Days between Games- 2 games a weekend is a BAD idea

[SoccerLocker]

My boys had a coach from Argentina. He made the entire team do 1 hour of yoga/pilates once a week. His players would hardly ever get injuries. Yoga/stretching is a way to avoid injuries for all ages.

The gold standard for ACL injury prevention is the PEP program. Developed in 1984, and ignored ever since... It emphasizes learning how to land correctly (knees bent) and strengthening the muscles around the knee: PEP Program

 

[BIGD]

Are you talking men's or womens's soccer? If men's I can agree with some of your points. But for women all of the D1 schools are made up of the top youth players who certainly have gotten better since they were young girls. Maybe two or three pro women soccer players in the US have bypassed college soccer.

Men’s soccer as I only have boys playing soccer so can’t speak to the women’s side. The D1 game I referenced was men’s soccer.

 

[lafalafa]

Men’s soccer as I only have boys playing soccer so can’t speak to the women’s side. The D1 game I referenced was men’s soccer.

I've watched or been to over 100 men's D1 soccer games and the quality and play can vary widely just like it does in every league. Compared to say divisions 3 (NISA, USL 2) in men's soccer it's a notch below that in my opinion.

This is last years final

 

[timbuck]

I probably personally know more than 10 girls that have had ACL injuries including my own daughter. Most were non-contact though my daughter's happened from a collision. There are definitely exercises that can be done to minimize the chance of non-contact injuries but you will always have a risk of contact injuries.

I hear lots of people say "it was a non-contact injury". I'm not a doctor, but my suspicion is that overuse, lack of recovery time and the wrong cleats on synthetic surfaces is what leads to a lot of these injuries.
We have 15,16, 17, 18 year old girls playing 2 games in less than 36 hours. We have them training from 7:30-9:00 pm at club practice. After being at school from 7:30 am until 3pm. And also having "soccer class" 2 or 3 days a week for their school soccer team (before the actual season starts).

 

[MacDre]

I was reading an article in Soccer America this morning and it appears that Berhalter has similar views as I do on the importance of fast ball movement and decision making:

"There’s three ways to break down an opponent," Berhalter said when the roster for the October window was announced. "You can go around them, you can go through them or you can go behind them. And more often than not in this game, we were trying to go around them, around the sides, and the ball circulation was way too slow. They could just shift and prevent that. What we needed to do was either go behind them … or go between them."

Berhalter said the problems also existed in the opening 0-0 tie at El Salvador, where the USA took a tentative approach:

"There's moments in the El Salvador game we get the ball and there's a ton of space behind the back and we want to pass it to an open player so he can dribble instead of playing behind the line so now that now the opponents in a ton of trouble. We didn't do that well enough."

 

[soccersc]

I was reading an article in Soccer America this morning and it appears that Berhalter has similar views as I do on the importance of fast ball movement and decision making:

"There’s three ways to break down an opponent," Berhalter said when the roster for the October window was announced. "You can go around them, you can go through them or you can go behind them. And more often than not in this game, we were trying to go around them, around the sides, and the ball circulation was way too slow. They could just shift and prevent that. What we needed to do was either go behind them … or go between them."

Berhalter said the problems also existed in the opening 0-0 tie at El Salvador, where the USA took a tentative approach:

"There's moments in the El Salvador game we get the ball and there's a ton of space behind the back and we want to pass it to an open player so he can dribble instead of playing behind the line so now that now the opponents in a ton of trouble. We didn't do that well enough."

He is right...it was way to slow. Problem is when you play possession and teams just sit back, you need to guys to break people down and open them up...the U.S doesn't have guys that can do that...Pulisic, Dest, maybe Weah, and that's about all they got that have that ability. Look at teams that do well with possession, they all have guys that can get by defenders in the finishing third. You might be able to keep the ball out of the back and through the middle but you need creative players that the U.S just doesn't have...so it becomes tricky to implement a possession style, but play direct when it is there...Look how they scored the first goal last night against Jamaica....Quick outlet to Dest who dribbled 20 yards, a pass to Mousa who dribbles for 30 yards, back to Dest and a cross with a header, not a possession goal!!!! Second goal was quick as well, no dribbling this time, but 3 passes and from the back and a cross with a finish.

So, I'm wondering what your views are about the goals, because U.S is never going to be able to score pinging it around the back and trying to circulate the ball, they aren't good enough in the finishing third...they have to play fast and counter quick or they have no chance....if you don't score you cant win!!!!

 

[lafalafa]

He is right...it was way to slow. Problem is when you play possession and teams just sit back, you need to guys to break people down and open them up...the U.S doesn't have guys that can do that...Pulisic, Dest, maybe Weah, and that's about all they got that have that ability. Look at teams that do well with possession, they all have guys that can get by defenders in the finishing third. You might be able to keep the ball out of the back and through the middle but you need creative players that the U.S just doesn't have...so it becomes tricky to implement a possession style, but play direct when it is there...Look how they scored the first goal last night against Jamaica....Quick outlet to Dest who dribbled 20 yards, a pass to Mousa who dribbles for 30 yards, back to Dest and a cross with a header, not a possession goal!!!! Second goal was quick as well, no dribbling this time, but 3 passes and from the back and a cross with a finish.

So, I'm wondering what your views are about the goals, because U.S is never going to be able to score pinging it around the back and trying to circulate the ball, they aren't good enough in the finishing third...they have to play fast and counter quick or they have no chance....if you don't score you cant win!!!!

Those goals where like what you might see in a college game but take the 3 points. Going to qualify at least this time around.

Berhalter was a defender and coaches like one, good team player but pocession or attacking futbol not really his thing.

Jamaican well some great sprinters, runners and good players but long shots now for WC.

 

[MacDre]

He is right...it was way to slow. Problem is when you play possession and teams just sit back, you need to guys to break people down and open them up...the U.S doesn't have guys that can do that...Pulisic, Dest, maybe Weah, and that's about all they got that have that ability. Look at teams that do well with possession, they all have guys that can get by defenders in the finishing third. You might be able to keep the ball out of the back and through the middle but you need creative players that the U.S just doesn't have...so it becomes tricky to implement a possession style, but play direct when it is there...Look how they scored the first goal last night against Jamaica....Quick outlet to Dest who dribbled 20 yards, a pass to Mousa who dribbles for 30 yards, back to Dest and a cross with a header, not a possession goal!!!! Second goal was quick as well, no dribbling this time, but 3 passes and from the back and a cross with a finish.

So, I'm wondering what your views are about the goals, because U.S is never going to be able to score pinging it around the back and trying to circulate the ball, they aren't good enough in the finishing third...they have to play fast and counter quick or they have no chance....if you don't score you cant win!!!!

The way the US played and scored yesterday is very acceptable to me. I’m not advocating for any particular style of play. I’m advocating for a better emphasis on basic fundamentals. If a player masters their fundamentals, they can play any and every way. I think all US players are capable of mastering basic fundamentals.

It’s weird to me, that when I start talking basic fundamentals to folks in the US they automatically think Barcelona. Any style of play is fine.

Can somebody please explain why so many in the US soccer ecosystem have no faith in our youths ability to learn basic fundamentals?

 

[kickingandscreaming]

Can somebody please explain why so many in the US soccer ecosystem have no faith in our youths ability to learn basic fundamentals?

A long tradition of not emphasizing fundamentals. Seriously, though, don't coaches tend to teach the way they were taught?

 

[timbuck]

"MacDre said:
Can somebody please explain why so many in the US soccer ecosystem have no faith in our youths ability to learn basic fundamentals?

A long tradition of not emphasizing fundamentals. Seriously, though, don't coaches tend to teach the way they were taught? "


One of the main reasons we aren't great with fundamentals is that we care too much about winning games at too young of an age. I'm not saying kids shouldn't play to win. Learning to win is a very important trait.

But we've all witnessed a team playing 7v7 or 9v9 that wins a lot of games, but can't connect 4 passes in a row. Once a team, coach and parents get a taste for winning every game by 3+ goals- It's hard to "put the toothpaste back in the tube" and play in a way that might cause some mistakes by playing in tight spaces in your defending third.
Couple that with teams playing games on back to back days and there is little room for "development".
Pretty common example:
Team practices 2x per week for 90 minutes. 10 minutes is a warm up. 15 minutes of unopposed technical skills. 15 minutes of rondos or some sort of small sided game. A 30 minute "scrimmage" at the end of practice. 10 minutes of water breaks mixed in. 10 minutes of either "sprints" or a shooting/finishing drill.

Team has a game on Saturday and they win 4-1. Everyone is happy. They have another game the next day at 8 am. The kids are tired because they woke up at 6:00 am to get to the game by 7:15 to warm up. Some of them are sore from yesterdays game that ended at 4pm. Instead of trying to work on a specific game model/style of play - The coach is in survival mode and just wants to finish the weekend with another win. So they kick everything long. But it works because they have a kid who was born Jan 1st and is a foot taller than everyone else on the field.

Players go home and don't touch a soccer ball until practice in a few days. They don't watch any soccer on TV during the week (so they dont even know what "good" soccer looks like).

Another example that hampers overall development:
A kid with good skill and athleticism switches to a new coach every season. This could be for a variety of reasons:
1. Coach gets fired
2. Club merges with another club and coaches get reassigned.
3. Players parents think other players on the team aren't at the right level of their player.
4. Some other coach makes promises that sound amazing
5. Some "new" league pops up and players shuffle around trying to jockey for "the best league".
6. Parents don't like the way the coach has the team play and wonder "why do they keep passing it backwards"

 

[Larzby]

Stop the name calling. If you have something of value to contribute then present your information. Otherwise, you and your fanboys are throwing shade.

I’m not trolling. I’m putting my thoughts out in the open. Please feel free to critique.

As mentioned up thread, I’m a basketball dude. In talking to friends and family I have noticed there are lots of problems with AAU basketball and I see the same problems in club soccer but folks ain’t talking it. Here ya go:

Steve Kerr's Thoughts on

An image of Coach of the Year Steve Kerr with the following quote about AAU basketball, from a…

ballislife.com

Troll

 

[Shooting Star]

A long tradition of not emphasizing fundamentals. Seriously, though, don't coaches tend to teach the way they were taught? "


One of the main reasons we aren't great with fundamentals is that we care too much about winning games at too young of an age. I'm not saying kids shouldn't play to win. Learning to win is a very important trait.

But we've all witnessed a team playing 7v7 or 9v9 that wins a lot of games, but can't connect 4 passes in a row. Once a team, coach and parents get a taste for winning every game by 3+ goals- It's hard to "put the toothpaste back in the tube" and play in a way that might cause some mistakes by playing in tight spaces in your defending third.
Couple that with teams playing games on back to back days and there is little room for "development".
Pretty common example:
Team practices 2x per week for 90 minutes. 10 minutes is a warm up. 15 minutes of unopposed technical skills. 15 minutes of rondos or some sort of small sided game. A 30 minute "scrimmage" at the end of practice. 10 minutes of water breaks mixed in. 10 minutes of either "sprints" or a shooting/finishing drill.

Team has a game on Saturday and they win 4-1. Everyone is happy. They have another game the next day at 8 am. The kids are tired because they woke up at 6:00 am to get to the game by 7:15 to warm up. Some of them are sore from yesterdays game that ended at 4pm. Instead of trying to work on a specific game model/style of play - The coach is in survival mode and just wants to finish the weekend with another win. So they kick everything long. But it works because they have a kid who was born Jan 1st and is a foot taller than everyone else on the field.

Players go home and don't touch a soccer ball until practice in a few days. They don't watch any soccer on TV during the week (so they dont even know what "good" soccer looks like).

Another example that hampers overall development:
A kid with good skill and athleticism switches to a new coach every season. This could be for a variety of reasons:
1. Coach gets fired
2. Club merges with another club and coaches get reassigned.
3. Players parents think other players on the team aren't at the right level of their player.
4. Some other coach makes promises that sound amazing
5. Some "new" league pops up and players shuffle around trying to jockey for "the best league".
6. Parents don't like the way the coach has the team play and wonder "why do they keep passing it backwards"

So true!