Club / Select Soccer?

[BrickHorn 18262]

My kids are both soccer players.  So far we’ve kept them in rec leagues.  But both of them are fairly serious about the game and I think could use some more development.

We are currently looking at Rangers, Liverpool, and Westlake.  Anyone have insight into those clubs?  We don’t want anything that is too intense, but would like to give the kids the option to compete at as high a level as they can.  

[freyguy 4284]

Parents are much nicer / more stable in any of the non-Westlake leagues.

[Mr. Drummond 2199]

Is lonestar not there anymore?  They were the only decent club in austin when my soccer daughter was playing top level club in Houston.

[deadshank 24653]

My out of state niece played club and HS soccer and would come to Texas when the big club tourneys would be in SA or Dallas.  We'd go see her play and watch teams from all over the US.  

The Lonestar parents were, embarrassingly, the biggest douche bag A-holes there.   I'm hoping they were all CA transplants. 

 

/csb

[BrickHorn 18262]

Lonestars is still the top club here, but I don’t love my children enough to drive them to Cedar Park twice a week.

[Jerry Callo 8716]

14 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Lonestars is still the top club here, but I don’t love my children enough to drive them to Cedar Park twice a week.

Lonestar also has a south group.  They practice at Westcreek off of 290, I believe.

[HornOnTheBayou 8945]

15 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Lonestars is still the top club here, but I don’t love my children enough to drive them to Cedar Park twice a week.

The Cedar Park site is pretty small. There's a larger site at the Town and Country fields near Parmer and Anderson Mill.

[jimmyjazz 46042]

Lonestar is a money grab.  They'll pretty much fill teams until they run out of kids, which lets some pretty average players trot around in their fancy black and red Lonestar gear while their shitbag parents scream at the refs. 

Rangers seems to truly be "more select".  (Selecter?) 

I don't know anything about Westlake or Liverpool.

[Chico_SA 521]

Boys or Girls?  Ages? As a side job/passion, I currently train a U19 Boys team in SA.  For disclosure, I brought my team over to  Lonestar SA this year from a smaller club, but Lonestar SA is run separately from the Austin mother ship and I have no allegiance to them.  Been with this boys team since they were U 16.  I've also worked with several girls teams from U10 to U15 age ranges,  Rec to Premier.  I would have to disagree on Rangers being "more select".   There have been some good teams.   Same with Liverpool. Westlake has some solid but not spectacular boys team.  Small environment would be nice I'm sure.  However, the TOP teams at Lonestar in Austin are in my experience, are head and shoulders better than most Austin club teams I've coached against.  However, I've also faced off against some low quality Lonestar teams. 

I have easy access to team rankings and records for most clubs.  You can PM me ages and I would be happy to do a little research for you.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Chico_SA

[jimmyjazz 46042]

I didn't mean to imply that Rangers were better than the top Lonestar clubs, but rather that there are fewer Rangers teams and their talent cutoff on the low end is better.

[Chico_SA 521]

Got you.  Not a bad thing, especially if the kids are pretty young and the trainers are good.  

 

[gsoda3 3280]

age?  my 7 year old's played against both rangers and liverpool teams this year.  liverpool was futsal but they were really good.  rangers.... meh. 

[wreckatx 141]

My son is about to turn ten and has played Westlake club for several years. He will move up to select in the fall. It’s been a pretty good experience. I’ve found the parents overall to be pretty nice. We practice and play most of our games at either hill country middle school or Westlake high which is convenient. I’m painting with a broad brush, but Lonestar coaches have seemed a little more harsh than ours. Of course, they usually have better teams. That said, there are asshole parents and coaches everywhere.

[midtown 3348]

I've know chicosa my whole life.  He knows what he's talking about.  I go to him on guidance for my now 8 yr old.   We found a east side San Antonio club that is trying to build a team to compete with the uber clubs but still keep that family feel.   My daughter has been asked to be on a bigger club but based on her request, location and the comfort of the other club she is staying put until middle school.   One of our players is 7 and is a prodigy.  My daughter plays with him when she plays on the U9 boys and every club in the city has approached his dad about moving to the uber clubs.  All of them have offered full scholarships and the chance to win lots of game, play with better players and win trophies.  He's told them all the same thing.  'I don't want him on a team with all good players winning trophies, I want him to learn to play with players of different skill, background, I don't want to only win trophies but learn how to lose and overcome adversity".  Same kid just got picked up by the SA FC for their development academy.  

Our club also got to do the walkout for the CONCAF semi here in SA.   It was so bad ass.  

 

We recently beat Lonestar SA in the winter indoor league.  You could tell their parents were NOT happy about losing the championship to an east side unknown non-blue blood esp since half our team was girls and because we have a small program our u10 is filled with 8 yr olds and even some 7's like the player above.   One of the dads walked by us and said "cheaters".  I just said "relax man, its 10 yr old soccer"

My only complaint is that her coach wants her to play   A LOT.  She plays U9 girls, U9 boys, and sometimes U10 boys.   IMO too much. 

Edited May 12, 2018 by midtown

[wreckatx 141]

So my 10yo boy has always played soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He likes both and so do we, but the kids that play year round in each respective sport are starting to lap him. He always catches up, but I can still see them pulling away. Any advice here? 

[freyguy 4284]

What you’re seeing is kids starting to develop at different times and rates.  Playing multiple sports is better, helps balance out the burden on the body.  Let him tell you what he wants to play, and understand that he isn’t going to be a professional.  Experience, enjoyment and memories are what’s most important from kids sports.

[Anastasis 23481]

10 hours ago, wreckatx said:

So my 10yo boy has always played soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He likes both and so do we, but the kids that play year round in each respective sport are starting to lap him. He always catches up, but I can still see them pulling away. Any advice here? 

Heading same direction with my son. Would like to hear any thoughts. 

[Anastasis 23481]

On 4/27/2018 at 11:37 AM, jimmyjazz said:

Lonestar is a money grab.  They'll pretty much fill teams until they run out of kids, which lets some pretty average players trot around in their fancy black and red Lonestar gear while their shitbag parents scream at the refs. 

Rangers seems to truly be "more select".  (Selecter?) 

I don't know anything about Westlake or Liverpool.

At the younger end, talking 6-10 years old, my observation is that the lonestar teams are all over the place.  Some appear very well put together, and others not so much.  

[Ollie Slatt 289]

On 5/11/2018 at 11:50 PM, wreckatx said:

So my 10yo boy has always played soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He likes both and so do we, but the kids that play year round in each respective sport are starting to lap him. He always catches up, but I can still see them pulling away. Any advice here? 

I will preface this by saying I have no idea what I am talking about and have not had kids go through this yet . . . but I plan to encourage my boys to play multiple different sports.  I don't want my kids wrapping their identify up in a single sport or putting too much pressure on themselves to be really good at a single sport.  

I also think that playing multiple sports can help build overall athleticism.  I know James Washington played every sport available in high school and credits his football ability to that.  http://newsok.com/article/5459585

 

[midtown 3348]

21 hours ago, Ollie Slatt said:

I will preface this by saying I have no idea what I am talking about and have not had kids go through this yet . . . but I plan to encourage my boys to play multiple different sports.  I don't want my kids wrapping their identify up in a single sport or putting too much pressure on themselves to be really good at a single sport.  

I also think that playing multiple sports can help build overall athleticism.  I know James Washington played every sport available in high school and credits his football ability to that.  http://newsok.com/article/5459585

 

That's all true.  My daughter plays on a club soccer team but also does some basketball and she does summer swim and she does girl scouts and honor choir.  Its completely out of control.   Kids start specializing so early.  My daughter seems to be a pretty good athlete so she can make up her lack of skill training with pure talent but she'd be clueless if she started volleyball and softaball but I promise you she will ask to play. 

 

SA is nice because other than the 4-5 big clubs we probably have 20 more smaller clubs.   Not sure if Austin has that. 

Edited May 15, 2018 by midtown

[Ghost of 3:16 7]

My daughter has played club soccer in Katy since she was in 1st grade. Nothing else besides summer swim.

 She won the 6th grade track meet in the 400 and 800. Also has been the fastest miler each Monday when they run. I think her best was 6:24. She’s 5’6, 118#

 She’s gonna be a team in volleyball and basketball next year. Nothing is final until tryouts, but she’s been basically told.  

So my advice is if the boy loves soccer, let him play year round. It’s the only sport that needs it from a foot skill development. If he’s athletic, the team sports will come easy in jh. 

[wreckatx 141]

6 hours ago, Ghost of 3:16 said:

My daughter has played club soccer in Katy since she was in 1st grade. Nothing else besides summer swim.

 She won the 6th grade track meet in the 400 and 800. Also has been the fastest miler each Monday when they run. I think her best was 6:24. She’s 5’6, 118#

 She’s gonna be a team in volleyball and basketball next year. Nothing is final until tryouts, but she’s been basically told.  

So my advice is if the boy loves soccer, let him play year round. It’s the only sport that needs it from a foot skill development. If he’s athletic, the team sports will come easy in jh. 

Appreciate that.

[jimmyjazz 46042]

Yeah, I'm not sure where the "specialization" thing goes wrong except for (a) kids who don't want to specialize or (b) activities that put undue stress on young bodies (pitching, football).

My son excels in soccer and now track.  He'll play anything you ask him to but he refuses to give up soccer or track.  As long as his grades are good (and we use sports and band as the carrots on a stick) then I'm fine with that.  Frankly, he might have a future in soccer, and that's highly doubtful for track or football.  Top 10% in track gets you . . . girls?  Not much else.  He's too small for football.  I guess I'd let him play baseball if he had time and the inclination, but so far it bores him.

Let your kids do what they want to do, within reason (i.e., safely).

[midtown 3348]

Btw.  Copa Univision is coming to Austin in a few weeks.    If you are looking for a club you might go out there and just watch some of the games in your kids age group 

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

On 5/12/2018 at 7:48 AM, freyguy said:

What you’re seeing is kids starting to develop at different times and rates.  Playing multiple sports is better, helps balance out the burden on the body.  Let him tell you what he wants to play, and understand that he isn’t going to be a professional.  Experience, enjoyment and memories are what’s most important from kids sports.

 

I can't rep this fucking post enough (or whatever it's called here) 

 

It's horrible for developing kids bodies to not get breaks from practicing the same sport over and over again. There's a reason why Orthopedic Doctors are seeing more and more teens and even pre teens with joint and ligament damage earlier and earlier. You have douche bag parents and coaches training their 8 year old like they are an Olympic athlete. Let them play as many sports (fuck that activities) as they want. Once they get older THEN they can decide to narrow it down or not depending on what they want to do. 

A friend of a friend who son is a great athlete and made the freshmen baseball team at his middle school. He has played "travel ball" since he was 7 and was still going to play even though he made the middle school team. Well playing in a weekend 14U tournament three days after making the middle school team he blew out his elbow and is done for the year. The Doctor said it's serious enough that he probably won't be able to play anything other than 2nd base moving forward because at 14 his arm is shot. 

It's fucking idiotic that these parents and coaches don't realize they are fucking damaging their own kids by playing year round and think that their kid is going to be the next star in whatever sport.  

[wreckatx 141]

11 minutes ago, JimmyHoffa said:

 

I can't rep this fucking post enough (or whatever it's called here) 

 

It's horrible for developing kids bodies to not get breaks from practicing the same sport over and over again. There's a reason why Orthopedic Doctors are seeing more and more teens and even pre teens with joint and ligament damage earlier and earlier. You have douche bag parents and coaches training their 8 year old like they are an Olympic athlete. Let them play as many sports (fuck that activities) as they want. Once they get older THEN they can decide to narrow it down or not depending on what they want to do. 

A friend of a friend who son is a great athlete and made the freshmen baseball team at his middle school. He has played "travel ball" since he was 7 and was still going to play even though he made the middle school team. Well playing in a weekend 14U tournament three days after making the middle school team he blew out his elbow and is done for the year. The Doctor said it's serious enough that he probably won't be able to play anything other than 2nd base moving forward because at 14 his arm is shot. 

It's fucking idiotic that these parents and coaches don't realize they are fucking damaging their own kids by playing year round and think that their kid is going to be the next star in whatever sport.  

I get all of this, and I actually agree wholeheartedly with the post you're quoting. I was a multi-sport athlete through high school and I have resisted putting my son in any sport more thane season a year for all of these reason, but, I also want to put him in the best position to succeed.  Not to be a professional athlete - I don't have any illusions there - just to succeed at the level where he is and hopefully be able to letter in a sport or two in high school.  I am not one of "those parents" by any stretch.  So, I am torn because I can see the kids playing soccer in the fall and spring and/or baseball in the fall and spring getting better.  My boy usually catches up, but it takes him a decent chunk of the season.  One thing I am going to do is make sure I am working with him to knock whatever rust off we can before starting up a sport he's laid off of again.   

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

I'm a strong advocate for kids playing multiple sports vs trying to specialize in just one. I have two daughters who from an early age played year round soccer and participated in summer swim team. When they got into middle school, both excelled in all of their school sports (volleyball, basketball, cross country and track/field). One still plays nearly year round club soccer, and the other nearly year round volleyball. Both club sports break for the summer and they are back in the pool for summer swim team. 

 

One thing we do to knock off the rust before either soccer/volleyball starts back up is to sign the girls up for a specialized camp/lessons. This allows them a break during the summer, but helps them get back to where they were skill wise before the season or tryouts start. I can't speak to baseball conditioning or drills, but with soccer it is as simple as getting 30 minutes of touches/agility drills in the back yard a couple times/wk to keep the foot eye coordination consistent.

 

Edit to add, that both still participate on their school teams during the club season (either track/field for the volleyball player or volleyball/basketball/track for the soccer player). We let them tell us when they lose interest in a sport or if they want to try something different.

Edited May 15, 2018 by Irwin F Fletcher

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

2 hours ago, wreckatx said:

I get all of this, and I actually agree wholeheartedly with the post you're quoting. I was a multi-sport athlete through high school and I have resisted putting my son in any sport more thane season a year for all of these reason, but, I also want to put him in the best position to succeed.  Not to be a professional athlete - I don't have any illusions there - just to succeed at the level where he is and hopefully be able to letter in a sport or two in high school.  I am not one of "those parents" by any stretch.  So, I am torn because I can see the kids playing soccer in the fall and spring and/or baseball in the fall and spring getting better.  My boy usually catches up, but it takes him a decent chunk of the season.  One thing I am going to do is make sure I am working with him to knock whatever rust off we can before starting up a sport he's laid off of again.   

 

That is a great idea. My kids both love baseball but they love soccer and basketball as well. Knocking off the rust is one thing but the parents and coaches that think or tell you that you or your kid need to decide at age 7-10 what sport to play when they haven't even come close to maturing is comical. 

Bottom line I want the kids to have fun. Development at young ages is what is important not meaningless weekend tournament trophies. 

Edited May 15, 2018 by JimmyHoffa

[sachick 1189]

On 5/15/2018 at 4:14 PM, wreckatx said:

I get all of this, and I actually agree wholeheartedly with the post you're quoting. I was a multi-sport athlete through high school and I have resisted putting my son in any sport more thane season a year for all of these reason, but, I also want to put him in the best position to succeed.  Not to be a professional athlete - I don't have any illusions there - just to succeed at the level where he is and hopefully be able to letter in a sport or two in high school.  I am not one of "those parents" by any stretch.  So, I am torn because I can see the kids playing soccer in the fall and spring and/or baseball in the fall and spring getting better.  My boy usually catches up, but it takes him a decent chunk of the season.  One thing I am going to do is make sure I am working with him to knock whatever rust off we can before starting up a sport he's laid off of again.   

I would look at what the programs are like at the Middle School and High School he will be attending. Depending on how competitive they are he may or may not need to focus on one sport or up his training in both. At some schools being decent will get you on the team in MS and at some you have to be really good to make the team. In our district, at one middle school anyone with athletic ability could make the girls soccer team. At the middle school two miles away, even some girls who have played select for several years did not make the team. It sucks. My daughter went to the more competitive school. She liked playing soccer but she's not really select level. So once she didn't make the team in MS, she was pretty much done with soccer. She would have loved to play and letter in Soccer but her skills just aren't there. Just one of the things that sucks about living in an area where kids have been playing since they were 5 and parents shell out $$ to have them trained. Kids that do it just for fun get left behind.

[jimmyjazz 46042]

Let's not ignore the fact that most middle school coaches are idiots.  My son made and started for his middle school "A" team both years he was eligible.  He probably deserved it -- he's fast as shit, has a high motor and never quits.   But, his soccer skills are somewhat remedial.  Not terrible, but he definitely gets by on athleticism and effort.  Most coaches love that.

His best buddy is as good an athlete and a better soccer player.  "Coach" decides this kid should try out for goalie.  Kid figures "OK, what the hell", doesn't make top 2 and gets cut down to "B" team.  Had the coach bothered to just watch him play striker in a scrimmage he would have seen he was just about the best kid on the field.

tldr:  generic middle school coaches are stupid.  Don't count on them to correctly assess your kid.

[sachick 1189]

59 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Let's not ignore the fact that most middle school coaches are idiots.  My son made and started for his middle school "A" team both years he was eligible.  He probably deserved it -- he's fast as shit, has a high motor and never quits.   But, his soccer skills are somewhat remedial.  Not terrible, but he definitely gets by on athleticism and effort.  Most coaches love that.

His best buddy is as good an athlete and a better soccer player.  "Coach" decides this kid should try out for goalie.  Kid figures "OK, what the hell", doesn't make top 2 and gets cut down to "B" team.  Had the coach bothered to just watch him play striker in a scrimmage he would have seen he was just about the best kid on the field.

tldr:  generic middle school coaches are stupid.  Don't count on them to correctly assess your kid.

Oh for sure, but I can admit my kid wasn't great. I mean, she can play the game but she's no Mia Hamm. And she just happens to be around when her MS/HS is on an upswing of talent, they won state last year. 

[jimmyjazz 46042]

I get it.  You may be right that she didn't really cut it for that level of team.  I'm just trying to say that in many cases club/select soccer teams are better run than their school counterparts.

Now that various Euro clubs (Barcelona, etc.) are bringing soccer schools to Texas I imagine the opportunities for good players will increase even more, without wasting time in school sports.

[Anastasis 23481]

Let's not ignore the fact that most middle school coaches are idiots.  My son made and started for his middle school "A" team both years he was eligible.  He probably deserved it -- he's fast as shit, has a high motor and never quits.   But, his soccer skills are somewhat remedial.  Not terrible, but he definitely gets by on athleticism and effort.  Most coaches love that.

His best buddy is as good an athlete and a better soccer player.  "Coach" decides this kid should try out for goalie.  Kid figures "OK, what the hell", doesn't make top 2 and gets cut down to "B" team.  Had the coach bothered to just watch him play striker in a scrimmage he would have seen he was just about the best kid on the field.

tldr:  generic middle school coaches are stupid.  Don't count on them to correctly assess your kid.

 

If it’s anything like it was when I was in high school, soccer is coached by which ever football assistant coach drew short straw.

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

2 hours ago, Anastasis said:

 

If it’s anything like it was when I was in high school, soccer is coached by which ever football assistant coach drew short straw.

I can speak for high school coaches in Houston, very few are football assistant coaches. I haven't come across a coach who either didn't play soccer or has a mid level coaches license. 

[midtown 3348]

If your kid is serious about playing sports further than HS I dont think there is a single sport other than football where colleges recruit HS players vs club players. 

[gsoda3 3280]

2 hours ago, Anastasis said:

 

If it’s anything like it was when I was in high school, soccer is coached by which ever football assistant coach drew short straw.

it's not like that anymore.  not in centex anyway.  

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

1 hour ago, midtown said:

If your kid is serious about playing sports further than HS I dont think there is a single sport other than football where colleges recruit HS players vs club players. 

This is true. Times have definitely changed from when I was in high school (late 80's). Back then almost all recruiting was done via your high school team. Now, outside of football, all of the elite athletes focus a majority of their time with their club team and very little recruiting is done via the high school. I have a freshman volleyball player and she is already being scouted by college coaches through her club and some of the soccer tournaments my middle school daughter plays in has college coaches already evaluating players. 

[Ghost of 3:16 7]

And my daughter announced she needs a break from soccer. Been playing the club seasons for too many years. Doesn’t want to anymore.

[CooterBrown 18022]

So my 10yo boy has always played soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He likes both and so do we, but the kids that play year round in each respective sport are starting to lap him. He always catches up, but I can still see them pulling away. Any advice here? 

Play many sports. It’s better for the kid in the long run...physically, mentally, socially.

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

4 hours ago, Ghost of 3:16 said:

And my daughter announced she needs a break from soccer. Been playing the club seasons for too many years. Doesn’t want to anymore.

 

and this is the other side of youth sports....................and why kids should play as many sports or do different activities as long as possible. 

[texasdago 7576]

Quote

What you’re seeing is kids starting to develop at different times and rates.  Playing multiple sports is better, helps balance out the burden on the body.  Let him tell you what he wants to play, and understand that he isn’t going to be a professional.  Experience, enjoyment and memories are what’s most important from kids sports.

I certainly agree when it comes to baseball and football.  Soccer?  Not sure... look at other countries that excel in soccer.  Brazil, Italy, Argentina, etc.  They play soccer allllll the time.  They live and breathe it.  Yes, there are other sports like maybe basketball or volleyball (big for males in other countries) but for the most part they are playing soccer.

My son plays on a U9 team.  They are year round in that they have a fall and spring season with breaks in-between.  If I can provide you with any advice, focus on a club that emphasis player and technical development and not a club that focuses on exclusively winning.  Those clubs often have a couple of stars who don't pass and just run up and down the field and try to score every time. Find a team that focuses on ball possession, passing, player development... eventually, winning will come.  Those teams ultimately are the ones that end up putting more players in soccer academies and on college teams.

Oh, and our youngest does play basketball and baseball but as we just saw over the past couple of months, he'll put on his baseball uniform before a game and go outside and play soccer.

Edited May 18, 2018 by texasdago

[BrickHorn 18262]

On 4/27/2018 at 7:46 PM, jimmyjazz said:

I didn't mean to imply that Rangers were better than the top Lonestar clubs, but rather that there are fewer Rangers teams and their talent cutoff on the low end is better.

This is accurate.  At my son’s age level, Rangers will have only one team.  They’ll play at one of the higher competition levels. 

At the same age group, Lonestars will have maybe 10-12 teams spanning across various levels.  The Rangers team would fall somewhere in the upper third of that group.  

I’m actually impressed with the Lonestars culture I’ve seen at practices.  I didn’t expect that whe we first started down this path.  

[BrickHorn 18262]

On 5/18/2018 at 9:13 AM, texasdago said:

If I can provide you with any advice, focus on a club that emphasis player and technical development and not a club that focuses on exclusively winning.  Those clubs often have a couple of stars who don't pass and just run up and down the field and try to score every time. Find a team that focuses on ball possession, passing, player development... eventually, winning will come.  Those teams ultimately are the ones that end up putting more players in soccer academies and on college teams.

This is excellent advice, and it’s why we’re jumping to select.  Our son’s rec team has won a lot of games (including an undefeated season), primarily on the back of one outstanding player and a couple of good strikers.  I like the coaches and appreciate their willingness to volunteer their time, but the development of team play has been stunted.  I’ve been really frustrated by two policies in particular: (1) the defenders are not allowed to go beyond the midfield line EVER, regardless of situation; and (2) forwards and midfielders are told never to pass backward unless it’s an absolute emergency.  That’s just terrible soccer.    My kid’s a good athlete and hard worker, so he’ll be fine.  But we should have moved him to a good program 2 years ago.  Kid came off the field after a club practice recently, just beaming because he was able to push up and contribute to the offense while his midfielder covered for him.

My daughter’s team, by contrast, was lousy for years.  But the coaches are excellent and worked on space, shape, and passing. This past year, the same group of girls that never won just two seasons ago was suddenly at the top of their league and opponent parents were openly praising their level of play.  Now, select programs are recruiting the top players on her team. Their development has been really fun to watch.  

Edited May 29, 2018 by BrickHorn

[jimmyjazz 46042]

It's not really on topic, but you brought it up:  I love watching girls' teams play, especially once they hit that middle school level where the dabblers have dropped out.  Invariably all but the worst teams develop strong spacing and passing skills, which can be terribly frustrating to a "better" opponent not used to that type of play.  My son's indoor team crushed a girls team the first day of winter league a couple of years ago, and wound up playing them again towards the end of the season.  Of course the boys were cocky and all talk before the game, and ended up getting throttled because the girls had really worked on team play over the course of the season.  Those boys weren't talking much after the game.

[texasdago 7576]

5 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

(1) the defenders are not allowed to go beyond the midfield line EVER, regardless of situation; and (2) forwards and midfielders are told never to pass backward unless it’s an absolute emergency.  That’s just terrible soccer.   

Yikes... that's bad.  After watching my son in a soccer tournament this weekend, that is the polar opposite of what they do as a team.  2) is a massive WOW.  That's typically soccer taught by dads who are football coaches who figure, how hard can soccer be?

[BrickHorn 18262]

Yeah.  My son is really excited to play on a select team with paid coaching.  Watching him stand flat-footed at midfield for several seasons, waiting for the other team to come charging forward at full speed just made my blood boil. That kind of uberconservative play is not just bad offense, it’s also bad defense.