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**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 10:24 AM

Can you give us examples of what you have seen while watching these Florida clubs?

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 10:32 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I was reading articles from the best youth coaches in S. America and Europe. They agree it takes about 6 years to develop a soccer player into a potential professional player. I see kids in the 16-18 age level and most are missing even the most basic tactical and technical skills needed to advance to the next level.

Then I started thinking about the coaches my son has had through the years and seeing all these FL clubs and the way they train is depressing. Most coaches are either lazy or have no clue as to how to train or drills needed to achieve perfection. No wonder the USMNT sucks....

And please don't come here saying that your kid got recruited and got a scholarship because that means nothing except he's probably a decent player with good grades. Most American college coaches have very limited playing or scouting experience therefore your kid playing college soccer means little in terms of his soccer future or having a chance at playing professionally one day.

It's sad that so many other parents have squandered so much money in developing your kids and not seeing the desired results. My son has been on good teams and I have trained my kid on the side since he was 7 years old and have taken him to S. America and Europe to train and play against the best. It cost me a lot of money but it was worth it at the end so he can see what real soccer is like. He has many offers now but still deciding what he's going to do.

Sorry about this rant but every time I go out and see how certain teams and kids play this game it saddens me. Especially when they confuse playing so physical to the point where all they do is kick the sh!t out of you and confuse that with playing soccer while the parents cheer from the sideline. Sad!

Parents spending so much money hoping their kid gets developed is so sad, especially for the hard working parents who make that extra effort.

Play as much as possible, during the summer months try to look for south American soccer camps (they are out there, google it) , or the pricey European camps. Playing against the same kids year round with the same training wont advance you or anyone.

DA GDA ECNL even NPL, wont do much for your kids compared to traveling and playing against the best.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 10:32 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Can you give us examples of what you have seen while watching these Florida clubs?

Comparing to S.America and European youth teams mostly speed of play, physically but mostly mentally. You can tell they haven't played at a higher level. Bad decisions and lack of soccer IQ. Kids don't know how to defend tactically or even 1v1 so they just whack you instead. I could go on forever...

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Comparing to S.America and European youth teams mostly speed of play, physically but mostly mentally. You can tell they haven't played at a higher level. Bad decisions and lack of soccer IQ. Kids don't know how to defend tactically or even 1v1 so they just whack you instead. I could go on forever...

There are many things that can be discussed and we all have our pet peeves.

Here's mine: midfield play. you talk to a coach from Europe and the first thing they say is that the defenders should get the ball to the midfield and the midfield controls the pace of the game and orchestrates the attack. Europeans really focus on the midfield from a young age. Here in the U.S. unless you play DA the midfield wins the ball and sends it long. Like, every play. Defense wins the ball and sends it long. It is shocking to see a team that really plays through its midfield. That's my pet peeve. There is no way you can develop world class soccer players treating the midfield like the garbage can you need to kick the ball over.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

There are many things that can be discussed and we all have our pet peeves.

Here's mine: midfield play. you talk to a coach from Europe and the first thing they say is that the defenders should get the ball to the midfield and the midfield controls the pace of the game and orchestrates the attack. Europeans really focus on the midfield from a young age. Here in the U.S. unless you play DA the midfield wins the ball and sends it long. Like, every play. Defense wins the ball and sends it long. It is shocking to see a team that really plays through its midfield. That's my pet peeve. There is no way you can develop world class soccer players treating the midfield like the garbage can you need to kick the ball over.

I agree. many kids try and play long balls from a defending position to their forwards while the midfield players watch the ball fly over their heads. But I see that happen mostly when the defenders take too long to release the ball and then have to force it out of the danger zone.

If they learned to play two touch out of the back with the midfielders and from the ground they wouldn't do that. I blame the coach and the lack of a playing philosophy and not understanding the game on that problem. It's what I'm saying, poor technical and tactical skills.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I was reading articles from the best youth coaches in S. America and Europe. They agree it takes about 6 years to develop a soccer player into a potential professional player. I see kids in the 16-18 age level and most are missing even the most basic tactical and technical skills needed to advance to the next level.

Agreed that by the time many kids make it into DA many formative training years are lost. They spend all their time trying trying to catch up in race that may never be won when you start behind everyone else. Kids aren't taught properly from very young ages - they learn in rec programs with volunteer programs, daddy coaches etc. And many who have potential can't afford our pay to play system. At least DA is trying to move down into the younger ages (U12) - not ideal but a step forward. Many more steps are needed though

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 11:39 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I agree. many kids try and play long balls from a defending position to their forwards while the midfield players watch the ball fly over their heads. But I see that happen mostly when the defenders take too long to release the ball and then have to force it out of the danger zone.

If they learned to play two touch out of the back with the midfielders and from the ground they wouldn't do that. I blame the coach and the lack of a playing philosophy and not understanding the game on that problem. It's what I'm saying, poor technical and tactical skills.

Yes to all you say. And there's also the stigma against playing back. If you don't have numbers, reset. Play out the other side. Change the attack. This is basic European soccer. here the midfield plays the ball forward and rarely resets. Everything is attack oriented even if possession is lost. I am not saying not to attack or play long every once in a while, but a good midfielder retains possession and slowly, methodically looks to kill their opponent.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 11:55 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Yes to all you say. And there's also the stigma against playing back. If you don't have numbers, reset. Play out the other side. Change the attack. This is basic European soccer. here the midfield plays the ball forward and rarely resets. Everything is attack oriented even if possession is lost. I am not saying not to attack or play long every once in a while, but a good midfielder retains possession and slowly, methodically looks to kill their opponent.

Yes I call this impulsive attacking - the reflex is to attack as soon as they gain possession - (often long balls but also sloppy and mistimed through balls), rather than to patiently and strategically select when/where to attack while possessing. This is a big difference with Europe.

In addition I see very poor technical skills. We are in the NPL and first touches are still awful, rarely into space, players seem worried about mishandling the touch, ball stops at their feet, instead of moving fluidly (and in the direction it should be moving). Also very poor passing accuracy. In general, the kids here just dont have anywhere near the number of quality training hours as elsewhere.

I have to say that the quality of play I see in the NPL compared to Europe is absolutely atrocious.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 12:34 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Yes I call this impulsive attacking - the reflex is to attack as soon as they gain possession - (often long balls but also sloppy and mistimed through balls), rather than to patiently and strategically select when/where to attack while possessing. This is a big difference with Europe.

In addition I see very poor technical skills. We are in the NPL and first touches are still awful, rarely into space, players seem worried about mishandling the touch, ball stops at their feet, instead of moving fluidly (and in the direction it should be moving). Also very poor passing accuracy. In general, the kids here just dont have anywhere near the number of quality training hours as elsewhere.

I have to say that the quality of play I see in the NPL compared to Europe is absolutely atrocious.

And I'll add this - my son has gone twice to play in Europe and S. America and tried out on a couple of teams there. Those kids pressure all over the field and they give you about 1/2 sec to make the right decision. Here you have 3x as long and they still make the wrong decision.

A lot of this has to do with poor 1v1 skills and not training the brain to take snap shots of the field every 5 secs to see where you can make that quick pass behind the lines. The kids here force passes all the time cause they only look in one direction or have poor field vision. They rush the pass and give up possession right back.

If you look at Barcelona this is why they excel, they look like they're just passing the ball around but all of a sudden they make 3 quick passes at the right time and they score and you don't even know what happened.

This takes time but because we don't have great coaches and kids club hop all the time it will never happen anytime soon. And don't think DA is the solution. My son played for a DA and the coaches are marginally better but not even close to the coaches I've seen in European youth clubs.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 12:39 PM

And one more thing. Most league teams in either FSPL and NPL are very weak. If you're a top team looking for getting great competition you're only going to get maybe 2-3 games that are competitive. So for good serious players looking for the next level this doesn't help either.

The U.S is a large country and going every couple of weeks to the best tournaments in the country is only for the rich, this is another problem. In Europe they get better competition and the clubs pay for all expenses.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 02:10 PM

Please don't tell us DA plays mid field passing. they do the same as everyone else long ball or bad pass. they don't look up ahead of time to know where to pass before, this is a major problem in the US they don't look up..... The only difference in DA non DA is they play faster and more physical so not better. Its just easier for coaches to go to one showcase and see tons of kids the same then go to smaller showcases where you could fine the ones who can play. And yes DA has some to, just not many.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 02:32 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

I was reading articles from the best youth coaches in S. America and Europe. They agree it takes about 6 years to develop a soccer player into a potential professional player. I see kids in the 16-18 age level and most are missing even the most basic tactical and technical skills needed to advance to the next level.

Then I started thinking about the coaches my son has had through the years and seeing all these FL clubs and the way they train is depressing. Most coaches are either lazy or have no clue as to how to train or drills needed to achieve perfection. No wonder the USMNT sucks....

And please don't come here saying that your kid got recruited and got a scholarship because that means nothing except he's probably a decent player with good grades. Most American college coaches have very limited playing or scouting experience therefore your kid playing college soccer means little in terms of his soccer future or having a chance at playing professionally one day.

It's sad that so many other parents have squandered so much money in developing your kids and not seeing the desired results. My son has been on good teams and I have trained my kid on the side since he was 7 years old and have taken him to S. America and Europe to train and play against the best. It cost me a lot of money but it was worth it at the end so he can see what real soccer is like. He has many offers now but still deciding what he's going to do.

Sorry about this rant but every time I go out and see how certain teams and kids play this game it saddens me. Especially when they confuse playing so physical to the point where all they do is kick the sh!t out of you and confuse that with playing soccer while the parents cheer from the sideline. Sad!

what were some of the better South American/Euro camps you took him to. Its hard to get through all the local summer camps that come up on the net.

**Unregistered** · 10-21-2016, 05:15 PM

In actuality the real problem is the amount of clubs, so you have a lot of watered down and low quality play. Most teams have a handful of decent players (if that) and so you're only as strong as your weakest link. Ideally, getting the top players to play together and then the next tier to play together and so forth and so on would probably lead to better development, through more cohesive training sessions. Go to any practice and you'll find the whole activity breaks down because of those kids that just aren't at the same level as the others. They may get there some day but not today.

Also, as far as playing back, oftentimes you have coaches that play their weakest or least skilled players in the back, so you encounter the problem that those midfielders KNOW what the right thing to do is but just don't have the faith in their defenders to play the ball back.

And then there's just the fact that you don't see pickup soccer in this country in the numbers you would see in Europe or Latin America. Kids rather play football, basketball, or video games because that's just the culture here.

**Unregistered** · 10-22-2016, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

what were some of the better South American/Euro camps you took him to. Its hard to get through all the local summer camps that come up on the net.

It's not about going to an Academy, that's not where the best players are. You take him for a tryout to a professional teams youth divisions. That's where I took my son.