seems impossible to quantify and then we see something transpire in a game that we could never have coached and know that for a few, at least, the path is working.
I am sure there are many much smarter than myself and I enjoy learning from each of you and am thankful for your collective voice.
I believe DA’s, ODP’s, and USSF are getting it right when they are selecting their players. They are selecting them because they stand out and demonstrate now what is needed to win. Often these players are big for their age group, fast, and strong. They are players that are early developers both physically and mentally.
There is a perception that these very athletes are not trainable. I assure you that they are, but coaches (adults) choose not to. An athletic player can compensate for poor technique or tactical understanding by over powering an opponent and they are allowed to because how they play now, wins games. So these players with the early advantage often are not trained and eventually when the late bloomers catch up, (you know, the ones that actually had to work to develop skill), the physical differences don’t matter as much and the technical and tactical abilities do.
Imagine if the early bloomers, were taught technique and tactics and the assumption that players know everything they are going to know by the time they are 12, is let go. Those very kids that have a head start in the maturing process might also get a head start in learning soccer becoming technically crafty and tactical genius players. Could that be the step we need to advance to a world level of soccer?
As for my influence in making a difference on the national scene; no, I am not an influence to that scale. I’m just a rec soccer coach, or am I? I helped establish a small rec soccer club in small town and continue to improve our competitive play. In spite of the tag of being a “rec” club, we have developed players that have been selected for ODP and competitive programs for some very large clubs. Don’t lower your standard because of your label.
Through it I have gotten to know board members of our league and coaches for other clubs. I established a new girl’s high school soccer team and through it have created relationships with other peer coaches as well a statewide network of college coaches that are now starting to show interest in our program. I have established an international network with coaches because of the courses/licenses I’ve taken and through those connections was turned on to this site.
Every coach I know has been made aware of this site because I have promoted the heck out of it and I’m sure a few of them follow it and few are doing the same as I in promoting it. I may not have influence at the national level, but I do have influence on an indirect level as does this site and that can be quite large considering and eventually too large to ignore.
pg19,
I understand what you are saying, and think that on the surface your reasoning is sound. You are correct that early developers will be better players and help to be more successful in the early stages. You are correct that pure raw athleticism can out pace, and over power opponents in certain situations. Your idea of imagining that the early bloomers if taught technique and tactics and maybe that would help them excel as the late bloomers catch up, is also a great idea. Either way I think we come back to the same place. We look for the chances to win early. We take the big strong fast players, because we want to win by playing a big strong and fast game, with the players at young ages. We then are successful with the big strong fast game, and stick with that. Until of course we start to realize that the big strong fast game only goes so far. Once the technically gifted and tactically astute players catch up, our big strong fast, now needs nimble quick, and decisive. The reason that development needs to be long term is because early on there is no way to say who are actually going to be big, strong, and fast at the older age groups and as a result the small nimble late developers have spend more time having to think their way out of situations, and having to rely on a great first touch to avoid the big strong fast player, until of course he is as big and as strong as the opponent, and then all of a sudden he has the advantage.
Bottom line is you are right the early developers need better work done with them. We can select big strong and fast, but if we don’t train them to be quick and nimble and just accept them winning with speed and strength without a need for technical and tactical superiority then they won’t be big strong and fast with great technical ability. The flip side is interesting because on that side we take the late developers and know that we need them to be excellent technically and tactically, so we train them to do that. We keep them in lower leagues, and don’t give them the same opportunities for years. Then all of a sudden the two groups meet and the late developers have caught up to the early developers around 21 or 22. By this time the early developers have had years of ODP, USDA and international experience, which gives them far more time on the ball, far more quality coaching, and as a result a competitive advantage. Now those early developers, who are the tried and tested internationals have to go off and play against real competition where all of their short falls are painfully obvious.
Bottom line is forget early/late development. Stop taking short cuts. Stop feeling the need to win at youngest ages, stop thinking that “talented players” need to play at a higher level, and “less talented” players should be left until they are ready to get there. Stop being the coach who brags about his collection of medals with your U10, U11, U12 teams and start being the coach who gives more players more opportunities.
Development until puberty winning thereafter (for boys…)
I would like to believe I am making a positive difference in the lives of 10 young kids. The magnitude, longevity, and scale of my influence is rather small. I am trying to expand to include other teams/coaches but it’s no easy task.
I currently stand near the bottom but hope to jump up in a few years.
the thing is the mag , long , scale don’t matter if the scale is small. And thats not true . I advocate well played soccer , i learn well played soccer , i come from a culture of well played soccer , I will teach well played soccer , no matter the magnitude . Because it matters to you , and might or not to who your’re teaching , but you need to pass on what you think is the way to play , no matter the situation ……..
Great attitude. That’s how I learned well played soccer from a friend who cared enough to explain it… then reinforced through marriage into a family soccer lovers. I have never played well played soccer, but I appreciate it as one of the finer things in the human experience because a couple of folks took the care to show it to me. I too believe that scale does not matter because you never know who you are going to turn on. One of your Rec players may grow up to be your town’s athletic director someday. Give them the love for soccer now! Don’t hold back!
I read this blog from time to time and yes, it repeats. Different topics, same problems identified.
No matter what thread / topic, still comes down to poor coaching, lack of opportunity for elite players (something other than college), and national team not identifying players with the right stuff. There you have it!
Regarding repetition someone talk to above. Repetition for a teaching style (I’m a teacher at a university). Teaching same skill or thinking pattern best learned when taught in varying situations, with different constraints, different amounts of pressure, and at different frequency (fast paced, slow paced).
When you change things up, you see quickly who the fast learners are (these are the ones national team should think about). This is especially true for tactics and mental quickness to process quickly adapting situations. I know nothing about ODP or USSF, but this is a HUGE completely untouched area they never consider.
I know this blog likes to talk about La Masia. Their players are world class partly because they are all smart. It’s part of their player identification process. They understand a top player has more of a chance to succeed on smarts alone. Difficult if you are big and average everywhere else, or fast and average everywhere else. You end up being Marvelle Wynne! Quickness of thought and tactical awareness are all mental. That only leaves technical. These are the three pillars of soccer development and two are based on the brain. See where I’m going . . . . ?
Part of being a good coach is being a good teacher, understanding how to impart knowledge. Seldom talked about here, but something to consider.
“No matter what thread / topic, still comes down to poor coaching, lack of opportunity for elite players (something other than college), and national team not identifying players with the right stuff. There you have it!”
Yes I agree we all tend to go around in circles. Still, we know Gary is developing a quality product and are waiting for more.
If anyone has detailed training sessions please share.
Dr. Loco,
A great resource is http://www.libreriadeportiva.com/libros-deportes.html
It’s a Spanish online Sports bookstore and it has lots of ebooks on training (as well as paper books). For about $11.70 (9 euros) there are numerous books that I have found very useful for planning sessions through out the year. They are by age groups (Benjamin= 8-9 yo, Alevines= 10-11 yo, Infaniles= 12-13 yo, Cadetes= 14-15 yo, Juveniles= 16-18 yo) or by what you want to work on (possession, attacking, etc) Of course, they are all in Spanish but I think that won’t be a problem for you. I have used the site and have had no problem with security etc. If you find a book there that you like, first check to see if its available on Amazon.com. Some of the ebooks are and they are a couple of dollars cheaper on Amazon.com. There are also several different Spanish online bookstores that have slightly different selections, so just do some google searches on “Futbol Base” or something like that, and it should get you started.
One book I can’t recommend enough is “Senda de Campeones” about Barca’s youth development. It’s not out in ebook yet but well worth the read.
TDSoccer, thanks for the link!
@Professor JK:
“No matter what thread / topic, still comes down to poor coaching, lack of opportunity for elite players (something other than college), and national team not identifying players with the right stuff. There you have it!”
Not so sure that’s all it is. But I’m also not sure on the exact point you were trying to make. It seems to me that saying there is a lack of opportunity for elite players, assumes there are enough elite players in the US. And that assumes we can agree on what an elite player is. An elite player by today’s US youth soccer standards or something else?
Also, what about the role of culture? Soccer isn’t like football or even basketball where pure physical size, strength or speed can take someone who didn’t play until their teens into the pro ranks after several years of training.
To become an elite player, in the context of 3four3, requires them coming to the club with already built ball mastery and technical skill from a young age.
I’m not arguing with you, more just thinking aloud.
@Tom,
I think my comment is straight forward and unambiguous. A lack of opportunity doesn’t suggest a lack of elite players. I think the exact opposite. In terms of what an elite player is, we need to look at benchmarks. Which is why La Masia and Barcelona are talked about so much. To say an elite player is somene in MLS (using USA as benchmark) is wrong. Soccer is a world sport, dominated by non-USA teams, players, coaches, clubs. Any meaningful comparison is outside USA.
If I were Mr. Gulati, Klinsman or anyone in power structure of US Soccer, my long-term vision would be just that. Need a plan and a vision and interim milestones to achieve. I know USSF has that stated goals but I don’t see tactics in place to achieve that loft goal (they said about 18-months ago the goal it so compete against top teams in World Cup).
MLS doesn’t loan players, their reserve teams just resurrected, college is their primary funnel for young talent, and the pay is extremely low. Is this a model to achieve stated ambitions?
We have a long way to go!
Sorry for my typos. I guess this blog doesn’t have spell check.
And sorry for breing long winded, but for any plan / vision to suceed, USSF needs the right leadership, admin support staff, and coaches / scouts who share that vision. If not , it’s not worth much and quickly derails.
It seems people like Gary and his brother are successful at the youth level, but has no impact on USSF or the larger soccer community. Unless one of them are hired by USSF or they achive unprecedented success or provide a framework for success to other clubs and coaches — then they are a tree falling with no one to hear.
I sincerely hope Gary and his brother do all they can to push us. Use this blog to promote a coaching method others can adopt instead of teasing us. I see Dr. Loco has been asking but not receiving. Come on Gary and Brian, do your part and contribute. If not, you are contributing to lack of influecne.
For me the best thing about 3four3 is I can throw out crazy ideas and questions, think about it, adapt, and find my own answers. In essence I am developing my mind which is what I need to get better.
“To say an elite player is somene in MLS (using USA as benchmark) is wrong. Soccer is a world sport, dominated by non-USA teams, players, coaches, clubs. Any meaningful comparison is outside USA. ”
If we are to benchmark elite players by international standards then our number of elite players is exactly zero. Again ZERO. Please try to dispute that. That is my whole issue with elitism in US soccer training and with this blog it’s my only true point of contention. Elitism has no place in US soccer. It’s a fucking joke on soccer. It’s mockery and it’s insulting. To get to a point where we can harvest an elite class we must be grassroots first to build resources to pick from. To you coaches attracted here by the video and then turned off by the elitism, just take it with a grain of salt. There’s lots of good stuff. Just keep it in context.
I agree that we repeat the same issues a lot. And all the issues are real problems. However, it reminds me of people trying to solve the worlds problems. Everyone seems to know all the problems and it is always someone else. No one ever thinks they are the problem or even part of the problem. The truth is that Im the problem and until I change what im doing, why should anyone else change. If I don’t change people can blame the problem on me, but if I change and commit to the “right way” I might just inspire a whole lot of people to follow me! “Change” requires people action at some point or its just talk.
You try to make a difference by spreading the gospel of 3four3’s ideas but sometimes I feel like I running into a brick wall! This is a big fight and the ignorance is everywhere. It’s amazing how the power structure of US Soccer has hoodwinked some many into thinking they are the authority on all things soccer. I get a lot of this…”so some guy in Cali starts and blog and now he thinks he’s the authority on player development?!” ARRRGGGG!!!
Right, they walk around like they rule soccer. The sight is sickening.
I’ve been trying to make a difference for years. Early on as a youth soccer player I was just an average player. It was not until high school and beyond that I understood that the skills, creativity, and technique that I had established of being an undersized player were paying off. When I was way younger I would always talk to my girlfriend, now wife; about how important is was for me to use my imagination and smarts to beat the big, strong, and fast players when I was growing up. I played with some of the high caliber teams in the So Cal area and would not try to debate or over-verbalize the topic of possession/pass and move style of soccer, but show its brilliance on the field. There was a lot of pushback from many of the very good players (some professional) and coaches.
So, the question for me would become; who will I influence my knowledge/philosophy with because the guys I played with were not interested in changing the style they grew up playing? My kids showed an interest in the game at about 5 years old, so I began coaching them. My first child was seen by a competitive coach, so we went to a practice. There I witnessed the same “crap” they coached me when I was growing up 30 years prior. I realized right then and there who I can influence my style of play onto, my children. Of course there would be 11 other kids on the teams that I could influence as well.
I have been coaching at the rec and competitive level for 5 seasons now. It is so obvious to me, someone with a good eye for quality soccer, that the players and teams that I have influenced are or will be far ahead of the rest. However, to be brutally honest, my children are the most important to me. I will continue to teach them, what I believe, is the right way to develop and play soccer. Recently some Brazilian coaches were watching my oldest daughter’s game and they came to me and said that she was “special”, “unbelievable”, and “amazing to watch”.
The “magnitude” of what I’ve coached my kids compared to what other players have been taught is beginning to show.
The “longevity”, as long as they continue to play, will be ingrained for their lifetime.
The “scale” will ultimately be my children, their children and so on, but can also be based on any other players that want to be able to keep up.
I’ve learned over the years that most people are lazy, want to take shortcuts, only care about winning, live vicariously through their kids, know nothing about the game, and care too much about their “soccer” social status than learning from the foundation. You can only make a difference to those who want to learn the right way.
@Vdub:
Well done. Would love to hear more about what you did with/for your kids to get them to the level they are at. What you taught or didn’t teach them (purposefully), kick arounds in the back yard, how often. did they kick around with other kids informally, how often, etc. Thanks for sharing.
Tom,
Thanks for asking and I truly believe that this is the direction that this blog needs to take. The open ended questions that Gary presents to us are entertaining and mentally enlightening, but instead of talking in circles about what we all believe is the state of US Soccer, let’s share what works for us. Yes ODP, most club coaches, college’s, MLS, National team’s still primarily pick athlete’s over soccer players. What we can do is share/teach our philosophy at the grassroots level. What this entails is a MUST to create fundamentally, tactically sound players that play beautiful possession soccer and kick other team’s asses. You have to create a WANT for parents to have their kids coached by us. Parents are the key. If their kid or kid’s team hardly has possession then they will get frustrated and then the “revolution” begins.
What has worked for me has been a very detailed, outlined, phase-oriented process. The game can teach you everything. So what I saw in the early years was a complete lack of fundamentals.
5-6 years old – Dribble, trap and pass, with 1 skill (pull back), shoot to the far post. Players had the ball at their feet for everything! Of course you have to teach them the correct technique for each. The only game we played was “crabs and lobsters” because this taught the kids to dribble to space. When I coached in the games I helped them A LOT. Here’s what I would primarily say, “trap, dribble to space” or “trap and find player X”.
7-8 years old – Dribble, trap (with different body parts), pass and move, more skills (step-overs, scissors, cuts, Maradona’s), tactics. At 7yo – Players have the ball at their feet constantly. Dribble and play games in small spaces. I had them play a game that I called “terminator” where everyone dribbled a ball around in a small square (18 x 18 for 12 players) where 11 players dribbled the ball around and 1 player tries to steal/dispossess as many balls as possible in 30sec to 1 minute. I would also set them up in their positions and play against them. While doing this, I would instruct them on where to play the ball(dribble and/or pass). At 8yo – I primarily have them play monkey in the middle (Rondo’s) with many different numbers (4v1, 5v1, 3v1, 9v2, etc) and I would constantly be changing the size of the square they can play in. But most of the practice was keep away in the 18 yard box with many different numbers (6v6, 7v5, 8v4, 6v3) and I would say, “pass and move”. During games we play out of the back. The keeper never punts and the goal kicks are to an outside back or my center midfielder showing to the ball.
9-10 years old – Pass, trap, and skills, skills, skills(be creative). I pass and trap with them at all different paces, angles, distances and with different types and sizes of balls(Futsal, normal, size 1, 3, and 4). Also many different passing and moving (in all directions)drills. This is also a great age to have them do every skill or move you and the player can think of. Make them research skills online and have them perform them against you, in practices, and in games. Rondos, rondos, rondos(I love 3v1 in a small area about 6x6yards)!
This is where we are today and the next age groups I will get more ideas from the game. Did I mention that the game can teach you(coach and player) everything? Culturally I cannot change the landscape of the US, but I can influence my family. We’ve taken the kids to games, purchased them pro player jerseys, posters, received autographs, record and watch games. I’ve done Friday eve (off season) kick arounds for years. I still play twice a week. My wife still runs races and triathlons. We all support each other and have created soccer/sports as a lifestyle.
This is what’s worked brilliantly for me so far.
@Vdub,
Fantastic information, thank you. I think what you’re doing at the younger ages (context) is great. I feel like I am on the right track with what I’m doing after reading. I have 5 and 7 yo boys so that is my context.
Would love to learn more about what you do with 5-8 yo.
Hit me up on twitter @cataniasoccer if you are on there.
Would love to chat with you in the future sometime. Are you on twitter? (http://twitter.com/cataniasoccer).
@VDub
nice job! BTW, I would love to be able to coach my own son too 🙂 but I was convinced by another parent that paid coaches in a soccer academy could do a better job!
Did you work from a defined curriculum or just move from phase to phase in an ad-hoc fashion depending on the needs of the team?
Curious Larry
Larry – Everything I’ve learned has come from playing or watching the game and using creativity.
Ideas are agnostic to magnitude, scale, longevity. Simple things such as total football, tiki-taka possession, using wing-backs, and favoring abilities other than physical size and power all started as ideas. And like history tells us through science and invention, nothing is truly from scratch. Great ideas build from people and failures before it. La Masia was an idea and look at it now. Shit, having a competitive USMNT and sustainable MLS and youth soccer was a pipe dream a mere 20-years ago. It started with an idea from FIFA for USA to host WC, which lead to MLS, which led to stronger youth program, which led to USDA, and the story will continue . . . .
Sure this blog can repeat, but that’s the beauty. It repeats, morphs, and adapts. Evolution in ideas like this is how we expand and get to well thought out solutions. I highly doubt USSF or ODP or USDA sit around and brainstorm on how to improve.
Maybe an impacful thing from 3Four3 is the exchange of ideas and the nuanced shades of gray we blog about. Something the powers that be can learn from.
Maybe this is part of why we keep repeating ourselves???
@nunofh @3four3 there is a piece in the works about the Development Academy, youth national team, & politics. Can’t say much beyond that tho
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51m J.R. Eskilson J.R. Eskilson @JREskilson
@nunofh @3four3 there are a lot of politics in youth soccer especially at the DA level. Unfortunately, its not as simple as best of best.
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1h J.R. Eskilson J.R. Eskilson @JREskilson
@3four3 yep. Not expecting anything new from USSF tho. All about who you know with these apps
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3h J.R. Eskilson J.R. Eskilson @JREskilson
Since U.S. Soccer is opening U13/U14 age group to all clubs, I wonder if we will see a certain famous SoCal team apply? @3four3
USAprospects @USAprospects
Need all top teams, coaches and players on the same field to really improve the sport. Not hard but USSF needs to stop politicking
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3m USAprospects USAprospects @USAprospects
I love following USSDA, but 3 of the top clubs in the country are not yet involved. Fullerton Rangers, Olney Rangers, FC Barcelona USA
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49m USAprospects USAprospects @USAprospects
If FC Barcelona USA is not involved in the new USSDA U13/U14 because of politics I’ll be upset. Damaging the #usynt product without them
Nuno, sadly, they won’t. The u13/14 will only be available to the existing DA clubs already in place.
Even the existing system is based on politics.
Hall,
Do you know that for a fact?
Hi Gary,
for what it is worth, I also interpreted the same from reading the press release & knowing some of the rules.
Larry
No, Gary I don’t know that for a fact. And I hope I’m wrong..for the sake of the game.
But, if the DA is supposed to be the ‘benchmark’ for elite youth soccer (it isn’t now..with a couple of notable exceptions) then, I honestly don’t see them expanding.
Too much of a turf war.
From Goal.com:
Latin American coaches seem to travel well. They are often adaptable, multilingual. Brazilians are scattered all over the world, and it is curious there are not more of them guiding national teams in contention for a World Cup which will be played in their country in two years.
Probably the most obvious reason U.S. coaches do not travel well is because of the collegiate system. There are plenty of good tactical minds at that level, but the colleges’ refusal to adhere to international rules of the game, plus the limited schedule of matches, hurts coaches’ development. Also, there is a tendency to become comfortable within the collegiate system, so ambition is thwarted.
Above is relevant to this thread and previous one on how much time does USA soccer need. Just like players getting seasoned in Europe with better elite opportunities, our coaches seem to be same.
yo fuck barca
Dumbass troll. Must be a Man U fan.
The ‘difference’ that our residency coaches can make, like Gary mentioned, has a much greater impact than lower level club coaches, academy coaches, etc.
I was reading an interview from USSoccer.com with our U17 mens coach and the word COMPETE kept being used. Now, I could be twisting his words or morphing them into something to fit my already biased view of USSF, but ‘compete’ just doesn’t sound right to me. Tell us that you’re working on more than just getting them to the level where they can simply ‘compete’. I like the fact that he says win a few times, but damn, the repeated use of ‘compete’ just doesn’t sit well with me for some reason.
Here is one ‘difference’ (advantage) that a 3four3 mentality has over USSF. The Federation wants to ‘compete’. The Kleibans want to dominate and smash everything that stands in their way. No pussy footing around it… total domination, or it’s not good enough. We need our difference makers to sack up and start demanding domination.
USSoccer.com: Is there an overarching goal behind the trips as a whole, or does the main objective differ with each international training camp or tournament?
Richie Williams: “I think the main goal always is to go play well, to compete and work on the things that we want to work on and to get individuals experience in international competition. With all that being said, to go out and to compete and to win also is part of the development of our players and our team. To come together as a team to compete, develop and win the games is ultimately what you look for on these trips and hope to win the tournament. At the end of the day, we want to develop the players and for the players to become better and the team to become better, but they also have to develop into knowing how to compete and win certain tournaments.”
Here is one ‘difference’ (advantage) that a 3four3 mentality has over USSF. The Federation wants to ‘compete’. The Kleibans want to dominate and smash everything that stands in their way. No pussy footing around it… total domination, or it’s not good enough. We need our difference makers to sack up and start demanding domination.
Kinda like Kobe.
“I think really the difference is, sometimes he forgets he’s the best. … Where, I don’t.”
— Kobe Bryant on Alex Rodriguez
I watched the video of Claudio Reyna early last year when USSF introduced coaching guide. They have a vision: compete at World Cup with top nations. Since then I’ve seen no strategy and no tactical changes to indicate we are on the path to improving as a nation. I am not a coach or connected to USSF or any local federatoins. Is USSF asleep at the wheel?
The only way for USA to advance is to improve level of coaching, develop better players, do better job at identifying elite players who are at the margin as someone said, and provide something more competitive other than a 3-month college season to mature into top professinals.
So how does USSF plan on doing this? Can someone please enlighten me.
Hmmm…. Maybe Williams is setting the goals so vague because of what he is working with on a daily basis. If you look at Bradenton, it seems to be pretty good at identifying and training players to have decent MLS careers but that is about it. The team has made basically zero progress since the first class of 99 at the U17 WC and follows the same pattern every two years… easily qualify in Concacaf, make it through the group stage (sometimes with a notable result against a soccer power), then go out in the next round, usually to a mid tier opponent. We see players of more varied backgrounds than before (Latin, African, etc) but if they are coming in the door with a lot of unique ability and style they are going out the door looking pretty much the same. A lot of the guys that do seem to have “something special” or show promise for a bigger stage seem to be coming off the bench much of the time, which seems to support the “jungle Ball Theory”. The most notable player to ever come through the Bradenton system from a World Soccer perspective is Neven Subotic of Borussia Dortmund and SERBIA(!) And he was found in the local park by one of the staff coaches and invited to come in and trian. What does that say about the federation’s recruiting process?
“Is USSF asleep at the wheel?”
It’s the culture man! USSF get off your ass and dance.
Amsterdam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvkVhrldFJI
Los Angeles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNOFNLVeSg8
Mexico City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_o416PjQ6U
Sao Paolo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LFNGJCVRyE&feature=related
Buenos Aires
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFGiwYxUTs
Barcelona
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wn_AgMHJTw
Given the opportunity arises, how would the top players be identified and presumably developed?
Top 5% at u10/11?
Top 2% at U13?
Top 1% at U15/16?
Where and how would it be structured? A ‘national league’? Or regional/subregional?
Or would the players even compete in leagues? (ie Clairefontane or bradenton)
Would room and board be provided for players outside the large areas?
Where will the funding come from? (corporate or self funded)
What organization would take ‘ownership’? USSF, Nike, Adidas or MLS?
I would advocate waiting until U13 to identify top players and then start with a tiered percentage like you suggest dwindling down as they get older. Structurally I’d like to see regional rivalries form. I’d like to see a East Coast vs West Coast at the very least because the pools of participants are comparatively large and the cultural differences are profound enough to add that element of pride… maybe Texas as their own region too.
Hi Gary,
For those coaches who believe in Totalfutbol and want to implement a possession style of soccer, how long would you say(from your own experience) it takes to have success(playing possession) for youth teams, specifically( U-9,U-10,U-11).
g92 and others,
i feel that if you take the time to educate parents as well as the players, you can develop total football as early as 6 years of age. I’ve seen in in Catalonia, and I’ve applied it myself.
The key is education; not only for the kids, but the parents.
When I say success with total football at age 6, I mean you need to teach the kids that winning is not enough. Kids at this age (and their parents ) need to learn that winning playing well is good; even at ages 5 and 6. Here is an example of what we do http://youtu.be/5N5ZjaMN-jE
Of course not everything will be perfect at age 6 but what you want to do is make sure kids understand the difference between what they are doing and what other kids at their age level are doing.
Gary, What do you think of this interview?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqLZsWMHzb4&feature=youtu.be