The difference between coaching girls and boys

It is undeniable that there is a difference between coaching girls and boys.

What are those differences and why are some Clubs better at one or the other?

[beentheredonethat]

The difference is all in the ego. With girls you spend all your time convincing them they can do it. With boys you spend all of your time trying to convince them that they are not super human and shouldn't try to do it.

Re: The difference between coaching girls and boys

It is undeniable that there is a difference between coaching girls and boys.

What are those differences and why are some Clubs better at one or the other?

when you are coaching girls and sit them down at halftime and say something to the effect of 'ladies, we're not marking up well on defence' they are all thinking 'oh my god, it's me he's talking about, I'm letting my teammates down'. Same scenerio with boys each one is saying 'yeah, I'm busting my butt marking my man and no one else is doing anything'.

interested

[Cindy Lou]

Some good stuff from another thread

I also think there is a difference between girls and boys. Girls love the social aspect and correspondingly at the younger ages they like to pass and play with their teammates, not attack 1 v 1 and look like a ball hog.

If you watch the girls, 1 v 1 skills do not develop for the majority of the girls until U15 and older (if ever). There are very few girls that are going to run right at a defender full speed, step over and go. Sometimes they might but they have to slow down to half speed and then the effectiveness is mitigated. So the girls pass, do give and gos, move to space, one and two touch. On the boys side clearly some kids can attack at full speed but again you do not see it a lot until the older ages.

[beentheredonethat]

I read what JFF wrote in the other thread and was 50/50 on it. I personally think that what he is saying was more prevalent in years gone by but the current generations of female athlete are really starting to develop far superior athletic abilities and along with that development they are building the confidence to let one's physical attributes dominate another player. As that is happening you are seeing more and more athletic play on the women's side.

The flip side of this observation is the decline of the male athlete caused by the changes in today's childhood. Today's male athlete is unquestionably more conditioned than prior generations but they are lacking the motor skill foundation that earlier athletes had and just don't play their game with the fluidity that they did. Basically boys today learn in programs like CATZ and Velocity in their early teens what boys in earlier generations were learning in the sandlots in early grammar school. Couple that with a decrease in the number of training repititions and the decrease in learning play situations caused by today's programmed schedule and what you get is today's stiff athlete with a lack of feel for the game. On the men's side the games are built around one or two athletic freaks and a bunch of one dimensional role players.

[Cujo]

I read what JFF wrote in the other thread and was 50/50 on it. I personally think that what he is saying was more prevalent in years gone by but the current generations of female athlete are really starting to develop far superior athletic abilities and along with that development they are building the confidence to let one's physical attributes dominate another player. As that is happening you are seeing more and more athletic play on the women's side.

The flip side of this observation is the decline of the male athlete caused by the changes in today's childhood. Today's male athlete is unquestionably more conditioned than prior generations but they are lacking the motor skill foundation that earlier athletes had and just don't play their game with the fluidity that they did. Basically boys today learn in programs like CATZ and Velocity in their early teens what boys in earlier generations were learning in the sandlots in early grammar school. Couple that with a decrease in the number of training repititions and the decrease in learning play situations caused by today's programmed schedule and what you get is today's stiff athlete with a lack of feel for the game. On the men's side the games are built around one or two athletic freaks and a bunch of one dimensional role players.

That is a good point - growing up my sandlot to organized ratio was about 10 to 1 . I remember driving my parents crazy bouncing tennis balls off of the side of the house for hours making diving catches or banging the soccer ball off the house making diving saves. I would say that the sandlot to organized ratio is much lower and for some kids the sandlot stuff is totally gone in certain sports. I think the only exception is basketball and urban/ethnic soccer and maybe a little bit of hockey in the colcer areas. I can't remember the last time I saw kids play sandlot baseball or football. I think your point about motor skill stuff is especially true. I developed my eye hand coordination after endless hours hitting a plastic golf ball with a whiffle ball bat. Manny Ramirez used to hit frozen peas with a broomstick. You do that a couple thousand times and the baseball looks like a beachball coming at you.

[MASC]

Given the YUPpie society that has forced up the price of housing to the point that both parents must work, the upscale urban towns that refuse to allow neighborhood playgrounds, and the overall lack of civility and patience for children, there are few opportunities for children to freely play.

Example: Franklin has a population exceeding 40,000 and has only 4 playgrounds and 5 schools with fields. Most of the town lives further than two miles from any of these facilities. Actually 5 playgrounds, but the one neighborhood playground is under utilized due to the neighbors' complaints and harassment of those using the facility. It will probably be closed and sold to a developer to build another McMansion on this dead end street.

There is no "sandlot play" until children get their licenses.

Bascially, the traditional model of development has been turned upside down.

[beentheredonethat]

MASC .. The traditional development model has only been turned upside down for males. With respect to females, the current level of their athletic develop is unparralled compared to earlier generations. In particular I would put forth that today's female athlete is much faster, more powerful and exhibits as vastly superior level of sports agility than their previous peers. As this relates to JFF's post I think that women's sport is really starting to close the athleticism gap with men (I do recognize physical diferences, I'm not saying they will ever match the men completey) and since women tend to play a more team oriented game I believe many will come to find their sports more enjoyable to watch than the men's game.

BTDT... I dont think I agree. What reason would explain why girls/women today would be any more powerful or fast or agile than girls/women of the past?

There may be a small pecentage of elite level athletes taking advantage of strength, agility and quickness training more so than in the past but aside from that what else? Your post didnt sound like it focused on just top level athletes so the SAQ training wouldnt explain it.

I also disagree with your second point that women athletes will ever close the gap very much on male athletes. It is what it is. Genetics. Top women athletes are outperformed by 14 year old boys.

It doesnt appear that womens team sports are gaining much on the men as spectator sports.

[Fred Marks]

Fred M. ^

[beentheredonethat]

Fred.. Here's the answer. My wife was the captain of her HS volleyball team which was semi-finalist(?) in their state her senior year. Prior to her sophmore year she had never participated in any organized sports. I think that experience was fairly typical of women's sports back them. Compare that with today's female high school athlete. It's not just elite female athletes that are training more. Most of the girls that I know have participated in sports since early grammar school and even the less serious amongst them have put significantly more time into sports than women did in my wife's time.

To answer your point about the gap closing. I'm not suggesting that girls will ever match a male's athleticism but I'm watching the improvement in girls athleticism in my own family. There is a 6 year span between my oldest and youngest daughter. Without question the girls my youngest daughter plays with are far superior athletically and are just doing more than her older sister's group at a similar age.

[FSM]

I think the formal instruction is the difference. When I was a girl, we did a lot of physical activities on our own. Swimming, biking, skating. Tag, dodgeball and jump rope in the school yard. And we actually had to walk to school which presented all kinds of opportunities for play. We weren't just sitting around playing Barbie dolls, but a lot of those activities are no longer, particularly the schoolyard variety. We've trade formal for informal play.

Here's a very said commentary on today's society. My 14 year old loves miniature golf and dear old dad took her to a new course nearby. In front of them was a mother and her daughter who was around 5 or 6. That mother had a cell phone glued to her ear the entire time she was there playing with her daughter. Not once did she converse with the little girl during the entire round of golf. Very sad.

[Fred Marks]

BTDT I agree that a higher percentage of females have chosen to play sports over the past few decades.

I would agree that the more the girls play the better and more athletic they become. I just dont think that the raw athletic ability is all that much different than it was in the recent past. I dont think evolution works that quickly. I may have somewhat misread your post.

Fred M.

[Cujo]

I think the formal instruction is the difference. When I was a girl, we did a lot of physical activities on our own. Swimming, biking, skating. Tag, dodgeball and jump rope in the school yard. And we actually had to walk to school which presented all kinds of opportunities for play. We weren't just sitting around playing Barbie dolls, but a lot of those activities are no longer, particularly the schoolyard variety. We've trade formal for informal play.

Here's a very said commentary on today's society. My 14 year old loves miniature golf and dear old dad took her to a new course nearby. In front of them was a mother and her daughter who was around 5 or 6. That mother had a cell phone glued to her ear the entire time she was there playing with her daughter. Not once did she converse with the little girl during the entire round of golf. Very sad.

Probably was trying to find her Au Pair or Nanny. I heard they are making cell phones that are shaped like miniature golf clubs soon, this woman will be able to multi-task in a few months.

[Cindy Lou]

Gaps are funny things, they can close from either direction.

From the The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism:

In one of the largest study of its kind, Travison et al. report a population-wide decline in Massachusetts's men’s testosterone levels during the last 20 years that is not related to normal aging or to health and lifestyle factors known to influence testosterone levels.

They found that testosterone concentrations dropped about 1.2% per year, or about 17% overall, from 1987 to 2004. The downward trend was seen in both the population and in individuals over time.