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**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 05:48 AM

What is your point?

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Reading the forums for a while now. I have read :

1- HS soccer is all kick n run style/direct ball

2- Colleges follow HS suit and play pretty much the same kick n run style/direct ball

3- Even the USA national team(s) play the same

So I ask why all the fuss? For the 99.9999% soccer athletes the music stops playing after college anyhow.

The beautiful game can be pretty damn boring at times.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 06:12 AM

Why don't you leave it up to the kids to decide if it's boring.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 06:50 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Reading the forums for a while now. I have read :

1- HS soccer is all kick n run style/direct ball

2- Colleges follow HS suit and play pretty much the same kick n run style/direct ball

3- Even the USA national team(s) play the same

So I ask why all the fuss? For the 99.9999% soccer athletes the music stops playing after college anyhow.

1 - Not always accurate. Sometimes it's just club elitism.
2 - Even less accurate. Colleges are pulling more and more from foreign locations and non-HS players.

3 - This is all you need to know. We aren't very good on the world stage.

Because, frankly, playing well is more fun. There is thing called a "ball". It's fun to play with, to see what you can do with it, how to pass it, move around a player, make them move just by your movements, seeing a pass through people and knowing how to make it.

Conversely, running after a ball all game like a Labrador retriever isn't all that much fun. If I wanted to run track, I'd run track.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 06:57 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

1 - Not always accurate. Sometimes it's just club elitism.
2 - Even less accurate. Colleges are pulling more and more from foreign locations and non-HS players.

3 - This is all you need to know. We aren't very good on the world stage.

Because, frankly, playing well is more fun. There is thing called a "ball". It's fun to play with, to see what you can do with it, how to pass it, move around a player, make them move just by your movements, seeing a pass through people and knowing how to make it.

Conversely, running after a ball all game like a Labrador retriever isn't all that much fun. If I wanted to run track, I'd run track.

While I tend to agree with your last point, I happened to watch women's SEC and BIG-10 games last night and for the most part it was kick ball.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 07:49 AM

Maybe the fuss is that for all the money spent in pay to play "development" and however many kids participating, the quality of US soccer has barely budged?

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 08:33 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Maybe the fuss is that for all the money spent in pay to play "development" and however many kids participating, the quality of US soccer has barely budged?

Seems to me when you go above travel level soccer at the younger ages, the coaches are really trying to promote possession style soccer, playing out of the back, etc. You see a lot of U9-U12 games being played (or at least attempting to be played) the "correct" way.

Then something happens with the older kids. A lot of the U15-U18 games I've seen over the past four years or so, both club and high school, seem to revert back to kick and run. Did these kids go through the system before possession style really caught on? Or is it a case that kids want to use their new found physicality and strength and play brute force instead of using their brains to play smartly? Are all those kids who played great possession style at the younger ages forced out of the game as teenagers in favor of the multi-sport athlete, who may have the edge athletically, but not the vision or touch to play a good possession style? Perhaps the coaches at the older youth levels are mostly old dogs who only know how to teach kick and run. Will we see some good soccer in another four year as these younger kids move into their teenage years, or will it be the same old boot ball?

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 09:54 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Reading the forums for a while now. I have read :

1- HS soccer is all kick n run style/direct ball

2- Colleges follow HS suit and play pretty much the same kick n run style/direct ball

3- Even the USA national team(s) play the same

So I ask why all the fuss? For the 99.9999% soccer athletes the music stops playing after college anyhow.

Translation:

1. Soccer parents are *********s.
2. See #1.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Seems to me when you go above travel level soccer at the younger ages, the coaches are really trying to promote possession style soccer, playing out of the back, etc. You see a lot of U9-U12 games being played (or at least attempting to be played) the "correct" way.

Then something happens with the older kids. A lot of the U15-U18 games I've seen over the past four years or so, both club and high school, seem to revert back to kick and run. Did these kids go through the system before possession style really caught on? Or is it a case that kids want to use their new found physicality and strength and play brute force instead of using their brains to play smartly? Are all those kids who played great possession style at the younger ages forced out of the game as teenagers in favor of the multi-sport athlete, who may have the edge athletically, but not the vision or touch to play a good possession style? Perhaps the coaches at the older youth levels are mostly old dogs who only know how to teach kick and run. Will we see some good soccer in another four year as these younger kids move into their teenage years, or will it be the same old boot ball?

It's because our selection process tends to promote athletes first and technical skill second. If you don't have the technical skill to pass and receive at a very high speed of play at the older ages, you can't play possession soccer and have to play long balls.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Seems to me when you go above travel level soccer at the younger ages, the coaches are really trying to promote possession style soccer, playing out of the back, etc. You see a lot of U9-U12 games being played (or at least attempting to be played) the "correct" way.

Then something happens with the older kids. A lot of the U15-U18 games I've seen over the past four years or so, both club and high school, seem to revert back to kick and run. Did these kids go through the system before possession style really caught on? Or is it a case that kids want to use their new found physicality and strength and play brute force instead of using their brains to play smartly? Are all those kids who played great possession style at the younger ages forced out of the game as teenagers in favor of the multi-sport athlete, who may have the edge athletically, but not the vision or touch to play a good possession style? Perhaps the coaches at the older youth levels are mostly old dogs who only know how to teach kick and run. Will we see some good soccer in another four year as these younger kids move into their teenage years, or will it be the same old boot ball?

I'm not saying you're wrong or that I disagree with much of what you wrote, all good, I'd just add a different perspective. I think the explanation has a lot to do with the environment you might be seeing the style of play. I'd argue that in terms of what I've seen, even from coaches that have an incredible approach to developing players and playing possession, etc., put them in a regional or national tournament with high stakes, as opposed to their seasonal league matches, you'll probably see direct to win and possession to put it away. I'm not judging it, I'm just observing. I think it's subconscious as much as conscious when winning is in that moment the highest stakes and the opponent might be of a certain caliber of competition, styles will be different. The more this happens, the more older players and coaches of those players have a tendency to revert to this style?

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 03:43 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

It's because our selection process tends to promote athletes first and technical skill second. If you don't have the technical skill to pass and receive at a very high speed of play at the older ages, you can't play possession soccer and have to play long balls.

Not factually accurate. See Pugh and Sanchez. Very technical but also extremely good athletes. Suggest you go look at the Fench women's national team and come back to discuss what you see.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 03:50 PM

Don't think many realize that the NT basically pulls their teams together on a monthly basis for week long training camps. If there is anything lacking it is they really aren't having the teams compete all that frequently and when they do it is usually against relatively weak competition which they should be beating. They seldom test their teams. Additionally, instead of a residential program, what they really should do is a two month camp every summer and then travel during the year for international tournaments in lieu of the week long camps.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I'm not saying you're wrong or that I disagree with much of what you wrote, all good, I'd just add a different perspective. I think the explanation has a lot to do with the environment you might be seeing the style of play. I'd argue that in terms of what I've seen, even from coaches that have an incredible approach to developing players and playing possession, etc., put them in a regional or national tournament with high stakes, as opposed to their seasonal league matches, you'll probably see direct to win and possession to put it away. I'm not judging it, I'm just observing. I think it's subconscious as much as conscious when winning is in that moment the highest stakes and the opponent might be of a certain caliber of competition, styles will be different. The more this happens, the more older players and coaches of those players have a tendency to revert to this style?

I think at the younger ages the more skilled teams can appear to be possession-oriented. At a certain point, the players on those teams are convinced that they have good technical ability, and subtly begin to slack off in honing their skills. Then, all of a sudden, at age 15-16, teams learn how to properly apply pressure and to score off that pressure. Suddenly, the skills that were good enough at u12 and 13 are no longer adequate, and there is much more need to lay off and hit it long to open space in order to escape the pressure.

After all, it's more reliable to drive the ball deep into the other end and apply your own pressure than it is to rely on your entire roster to be able to make solid decisions and maintain possession when the other team is all over them in their own half.

**Unregistered** · 10-07-2016, 04:47 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Don't think many realize that the NT basically pulls their teams together on a monthly basis for week long training camps. If there is anything lacking it is they really aren't having the teams compete all that frequently and when they do it is usually against relatively weak competition which they should be beating. They seldom test their teams. Additionally, instead of a residential program, what they really should do is a two month camp every summer and then travel during the year for international tournaments in lieu of the week long camps.

My kid has been to camps. The schedule is packed, but there's only so much intense competition they can fit into a single week. There's typically a mid week game and one on the last day, and that's not really enough to get the kids really accustomed to playing together against coordinated pressure. This is especially true when the staff is experimenting with moving kids around to new spots and experimenting with new combinations.

If you want a real cohesive team at these younger ages, there would need to be an academy. With an academy comes all the other questions and issues (college, adding / dropping kids, etc.)