RunSudoSane, Two issues with your thoughts: 1) Any club or organization needs a teacher to run it, this takes funding, each gets a stipend. While not a lot of money, it is money. It's usually a violation of the teacher contract to do this without the stipend. 2) On the "rotate Friday night" thing. Probably won't work, it takes support from teh community, there just wouldn't be the interest to attend, also not all sports/activiites are as spectator friendly as others. Not all activities are equal, not everyone has a right to play. If you aren't good enough and for funding or whatever reason, there's no team for your talent/skill level, then you don't play.
NHRef, I guess I'm a glass half full kind of person. Schools use volunteers all the time. As long as they clear the hurdles like background checks, cpr training and others, I say sign them up. (If you're just a union guy, that obviously falls on deaf ears) Friday night thing, absolutely, would work! Picture a Friday night when, @5:30 the school grounds are set up for a cross country race. The JV goes first, probably in front of family and friends. Varsity starts up around 7pm. The course winds around the school and finishes in the stadium. Multiple viewing opportunities, and a great chance to make those student athletes feel important, respected parts of the high school community. All the things which go into a typical fall Friday night at most schools could be included. A spaghetti dinner? Pep band? Maybe another activity follows the cross country meet. Say, big fall play in the auditorium? Maybe booths set up for art students to show paintings, sculpture, etc? I'm just brainstorming, but there are so many ways to make this idea a success. The high schools should be a place, on Friday nights, that celebrate the "whole" community. The initial reaction to something like this, and I have experienced this "initial" reaction on numerous occasions during good, open debate of the topic, is "well, we already include most of the community during football and basketball on Friday's. Lets just see what we can do to improve the status quo." Most of the people who react this way fall into one of two groups. 1. Those who wish to keep football at the top of some personally perceived pyramid. 2. Those who believe as you stated "2) On the "rotate Friday night" thing. Probably won't work, it takes support from teh community, there just wouldn't be the interest to attend, also not all sports/activiites are as spectator friendly as others." See, I think that each Friday night on high school grounds could be/should be turned into a fair like atmosphere. Within that fair, each group of kids that choose to put themselves out there, put effort and creativity into something they love, should be the focus at least once a year; not just one group repeatedly. Every one of those kids deserves it. As for your final thought, "Not all activities are equal, not everyone has a right to play. If you aren't good enough and for funding or whatever reason, there's no team for your talent/skill level, then you don't play." I don't know where this came from. I said pretty clearly that varsity sports should stay the same. I am a believer that working hard and earning your spot in your chosen endeavor is an important aspect of high school. Part of life's prep. All the other stuff can be looked at as a utopian/politically correct approach, but that, respectfully is b&llsh%t. So many lessons are learned when a young person is put in the spotlight. So much is gained from a personal perspective. To be made to feel important and included at that age is huge. I think you would be amazed if a high school and community did this in conjunction with their local high school league. I think the positives would come in too many ways to count.
I am about as far from "union" as you can get! My wife is a teacher and I HATE the teachers union, they are completely over the line and need to go away. As for the Friday night thing, I'd be willing to give it a shot, the utopian in me would love it to work, the realist in me would support it, but not be suprised if it failed. I've been to TONS of soccer, basketball, track and cross country meets as my two sons went through school and club sports. Even as a parent, my number one "boredom" one is cross country. They take off in a pack, into the woods. You stand around for 10-15 minutes waiting for them to emerge all spread out. Yes, if your kid is infront or close, it can be exciting. Otherwise, hmmmm "where is he...." Track is next, lots going on, but for the most part, it's not your kid, whether you can muster the support for several hours (track meets go for 3-4 hours) is up to you, but you watch this event for hours to cheer your kid on for somewhere from 10 seconds to 12 minutes depending on the race. At least a field sport with a team there is something happening non-stop, it stays right in front of you and it tends to be more interesting. Not all sports are spectator sports, some are just like watching paint dry! I played baseball my whole life, great game, however I fall asleep if I try to watch it on TV and in person, at a high school, snoozefest unless it's a really high scoring game, the "classic duals" of 1-0 games, oh my god I want to poke my eyes out. Like I said, I'd give it a shot and I would support it, just don't see it working.
I personally fall on the fence in regards to unions. I think they have a place in society, they gave dignity to millions, when a few wanted to essentially keep slavery alive in this country. But they have gone a bit far in the last forty years. I do know what you are talking about in terms of the "running" sports. LOL. But, I do think turning the school grounds into fairs each Friday solves that problem, and it brings many people to the school who normally wouldn't go to a Friday night football or basketball game. I really wish some school system would do this. Form 3pm to 6pm lots of people would be setting up all kinds of unique things for people to see. Maybe a chess tournament area? In fall, you could have fresh produce booths, corn and such. Some areas this would work better than others, but overall I think it would work, and be amazing for a much greater portion of the student population. The balls it would take for an AD and Principal to get this going would be enormous.
Like gazza, I am currently a hs coach. used to coach club, travel, and rec. My goal, no matter the talent level or age, is always to prepare the athlete for the next level. You do that by creating a fun and competitive environment for all. There hasn't been any season in which I did not devote time to technical development. Gazza, I wish all my HS kids came to me in shape on day one too. But there's plenty of skill/technical games you can use that also gets them in shape (nothing wrong with killing 2 birds with 1 stone).
Hello. I am currently in High School. Going into my junior year. Let me put it this way. I tried-out for my soccer team in Freshman and Sophomore year. This time next month are the next try-outs... I wont be there though. 2 reasons. 1) I play for the Red Bulls Tournament team so I cant do high-school and tournament due to USSF rules. and 2) I did not make my high school team the first two times yet when I tried out for my club team, I made it. In fact the only way I found out about my club team is through a random stranger passing by a pathway behind my backyard (Behind my backyard there is a pathway which is divided through a gate, not a tall one but good enough so that only his face could be seen) and I was playing soccer and smashing it. He saw me play and recommended this team and I went for it. The difference to me is how the coaches went about it. First off when I was in high-school try-outs there were kids much worse than me but still made the team because they knew the coach for personal reasons. Some had the coach already maybe in rec. And in fact one was the son. It was crazy the amount of favoritism. At club level, it did not go away but it was a much lesser extent than with high school. I made the team and I love it. We focused on the skill with the ball. Get comfortable with the ball. Learn what to do without the ball. Yes that is stuff we should know at a young age already but really it was good to relearn. We also 5 v 5 or 4 v 4. Short sided. Smaller goals. It was all there to make us a better player technically. At highschool it was run, run, and run. Heck you could put a player like Per Mertesaker at a high school tryout and he would even fail to make it because even though he can get shut-outs at the level each week, he is still not fast enough.
First, I feel for you. Feel free to take the time to vent as much as you like. I have been in the same situation you are with my kid playing in a twilight zone of a strange high school soccer environment. Your description of a twilight zone is a good one because the feeling one gets in that environment is that everything you know about soccer suddenly becomes non-applicable and it is indeed a detriment. It is impossible to give your kid advice about how to play the game since the rules are different than everywhere else in the soccer world. Posses the ball, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd attacker and defender principles - forget about it. After being around it for years, and seeing the progression of the game in this country, you expect soccer to be coached and played in a certain way. With the emphasis on a standardized best practices type curriculum in USSF, you often see the top clubs running very similar training sessions. And then you see things like your kid's high school team spending the whole practice on a drill that you have only seen U11 teams do, and it blows your mind. The focus on fitness-only drills is bizarre. If the coach thinks practice time is short, how does he have time for fitness only drills? As Uvahoos mentions above "Any good coach, hell even an average coach, should know and be able to incorporate fitness into the actual training sessions which includes a ball." As we all know, there are plenty of drills and games with the ball that have very high fitness demands, I mean the bent over puking kind of fitness demands. My son played for a top club that was known for their high level of fitness which often showed itself at the end of games. I don't recall them ever doing any pure fitness drills. The rest of it came from the way they practiced with the ball. The only understandable reason for the preponderance of fitness work in the first few weeks is if they were in a no-cut situation where the coach was hoping a few of the less dedicated players "self-selected" off the team. The ban on pick-up soccer, argh. Instead they should be organizing pick-up games during the summer as another coach mentioned. It is the best way to get a lot of touches in and also develop a high level of fitness. Coming into a fixed soccer season, I would love it as a coach if the boys or girls had spent 3 hours a day 5 days a week playing pickup soccer. This is the first I have heard a coach not wanting that... ever. I don't understand the lack of emphasis on working on skills every day. The coaches should have a curriculum of the skills they want to work on as the preseason and season progresses. It is not just teaching skills, but sharpening and refining those skills as the season peaks at the end. My advice for you. First, realize that you are not alone. Many people have been in your shoes. After watching for a while, you come to the realization that, regardless of what he says, the emperor does not have any clothes. Since bad coaches sometimes have skewed opinions of what a good soccer player looks like, those coaches can penalize your son for playing good soccer. For example, my friend's son is an excellent player. However, the things that made a good club player, such as maintaining possession, knowing when not to run, etc., counted against him with the high school coaches. He is now the top center forward on one of the top academy teams in the country but could not figure out how his high school coaches wanted him to play. So try to make sure it does not affect your kid's confidence. And try not to get angry with him if things go south. It is hard to do but by checking your posts, you seem like the type of parent who can handle it. Good luck and feel free to vent if you need to.
"The positional instruction takes up the majority of practice. Usually this is in the form of starters on one end rest of team on other. Ball is played into specific space and players are instructed where to be and when to be there. Lots of talk of getting ball up field quickly, and into corners. Lots of talk of pressuring in the other teams defensive third." [/quote] Before I comment, there are a number of things that I dont agree with (with the coach in discussion); fitness in pre-season and no ball work / no small sided games / no pick-up games (this is where footballers learn most of their skill, with their peers). But the quote mentioned, this is actually high level coaching and is what you find in English academies. I am a UEFA coach in England and have experience at this level. The coaching at the u15 age group and above is based on this, so are you being a little harsh on him / her? Mentioned by a fellow poster, players should have developed the majorty of techniques at 15 / 16 and these should now be focused on executing them quicker and with more consistency. But players should be focusing on shape / phases of play - which your coach is apparently doing. Again I dont agree with the majorty of what the coach does, but if your son does "take the next step" and play higher - he should get use to the static practises, as he will have alot.. So I do believe that some of the posts on here are quite harsh and maybe the coach is used to coaching more advanced (older) players.
Before I comment, there are a number of things that I dont agree with (with the coach in discussion); fitness in pre-season and no ball work / no small sided games / no pick-up games (this is where footballers learn most of their skill, with their peers). But the quote mentioned, this is actually high level coaching and is what you find in English academies. I am a UEFA coach in England and have experience at this level. The coaching at the u15 age group and above is based on this, so are you being a little harsh on him / her? Mentioned by a fellow poster, players should have developed the majorty of techniques at 15 / 16 and these should now be focused on executing them quicker and with more consistency. But players should be focusing on shape / phases of play - which your coach is apparently doing. Again I dont agree with the majorty of what the coach does, but if your son does "take the next step" and play higher - he should get use to the static practises, as he will have alot.. So I do believe that some of the posts on here are quite harsh and maybe the coach is used to coaching more advanced (older) players.[/quote] Andrew, interesting thoughts. I agree that there is much more of the tactical/positional/shape of play done at the higher levels. My response would be that you are referring to training a large group of players at 15-16-17 ages who bring high quality skill and vision along with them to this age. First, there is way too much of this done with my son's hs team. Why too much? Because, we know that there is still much improvement possible from a technical standpoint. Second, and in this case more importantly, the range of skill and vision of players at the hs is a vast chasm. Who cares if kids learn where they need to be through the tedium that is the higher level/older approach to the game, if they cannot take a good first touch into an accommodating space, or, can't even hope to consistently beat a single defender 1 v 1. Not only do the better players on this team deserve more small sided and individual work (I believe all players want this) I would say half the team NEEDS it to become moderately good players. Again, only my opinion, but a player who reaches the age of 18 (the typical age of graduation from hs in the states) and has a good skill set and vision of the game will be a lifelong soccer fan/player. For years in this country a large portion of the kids who have grown up with the sport have encountered the type of trainer, too often both at hs and club levels, who focuses on shape / phases of play to the detriment of true individual understanding, skill and love of the game. Finally, the reliance on the shape/phase approach in any environment other than college and above is a either A) a sign of laziness B) a sign of self important egotistical idiocy C) a sign that the coach himself is incapable of dong the dynamic, time consuming, hard work necessary to help young players become the kind of player who can walk onto the field for a game and perform basic and advanced skills at high speed while under pressure while the trainer sits on the bench with his mouth shut. Of course D) all of the above is also a choice.
As a club player for all of my younger years, 4 years of high school, and now about to be 4 years of college soccer.........the "twilight zone" you are describing is by no way the correct way. I saw above a poster replied by saying that your son should get used to it if he wants to play at a higher level. Static practices that strictly concentrate on "positioning" or where the player should be at what time (personal opinion here) should be designated to the day before a game...where the concentration is more on what your team is doing to counter against the other teams philosophy, i.e overloading one side, pressuring a certain defender, etc. Static practices do NOTHING to facilitate creativity and player decision making in a game. I believe players get better by PLAYING against other good players...not walking around to a new pre-determined space.
That is my son's problem - the way he is treated in club soccer, where his team is top 20 in the state (and our state has hundreds of teams in his age group) and he is the best player on the team, is completely different than how the HS varsity coach has treated him. Like Arsenalkid700 said, it is whether you know the coach (the only freshman brought up to JV, then varsity after four games, is the brother of a HS teammate of the coach) and whether you are an upperclassman. After having scored on several of the top five teams in the country, being dissed by someone who played soccer for a small DIII college is ludicrous. The coach is much more worried about pissing off the administration and the parents than running a good program. My son will likely try out again next year, but if he is put on JV again, after being the JV goal and assist leader, I will support him to do cross country instead in his junior year. Even this year, when he was the goal and assist leader after almost every game, they brought up three freshman from JV to varsity over him and another sophomore who were doing extremely well. Then they brought up a bunch of other sophomores to varsity, while still my son and the other player were the top two scorers. Something is rotten and no club would treat its players like this. There is no comparison to an A and B team, because on a B team you can move the team up to be ahead of the A team. (a senior who was put on varsity actually got thrown off the team for talking back to the coach, and put back on the team because his parents and a teacher complained - that's what we are competing against)
My own kids are all grown and gone now and for the past 4 years I have been blessed to be coaching at a local private high school ( initially coaching the middle school and JV girls teams and now in my first season with the varsity women) the pay isn't great, but the absolute joy I feel in working with these kids is worth way more than the money. Our school's facilities are the absolute best in this area. Our main grass field is second to none and we have a brand new, top-of-the line- field turf pitch that is fantastic. We have 3 gyms (use one for futsal when the weather is bad) a 'team room' equipped with dry erase board, computer hook up and drop down screen, great weight room, two full time trainers and a very supportive athletic director. NONE of the area club teams can come close to matching what our kids experience on a daily basis regarding the facilities and overall training/practice experience. We do everything with a ball, spend a lot of time on possession, maintaining width, various short-sided games and the kids are having a total blast playing for THEIR school. During the off-season I organize regular short-sided games on a 'make it if you can' basis, as I realize that soccer at our school is just part of the overall high school experience. The girls and their parents have responded brilliantly to this approach. I am not a yeller/screamer type and know that mistakes are part of this (indeed of all) team sports and everyone makes them...at every level...and these young women have responded well to this seemingly obvious approach. Of course I've been blessed with some seriously good players (one of my sr captains has a scholarship to North Carolina)...and am starting 3 freshmen. We have started the season 5 and 0 (best start in over 15 years)....and we've done it without running a SINGLE lap.....not one. Anyway....just wanted to throw my two cents worth into the discussion....and, as some of you know, I'll put my resume up against ANY of the club coaches in this area.
See! This what we need at the youth level. A coach who is not told to do it but loves it as a passion. A coach who goes out there to make sure that there players get a good soccer education/experience and at the same time enjoy it. You also think and use the proper methods of a coach which is brilliant to hear. We need more coaches like you. BTW What school is it? Your girls should play my schools girls team Northern Highlands in New Jersey. We went undefeated and won the state championship.
Support licensed coaches. High school teams can train more often than club team associations allow. Our kid came home beat every night instead of "only" three or four nights a week. Some Uber fitness might be helping a coach pick out 11 that can sustain through an entire game, not having to succumb to hockey style line changes. A fundraising event could raise money to help your coach attend courses to stay current in training procedures and perhaps even get him licensed .
Wow, just wow! This, exactly! Now, most schools don't have anywhere near your resources, but most schools have access to way more than any club. I applaud you for your passion and approach to the game. May more and more coaches in this country find their way there. The problem in this country, soccer wise, is not the player. There are millions of kids in this country playing, and a lot of them get "it". They want to PLAY! And they are good, really good. The problem is the glacial progress of coaches at the youth level. I include many high level coaches in that statement. They coach, first for themselves, second for the money, third for the parents, and last, and certainly least, for the kids. These coaches don't see the game as a collection of smart, talented, beautiful decision making machines, they see it as one unit doing things the way they, as the coach, see the game. They can all eat soap! I'm going to play pick-up!
You are correct in your assessment of our schools resources...basically second to none in our area. I coach because I love it....the money is miniscule for a part-time seasonal coach....and as far as 'coaching for the parents' goes I'll tell you this story...At our all sports winter coaches meeting our head of school stood up (when asked by a basketball coach "how do we deal with interfering parents") pointed at me and said coach, tell them the story you told me the other day"....At a pre-season parents meeting...40+ parents...I had held up a picture of Vicente Del Bosque and asked (even told them the guys name)..."anyone know who this is"?....dead silence.....so I said..."this tells me that your interest in soccer starts and ends with your daughters involvement, so I don't want to hear a single word from any of you concerning tactics, playing time or whatever....and DO NOT even try to 'coach' from the sidelines/stands as your daughters have been instructed to totally ignore ANYTHING coming from the parents"....I have not had a single problem with any parent since....of course it helps to be unbeaten with a month to go in our season.....
If I use your tactic with parents in the future, I will give "the anonymous internet guy who coaches girls in Texas" the credit. That is, if it's okay with "the anonymous internet guy who coaches girls in Texas."
Well this is an interesting thread. I am merely a casual soccer viewer on tv, you know a consumer of the sport as entertainment. But I've wondered why we can't do any better as a "football nation" as people say..... This seems to be the problem. Bad youth development. Mind you different countries have different approaches. If I remember correctly, you not only had school soccer and community soccer in Europe but professionally affiliated youth organizations. My friend in Ghana said it's all community run until you are a certain level then pro talent scouts pick you up. I really think that one thing to help spread the love of the game is through community involvement, and that includes the schools. Soccer passion in the country will only go so far if our stars are generated by autonomous academies. Thing is how can we improve the situation? How can we spread more literate competent soccer coaches down to the school levels? You would think that this would be on the USSF's list but I see they've blackballed the school side of things, banning academy members from playing with their high school clubs. USSF really should figure out how to disperse it's knowledge back to the schools. Mind you it's gonna take some pioneers. Organized pioneers at that. And academies are likely still going to be the best asset in ELITE player development. But a rising tide lifts all boats and I think the sport could benefit greatly if it were taken more seriously at the youth level especially in high school as that seems to be the sports cultural weak point.
Maybe they could talk to state athletic associations to require High School coaches get certified to be able to coach, or the schools should hire outside coaches with the proper certification.
Sounds good, in theory. Here in NY high school coaches are required to get certified as coaches through the state. However it is a general certification. There is a sport specific element but it is minor and useless if you ask me. To make things worse, state law requires that a teacher be given a coaching position over a non teacher coach who has not completed his/her certification regardless of the qualifications of either applicant. This means that there may be a very qualified coach ready to do the work but a teacher who hasn't got a clue who wants the job will get it instead. Once the non-teacher coach becomes certified he/she is on even ground and must be considered equally in any opening. As you can imagine it can make it difficult to get into a coaching position if you are not a teacher. The requirement to get certified is nice but does not go far enough I think and the fact that the state bends to the will of the teachers union makes things harder still. Like I said, sounds good in theory. I'm sure there must be a better way....
That there is a real tough nut to crack. It's going to take strong grassroots advocates AND USSF influence and cooperation (not coercion) to make changes at the youth level like that because as long as nutty things like that occur, this nation will only go so far.
I had a HS girls team about 6 years ago whose parents were louder than any coach I've ever seen or worked with. Constantly yelling at the refs and directing their daughter's during the game. My other coach and I told the girls, and their parents, that if we ever heard them trying to out coach us from the stands, they would find themselves on the bench. They don't go into their daughters classrooms and try to out teach the teachers, and we weren't going to allow it in on pitch. After a couple more games, they saw we were serious about it, and it made for a much more enjoyable experience for the players. And no coach, at least not at a public school, is coaching for the money. They'd be better off getting a part-time job waiting tables. I certainly do it for the passion of the game and the love of the kids.