I agree with Kicker that parents need to stop chasing 1st place medals. I think the big clubs can also help by not putting on these 4 day tournaments with big trophies as prizes and $20+ parking a day. Dad needs to stop chasing and stop paying for this nonsense. We need to get back to the basics and just go for development at the youngers. I love competition like the next dad but this has gotten out of hand, and we need the collective to come together and fix this wrong. There is a nuff blame to go around and many fingers to point to the wrong doers of this mess, but that's just ego. We need to all let go of that ego and come together to make soccer for EVERYONE. We really need to make it free for all the youth. No more $4000 a year club fees, no $$$ spent on private lessons, no more travel costs, no more hotel costs and no more personal trainers and nutrionist. No more playoffs for little kids and no more 1st place. It's fast time that these clubs that put on big tournaments with big trophies to the winners, ends. Parents are being forced to chase medals because the Docs at the big clubs need to bring in revenue and this is by far the best way to bring in the dollars.
Spain Women and thoughts on ECNL
- Thread starter Highlander
- Start date
The above is so important. Read it twice.
I agree with your sentiments 100%. I was simply stating in a previous post, that at the men’s highest levels, the counterattack style against the possession style has success. In the women’s game, I would love to see more possession and tactical problem solving (ie. the Spanish side). For the USWNT, unicorn athletes just can’t be the answer going forward (Rodman). Players need to have technical abilities, game knowledge, be comfortable with the ball, and the coaching as well as the physical attributes.
In the youth game, SD Surf has success with the possession model. It doesn’t win all the time, but the club stays true to its principles. As you mentioned, the absolute key to playing possession is problem solving and making the right decisions in the overall tactical environment. That’s why they get hundreds of college coaches on their sideline at showcase events—just admiring the team play.
Enjoying the discussion here.
Great stuff Lou
I might add that it's great to have Luis back Lou. SC grad with the grades and brain to back up his talk. Surf by far teaches possession the right way, win or lose with it. It's how the game should be played for the girls for so many reasons. Safety for the player is one of my all-time reasons to play possession. I played basketball Lou and sometimes we would get these big, strong and athletic types that had no basketball IQ or skills to give, they only gave up their 5 fouls and tried to take out the more tactical players of the opposing team. Girls soccer is brutal and it's one of the reasons so many girls are hurt. It's rugby for the most part unless you played for Surf, Earthquaked and MLVA or Stanford.
You don’t know how right you are.
Other top ECNL clubs in So cal—I see and hear from friends about ACL/MCL injuries quite a bit as the girls age up in the youth system. My unscientific theory is that those injuries are based on the style of play. You just don’t see the knee injuries at Surf. (Guessing the same at MVLA) Possession based teams at the youth level makes a safer environment for the player. At the pro level, well that’s a different story. Using your 5 foul basketball analogy, the bangers at Burnley, Sheffield, Stoke, and other championship side clubs get 1 free smashing of the skillful top players. Use it wisely.
You don't see as many ACL injuries in GA Southwest either. I think it's because the top teams play possession everyone else quickly figures out that you can't beat them with direct only. The AZ teams can be a little "rough" + resorting to fouls when frustrated. But, the AZ refs quickly address. (As opposed to LA refs that tend to let players gladiator it out)
The ACL/MCL tare is through the roof with the youth. My kid plays aggressive and sometimes needs a good warning to chill out. Girls can be really mean and even pull hair and kick a player in the back of the shin. One of my dd old teammates just had her 3rd surgery and she might call it quits. The rehab is painful and it's freaking lonely. Another friend is coming back from her 2nd ACL tear and is cleared to play. First the right and then the left for her last two years. She is hoping for injury free season. I tore my ACL twice. The first time I toughened it out and then got a scope and Doc said it's not looking good. I played tough guy and played in a high-level church basketball league and did a complete tear. It was so painful. Anyway, did the surgery and wore the brass til I hated it and still played until about 7 years ago with no more tears.
Highlander
SILVER ELITE
This is one of many reason I was happy to see Tyler Adams leave Leeds and the Championship. That league is brutal!!!
This is all that is wrong with girls soccer. This has become a sport for upper middle class parents to brag about their kids and get them into the "right" school that most of the time they could afford to send them to anyway regardless of scholarship. It is not made to develop nor discover talent.
How it should work is this: Bring back DA but make it regional and club independent. A pyramid on top of the pyramid. Region would depend on distance and density of the population. For example SOCAL region would get 5 teams, NORCAL 3 and Arizona 1 . These teams then play each other in events and tournaments. Tryouts every year to avoid complacency and to look at new talent. Have regional scouts as well attending games and tournaments looking for players and inviting them to tryout. Rotate the scouts to different regions so they don't get into particular clubs pockets and to get a fresh look at existing talent. Club politicking needs to be reduced as much as possible. The goal for the clubs should be to send the most players to DA. This will put a premium on development and not winning. Clubs would be rewarded for recruiting the best coaches not the best athletes. Make the DA free and have all the Regional DAs teach the same curriculum. DA would then teach local club coaches so all participating clubs would teach the same. In the curriculum should be age appropriate skill training requirements. I think a program like that would solve our problems.
Skip AZ. Just add another CA team.
Exactly the same result as what clubs in Europe do with a Transfer Fee.
The problem with what you're proposing is DA or whatever you want to call it this time isn't paying $$$ to lower level clubs to push up players to a higher level. Without money changing hands everything breaks down and becomes a buddy system or even worse parents start paying to get their kid pushed up to the next level.
The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. ;-)
They do. They just are not selected. Are not brought into camp or into the player pool. They are there.
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Parents chasing the win is because soccer is many things in the US besides developing pros. For a large portion, it's just little league so winning is literally everything.
theres corruption and nepotism in the European system too. The money helps but does not eliminate it. Kids of Ronaldo or zlatan get recruited on the hopes the genes pass on. The reality is though especially on the continent they start much earlier than mls next. They can thus build a soccer player from the ground up and hope they hit the genetic lottery (and if not they are always looking for prospects that can get into those open slots both at home and abroad). My son had a friend who did the trials in England…it’s much harder to break into if you aren’t in the initial crop.
the other big factor is parental motivation. In Europe the parents know this is a long shot pro not a college track. It appeals only to the Luis andres of the world who are willing to make such a gamble and have some reason to be confident in the roll.
This statement boggles my mind. Do you think we have technical & tactical players that are at the level of Spain? Where are they? If they exist they must be American and had moved to Europe at an early age. With our youth development system we have today, I do not think we can develop them if they played in the US. Now I’m not saying that we do not have technical girl players with decent technique but I’m referring to the level of Spain, with the tactical mind. Can the American technical players play tiki taka like the Spanish women? Most likely not if they grew up playing soccer in the US. For example take Rose Lavelle she’s a technical player imo and a decent athlete. Ashley Sanchez is another technical player maybe lacking a little athleticism. Both on the big team. But if you insert them on the Spanish team, I can see them struggling because they do not play on teams that move the ball like that. The tactical part would definitely be missing. Maybe that’s why US soccer picks athletes first because the youth system is flawed and it would bring a whole new level of complexity to try to play like Spain. If players did not develop the proper technical and tactical traits by age 14/15 then it would be very hard to develop when they are already women. It takes years of training, being taught by the right coaches and being exposed by the right soccer system early on to develop this type of technique.
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There's a big difference between a player that doesn't work out on a national team and a player that doesn't work out at a club that just paid 100k for his/her transfer fee. This is what I'm talking about when money becomes involved at Academies.
Think of it this way...
What's the repercussions for a coach or club that recommends a u14 player to the USM/WNT and they don't pan out? The answer is nothing.
What's the repercussions for a coach or club that sells a u14 player to a higher level team via transfer fee for 100k and they don't pan out? The answer is that the higher level club will never buy from the lower level club again because they can get the same result identifying talent themself. Also because there's money on the line clubs are much more detailed in the vetting of potential talent.
No matter what it is whenever money is involved. Everything becomes more serious. Say a club like Surf had 3-4 players they were able to sell off to a higher level club. Do you really think those players would play against the crappy ECNL teams that just want to fight + take the other team out? Right now those players play in all games because the club wants wins, they've already paid for the season, and there's no immediate need to keep them healthy.
dude... seriously. We produce... have 3 on uswnt now including Ertz.
My bet is the USWNT keeps betting on bigger, faster, stronger.
Not my favorite style of play, but it can work. It helps if you actually are faster and stronger. Give caps now to the players we need developed for 2027.
soccermom74
BRONZE
In addition a player on the 07 team and a couple of 08's.
I totally agree. It's going to be up to the next generation of players that will eventually replace the current players to make it happen cause it is not going to happen with the current group and they will not replace the players they have now to rebuild this team. They most likel;y will keep playing similar to the way they play now but I expect the younger players to atleast make an attempt to connect better having more chemistry with each other. We have the athletes but they lack the required technique and tactics. Don't expect the US to win another world cup for atleast 8-12 years. For me the ideal soccer player is a great athlete thats also tactical and technical. Also, I don't expect the US to recruit technical players that are not athletic and fast enough. Unless this player is extremly smart then maybe a non athletic technical player maybe considered if she makes a good fit.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
It's not up to the players...It's US Soccer. Doesn't matter how technical/tactical players are...US Soccer has shown that they value athletic, direct, aggressive, heads down dribbling, lower IQ players from an early age. US Soccer would need to completely overhaul their approach and system of play and I don't see that happening anytime soon. We'll need to get humiliated at another 1 or 2 Olympics/World Cups for that complete overhaul to happen.