On a serious note, he took part in a 'camp' for the Prague-area select U13 team on Tuesday. So, taken out of school for the day, which he didn't mind. Wife drove him up to a club near the airport, where he trained with about 20-some other kids from nine in the morning till three thirty with a short lunch break. Lots of drills, he said, plus a few seven-on-seven games. Was exhausted when it was over. Told him he could miss soccer training this morning at seven thirty. Guess I'm a softy...
So, is this more or less the road to Czech YNT programs? Could you share more about how this works there, if you know?
It would appear so. This was the second 'camp' they held. The team has also played two games. When the coach at Slavia sent out notices for the players invited to the first camp back in early September, he stressed the need to bring their a game, as these teams play a big role in picking youth national teams. So, he made it clear that this is the start of this process. I think there are 12 regional teams at the U13 and U14 level. At U15, there's the first youth national team squads. On this Prague select side, most of the players come from Slavia and Sparta, with Bohemians and Dukla following behind. In the first game they played back in October, I think it was, Prague region defeated Liberec region 9-4. At that national youth team level, Slavia and Sparta are well represented. Slavia noted recently that five of its players were on the U17 team. That team beat Belgium 5-0 yesterday at a tourney in UAE. On a downer note, the U19s lost bad to England, 4-1. Slavia, I think, had three starters in that game, and a couple on the bench.
With the temps reaching nearly 70 on a sunny spring day, Slavia's U13s welcomed an unusual opponent: Hallescher FC, a onetime giant in East German soccer that had fallen on hard times after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The team is now in the 3rd division with a shot at promotion, ahead of teams like Munich 1860. Apparently, the team from Halle, just northwest of Leipzig, is strong back at home, and at the start of the game with Slavia it looked like they would come out on top. A penalty called in the first few minutes saw the Germans take a quick 1-0 lead. However, after that Slavia turned it up and took it to them, ultimately winning the game 7-1. The Hallescher coach was very animated during the match, screaming, kicking, and slamming whatever was close at hand. Maybe he had watched the Czechs lose 5-0 to England the night before, and thought his team would have an easier time. Son had another good game with three goals and two assists. Seems to be getting into a nice groove now, which is perfect timing, since next weekend they play archrivals, Sparta Prague.
Uh, PF, that was a Pulisic joke. Calling a hat trick and 2 assists a "good" game is stretching the definition of good like new taffy.
The last showdown against Sparta Prague. That was on tap this past Sunday, under perfect blue spring skies at Slavia's "Eden" training center. The previous two matches had been closely fought matches, with Slavia winning one and the other ending in a 4-4 tie. This time, there was no doubt about who would come out on top. Sparta's U13s were pumped up, first to the ball, pressing all over the field, quickly transitioning to attack. It was no match: Sparta 5 - Slavia 1, one of the worst drubbings I can remember. Slavia's coach was apoplectic, barking at the backs who were caught out of position often. Son was good for about the first twenty minutes, but after his wingers over and over opted to dribble into trouble instead of firing it back to him as he moved up field, he became frustrated and resigned. Was really upset after the game. Told him to put it behind him and put his efforts into an upcoming game this Wednesday with the Prague U13 Selects, who play against Southern Bohemian Selects. Will be interesting for the Slavia players to team up with the boys from Sparta, who played the derby match very physically, with some of their stuff really borderline.
Bad blood, little interplay? I thought that the Sparta and Slavia players would refuse to play nice together on the Prague Select U13 team. So much for that prediction. Son came home singing the praises of how great it was to play together with them. Told me, 'Dad, they play soccer. You pass them the ball, and they pass it back!' That's not the case a lot of times at Slavia, where a few players in particular still like to "solo," as they say. Have to admit, up till recently, my son was one of them. But the coach got it through to him that he needed to move the ball. As for the match against Southern Bohemia Select, the Prague team won, pretty handily, 5-1. Son had three assists. It was a bit like stepping back in time. While at Slavia the U13s are already playing full-field 11x11 with a size 5 ball, at the U13 Czech select level, it's 7x7 half-field with a size 4 ball, plus with a smaller-size goal. Son said it took some getting used to and that all their goals came from tap ins, as it was tough to beat the goalies, who are big enough now to cover those smaller nets. Definitely think at this age, they should be moving on.
Sigma Olomouc was always a team that gave us trouble in the past. Not anymore. On Friday, the U13s from this good first league side were at Eden for a friendly. School was again sacrificed for sport. So, after an hour of Czech, the boys left the classroom and headed over to the locker room to suit up. It was not much of a game, with Slavia pressing the whole time. Sigma, I believe did not get one shot on goal. The final score was 5-0. Could have been more if Slavia had played as a team, but too many players tried to do too much on their own. Son played as a striker. Did okay. One goal and one assist in decent first half. Second half, he kinda got lost, not getting any of the ball. In other news, son got picked for another Prague select game, which is very positive. The coach of that team selected a few of the boys from the top teams, with the others being filled in by the club coaches. So, he was one of two Slavia boys picked by the select coach. That game is today here in Prague against Ustecky region. Again, he's out of school for this!
Well, the Prague Select game with Ustecky region is in the books. Not much of a match, from what I heard. Son had a good day. Captained the squad and chipped in with four goals, all while his Slavia head coach and the head of Slavia's youth program were watching. Seems to be making a name for himself in Czech soccer circles...
At PSV the Czech Sadilek, who made his debut against Ajax at the age of 19, is on the radar of the nat. team coach. He rose through all the academy teams of PSV since he joined them at 16.
Oh sure. Know of him well. He says they call him "vacuum" due to his frenetic play, and ability to 'suck' up loose balls...
Perhaps a controversial question, but did your son ever tryout for Sparta's youth set up? While I prefer Slavia as a club and their first team is certainly the best in the league currently; I do think as a casual observer that Sparta have a bit stronger track record graduating players to the senior team.
Good question. Back in the very beginning, he started at a small club, Slavoj Vysehrad, when he was four. After a year there, we moved him to Bohemka. We figured Bohemka was a "family" club, and not as cutthroat as Slavia or Sparta, which we had no intentions of testing. However, after a year or so, we started leaning towards Slavia, since our weekends were already shoot with tourneys and games. Ultimately, our decision really came down to where the two clubs are based. Slavia being in Vrsovice, is nearer to home, and only a tram ride away. Sparta, up at Letna, is on the other side of the Vltava, and a bitch to get to. So, it came down to which side of the river the clubs were based. Your right, Sparta is definitely miles ahead of Slavia as far as getting guys up to the A muzstvo, and it's a concern. But still early days. I think Slavia is doing things right, and the players at the youth level now are technically stronger than those at Sparta. On this Prague region select team, you can see it.
I have a question about training. It’s going to take me a while to set it up. With pretty much everything in life, there’s a best way to do things. Swing a baseball bat this way. Shoot a basketball that way. My daughter plays club soccer at the challenge level. That’s basically the level for kids who are going to fill out the high school rosters. And because NCFC is not a very good club, there’s no teaching. Just coaching. There’s a quote I’ve seen attributed to Cal Ripken: practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice make perfect. But my daughter’s club and school coaches don’t do any teaching. It’s all coaching, if a kid has bad technique, practice is just lots of repetitions of bad technique. I’m hopeful classic is better. Those are paid coaches and for the high school stars. (I wasn’t the best “team” coach but when I coached, I was pretty good with the players, because I vastly emphasized teaching, not repetitions.) Anyway, here is my question...in your son’s experience, at age 8, how much time was spent on telling boys to hold their foot this way to do this task, that way to do that task? At age 10? 12? Do you know what happens with the 16s? Or do they just throw kids in the deep end and hope they’ll figure it out, and move on to the next kid if the first one can’t.
Anyway, here is my question...in your son’s experience, at age 8, how much time was spent on telling boys to hold their foot this way to do this task, that way to do that task? At age 10? 12? Do you know what happens with the 16s? Or do they just throw kids in the deep end and hope they’ll figure it out, and move on to the next kid if the first one can’t.[/QUOTE] Hey, sorry for the delay in getting back, but it's been hectic with that Chelsea game and all. To your question: at Slavia my son was lucky that his first coach, while a jerk in a lot of ways, was very much bent on getting the kids the basics of Coerver at an early age. So, a lot of those early training sessions were dedicated to doing foot skill work. He also had them doing lots of little small-sided games, one-on-one, two-on-two. As they've gotten older, tactics and positioning have entered the equation. My son still has one hour a week in an extra training session during the school day dedicated to Coerver. I've been told at the later ages, maybe around 15 or so, they do more training in groups based on position. So, strikers might do more shooting. Now, that means a lot of practice. My kid's soccer training schedule is pretty full, with only Tuesday, and one weekend day, the only real break he gets. So, it's hard to rationalize giving him more. But many parents, and even me once years ago, get their kids "individual training" outside the club. This is probably widespread. I remember talking to parents from BATE Borisov, the Belarusian glam club if you'll allow the excess, years ago if they had extra, outside training for their kids, and many said yes, arguing team practice just was not enough. Probably makes sense to once in a while to get out with the kid on his or her own, and go through some drills. My kid's shooting wasn't what it could be, so last weekend I had him shoot the ball 100 times with each foot. Lined up four balls and he stroked them in the net. I watched, critique, and collected the balls for him. After that, he scored four goals with the Prague select team this week and my wife said his shot was powerful and accurate. As for what the club does when a player isn't getting the skills right? Clubs like Slavia know there are kids just itching to get in, so the coaches don't spend too much time with those struggling, they simply cut them. My kid's been there since 2013, and I'd guess in that time, about 30 boys have been cut. There are only four other guys on the team now who have been there longer than him, and two of them are looking shaky right now...
In the thick of the season now, with lots of games on tap. On Tuesday, we were up at four to get boy to the training center by five. They were driving about 200 miles to the Slovak town of Trencin for what they call a "minirepublika." Two teams from Slovakia -- AS Trencin, Slovan Bratislava -- plus two of the better Czech teams from the east -- Zbrojovka Brno, Banik Ostrava -- were the competition for the days. Games were 35 minutes a piece 11 on 11. First up was Trencin, which ended in a 1-1 tie, with son scoring the goal. A bit of as surprising result, but, on the other hand, the Trencin boys didn't have to get up at four and travel five hours by bus. Second game was against the Brno boys, usually a very tough match. Slavia this time won convincingly 4-0, with son getting two assists. Up next was Bratislava. This time, another tie 2-2. Final game with Banik ended again 4-0 with son getting a goal and assist. Got home that night at nine, and since he played so much in those games, the coach gave him off for the game on Wednesday against Bristol Rovers, who for whatever reason traveled all the way to the Czech Republic for a few matches. The English third-division side was outclassed by all accounts, losing to Slavia 10-0. This weekend heading to Luxembourg for a decent tourney with middling German and other teams, including a US regional selection side from Germany, plus the Luxembourg U13 national team. Should be fun. Will drive to see this one...
Finally recovered from the Luxembourg trip. Got back at three thirty in the morning on Tuesday after things wrapped up some 400 hundred miles away at eight o 'clock on Monday in the world's richest country per capita. The tourney wasn't graced with any real topflight teams. The only difficult opponents were really FC Cologne and FC Kaiserslautern, the two teams we met in the semifinals and finals. For son, not much of a tourney. He is experiencing growing pains. Has a nasty case of Osgood-Schlatter disease. Playing and sitting all these short games really doesn't do him any good. His best match was against F91 Dudelange -- the first team from Luxembourg to make it to a group stage of a European competition this past season -- scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win, despite lots of other chances. That got the boys to the semifinals against Kaiserslautern, which had a very nice side with both size and skill, although Slavia controlled played to win that match 1-0. Son made the pass to spring our winger for the breakaway goal. The final against Cologne was tight, with Slavia having the better of play but unable to beat their goalie, a big kid who took the top keeper award for the tournament. It went to penalties and our guy stopped two of their shooters, and none of our boys missed, including son. Nice for them to win a trophy in western Europe, even if it wasn't the most difficult. For those interested, the US team appeared to be comprised of boys from soldiers based at Rammstein, which is not far from Luxembourg. They did not win a game, I think, and finished at the bottom, probably last. They did, however, manage a 0-0 tie against FC Saarbrucken in their first match which has to be considered a huge success. Otherwise, they were outclassed.
For an American, VE Day in the Czech Republic strokes the ego a bit. Vintage U.S. jeeps usually parade thru the streets, and people lament the fact General Patton stopped at Plsen and didn't continue on to liberate Prague, leaving it to the Red Army. US veterans, the few still alive, travel for a big celebration in Plsen, where they are treated as true heroes. Anyhoo, being a day off, Slavia's U13 had a short training session at 9 o 'clock before boarding a bus and trekking about 180 miles to Nuremberg for another friendly with the lowly Bundesliga side. This was the second time the two teams have met. Back in the fall, Slavia was outclassed, losing 5-2. This time, however, the Germans didn't have a chance. Slavia outplayed them all over the field, winning in convincing style 9-0. Nuremberg's coach apparently wasn't pleased with the play of his boys, yelling and gesticulating on the sidelines. Son, had a good game with a goal and three assists. Goal came on a nice freekick, slotted into the top righthand cover. May turn into a tryout for my son. Will find out next week, but after that result, don't know how much a step up Nuremberg is from Slavia....
A feel like there are a lot of high and lopsided scores in these updates, I don't know if I realized just how different youth academy football scores and individual stats are than professional.