Not me. I played "middle reliever". I'd come in after the starter got shellacked and handed the ball off for the closer.
At an early age I think the answer is yes for most kids. The truth is most parents (specifically dads) don't get outside and teach their kids the game. My son from a goal production standpoint puts up as much as Caleb (if not more) but there is a big jump from that my kid scores a ton in basketball, football, soccer to my kid is a future US star. If he is like his dad his average athleticism will catch up to him in high school . Anyways, the reason my son scores so much (and Caleb probably) is that most kids U12 and down have limited coordination, lack of time with the ball, and not a whole lot of drive. Throw in no goal keepers and a short field, not very competitive.
Yep. My son was a "star" at that age as well. Then he got picked for an "all star" tournament, and he went from scoring a handful of goals every game to not getting a single goal in an entire weekend.
Yep. That is why I just can't see 100% dedication at these early ages - especially soccer. My son is more focused at soccer for his age than most kids but we spend a lot more time after fall soccer playing football and basketball. In the summer going to VBS and swimming. Need to keep his options open.
What is VBS? I'm a big advocate for playing complementary sports. Of course, I always want soccer to be the priority but, to me, it's undeniable that they learn stuff that they can "take back" to soccer from other sports.
Vacation Bible School. I listed it because he will spend at least two weeks each summer there, and it is a non soccer activity. Not a complimentary sport but my primary goal is to raise my son so that he is happy, confident, social and everything from sports to church help in that, in my humble opinion.
Good for you! I feel that we live in a strange time, not that people aren't entitled to be secular, but it seems to be taboo for me to personally pray (publicly and visibly) or lead my team in prayer before a match.
Mine is 14 now and he really loves the sport and is pretty self-motivated, so it all worked out...but some of his old teammates--including a couple who were more promising and "successful" than him when they were younger--are already out of the game completely. Burned out and/or the parents burned too many bridges in a relentless quest to find the "best" situation for the kid, rather than relaxing and letting him enjoy where he was. I made some mistakes when he was younger, but fortunately I learned to back off and not sweat the little stuff before I turned the fun of playing soccer into a chore. I do regret never signing him up for a season or two of basketball when he was younger. Fortunately, he seems to have become interested in it on his own and has been informally shooting hoops with friends from time to time, so at least he's got that.
You shouldn't feel ashamed to display your faith anywhere; but FWIW--and please don't take this wrong--I wouldn't want my son's coach bringing prayer into his games.
No offense taken. And I understand, that despite what I feel and want, not everyone is Christian. “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” St. Francis of Assisi That's the SOP.
baseball: anticipation and reflexes (although there is research that this does not cross over between sports, the visual cues in each sport are unique), tracking the flight of objects in the air, football: aggressiveness basketball: defensive stance, defensive sliding, help defense, coordination, jumping, tracking flight of objects, using the body track: endurance, running form martial arts, dance and gymnastics: coordination, awareness of how limbs, head, and torso are positioned. swimming: endurance, upper body strength, wrestling: use of the body leverage, athleticism, general strength
I the biggest mainstream crossover sport is basketball. A fluid game, passing and shooting and defense. There is a lot that my son takes between both sports. I think football is good to include, as elessar mentioned for aggressiveness. There are also benefits like step fakes, acceleration, etc. Any sport thought that gets a kid outside, playing as a team, and competing gets thumbs up from me.
My daughters basketball coach always says he loves soccer players because of their footwork. Soccer players also seem to see passing angles better than most. What my daughter has had trouble with is the regimented play calling in basketball. She sometimes forgets the object is to get to the basket rather than make that pass to the other elbow.
It is important to note that "God given talent" is athletic ability. Soccer is a sport that to be good good at, YOU HAVE TO PICK UP A SOCCER BALL. So there is no ability with the ball that God gives you- it is all what you do here on earth.
Myself i am all about skills, individual skills so i like to use soccer versions of other sports to teach skills. Eg to work on striking the ball we go into a squash court and play soccer squash. For ball control and juggling i use soccer tennis. I also use soccer tennis to teach team tactics. eg Play right, play left, and play right again for the killer play. Diverse, fun and incredibly effecdtive.
Possesion for possession sake is an essential developmental phase before you get to possession to create space and exploit. Spain spent a good 20 years in this phase between the 80s and 90s before they learned to win in the 2000s.
my apologies elessar78. Is there a medium for that on this forum, and how do i find out about it. Thanks
different than in soccer also different than in soccer. also different than in soccer again, different than in soccer. different than in soccer. different than in soccer. Though I will agree that some occasional swimming is beneficial but if only done in relaxing breaststroke form/style. and again different than in soccer. The myth that other sports provide elements that can be taken back to soccer is created to justify the idea of multi-sport participation by kids. The best way to learn and develop soccer skills and ability is to play/practice soccer. No other sport can be used as substitute. Basketball is played with hands, soccer is played with feet. Basketball has one set of rules, soccer has another. The aggressiveness from football is different than the one in soccer. Also I'm yet to see one kid that plays football to apply any side steps, fakes to soccer. Any sport activity that gets the kids to play outside their homes......that is what I'm all for.....btw, soccer is a team sport, but it is not about playing as a team in the younger ages, it is about the individual within a team setting.
I use them all the time. Head fakes. Torso and shoulder fakes. Turns. Bending runs. Changing speed by shortening steps (maintaining the high rate) and then accelerating by lengthening the steps. Pump fakes. Takeovers. And simple changes of direction catching defenders wrong footed. Broken field running and dribbling work the same way. Tactics. Flooding zones. Splitting seams. Slanting runs. Crossing runs. Modified zone pass defense. Man to man back field marking. As for basketball what you are missing is that basketball is great for developing general athletic skills. The defensive tactics and marking skills are very similar. Offensively the principles of play are identical. Basketball teaches about passing lanes, the equivilent of pressure cover balance, and basic tactics to break down man to man marking and zone defenses are taught. Give me a great basketball player and I can have him effective on the soccer field in 20 minutes of coaching.
you must be joking... the act of tracking a ball in flight is different? balance and coordination are completely sport specific? playing defense in basketball is radically different than playing defense in soccer? I can't use principles of leverage and balance learned from wrestling and martial arts in shielding and holding defenders off? These actions from other sports fall under general athleticism and are not sport specific.
I don't know if I agree with this, the idea that all the possession in the world is useless unless you penetrate isn't a new idea that Spain just figured out in the 2000s.