If you had an aspiring 13u player that wants to be a pro, what are some realistic goals that you would set. My experience is coaching basketball.
If you have a boy then any of the 3 MLSNEXT local teams , but he has to be good enough to challenge for a starting spot. If he would sit on a MLSNEXT bench then play for an NISL Premiership 1 team or MRL/MDL where he would start each game. But by U14 - U16 should be good enough to get roster spot on MLSNEXT. playing time is very important especially against the highest level of competition possible.
Maybe you do , but in my opinion most parents overrate their kids. They don’t see the subtle little things that separate a team 1 player from a solid team 2 player.
I would not talk “pro” anything with a 12/13 yr old. If they’re obsessed with the game they will bug you to play more/get more training. If they have pro potential you’ll know. There won’t be any question about it. They’ll get invited to all sorts of things. The inquiries will tip you off. They’ll be a first team starter in their USYNT pool too. That’s when you’ll know if you might have a pro on your hands.
I agreed with all of the above aside from the USYNT comment. A fair number of pros did little or even nothing at the YNT level (and, of course, many YNT players don't pan out).
first touch - does the ball bounce away from him 5 out of 10 times or does he control it 8/10 times. Touches on ball - when he receives a pass, does he touch 1-2 times & passes quickly to teammates or does he hold on to the ball, touches it 4-5 times before passing it (total momentum killer) speed of the game - is he slowing down the flow or keeping up with it , or even accelerating it. 1 touch passing - Can he make accurate 1 touch passes or are half of them turnovers field vision - can he anticipate a runner & split the defenders with a pass , or does he not see that split second open opportunity. over the shoulder checking - does he only check over his shoulder occasionally or does he constantly check over in anticipation of next play or better positioning. passing accuracy - if your on the 2nd team you are already a good player but are majority of passes on target or 1/2 are turnovers there are more precise points for each position forward, midfielder, defender but I would have to write a paragraph for each position. the worst thing I see at a tryout or when 2nd team players try to make 1st team is they hang on to the ball to long & dribble to much. IMO That is the first step in not making the 1st team
I will piggyback on Evos comments... Passing - beyond timing of thru balls and vision, can they connect passes to the correct foot of teammates. I see kids that can complete a pass and then sideline parents complain about what the receiving player does with it. Well... where and how the ball was passed, matters to what the next player can do with it. The untrained eye see a connected pass and thinks it was great. The best players make passes that make the next action easy for their teammates and they do it so often it goes unnoticed. Do they absolutely dominate every single game in some or several aspect of the game? Dribbling, passing, goal scoring, defending etc... The very top end players have the smallest difference in performances between a good day and bad day on the field. Average players have a bigger gap and B players that are trying to step up to an A team have even bigger gaps. Most parents only see the best days performances to reference their players ability (that rose colored glasses affect).
Nisl select....good premise but doesn't deliver anything to that end. We participated 2 seasons... Think of it as a fairly economical 7 day camp conducted in Sundays, nothing more. If you come from a large club with large pools you may find your kid gets good one on one attention and feedback, very dependent on who the coach is . It's an extra training session for like 7 weeks in a different setting and different players which can be helpful. Overall player level varies widely, it's not "select"... In my opinion, to deliver on their mission they should be reaching out to clubs and coaches to invite the players who maybe don't quite make that top tier squad to establish a higher quality core that they can build on but what do I know...
You're not wrong, but in fairness I think it's normal for a parent to focus on their kid's upsides/strengths. It's easy to overrate what your kid is good at, and also to have an exaggerated sense of how consistently their kid performs at their best.
Or you could be like me and think that your kid is completely stagnating and hasn't learned a thing in two years and will never live up to the potential he demonstrated at some point in the past. Yes, I'm anxious. And am a victim of FOMO. And am very grateful that my wonderful wife slaps me upside the head when necessary. And I'm silent during games other than the occasional "well done!" And I know enough to let the coaches coach. And I'm thankful that my son also communicates with me (he doesn't want me to cheer AT ALL, but he wants me to take videos).
Hearing Eclipse (at least internally) has thrown the towel in for girls spring soccer? They are going to pack in tons of play in the fall/summer/winter. If that is true then that leaves Sockers as the only year-round girls program in town. Sure we can say FCU is year-round but really, there has always been a massive problem when it comes to girls leaving FCU to play high school ball - which is big on the North Shore. A few years back they had to bring in many players from another smaller club to fill holes on their fall rosters. It would seem that the bulk of girls do not want to miss out on high school play. Can this work in Chicagoland?
Amen. My wife had to snap me back into shape this week as I whined about our son's lack of opportunities outside the back line of the various teams he plays on. She wasn't having it. Yes ma'am, I'll be quiet (and thankful) now.
First h.s. game last night. Kids crazily supporting each other on field. People in the stands. Season so far....3 week camp for $25 Sessions 5 days a week @ 2.5 hours. Supportive POSitive coaches Enthusiastic and supportive kids. Great facility turf and grass. I can see an H.S. path quickly becoming relevant. If high school coaches partnered with their local community travel clubs you could create a pipeline of kids who are usually getting frustrated by freshmen year as well as some higher level players who are getting shit canned in their so called elite clubs. This starts to reciprocate getting younger better quality players in these clubs. Any high school can provide faculty for winter indoor trading for close to free. These clubs that usually have no h.s. age squads would now have players as a club/h.s. collective that can play in existing club leagues and or a spring club league for fewer dollars. I just came up with this brainstorming for 3 minutes. All you need is hungry young teacher/coaches to do it. How am I wrong?
I just found the MLS all star game by accident... I could do a better job marketing their product wtf