Let's suppose that a coach would like his team to consistently execute deliberately orchestrated possession-centered, attacking, attractive, and winning soccer during matches. But it's just not happening.
Here are the two main possibilities:
1) The players are not at the level of competition.
Here's a recent email I got regarding soccer camps:
My son is 12 and [has been] in club soccer for 3 years. He loves the game and is in the top 25% of his team (not top 5%). He plays wing back right or left. Is short, fast and technical.
What gets us in trouble is that anyone, absolutely anyone, can be a "coach".
Everyone's got thoughts and a narrative about the game. And no matter how ill-developed, incoherent, or superficial it may be, that falls into the philosophy bucket.
Because what we stand for is genuine passion, and the genuine pursuit and study of excellence.
This is a man with the courage to expose his humanity. To expose his inner self even if it transcends what others have outlined as acceptable. And that not only makes him remarkable, but I believe is the enormous difference he holds over others.
The perception and values associated with the practice of recruiting depends on who's doing the
perceiving and the act itself be it an organization, coach, player, parent, or whoever.
This post will take the position of what every interested party supposedly wants. Development
and a meritocracy.
Maybe not the individuals ...
or maybe so (think of all the shit that's said about Busquets).
But moreso, it's what they represent.
They have been exposing all of American soccer shortcomings and fallacies in a way that's
unprecedented. What they've been doing has gone against what the American rhetoric has been for
decades.
Orlando, FL Following the overtime, pk's, post game celebrations, and the long
journey out of the complex we reached our hotel at 10:30 am. The boys had one hour to rest.
Instructions were crystal clear. Rest your bodies with legs elevated, hydrate with plenty of
gatorade, and eat fruit and power bars to refuel before the final.
Orlando, FL The Barcelona USA under 11 boys continue to rack up the frequent
flyer miles and are currently in Florida to participate in the Danone Nations Cup. We arrived
Thursday afternoon with our sights set on the prize. Winner gets an all expense trip to Poland in
a few months to compete in the World Finals against other champions from participating
countries.
Pretty much everyone in this country would agree the system is broken.
And pretty much everyone is WRONG!
Wrong about precisely what it is that's broken. You see, everyone just parrots the reasons the
status quo protectors sell them. But the real problem is the status quo
protectors themselves.
In the US, people point to "culture" as our fundamental impediment to excellence.
And the arguments come in many flavors. But what they say essentially boils down to one
theme:
Numbers
We don't have the numbers, they say.
Numbers in terms of audience
Numbers in terms of consumers
Numbers in terms of money
Numbers in terms of "best athletes" (whatever that means)
Numbers in terms of how many years MLS (or any infrastructure) has been around
They argue that if we did have the numbers (always sold out stadiums, NFL level TV
audiences, MLB level player salaries, a 70 year old league instead of 19, etc .
Until you cry for a team, you probably don't have what it takes.
Not as a player, not as a coach, not as a fan, not as a reporter, not as anyone.
It means you don't feel this game in your soul, it means you don't understand the genuine
emotional labor involved and the sacrifice, it means you lack skin in the game.
As it relates to a post, let me just say that it's ok if a reader "doesn't get it".
People can't be convinced or changed with a solitary article not at their core anyways.
Every time I write one of these, my brain screams:
We've mentioned the phrase 'Set Tactical Work' often, but I know this is a foreign notion to the American Soccer Community at all levels.
So let me try to give a more familiar concept. Set Tactical Work is essentially Choreography.
Here's an example from the 3four3 curriculum.
Now, Rich asked the following:
I think for many of us at the younger ages, it goes back to what I asked in the comments section a number of months ago: how often and what depths do you go into for set tactical work at U9, U10, U11, U12?
