How is she going to unlock this huge upside? Womens professional sports are not about development because they dont have the resources or time to wait for assets to produce. Is Rodman a talented player whose type we rarely produce or is she the latest version of one we have in big supply? I think the latter. The game is bursting with inside forward/wide players who can get in behind and/or carry via the dribble. Some shoot a bit better, some cross a bit better. Some defend a bit better and get cast as potential outside backs. I see little difference between Rodman and quite a few players who are young and seemingly ahead of her in line for those slots.
Yeah but it’s the French league. Give me some names who are better than Rodman right now in her position at her age or younger.
Well, until she does develop it is hard to say, for sure, exactly where she is going to end up. She may well end up as center forward or as a central defender or just about anywhere in between. But from what I have seen, once she matures (not necessarily age related at all) and her mind and body must learn how to consistently work together her potential is nearly unlimited. Right now I do not think she has the field vision to play centrally in the offense but that could be in her future. What I do see that she already has is a "mean" streak. One weakness the US has and has had since Wambach retired is a lack of the meanness that is needed to have a team be their best. She is very young for a top player and she already has more raw skills than just about anyone in the US pool. I watched her pretty closely in the U20 WWC qualifiers and there I think she was a bit misused. At that tournament (a very weak tournament) she looked to be the best of a very strong forward line. How good she will be is, I believe, a long way off. One thing good she did get from her father is pure athletic ability and that gives her an advantage. If she ever really learns to see the field and her first touch, already quite good, gets just a bit better she could well prove to be our best attacking central midfielder. But all that depends on her dedication to improvement and her off field work ethic. I believe she will, assuming Vlatko Andonovski is not and does not become totally insane, not only make the next WWC roster but then excel in the matches at the cup. There are several players that currently appear locks for playing time that I think Rodman will out play over the next several months. Can I, or anyone else for that matter really predict where any player, particularly one this young, will end up and it is impossible to know the top level he/she can reach but Rodman has shown, in the matches I have seen, a real willingness to play to make the team better.
He didn't say they were better, he said they were ahead of her in line. Y'know, like it was Walmart, or the DMV or something...
At her club? In individual training? Even in pickup games? I also think she should be included in any youth WWC squads that come up that she is eligible for. She just needs playing time. She smartly avoided the college morass and now she just needs to play the game and practice a lot to get better. While practice does not make perfect it does make permanent. So if you learn a skill and gradually increase speed and difficulty as you master each level/speed. “Good players practice until they get it right. But great players practice until they never get it wrong” I think Rodman could become great if she keeps her focus.
Why would her Club want her to work on anything but that which helps them win next weeks game? Why would they want her playing for youth teams or in pick up? What about recovery etc. ? Soccer development is complicated. There is a limit to the value of individual practice on certain aspects of play. I dont agree that just playing the game will develop her in the way you seem to imply.
Most of that is simply absurd as any skill/ability she adds will help the team win. As to why the club would want her to play youth tournaments? The club should exercise their "enlightened self interest." It is in the club's best interest to allow their players the greatest chance to improve and any play will only get better with more play. The absolute best teacher for the game is playing the game and also watching it critically afterward. Contrary to what many people seem to believe team practice does not teach much skill. Skill are learned in individual or very small group practice. Followed by trying really outlandish things in matches. I once talked to a Brazilian player that trained with Pele. He told me that Plel practiced a skill after team practice or before practice sometimes for hours before and after practice and only added it in a game when he felt he had mastered it or when he felt it was time to take a chance on looking silly. These quotes kind of covers that idea: “Everything is practice.” – Pelé and “You must respect people and work hard to be in shape. And I used to train very hard. When the others players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball.” – Pelé and “Talent without working hard is nothing.” – Cristiano Ronaldo and “The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any soccer player.” – Lionel Messi I think Rodman will be easily among the best for the USWNT if she works hard enough and stays focused. She has all the root skills and the "meanness" to score and the willingness develop scoring in others. She just needs playing time and practice time. I was temporarily in Boston many years ago and I happened to be able to watch the Boston Celtics due o a friend of mine having season tickets. In the first game I saw Larry Bird was dominate but he missed one free throw. My friend also had passes to allow him to watch most practices if he wanted. The day after that game was a "rest" day but the next day practice was scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm. We had lunch and walked to the practice gym arriving a good hour too early. When we walked into the gym and up into the stands the gym was empty except for a few equipment people and Bird with one helper. He was standing at the free throw line with a cart of balls next to him and shooting careful free throws over and over. I asked my friend what that was all about and he said that it was quite normal to see Bird shooting free throws before (and after) practice after any game where he missed a free throw or two. He could not accept failure. That is the kind of ethic I think every player should develop as that is one way to gain and maintain greatness. There are many skills that soccer players need and many of those need a lot of practice with no pressure to even get close to game ready. Will Rodman, or anyone else, develop to be a very top player? No one can say. But she has the basic skill set to go as far as she wants with proper practice and enough game time. The game time part is why she should play every tournament possible (unless injured) and her club should encourage her because the more she plays the more valuable to her club she becomes. Lastly the NWSL season is too short and there are too few teams for players to depend solely on the league matches for match development. They need more and, if they qualify for youth national teams, the should play those tournaments as well.
Most pro leagues do not have time or money for much individual development. especially in season. NWSL is no different. Youth national teams are not developmental vehicles either. You have not provided any practical method for the development you advocate. Players are assets to teams, no upside in exposing them to injury risk outside your control.
Then explain to me why Rapinoe who had been playing professionally for years as well as already on the National Team before going there to play was not racking up the goals And yet a college player went from college into a starting roll after 4 matches, and ends up scoring more goals then Rapinoe in a shorter period of time. And let us not forget that Lyon has so many NT players like Renard(Fr), Majri(Fr), Malard(Fr), Bruun(Den), Morroni(Fr), Cascarino(Fr.), Van De Donk(NL), MBock(Fr), Carpenter(Aus) Buchanan(Can), Cayman(Bel) and Julini(Swit) along with Hegerberg and Henry and non of them were racking up the bigger numbers then Macario as either . Maybe they are not as bad as you seem to think. One thing for sure now then when Rapinoe played is that the Goal Keepers are a whole lot better, since these teams have gone out and gotten better ones. There are three Canadians in the league. The starting keeper for Mexico is a US citizen who played college ball. I am sure Lyon, who is always looking for young talents, and they feel Rodman has a tremendous upside, will be more then willing to open up their pocket book, just like they did for Macario. They are extremely pleased with Macario and what she brings to the team. Look for them to renegotiate a much larger contract at the end of thos season for Macario to avoid any potential bidding war when her current contract ends in 2023.
Don’t know, maybe Rapinoe was on the bench most of the time or played a different position. Could be a good explanation. Alex Morgan scored many goals when she went there.
One thing, and I probably could find out on my own but, as of now, my curiosity is not, quite, enough for me to expend the energy I don't seem to have. But there are, probably, several folks who have already done the research. Given that a player is on or probably on their respective national teams; What league get players the most matches yearly? For this question I am not, currently, concerned with the quality of matches just the number thereof. Be sure, if you know, to include numbers from all top leagues in all countries not just US and European. Also what match count does a player normally get in college. This is not very important but it hit me that my knowledge of women's soccer outside the US, Mexico, Canada and some of Europe is woefully lacking. Note: Just to garner a little pity, which I don't really need. I have a very bad hip and it has acted up lately quite a bit for almost 3 weeks. I, fortunately, do not take opiates because of the military doctors using heavy morphine while treating my wounds received in Laos during the Vietnam war period and they got me addicted. Then they withdrew me cold turkey. I never want to go through that again. I use delta 8 THC to medicate and, for me, it works well but it sometimes hurts my ability to concentrate. I tried to search for this info but I could not come up with a search phrase that did not result in many too many hits. If I was not taking pain medication I think I could have done better but, for now at least, I will rely on the goodness and abilities of others.
If we are planning to treat women's soccer seriously, then Rodman doesn't need to be at the U-20 Women's World Cup next year. The U-20 WWC is played in the middle of the NWSL season and much as the men's U-20 World Cup never has the actual best U-20 players, Rodman should be playing with her pro team not an underage National Team. Assuming Rodman actually is better than everyone in her age group, what benefit does she get from taking a month away from pro training in order to spend time with a bunch of college freshmen and sophomores who Rodman is already faster and more talented than?
Nothing wrong with having a pro playing in U20 NT. Other U20 teams overseas have pros playing and still under 20.
I mean, she can play U-20, but is that the best use of her time? Almost everyone on this thread wants her called up to the full USWNT. If that happens, why put her on the U-20 team? Let me just lay the tentative timeline out here: January: USWNT Camp February or March: SheBelieves Cup March-April: CONCACAF U-20 Championship July: CONCACAF WWC Qualifying August: FIFA U-20 WWC That's before you count the 10+ USWNT friendlies there will probably be next year. She literally does not have time to play for the USWNT, U-20s and her pro team. Also, the U-20 WWC is not important enough (and Rodman probably isn't good enough) for USSoccer to contort its rosters in a knot trying to put her in the U-20 WWC two weeks after CONCACAF WWC Qualifying.
if anybody don’t know, Trinity’s dad is Dennis Rodman. So besides being gifted/born to an former pro athlete, I’m sure she got the best training money can buy. I always remember the story that arguably our best soccer player my in own crappy state ever had; her dad was a dentist, who for practice, would fly her to the next state in his own private Cessna to get personal training by NT members And how about the one story that Olivia Moultrie’s dad build in an soccer field in his back yard for her? So pretty sure in similar vein Rodman spend that type of money on Trinity. with her forceful personality, Pinoe(around 2013) didn’t get along with Lyon’s staff. It’s like her panhandling those Subway sandwiches in the land of soufflé, truffles & escargot’s, it just wasn’t going to work, lol. So her time was often limited to just subbing. Lyon actually made an offer to get her back after the WC 2019 success, but guessing she turned them down. Again, Lyon’s only problem is that with all their talent that almost nobody can compare too, opponents from opening kick off, usually scramble into bunker positions for the rest of the game(even PSG). So it be like playing on half an field for most of the match. But give Lyon credit, while keeping their youthful talent, they dumped their older has beens(LeSommer, Marozsan & Bouhaddi) on the Reign since they know we love our ‘Grandmas’ lol
If she isn’t good enough for the senior team and the senior team is already loaded with possible players like Sophia Smith or Balcer or Press who may come back or whoever, it helps to have someone like Rodman in U20 to help win in that group as well as still learning and experiencing the game.
The Spirit have her under contract and will be the driving force in creating an environment that benefits their team. To date, they have been failing at that, but the assumption that playing U20 games (travel,different training regimen,hotels etc) with I assume, lesser players vs worse competition is beneficial is odd. The rest of your post implies that to you the point of the U20 WC is to win it as opposed to develop players.
The youth national teams do NOT develop players. They discover players and introduce them to the rigors of travel and playing on foreign soil. National teams at any age group cannot teach skills as they are not together long enough. The real gain for already skilled players is to learn, in a different setting from club play, is learning how to use their skills to make the other players around them better. “Players that aren’t true leaders but try to be, always bash other players after a mistake. True leaders on the pitch already assume others will make mistakes.” – Johan Cruyff “A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, ‘He’s a great player’, because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders.” – Pelé “Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate.” – Johan Cruyff
"The youth national teams do NOT develop players. They discover players and introduce them to the rigors of travel and playing on foreign soil. National teams at any age group cannot teach skills as they are not together long enough. The real gain for already skilled players is to learn, in a different setting from club play, is learning how to use their skills to make the other players around them better." Please define development for me than because what you describe sounds like it.
Division 1 college teams, on average, play 17 to 18 games during their regular Fall seasons. For teams that qualify for the NCAA Tournament, they can get into the 20s. They also can play Spring games, but those are not serious games like in the regular season, more like scrimmages.
I will never convince anybody that does not already agree with me and no one can change what I believe. For me Rodman already has the skills she needs she just needs to refine those skills and learn when to apply them and that best happens by playing with and against as much variety as possible which means playing at the best club she can and playing every national team even she is eligible for.
Better minds than ours, with better understandings of the complexities involved, will sort all this out; or perhaps fail to sort it out... But I would point out that there are advantages to playing for the full national team and still going to the U20; in terms of getting a head start on meshing with players who presumably one will be playing with in the future on the full team-- advantages to her and also to them. There might not want to be even a rule of thumb, let alone a hard and fast, binary rule.
It’s pretty much both. Helping players still learning and conditioning competitive streak to win whether in the club or World stage.