- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Should the USA make an all out effort to be great at soccer?
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:39 pm to QJenk
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:39 pm to QJenk
quote:
I was a football player. average athelete, senior year i decided to go out for soccer just for the hell of it. I had not kicked a ball since 3rd grade. I made the team and was one of the better players on the team strictly to my athleticism, strength, and aggressiveness from football.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble. But your team sucked arse.
quote:
I became nearly just as good as some guys who played almost their whole lives in the course of a season. and i played for fun
"playing your whole life" doesn't mean shite if you've been play rec ball your whole life, which I'm guessing these guys did.
0
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:43 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
We have several guys 6'4" and taller. Omar Gonzalez is 6'5".
Then why didn't I see some monster of a human being in a white shirt controlling the ball against 3 defenders who could not get around him? I am talking about guys with size that have legit skill. Omar does not, and you know it.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:45 pm to ULSU
quote:
I am talking about guys with size that have legit skill
Extremely rare for a reason. The taller you are, the further your feet are away from your COM.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:46 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
quote:
Might be good to have more than 1 of him
You mean like Fabian Johnson?
Are you just being contrarian because? Are you tellnig me the US talent is as good as it can be, and that it would not benefit from kids migrating to soccer instead of being marginal prospects in some "major" sport?
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:48 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
Extremely rare for a reason.
well, so are NBA players
quote:
The taller you are, the further your feet are away from your COM.
and the same issues with that apply to basketball
to take the "athlete" side of the argument, one thing that most soccer diehards do fail to realize quite often is just how quick/agile/balanced these super athletes of the NBA are
there is no guarantee that lebron would have been a great player if he played soccer, but there is nothing that prevents a lebron from being, at the least a dominant keeper/central defender.
all of those "you lose your change of direction with height" arguments do not apply to these super freaks
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:48 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
Extremely rare for a reason. The taller you are, the further your feet are away from your COM.
Understood, and my point is that there's a damn good chance the 6'4" guy with that elite soccer athleticism will not (at this point) see a soccer field because he's chasing some NBA dream that'll never happen.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:49 pm to ULSU
even better are the 5-10/5-11 CBs and point guards on 1AA/D2 teams
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:51 pm to ULSU
No. FJ is FAST AS shite. The thing you don't get is that "athleticism" in the NFL Combine sense is just not AS useful in soccer. Sure it helps, sometimes, to some degree, but only if you have elite skills to back it up. Right now, we just don't have the infrastructure to get the most out of what we have. We are getting there.
Of course, a bigger player pool COULD lead to a better team, but it's no guarantee considering the coaching available. I think right now, we are hitting well above our weight.
Of course, a bigger player pool COULD lead to a better team, but it's no guarantee considering the coaching available. I think right now, we are hitting well above our weight.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:53 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
to take the "athlete" side of the argument, one thing that most soccer diehards do fail to realize quite often is just how quick/agile/balanced these super athletes of the NBA are
Maybe some. But not me. I played against future NBA and NFL players in high school.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:53 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
even better are the 5-10/5-11 CBs and point guards on 1AA/D2 teams
That's really what I am thinking. You aren't going to get the Eric Reid's (although maybe soon), but if we can get kids up to a point where they can make a divergence from bball or football to soccer and have a legitimate career opportunity, it will come. That is why I stated that the next elite US soccer players will likely come from the South or Cali where it is a winter sport (ie football players can play). You'll need some kid like Tyrann Mathieu that is told he's too small or slow for football.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 12:54 pm to ULSU
quote:
but if we can get kids up to a point where they can make a divergence from bball or football to soccer and have a legitimate career opportunity, it will come
It's more likely any one person could make a living playing soccer than it is for basketball or football just based on job opportunity alone. Just saying.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:02 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
It's more likely any one person could make a living playing soccer than it is for basketball or football just based on job opportunity alone. Just saying.
That fact is just starting to be recognized by Americans though. I think this WC has brought to the forefront, the idea that professional Soccer is a very lucrative business. I think a lot more kids (and their parents) will start to consider the soccer option, rather than say football or baseball going forward.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:35 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
all of those "you lose your change of direction with height" arguments do not apply to these super freaks
Agreed wholeheartedly.
What soccerfanjax is saying is that without the proper coaching and develop of technique, even the super freaks of the NBA wouldn't beat teams like Germany because you can't just bull people over in soccer. It is very much a finesse sport.
Like basketball players, soccer players are groomed. A freak athlete can get away with being a football player because a lot less finesse is involved (typically) than in basketball. In basketball, you have to be a freak athlete who can dribble, pass, and shoot, all of which requires a significantly higher amount of hand-eye coordination and body control than most football players must possess, even at the lower levels of the sport. (similarly, baseball is also a finesse sport, dependent almost entirely on technique, rather than physical prowess). To achieve this level of technique, basketball players have to have coaching in that and practice, which is why AAU basketball is effectively the minor leagues of basketball now, similar to a lot of the Under 18 leagues in club soccer.
We don't yet have that developmental, AAU type league that is massively popular in the U.S., but it is getting there. Even then, though, too much focus is on game experience and not technique drilling.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:37 pm to boxcar willie
There's been 19 world cups. 8 countries have won. Spain just won their first title in 2010, and other countries where soccer is the number one sport are still chasing a title. Consider Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Mexico, etc, are chasing their first title and are much more talented and devote more resources than we do.
The USA will eventually have the players to compete and win as an elite power in the world of soccer. But being elite doesn't guarantee a world cup win.
The USA will eventually have the players to compete and win as an elite power in the world of soccer. But being elite doesn't guarantee a world cup win.
This post was edited on 7/2/14 at 1:39 pm
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:48 pm to thebert4130
Yeah, we'll get there. The US currently has just 1 fewer Quarterfinal appearance in the WC than Mexico. Yes, the almighty Mexican gods of futbol have never even made a semi final. We aren't behind them at this point, probably even.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:53 pm to thebert4130
quote:
Mexico
quote:
much more talented and devote more resources than we do
I agree with the rest, but this is just....no.
This post was edited on 7/2/14 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:55 pm to ULSU
We are better than Mexico and that won't change. Mexico won't even be second soon, with teams like Costa Rica on the rise.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 2:01 pm to thesoccerfanjax
You got the point though.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 3:56 pm to ULSU
quote:Would be cramping by the 35th minute.
Patrick Peterson
kidding.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 10:42 pm to boxcar willie
quote:
But for arguments sake, even if you want to subtract out all the brothas playing football and basketball, that still leaves 250 million whites and latinos. Germany does it with a country of 80 million people. Uraguay has 3 million people. That brothas don't like soccer is a poor excuse.
I get what you're saying and I get what he's saying too.
I played soccer growing up but my friends all went on to play other sports so I did too.
In hindsight I should have stuck with soccer because I could have been a better soccer player than football or basketball. But it wasn't cool so I focused on other sports.
Page 7 of 7
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News