Son 10.5 - playing U11 speed/strong/agressive/scores from right back. But according to coach, he does not understand positioning. Took 21 year old son who played 15 years of rec/select/comp soccer to see his brother play. He said his positioning was good. 10 year old son said he gets frustrated when his team is getting slaughtered (score is normally 9 to 1) and moves out to score/help whatever. But again, these are 10 year olds and sometimes we have to understand that they might be nervous out there on the field.
Thought I would provide an update on how my son is progressing now that his first season of U11 is nearly complete. We switched him away from the local club, which focuses pretty much solely on individual skill development, and placed him with one of the local mega clubs. His new coach pretty quickly realized that my son is a natural center forward, and he has played that position for the majority of the fall season. He started off pretty well in terms of production, with an average of over a goal per game in his first 5-6 games. But he still had all of his old bad habits: ball-watching, not moving after he passed, not getting involved unless he's in possession, not pressuring the other team's defenders when they were in possession, really not playing any defense whatsoever. When the ball came to him, he did his thing: holding up the ball, beating people with dribbling moves, laying off passes and scoring. But when he didn't have the ball, he was pretty useless. His coach rode him pretty hard about getting more involved when not in possession. He emphasized the importance of pressuring the other team's defenders when they are in possession, of moving after the pass and generally being more involved in the game and more focused. About 6-7 games into the season, everything changed. He started applying pressure to the opposing defenders when they had the ball. At first, he would run at them and then jump up at the last second, allowing them to easily pass or dribble around him or simply clear the ball. But it was a start. He was making the defenders do things that they didn't want to do, and the results were good. His team won more possession and won the ball in more dangerous parts of the field. Then, he started actually making tackles instead of just running and jumping at the defenders. He found that, by staying on his feet and coming in square for the challenge, he often won the ball or at least dispossessed the defender. That success made something click for him and he realized that there was no reason to leave your feet and that it's much more effective to put in a tackle. He won lots of balls that way and even created many chances and goals for himself. After tasting that success, he has stuck with it. Now, 16 games into the season, he is on his horse all game long. Right from the opening kickoff he's running at defenders and putting in tackles. He's moving more to get open, checking to the ball, and even moving after he passes. He has 24 goals in 16 games but, more importantly, he's putting a major stamp on the games. Combining his skill on the ball with his new work rate and focus level has really changed him into a force on the field. The other team's coach is always yelling to watch out for him and his teammates know that the key to success is to get him the ball and let him run at the defense. The new focus level also has translated into a new level of aggression when he's on the ball. He's using more of his dribbling arsenal and really terrorizing the defense. He'll string together two or three dribbling moves, beat his man and then go full force to the goal. If there's someone around to lay the ball off to, he'll do it, but the team leaves him on an island a lot because he's able to create his own chances and the team is a bit weak in defense. Now, to temper my enthusiasm a bit, I realize that center forward is one of the more easily grasped positions on the field. His role is fairly simple: apply high pressure, be available as a target, attack. But he couldn't even really grasp that role before this season, so this has been a real revelation. I think learning this one position is OK for right now. First of all, you have to start somewhere. I don't think he would have caught on very well if he were being bounced from position to position. Second, it's pretty clear that center forward is his best position and most likely will remain his best position. He's big and strong, really good with the ball and has a real nose for goal. I'd like him to learn to play other positions, but I think learning to play one position properly was the correct step in his development given his lack of tactical accumen at the start of the season. Now he has a base to build on and can learn a new position as well. I really was starting to wonder whether it would ever happen for my son, or whether he'd simply always be zombie-like on the field. In the first game of the season (less than three months ago), after watching him sleepwalk through the game, my wife actually turned to me and said "maybe soccer just isn't going to be his thing." Now she views him as the best player on either team in every game we watch, and she's right. For those parents out there who see great potential in their kids and wonder whether something will ever click in them to make them fulfill that potential, it is possible and it might happen sooner than you think.
Thanks for the update. Interesting to hear that coach and club can make a difference. I am skeptical / kind of down on the training at our local association. But then fall back to thinking well it is good to play with your neighbors / classmates, probably doesn't make much difference, he'll be what he'll be etc.. But you had some clear ideas on where your local club / coach were falling short and making a move made a difference and pretty much for the reasons you had identified.
No question in my mind that coaching makes a huge difference. I was willing to sacrafice some technical training in order to get my son with a coach who would nurture him and bring out the best in him rather than just punish him for his deficiencies. I had no doubt that this coach would bring out his best, I just wasn't really sure what his best would be once we saw it.
As your son gets older, he should get more and more opportunities to play outside of his regular team, such as outside training, ODP, or college camps. That will give him an opportunity to explore other positions. Small-sided, either indoor soccer or futsal, will help with learning other positions as well and focusing on movement. My son is 16 and he is pretty well set on wing forward and wing defense. He has also played full games at left midfield. He is an excellent shot and very good at switching positions - if he gets the ball at defense and has space, he'll tell the mid to cover, or if the mid gets the ball and space, he'll go back to cover when playing mid. He often ends up at forward but plays a lot of futsal and moves around now that he is older. I would say he only started changing positions in the last two years, and only showed a high level of skill at U11, being ignored (and rightfully so) from U8 through U10 on local teams. Point being, more soccer = more chances to play different positions and improve your play and decision-making. The important thing is excellent training and coaching, and a coach who respects you as a player. I agree 100% that the advantage of seeking out a higher caliber team far outweighs the benefit of playing with the home club, even though it is likely my son was snubbed by his varsity HS coach due to not playing for our hometown club. If your child loves to play soccer, they will get bored and frustrated if they are stuck on the home town team and teammates just don't want to make soccer a priority but just another activity.
I first saw this video a pretty long time ago. How old is this kid now? How has he progressed I wonder?
Uh, yeah, 2010? 14 years or older now I guess. Not sure what the point of posting such an old video, especially with video cameras much cheaper now and full-sided games easier to film. And NFN, why did this get over 3/4 of a million views? What is so good about it? Then again, I am very familiar with immigrant and first-generation Americans playing soccer and kicking butt at young ages.