Freak out? I want Akale to make it to 5-7 like Xavi and Iniesta. I think it will help him. If he doesn't I would love for him to be as strong as Messi and Maradona.
There's an inverse correlation between height and leverage as it applies to football. And I don't think you'll find much of a correlation between height and strength/lbs. Again for Akale height is close to a complete nonissue given his position and style of play. All else being equal an inch or two less would make zero difference in Xavi/Iniestas effectiveness.
Taller stronger players push small weak players out of the way. Leg strength is also a very important aspect of football. You rarely see a frail short player. If Akale gets to 5-6 with legs like tree trunks I also would be extremely happy. He is presently way off from that.
Small weak players don't make it as professional footballers. If Mukwellle doesn't gain the requisite strength and body mass over the next 3-5 years it's likely neither will he, nobody is denying that but none of that was ever the point. Again the point is his height is virtually a nonissue given his skill set. Anybody who's worried about him physically should be checking the scale periodically, not the measuring stick.
You've been in America too long, man. Constantly fixated on athletic attributes or height rather than what the kid can do on the ball. It's interesting as a club like Villarreal looks past his height and looks at the player, yet your thought process is more reminiscent of our broken soccer culture where Akale would be more likely to be passed over by the bigger and more athletic guys with half the skill. Worry about his height....when he's done growing.
Its different for everyone I guess, but I wouldn't just assume that he has a few more years to grow. Maybe he does, but none of us really know.
Great, so he can be a great player if the mid-90s come back. I'm not going to pretend I've seen the kid play and know his game, but if his style is to be an attacking mid behind two strikers, well, that skill set hasn't worked out very well for Freddy.
I understand the general correlations you have been referencing in terms of height vs. strength, but applying that logic individually doesn't make as much sense. Height as a metric on its own doesn't mean much for a player of Akale's style (as has been pointed out). Now, while it's true that taller people tend to be stronger, that doesn't really matter because we only need to worry about Akale's physique. Yes - he needs to build lower body strength. This can be done, and it truly is independent of his height. For a player with very little aerial component to their game, I struggle to understand the difference between being 5'7" with a strong base and 5'3" with a strong base. Simply growing taller is not going to make Akale stronger. Basically - while being taller may be correlated with having the requisite strength to be an athlete, it is not a causative factor. This isn't true. The median age for height growth to stop is much closer to 21 in American men. (According to the CDC) In any case, Akale's height growth is of secondary importance to increasing his all-around strength. This is far from peaking at his age. The good news is that he is playing for a club that seems to have belief in him. This means that they will invest resources into giving him the tools to overcome his limitations. Of course, he'll need to make the best of the chance to ensure continued belief.
My point exactly. If anyone has really read my posts I always mention Height as a component of overall physical skills as a contributing factor on soccer development. And yet everyone takes the word height out of my posts and ignores the other physical components I mention. I will try again. Height does matter as a component along with other correlative physical attributes of strength, quickness, physical presence, etc. This doesn't even address technical and tactical issues.
I don't know a thing about Akale either. But people are saying that he has some real explosiveness. Freddy, as soon as he played against men, was found seriously lacking in that area. It didn't take more than a game to see that he didn't have the wheels to get around Jeff Agoos, and I knew that there was the potential for some problems. His lack of athleticism really hurt him (yes, I meant to use that word). If Akale doesn't have that problem, it could be very different.
Right now he's still playing against youth players. So it will be quite telling to see if he in fact doesn't fill out or grow how his game will look like against first teamers. It will be obvious one way or another.
No, I'm not ignoring the rest of the things you mentioned. I agree with those things though, so I'm only picking out where we disagree. "Height does matter as a component along with..." I'm wondering in what capacity you think it matters for a player whose game is ground based. Personally, I don't think it matters at all. While it is true that you don't find a lot of guys under 5'5" playing the game at the pro level, this is because on average they tend to be less athletic (i.e. the lack of height is correlated with poor athleticism, but it does not cause it). Do you think Akale lacks the critical athleticism (speed, strength)? I believe this is the crux of the issue. I think we can discuss whether he is fast enough, sturdy enough, etc.. But discussing if he is tall enough? Tall enough for what exactly? If someone can point out an action that he needs to perform on the field that he cannot at his current height, I'd appreciate it. So far, the only arguments I've seen (not specifically from SUDano) are that soccer players tend to be taller than Akale. This doesn't really say anything about why Akale himself NEEDS to grow to succeed...
Of course it does help that he's not a Freddy Adu level athlete either.. i.e. Mukwelle actually has explosive quickness and good speed.
Here's the CDC growth chart for males. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41c021.pdf The 75th percentile when turning 17 is 5'11, and the 75th percentile when turning 20 is 5'11 1/2. To get 1/2 inch of movement, a couple of different things could be happening, and the chart doesn't tell us which: Most guys could be effectively done growing already, but a small subset of guys could grow by a noticeable amount. Most guys could grow by a small but non-zero amount. One thing is clear: there isn't a large percentage of guys who grow much after their 17th birthday. And more directly relevant to Akale, the 5th percentile moves from a little over 5'4 to 5'5.
Skill set and athletic ability were not the downfall of Freddy Adu...... this needs to be voted the worst post of the day on bigsoccer
Right, but by definition, guys who are 5'4" at that age haven't hit their growth spurt and are already outliers. I was one. I didn't hit my growth spurt till after I was 17. I grew about 6 inches after hitting 17. On the other hand, some guys never have a growth spurt and are stuck at 5'4".
Of course you realize that you're in the extreme minority. Most growth spurts are between 11-14. Any growth spurt from 16 and up is in the minority especially 6 inches which most never end up having. He will keep growing but you wouldn't call it a growth spurt. Nonetheless as we already know his dad seems to be a small man so genetics don't seem to be on his side in terms of height.
Well, that certainly says a lot. I will add, however, that people raised in the US are very often taller and larger than their parents. I'm 6'2", my dad is 5'8" and my mom is 5'3". My brother is 5'10". I'm the tallest anywhere in my extended family. I blame the diet of chemicals and hormones in processed foods.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but despite his heigh, I believe Ralph was also a professional player.