How to know if a coach really sees potential

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And thank you P for #10, #14, #15 ...

Who is worse now. At least the other guy is addressing the topic, you only ever address him. Go away.

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I don't mean national team or D1 star player worthy potential. But at the u10 and u11 age, enough potential for the child to need development beyond town or small club soccer? We all want our kids to be happy but is driving kids an hour away to play on the 2nd best Stars or NEFC team worth it? Is the 2nd team still stronger developmentally than many local clubs? I ask because tryout season is coming and I know many families are facing this type of decision. Those that have been there, what do you think?

This depends on where you live. If you are near 495 or within, driving an hour to be on a club's 2nd team doesn't seem worthwhile. There are equal development opportunities closer than that. Also, let your child's interest be your guide. If child's interest is at the level that the only soccer played is at the team's training and games, that's one thing. If child's interest is that they play in your yard or at school a few times a week as well, some on their own and some with other kids, that's another thing.

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And thank you P for #10, #14, #15 ...

Who is worse now. At least the other guy is addressing the topic, you only ever address him. Go away.

You are FAR WORSE. You instigate continuously (huge understatement). And he wouldn't be posting if you stopped your shenanigans.

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Potential can be assessed earlier.

Barcelona scouts look to specifically how a child touches the ball. Does he "caress" it with his touches or does he hit it? How does he move with the ball at his feet? Basic athleticism is less of an issue- hence the Messi experiment. A learned scout can assess potential in an 8 year old in about 5 minutes.

To what end? Until a player grasps tactical concepts and learns to move without the ball having a caressing touch is of no use. Sure it is a nice foundation to build upon but you have no idea if the player is going to see the field in a usefull way when they are older.

- Cujo

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You are FAR WORSE. You instigate continuously (huge understatement). And he wouldn't be posting if you stopped your shenanigans.

LOL. You swing at every shadow and think it's Peter Pan. The instigation is a figment of your lunacy. The disgusting thing though is the lengths you will go to play out your little fantasies. Seriously, bashing a U15 over the D1 thread simply because she is following your prey's kid to Duke, are there no lows to which you won't sink?

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To what end? Until a player grasps tactical concepts and learns to move without the ball having a caressing touch is of no use. Sure it is a nice foundation to build upon but you have no idea if the player is going to see the field in a usefull way when they are older.

- Cujo

Cujo,
I find you to be an intelligent, engaging poster who I agree with on many of your posts.
However, I beg to differ with you on this one.
I am a long time accredited coach who feels that 1st touch is far and away the single most important skill in the game. It is my job to teach the player the tactics, but if they have no touch, they simply cannot play the game. Many players are tactically brilliant, but if they have wood feet, it won't work.
On the flip side, you can always make a tactically dumb, but great touch player, a striker. :)

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Assessing a player's potential at that age is a ridiculous concept. At that age any player with drive and motivation should get maximum exposure to competent technical coaching and simply given the opportunity to perform without respect to playing time or overcoaching during games. The word potential should not even enter into the equation until the player has a year of tactical instruction (ie. u14). That is a critical year for players and what direction they are going in and if they will even continue to play the game (half stop playing...)

- Cujo

In my opinion, I do believe that a good coach / trainer can assess "potential" at that young age... Magic word being "potential". They can't foresee how much time and effort a player will work on his / her skill and development or temperament, etc. That work ethic and personality is obviously a very important piece of the puzzle. But "potential" yes, they can. I have 3 boys. FWIW, there is only one of them that a few good and respected trainers from separate clubs (as well as trainers with no club connections) have said that he has potential to be an elite player (again, for whatever that label of "elite" really means). This was from a young age... Obviously the above intangibles as well as puberty, etc. will play a great part in the equation, but potential can be spotted at a young age, imo. And for the record, I'm not trying to say that this particular son is going to go pro or be scouted for the National Team or anything like that... so I'll ignore any snarkiness that comes my way... I was simply offering it up in regards to the original question posed.

[Unregistered]

LOL. You swing at every shadow and think it's Peter Pan. The instigation is a figment of your lunacy. The disgusting thing though is the lengths you will go to play out your little fantasies. Seriously, bashing a U15 over the D1 thread simply because she is following your prey's kid to Duke, are there no lows to which you won't sink?

No idea what you are talking about with U15s. Not my area or interest.

As for shadows, you sure do try to cast a long one. You have got to be the biggest liar in the planet. You are truly a cancer.

[Unregistered]

Why should anyone stop? Do you stop posting these stupid little rebuttals as though you know who started the thread and why? You seem to think every conversation on this forum is about you and your choices and for some reason feel compelled to shoot down any that don't support your pathetic little view of the world. If the forum must suffer you, why shouldn't it suffer the next guy? Why not just take the thread at face value for a change and simply engage in the discussion? If the topic doesn't interest you, you can always leave it and not open it again.

My question to the OP is where do you see your child going with soccer? I personally think that is the first thing a parent needs to answer when they are asking the sort of questions that are being asked. What are they trying to accomplish by participating in all of this madness. There are a lot of possible destinations that can come out of participating in club soccer and one of the real big problems with this forum is there tends to be a message that everyone needs to "keep up with the Jones" if they want to reach theirs. It is what fuels a lot of the insanity.

Here are a couple of bits of advice if your kid is really into soccer and they want to pursue where the game might take them:

1. Focus on the process of "getting better" instead of what team they are on and where it plays. Develop a work ethic in them and an understanding of the prices they will have to pay to achieve what they want with soccer. If they have talent it is amazing how things will all work out if they simply work to develop it.

2. 99% of the rhetoric here on TS is BS. You don't "NEED" to do anything special except support your child through all of this and keep moving forward towards the particular goal. Club soccer is more a marathon than a sprint. You will find that half the battle is simply just staying on course through all the ups and downs as life intersects with soccer. There are no short cuts and what ever is going to happen is almost entirely on the shoulders of your child. Helping to focus and arranging the structural elements are one thing but the kids need to figure things out for themselves. Child development being what it is you will find the more your ego gets into their head the less likely they are going to stay with soccer.

OP here and this is a helpful response. My child is young but it seems our goals keep changing. Originally it was to get a chance to run. She loved playing so it then became about making her happy. Over time it became about making friends. The only consistent things that I have noticed are a love of the game and a constant desire to be the best she can be. Those constants have gotten her far and now to keep meeting that desire to develop she might need stronger competition. We don't want to fill her head with false ideas about her potential. We have had well known coaches tell us she should be playing amongst the top kids and I guess we question how much of that is blowing smoke. Will a coach tell you that and stick your child on a little known C team?

[Unregistered]

Thanks for all of the helpful advice.

[Unregistered]

Cujo,
I find you to be an intelligent, engaging poster who I agree with on many of your posts.
However, I beg to differ with you on this one.
I am a long time accredited coach who feels that 1st touch is far and away the single most important skill in the game. It is my job to teach the player the tactics, but if they have no touch, they simply cannot play the game. Many players are tactically brilliant, but if they have wood feet, it won't work.
On the flip side, you can always make a tactically dumb, but great touch player, a striker. :)

In other words another tired old hack :)

[Unregistered]

Yes, thank you so much. In awe of how much you know.

[Unregistered]

In other words another tired old hack :)

Brit accent too...

[Unregistered]

OP here and this is a helpful response. My child is young but it seems our goals keep changing. Originally it was to get a chance to run. She loved playing so it then became about making her happy. Over time it became about making friends. The only consistent things that I have noticed are a love of the game and a constant desire to be the best she can be. Those constants have gotten her far and now to keep meeting that desire to develop she might need stronger competition. We don't want to fill her head with false ideas about her potential. We have had well known coaches tell us she should be playing amongst the top kids and I guess we question how much of that is blowing smoke. Will a coach tell you that and stick your child on a little known C team?

Sure some might. Usually an offer letter will specify what team it is so you can then decide. Take her to some practices and see how she does and if she likes the challenge. That's much better than just listening to a coach.

And don't forget the coach you talk to very well might not be the coach you get next year. Pick a club with strong history of developing players.

[Unregistered]

OP here and this is a helpful response. My child is young but it seems our goals keep changing. Originally it was to get a chance to run. She loved playing so it then became about making her happy. Over time it became about making friends. The only consistent things that I have noticed are a love of the game and a constant desire to be the best she can be. Those constants have gotten her far and now to keep meeting that desire to develop she might need stronger competition. We don't want to fill her head with false ideas about her potential. We have had well known coaches tell us she should be playing amongst the top kids and I guess we question how much of that is blowing smoke. Will a coach tell you that and stick your child on a little known C team?

A coach should not do what you describe, but we can't know the specifics of the individuals in your case. Given your child's age, if you live in eastern Mass., you shouldn't have to drive an hour to get a step up in competition, both in training and games. So take that next step and see where it leads. More important, see if your child plays on their own, trying to get more technical with both feet, for example. Its a great way to challenge herself, judge how much she really loves the game, and therefore help you decide whether traveling even further as she gets older makes sense.