It depends on the coach. Not all coaches do what you're saying. Some have kept my kid in most of the game to score goals. But some keep in defenders most of the game if it's hard to find defenders. Sometimes you only have a couple kids who can/want to play defense, so it might make sense to keep them in longer. I have not seen any pattern of coaches keeping in midfielders longer than other positions.
Once you get to 11v11, traditionally, your back line (3 or 4 defenders) don't normally come off except for injuries and midfielders rotate through the most, with forwards occasionally subbing in and out, either for rest or tactics. Midfield is typically the position with the greatest amount of running, so it usually has the most rotation.
I'm surprised to hear this is possible even with the steps you list above. Around here it would be just about unthinkable for an ECNL and a GA club for instance to agree to "share" a player. That's not even considering the number of practices (3–4 times a week) for each club and the roughly half of match weekends with back-to-back away games. How did you pull it off?
The opportunity fell into our lap. One team was a boys team and the other was DA as a playup. Cards did not conflict and league games were on opposite days. For out of town games DA took preference. DA generally stuck to one game a week so it was doable. We got around DA’s strict roster rules by registering my kid as a “Discovery” player allowing for external play and up to 15 league games before being “fully rostered”. Know your leagues rules. My kid also started it at a relatively young age so the workload wasn’t all of a sudden at 14. In general, I would not recommend this route, I only mention it to illustrate that with some creative thinking, luck and right place right time there are any number of options out there.
I actually don't think more games is the answer, especially at the younger ages. Games help gauge what's lacking skill wise so you can work on that between games. Meaningful games in a big tournament or state competitions give opportunities to show what you can do in a pressure situation so I think those are great but not meaningless games over and over... I know too many kids playing too many games. Every week, they play the main league with their clubs, then 2-3 indoor/caged turf league games, then another local league. They're spending more time playing games than training. They DO look better in games due to countless games but I'd say mildly better... the bad habits just get perpetuated over and over... They do look more aggressive and their fitness is probably better by running all game long... But replacing some of those games with even a first touch wall drill would pay more dividends down the road... And I get it, for kids and parents, games provide an immediate feedback - you win or lose, you look great in games or look terrible. Working on first touches, passing with the correct weight, with different parts of both feet... for months and years... you don't get immediate feedback with these so it's hard to get oneself to work on that... it's much easier mentally to just play another game...
US Soccer agrees with you and this premise was the initial starting point for creating the DA as the following article illustrates: https://sports.yahoo.com/usmnt-soccer-development-academy-mls-world-cup-150011102.html a point that was made in regards to the number of games to practice ratio before DA was compared to "taking the test without attending class".
Didn't they say after this year's world cup that Americans are technicians who can play a game to a draw but lack the creativity to break through. I think in the article by "too many games" they meant too many organized games. They are coached to death. Just let them play. You don't need a coach or trainer.
I think it is nothing more than a point on the continuum. DA players at first were to robotic so things changed to address those issues. DA died and MLS took the structure, tweaked it, made improvements to their own academies as well as adding USL so that a bridge league exists. MLSNext allows MLS academies to recruit from local clubs while allowing the clubs to develop their players independent of a specific curriculum. But, the overall DA Genesis was increase training while making one game a week a more meaningful game. Kids in La Masia are not out playing street soccer.
You're correct. To piggy-back on this... I know it gets mentioned that American kids need to play more on the streets and more unstructured play... "look at Brazil" they say... Brazil, despite plethora of world class talent past present and future, is actually very inefficient in developing talent. They've got a whole country of kids playing the sport and the best ones get funneled to the pro team academies. If every American kid played soccer instead of say baseball, basketball, American football, I would say there's a Neymar or a Harry Kane or an Mbappe in here somewhere... For development tips, I think it's better for us to look at small European countries that continue to develop really good players - Denmark and Croatia perhaps. They don't have a large population base to pluck kids from. They've got to make each development effort count. I actually think the answer is MORE structure (I don't mean more coaching). More money in the MLS. More money in USL. Fully funded USL academies along with MLS academies. Promotion/relegation system (I know, I'm asking a lot).
Completely Agree, and, if the article is correct, it looks like we finally have a decent pyramid set up on the men's/boy's side to work from. Over time and with tweaks like you mentioned as MLS continues to mature we have the potential to be a top soccer Nation.
Exactly. They need to play more. Esp unorganized, pickup. They need exposure to all the various scenarios you find in soccer. That can only be done with playing a lot. This allows them to apply their skills. And be faced with new problems and learn new skills. A lot of skills are introduced when they see peers do them.
They were playing street soccer way before they got into La Masia. Its where they picked up the skills that got them into La Masia
Whether structured or unstructured isn't the main point. They need touches and exposure to the game. Need reps. Structured is not going to provide all the minutes due to the cost and limited availablity of coaches/refs/venues. So have to add in some pickup
No, they were not. They play with their mom and dads as wee little kids and then they play organized youth soccer that isn't much different than ours other than kids had a ball at their feet in their living room as toddlers. If they live near Barcelona parent will sign their kids up for Barca's Escola where they are trained by Barca coaches from 7-12 years old. Any kids with promise will be offered a spot in La Masia. Scouts are not walking the alleys looking for kids. They scout through networks of local youth clubs and their directors who will reach out with a player they feel shows promise. The club scouts will attend games and training sessions. There is nothing random about it. There are known youth clubs and youth club coaches who Academy scouts know to trust. parents learn and know the clubs that have excellent placement records and they seek them out for their kids. Your romanticized view of street ball is misguided. Is there unstructured play? Yes of course, but Academies want more than flair, they want talented, athletic and SMART players. They scout players from an organized setting not based on playing with a bunch of neighborhood kids of varying skill levels. You really need to drop your obsession with "street ball".
As the article about the DA pointed out, the majority of touches should come through training versus game minutes. The touches your kids need can be done in excess and cheaply with wall ball. Do you think Larry Bird, Kobe or Seth Curry became great shooters because they played tons of games? No, they became great shooters because they spent thousands of hours doing nothing but taking 10s of thousands of shots. Larry Bird talked about how many different angled backboard shots he would practice from just ONE spot on the floor. Your son needs to master the ball before you need him to master his position and mastering the ball does not require street ball or game minutes. It just requires him a ball, repetition and time.
I didn't say they don't play with parents or don't play in local leagues before La Masia. They do that. AND they play "street ball" and by that I mean unorganized pickup games at school or after school. All the pros play a lot of pickup throughout their youth. This can include playing with siblings and cousins in their living room or outside or wherever. This does not mean they don't play in other local leagues or clubs before being picked up by the big ones. I never said they don't do that. It's not one or the other. They do it all. Just like in basketball they are playing in their driveway or at the public park or the open gym at he YMCA. That's in addition to the local league. Then they go to AAU.
lol that's when they are older. not at ages 5-9. I doubt Larry Bird was doing 500 shots a day at age 6. that's when it should be fun. some training but I'd say maybe 20% - 30%. The rest is play. As you age the training proportion should increase. Some kids are doing heavy training at these ages. Will they burn out? idk maybe. Usually what happens is they are advanced now but others catch up in a few years. Then they don't stand out anymore. For my kid I just want him to be in the mix. Not #1. But in or near the top group of kids. On an upward path over say 10 years.
Wall ball is when you are younger. Ball mastery, kid + ball + time is when they are younger. The principle applies, only the focus is different. Games will not make your kid a better player but time on the ball and training will. Games are fun and should be fun but they are the star makers that you think they are. In time they will matter more but not at your son’s age. What is his highest juggling record so far? Keep in mind, the number doesn’t matter but the focus on the mastery of the skill matters. The effort on an arbitrary goal that improves touch matters.
It isn’t street soccer that makes kids great, it is the love and passion of the game that gets into kids and adults alike who want to play whenever and wherever they can. I asked earlier what your kid’s juggling record is. I’ve also stated several times about wall ball. If your kid isn’t addicted to the ball not amount of street soccer is going to make a difference. All those pro players who talk about street soccer are simply kids who were addicted to soccer. If they didn’t have opportunities to play they would have still played with the ball. Anyone who has a kid who plays ice hockey at a high level will have a marked up garage door from shooting pucks at a net in the driveway. If your kid is addicted he will always find a way to have the ball at his feet. If he does then things will run their course.
You are all over the place. Of course at 5-6 Larry Bird was not shooting 500 shots a day. But at 5-6, most kids are not out there organizing neighborhood soccer games. At that age they still don’t even like to share their toys. Developmentally ages 5-8 are pretty much considered “me and my ball”. Immediate family members are who they primarily play with. But, the age that your kid is, around 10, he is just learning fundamental team concepts. Away from games he should be focusing on his relationship with the ball. It could be solo or with friends or family. There is no right or wrong answer. The only thing that matters is time on the ball. We can go through the various developmental stages if you’d like but if you want to change the soccer landscape it would behove you to become familiar with developmental stages and what is both appropriate and likely at certain ages. 5-6 year olds are not playing street ball for the love of Christ mostly because they lack the social skills to organize a game. I watched my kids play “street ball” at these ages of 5-6 and more time was spent arguing over the “rules” than they ever spent actually playing before they got distracted into something else. What you dream of happening just doesn’t happen at the ages you wish they would happen.
This is laughable. You are very misguided! You don't want to be doing a lot of drills as a kid and kill the fun. Most kids won't enjoy that. They will find playing with their friends the most fun part and that's how it should be at ages 5-9 let's say. My kid is a baller and does some drills at home but not to the point where it feels like he's in military school! He's probably one of the top 10 forwards at his age in the region. Has nothing to do with juggling! He has good shooting form, has played a lot of soccer, good dribbling, composed when attacking. Fundamentals! A decent passer as well.
My kid's been playing for 4 years already. Plenty of camps, and at a competitive club, 2nd year now. Lots of 1v1 with dad too! And lots of pickup! Indoor, outdoor, some futsal. Some wall work. A bit of everything. I don't even know what your point is anymore. You need touches and minutes on the ball! no matter where it is
Nobody is saying drills, drills, drills, drills. I’m saying that 5-6 year olds are not really capable of organizing any meaningful street soccer games with the usefulness or utility that you hope for. That does not mean that they do not engage in free play but all they need is a ball, perhaps an older sibling, parent, friend to play. Parents and siblings will model the behavior. If you as dad play and challenge your kid with a move or a juggling challenge they will take it and run. They just need some guidance. So, your kid doesn’t juggle. Got it. What about wall ball? Frankly, there isn’t a cheaper and logistically easier way to develop a relationship with the ball than juggling and wall ball. If a majority of his goals are coming from running onto through balls that he then carries relatively unopposed to goal I would temper my expectations. Those tend to stop at full field. If he can’t work with the ball in tight space, finish on a one touch or get behind the D to deliver consistent crosses he will end up an outside back by the time he is 15. Improving his relationship with the ball is the best way to keep him playing as a impactful forward.
My point? My point is: 1. Organized youth games are of a proper duration for development. 2. Games are not as important to player development as training and time on the ball 3. Time on the ball on your own at elementary ages is more beneficial and meets the developmental standard of “me and my ball” 4. Street soccer at ages of 5-6 is a myth. 5. There are enough training and playing opportunities available for those willing to look for it.