Identifying Talent - How and When?

SAQ = speed, agility, quickness. Parisi Speed School among others has classes in it, and some soccer clubs have classes in it. The ability to make decisions quickly, as well as follow directions, is important. Video games with quick decision making are useful in that regard as well.

 

Thank you!

 

I realize I'm coming into this discussion late, but it's possible we could have a situation fairly similar to what Mirzam describes happening with my oldest son. He's just turned nine. I wanted to give a couple of points, because I still remember what we saw when he was young pretty well.

1) before he ever really tried to develop any real technical skill on the ball, he was noticeably faster with it, and better able to change direction with it, than nearly all of the kids in the league. This was when we started to see he had a God-given aptitude.
2) when he finally did get with coaches who taught technical moves on the ball, he almost never needed to see the move demonstrated more than once. He saw it, then he did it, then he did it a little faster and a little faster and a little faster until he was ready to bring it out in a competitive setting.
3) only without a ball when he eats, bathes, and sleeps. Absolutely loves the ball. Goes to school with him every day. He wears out a good ball in about three months, cheap ones in a few weeks. It's amazing how intolerant the cover of a cheap soccer ball is to the brick outer wall of a house.

I'd say those are the things that first tipped us off. One, he moves faster naturally with the ball than other kids. Two, he has an innate understanding and ability to master complex technical skills quickly. Three, LOVES the ball, nearly to the point of obsession.

We are now entering the phase of his development where tactical will begin to grow in importance. We'll see what kind of mind he has for the game very soon. He's never been more excited to grow and learn in the game. It's so much fun to see the pride he has about his skill, and the great time he has being part of a team of terrific kids.

 

At 9, he should have been introduced to tactics already - at least positions and triangles. The local HS has won many state lacrosse championships, and the coaches say that by 10, they should be working on how do you actually play the game, not just throwing and catching the ball. Tactics, tactics, tactics. A player can be average in skill and speed, but if they and their teammates know where to be, and when, they will win.

My son's trajectory is pretty far from your son's and Mirzam's son's, yet this weekend he is playing in a state futsal championship on a year older team (U17) against players up to U19.

The big wakeup call for us was when he went to full-sided, and got BETTER. Most kids had a lot of trouble playing on a big field, it was not just stamina but field sense. The more you can help your son appreciate knowing what is going on over the whole field - knowing what to do when you have the ball but more importantly knowing what to do when you DON'T have the ball - the better he will become. And the more he can play against real pressure, trying and losing, trying and losing, then trying and winning, the more his skills will grow.

And advice for all younger players is to USE BOTH FEET. It is HUGE. We started seriously working with both feet when my son was 9. He had already shown that he could dribble with both feet, but we did simple passing and shooting drills for about 15 minutes after each practice. This was enough to get him interested and want to work on it on his own. Playing against a bad team? Use your weak foot. The lefty is hurt? Play on the left.

(I think I also posted about my son's friend who met the same trajectory you list, who ended up quitting soccer at age 13. Be very careful, and make sure you have many options for him outside of "the top club in the area". The kid made it to the top club (#10 on the national DA list, he was 10 at the time though so not DA yet) and was cut after 2 years, and was inconsolable, never picked up a soccer ball again. I feel strongly that if he dropped club soccer for a year, and concentrated on training, he would be on the BNT by now. Instead, it's just a set of memories for a soccer dad.)

Don't confuse love of messing around with a soccer ball with soccer skill. Soccer is a game with two teams of 11, a ball, and a net. Individual skills impress, but they really shouldn't until they have been tested under pressure in game situations. The sad part is that it is almost impossible for kids 10 and under to get REAL competition in the US. Playing up is one way to try.

Assuming you don't have the means to move to Europe LOL.

 

Hi rhrh, and thanks for the advice and sincere reply. Lots of good stuff in your response, and it's all well-taken.

He and his teammates are well aware of simpler tactics. But those things don't take up nearly as much practice time as does the individual development of each player. Our coaches don't emphasize winning games. They emphasize the things each player needs to do to make himself better. The time for coaching to win will come, and there will be plenty of it. Right now is the time to focus on each kid and how he can improve individually. This is the philosophy espoused by US Soccer.

All of the things you advise are solid. My little guy is a lefty, so we're working on the right foot regularly. It's coming along. At the very least, he can still make plays now if he's forced right. Still not his preference, but it's no longer a real weakness.

I agree to the nth degree regarding working vs. pressure. We see all kinds of kids pulling off sweet stepovers and rolls and maradonas during warm-ups, but our team closes down on them and suddenly those moves don't come off so well. When you practice with your kids, I'd recommend 1) learn the move, 2) try the move against light pressure (a dad going half-speed or a little brother/sister works well), 3) try the move in a scrimmage, 4) put it in the gametime tool box. Some of the parents I talk to about their kids are frustrated because, they say, "Johnny does this thing where he rolls it with his right foot then goes immediately to a Cruyff then shoots, but he just won't do it in the game!" Ask a few questions and you find out Johnny's never actually done the move vs. anything but grass. If he's never tried it against another person, he's not going to all of a sudden whip it out in his next travel match.

He can't wait to get to a larger field. Actually, we're playing 7v7 and I think that's one too many. The middle of the field stays very congested. I think his favorite thing to do on the field is to pass one of his teammates open. He loves playing the ball through, and he knows he'll get to do it more often when they move up to a larger field.

At this point, it's obvious he has the tools. I'm just trying to keep it fun so that we avoid the "quitting" scenario you describe. He has big dreams. I consider it my job to help him enjoy the next practice, the next match, the next play, and not get caught up in how he's going to get noticed by Real Salt Lake.

Thanks again for your reply.

 

As long as it stays fun, that's what is important. The more you can show them the tools they need, the more you'll find out how much they love the sport.
And one thing I have told my son, the numbers from USSF indicate that less than 5% of the BNT roster from U14 end up on the MNT roster for U18. Those are not good odds, plus they are obviously replaced by players who were never recognized at a young age.
My son almost quit, and now is doing very well - looking to play in college or overseas. If you find a good coach, keep your child with him as long as possible, that's the key. We have a few trainers we keep coming back to, and my son plays on multiple teams to keep access to previous excellent coaches despite less competitive teammates. The training is key.

 

A link to a player's website, who was identified early (12) internationally, and is back in the US at 17 on a semi-pro team.

http://www.nicolasrussofutbol.com/inicio-ing.php

http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com/team/u-23s_roster/?player_id=31&c=0

One call up ever, as far as I can tell, yet many people seem to expect that he will still end up on the MNT. One story says how his father implied that the "only reason" his son left Boca Jrs. was because it cost too much money to visit him. Also telling was a comment by the player that it was "tough" to play on the PDL team, because he was playing against "men" not "boys". As if the U17 Boca Jrs. team would be worse than a semi-pro USL team.

And the other odd thing is that the U23 team is not the highest team in that club, there is a Pro team too, which apparently Russo did not make. Yet again, some still think he has MNT potential.

Point is, everyone still ends up in the same place unless you get really really lucky. Very important for your kid to enjoy the game. Few make even the semi-pro level, but would that be enough for a dedicated player?

 

Academy and select parents tool to track player development.

Check out Goal Reports www.goalreports.com

This is the type of tool youth soccer clubs should be providing to it's membership.

 

A follow-up question - most of the highlights I have now for my son are single goals and a few assists. However, I am seeing highlight films with footage of moves included, beating a defender to make a pass that doesn't end up in a goal, give and gos, etc.

Any advice on what to include? Is any coach or scout going to either want to see or have the time to watch 5 minutes of play which your kid has maybe 5 touches, even if they are good? Let alone full games?

FYI, I have hours of footage, so I can find a lot of good not goals not assists, but I have not focused on taking out those highlights. I have seven videos up on recruting sites, and only one has several minutes of play, and it is futsal so both he and the ball are usually in the frame. Is five minutes of footage too much by the way?

 

The kid looks great. I would focus on getting him to use his left foot more (maybe he's doing that already by now). I looked at his juggling video on your youtube site and almost every juggle is with his right foot. He's obviously mastered that, so now he should be concentrating much more on his left. I also agree with the poster who said that your son needs to speed his play up more, including in training. He seems to be moving really slowly and deliberately. A little more explosiveness would be good.

(Just to be clear, your kid is exceptionally talented, and I'm just trying to be helpful, not to nitpick.)

 

Your son is as exceptionally gifted athlete. You can't teach speed and your kid has that. In a post later in this thread, you noted that your son only uses "moves" when he has to and pointed out that he doesn't have to use them much because he can easily beat people with speed. That's not going to work forever. It becomes increaingly difficult to beat defenders with pure speed as defenders get older and wiser, even when you are as fast as your little guy is. In fact, I would encourage him to become less reliant on his speed and more reliant on technical skills. In the clips you provided, he often beats players by dribbling straight at them and then making a quick cut to the side at the last second and blowing by them. This is the kind of thing that won't work at the next level. Rather than diving in at him, defenders will back off him to contain him and wait for help from others. Your son will need to draw the defender in using trickery. He should start relying on this now (before he actually needs to) because it is much harder to start pulling tricks in a game when you are 12 if you didn't do it when you were 9 (I realize your son is even younger than that). So, my advice is to have him stop relying on his dominant speed and quickness and force himself to use his technical skills.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! I agree that he needs to start using his technical skills more in games, to become comfortable with them, at game speed and under pressure. He's worked on them a lot over the winter at practice, and at home, and I'm starting to see them emerge more and more in actual games. The biggest problem that I have getting him to use them is that he is very very competitive, and he hates to "screw up" in a game. I've told him a million times(as has his coach) that it doesn't matter, and that even the games are just big "scrimmages". But when it comes down to it, in the heat of the moment, he prefers to rely on what he does well, and is confident in, rather than try out something he hasn't used as much. With that said, in just the last couple of weeks he has started to use the cryuff, maradona, scissors, and stepovers, usually flawlessly during games, and at game speed. These are moves he's been able to do for a long time, but just wasn't confident in. I think it's finally become muscle memory enough that he can do them without actively deciding if it's worth trying. I'm hoping that he'll continue to use those moves, and add in others that he is becoming increasingly comortable with. He has also been working on his juggling a lot the last month, and went from a high score of 31 at the end of February, to 73 last weekend. My biggest issue is trying to figure out how much is too much? He prefers to play for hours a day, including going to optional practices, and guesting for his club's older and younger teams(he's a u8, but is on the u10 team, but during winter has played everything from u8 to u12 in addition to his regular u10 games). Is there a point that I should say no, or just let him have at it, as long as he wants to?

 

Let me start by saying that I have no real experience or expertise in this area, but I am a parent of three boys and an experienced coach if kids u9 and under. I think your question is one of both parenting and player development. On the parenting side you need to decide what kind of life you want him to have outside of soccer. That's a decision he's not capable of making for himself at age 8. In terms of player development you need to pace him so he doesn't burn out. Personally, there's no way I'd let me 8 year old play u12. U10 is pushing it in my view.

 

You are not nitpicking. Like I said when i posted this video, I am just looking for some feedback.

Totally agree with most of your assesment. His left foot is improving. I encourage him to use his left a lot in training. He has scored several goals with his left since this video was made. And he is now juggling about 25% with his left foot now as compared to about 10% about six months ago. A little improvement.

I'm working on his speed also. Like I said before, he has fast feet, just needs his mind to correlate with his feet during a game. Here is a training video I made with him when he had just turned 8 years old. We go through this training sessions about three times a week for an hour or so. he loves to do them and he is improving by the week.

I appreciate your feedback.

 

Couple things. First, while I generally believe that speed training is a waste for young kids who really should be focused on skill training, I'd say your boy would benefit from speed training. Most areas have it. I'd also encourage him to more creative when juggling. Also get him some work in he air. Throw him the ball and have him settle with his thigh or chest and return it to you (no bounce) with the inside of his feet.

 

Will work on some speed training with him. Even though I don't show it in the training video, we started working with the ball in the air. I will trow the ball about 12 feet in the air and he has to bring it down with both his outside and inside part of his foot with no bounce. Haven't really worked that much with his chest or thigh yet, but will.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

In the drill I'm describing, stand about 12 feet or so away and lob the ball easily to his thigh (like you're throwing it into his lap). He should knock it up and out in front of him and then volley directly back into your hands. With his chest, he should lean back slightly and pop the ball gently out in front of him and volley it directly back in your hands. This will get him comfortable taking the ball out of the air. By the way, it looks like you have him working with a size 5 ball. That's too big for him. For his size, a 3 is perfect and a 4 is Ok. Maybe get him a skills ball. I think they market them as a size 1. It's about half the size of a 3 and is good for juggling. Again, emphasize explosiveness after making a feint.

 

I just saw your sons video. Should not do this in the front of the house the area is not big enough. At the end of most of those moves he should be changing his direction eith a burst of speed. In the video he is still going forward

What do the cones represent? If they represent a passive defender. The defender still can see the ball if they can see the ball they can tackle the ball away. Make the space bigger between the cones do he can shield tge ball with his whole body when he goes between the cones defender

He does the moves well but he needs to do those moves a lot faster thru he is doing them now. He wants to be quick or fast in a small space.

 

Not my son, BP's, but I agree with your post.

 

This is a HUGE point, and I just want to second it.

Kids practicing at home get very caught up in being able to perform a skill. When they master it, they have a deserved sense of pride. But what coaches and parents need to continually reinforce is that skills are not done for the sake of the skill. These are things we work on in order to beat a defender in a game.

At the end of every skill, we should be encouraging kids to explode away in another direction. It's very simple - defenders are beaten by two things 1) change of direction and 2) change of speed. The skill is no good unless it incorporates both of those things.

 

And that is imporant for PK's too - very easy for a decent not excellent shooter to have 100% on PKs if they change speed (don't stop) during PK's.

 

Never done this before, but I thought I'd post a sample of my oldest's work in a few games so far this year. We're about halfway through the season, and I plucked about three minutes worth of stuff that's pretty typical of what we see from him in matches. Personally, I think his greatest attribute is his vision. I've received feedback from coaches telling me he plays with his head up more than anyone would expect from a 9 year old.

(Apologies if some of the video is a touch shaky. The videographer is also Mommy, so you can understand that all I really ask is that most of the stuff AJ does is in frame )

 

He's a very good player. He does have good vision, but the more unique thing about him for his age is that he puts the proper weight on his passes. Seeing an open man and passing to him is not all that rare, but weighting the pass and hitting the target in stride is more so. One question I have is whether he is on the older side of his age group. I see lots of kids like this who are born in the first three months of their age range (August-October) who look pretty dominant, only to look pretty average a couple years down the road when their age advantage lessens. Either way, he's a very good player. You should be very proud, but also stay grounded.

Keep in mind that there literally are thousands of kids in the US who are playing at or above your son's level. I say that, not to hurt your feelings or anything, but because it sometimes comes as a shock to people when they venture outside their local league and find that there is a whole world of youth players playing on a whole 'nuther level. For example, we have five or six 9-year-old kids in my area who are amazing soccer players, but when they enter big tournaments against top clubs they find that their regional dominance doesn't really carry over onto a bigger stage and they probably wouldn't even make the bench on the power-house teams.

Overall, be proud of your son and encourage him to keep playing and enjoying the game he already loves.