Soccer Camp Advice

quote:

---

As an 8th grader, my kid lettered on the high school team in 3A soccer. As a 9th grader got All District 2nd Team.

---

Your kid is doing better in 9th grade than I did throughout my entire HS career.

But seriously, it sounds like your kid doesn't need a soccer camp. Why did he pick Texas A&M's soccer camp? They aren't one of the well known soccer powers as far as college goes (Akron, Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, UCLA, SMU, etc).

My advice to him is to keep doing what he's doing. Obviously he's good, and "hanging with the big boys" is something he's used to. I'm not sure if he's big or small, but if he's younger (and especially if he is smaller) we can assume guys will try to push him off the ball. He needs to know well how to shield and draw fouls. If people push him he needs to push back. If you show that you aren't going to give in then people will eventually learn to respect you as a player, but if you get frustrated and flustered the other guys will continue to screw with you.

Also, I went to one soccer camp in my life, in HS, and it was miserable. I hope his experience is better. That said, pretentious douche bags tend to flock to soccer for some reason, so tell him not to be surprised if some guys are just plain assholes. Try not to get in any fights.

PS- Does he go to HS in BR? For camp- Make sure he has sun screen and maybe a fan or something.

Where is he transferring to my friend?

quote:

---

PS- Does he go to HS in BR?

---

Through last year but changing schools in the fall to out of town.

quote:

---

Plays mid field defense but got offesive player of the year at the athletic banquet

---

Well there's that, too. Like others have said, he needs to be in a more forward role in midfield.

What is he like as a player? Size? Speed? Technique?

Aggressive. Very fast. Good footwork. Like dribbling using the sides of the field and weaving through people. Good passer and reads the field well. 5' 11".

just teasing, but seriously some of those kids do a lot of crazy drugs

quote:

---

Aggressive. Very fast. Good footwork. Like dribbling using the sides of the field and weaving through people. Good passer and reads the field well. 5' 11".

---

This may sound completely counterintuitive to an emerging player, but get him to dribble far less. Once he starts going against smarter and quicker defenders, an over-reliance on dribbling is going to stunt his growth. A mature player can recognize that he's trapped and make a much safer pass back to a defender.

It's fine if he takes one or two touches to get the ball out of a packed crowd, but he should work on making simple passes in crowded areas. The most aggravating things fairly talented high school players do is try to out-run or dribble past opponents. He needs to watch Iniesta, Silva and Xavi for Spain, and focus on how quickly the release the ball after getting it. Players like that already know where their teammates are and where they're going to pass prior to even receiving the ball.

My only advice would be to sit him down and make sure he watches as much soccer as possible on the weekends. DVR as many matches you can and make him watch. Like Thenry said, there is a tremendous amount to be learned by just watching players like Xavi and Iniesta play. Their soccer IQ is so fricking high that it could compensate for any athleticism they may lack (not that they in particular lack any). Getting rid of the ball quickly and making good intelligent passes is just as important as scoring a bicycle kick goal. Young players could stand to benefit a lot from realizing that.