What are the expectations? That is key. I think people are getting it confused. Hiring a manager who actually has a clue will not get us the World Cup final, and perhaps not the quarters this cycle either. That is not the discussion we should be having. That is not the appropriate metric to use. […]
Solutions
The Importance Of An Identity: The 13th and 14th man.
There are factors beyond the individuality of players that shouldn’t go unrecognized. And this Champion’s League final offers a good backdrop for illustrating the point. Barca has the support of an entire philosophy behind them. A very clear and precise way of playing that has been engrained and rehearsed over years into oblivion. It is […]
2 Fundamental and Objective Metrics to Judging a Coach’s Quality
How do you know a coach is any good at player development? I’m specifically addressing those coaches who are implicitly chartered with that goal. Well, here it is: 1) The coach must have a clearly possession-based style. 2) The coach must be a winning one. Metric 1 (possession) First and foremost, if the coach is not […]
American Invited to Join La Masia
This will go down as a mark in US Soccer history. Ben Lederman, a U-11, has been invited to join FC Barcelona’s youth Academy. He started his trial with the famed academy on April 11, 2011 and just 4 training sessions later, the Director of all 7 v 7 at the club, Andres Carrasco, had […]
Requirement For Mass Player Development
There can be no player development factory without monetary incentive. First let me be clear; without competent coaches, all the money in the world will not develop a quality player. So assuming there’s a capable coach, what makes you think he will do everything in his power to develop his pupils? And I assure you, that’s […]
5 Positive Influences for US Soccer in 2010
This year has made me a bit more optimistic for the future of the US game. When compared to my sentiments in years past, this one has been by far the best. No our national teams have not shown any progress, MLS and college remain barely watchable, and our youth development is still piss poor. […]
Youth Soccer Coaching Philosophy: The Right Way
One of our readers from Ohio truly believes his U14 son has a great coach who can develop players. He is Coach Everett Palache, from Cleveland United Soccer Club, and with his permission I’m sharing an email he sent to his team. Pay close attention to the soccer philosophy … Hello all, Here is the […]
A Huge Thank You to Our Readers!
A couple days ago was 3four3’s first birthday! We averaged roughly one post per week – this is post #62. Thank you so much to all our readers who give us an audience. Believe it or not, you guys are helping to raise the level of US Soccer, which is the very reason for this […]
Mascherano, Pavel Pardo, Rafa Marquez clear examples
Just a little more to elaborate on Gary’s statements from the previous article (see below) regarding Marcelo Bielsa’s scouting and promoting talented players to the next level. “Everyone would be shocked if someone like Bielsa came. He will find the talent. He would have no problem debuting an 18 year old from the academy or […]
How A High Level National Team Coach Could Influence US Soccer
While the system and philosophy of soccer in the US as a whole must change, if we had a top-shelf coach we would take a huge stride. If someone like Marcelo Bielsa (I know he’s off the table) took over … The Current National Team Pools Would be Decimated Maybe 2 or 3 guys from the […]