I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining. Quite the contrary. I'm glad someone stepped in to help her. Like I said, she was making the calls required, but the motions weren't really...what's the word I 'm looking for...assertive doesn't sound right. I think many places push refs into games they really aren't ready to do and that leaves a sour taste with some parents and coaches. I will say, though, that this past year I've seen the levels increase. I'm sure some of it is because I'm coaching u9 girls in Division 6 as opposed to u11 boys in Division 2 (not to mention the league is middle upper class white suburbia and that boys team was inner city Hispanics). We've even had a few refs help out the girls during fall. There is a lot to learn and not enough time to cover every little detail pertaining to free kicks and whatnot. I sat through my certification a couple years ago and yeah, I can't believe they let people ref with that little education. I pretty much slept through both days of class and still aced it. We didn't go over any instruction or pointers. It was all about the Laws. That's great and all, but even a noob should be sent out into the world with a basic understanding of positioning and motions. I didn't end up getting around to signing up for games and come to think of it, I could never actually be a ref. I'd be too timid as well. Or tell off a parent.
I get the point about youth refs. But I've now watched a lot of spanish youth games on youtube and I see very little of the physical tactics that are common in U.S. youth soccer. Go look at some of those barcelona youtubes and they are a lot less physical than what I see on the field each weekend. Shouldn't we be telling them to err on the side of a more technical game at the younger ages? look at this one: nowhere close to the physical game I see each weekend.
Agreed. Imagine if the only chance your players had to learn how to play soccer was once a week on Saturday in a real game--no practices. Oh, and no coach, either. Maybe a more experienced teammate can try to help out if they miss a shot or can't strike the ball well, but other than that they go home with no advice on how to play better next week. Without regular training and mentoring, especially on-field, how's a referee supposed to improve? But we throw them out there and expect them to get it right every time. (And by the way, they do get it right more often than we give them credit for.) Apropos saying: "The referee is the only person on the pitch who is expected to start perfect, and improve from there."
Good observation and it's true. Some of that blame goes to volunteer coaches who encourage physicality to level the playing field. Some of that blame goes to parents who, lacking soccer knowledge, try to add their two cents via "confidence" or "aggression". Some of it is the reffing, what they permit as a soccer society and do not permit. A lot of coaching also seems to "encourage" seeking out the confrontations from an attacking standpoint. I just tell the kids to move it around. Horst Wein, in his "Intelligence" book, states that players should avoid the 1v1 and think ball safety first. Not because players don't have the requisite skill to handle those situations but because we can't be doing dumb things that risk the ball. We're too indifferent on ball possession in this country—watch a typical youth game... set a one minute timer and count the number of turnovers, I bet it's around 5 per minute.
In your area, do you have non-USSF sanctioned leagues? It's a travesty. At U11 kids travel HOURS since geographically it's not "local" and they show up and it's a one-man system. Two hours for a glorified scrimmage. AND the refs usually aren't USSF certified.
A few years back I was helping to organize a parks and rec league (was previously AYSO so they tried to stay with the similar concepts). I only knew a few of the kids so a woman from the local travel team (small town, no real choice) was "helping" pick teams. Her criteria for the best kids? Aggression. Seriously. If you looked at their teams most weren't that skilled but just bigger kids. Even her daughter who was locally touted as one of the better kids was the same way. Just big. We played a loosely organized pick up game and she stood there camped at the top of the box. Then called her mom when no one passed to her. On the other end of the spectrum I have a couple girls who get mad whenever someone knocks them down. They then pout and stop playing. One even tried to say that at Monday's practice another girl picked her up by her jersey and threw her down. Of course her mom believed it all. I saw the play. There was nothing malicious, no foul, and really very little contact. She's just clumsy and needs to spend more time on soccer than getting gussied up for practices and games.
finally got to meet the team (rec. u8/u9, 5 boys 1 girl). it was a fun practice. good group of kids 6 kids, 2 of them my own. straight to fundamentals though. I can tell some of them have learned a few moves from past seasons, but bad dribbling, kicking, and throwing habits remain. The league emphasizes the rotation of players, equal time, and balanced talent. not sure about the talent scoring though. fortunately, I don't have the classic complainer child this season or the classic kid that stands in the field and doesn't really move as in past seasons. One child has some limited mobility, but he tries really hard and obviously is hustling and enjoying himself so he gets my praise. The girl scored all 3 goals in scrimmage time and a few other boys came really close to scoring. Seems like we're going to have a fun season.
Got my first practice with my GU10 spring team on Tuesday then the first game on Thursday. I get four practices with them and six weeks of games. Spring season here is short and to the point. Not sure how much I can impart in 4 hours (minus lateness, admin, water breaks, chatting, injuries) of practice. However, I'm prepared, plans already drawn up. Ready to work them like dogs.
switching leagues seemed to have made a world of difference. 4v4 now and every kid gets 24 minutes in. We lent a middle tier player to the other team because they didn't have a bench. we scored 2 goals even though it was a losing effort everyone hustled. One of their players was simply just faster and never came out. my younger son 7 played his best game ever and had several dribbles. I could tell he was tired at some points. my 8 year old managed to score his first ever goal when our top 2 players were resting. the other goal was from an own goal as the other team was trying to clear the ball and missed, but still the result of team hustle. one child seemed to gravitate to playing defense, so I kept pushing him up, he kept going back and clearing the ball. He's obviously played sweeper a lot and he's obviously very good at it. Which was good in a way, but I did let him know I wanted to see him make some dribbles too, so we'll probably watch that in practice.
We are in Southern California, so we don't get the cold winter break like most of the country. We are a gu9 team from last fall. We are 6 games into our Spring League season already and have been on fire lately. We probably need to be moved up a flight. We are in Flight 2 of 6 in a group of u9 and u10 teams. Yesterday we played short handed with half of my team gone on Spring Break. Went down 1-0 and came back to win 4-1. Played 4 different girls in goal and everyone rotated positions (which is normal for us). At our Friday practice, we left the grass. We had half of our practice on blacktop basketball courts. The speed helped our girls a bunch. Then for the 2nd half of our practice, we moved to sand volleyball courts and played sand soccer.
My U11s still lost BUT after losing all but one of our games last season in non-competitive ways now they are playing. Lost 6-5 but we had 5 really nice team goals. Defending is loose but now they are playing wall passes, mutli-pass sequences, playing killer (KILLER!) through balls, and scoring goals. I think we only scored 5 goals all of last season. We've scored 7 in two games and we haven't even worked on finishing yet. For the past two months it's been passing, receiving, and break through play. Funny thing, we played this team over the winter and conceded two goals off corners so we spent 30 minutes over one practice and pre-game warmup working on defending corners. How many corners did we face: zero. Good job, coach. Oh and we had a penchant for misplaying goal kicks to the other team which led to goals against AND making silly passes across the face of goal. None of those so far this season. We seem to be soft on defending crosses but I'll take a new problem any day. I know we're supposed to focus on technique, technique, technique, but unless they understand the corresponding game phase (attacking, defending, transitions) and the sub-phases (attacking: build-up, break through, finishing for example) then the technique and principles of play are kind of dead ends. I want to win (badly) but the fact that we're playing good attacking soccer and showing plenty of upside—I'm okay with that. Not that we'll rest on that, just saying that good soccer is better than the alternative.
I wish they would put in a greater penalty for physical play at younger ages. Coaches encourage physical play / refs barely call physical play. But when it is called, it's simply a free kick from the spot of the foul. And most youth leagues don't give out "cards" for under 10 years old. A hard, careless foul should result in something more punitive. Maybe a corner kick for the team that gets fouled.
I reffed a low level u10 game yesterday after coaching my "mid"-level U9 team. I really started to notice how important technical training is at this age. The coach of the weaker team (they lost 4-0) was trying to do pass-backs on their kick off restarts. Great tactic, but the girls couldn't pass it correctly and the girl receiving the pass back wasn't able to control the ball. Unless they have the technical skills to control the ball, dribble with their head up, kick a ball with the appropriate part of the foot, shield a defender, understand the concept of delay on defense, etc. Tactical is necessary (otherwise, you get bunch ball and no shape). But coaches probably need to spend a 3:2 ratio on technical/tactical. Tactical can be taught with SSGs too.
I'm not/didn't say(ing) tactical instead of technical. I'm saying in relation to. Of course, if theyre deficient in any area, it all goes to crud. But, as they say on the 3four3 blog: "How technical do they have to be?" My players are better but they're skills aren't elite, but now they know the expectation is pass on the ground and don't dawdle on the ball and don't turn it over they make much better decisions which leads to much better use of their skills
Unless coaches run drills without pressure, they cannot separate tactical and technical training. The more restrictions imposed on play, the less play resembles the game, and the less likely players will learn the principles of play. It is very important for the coach to consider all his exercises in the context of the game to insure that no unintentional tactical lessons are taught. By definition "bunch ball" is impossible in a small sided game. That is why small sided games are recommended for U-Littles instead of playing 11v11. The only tactical knowledge needed for small sided games are the priniciples of play. Teaching more team tactics to improve match results is always a temptation. It probably will improve match results but, if too much time is devoted to team tactics, it detracts from long term technical development. On the other hand, I am certain that--for U-Littles--there is no such thing as "too much" training on fundamentals.
Want mine? He was watching clouds the first game and got beaned in the head off a goal kick. OUR goal kick even. It wasn't a powerful kick so it was all I could do to not laugh. I hear ya. The team my girls played Saturday was from a club that is super heavy on footskills. That's great and they are known for it, but their kids have zero idea how to pass and work as a team. I've been told they are required to use two skill moves before they can get rid of the ball. Most seem too busy concentrating on that and by the time they get to it, the ball is going the other way! Not sure how much technical work you can get done without the ball... I was watching a u10 team play the other day (one of my girls has been guest playing with them). Major wind. Other team scored directly off a corner. That sucked. My girl almost scored her first u10 goal! Our game was an hour later and we made a bet. She wanted a Gatorade if she scored for us. I told her she needed 3 figuring I was safe since she's more of a set up player. Yeah, my mistake for switching it up and putting her as a forward instead of mid. 5 minutes. 3 goals. Crap, guess I'm going to the store. The u10 coach just looked over at me with the "Seriously, that just happened?" look. What's your definition of "bunch ball" because our preK and K teams are 3v3 which more resemble a heard of 6 running all over the field. Or where you more thinking on a large scale?
There is nothing tactically wrong with all players being close to the ball in SSGs. USYSA suggests that players should be 3-5 yards from the ball when there is pressure on the ball. If "K" refers to kindergarten, that age is going to chase the ball. There are no teams (in the adult sense of the word) at that age. USYSA "strongly" recommends 4v4 for U8 and 6v6 for U10. U8 (4v4) is when USYSA suggests that coaches train players to play with partners. If younger kids "pass and move," great--but you don't plan your "team" training around exceptional players. You applaud and focus on further developing their individual skills. For the ages you are discussing, matches are meaningless and their purpose is to provide "fun," not training. Even at U8 and U10, the training value of matches is very limited. At that age matches are more useful to development of a good mentality than improving technique or tactics even.
Our academy is heavy on footskills and Coerver-type work at this younger age, but it can be a blessing and a curse on game day. After all this repetition, on the first game day we had a kid dribble to the corner in his own third and do ten chop-step stepovers in a row. The ref and the players didn't know what to do but watch. He looked like a celebration glitch on FIFA14. This weekend one of my players won the ball and had 20 yards of free space ahead on the wing with no defenders in sight. About 5 yards in he did a scissor move, lost his rhythm and speed, the defenders were on him and he lost the ball. At the same time, in another game one of our girls was in her own third with a player pressing hard, and no support coming. She did a stepover and a quick turn and the other girl lost her balance and fell she got juked so badly. It's not so much that you're doing the move, it's the decision making on when to do them. The good thing is that for most it's starting to become an unconscious maneuver for them instead of thinking, "I'm going to do a move now." In training I had kids on the ball with a defender right in front of them doing a poke tackle, and they tried to a scissor with no space in front, whacking the defender's legs. I'd ask them what the better move would be and most said a pull back or a outside flick. I keep telling my impatient parents that it's about the future, not now. When the time comes to teach the tactical part more, they'll have the skills to pull it off. The kids are Daniel-san in The Karate Kid: painting the fence, sanding the floor, waxing the car. Later they'll be kicking butt in tournaments.
How many leagues in the US stick to the USYS recommendations for short sided play at the younger ages? I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm really curious. Because around here, that is not the norm. We're not playing 11v11, buts it's more than 4v4 at u8 and 6v6 at u10. For one thing, we wouldn't have the field space for practices if our teams were that size. And we'd also need double the amount of coaches. We have a hard enough time getting quality coaches as it is. We do have a 5v5 winter season (for all age divisions). And we certainly play a lot of 3v3, 4v4 and 6v6 during practice.
Take a look at the top stickied thread in this forum regarding how U-Littles are set up in various leagues. It's all over the map, but the overwhelming majority play something less than 11v11 through at least U12. The median probably is aligned closely with the USYS recommendations, but there's a fair amount of variation. Your concern about coaching resources generally is addressed by having the kids play on split fields. For example, I have 10 kids on my U6 roster. We practice together, and on game days we are allocated two small, adjoining fields, and we play 3v3 on both fields. I run one field and the opposing coach runs the other field. The good coaches will coach both their own players and the kids from the other team at the same time. I usually have a parent from my team on the other field to make sure things are being run properly. I also rotate the kids through both fields so that I get to coach each of them for approximately half of their game time. At U7-U8, we play 4v4 on two small-adjoining fields. Roster sizes usually are 10-12 kids. By playing on split fields, really end up with the same sized rosters as you would have playing 6v6 or even 8v8 on a bigger field.
I'll offer a different perspective on possibly the same situation. You may have more teams, but the same total number of players. You can have one qualified trainer with three assistants (volunteer moms or dads). If we're being honest, 80% of the in-game coaching job at U-little is subbing kids in and out. But the qualified trainer can a) rotate games so he sees each team once every three weeks or b) games are short enough that he can probably observe the games in about two hours (if they are scheduled well and at the same venue). And all three teams can practice on the same field.
Had an interesting coincidence on Saturday. Coached two teams (U11B and U16B competitive) and had both games follow the identical scripts: we score first, score a second less than two minutes later, give a goal back, and score a third just before halftime; no score in the second half. So both ended with 3-1 victories in exactly the same manner. What are the odds of that?
Ok here is my scenario how that could have happened your scored first in both games because both of your teams had warmed up to game speed before the opening kick off. The other teams were not ready to play from the kick off. You scored both goals right after on counter attacks after the other teams panic and pushed to many players into their attack recklessly. You intercepted a pass and you were off and running. Oh you had the wind in the first half of both games They scored on your team because your team relaxed. Possibly after you fouled them. And they quick strikes you or put in a free kick that surprised your guys. Your told your guys before the half ended not to relax and push themselves. Then your guys scored again on another counter. Then they had the wind in the second half and you pushed your guys to push themselves on defense. You shut them out the second half you probably gave up some attacking to do it. How's that close ? Even if it did not play out that way. Say it did so the others on here will think I am a soccer genius or perhaps a soccer savant which is more likely.
Ran my first outdoor practice in gusty, 0 degree celsius weather and my legs were SAPPED! A wet field after almost six months indoor? Brutal. Super excited for better conditions and bigger fields! Here in Ontario we're moving towards Long-Term Player Development with fewer plays on the field at a time and no keeping track of the score. We'll see how it shakes out in about a decade or so.
My wife helped heavily on my stats class last semester so 50/50? I have a question. Last night we played a team and just dominated the first half. We were passing and moving and peppered the goal like crazy. We just couldn't score. Their goalie was too good. Second half she played in the field and took over. She was the only player on the team who could hurt us. Too big (she's u9?!), too fast, too strong, too good on the ball, and was shooting and scoring from everywhere. We were unlucky to be down 1-0 at half and then lost somewhere between 6 and 8 to nothing. With a full 11v11 I don't mind someone just marking her out of the game and using my other players to pick up the offensive slack, but how do you go about that in 6v6? If I put a central mid there then I have nothing going in the center of the field. My wing players are good but we then lose that fulcrum and supporting run. AR2 didn't show up so some random dad was manning the sidelines. Pretty sure that's against league policy so I need to investigate that. Also pretty sure we scored a couple goals that he didn't count. I don't like being "that guy" and making calls from 30 yards away but those looked over the line to me. I have another question, actually. I've never had a problem coaching technique except for with the laces. So many young players tense up and for the life of me I can't get them to relax and strike correctly. We just started working on it now that they've proven they can make good small and medium passes - you know, to avoid kick and run.