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    #16
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    One of the great ironies about soccer is the reliance upon "top coaching", compared to baseball, football and basketball where the vast majority of youth coaching is handled by volunteers. Yet, those sports seem to propagate players up to and thru the high school level whereas soccer cannot seem to replicate that success.
    Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
    Soccer is a business. Just have to look at all the ridiculous threads today to see that.

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      #17
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      One of the great ironies about soccer is the reliance upon "top coaching", compared to baseball, football and basketball where the vast majority of youth coaching is handled by volunteers. Yet, those sports seem to propagate players up to and thru the high school level whereas soccer cannot seem to replicate that success.
      Any thoughts as to why this is the case?
      Everything is relative, so depends on what you're competing against. Football- basically no competition from outside the US, so our training standard is the standard. Baseball- we compete with the Domincans, Cubans and a few others, and those countries hold their own when measured against us. For men in soccer, the competition is worldwide, and we're way behind historically. Despite most volunteer parent coaches having no soccer background, we still do OK until adulthood. Then our kids go to college, while our competitors have their players in the final stages of their academies. For US women, there was little real competition historically, and the competition now is still developing in most places except for Northern Europe, and even there we had the jump on most everyone. It's almost humorous when you see these posts saying boys DAP sucks but ECNL has done a great job developing players. Having the foreign clubs start to take women's soccer seriously has to really scare US Soccer and the NWSL. NWSL may be able to hang on as a beer league for awhile (I doubt it), but the top players who want to make it a career now will be going to Europe.

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        #18
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Everything is relative, so depends on what you're competing against. Football- basically no competition from outside the US, so our training standard is the standard. Baseball- we compete with the Domincans, Cubans and a few others, and those countries hold their own when measured against us. For men in soccer, the competition is worldwide, and we're way behind historically. Despite most volunteer parent coaches having no soccer background, we still do OK until adulthood. Then our kids go to college, while our competitors have their players in the final stages of their academies. For US women, there was little real competition historically, and the competition now is still developing in most places except for Northern Europe, and even there we had the jump on most everyone. It's almost humorous when you see these posts saying boys DAP sucks but ECNL has done a great job developing players. Having the foreign clubs start to take women's soccer seriously has to really scare US Soccer and the NWSL. NWSL may be able to hang on as a beer league for awhile (I doubt it), but the top players who want to make it a career now will be going to Europe.
        I think you hit the nail in the head in your reference to college vs european academy. College serves as academy training in most major sports but has not figured out its role in soccer. It is certainly not the pathway as in other sports.
        Why?

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          #19
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          I think you hit the nail in the head in your reference to college vs european academy. College serves as academy training in most major sports but has not figured out its role in soccer. It is certainly not the pathway as in other sports.
          Why?
          Because in college there are limits to how many hours a player can practice (10-20 hrs per week off season 40+ hours in season) because the rest of the time is presumably spent studying whereas in an academy there are no such limits. A recent article posted on this site about US females being lured overseas made reference to an academy player working 9-4 daily. In the end the soccer playing nations are just outworking us.

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            #20
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Because in college there are limits to how many hours a player can practice (10-20 hrs per week off season 40+ hours in season) because the rest of the time is presumably spent studying whereas in an academy there are no such limits. A recent article posted on this site about US females being lured overseas made reference to an academy player working 9-4 daily. In the end the soccer playing nations are just outworking us.
            God forbid academics & college come before a game!

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              #21
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              God forbid academics & college come before a game!
              Clearly you don't value it as a life's vocation, but at this level its a job and the education is the second priority.

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Because in college there are limits to how many hours a player can practice (10-20 hrs per week off season 40+ hours in season) because the rest of the time is presumably spent studying whereas in an academy there are no such limits. A recent article posted on this site about US females being lured overseas made reference to an academy player working 9-4 daily. In the end the soccer playing nations are just outworking us.
                Please don't misunderstand academy or even professional training-there is no more than 4, but more likely 3 hours of physical training going on during that 9-4 period. Team meetings, meals, white board sessions are parceled into that time frame. It is the repetition of these aspects on a daily basis that makes the difference.
                Believe me, nobody outworks the UNC girls squad on a pure grind basis...
                But, they and all college programs have different priorities.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Please don't misunderstand academy or even professional training-there is no more than 4, but more likely 3 hours of physical training going on during that 9-4 period. Team meetings, meals, white board sessions are parceled into that time frame. It is the repetition of these aspects on a daily basis that makes the difference.
                  Believe me, nobody outworks the UNC girls squad on a pure grind basis...
                  But, they and all college programs have different priorities.
                  Sorry, UNC is nothing special when it comes to work load, At that level of the college game they all work to the maximum "Countable Athletically Related Activity." The NCAA limits the amount of time spent on countable activities "In Season" to 4 hours a day/20 hours a week and "Out of Season" to 8 hours a week.

                  What Counts
                  * Practices (not more than 4 hours per day).
                  * Athletics meetings with a coach initiated or required by a coach (e.g., end of season individual meetings).
                  * Competition (and associated activities, regardless of their length, count as 3 hours). NOTE: No countable athletically related activities may occur after the competition.
                  * Field, floor or on-court activity.
                  * Setting up offensive and defensive alignment.
                  * On-court or on-field activities called by any member of the team and confined primarily to members of that team.
                  * Required weight-training and conditioning activities.
                  * Required participation in camps/clinics.
                  * Visiting the competition site in the sports of cross country, golf and skiing.
                  * Participation outside the regular season in individual skill-related instructional activities with a member of the coaching staff.
                  * Discussion or review of game films.
                  * Participation in a physical activity class for student athletes only and taught by a member of the athletics
                  staff (e.g., coach).

                  What Doesn't Count
                  * Compliance Meetings
                  * Meetings with a coach initiated by the student-athlete (as long as no countable activities occur).
                  * Drug/alcohol educational meetings or CHAMPS/Life Skills meetings.
                  * Study hall, tutoring or academic meetings.
                  * Student-athlete advisory committee/Captain’s Council Meetings.
                  * Voluntary weight training not conducted by a coach or staff member.
                  * Voluntary sport-related activities (e.g., initiated by student-athlete, no attendance taken, no coach present).
                  * Traveling to/from the site of competition (as long as no countable activities occur).
                  * Training room activities (e.g., treatment, taping), rehabilitation activities and medical examinations.
                  * Recruiting activities (e.g., student host).
                  * Training table meals.
                  * Attending banquets (e.g., awards or post-season banquets).
                  * Fundraising activities or public relations/promotional
                  activities and community service projects.

                  The reality though is between meetings, film study and strength & conditioning, the average college player even at the highest levels of the college game is probably only spending about 2 hours a day with a ball at their feet. The pro level players are probably doing twice that amount.

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                    #24
                    Damn. College always getting in the way of...........College.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Damn. College always getting in the way of...........College.
                      Why can't stupid colleges just offer official degrees in "Soccer" so our players can compete internationally?

                      Comment


                        #26
                        It's the age of entitlement. Some expect a full scholarship, starting position for 4 years, national titles, individual accolades, a very greased path to med or law school or the like, national team and World Cup glory, and of course a lucrative professional athletic career. And on top that they expect the rest of us to collude and bathe in their alternative realities while foregoing any aspirations of our own.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          It's the age of entitlement. Some expect a full scholarship, starting position for 4 years, national titles, individual accolades, a very greased path to med or law school or the like, national team and World Cup glory, and of course a lucrative professional athletic career. And on top that they expect the rest of us to collude and bathe in their alternative realities while foregoing any aspirations of our own.
                          That is what happens when children are fawned over and told their very presence on the earth is a gift to all. They become narcissists. And when narcissists don't get what they want, when they want, things go poorly.

                          Kids haven't changed. Parents have. And now we have a generation of children who lack the ability to stand on their own without almost constant affirmation.

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