I'm sorry but I've got to call bullshit on this. I coach youth soccer and I emphasize ball skills almost to the point of extremes. The other coaches in my club do the same. And our opponents emphasize skill and passing, not "route one" football. Go to any clinic today to get an "e" license and you'll be drilled on letting the "ball be the teacher" and in "maximizing touches" and creating drills that reflect game situations (i.e. no standing in line at a cone). I've never heard anyone say get "stuck in", nor have I heard any English/Scottish/whatever accents. Where do you coach Bill, because you don't coach around here, clearly.
I see. You coach youth soccer and you've never heard a coach with an accent. There's just not much I can add, is there? And for the record, if you disagree, say "I disagree" and explain why. Saying "I call bullshit" is calling someone a liar, and frankly, that's an invitation to them calling you a stinking, maggot-infested pustule or something, and nobody wants that. And if you'd like to run a poll on this page, I can arrange it: Q: If you claim you are a "youth soccer coach" and yet have never, ever heard another coach with a British accent, you are- a) A U7 small-sided coach in Idaho b) Deaf c) A Saturday morning Sandbox League "E" license dimwit who doesn't know his ass from a bag of dog shit d) Clearly a well-traveled Premier/Elite level soccer coach who takes his teams to the tournaments where good players play and whose opinions should therefore be noted with respect Wanna lay some money on "D" coming in last? Learn some manners or keep your posts in the "MLS: General" forum with the rest of the junior high kids.
The interesting thing to me is that I believe the Route 1 soccer does not come from our coaching courses, but rather from (1) inherited attitudes that are hard to trace to any such authoritative source, and (2) from a desire to win at young ages. If you want to win that U12 game, you (A) select the big fast kid who matured early, (B) put him up top, and (C) kick the ball to him. The desire to win at young ages affects tryout selections and how we play games. Oddly, many of the practice sessions of these same teams do not look like the team is preparing for Route 1 ball on Saturday. But, when Saturday comes, the kids (who want to win, and have parents who want to win screaming at them non-stop) instinctively know how to win, so they do it. I have issued the following challenge before without satisfactory reply: Can anyone who has been through a recent (last decade) coaching course cite chapter and verse from any standard coaching course materials (USSF license courses or NSCAA diploma courses) that demonstrate how we are teaching obsolete British style soccer. Ditto for the broader category of Northern European soccer, from Germany to Scandinavia to the British Isles. I would love to see such examples. I would even write to the authors of such materials. But I never get any such examples, and I suspect the problem lies in the part of our soccer culture that is not institutionalized, but is powerfully influential nonetheless.
Well, lets see, I coach against premier teams in Connecticut. Its a little state with a lot of money next to New York, fairly close to England, Ireland and all that. So stuff it. Learn manners? You posted on the front of the BigSoccer page about how "youth soccer in the US suffers from Route One football" and I call bullshit on it. So what? Grow up. I didn't say you were bullshit, or you were a pustule. I said your argument, Sir, is bullshit. Since I devote a major portion of my life to coaching the game I think I'm in a position to say something like that but perhaps if you're too sensitive I'll say your argument is "BS" next time. And the question remains, which you responded to by calling me a "junior high kid": Do you coach? Are you licensed? Have you tried to correct this problem you lay claim to? Lastly, those I know here who are from the UK don't coach their team the way you lay claim to either but I won't speak for them.
This past weekend I reffed 26 games from Friday to Monday and after seeing a wide variety of teams I can honestly say that the teams with the British coaches did not fare very well. In past years these teams would have been moderately successful but this year the variety of coaching styles won over the "old British" style that was mentioned earlier in this posting. My point is that after seeing the variety of coaching styles from teams from NJ, NY, PA, and CT, I can say that the main arguement of this posting is no longer true. The thread was created to argue against English coaches and after this weekend the idea of "Route 1 Soccer" is not as prominant as originally described.
You seem like a bright guy, so I'm surprised you missed the point. Leaving aside why the thread "was created" - (the real answer is "because it was Wednesday) - I was not "arguing against" anyone or anything. Rather, I pointed out the undeniable, overwhelming British influence in American soccer, took a broad swipe at why that is, contrasted it with the current trend in MLS towards more Latin players and finished by suggesting that IF people want a more "stylish" brand of soccer, like they play in South America, then we should encourage more Latin influence in our youth programs. If you see that as some kind of attack on British football, so be it. I considered it more of an observation.
Fair enough. I agree with that statement (i.e. it is not BS ). The British have traditionally been our "teachers" but its safe to say that at this point, both UK and US youth programs are re-learning together. The August issue of FourFourTwo had a nice article about the "route one" syndrome in UK youth football and one guy who is trying to bring a Brazilian approach to his coaching. Unfortunately in the US, I'm afraid there will always be an ethnic barrier between Anglos and Latinos that will make crossing over difficult.
I understand the point of the thread and I do agree that with the MLS bringing in more Latin players that we all hope to see more Latin (Spanish, South American, etc) coaches. My comment was more or less stating that after the long weekend I saw a change in the ranks, that there were more non-British coaches. Kev I do agree with your opinion on the Anglos and the Latinos; it seems as though the upper-class communities tend to lean toward British coaches essentially due to prejudices against Spanish coaches, almost saying that upper-class communities won't hire Spanish coaches due to a bias believing that they are lower class. I know that sounds awaful and i'm not trying to start any class issue arguements.