Why is youth and female soccer such a high commodity in the USA?

Simple- based on my essay above, I'll give you two words "Michael Jordan".

 

You're missing the point here. I don't know how much more clearly I can state it.....it is unwise to pigeonhole a 10 or 11 year old into a position. Heck, it is unwise to pigeonhole a 10 or 11 year old kid even into a sport!

If your kid showed good test scores in math at age 10, would you automatically start them down a path through MIT on to a career dealing with math? No, because that would be silly, right? Same deal here....what if she decides to play softball with a friend this summer and she is the best pitcher that has come through the league in 20 years? What then? What if she comes home one day and says, "my friends all do dance classes on Thursday nights, can I do dance too?" What then?

Dude- I don't mean to be harsh here.....but SHE IS 10 OR 11 don't sign her up for MIT just yet. Let her be a kid. Encourage her, support her, but don't push her to the point of killing the enjoyment of the game. Sure, she enjoys it now and she smiles while playing-- but what happens if it doesn't stay enjoyable? Will she tell you or will she feel like you'll be disappointed so she sticks it out but really it is a chore for her? Don't take it to the extremes like the hockey parent who killed another parent, and I get the feeling you're on that path. I really wonder if you aren't just playing with us......

 

You made the point much more eloquently than my quip. Overexuberant parents and coaches run kids out of the sport all the time and it's easy to get caught up in the hype.

 

Obviously you have not watched that much soccer. Keepers handle the ball with their feet all the time and usually in close quarters to a striker. As she gets older the keeper will be a major part in the defense (ending attacks) and the offense the start of the attack. If her players do not have confidence in the keepers ball skills they will not use her and will hamper the success of a team that she plays on.

As Perf said the keeper now a days is a glorified sweeper in many defense of schemes and if she does not have these skills she will never be on the national team no matter how good she is in net.

My daughter is a little older than yours (not much) and in the past has had similar comments made about her. The difference is I did not believe them. I have played college athletics and I know the determination desire and skill and luck to make it to higher levels requires.

As do you I believe my daughter has unlimited potential if she decides she wants to play soccer at a higher level and wants to put in the work necessary to achieve this. I also believe it us up to her to go down that path. As she approaches her teen age years and her mind and body are starting to change things are not as easy for her as they used to be. This is when the player needs to decide if they have a love enough for the game to put in the work to play at the highest levels. Without the love they will never put in the work required.

I believe it is my job as a parent is to help her be prepared if she decides she wants to go down that path. In soccer there are many things you can't go back and learn so I try to put her with the proper coaches and trainers (and having played the game myself helps here) so she has the foundation if she decides she wants to try to play at the next level.

Also keep in mind females are much more prone to ACL injuries than men and no matter how good you are it only takes one injury to put you out for good.

Sorry for the rant

CVAL

 

Good Post CVal, but lets be serious....Lets not scare anyone about ACL's. Yes an ACL is a serious injury, but now adays an ACL will keep you down for 6-8 months if you still have the drive to come back after surgery. I pray my daughter never has a ACL. As we all do Im sure.

 

Well i did not mean to scare well yes i did. Look at the numbers the number of ACL tears in women athletes is becoming an epidemic.

The point I was really trying to make is that you can't always control injury and one bad injury can ruin a sports career.

 

Others have stated why it is important but to sum up my opinion it's because more and more the goalkeeper needs to be an avenue to act as the first attacker, support play and switch the point of attack when his/her team has the ball and to be able to defend offside space behind the backline which will at times require the keeper to leave the penalty area to deal with a ball at their feet.

We're not talking about a GK dribbling the length of the field or anything but the ability of GKs to be able to quickly and efficiently play the ball at their feet and accurately play it somewhere else is a huge part of the game. And quite frankly, not enough of our goalkeepers--even some that are considered very good--are proficient enough at it. You want to get your daughter noticed as a GK? Then make sure she is great with the ball at her feet (Again, this does not mean she has to be able to beat everyone on the dribble. It does mean she should have a good first touch with all the surfaces of the foot, the ability to deal with the occassional ball sent back in the air, has the ability to get herself out of pressure when necessary, and can strike the ball cleanly and accurately over a variety of distances for distribution purposes).

 

If girls' soccer is like boys' soccer, it would be highly unwise to dedicate a fast and agile athlete to goalkeeping at this age, for the simple reason that ultimate success will be largely out of the player's control -- that is, it will depend upon the player's adult wingspan. Long, good. Not long, bad.

Whereas a quick, skilled, and intelligent player can become very, very good at a variety of field positions, regardless of arm length, or indeed of height or weight.

 

The sufficient level required is difficult to quantify. That said, what you might see as "not doing much" in terms of technical ability you might actually be underrating in terms of its importance and difficulty. This is certainly not meant as a shot because there are a lot of very experienced, respected coaches who undervalue the ability of goalkeepers to play with their feet.

In terms of their ability to beat a player on the dribble that is obviously not something you're encouraging from your goalkeeper or a position you want them to be put in ever. That said, a goalkeeper who is comfortable with the ball at their feet will be better able to deal with the pressure that does come there way regularly in matches. The idea of creating that technical base and comfort level on the ball is not designed to allow them to regularly beat players on the dribble but rather just have that comfort and poise with the ball when they are put underpressure with the ball at their feet.

 

Except for that pesky catching part...and his positioning from time to time. I'll grant you he is very, very athletic which is also his downfall to a degree because he tends to rely on that too heavily.

 

Charlie,

This may be a little long, but I'm going to chime in if it's alright. I'd like to share with you my experience of a now U-13 girl player in Kansas (and yes, we have some great teams and players in Kansas, I think they would surprise you!)

10 years ago, I started my kids in soccer at the age of 4 to get some excerise and have some fun and be outdoors. I have a daughter who really enjoyed it and became quite passionate about it and was pretty good. She made the top competitive team for a big club in the area at U9 and stayed with that team up until last fall (U-13). Great team, did well in the state. She always played striker and outside mid. Very rarely from U-9 through U-12 did she play other positions. We liked to win - all of us - the coaches, kids and parents, therefore we didn't "Risk" moving the players around enough (looking back). I think we all wished we had done more of that now! I've been told so by one of the coaches. There were opportunities where she played some defense and center mid and keeper, but only if the team was up by at least 6 goals and usually late in the game.

I know, it's a long story, hang in there. I too was a parent who watched how proficient she became at the assist cross and she had a knack for finding the back of the net as a striker. She would buckle up and I could almost see her legs shake when put into defense.

Now, she is playing with what I consider ( ) the best team in the state (U-13) and this team plays at a regional level. We had her switch teams because the commitment level of the entire team is much higher than the previous team and this team really is taking things to "the Next Level"; ie playing a lot of regional and nationally ranked teams and really challenging and improving their long term development. Her new coach started out playing her in different games and all of the positions to see where she would fit into the team and what style of play fit best for everyone and her. She has ended up playing defender and center mid. Quite interesting to watch it unfold as those were the positions that I considered not to be her strength. She was plenty nervous at first, but has learned so much from getting this opportunity, THANKFULLY, Not Too Late.

What I find most interesting (and I do agree with perf, cval, Reg II, et al) is that you have a coach who isn't interested in having her develop as a "Soccer Player". Goalkeeping is an awesome and demanding position and certainly requires a unique and different set of skills in the game. It is just one aspect of the game. I think it's important for ANY Coach to understand that kids this age Should and Will be playing All Positions often. It's my opinion, that ANY child will not get the true benefit of the "Soccer Game" without having this opportunity and often.

The thing is, these next few years of your daughters life are the most important for her if she is really going to excel in the sport. And each and every decision we make as parents, has a direct baring and the time flies by and there is no getting these critical, developmental years back.

Be wise, learn all you can, Listen as much as you can. Talk to parents of older kids who are now playing keeper at higher levels in ODP, High School, U16 and up, college. Talk to the players, listen and keep an open mind. That's the best advice I can give you - I'm still doing it and still learning and always will. Good luck to you and the MOST IMPORTANT thing here is that your daughter have Fun and Keep her passion because SHE wants to. Truly, best of luck to you and your daughter. Sounds like she has a wonderful journey ahead of her IF she is developed for the long haul and is able to fit in anywhere on any team at any time - needs vary!

 

Here's the issue Charlie. You can watch all the EPL games you want and it is great that you do. But it tells you nothing about HOW to get a 10 year old to learn the lessons that must be taught. Professionals are expected to win games and what they do on the field is toward that purpose. Children need to learn how to play the game before they learn how to win the game.

Let me give you a personal example. My oldest daughter was primarily a fullback starting at age 8. She was taught the proverbial, "when in doubt, kick it out". Now that's not a bad thing for a professional defender to live by, as by then they have a pretty good idea of when they are in doubt and when they are not, but for a youngster learning, it's a disasterous thing to teach because it is so very limiting to the child's ability to learn new skills. A child learns as much from their mistakes as they do from the success, so they have to be allowed to make mistakes so they can learn. Allowing a defender or a goalkeeper to dribble out of their end is the freedom a coach gives a player to learn the game even if it means giving up goals. Not only does the coach allow the player to develop their dribbling skills, but he/she allows the play to figure out on their own when they should or should not dribble. There is nothing like giving up a goal or two to teach a kid when its prudent to dribble in their end of the field. And what better time to learn these lessons than when they are 10 or 12 years old?

Now let me give you an example of how important having those skills are to a professional goalkeeper. Last summer I was at a New England Revolution game where a defender was under pressure and had no other outlet but to Matt Reis in goal. However, what the defender didn't realize was that his opponent's other forward had anticipated the back pass and was headed straight for Reis. With the player coming on him fast, Reis flicked the ball up and over his head and across the mouth of the goal just as the forward raced past him, to then change the field with a pass to his other defender. It was an incredible display of footskills under pressure that had the crowd on their feet and screaming. IIRC correctly Reis played on the field even in college.

 

Our U14 boys team has a young man who played forward and forward only at ages U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12, and U13. He also plays forward on one of the State's two ODP teams.

Until this August he had always played forward and nothing else. At that time, he was moved to right back for his club team.

He's doing great at that role. Did well in his very first game, better yet today.

I don't see the position thing as being that big a deal, as long as the club training is good. Because in training the kids should be playing a variety of smaller-sided games & drills that get them to experience all aspects of the game. If that occurs, changing field position should not a problem even at the older ages.

 

How much are we charging for the therapy lessons here?? It has got to be at least $125/hour...this thread has gone painfully off course and has delved deeply into 1 person's indoctrination into the seedy world of the soccer BB system....you guys can continue, but the looooong rants and the crazy wording and spelling of senior blanko are starting to make me *yawn*

 

Will do captain

 

Charlie- bad language again......last warning. Again, I say....don't make me do my job. Thanks!