SwampDawg
Footballguy
Yea they aren't much for innovation lol.
On a plus note he was told at practice yesterday that he is only playing Varsity for now so we will see tonight if that means he has moved into a starter role.
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Youth Soccer - Questions, Discussion and Stories . (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter SwampDawg
- Start date
On a plus note he was told at practice yesterday that he is only playing Varsity for now so we will see tonight if that means he has moved into a starter role.
3-2 loss in Game #2. Biggest takeaway is that I'm even madder than before about how many of the freshmen were moved up to Varsity and JV. We had two subs, and basically have our better players nursing injuries after almost every game or scrimmage. I think the pressure to play through injuries is causing really minor tweaks to turn into lingering problems, because there are never enough subs. And it's not just our team...the team we just played has an even stupider situation, with 22 players on varsity and 13 on the freshman team. Both the school trainer and the freshmen coach have made comments discouraging girls from sitting when injured. I can't imagine that ever happening on either of the travel teams my daughter has played on.
And despite all that, the level of play is SO much worse. My wife isn't really a soccer fan, but after watching a few minutes yesterday, her observation was "This is really tough to watch. Why are they all clumped up around the ball? I think I've been spoiled watching the travel team."
PS. On the bright side, the team played pretty well and probably should have won. Other team had a goal on a corner kick go into the net without touching anyone, where our backup goalie was inexplicably at the front of the goalie box, and ball managed to miss our three defenders who were positioned behind the goalie. Our best scorer (who excels on breakaways) was stopped by the opposing goalie on two breakaways. And I was proud that my daughter was clearly playing all out at the end and set up a teammate for an open shot in front of the goal in the last few seconds, although the shot somehow went over the top of the net.
And despite all that, the level of play is SO much worse. My wife isn't really a soccer fan, but after watching a few minutes yesterday, her observation was "This is really tough to watch. Why are they all clumped up around the ball? I think I've been spoiled watching the travel team."
PS. On the bright side, the team played pretty well and probably should have won. Other team had a goal on a corner kick go into the net without touching anyone, where our backup goalie was inexplicably at the front of the goalie box, and ball managed to miss our three defenders who were positioned behind the goalie. Our best scorer (who excels on breakaways) was stopped by the opposing goalie on two breakaways. And I was proud that my daughter was clearly playing all out at the end and set up a teammate for an open shot in front of the goal in the last few seconds, although the shot somehow went over the top of the net.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Great week for us, 3 division games, 3 wins. Tuesday was a 5-1 win that was pretty easy. Thursday was against our biggest rival, a school we co-op football with. They are young but have some talent. It was a total battle, their student section was loud but we came away with a 1-0 win. My son got his first varsity start and played the full 80 minutes. Got a nice compliment from their striker after the game. He asked him how old he was and when he said 14 he was impressed. Last night was a showdown with the team that took the division from us last year in OT the final game of the year. We went in 2-0 in division, 3-0 in the league. They were 1-0 in division and 2-1 in league play so the winner controlled the division. They also had the leading scorer in the county with 12 goals in 6 games. My son got the start again and it was a hard fought first half, we managed to get one in and go to half up 1-0. The defense was playing lights out. Second half the offense exploded for 3 goals in the first eight minutes. Then their keeper went down and the rout was on. Final ended up 9-1. Their big scorer did scorer did knock a rebound in for their goal but we frustrated him. Two league games this week against the division above ours.
Also got a cool pic of my son making a tackle in one game. https://imgur.com/a/DaspaYB
Also got a cool pic of my son making a tackle in one game. https://imgur.com/a/DaspaYB
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Surprised on the trainer making those statements. Assuming they are not school employees but contracted through a local healthcare system like ours. We actually have the opposite issue. One of my sons friends had a sore knee, trainer said he needed to go get checked. Saw doctor, did mri and they said he has some fluid behind the knee but no damage and can’t really do anything more to it. It just needs to work itself out. Dr said 3 sessions of PT to make sure he wasn’t stressing anything else and he was good. PT goes fine, Dr clears him, trainer says she wants 5 full practices before clearing him to play. With the game schedule and a rained out practice that is taking him two weeks.zoobird said:
PIK95
Footballguy
So we had a good week. We had three games against solid opponents, and grabbed two home wins and an away 0-0 tie. We have been very good holding possession and our team defense has been our strength. Our should be number one keeper (6-5 spiderman) only played one game (0-0 tie) out of our four, which is strange. The other kid gave up a soft one for our only GA. So we are 3-0-1 with 8 goals, 1 allowed. Nobody can even get shots off on us. We have another tough away game this week on Thursday.
On a personal note, my son had a funny week. The coach started him at the eight on Monday. He was the only non senior in the starting lineup, but he is the biggest kid on the team. He had a million touches and was really effective keeping possession for us. On Wednesday, he came off the bench as the six, after our stopper broke his ankle early. Later in the match he played the eight for a spell, then slid up to the ten (ten dropped to six) as we made a push to break the draw. He did REALLY well dropping passes on everyones feet driving into the box, but nobody could put one in.
Friday was the really tough matchup. The team we played was really fast and physical, and they pressed us big time. My guy came off the bench at the fifteen minute mark and basically played the entire game at the ten from there. He usually gets 40 (out of 80) mins, but that one he played sixty and led the team (non defenders). I was really amped as he repeatedly took on double and triple teams and broke their press. He made a sweet pass that led to our first goal. If we could finish he would have had five assists. It looks like the coach is gonna feature him now as he moved the senior ten back to the six permanently.
Anyway, just wanted to share. I still feel bad for the great players we have that are stuck on JV or not playing on Varsity. It makes it hard to get too excited.
On a personal note, my son had a funny week. The coach started him at the eight on Monday. He was the only non senior in the starting lineup, but he is the biggest kid on the team. He had a million touches and was really effective keeping possession for us. On Wednesday, he came off the bench as the six, after our stopper broke his ankle early. Later in the match he played the eight for a spell, then slid up to the ten (ten dropped to six) as we made a push to break the draw. He did REALLY well dropping passes on everyones feet driving into the box, but nobody could put one in.
Friday was the really tough matchup. The team we played was really fast and physical, and they pressed us big time. My guy came off the bench at the fifteen minute mark and basically played the entire game at the ten from there. He usually gets 40 (out of 80) mins, but that one he played sixty and led the team (non defenders). I was really amped as he repeatedly took on double and triple teams and broke their press. He made a sweet pass that led to our first goal. If we could finish he would have had five assists. It looks like the coach is gonna feature him now as he moved the senior ten back to the six permanently.
Anyway, just wanted to share. I still feel bad for the great players we have that are stuck on JV or not playing on Varsity. It makes it hard to get too excited.
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Lehigh98
Footballguy
Busy weekend, my (U14) son had a game Friday night, reffed Saturday morning, played Saturday, and then we had another game on Sunday down in the Baltimore area (2.5 hour drive for us).
We finally figured out what league he's playing in, it's called the Pennsylvania Regional Club League (PRCL) and seems like it might only be in its second year? Anyway, seems decent so far for us with all the games being close, in score if not distance. Six other teams and we're scheduled to play each three times so 18 games with 9 in the fall and then 9 more in the spring. Slow 1-3 start with scores of 2-3, 2-0, 4-6, and 1-2 but I feel like they were/will be capable of playing better and could have won any of those games (our keeper really struggled in the 4-6 game).
It's been interesting for my son so far on this new (for him) team. Most of the team had already been playing together and my son was one of two new additions to the team, well aside from 3 kids who were sent down to our B team when the switched some kids up between A and B.
My son had played mostly outside mid up until a couple years ago when they pushed him up to forward because they didn't have anyone else who could score. But that team had trouble moving the ball and my son ended spending alot of time waiting around hoping they'd get the ball across midfield.
I think his new coach is still figuring out what he wants to do with him. He was playing mostly mid and would start each half and then come out at the midway point when they switched out mids / forwards. Then the coach was trying him at forward occasionally. Then he would start at mid, come out midway and then go back in at forward (and be the only one subbed back on) for the last 5-10 mins. Then one of our backs broke his wrist outside of soccer and the coach tried my son at right back (he's never really played D before) and my son has played a couple games where he's played mid, forward, and back.
The most recent game he played all 70 minutes at right back and wasn't subbed off. I barely remember the last time he played any D and I don't think he's ever played a full game so that was interesting. You could tell he was still trying to figure out how to play D as the game went on but he was figuring it out and did pretty well. He said he was fine with it and still had fun and likes mid but didn't really have a positional preference either way so I guess we'll just see how the season goes...
We finally figured out what league he's playing in, it's called the Pennsylvania Regional Club League (PRCL) and seems like it might only be in its second year? Anyway, seems decent so far for us with all the games being close, in score if not distance. Six other teams and we're scheduled to play each three times so 18 games with 9 in the fall and then 9 more in the spring. Slow 1-3 start with scores of 2-3, 2-0, 4-6, and 1-2 but I feel like they were/will be capable of playing better and could have won any of those games (our keeper really struggled in the 4-6 game).
It's been interesting for my son so far on this new (for him) team. Most of the team had already been playing together and my son was one of two new additions to the team, well aside from 3 kids who were sent down to our B team when the switched some kids up between A and B.
My son had played mostly outside mid up until a couple years ago when they pushed him up to forward because they didn't have anyone else who could score. But that team had trouble moving the ball and my son ended spending alot of time waiting around hoping they'd get the ball across midfield.
I think his new coach is still figuring out what he wants to do with him. He was playing mostly mid and would start each half and then come out at the midway point when they switched out mids / forwards. Then the coach was trying him at forward occasionally. Then he would start at mid, come out midway and then go back in at forward (and be the only one subbed back on) for the last 5-10 mins. Then one of our backs broke his wrist outside of soccer and the coach tried my son at right back (he's never really played D before) and my son has played a couple games where he's played mid, forward, and back.
The most recent game he played all 70 minutes at right back and wasn't subbed off. I barely remember the last time he played any D and I don't think he's ever played a full game so that was interesting. You could tell he was still trying to figure out how to play D as the game went on but he was figuring it out and did pretty well. He said he was fine with it and still had fun and likes mid but didn't really have a positional preference either way so I guess we'll just see how the season goes...
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SwampDawg
Footballguy
We played PRCL last year, pretty decent league. You are right it's just the second season, they put it together last year because most of the teams were playing EDP but didn't know if they were going to be allowed to play in NJ so they needed an alternative plan. It's under US Club Soccer's National Premier League instead of USYS EDP which has been more the norm around here. Top two last year got to go to the Eastern Regional playoffs in SC, boys had a blast there.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
So how was everyone's week and weekend? Boys took two wins last week. Tuesday was big as it was a crossover game against the other division and the team that was leading that division, got up 2-0 in the first half and finished 2-1. Then rolled in another crossover game Thursday night 4-0. Overall they are 8-2 and 6-0 in league play. All but assured of making the county playoffs at this point and currently 6th in the district power rankings with the top 10 qualifying for district playoffs. Finally starting to get some recognition from the local press making the Thursday night news with some highlights, of course the defense got no screen time other then my son with the high five to the goal scorer right at the end of the clip lol.
Bullets on WFMZ
My son continues to start and get plenty of time. I've been tracking his minutes and the defenses goals against and when he's on the field they give up a goal every 96 minutes, when he's not on the field it is a goal every 45 minutes. Not saying all that difference is him but I do think the Sweeper/Stopper's in the middle trust him enough that they stay home themselves and are able to help the right side a little more.
Three games this week, Tuesday vs the team that took over the other division lead and has only allowed 4 goals in 10 games (we lead the league with 39 goals scored and are second in goals allowed with 11). Thursday is the second place team in our division, we already beat them once so a win pretty much puts the division away. Then Saturday a non-league game but against one of his club teammates so some bragging rights on the line there.
Bullets on WFMZ
My son continues to start and get plenty of time. I've been tracking his minutes and the defenses goals against and when he's on the field they give up a goal every 96 minutes, when he's not on the field it is a goal every 45 minutes. Not saying all that difference is him but I do think the Sweeper/Stopper's in the middle trust him enough that they stay home themselves and are able to help the right side a little more.
Three games this week, Tuesday vs the team that took over the other division lead and has only allowed 4 goals in 10 games (we lead the league with 39 goals scored and are second in goals allowed with 11). Thursday is the second place team in our division, we already beat them once so a win pretty much puts the division away. Then Saturday a non-league game but against one of his club teammates so some bragging rights on the line there.
Lehigh98
Footballguy
Great!... I was in Key West. My son who played his first full game at outside back last week played again this week and they put him at center back for the whole game. They had lost another defender to injury during the week so Gavin was pressed into service. Lost 1-2 but I asked a couple other dad's that were there about the game and they said he played well and his inexperience didn't show. At least it's good experience I guess! Looking forward to the next one.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Ned
Footballguy
My oldest is 2-2 for high school so far. They stink, so there's going to be some pretty lopsided games. He's played every minute at GK as a freshman; invaluable experience. My only gripe is how he's being used as a shot stopper only. They're not playing out of the back whatsoever.
My youngest continues his sprained ACL recovery; got 15mins in at striker at the end of their last match. Nothing to write home about other than he took a few knocks and came out of the game healthy.
My youngest continues his sprained ACL recovery; got 15mins in at striker at the end of their last match. Nothing to write home about other than he took a few knocks and came out of the game healthy.
I hate to think what it would look like if my daughter's freshmen team ever tried to play out of the back.
Her travel team is the exact opposite...they went an entire season without punting the ball a couple of years when they didn't have a dedicated goalie. I was shocked how few times it got them into trouble.
Ned
Footballguy
2 things are certain in HS ball.
- Fitness first
- Kick n run with your fastest player up top
SwampDawg
Footballguy
I'm not sure if I am happy or sad that we aren't the only ones. We've played one team that played out of the back this year, small private school that were state champs last year. They total dominated possession, shredded our midfield and the top of the offense was exhausted from chasing all night as they passed the ball around.
@Nedlooks like we will both be at the FC Delco Showcase the end of November with the 06's.
Ned
Footballguy
Ned
Footballguy
Coach didn't trust my son on goal kicks because he was a freshman and just assumed he couldn't hit it as long as their best defender.
G2 of the season my son waved off the CB and took the kick on his own (shocked me - he's not very demanding). Put the ball on a dime to their left-mid and has taken them ever since. Yes, coach, there's more to this than just kick it as far as you possibly can. Ball distribution is his strongest part of his game.
Lehigh98
Footballguy
My son that is a referee thanks you for your contribution.
If we didn't have so many dbags chasing away refs it might not be so expensive.
When my younger son turns 14 and gets trained and certified next year I'm going to go with him so we can all travel to tournaments and make $$$$loads of money.
Ned
Footballguy
My son that is a referee thanks you for your contribution.
If we didn't have so many dbags chasing away refs it might not be so expensive.
When my younger son turns 14 and gets trained and certified next year I'm going to go with him so we can all travel to tournaments and make $$$$loads of money.
We wouldn't have games without brave souls like your kid. Thanks for stepping up!
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Total disaster last night as I feared. Played a well coached, organized team that played possession and as I have seen in the past what happens when you play dump and chase against that unless you score early your attacking players get worn down making run after run and trying to press while the other team passes around and then your defense gets worn down because they are under constant counter attacks from all the long balls that get intercepted. Down 2-0 at half and lost 3-0. My son said the coach made no adjustments to formation or plan at halftime, basically just told them to play harder. He was frustrated after the game that they don't try anything different against good teams. They have enough talent and athleticism that against the majority of HS teams that play the same way they usually win but two of their three losses have been against organized teams that move the ball through possession and the results have been the same. He finally got frustrated with like 5 minutes to go of making a stop, hitting an open mid fielder and having them bomb the ball to no one that he just took it himself about 70 yards and hit a perfect cross to the far post. Yet somehow with the goalie drawn to the near post instead of heading or chesting it in the kid decided to try and bring it down and hit it with his left, which he did at about an 80 degree angle that rolled back harmlessly across the goal and out. That was about the closest they got to a goal all night, I don't think they had a shot in the first half. On top of it he had a kid fall on him about 10 minutes in and bruise his quad. He was off about 15 minutes then played the rest of the game but it was pretty sore this morning. Hopefully they don't overdue practice today as punishment as they have games tomorrow and Saturday.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
From an interesting discussion I saw on Twitter this weekend. If you want to support youth soccer and your kids play soccer or you coach a youth team - encourage your kids to get certified to ref games. It is a great way to make money on your own schedule - in our case paid in cash tax free on gameday. Also, if you are at a game and a parent or coach is harassing a young ref or AR, speak up - let them know they are being pricks and should be ashamed of themselves.
Like many hourly jobs across the country, youth soccer leagues are having increasing difficulty staffing games. You don't want that fat 53 year old dude who is doing it for booze money reffing your kids games. My son could fill up his whole weekend with games if he had the time, and is frequently sent to ref games outside his preferred age range due to being one of very few available this fall in our area. He had an incident with a coach a few weeks ago that had him talking about quitting. Something to think about if you love youth soccer.
Like many hourly jobs across the country, youth soccer leagues are having increasing difficulty staffing games. You don't want that fat 53 year old dude who is doing it for booze money reffing your kids games. My son could fill up his whole weekend with games if he had the time, and is frequently sent to ref games outside his preferred age range due to being one of very few available this fall in our area. He had an incident with a coach a few weeks ago that had him talking about quitting. Something to think about if you love youth soccer.
The bolded is directly correlated to the underlined. Two weekends ago for my 07s NPL game they only had a single referee. At that age and that level it is near impossible to handle with just one. In this case, it was the other team's parents that were acting up, so much so that they managed to find an AR to work just their sideline for the second half. They didn't knock it off, one of their parents was red carded.
My son has thought about reffing, but then when he sees things like that (and much of the same at even the younger levels and down into rec) he decides it's not worth it which is unfortunate.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Boys bounced back last night to take a 6-2 win, both goals allowed were with mostly JV players on in the last eight minutes after Varsity had a 5-0 lead. The win clinched their division for first time since 2008. Was cool to see the seniors through freshman JV players all celebrating afterward.
PIK95
Footballguy
Great night for my son in his high school game. Not only did they knock of the undefeated top of the table school 2-1, but my guy played the eight and locked down their All State ten all night. The kid is a 6'4 senior with crazy skills and vision. He scored seven goals in a game last week and had seventeen in seven games going into tonight. My guy not only locked him up, he got in his head. He bodied and trash talked their stud, while also leading our attack all night. My son is pretty big too luckily, but usually a weak defender. We held the kid scoreless and we also held possession advantage all game. My son thought he had a goal, but his club teammate (Also All State) somehow got a glove on it and deflected it for a corner.
I'm still bouncing off the walls with excitement hours later, lol.
I'm still bouncing off the walls with excitement hours later, lol.
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Four games since last update. In order, L (5-0), T (1-1), L (5-1), W (4-1). My daughter cramped up really badly at the end of the first two games and in both cases was still having problems walking the next day, but seems to have worked through that at this point. The good news is that she's been playing really aggressively, which is usually a weakness of hers. She's also been involved in a lot of the scoring - assisted on the only goal in the tie, scored the only goal in the 5-1 loss, and had a goal and an assist in the win. Still a bit frustrated that her coach seems to go out of her way to praise everyone else but never says anything to my daughter. And very frustrated that in addition to their best player, the coach is having two players who clearly aren't in their top 6 or 8 play up for the JV team when they don't have simultaneous games.
PIK95
Footballguy
You probably know this, but bananas help big time with cramps, when eaten proactively. I have coached a long time. I never seem to praise the best players. If a kid is confident and doing their job I rarely praise them. I use praise to try and build up, or motivate the weaker ones If I think a kid needs some positive reinforcement I give it. It's usually obvious who needs it. Maybe your daughter comes across as very strong.
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Yeah - bananas, gatorade and stretching has seemed to do the trick.
Very possible that you're right about the reason for the coach not praising. My daughter definitely tends to perceive slights even where there isn't much reason. She also is more motivated by praise than criticism. That said, the fact that she (and others) have been passed over for inclusion in JV games in favor of clearly inferior players, makes me wonder how competent the coach is at evaluating performance.
Tom Hagen
Footballguy
Our organization warned the parents before this season to leave young referees alone because there is a shortage. The older refs have learned to blow it off but parents are forcing the younger ones to quit.
Having said that we made it about 50 minutes into the season before our coach screamed at a young ref about a missed PK.
Ned
Footballguy
My youngest's slow march back to 100% continues; got a solid 25mins in a friendly at his usual #10 spot. Beat one kid so bad on the dribble the kid just up and shoved him in the back. My son is pretty reserved, but popped up off the ground with the WTF WHERES THE WHISTLE motion with his hands. His pass was still spot on so ref played advantage. Thrilled to see him regaining his confidence.
My oldest had his best game yesterday against one of the top teams in the state. That was until he decided to stop a shot with his face. Bloody nose and got his bell rung; we're monitoring for concussion symptoms. They were down 3-0 at the time, but he had so many saves. Once he went out, they went down 6-0 in 7mins. Sucks he got hurt, but that was a clear message to the value he brings to the team.
My oldest had his best game yesterday against one of the top teams in the state. That was until he decided to stop a shot with his face. Bloody nose and got his bell rung; we're monitoring for concussion symptoms. They were down 3-0 at the time, but he had so many saves. Once he went out, they went down 6-0 in 7mins. Sucks he got hurt, but that was a clear message to the value he brings to the team.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Have her hydrate during the day at school as well. Game days my son will take two bottles of propel and two bottles of plain water with him to school. He doesn't always get all four down but usually at least three. and for tournament weekends he starts a couple days ahead really pushing the water/propel/smart water. We try and limit Gatorade to just during games because of the sugar.
ChiefD
Footballguy
Yeah, my son is 16 and has been reffing for two years. Bought his first car with his earnings.
Anyway, you are correct - he gets abused on a weekly basis. Ever since he started I've preached to him (not in these exact words):
"you are gonna hear from parents and coaches because they are a-holes and they take this way to seriously. it comes with the territory and if they cross a line you go to your field marshall and have them take care of it."
So far he lets it roll off his back but parents need to chill out. These are kids, man.
SwampDawg
Footballguy
Goalie parents are a special breed. It's bad enough being a defenders parent because they get no acknowledgment from anyone except their own team and a few opponents but goalies get all the blame and always seem to take the biggest hits. Our game Saturday the other teams goalie comes out of the box and jumps at our kid who is jumping trying to get to the ball mid air and flick it by. They collide and our kid had half turned bracing for impact and the keepers face went right into his elbow. It wasn't raised or anything on purpose just wrong place at the wrong time. Broken nose for sure and my son said after the game word was a fractured jaw as well from what the other team was saying.
Other then that a wild game, lost 3-2 on a goal with less then 5 seconds left in overtime. Kid had crossed the ball and everyone on our team thought it was going out when a kid kept it in and crossed right in front of the goal. They were totally flat footed and didn't react as quick as the other teams one player who chipped it past the goalie. Probably the worse game my son has played, second goal was on him, he was trying to pull it back to the outside on the endline to prevent a corner and got his pocket picked. One of those looking back he should have just conceded the corner but I get what he was trying to do. That is first goal he has conceded directly all year. The OT winner wasn't solely on him but had any of about three of them reacted quicker it ends in a tie.
Ned
Footballguy
it took me years to come to grips with my oldest being a GK. If someone offered me a bet on what position he'd end up at, GK would've been dead last. You gotta be half out of your mind to want to play back there, but he loves it.
PIK95
Footballguy
My son used to be our emergency GK, and he was really good. Our regular GK back then had crazy feet. He could juggle over 500 times! My son was great at starting the attack. He actually scored a few goals as our GK at u12, lol. Once he broke his wrist at futsal, I put a stop to it. I'm secretly happy he doesn't have to be in there anymore for the reasons people said earlier. Good luck to your son. We really appreciate a good dedicated keeper. Nobody better to have.
PIK95
Footballguy
It's a big week of matches again for us with the high schoo teaml. Tonight we have the top of the table battle, Thursday we are away at a physical, athletic kick and run crew. Sunday we have our City Cup against our town rivals. I have coached at least 90% of the kids on the two teams combined over the years. Best friends against best friends. It's gonna be crazy. The stadium is usually close to full for that one.
Me and my guy have been battling allergies all weekend, but he is ready to go as always. Tonight is the big one standings wise of our three matches.
Me and my guy have been battling allergies all weekend, but he is ready to go as always. Tonight is the big one standings wise of our three matches.
Tom Hagen
Footballguy
Watching my GK daughter in a relatively meaningless U13 game is the most stressful 75 minutes of my week.
This is my wife with my 14 year old. I do my best to not stress, trying to be the calming influence for him, but inside is all butterflies, especially PKs etc. He absolutely loves it back there, was naturally inclined towards keeper basically from the first time he stepped foot on a field - even when 5 years old and you had the swarm effect of all 10 kids on the field around the ball, he'd gravitate back to guarding our goal even though there were no goalies -
Ned
Footballguy
I've always been fascinated with seeing how certain kids gravitate to certain positions like that. You can easily pick out the natural defenders and attackers at a young age by watching for things like your 14yr old was doing.
ChiefD
Footballguy
I remember my oldest son's first team when he was 4 years old. He was put with a whole group of kids we didn't know - basically kids from all over town. There was this one kid who just had "it". Natural forward. Natural body movement with the ball the way he could turn kids and just flat out score.
His parents knew nothing about soccer. I told them after about two games that no matter what you do this kid needs to play soccer his whole life and they would be wise to get him into some more competitive soccer down the line.
Fast forward to now and that kid is still a dynamic scorer and always has been.
![[scooter]](/data/avatars/m/22/22287.jpg?1659477690){kind=avatar}
[scooter]
Footballguy
Do the inferior players play the same position as your daughter?zoobird said:
One thing that I've noticed is that some coaches tend to dole out playing time based on position, not talent. So, a backup forward is more likely to get playing time (compared to a backup CDM) because the position requires less skill.
It's fine if the goal is to make parents happy and to give mediocre players a memory they can tell their kids, but it tends to stifle player development.
This is very possibly the explanation. Both inferior players are defenders. None of the top six players on the team are defenders. Among the defenders, I still wouldn't pick one of these two, but it's certainly debatable.
In the meantime, they won a game 3-1 yesterday, despite my daughter having a kind of low energy game and despite the team "scoring" an own goal for the third straight game.
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PIK95
Footballguy
Last night was a boring nil-nil result. Less than a week after playing a great possession game, with good chemistry all around, the coach made big needless changes. This was a top of the table match. He started the backup keeper (big drop-off). Luckily, they didn't put a shot on goal all game. He moved the right back to the ten (no offensive tendencies, huh?) in order to get an injured sophomore defender into the game. He also did strange subbing that made us basically kick and run all match. Some of these kids can't handle or make a pass. They are just fast. WTF? It was a bizarre and disappointing night. After it was over, the coach told the kids he was relieved to get the point. wat! We should have smoked that team. It's really hard to be a coach and watch others coach. Vent over.
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SWC
Bromigo
just tell your kid to kick it into the other goal and win take that to the bank brohan
Coach didn't trust my son on goal kicks because he was a freshman and just assumed he couldn't hit it as long as their best defender.
Yes, coach, there's more to this than just kick it as far as you possibly can. Ball distribution is his strongest part of his game.
ChiefD
Footballguy
My son's high school coach is like this. After one game you can see what kids belong where on the field. Yet he constantly moves everyone around where he puts his best offensive guys on defense and best defenders on offense. It's maddening to me.
His team would be much better if this guy would just let the kids settle into their roles and learn to play together.
Ned
Footballguy
SwampDawg
Footballguy
I think it is a requirement to be a HS coach to make odd moves. We had a big cross division game Thursday, we already clinched our division but we were ranked 8 (them) and 9 (us) in the district power ranking, top 10 make the district playoffs after the league playoffs are over. They score about 20 minutes in, his counter move is to take our sweeper (remember we play that old school sweeper/stopper formation) and move him up to striker and take our outside mid (he's a wing/mid for his club team) and put him at sweeper. The kid probably hasn't played as a defender since U11. We were already down our starting RB who got hurt Saturday and rotating a kid that is a basketball player who mostly subs and one of our JV kids there. So now we had two relatively inexperienced defenders against probably the best trio of attackers in our league. Needless to say it ended 4-1 them.
At least my son played a good game, he was matched up mostly against a junior who last year was the only sophomore selected to the all-state team as well as league player of the year. My sons fast and he said he had to play this kid carefully and just contain him because he couldn't run with him straight up. Used the sidelines and one well timed tackle and kept him in check. He came off for 5 minutes middle of the second half to get a breather and the kid scored about 30 seconds later. Game was being broadcast and they did give him a nice shout out for the job he did and commented on him being a freshman going against that level player and holding his own.
Funny yesterday at practice my son said the coach basically ignored the team and talked to the AD and trainer. The volunteer assistant who is a recently graduated D1 player and former Red Bulls Academy player ran the practice. My son said it was the best practice they have had all year, best drills, productive, etc.
At least my son played a good game, he was matched up mostly against a junior who last year was the only sophomore selected to the all-state team as well as league player of the year. My sons fast and he said he had to play this kid carefully and just contain him because he couldn't run with him straight up. Used the sidelines and one well timed tackle and kept him in check. He came off for 5 minutes middle of the second half to get a breather and the kid scored about 30 seconds later. Game was being broadcast and they did give him a nice shout out for the job he did and commented on him being a freshman going against that level player and holding his own.
Funny yesterday at practice my son said the coach basically ignored the team and talked to the AD and trainer. The volunteer assistant who is a recently graduated D1 player and former Red Bulls Academy player ran the practice. My son said it was the best practice they have had all year, best drills, productive, etc.
