Smaller soccer players

[Unregistered]

My daughter is 5'2" and has been one of the smallest kids on her teams since she started playing Kindergarten soccer with Dad as the coach. She actually has two teammates smaller than her on her college team now.

OP has a son (or at least it sounds like that is the case) I believe it is easier for smaller girls to play soccer at a high competitive level than small boys. The comparative size differential is not as great as there is with boys; particularly during the growth spurt years. And, a high percentage of girls are done growing at 15 so relative size differences equal out sooner. A fast/quick small girl has a much better chance of standing out relative to the physical skills of their teammates and competitors than a fast/quick small boy. There just are many more guys playing soccer who are fast/quick -- and bigger.

What can a small kid do? Build upper body and core strength to make it tougher to get bounced off the ball. No, little kids should not be hanging in the gym lifting weights. My kids, including my daughter, swam low level competitively, and she also did gymnastics. The work outs for little girl gymnastics were pretty tough actually. Work on balance and anticipation. A bigger player will almost always try and out physical a smaller player. The smaller player needs to move quickly and move the ball quickly. Once contact is made though the smaller player needs good balance to maintain control. As my kid learned -- either you or the ball have to get away within a second. Eventually a kid 50 lbs heavier is going to through your kid off. One second -- to get away or move the ball to space or a teammate. Of course if your kid is playing a defender position then they really can't afford the contact at all. Be quick. Play quick.

As for 50/50 balls. Your kid has to jostle for position and win the second ball. In many situations they will not get that first touch, but if they are in good position they can ruin the first touch for their opponent and then be ready to pounce on a loose ball.

[Unregistered]

My daughter is 5'2" and has been one of the smallest kids on her teams since she started playing Kindergarten soccer with Dad as the coach. She actually has two teammates smaller than her on her college team now.

OP has a son (or at least it sounds like that is the case) I believe it is easier for smaller girls to play soccer at a high competitive level than small boys. The comparative size differential is not as great as there is with boys; particularly during the growth spurt years. And, a high percentage of girls are done growing at 15 so relative size differences equal out sooner. A fast/quick small girl has a much better chance of standing out relative to the physical skills of their teammates and competitors than a fast/quick small boy. There just are many more guys playing soccer who are fast/quick -- and bigger.

What can a small kid do? Build upper body and core strength to make it tougher to get bounced off the ball. No, little kids should not be hanging in the gym lifting weights. My kids, including my daughter, swam low level competitively, and she also did gymnastics. The work outs for little girl gymnastics were pretty tough actually. Work on balance and anticipation. A bigger player will almost always try and out physical a smaller player. The smaller player needs to move quickly and move the ball quickly. Once contact is made though the smaller player needs good balance to maintain control. As my kid learned -- either you or the ball have to get away within a second. Eventually a kid 50 lbs heavier is going to through your kid off. One second -- to get away or move the ball to space or a teammate. Of course if your kid is playing a defender position then they really can't afford the contact at all. Be quick. Play quick.

As for 50/50 balls. Your kid has to jostle for position and win the second ball. In many situations they will not get that first touch, but if they are in good position they can ruin the first touch for their opponent and then be ready to pounce on a loose ball.

Excellent.

[Unregistered]

I think parents need to be realistic about the amount of talent their children have. There are not that many late bloomers that you are referring to

Not many early bloomers either.

[Unregistered]

not many early bloomers either.

exactly

[Unregistered]

My daughter is 5'2" and has been one of the smallest kids on her teams since she started playing Kindergarten soccer with Dad as the coach. She actually has two teammates smaller than her on her college team now.

OP has a son (or at least it sounds like that is the case) I believe it is easier for smaller girls to play soccer at a high competitive level than small boys. The comparative size differential is not as great as there is with boys; particularly during the growth spurt years. And, a high percentage of girls are done growing at 15 so relative size differences equal out sooner. A fast/quick small girl has a much better chance of standing out relative to the physical skills of their teammates and competitors than a fast/quick small boy. There just are many more guys playing soccer who are fast/quick -- and bigger.

What can a small kid do? Build upper body and core strength to make it tougher to get bounced off the ball. No, little kids should not be hanging in the gym lifting weights. My kids, including my daughter, swam low level competitively, and she also did gymnastics. The work outs for little girl gymnastics were pretty tough actually. Work on balance and anticipation. A bigger player will almost always try and out physical a smaller player. The smaller player needs to move quickly and move the ball quickly. Once contact is made though the smaller player needs good balance to maintain control. As my kid learned -- either you or the ball have to get away within a second. Eventually a kid 50 lbs heavier is going to through your kid off. One second -- to get away or move the ball to space or a teammate. Of course if your kid is playing a defender position then they really can't afford the contact at all. Be quick. Play quick.

As for 50/50 balls. Your kid has to jostle for position and win the second ball. In many situations they will not get that first touch, but if they are in good position they can ruin the first touch for their opponent and then be ready to pounce on a loose ball.

Let's be real shall we. Highly doubt your 5'2" daughter is slow. All these threads do is pump the hope springs eternal well and cost families money.

[Unregistered]

My daughter is 5'2" and has been one of the smallest kids on her teams since she started playing Kindergarten soccer with Dad as the coach. She actually has two teammates smaller than her on her college team now.

OP has a son (or at least it sounds like that is the case) I believe it is easier for smaller girls to play soccer at a high competitive level than small boys. The comparative size differential is not as great as there is with boys; particularly during the growth spurt years. And, a high percentage of girls are done growing at 15 so relative size differences equal out sooner. A fast/quick small girl has a much better chance of standing out relative to the physical skills of their teammates and competitors than a fast/quick small boy. There just are many more guys playing soccer who are fast/quick -- and bigger.

What can a small kid do? Build upper body and core strength to make it tougher to get bounced off the ball. No, little kids should not be hanging in the gym lifting weights. My kids, including my daughter, swam low level competitively, and she also did gymnastics. The work outs for little girl gymnastics were pretty tough actually. Work on balance and anticipation. A bigger player will almost always try and out physical a smaller player. The smaller player needs to move quickly and move the ball quickly. Once contact is made though the smaller player needs good balance to maintain control. As my kid learned -- either you or the ball have to get away within a second. Eventually a kid 50 lbs heavier is going to through your kid off. One second -- to get away or move the ball to space or a teammate. Of course if your kid is playing a defender position then they really can't afford the contact at all. Be quick. Play quick.

As for 50/50 balls. Your kid has to jostle for position and win the second ball. In many situations they will not get that first touch, but if they are in good position they can ruin the first touch for their opponent and then be ready to pounce on a loose ball.

Go around and count the players on rosters of highly ranked programs that play in the middle of the field. Most players that one might consider to be small usually play on the outside where speed is a big factor.

[Unregistered]

I was thinking about starting a post regarding smaller players the other day, but I'll throw my thoughts in here, even though they're a little off tangent from treatment by refs.

I was looking across the fields at my kids club practice last week and was noticing how small on average the group of U9s, 10s & 11s were compared to town teams at the same ages. And looking further, how the majority of the technical standouts seemed to be the smallest kids on the already small club teams. Perhaps this is not the case at other clubs, although I have noticed similarities on some of the other club teams my kid has played against over the last couple of years. Not sure, but I'm wondering if this might be because most town players are multi-sport athletes, and are not able to devote the necessary time on practicing soccer, whereas these club players have found they are most successful at soccer, perhaps being somewhat out-sized in other sports, especially the smallest kids. Even if the club player is involved in other sports, the most technical kids are most likely devoting the majority of their play time developing their soccer skills.

So we've got all these amazing technical players in a club environment supposedly receiving the best training they can and improving year after year. Then suddenly they hit the ages of 14-16. Some of these players who are small due to parental stature may be able to keep up with the larger kids, if they are going through growth spurts/muscle development at the same time. But others may be outmatched until they can spend a few years in the gym to bulk up and certainly the late bloomers who haven't even started their growth spurts yet, may be left on the bench most games. Due to lack of playing time, soccer development may slow and they may be overlooked by college coaches. Game over.

Shouldn't there be a better option than the bench for the group of these kids that can clearly show they have the technical ability and soccer IQ to be great players, but just need another 2-4 years to develop physically? Colleges probably don't care about development and need players that are ready to compete right away, not by middle of junior year. Homegrown signings from our local MLS academy, where development is supposed to be of the highest importance, have been few. I feel like there ought to be some sort of DAP offshoot for these kids to enable them to continue developing and be able to play in highly technical games against other kids of similar physicality. Given time to develop physically, they could very well end up being incredible players by their mid-twenties.

It's only in the USA for the most part that they even care about size over skill -have seen this first hand at top academies around the world. They will work around a player with skills for years and hope to sell him or sign him later , just like any other top academies. Size is valued to but honestly the most in demand players are the skilled ones, pro coaches at top clubs in soccer countries usually believe it's easier to train strength then skill.

Size is not to be confused with athleticism ( except where muscle development hasn't happened yet) if you're not athletic your not going highest level but size is neutral to that

[Unregistered]

It's only in the USA for the most part that they even care about size over skill -have seen this first hand at top academies around the world. They will work around a player with skills for years and hope to sell him or sign him later , just like any other top academies. Size is valued to but honestly the most in demand players are the skilled ones, pro coaches at top clubs in soccer countries usually believe it's easier to train strength then skill.

Size is not to be confused with athleticism ( except where muscle development hasn't happened yet) if you're not athletic your not going highest level but size is neutral to that

Which top academies have you viewed - first hand - around the world? And at what age will they pull the plug on the small skilled ones?

[Unregistered]

Average player height by WC national teams

http://national-soccer-teams.pointafter.com/

Belgium 72"
Germany 72"
Argentina 71"
Netherlands 71"
Brazil 71"
USA 72"
England 72"

The current USA teams breaks down (17 out of 23 are 6'0 or taller)

5'8" - 2 players
5'9" - none
5'10" - 3
5'11" - 1
6'0" - 8
6'1" - 2
6'2" - 2
6'3" - 2
6'4" - 2
6'5" - 1

[Unregistered]

Average player height by WC national teams

http://national-soccer-teams.pointafter.com/

Belgium 72"
Germany 72"
Argentina 71"
Netherlands 71"
Brazil 71"
USA 72"
England 72"

The current USA teams breaks down (17 out of 23 are 6'0 or taller)

5'8" - 2 players
5'9" - none
5'10" - 3
5'11" - 1
6'0" - 8
6'1" - 2
6'2" - 2
6'3" - 2
6'4" - 2
6'5" - 1

Parents of average or smaller kids need to realized it is not a conspiracy against them in the US. Their children can still enjoy and play the great game but in most cases it will not be at the highest level

[Unregistered]

Parents of average or smaller kids need to realized it is not a conspiracy against them in the US. Their children can still enjoy and play the great game but in most cases it will not be at the highest level

Difficult the ignore that height matters. Sadly some coaches won't even glance at a smaller player. The smarter ones will at least give them a shot. If a smaller player is built like a tank with a lower center of gravity they can better fight for the ball. Thinner, willowy ones will have it rough

[Unregistered]

Average player height by WC national teams

http://national-soccer-teams.pointafter.com/

Belgium 72"
Germany 72"
Argentina 71"
Netherlands 71"
Brazil 71"
USA 72"
England 72"

The current USA teams breaks down (17 out of 23 are 6'0 or taller)

5'8" - 2 players
5'9" - none
5'10" - 3
5'11" - 1
6'0" - 8
6'1" - 2
6'2" - 2
6'3" - 2
6'4" - 2
6'5" - 1

There is pretty much no reason to believe any athlete's official height numbers. You might as well subtract 2" off the top particularly for the shorter players.

[Unregistered]

Parents of average or smaller kids need to realized it is not a conspiracy against them in the US. Their children can still enjoy and play the great game but in most cases it will not be at the highest level

Messi and Marta are two examples that were clearly the best forwards in the game, and they are 5"7 and 5"3. They not only made the highest level but were the best of the highest level.

It's about developing your strengths and compensating for your weaknesses. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not able to reach the highest level.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...n-help/372617/

[Unregistered]

Messi and Marta are two examples that were clearly the best forwards in the game, and they are 5"7 and 5"3. They not only made the highest level but were the best of the highest level.

It's about developing your strengths and compensating for your weaknesses. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not able to reach the highest level.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...n-help/372617/

It can happen but the Messi's of the world are the exception.

[Unregistered]

It can happen but the Messi's of the world are the exception.

Everyone seems to think their small and slow kid is the next Messi but then forgets that Messi might be the first or second fastest player in all of professional soccer. If a player has a physical deficit (like lack of size) they need to be able to compensate with a physical attribute (like speed).