Only train tall kids for goalie

And this is where your argument falls apart. YOU define "success" as playing in college. So the 93% of kids who played in HS, club, ODP, MLSNext, whatever but don't play in college are "unsuccessful " in your eyes. I feel sorry for your son if thats really true. Thats a lot of pressure to put on a kid.

And getting to MLS is near impossible for the random 10yo we're discussing. I think at the younger ages, tell them they have a shot, but it will take a lot of work, and a lot of luck. One thing they have control of, the other they don't. Rinse & repeat.

From what I remember from younger ages, GK would partipate in all drills until it was time to take shots on goal. Any goalie specific training was outside of team training.

 

I'm going to take the success argument one step further. There are a ton of kids that are just playing because they enjoy the sport. They aren't going to play high school or high level club. Or they played travel soccer and quit because they hated it, but still love the game and come back to it,

To me that is success- creating players that love the game and play it no matter what level they play it at. In an ideal world these players go on to coach (humble brag about 25% of my high school girls rec team are coaching this season).

If playing goalie is what makes that kid happy then why stop them.

 

The only kids distraught over their choices are the ones with parents like you who start putting pressure on them at 8 years old to be on the pathways to a professional career.

Most kids will not even make it to college. Let it be about fun, fitness, learning to work as part of a team. Stop judging whether or not a kid is successful by whether or not they can be in the top 5% of their sport.

 

If they go on to coach or keep playing as adults or enjoy watching the sport (or all of the above), that's its own kind of high-level success, for the player and those who coached them, their parents, ...

 

Whenever I have found myself making this statement it’s been a good idea to stop and re-examine my position.

 

But, a short 10 year old, who enjoys being in the net may want to play in college (or pro). There's at least 8 years in which they may change their mind (and is likely to). Instead of letting him do what he enjoys (GK), you want to tell him "you won't make it as a GK in college, so you must play the field." You want to predict what that kid is going to decide 8 years down the road. How many times have you been told to simply enjoy the ride? But you keep wanting to put pressure on these 8-12 year olds.

 

I think clubs should give all kids basic training in all positions. I don't think it happens at all clubs, and certainly the few that my son has been part of have fallen down on the job, but I'm sure that many clubs do. Lucky kids at those clubs.

 

"Sticking to my guns"?

OP: Only train tall kids for goalie.
OP: Only play tall kids for goalie
OP: Rotate many kids through goalie

Are you part politician?

 

I read all of that and that was my point. Your kid is still young as well as the kids he plays with. That is why it is foolish, at this young age, to pigeon hole kids at any size as keepers. Your premise is flawed and ludicrous.

It is one thing to be rash and rush your own kid but the idea that kids at this age should be pushed into a position shows your continued naivete and short sightedness.

 

Your whole post is mostly dumb.

"Pro and collegiate goalies are tall". Thanks for the news flash. In other news, NBA players are also tall.

 

I get the premise of what you're saying but SO FEW ever make it to college and pros that even trying to give kids "an edge" by placing them into right positions (kids with tall genes at goalie) isn't going to help much because there are so many other factors at play.

In the end the kids who make it are 1) blessed genetically, 2) mentally tough and driven, 3) with high work ethic.

If you're trying to give each kid the best chance to make it to pros, I think there are ways to pre-select kids - mainly looking at their parents and looking at their physical traits (height, build, etc) but 99.99% never make it to pros so looking at a kid who is very good at whatever position (be it center back or goalie) he's playing and telling him "hey kid, you're never going to make it as center back cause both of your parents are below average height" seems a little harsh.

 

Teens aren't getting depressed because they chose the wrong position. They're getting depressed because someone was blowing smoke about how good they were or they didn't put in enough work (whether in training or in looking for a school with an opening).

Again, make up your mind. Originally, you proposed looking at family members and trying to predict what was going to happen size wise to determine who plays a certain position. All of the examples you just gave have nothing to do with how tall someone WILL be, but whether they're big/tall enough CURRENTLY.

Here's what it sounds like to me... your son's team has "small" goalie. They've let in more goals than you think a "tall" goalie would (let's leave out the fact the attacker has had to get through 10 field players before taking a shot). In order to "solve" this "problem", you propose "only use tall kids for GK."

I have a really hard time believe older teenagers are getting "depressed" because they didn't make a college soccer team (YOUR definition of "success"), much less MLS Next/professional. Are they disappointed? I'm sure. Do they really look back on their choice years ago to specialize at GK and think "only if I would have been a field player"? Doubtful.

You want to "help" these smaller GK? Encourage them to work on their footskills. A GK who's comfortable with the ball on their feet would be a big asset to any team.

 

If only there were a soccer like sport with 10x6.5 goals that could be played year round well into adulthood on a basketball court sized field that doesn't require endurance running......