- 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: Disgruntled youth club soccer coach who quit
Posted on 7/11/26 at 8:07 am to Violent Hip Swivel
Posted on 7/11/26 at 8:07 am to Violent Hip Swivel
quote:
One of the most interesting things he said is that youth players would be better off playing on smaller fields at a later age, and that would develop the kids' touch and skills better, but a youth club can't take in as much money playing 5 vs. 5 or 7 vs. 7 as opposed to 11 vs. 11.
I’m the minority and that’s fine but small sided games are overated. You know who is the king of small sided games? Brazil.
Look where that got Brazil.
It’s just a piece of the puzzle and vastly overated by many.
Small sided games don’t train goalies and look what happened to the US?
The Germans historically and today’s Norway don’t excel by small sided game training. Sure they are good at it also. But you can win with power football by passing, being tall, owning set pieces, etc.
There’s more than one way to play the game
ETA: my knock on small sided games being overly done at practice is that the very basic small sided games is street and neighborhood ball. It’s what kids can train at home doing and do all the time. So over doing it at practice leaves you missing out on things kids don’t practice at home.
This post was edited on 7/11/26 at 8:10 am
2
Posted on 7/11/26 at 8:26 am to baldona
quote:
There’s more than one way to play the game
ETA: my knock on small sided games being overly done at practice is that the very basic small sided games is street and neighborhood ball. It’s what kids can train at home doing and do all the time. So over doing it at practice leaves you missing out on things kids don’t practice at home.
I brought up small sided more about the cultural difference between the US and most of Europe. Spain is content playing small sided, not concerned with winning, the US is results based at an early age, not development.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 10:37 am to Citica8
quote:
not concerned with winning,
I don't believe this at all. You guys love to say this and I'd like to see evidence. Its a great ideological theory to talk about.
They don't care about winning the junior competitions? U-17 and U-21? They don't give a shite at all?
Where does "not concerned about winning" start and stop?
ETA; As a parent and a coach I'll tell you why I don't believe in this "winning isn't important". Because when you lose and when you are down goals, the game changes. No different than American football. You don't play the same if you are losing 21-0 as you do if its tied 7-7. So no, I don't believe for a second that training to train and not playing games to try and win is beneficial for development. There's a massive psychological effect of routinely losing also.
Before anyone comes in and says "there's a difference between training and losing", no there's not. You either play to win or you don't.
This post was edited on 7/11/26 at 10:45 am
Posted on 7/11/26 at 10:41 am to baldona
As said above, one of the reasons "small sided games' are very popular in places like Brazil, Italy, and Europe is because their communities don't have full size fields.
I'm not convinced they think its more important as much as, that's what they have available to train.
I'm also again not suggested small sided games don't have value, I just feel like concentrating on any single aspect is just Monday morning coaching and ignorant.
I'm not convinced they think its more important as much as, that's what they have available to train.
I'm also again not suggested small sided games don't have value, I just feel like concentrating on any single aspect is just Monday morning coaching and ignorant.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 11:47 am to baldona
It’s not that winning isn’t important, it’s that it should not take priority over development. Do you think Barcelona has 10 year olds playing down a division or two in a tournament to get them a medal? Are they losing kids to clubs further away because there “wasn’t enough emphasis on winning” before even getting to 11v11 when you’re putting your club team in older age groups and playing up divisions to challenge them? Thats happening here.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 12:21 pm to baldona
quote:I like how you mention Brazil knocked out early but not Germany who was knocked out a round earlier.
The Germans historically and today’s Norway don’t excel by small sided game training. Sure they are good at it also. But you can win with power football by passing, being tall, owning set pieces, etc.
quote:
The German youth soccer system relies on a grassroots club-based model, overseen by the DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund). At the youngest ages, it mandates a streamlined, child-centric format called Funino—featuring small-sided games (e.g., 3v3 or 4v4) with rotating players, no referees, and a focus on maximizing touches and goals.For teenagers, the system transitions to a competitive tiered ladder with promotion and relegation. The pinnacle of the youth pyramid is the Nachwuchsleistungszentrum (NLZ), which represents the elite youth academies run by professional Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs.
All of the European countries focus on small sided games. United States is actually the worst when it comes to bigger fields and more kids per team at a younger age than pretty much anywhere in the world.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 4:02 pm to saderade
quote:Jurgen made major changes to the way the youth development system is set up in America at the grassroots level, modeling after many euro systems. It has not been in place long enough to see the results, but the bridge to 11v11 still needs work, this is where the business of sports, the egos of adults, and parents desire to see their kids winning is colliding with the ultimate goal, building an elite pool playing at the highest level
United States is actually the worst when it comes to bigger fields and more kids per team at a younger age than pretty much anywhere in the world
Posted on 7/11/26 at 5:45 pm to Citica8
Serious question to you soccer guys from a hockey coach about player development. Do you guys not play small area games as a part of your practices? Don't have one off camps where somebody just organizes a thrown together 5v5 or 7v7 tournament?
Divide up the field into 4 sections and have four 5v5 games going on at once (just an example).
In hockey, that is a large part of how we teach the game, by playing small area games with different rule sets for each game, different numbers 3v3, 4v2, 4v4, 4v3, you get the idea. There are 3v3 cross ice tournaments that are just thrown together deals that kids just sign up for and you'rethrown on a team
Given how much ice costs and how many players are on the ice at once (often multiple teams on the ice at once), it's almost a necessity to run practices like this, but it works out best this way.
Focus is on number of puck touches, reps, keeping players moving during a practice. If I were to coach a soccer practice, believe me I have never played and haven't a clue, I would probably modify a hockey practice and mimic it for a soccer practice. I bet it would work too.
Soccer doesn't even have ice rental costs. All you need is open park space and a ball and you could have a practice.
Divide up the field into 4 sections and have four 5v5 games going on at once (just an example).
In hockey, that is a large part of how we teach the game, by playing small area games with different rule sets for each game, different numbers 3v3, 4v2, 4v4, 4v3, you get the idea. There are 3v3 cross ice tournaments that are just thrown together deals that kids just sign up for and you'rethrown on a team
Given how much ice costs and how many players are on the ice at once (often multiple teams on the ice at once), it's almost a necessity to run practices like this, but it works out best this way.
Focus is on number of puck touches, reps, keeping players moving during a practice. If I were to coach a soccer practice, believe me I have never played and haven't a clue, I would probably modify a hockey practice and mimic it for a soccer practice. I bet it would work too.
Soccer doesn't even have ice rental costs. All you need is open park space and a ball and you could have a practice.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 6:50 pm to SoDakHawk
quote:
Serious question to you soccer guys from a hockey coach about player development.
Lacrosse does what I think you're talking about (same basic mechanics, but different game parameters); my kid played regular and box lacrosse, and box seems to have fallen off in the 13-14 year old range.
quote:
Characteristics of Box Lacrosse
Key Features
Playing Area: Box lacrosse is played in a smaller, enclosed space, typically on an ice hockey rink that has been converted for the game.
Team Composition: Each team consists of six players: five runners and one goalie.
Physicality: The game allows for a higher level of physical contact compared to field lacrosse, making it a more intense sport.
Posted on 7/11/26 at 7:51 pm to LemmyLives
I've watched box lacrosse in Minnesota. Friend of mine kid played box and field.
Box lacrosse is fun to watch.
Seems a lot of the development methods are transferrable across these sports.
Does youth soccer in the USA focus on small area skills? I really don't know, not my world, but I've been following this WC and listening to all you soccer guys post and your issues about training are so similar to the crossroads USA Hockey faced about 25 years ago when it comes to player development.
Box lacrosse is fun to watch.
Seems a lot of the development methods are transferrable across these sports.
Does youth soccer in the USA focus on small area skills? I really don't know, not my world, but I've been following this WC and listening to all you soccer guys post and your issues about training are so similar to the crossroads USA Hockey faced about 25 years ago when it comes to player development.
Page 2 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News