Youth Soccer - Questions, Discussion and Stories . (7 Viewers)

[The Z Machine]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

 

[The Z Machine]

Well, it wasn't really a tryout. He just kinda jumped into their training for the day. Overall impression, serious business. Professional coaches, nice facilities. All youth team practice together on the same 5 pitches at the same time, but are broken out by age group and level. About 12-15 kids on this team. I know they still play 7v7 even at age 11 and 12.

There was very little goofing off from the kids. My son hung in there with the 2nd team for his age group (2013), but didn't wow anyone. He was probably in the bottom 3rd of the players overall. Definitely not sharp in the drills, but I think showed some skills and knowledge overall.

I think the biggest issue though is communication. I don't speak French anywhere near well enough to understand what the coach who ran the practice. I shook his hand and thanked him and he said something like "I don't speak English" in French and then he walked away... So I was left thinking, "uh, so what's the outcome?" Anyway, I had to flag down another coach who I could speak to and give him my number. He said he'd speak to the first coach and see what his thoughts were.

I give it a 25% chance my son makes this team. It's likely that they don't need him and the team is full. C'est la vie. I thought there were 4 teams at his age group, but maybe I was reading it incorrectly and there's only 2 per year, but the "D" level of juniors covers 2013 and 2012. Honestly, I don't know how it works.

Now I have to research other clubs and try to figure out when they have practices, where they are, and when they might be having open tryouts. It's a royal pain in the butt, as there's no centralized system to see the practices or contact info. At least, not one that I can successfully navigate.

One thing I do know is that the clubs here are very well run, have truly professional coaches, and only cost like $500 / year.

Truly professional coaches and only $500 a year.... meanwhile in the US sports have the parents coach and you have to pony up a thousand for a season.

I think the biggest issue though is communication. I don't speak French anywhere near well enough to understand what the coach who ran the practice. I shook his hand and thanked him and he said something like "I don't speak English" in French and then he walked away... So I was left thinking, "uh, so what's the outcome?" Anyway, I had to flag down another coach who I could speak to and give him my number. He said he'd speak to the first coach and see what his thoughts were.

This seemed a little odd to me. Was there any effort to communicate or was it a disgusted 'I am not wasting my time with you if you don't speak French' thing?

I'm sure if my son impressed him and he wanted my son to be on his team, he would have found a way to speak to me about it. So, more the latter.

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

 

[Redwes25]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

Don't they use the build-out line structure through U-10? There really isn't true offside with that structure though since build-out line is also the offside line. Kind of modified offsides to teach them the basics of the offside rule. Build-out runs U9 and U10 and definately not even modified offsides before then. Though it has been awhile since my kids were that young and I knew those rules.

 

[Chadstroma]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

 

[Chadstroma]

Well, it wasn't really a tryout. He just kinda jumped into their training for the day. Overall impression, serious business. Professional coaches, nice facilities. All youth team practice together on the same 5 pitches at the same time, but are broken out by age group and level. About 12-15 kids on this team. I know they still play 7v7 even at age 11 and 12.

There was very little goofing off from the kids. My son hung in there with the 2nd team for his age group (2013), but didn't wow anyone. He was probably in the bottom 3rd of the players overall. Definitely not sharp in the drills, but I think showed some skills and knowledge overall.

I think the biggest issue though is communication. I don't speak French anywhere near well enough to understand what the coach who ran the practice. I shook his hand and thanked him and he said something like "I don't speak English" in French and then he walked away... So I was left thinking, "uh, so what's the outcome?" Anyway, I had to flag down another coach who I could speak to and give him my number. He said he'd speak to the first coach and see what his thoughts were.

I give it a 25% chance my son makes this team. It's likely that they don't need him and the team is full. C'est la vie. I thought there were 4 teams at his age group, but maybe I was reading it incorrectly and there's only 2 per year, but the "D" level of juniors covers 2013 and 2012. Honestly, I don't know how it works.

Now I have to research other clubs and try to figure out when they have practices, where they are, and when they might be having open tryouts. It's a royal pain in the butt, as there's no centralized system to see the practices or contact info. At least, not one that I can successfully navigate.

One thing I do know is that the clubs here are very well run, have truly professional coaches, and only cost like $500 / year.

Truly professional coaches and only $500 a year.... meanwhile in the US sports have the parents coach and you have to pony up a thousand for a season.

I think the biggest issue though is communication. I don't speak French anywhere near well enough to understand what the coach who ran the practice. I shook his hand and thanked him and he said something like "I don't speak English" in French and then he walked away... So I was left thinking, "uh, so what's the outcome?" Anyway, I had to flag down another coach who I could speak to and give him my number. He said he'd speak to the first coach and see what his thoughts were.

This seemed a little odd to me. Was there any effort to communicate or was it a disgusted 'I am not wasting my time with you if you don't speak French' thing?

I'm sure if my son impressed him and he wanted my son to be on his team, he would have found a way to speak to me about it. So, more the latter.

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

Is this tryout with that club or another one?

 

[The Z Machine]

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

Is this tryout with that club or another one?

Different club.

Overall, this was more of a tryout than the previous "jump into their trainings" was. Although it was poorly run IMO. I dropped off my son at the entrance at 3:00 for the 3:15 start and told him I'd go park. I told him he'd have to find someone from the club and ask where to go. This is in the city in Europe, so there's no parking lots nearby, only street parking. I arrived at 3:18 and see my son watching the players on the field from the railing and HIS CLEATS AREN'T EVEN ON. Ugh. I yelled at him, then scrambled to figure out where he should go. Anyway, he got on the field about 5 mins late and found his age group. As far as I saw, there was no announcement about where players should go, no info given to the people that were new to the club. It's like information is transmitted subliminally or somehow everyone else knows what to do and where to go. Obviously language barrier is huge and contributes to this feeling.

During the tryout, after a 15 min passing drill, the coaches had the players scrimmage for an hour on 3 teams, rotating a team out every 10 mins or so. No instructions, just "go out an play". Kids had to organize themselves into positions and then try to impress the coaches, who mostly weren't even watching the scrimmage. It was mostly hero ball and scrum soccer with some legit fouls, shirt pulling, and diving thrown in. Overall, it was pretty useless an frustrating. Best I can tell is that the coaches were looking for truly standout players to bring into an existing group of players. Anyway, my son played Ok. Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide. He had decent ball control and good positioning and movement, tracking back to play D more than anyone else, looking for actual passes to players instead of trying to dribble through 3 guys. He was in the top half of the kids trying out, but definitely didn't stand out. He's fast but not super quick, good ball control, but not an elite dribbler, and is best at passing and positioning. Things that don't show up in hero-ball pickup game scrimmages.

I was not particularly impressed by the coaches or the organization of the club. The facilities are top notch though. Here's a link to the website and a link to the google map of the fields and stadium that the club owns.

An interesting difference in USA vs. Swiss club football is that the parents are not really involved much. Sure, some parents were there watching their kids try out, but parents don't show up to regular practice at all, and during tryouts there was near zero instructions shouted from the parents to the players. I wanted my son to be more aggressive and to hustle more, but I didn't shout at him either. The expectation is that the coaches communicate with the players, not with the parents. Parents are an afterthought in most cases as players are expected to show up to training on time without the assistance of their parents. Kids us public transit and scooter to get to and from practice.

Oh and most of these clubs have teams from littles all the way up through old man (30+, 40+) leagues. There's only 1 true pro team in Geneva (Servette FC) but there are a few semi-pro, where a player would probably also have to have a part time job to have enough money to live since the pro salary would be too low.

 

[The Z Machine]

So I'm on the hunt now for other clubs that are near enough for my son to get to easily (< 30 mins by transit). Seems like I have to register with each club to get any info whatsoever. They don't answer emails. They don't respond to Facebook messages. They don't put info about training dates/times or tryouts on their website or FB pages. They don't respond to Whatsapp messages from random people. It's really a giant pain to figure this whole system out.

I've completed the registration for maybe 5 clubs now. We'll see if it does anywhere.

 

[Redwes25]

Man that is a super pain. Are there things like rec leagues he could play in?

 

[The Z Machine]

Main that is a super pain. Are there things like rec leagues he could play in?

Nope. Just pickup at school or on the streets.

 

[Chadstroma]

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

Is this tryout with that club or another one?

Different club.

Overall, this was more of a tryout than the previous "jump into their trainings" was. Although it was poorly run IMO. I dropped off my son at the entrance at 3:00 for the 3:15 start and told him I'd go park. I told him he'd have to find someone from the club and ask where to go. This is in the city in Europe, so there's no parking lots nearby, only street parking. I arrived at 3:18 and see my son watching the players on the field from the railing and HIS CLEATS AREN'T EVEN ON. Ugh. I yelled at him, then scrambled to figure out where he should go. Anyway, he got on the field about 5 mins late and found his age group. As far as I saw, there was no announcement about where players should go, no info given to the people that were new to the club. It's like information is transmitted subliminally or somehow everyone else knows what to do and where to go. Obviously language barrier is huge and contributes to this feeling.

During the tryout, after a 15 min passing drill, the coaches had the players scrimmage for an hour on 3 teams, rotating a team out every 10 mins or so. No instructions, just "go out an play". Kids had to organize themselves into positions and then try to impress the coaches, who mostly weren't even watching the scrimmage. It was mostly hero ball and scrum soccer with some legit fouls, shirt pulling, and diving thrown in. Overall, it was pretty useless an frustrating. Best I can tell is that the coaches were looking for truly standout players to bring into an existing group of players. Anyway, my son played Ok. Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide. He had decent ball control and good positioning and movement, tracking back to play D more than anyone else, looking for actual passes to players instead of trying to dribble through 3 guys. He was in the top half of the kids trying out, but definitely didn't stand out. He's fast but not super quick, good ball control, but not an elite dribbler, and is best at passing and positioning. Things that don't show up in hero-ball pickup game scrimmages.

I was not particularly impressed by the coaches or the organization of the club. The facilities are top notch though. Here's a link to the website and a link to the google map of the fields and stadium that the club owns.

An interesting difference in USA vs. Swiss club football is that the parents are not really involved much. Sure, some parents were there watching their kids try out, but parents don't show up to regular practice at all, and during tryouts there was near zero instructions shouted from the parents to the players. I wanted my son to be more aggressive and to hustle more, but I didn't shout at him either. The expectation is that the coaches communicate with the players, not with the parents. Parents are an afterthought in most cases as players are expected to show up to training on time without the assistance of their parents. Kids us public transit and scooter to get to and from practice.

Oh and most of these clubs have teams from littles all the way up through old man (30+, 40+) leagues. There's only 1 true pro team in Geneva (Servette FC) but there are a few semi-pro, where a player would probably also have to have a part time job to have enough money to live since the pro salary would be too low.

Sounds like kind of how too many clubs work in the states... teams are often already all or mostly figured out before the tryouts even happen. The lack of effort to really dive into what skillsets the players have shows that.

Did you say there were other options for clubs than these first two?

 

[The Z Machine]

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

Is this tryout with that club or another one?

Different club.

Overall, this was more of a tryout than the previous "jump into their trainings" was. Although it was poorly run IMO. I dropped off my son at the entrance at 3:00 for the 3:15 start and told him I'd go park. I told him he'd have to find someone from the club and ask where to go. This is in the city in Europe, so there's no parking lots nearby, only street parking. I arrived at 3:18 and see my son watching the players on the field from the railing and HIS CLEATS AREN'T EVEN ON. Ugh. I yelled at him, then scrambled to figure out where he should go. Anyway, he got on the field about 5 mins late and found his age group. As far as I saw, there was no announcement about where players should go, no info given to the people that were new to the club. It's like information is transmitted subliminally or somehow everyone else knows what to do and where to go. Obviously language barrier is huge and contributes to this feeling.

During the tryout, after a 15 min passing drill, the coaches had the players scrimmage for an hour on 3 teams, rotating a team out every 10 mins or so. No instructions, just "go out an play". Kids had to organize themselves into positions and then try to impress the coaches, who mostly weren't even watching the scrimmage. It was mostly hero ball and scrum soccer with some legit fouls, shirt pulling, and diving thrown in. Overall, it was pretty useless an frustrating. Best I can tell is that the coaches were looking for truly standout players to bring into an existing group of players. Anyway, my son played Ok. Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide. He had decent ball control and good positioning and movement, tracking back to play D more than anyone else, looking for actual passes to players instead of trying to dribble through 3 guys. He was in the top half of the kids trying out, but definitely didn't stand out. He's fast but not super quick, good ball control, but not an elite dribbler, and is best at passing and positioning. Things that don't show up in hero-ball pickup game scrimmages.

I was not particularly impressed by the coaches or the organization of the club. The facilities are top notch though. Here's a link to the website and a link to the google map of the fields and stadium that the club owns.

An interesting difference in USA vs. Swiss club football is that the parents are not really involved much. Sure, some parents were there watching their kids try out, but parents don't show up to regular practice at all, and during tryouts there was near zero instructions shouted from the parents to the players. I wanted my son to be more aggressive and to hustle more, but I didn't shout at him either. The expectation is that the coaches communicate with the players, not with the parents. Parents are an afterthought in most cases as players are expected to show up to training on time without the assistance of their parents. Kids us public transit and scooter to get to and from practice.

Oh and most of these clubs have teams from littles all the way up through old man (30+, 40+) leagues. There's only 1 true pro team in Geneva (Servette FC) but there are a few semi-pro, where a player would probably also have to have a part time job to have enough money to live since the pro salary would be too low.

Sounds like kind of how too many clubs work in the states... teams are often already all or mostly figured out before the tryouts even happen. The lack of effort to really dive into what skillsets the players have shows that.

Did you say there were other options for clubs than these first two?

Oh yeah, there are a dozen clubs that have youth teams here in Geneva proper, maybe more. I've reached out to 5 others but haven't heard back from any regarding tryouts or open practices.

 

[El Floppo]

GL Z... I totally spaced you were in Switzerland- I'm going to want to hear more about that (or at least, I need to pay attention in the future). I was shuked why a coach in Maryland or wherever I thought you lived would only speak french.

reading your posts, a couple questions re: US sports/soccer practices (for all of you)..

parents show up for these? and as non-coaches they yell instructions? and also for try-outs?

 

[The Z Machine]

parents show up for these? and as non-coaches they yell instructions? and also for try-outs?

At practices, no, not much. At tryouts when there's no instructions given from the coaches, yes, I've seen that.

Another club got back to me. 2 days of trainings on June 5 and 12. At least they communicated with me...

 

[Chadstroma]

I could tell that while my son wasn't out of his depth, there were kids with more skills and were definitely sharper. A year off from competitive soccer means he has some rust to shake off, even if he's playing every day on the playground at school. Anyway, there are other clubs in the area, but none that practice at such a convenient location from school / to home. He actually has a proper tryout day today (assuming that the club received my registration form, which the never acknowledged...) We'll see how it goes.

Is this tryout with that club or another one?

Different club.

Overall, this was more of a tryout than the previous "jump into their trainings" was. Although it was poorly run IMO. I dropped off my son at the entrance at 3:00 for the 3:15 start and told him I'd go park. I told him he'd have to find someone from the club and ask where to go. This is in the city in Europe, so there's no parking lots nearby, only street parking. I arrived at 3:18 and see my son watching the players on the field from the railing and HIS CLEATS AREN'T EVEN ON. Ugh. I yelled at him, then scrambled to figure out where he should go. Anyway, he got on the field about 5 mins late and found his age group. As far as I saw, there was no announcement about where players should go, no info given to the people that were new to the club. It's like information is transmitted subliminally or somehow everyone else knows what to do and where to go. Obviously language barrier is huge and contributes to this feeling.

During the tryout, after a 15 min passing drill, the coaches had the players scrimmage for an hour on 3 teams, rotating a team out every 10 mins or so. No instructions, just "go out an play". Kids had to organize themselves into positions and then try to impress the coaches, who mostly weren't even watching the scrimmage. It was mostly hero ball and scrum soccer with some legit fouls, shirt pulling, and diving thrown in. Overall, it was pretty useless an frustrating. Best I can tell is that the coaches were looking for truly standout players to bring into an existing group of players. Anyway, my son played Ok. Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide. He had decent ball control and good positioning and movement, tracking back to play D more than anyone else, looking for actual passes to players instead of trying to dribble through 3 guys. He was in the top half of the kids trying out, but definitely didn't stand out. He's fast but not super quick, good ball control, but not an elite dribbler, and is best at passing and positioning. Things that don't show up in hero-ball pickup game scrimmages.

I was not particularly impressed by the coaches or the organization of the club. The facilities are top notch though. Here's a link to the website and a link to the google map of the fields and stadium that the club owns.

An interesting difference in USA vs. Swiss club football is that the parents are not really involved much. Sure, some parents were there watching their kids try out, but parents don't show up to regular practice at all, and during tryouts there was near zero instructions shouted from the parents to the players. I wanted my son to be more aggressive and to hustle more, but I didn't shout at him either. The expectation is that the coaches communicate with the players, not with the parents. Parents are an afterthought in most cases as players are expected to show up to training on time without the assistance of their parents. Kids us public transit and scooter to get to and from practice.

Oh and most of these clubs have teams from littles all the way up through old man (30+, 40+) leagues. There's only 1 true pro team in Geneva (Servette FC) but there are a few semi-pro, where a player would probably also have to have a part time job to have enough money to live since the pro salary would be too low.

Sounds like kind of how too many clubs work in the states... teams are often already all or mostly figured out before the tryouts even happen. The lack of effort to really dive into what skillsets the players have shows that.

Did you say there were other options for clubs than these first two?

Oh yeah, there are a dozen clubs that have youth teams here in Geneva proper, maybe more. I've reached out to 5 others but haven't heard back from any regarding tryouts or open practices.

Man... seems like a lot of work for something that probably shouldn't be as much but hoping you guys get the right fit and he can enjoy playing soccer overseas (pretty cool experience for him!)

 

[Redwes25]

GL Z... I totally spaced you were in Switzerland- I'm going to want to hear more about that (or at least, I need to pay attention in the future). I was shuked why a coach in Maryland or wherever I thought you lived would only speak french.

reading your posts, a couple questions re: US sports/soccer practices (for all of you)..

parents show up for these? and as non-coaches they yell instructions? and also for try-outs?

On my son’s team parents are not at practices and are discouraged from offering coaching advice at games. When my son was younger the director actually went up to a Dad and asked him to tone it down. That kid didnt last on the team as the Dad moved him. Philosophy is that you hired professional coaches they should be allowed to do their jobs.

Seems completely crazy to me that parents can act like that.

 

[The Z Machine]

Tryout yesterday didn't go well for my son. He knew he didn't play well as was upset about it afterwards. He was not putting forth the level of effort needed. The club advanced about half of those that tried out, but my son didn't get called in for the 2nd round. He just wants a place to play and I haven't been able to delivery that for him yet. I told him that I was proud that he tried, even if it didn't work out. I gave him some other advice about putting in effort, but I think I may be putting too much pressure on him. I'm not going to attend the next tryout in the hopes that without me, he'll do better. This is why I never wanted to coach his team and why I hated when my dad coached my teams.

We'll both keep trying. There are more clubs and more tryouts.

 

[El Floppo]

I never considered that there wouldn't be "rec league" level soccer in Europe. It's only tryout based clubs? Did I read that right?

 

[The Z Machine]

I never considered that there wouldn't be "rec league" level soccer in Europe. It's only tryout based clubs? Did I read that right?

Sure seems that way here from what I can tell. When I say that these 11 and 12 year olds are skilled, I mean like easy 10 touch keepy-uppy, trivela passing during a game, stepovers on the run, etc. Saw 2 kids have a good 12 hits just passing back and forth to each other using only headers. Blew me away really.

 

[Chadstroma]

Tryout yesterday didn't go well for my son. He knew he didn't play well as was upset about it afterwards. He was not putting forth the level of effort needed. The club advanced about half of those that tried out, but my son didn't get called in for the 2nd round. He just wants a place to play and I haven't been able to delivery that for him yet. I told him that I was proud that he tried, even if it didn't work out. I gave him some other advice about putting in effort, but I think I may be putting too much pressure on him. I'm not going to attend the next tryout in the hopes that without me, he'll do better. This is why I never wanted to coach his team and why I hated when my dad coached my teams.

We'll both keep trying. There are more clubs and more tryouts.

As sucky as that is to go through these are the type of things that if the child is guided through are really the power in youth sports to teach life lessons. I know you are on top of it and hoping for the best for him!

 

[Chadstroma]

3rd grade playoff game Thursday. If they win then the Championship game would be on Friday.

 

[SwampDawg]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

So I might not be 100% on this because my sons age group (2006) was the last group that played without build out lines and being able to head at U9. I can ask my son tonight since he got his ref card a few years ago. But I believe these are USYS's and US Club Soccer's recommendations, I would say they sanction 98% of leagues U12 and under.

U6 (k-1st) - No Offsides
U8 (2nd) - Build out line, offsides not always enforced, varies by league.
U9 (3rd) & U10 (4th) - Build out line, modified offsides enforced after the build out line not after midfield.
U11 (5th) and above - regular offsides

 

[SwampDawg]

Boys won the a State Cup quarter final last night 1-0, semi-final will be sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, should find out today. Hopefully not Sunday evening (baccalaureate service) or Monday (graduation). We beat the team we play a few weeks ago 2-1 in league play and we were missing 3 of our college kids that weren't home yet but who knows they could have been as well. Should be a good game.

 

[SwampDawg]

Tryout yesterday didn't go well for my son. He knew he didn't play well as was upset about it afterwards. He was not putting forth the level of effort needed. The club advanced about half of those that tried out, but my son didn't get called in for the 2nd round. He just wants a place to play and I haven't been able to delivery that for him yet. I told him that I was proud that he tried, even if it didn't work out. I gave him some other advice about putting in effort, but I think I may be putting too much pressure on him. I'm not going to attend the next tryout in the hopes that without me, he'll do better. This is why I never wanted to coach his team and why I hated when my dad coached my teams.

We'll both keep trying. There are more clubs and more tryouts.

Good luck man. Navigating the landscape is tough enough here without the language barrier, has to be frustrating when you can't even easily get info. I forget if you moved for your job or your wife's but anyone there maybe that knows the landscape and can help you? Maybe even someone from the school?

 

[SwampDawg]

GL Z... I totally spaced you were in Switzerland- I'm going to want to hear more about that (or at least, I need to pay attention in the future). I was shuked why a coach in Maryland or wherever I thought you lived would only speak french.

reading your posts, a couple questions re: US sports/soccer practices (for all of you)..

parents show up for these? and as non-coaches they yell instructions? and also for try-outs?

On my son’s team parents are not at practices and are discouraged from offering coaching advice at games. When my son was younger the director actually went up to a Dad and asked him to tone it down. That kid didnt last on the team as the Dad moved him. Philosophy is that you hired professional coaches they should be allowed to do their jobs.

Seems completely crazy to me that parents can act like that.

I found you get this behavior more at the level where you have dads or moms coaching and at the younger ages. U6 and even U8 sometimes usually parents yelling trying to get kids headed in the right direction, not bunch up etc. But then when they start playing real games at U9 some can't let that go and then you have the ones who think they know more then the coaches. After that usually (but not always) the higher levels where you are paying for coaches most parents tone it down on the sideline coaching. Berating refs usually takes up their time then.

As for practices maybe we've just been lucky the places where my son has played but while parents would stay when they had to drive kids to get there most usually would go for walks or hang out in the parking lot yacking. I never really saw any try and get involved other then running for balls on shooting drills or stuff like that.

 

[The Z Machine]

Tryout yesterday didn't go well for my son. He knew he didn't play well as was upset about it afterwards. He was not putting forth the level of effort needed. The club advanced about half of those that tried out, but my son didn't get called in for the 2nd round. He just wants a place to play and I haven't been able to delivery that for him yet. I told him that I was proud that he tried, even if it didn't work out. I gave him some other advice about putting in effort, but I think I may be putting too much pressure on him. I'm not going to attend the next tryout in the hopes that without me, he'll do better. This is why I never wanted to coach his team and why I hated when my dad coached my teams.

We'll both keep trying. There are more clubs and more tryouts.

Good luck man. Navigating the landscape is tough enough here without the language barrier, has to be frustrating when you can't even easily get info. I forget if you moved for your job or your wife's but anyone there maybe that knows the landscape and can help you? Maybe even someone from the school?

We moved for my wife's job. I reached out to a club where one of his friends plays and they said, "sorry, roster is full" and they don't seem to have any tryouts. Another club where a different classmate plays has never responded to any inquiries I've made (3 different ways). Those are the only 2 kids in my son's class that play for a club.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide.

Say what now

 

[Chadstroma]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

So I might not be 100% on this because my sons age group (2006) was the last group that played without build out lines and being able to head at U9. I can ask my son tonight since he got his ref card a few years ago. But I believe these are USYS's and US Club Soccer's recommendations, I would say they sanction 98% of leagues U12 and under.

U6 (k-1st) - No Offsides
U8 (2nd) - Build out line, offsides not always enforced, varies by league.
U9 (3rd) & U10 (4th) - Build out line, modified offsides enforced after the build out line not after midfield.
U11 (5th) and above - regular offsides

I asked because we had a couple of boys... clearly the best players on the team and they only play soccer all year ling and each got an off sides call. To me (someone who never played soccer or any sport with Offsides and do not follow soccer outside of my kids playing) it seems something that just shouldn't happen. Something pretty easy to avoid. It feels to me like someone who focuses on basketball at that age level double dribbling. But maybe I don't understand that nuance of it all... just seems like something that should not happen if you are a good player.

 

[Redwes25]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

So I might not be 100% on this because my sons age group (2006) was the last group that played without build out lines and being able to head at U9. I can ask my son tonight since he got his ref card a few years ago. But I believe these are USYS's and US Club Soccer's recommendations, I would say they sanction 98% of leagues U12 and under.

U6 (k-1st) - No Offsides
U8 (2nd) - Build out line, offsides not always enforced, varies by league.
U9 (3rd) & U10 (4th) - Build out line, modified offsides enforced after the build out line not after midfield.
U11 (5th) and above - regular offsides

I asked because we had a couple of boys... clearly the best players on the team and they only play soccer all year ling and each got an off sides call. To me (someone who never played soccer or any sport with Offsides and do not follow soccer outside of my kids playing) it seems something that just shouldn't happen. Something pretty easy to avoid. It feels to me like someone who focuses on basketball at that age level double dribbling. But maybe I don't understand that nuance of it all... just seems like something that should not happen if you are a good player.

Offsides is much more common then a double dribble is in basketball. Even at the highest levels it is called multiple times a game. A double drible rarely happens in the NBA unless you happen to be the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

 

[Chadstroma]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

So I might not be 100% on this because my sons age group (2006) was the last group that played without build out lines and being able to head at U9. I can ask my son tonight since he got his ref card a few years ago. But I believe these are USYS's and US Club Soccer's recommendations, I would say they sanction 98% of leagues U12 and under.

U6 (k-1st) - No Offsides
U8 (2nd) - Build out line, offsides not always enforced, varies by league.
U9 (3rd) & U10 (4th) - Build out line, modified offsides enforced after the build out line not after midfield.
U11 (5th) and above - regular offsides

I asked because we had a couple of boys... clearly the best players on the team and they only play soccer all year ling and each got an off sides call. To me (someone who never played soccer or any sport with Offsides and do not follow soccer outside of my kids playing) it seems something that just shouldn't happen. Something pretty easy to avoid. It feels to me like someone who focuses on basketball at that age level double dribbling. But maybe I don't understand that nuance of it all... just seems like something that should not happen if you are a good player.

Offsides is much more common then a double dribble is in basketball. Even at the highest levels it is called multiple times a game. A double drible rarely happens in the NBA unless you happen to be the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Yea... I don't get it. It is just basic situational awareness to me but again that is coming out of ignorance of soccer. Just seems simple to not do.

 

[Mookie]

One question... for players that soccer is their only or main sport that play year round club ball at the 5th/6th grade levels.... how hard should it be not to get off sides?

Offsides starts at U11 (I think), if I remember correctly from that age the kids picked it up pretty quickly. That would line up with a 5th grader.

Offsides starts way earlier than U11. Likely U7 or U8 I bet.

Staying onsides can be difficult for young kids that don't pay attention. Even players that have been playing for years can get too excited and in front of the last defender.

They have off sides starting with the 3rd graders in the league we are in.

So I might not be 100% on this because my sons age group (2006) was the last group that played without build out lines and being able to head at U9. I can ask my son tonight since he got his ref card a few years ago. But I believe these are USYS's and US Club Soccer's recommendations, I would say they sanction 98% of leagues U12 and under.

U6 (k-1st) - No Offsides
U8 (2nd) - Build out line, offsides not always enforced, varies by league.
U9 (3rd) & U10 (4th) - Build out line, modified offsides enforced after the build out line not after midfield.
U11 (5th) and above - regular offsides

I asked because we had a couple of boys... clearly the best players on the team and they only play soccer all year ling and each got an off sides call. To me (someone who never played soccer or any sport with Offsides and do not follow soccer outside of my kids playing) it seems something that just shouldn't happen. Something pretty easy to avoid. It feels to me like someone who focuses on basketball at that age level double dribbling. But maybe I don't understand that nuance of it all... just seems like something that should not happen if you are a good player.

Offsides is much more common then a double dribble is in basketball. Even at the highest levels it is called multiple times a game. A double drible rarely happens in the NBA unless you happen to be the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Yea... I don't get it. It is just basic situational awareness to me but again that is coming out of ignorance of soccer. Just seems simple to not do.

Offsides is often caused by a delayed pass, and isn't about a kid standing on the wrong side of the defense. If I'm running full sprint towards the goal without the ball and am 3 yards onside, but the guy dribbling has his head down or fiddles too long with the ball and delivers it late, I will be well offsides. I could time my run better, but the advantage I get from being at a full sprint towards the back line is gone. In this situation, the passer is at fault.

 

[Chadstroma]

Offsides is often caused by a delayed pass, and isn't about a kid standing on the wrong side of the defense. If I'm running full sprint towards the goal without the ball and am 3 yards onside, but the guy dribbling has his head down or fiddles too long with the ball and delivers it late, I will be well offsides. I could time my run better, but the advantage I get from being at a full sprint towards the back line is gone. In this situation, the passer is at fault.

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

 

[El Floppo]

Offsides is often caused by a delayed pass, and isn't about a kid standing on the wrong side of the defense. If I'm running full sprint towards the goal without the ball and am 3 yards onside, but the guy dribbling has his head down or fiddles too long with the ball and delivers it late, I will be well offsides. I could time my run better, but the advantage I get from being at a full sprint towards the back line is gone. In this situation, the passer is at fault.

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

It's a lot of moving parts from both teams on a big field. As said, very common at the highest levels, and should be expected at the lowest for sure. Not a reflection of a kids ability in the slightest.

 

[The Z Machine]

Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide.

Say what now

tryouts + no instructions from coaches = hero ball, rule of the jungle

 

[SwampDawg]

Missed the one shot he had as one of his teammates tried to steal the ball from him as he was setting up to shoot, so he hit it wide.

Say what now

tryouts + no instructions from coaches = hero ball, rule of the jungle

I always hated tryouts like that and so did my son. He thinks pass first and play defense and those tryouts lend themselves to kids that like to showboat. He always did much better and made more teams with the going to a couple of teams trainings and working out with them. Gives the coach a better understanding of the player and how they fit with the team.

 

[The Z Machine]

He's got a tryout tomorrow and then a training with another club on Monday. He's got a day off from school tomorrow so I'm sure hell be playing with his friends all day and be tired by 5:00 when the tryout rolls around.

 

[The Z Machine]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

Just to be clear, your thought of offside in soccer should never happen is actually correct, at least from a 5000 foot view.

Lets look at the 3 big sports that employ offside: soccer, football and hockey.

In all 3 sports, offside should really never happen. Soccer players can always check their runs, defenders in football can always wait for the snap, and hockey players can always wait at the blue line.

But offsides happen, a lot, in all 3 sports because the players are all looking for an advantage. In soccer and hockey, timing your run/skate such that you can accept the ball/puck on the dead run behind the defenders is extremely important to breaking down defenses. For football players, timing the snap is a huge advantage to being able to beat the offensive line man in a pass rush scenario.

Since the players are looking for the advantage, they are always going to be times where the timing is off and an offside occurs. In football, the timing is entirely on the defender but it is more complicated in soccer and hockey since the passer of the ball/puck is just as important to the timing as the runner/skater looking to accept the pass.

============

As an aside, if you are looking for the soccer equivalent of a double dribble, the best I can come up with is an illegal throw. You will see an illegal throw called some in the youth, but it almost does not exist at the pro level.

 

[Chadstroma]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?
So we have established that you need to not go to anymore tryouts with him

 

[Chadstroma]

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

Just to be clear, your thought of offside in soccer should never happen is actually correct, at least from a 5000 foot view.

Lets look at the 3 big sports that employ offside: soccer, football and hockey.

In all 3 sports, offside should really never happen. Soccer players can always check their runs, defenders in football can always wait for the snap, and hockey players can always wait at the blue line.

But offsides happen, a lot, in all 3 sports because the players are all looking for an advantage. In soccer and hockey, timing your run/skate such that you can accept the ball/puck on the dead run behind the defenders is extremely important to breaking down defenses. For football players, timing the snap is a huge advantage to being able to beat the offensive line man in a pass rush scenario.

Since the players are looking for the advantage, they are always going to be times where the timing is off and an offside occurs. In football, the timing is entirely on the defender but it is more complicated in soccer and hockey since the passer of the ball/puck is just as important to the timing as the runner/skater looking to accept the pass.

============

As an aside, if you are looking for the soccer equivalent of a double dribble, the best I can come up with is an illegal throw. You will see an illegal throw called some in the youth, but it almost does not exist at the pro level.

I get what you are saying for sure and it makes more sense to me now but at the least at what I have seen from the boys it was more lack of situational awareness. That being said.... I know nothing so I defer.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

Just to be clear, your thought of offside in soccer should never happen is actually correct, at least from a 5000 foot view.

Lets look at the 3 big sports that employ offside: soccer, football and hockey.

In all 3 sports, offside should really never happen. Soccer players can always check their runs, defenders in football can always wait for the snap, and hockey players can always wait at the blue line.

But offsides happen, a lot, in all 3 sports because the players are all looking for an advantage. In soccer and hockey, timing your run/skate such that you can accept the ball/puck on the dead run behind the defenders is extremely important to breaking down defenses. For football players, timing the snap is a huge advantage to being able to beat the offensive line man in a pass rush scenario.

Since the players are looking for the advantage, they are always going to be times where the timing is off and an offside occurs. In football, the timing is entirely on the defender but it is more complicated in soccer and hockey since the passer of the ball/puck is just as important to the timing as the runner/skater looking to accept the pass.

============

As an aside, if you are looking for the soccer equivalent of a double dribble, the best I can come up with is an illegal throw. You will see an illegal throw called some in the youth, but it almost does not exist at the pro level.

I get what you are saying for sure and it makes more sense to me now but at the least at what I have seen from the boys it was more lack of situational awareness. That being said.... I know nothing so I defer.

and we should acknowledge, even at the pro level, some times players in all sports just fall asleep at the switch and should never have made the mistake leading to offside. There are always dumb plays and players

 

[Chadstroma]

Yea, more my ignorance than anything.

Just to be clear, your thought of offside in soccer should never happen is actually correct, at least from a 5000 foot view.

Lets look at the 3 big sports that employ offside: soccer, football and hockey.

In all 3 sports, offside should really never happen. Soccer players can always check their runs, defenders in football can always wait for the snap, and hockey players can always wait at the blue line.

But offsides happen, a lot, in all 3 sports because the players are all looking for an advantage. In soccer and hockey, timing your run/skate such that you can accept the ball/puck on the dead run behind the defenders is extremely important to breaking down defenses. For football players, timing the snap is a huge advantage to being able to beat the offensive line man in a pass rush scenario.

Since the players are looking for the advantage, they are always going to be times where the timing is off and an offside occurs. In football, the timing is entirely on the defender but it is more complicated in soccer and hockey since the passer of the ball/puck is just as important to the timing as the runner/skater looking to accept the pass.

============

As an aside, if you are looking for the soccer equivalent of a double dribble, the best I can come up with is an illegal throw. You will see an illegal throw called some in the youth, but it almost does not exist at the pro level.

I get what you are saying for sure and it makes more sense to me now but at the least at what I have seen from the boys it was more lack of situational awareness. That being said.... I know nothing so I defer.

and we should acknowledge, even at the pro level, some times players in all sports just fall asleep at the switch and should never have made the mistake leading to offside. There are always dumb plays and players

True... and double dribble is probably extreme. You really only see that in youth leagues like 10U and then the NBA days and the refs ignore it there.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?

Z can certainly answer better than I can but when I hear Spanish and soccer in the US, I always think it is a mixture of Mexicans and Central Americans (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guat, Panama and El Salvador).

I don't think we have a large Spanish (from Spain) population here in the US. At least not as big as some of the other Spanish speaking countries I mentioned.

 

[Chadstroma]

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?

Z can certainly answer better than I can but when I hear Spanish and soccer in the US, I always think it is a mixture of Mexicans and Central Americans (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guat, Panama and El Salvador).

I don't think we have a large Spanish (from Spain) population here in the US. At least not as big as some of the other Spanish speaking countries I mentioned.

He is in Switzerland now. I would be a little on the shocked side if the Spanish speaking population were Mexican, Central or South American. Just as much as I would be a little surprised to run into a large Spanish population here in the states.

 

[The Z Machine]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?
So we have established that you need to not go to anymore tryouts with him

I think you're right about me not attending. I don't think I do him any favors.

The players were mostly Latinos, not Spaniards. And if you think about it, that makes some sense because there are 10x? 20x? more Latinos than Spaniards. Geneva is a very international city, but not that European other than French and English. I meet more people from Ghana than Germany. But that is more likely a function of the social circles I've formed here.

 

[Chadstroma]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?
So we have established that you need to not go to anymore tryouts with him

I think you're right about me not attending. I don't think I do him any favors.

The players were mostly Latinos, not Spaniards. And if you think about it, that makes some sense because there are 10x? 20x? more Latinos than Spaniards. Geneva is a very international city, but not that European other than French and English. I meet more people from Ghana than Germany. But that is more likely a function of the social circles I've formed here.

Interesting.

Glad your son found a soccer home! Time for him to brush up on Spanish.

 

[The Z Machine]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?
So we have established that you need to not go to anymore tryouts with him

I think you're right about me not attending. I don't think I do him any favors.

The players were mostly Latinos, not Spaniards. And if you think about it, that makes some sense because there are 10x? 20x? more Latinos than Spaniards. Geneva is a very international city, but not that European other than French and English. I meet more people from Ghana than Germany. But that is more likely a function of the social circles I've formed here.

Interesting.

Glad your son found a soccer home! Time for him to brush up on Spanish.

He is nearly fluent in Spanish already. His mother was born in Venezuela and he went to a bilingual english/Spanish school from K-5. Been losing practice since moving to Switzerland though as we don't speak it in the house and we aren't forcing the kids to use it. He told me when he tries to come up with word in Spanish, French comes into his head now.

He'll always have it in mind though. It would be amazing if he was truly trilingial English/Spanish/French. That would cover a good chunk of age globe excluding Asia.

 

[The Z Machine]

His tryout today wasn't a tryout at all, it was jumping into training with the club. It's the end of the season and they just won their league last Saturday so the club just did fun, short sided scrimmages. My son had his best outing so far, showing his skills, getting some goals and assists and generally looking the part with this club. He was really enjoying it too.

They asked for him to come back on Wednesday and train again. If they will take him, then we have to choose between the 2 clubs. I'm glad that he enjoyed himself and is starting to feel more comfortable in these settings.

 

[Chadstroma]

Tryout went better yesterday and he got invited to join the club! It's a relatively new club, only 3 or 4 years old. Most of the kids and coaches are Latino, so there's a lot of Spanish on the field although the head guy only speaks French I think. As his mom says, he's used to being yelled at in Spanish so he'll fit right in there.

Anyway, he's happy he got the invite to join and so am I. Overall, the players seem about his level so it's a good fit both culturally and talent wise. I don't know about the coaching, but it's better than what he's gotten for the last year, which was basically nothing. Practice is 2x/week with games on Sat. He can take public transit to and from the practice site.

As for the tryout, I didn't attend as my wife took him this time. She said he struggled with similar things he's struggled with in the past, 1) tentative and not willing to use his body in either shielding the ball or on defense. 2) Hustle and trying hard to get to second balls. He wants to play clean passes to his teammates and receive the ball in space. In the scrimmage he did get a couple of assists with some quality passing and vision, which are strengths.

There are 2 more tryouts this next week, but I'm glad he's got a spot if he wants it.

Good news!
Is there a large Spanish population there? I have to imagine that they are Spaniards, no?
So we have established that you need to not go to anymore tryouts with him

I think you're right about me not attending. I don't think I do him any favors.

The players were mostly Latinos, not Spaniards. And if you think about it, that makes some sense because there are 10x? 20x? more Latinos than Spaniards. Geneva is a very international city, but not that European other than French and English. I meet more people from Ghana than Germany. But that is more likely a function of the social circles I've formed here.

Interesting.

Glad your son found a soccer home! Time for him to brush up on Spanish.

He is nearly fluent in Spanish already. His mother was born in Venezuela and he went to a bilingual english/Spanish school from K-5. Been losing practice since moving to Switzerland though as we don't speak it in the house and we aren't forcing the kids to use it. He told me when he tries to come up with word in Spanish, French comes into his head now.

He'll always have it in mind though. It would be amazing if he was truly trilingial English/Spanish/French. That would cover a good chunk of age globe excluding Asia.

Yea, if you can speak English, Spanish and French then you have a good chance of talking to someone from the Americas, Europe and even Africa. Good for him. The less you use it the harder it is to use though for sure. Good for him- should serve him well as he gets older.

 

[Chadstroma]

His tryout today wasn't a tryout at all, it was jumping into training with the club. It's the end of the season and they just won their league last Saturday so the club just did fun, short sided scrimmages. My son had his best outing so far, showing his skills, getting some goals and assists and generally looking the part with this club. He was really enjoying it too.

They asked for him to come back on Wednesday and train again. If they will take him, then we have to choose between the 2 clubs. I'm glad that he enjoyed himself and is starting to feel more comfortable in these settings.

I bet that the pressure of making a club since he already had a spot at the previous one was the difference for him being loose and just playing.

 

[El Floppo]

His tryout today wasn't a tryout at all, it was jumping into training with the club. It's the end of the season and they just won their league last Saturday so the club just did fun, short sided scrimmages. My son had his best outing so far, showing his skills, getting some goals and assists and generally looking the part with this club. He was really enjoying it too.

They asked for him to come back on Wednesday and train again. If they will take him, then we have to choose between the 2 clubs. I'm glad that he enjoyed himself and is starting to feel more comfortable in these settings.

I bet that the pressure of making a club since he already had a spot at the previous one was the difference for him being loose and just playing.

Also it not being a tryout, but just a loose, fun kick around... Takes the pressure off.