A question for those of you with kids old enough to play club and high school: Do any of your kids play for club teams that are as connected and as much a true team as their high school teams? I ask because, after watching a little of my son's club team play without him over the weekend (not rostered for a tournament, which happens in this club), my wife and I were both struck by the lack of intensity in their play, lack of cohesion, ... We've noticed it before, but it was more striking when our son wasn't out there, I think, and our own investment in the team was lower. The kids on the team come from at least 10 different schools in multiple towns, so I guess connection might not come easy. It was striking, and he's said himself that most of them aren't friends. I know a previous coach seemed a little frustrated by it and tried (without success, I guess) to get them to bond on travel weekends. It's frustrating -- it's a talented group, but they tend to be less than the sum of their parts. I'm not sure there's a solution. But, after watching his previous club team have a lot of fun together before they reached HS age, I wonder if this disconnection is common across club soccer.
As far as intensity and speed of play, my son's club team plays so much faster and harder than his high school team, but then again, his high school team isn't very good. The whole high school team probably has 7 or 8 club players on it, and of those, only a couple (including my son), play at any sort of regional level. Chemistry-wise, we'll see. As my previous rant indicated, the team that my son played with last spring has expanded to include a lot of new players. I think most of them are high level players from their individual high schools, but I have no idea how they'll come together. Down in Florida in December, a group of maybe 8 or 9 of his long time teammates played in a showcase with 5 or 6 new kids and they did well and all seemed to get along. The spring season really gets going this upcoming weekend, but each weekend will be a different combination of players.
Maybe intensity's not the right word -- they play fast, move the ball around well, ... They're just not connected and very seldom give the sense that, as a group, they're playing in a game they all badly want to win. Maybe the fact that they're quiet on the field is a factor in my perception. Including my son, there are really only a couple of kids who talk much on the field. A puzzling group.
How many of these kids have played together before? The two BEST teams my son's been a part of (one club, one school), the teams had been together for three to four years. Sure, there may have been a handful (three or less) "new" kids, but at least 12-15 of the first 18 were very familiar with each other. For the last three years of club, my son's teams have had as many new players as old. It takes time to build that "connection", knowing what your teammate is going to do, where he's going to be, what he's thinking. Having skilled players will help cover the gap, but watching a team who has obviously been together play is a thing of magic.
I suppose it depends on the match, but for the most part, the teams that my son has played on always very much wants to win all the time. My older son was on a team in the past, however, that didn't focus on winning as much as development - their coach would literally tell them that he'd rather lose a game playing the style he wants them to learn than play a style that could win a game, but teach them nothing. Granted, that team did not play at a very high level that often.
The core of this team -- 8-10 kids? -- has played together within the club for four years including the current season (this is year No. 3 for my son), so it's been a while. Granted, that's playing together outside the HS season, so November-May or June. A handful of these guys have guest-played together for other teams, as well (which I assumed would create some better bonds, but it hasn't led to any major change). I thought being HS opponents in a lot of cases might drive a little friendly rivalry that would help, but I can't tell that that's happened, either. And the issue I describe isn't coach-driven -- as I mentioned, it frustrated at least one coach. They just lack ... something.
Hi there, As a coach I'd have to partially disagree that it isn't coach driven. YES there is only so much we can do as coaches to really mold this aspect of the team, but we can and do have an influence. Every team has different starting points with each coach and it's up to the coach to raise those levels as much as he can, but we (and parents) also have to realize where the starting point was/is. We can't work miracles (although many of us do try) but we certainly have an impact. My first questions would be at what level are these boys playing at? If this is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th team at a club, that can play a big part in it. Not going to the same schools or being even in the same areas can also be a big part. If they don't see each other AT ALL outside of soccer, it can be hard to form a close group. Lastly, what does your son have to say about it? Does he enjoy the team?
Thanks for the response, and the questions. Re my comment that this isn't coach-driven, I meant that only to clarify that this wasn't a result of a coaching philosophy emphasizing development over any focus on winning. The balance between the two, from what I can tell, seems about right for a group of '05s. This team plays at a fairly high level -- President's Cup here in Illinois, the top flights in larger regional showcase tournaments, ... It was an A team last year, though this year the A and B teams are really one big pool with rosters set for each event based on availability and performance. The core group, though, mostly doesn't change. And yeah, aside from the smaller groups of kids at the same schools (my son is one of small handful of players from his school, for instance), I don't think any of them have much contact outside of practice and games. I'd say yes and no to your last question. I do hear complaints about the lack of connection in this group, but any suggestion last year that he might enjoy dropping down to the B team (which appeared to be a much closer group when he guest-played for them at a tournament) was shut down pretty quickly over the level of play. What he enjoys, I'd say, is that higher skill level and the demands that go with it. That said, we've never talked directly about the issue I raised in posting this thread -- I suspect he'd say I'm flat wrong and defend his team on that point.
Just a quick follow-up. I think the coach who took this team over this season might have noticed its lack of chemistry, too. My son had to write a short essay over the weekend after watching an inspirational sports movie (on the '84 US Hockey team). I have no idea if that will help, but I have to hand it to the coach for trying a different approach. Mildly amusing to see my son sit down and easily crank out a couple of pages on this with no complaints. I don't think I've ever seen the words flow quite that easily for a school assignment.
Interesting. I wonder what the coach is going to do with the essays. I would have suspected mini golf, rock climbing, go carts, soccer tennis, soccer golf, that kind of stuff.