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Why I assume American soccer will improve
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:14 pm
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:14 pm
and eventually be a world power. Now, full discolure. I wouldn't really call myself a soccer guy. But, I am old enough to remember a few things.
The reality is that while a lot of kids play soccer now, this is a relatively new phenomenon. By "relatively new", I mean that the reality is that it really was only about 20-25 years ago that the phenomenon of most kids at least playing some soccer started. Prior to that, you had wide swaths of kids that never were exposed to it at all.
This means that only now are the first generations of players plucked from a pool of "most" kids arriving to world stage playing age.
BUT, let's be honest. That first pool didn't have access to all that great a coaching pool at the outset. In many cases, "dad the coach" may have had literally ZERO soccer experience himself.
Just relate it to little league. The vast majority of dads coaching little league at least had some degree of experience with the sport meaning more kids get good coaching than otherwise might. Same for pee wee football. Just look at me for example. I coach little league and I played HS ball at the 5A level. I was pretty good. Hence, I may not be a Major League coach but, my kids at least have access to someone who f'n did it.
BUT, 25 years ago, most of those soccer coaches had NOT played much growing up.
TODAY, that is almost certainly different. Now, the coaches are coming from that first pool of players 25 years ago and, that will only increase as they age and have playing age children.
Bottom line is that statistically, today, there is a GREATLY increased likelihood of the two necessary ingredients to at least start towards adult greatness.
1)Talented athlete at least tries soccer
2)Talented athlete is coached by someone who at least knows and has experience with soccer.
After that, it's just a numbers game.
The reality is that while a lot of kids play soccer now, this is a relatively new phenomenon. By "relatively new", I mean that the reality is that it really was only about 20-25 years ago that the phenomenon of most kids at least playing some soccer started. Prior to that, you had wide swaths of kids that never were exposed to it at all.
This means that only now are the first generations of players plucked from a pool of "most" kids arriving to world stage playing age.
BUT, let's be honest. That first pool didn't have access to all that great a coaching pool at the outset. In many cases, "dad the coach" may have had literally ZERO soccer experience himself.
Just relate it to little league. The vast majority of dads coaching little league at least had some degree of experience with the sport meaning more kids get good coaching than otherwise might. Same for pee wee football. Just look at me for example. I coach little league and I played HS ball at the 5A level. I was pretty good. Hence, I may not be a Major League coach but, my kids at least have access to someone who f'n did it.
BUT, 25 years ago, most of those soccer coaches had NOT played much growing up.
TODAY, that is almost certainly different. Now, the coaches are coming from that first pool of players 25 years ago and, that will only increase as they age and have playing age children.
Bottom line is that statistically, today, there is a GREATLY increased likelihood of the two necessary ingredients to at least start towards adult greatness.
1)Talented athlete at least tries soccer
2)Talented athlete is coached by someone who at least knows and has experience with soccer.
After that, it's just a numbers game.
This post was edited on 7/2/14 at 1:21 pm
6
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:16 pm to ShortyRob
Agreed
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:17 pm to Xenophon
good points 
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:17 pm to Xenophon
quote:
Agreed
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:19 pm to ShortyRob
Agreed. Pretty crazy how recent the "dad the coach" era was. Jozy talked about how when he was in middle school he was really the only one with any kind of soccer experience at all. How crazy is it that a player like him even played middle school soccer? That would NEVER, EVER happen now.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:23 pm to thesoccerfanjax
Good points.
I remember playing soccer when I was younger and my dad, who played D1 football as a WR and is now about 60 years old, would tell me how he enjoyed watching the sport then but they just never really had it around when he was my age.
I remember playing soccer when I was younger and my dad, who played D1 football as a WR and is now about 60 years old, would tell me how he enjoyed watching the sport then but they just never really had it around when he was my age.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:23 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
Agreed. Pretty crazy how recent the "dad the coach" era was. Jozy talked about how when he was in middle school he was really the only one with any kind of soccer experience at all. How crazy is it that a player like him even played middle school soccer? That would NEVER, EVER happen now.
I went to HS in the late 80s. My HS had a good soccer team that made the state finals. BUT, this was done almost entirley on the backs of two foreign kids who moved to my school their Sophomore year. They were light years better than the other kids. Hell, there were STARTERS on that HS team that STARTED playing soccer IN high school!
That seems like a long time ago I'm sure to many on this board but think about what that story tells you about the number of potentially knowledgable coaches that existed 25 years ago when today's players were born?
Posted on 7/2/14 at 1:48 pm to ShortyRob
Good post
I received the benefit of some excellent coaching later in my youth. But my first coach (like U-8 level) was a drunk dad who told us to "lean back and point our tallywhackers to the sun" when he was demonstrating a throw-in. Surely we are moving beyond that in most parts of this country.
I received the benefit of some excellent coaching later in my youth. But my first coach (like U-8 level) was a drunk dad who told us to "lean back and point our tallywhackers to the sun" when he was demonstrating a throw-in. Surely we are moving beyond that in most parts of this country.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 2:13 pm to ShortyRob
Good post. Refreshing point about coaching as opposed to "If we can just get Lebron to play soccer." Honestly the coaching is something that never really occurred to me.
I remember when I was a lot younger I played soccer, baseball, football, basketball and ran track. Every single coach some sort of experience in the sport except the soccer coach. All we were taught to do was pass it to the foreign kid that knew how to dribble and score, pretty sure thats why all my friends and I quit playing.
I remember when I was a lot younger I played soccer, baseball, football, basketball and ran track. Every single coach some sort of experience in the sport except the soccer coach. All we were taught to do was pass it to the foreign kid that knew how to dribble and score, pretty sure thats why all my friends and I quit playing.
This post was edited on 7/2/14 at 2:15 pm
Posted on 7/2/14 at 2:37 pm to ShortyRob
The coaching observation is quite true, but there is also the exposure to high level of play. American kids see the highlights from sports that are on television and they head to the playgrounds and emulate the plays they see. Thus you have very young kids who can dribble basketballs behind their backs and through their legs. Our kids haven't been able to see those same types of skills in soccer until quite recently. The youth players today are doing more with the ball than the players of even 10 years ago because they are able to emulate the better soccer they can watch on TV and the internet.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 2:48 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
Agreed. Pretty crazy how recent the "dad the coach" era was
It was very recent indeed. Heck, less than a decade ago I found myself as a coach of my sons teams from around U-9 through U-12. And I knew absolutely nothing about soccer outside of one part of a PE class I took in college.
And the funny thing is I was able to have successful teams just using resources like soccehelp.com, other web sites and books, and drawing on what I learned (pro and con) from watching other people coach. And the reason was other coaches didn't have any experience either.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 2:52 pm to Toby Flenderson
quote:Don't get me wrong. I'm not dismissing the fact that our best athletes today generally don't pick soccer in the first place.
If we can just get Lebron to play soccer
That's why I say TWO key elements. Almost all kids at least getting exposed to soccer(meaning tomorrow's Lebron might at least try it out when he's 6) AND, when he does, the coach has a much better chance of being someone who knows WTF he's talking about.
Simple reality is, we don't need ALL future Lebron/Kobe's or even Odell Beckhams to try soccer and get good coaching. We just need a small percentage of them to do so. If only 1% of our top athletes fall into this categor in the future, that will still represent a deeper pool of kids than many entire nations that are good at Soccer(see Belgium)
Posted on 7/2/14 at 3:08 pm to ShortyRob
That's a good point. My first soccer coach new absolutely nothing about soccer. He designated one of the fast / crazy kids on the team as the "Wild Man" and that person would roam the whole field and didn't play any particular position. It was ridiculous.
Posted on 7/2/14 at 3:10 pm to ShortyRob
quote:
BUT, this was done almost entirley on the backs of two foreign kids who moved to my school their Sophomore year.
Was it these guys?
Posted on 7/2/14 at 3:13 pm to Toby Flenderson
quote:
I remember when I was a lot younger I played soccer, baseball, football, basketball and ran track. Every single coach some sort of experience in the sport except the soccer coach. All we were taught to do was pass it to the foreign kid that knew how to dribble and score, pretty sure thats why all my friends and I quit playing.
My wife's HS soccer team finished 2nd in the state twice in the late 90s and her coach was the Economics teacher who had never played the sport. You don't see that anymore, especially at the Varsity HS level.
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