Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Prebenjamin is the the lowest level of La Masia. It's were the 8 year olds are. Ben is gonna be playing with the "Alevin C" team with the other 11 year olds.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Young Benjamin got himself a mention in the New York Times last week http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/sports/soccer/la-masia-a-model-for-cultivating-soccer-players.html btw according to a comment on Barcaloco he has a two year deal. http://www.barcaloco.com/2011/04/ben-lederman-becomes-first-ever-american-to-be-signed-by-fc-barcelona%E2%80%99s-academy/
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia His story is on the front page of yahoo... http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/...ld-American-prodigy-to-?urn=highschool-wp2416 ... in which they refer to him as "Ben Lederer".
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Yeah saw the front page on Yahoo and didn't see the thread here so I started a thread in YNT. Woops.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8ztwItiZc&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - Little Iniesta 9 yr old boy. ben lederman part1‏[/ame] Which one is Ben? No particular player stood out for me, what did was that is a damn good youth team for Americans. We need more like that. They were thinking about their next pass/move before they got the ball. Props to that coach
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Yeah, having coached kids about this age, that they got them to pass and MOVE off the ball like that is pretty impressive. It is very difficult to get kids that age to think like a team. These kids keep their shape and move for each other and the players with the ball look for them. I'd love to watch some of this team's practices to see what they do and then incorporate those drill into the house league teams I coach.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia They're playing a 3-1-3, he's the one in central midfield. 0:15 and 1:45 are all you need to see. He's only 10, but damn this kid has Barca quality coming out of his ears.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Its the best team in California and u would say In the us for there age u11
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Being a ref for the past 10 years the vast improvement has been incredible. At least one or two weekends each year I ty to do youth games betwen U-9 and U11 and the improvement from season to season is noticable. While I haven't seen any teams as good as the team on the video I have seen quite a few players with very comprehensive skills and tachical ability and a few games that resemble the one in the video.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Appears to be left footed at :15 he switches the flow of play with a sharp cut and plays a nice ball through. Clearly seeing things before they happen
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia This will be fun to follow, if not just for the videos we'll see of La Masia. Even if this turns into a Sonny Pike (young english kid, moves to high profile academy, does nothing professionally) it's nice to see youth soccer in America has at least gotten this far.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia the new york times article mentioned kids from La Masia enjoyed watching a satirical sports program called Crackovia. Search for that on youtube, watch with english translations, and laugh your ass off. Seriously the funniest videos I have ever watched
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia This video made 2 years ago and know the kid and his team are unreal He is perfect for the barca system his vision of the game is at level of 16 year old
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Light blue cleats, left footed, light skinned plays in the center of midfield. Watch all the videos, divided into a few parts. definitely stood out to me. notches a few assists and creates some good chances for his teammates and was always showing for the ball, smart passing, seeing a play before it develops. reminds me of iniesta for sure.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Well the USA at least has time on their side. It takes 10 years of residence in Spain to get Spanish citizenship unless Ben has a passport from Mexico or a South American country.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Cool story. As to the parents moving... why not? It would entirely depend on their domestic situation regarding family, jobs, etc., but it's not a bad excuse to go live in an AMAZING place for a couple of years. Plus the kid probably learns Spanish. Anywho... have fun Ben!
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia Well I am pretty sure the parents/guardians HAS to move and be close to the child if they are signed by a foreign club, or else it counts as child trafficking.
Re: Ben Lederman at La Masia If you're looking for serious, you should stay away from YA and YNT threads about anyone under the age of 18. Welcome to fantasyland.