Patience!

[Unregistered]

Good article.....not that it will make a difference.

"With our endless obsession for winning and younger and younger ages, and the accompanying cuts that go into forming select and all star teams at ages as young as 7, we have created a system that goes against all the science and best practices of player development. That science says that children develop at different rates, and the best way to let the cream rise to the top is keep as many of them around as long as possible. Yet we do the exact opposite in our quest to win today. We select talent instead of identifying it (click here to read more on that).We focus on today instead of tomorrow.We pick the biggest, fastest and strongest kids, focusing on athleticism instead of technique,*grit and coachability.We get rid of kids who don’t help us win in the short term.We celebrate team achievements at pre-pubescent ages, as if that has anything to do with long-term athletic development.We hold kids back from playing up with a developmentally appropriate age group, instead keeping them so they can dominate – and we can win – at a younger age.In a nutshell, we put the needs of team success over the needs of individual player development, and put winning now ahead of individual long-term player needs."

[Unregistered]

Suppose this is another rant by BTDT?

[Unregistered]

Never, NEVER, ever going to change for the better.

Don't believe me? Volunteer to a youth soccer board and assuming they let you in the room during a meeting, print that quote and bring it with you and read it.

[Unregistered]

Never, NEVER, ever going to change for the better.

Don't believe me? Volunteer to a youth soccer board and assuming they let you in the room during a meeting, print that quote and bring it with you and read it.

I believe you: After getting an e-mail detailing u-little town travel game scores I suggested to board that we shouldn't engage in "game results oriented" thinking that posting u-little scores indicates. (This was after a win, mind you.) What happened? Now in addition to result they include names of WHO scored in the e-mail updates. I'm going to begin asking for the Vegas line before the kids' games. Unbelievable, but true.

[Unregistered]

I believe you: After getting an e-mail detailing u-little town travel game scores I suggested to board that we shouldn't engage in "game results oriented" thinking that posting u-little scores indicates. (This was after a win, mind you.) What happened? Now in addition to result they include names of WHO scored in the e-mail updates. I'm going to begin asking for the Vegas line before the kids' games. Unbelievable, but true.

I'd like to say unbelievable, but it's not the least bit surprising. Those types love to talk the talk of player development, but then they have to walk the walk and that doesn't seem to follow nearly as well.

[Unregistered]

The OP's quote reads like it's straight from the pages of Coaching Outside the Box. Should be required reading.

[Unregistered]

Good article.....not that it will make a difference.

"With our endless obsession for winning and younger and younger ages, and the accompanying cuts that go into forming select and all star teams at ages as young as 7, we have created a system that goes against all the science and best practices of player development. That science says that children develop at different rates, and the best way to let the cream rise to the top is keep as many of them around as long as possible. Yet we do the exact opposite in our quest to win today. We select talent instead of identifying it (click here to read more on that).We focus on today instead of tomorrow.We pick the biggest, fastest and strongest kids, focusing on athleticism instead of technique,*grit and coachability.We get rid of kids who don’t help us win in the short term.We celebrate team achievements at pre-pubescent ages, as if that has anything to do with long-term athletic development.We hold kids back from playing up with a developmentally appropriate age group, instead keeping them so they can dominate – and we can win – at a younger age.In a nutshell, we put the needs of team success over the needs of individual player development, and put winning now ahead of individual long-term player needs."

Could you actually provide the link to where this came from? I would be interested in reading it.

[Unregistered]

Good article.....not that it will make a difference.

"With our endless obsession for winning and younger and younger ages, and the accompanying cuts that go into forming select and all star teams at ages as young as 7, we have created a system that goes against all the science and best practices of player development. That science says that children develop at different rates, and the best way to let the cream rise to the top is keep as many of them around as long as possible. Yet we do the exact opposite in our quest to win today. We select talent instead of identifying it (click here to read more on that).We focus on today instead of tomorrow.We pick the biggest, fastest and strongest kids, focusing on athleticism instead of technique,*grit and coachability.We get rid of kids who don’t help us win in the short term.We celebrate team achievements at pre-pubescent ages, as if that has anything to do with long-term athletic development.We hold kids back from playing up with a developmentally appropriate age group, instead keeping them so they can dominate – and we can win – at a younger age.In a nutshell, we put the needs of team success over the needs of individual player development, and put winning now ahead of individual long-term player needs."

Sorry, forgot to include the source.

http://www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts...t-development/

[Unregistered]

Suppose this is another rant by BTDT?

How long before Perspective suggests that BTDT is blogging under the pseudonym, John O'Sullivan?

[Unregistered]

I believe you: After getting an e-mail detailing u-little town travel game scores I suggested to board that we shouldn't engage in "game results oriented" thinking that posting u-little scores indicates. (This was after a win, mind you.) What happened? Now in addition to result they include names of WHO scored in the e-mail updates. I'm going to begin asking for the Vegas line before the kids' games. Unbelievable, but true.

Because I really don't want your kid to develop. Your kid will end up competing with my kid for a spot on the travel team, a spot on the top local club team, the starting center mid position on that club team, a spot on a destination club team, the high school team, an invitation to an I.D. camp, some good press in the local paper, a college scholarship offer, a starting spot on the college team. Your kid and my kid are competitors, at least in my eyes. It's an arms race, and if my kid starts out bigger and stronger, and your kid falls by the way side because he develops a bit slower, then my kid wins. After my kid is safely ahead, I'll root for your kid to become good enough to be a supporting player on one of my kid's teams.

This is our culture, and it's why youth sports are set up the way they are.

[Unregistered]

Because I really don't want your kid to develop. Your kid will end up competing with my kid for a spot on the travel team, a spot on the top local club team, the starting center mid position on that club team, a spot on a destination club team, the high school team, an invitation to an I.D. camp, some good press in the local paper, a college scholarship offer, a starting spot on the college team. Your kid and my kid are competitors, at least in my eyes. It's an arms race, and if my kid starts out bigger and stronger, and your kid falls by the way side because he develops a bit slower, then my kid wins. After my kid is safely ahead, I'll root for your kid to become good enough to be a supporting player on one of my kid's teams.

This is our culture, and it's why youth sports are set up the way they are.

Bingo. On display, subtly and not so subtly, this and every weekend.

[Unregistered]

Bingo. On display, subtly and not so subtly, this and every weekend.

Sad but true. My spouse is much more of an idealist than I, and has been somewhat in denial about this aspect of youth sports for a long time. Then, last spring, we saw two obvious examples of this reality at work from two families whose kids play with ours. They marred the season and forever changed how we view the team and those families. A real wakeup call

[Unregistered]

Sad but true. My spouse is much more of an idealist than I, and has been somewhat in denial about this aspect of youth sports for a long time. Then, last spring, we saw two obvious examples of this reality at work from two families whose kids play with ours. They marred the season and forever changed how we view the team and those families. A real wakeup call

Details?? We'll feel sooo much better about ourselves for not being "those" families...

[Unregistered]

Details?? We'll feel sooo much better about ourselves for not being "those" families...

Not the OP but over the years I've had to re-adjust opinions of people based on their behavior regarding their kids' sports prowess (or lack there of). Seemingly nice, normal sane people are anything but that when it comes making sure little Mikey is captain of the HS team. I wonder what they will do with their time when their kids have moved out of the house (having gone no further than MAYBE playing a few years at a weak D3 school) and they have nothing else to obsess over?

[Unregistered]

Never, NEVER, ever going to change for the better.

Don't believe me? Volunteer to a youth soccer board and assuming they let you in the room during a meeting, print that quote and bring it with you and read it.

As a board member and coach - absolutely agree.

Every year there's a push for these younger athletic kids to be placed on the A/B team. Our system is rigged so that once you're on an A/B team you always are. I've seen what some consider great players at U8 plateau and other kids catch up by end of U10 or at U12. Yet parents/coaches have blinders on and remember how great he was at U8. Kids drop out in frustration and are done with soccer for life before even reaching middle school and sometimes puberty.

I've tried to make changes at the board level. It's a long if not impossible process.