⚽️⚽️⚽️…Delusional Youth Soccer Parent Thread
- Thread starter lawpoke87
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Not exactly. He needs Technico. With Stefano gone there weren’t many options other than to come back and run Technico. Probably where he belongs as developing players is his strength.
That's what I thought. Thanks for letting me be 'google it' lazy.
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Really hate that Sting Royal games were canceled last week, we've been clamoring to play WSA for almost a month now.
1-0 win for WSA 12s
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Thanks! We'll take our beating from Royal though so as to not get TOO confident LOL
Nah we play for Energy not in Dallas. We were loyal to TSC until they started doing TSC stuff!!!
No shame in getting blasted by the #4 team in the country.
Real Colorado beat Solar today 3-2. We play Real next Saturday in Denver. The 2010 Real squad has never lost an ECNL game in Denver. Should be fun
I hadn't thought about that. The oxygen in Denver is a little thin if you're not used to it. Of course the heat in Texas is brutal also for them.
Altitude is tough and they play on a very fast turf field. Very difficult to connect through balls due to the speed of the turf. They also play very fast to take advantage of the thin air. They’re still a good team (#5 nationally) but beatable outside of Denver.
right now, I accept that the 5th playoff spot is largely the only one ever in play and this year, we don’t even have that
Playoffs will be absolutely viscous this year. You lose one game and you’re out of National title contention.right now, I accept that the 5th playoff spot is largely the only one ever in play and this year, we don’t even have that
Were you out there yesterday? Field 5 is in rough shape. I was on field 6 at 9, 11, and 1. Preston was the coach in all 3 and he was really upset at my partner in the 9am game. I centered the U13 RLs at 11am. WSA didn't score a single goal in my 3 games (U15s, U13s, U14s). I think the U15s lost 4-0 (maybe 5), U13s lost 9-0, and U14s lost 4-0. The U15s was a really physical game. Coach for Sting wasn't happy about a yellow card in the 2nd half for a really late and bad challenge. Problem is his team got away with a couple late challenges/fouls in the 1st half that went uncalled and I brought it to the center's attention as I had Preston in my ear the entire half. 1st time it happened in the 2nd half and the center whipped out the yellow to set a tone on the late challenges (and it was super late and reckless...I probably would have called one in the 1st half and issued a yellow as it was really bad).
U13s were just badly outmatched. U14s ahd some moments and the Sting U14s did not show the same level of technical skill or understanding that their other age groups showed. I was actually surprised that this game was as close as it was as I watched both teams warm up and Sting was very business like and did their own thing (coach wasn't even there for the start of warm-ups as I think he may have been coming off a different game at a different field).
U13s coach for Sting was fantastic. I was listening to his instructions as I centered the game. Someone said he is one of the best youth coaches in the country and the way his team played, I totally would agree...not only that, he was very positive about everything, even small criticisms. They were used to build up the girls and to get them thinking about their decision making without tearing them down. Coaches everywhere could learn from that. And they had some freaking great players too. Like if they're on the RL teams, how good are their NL teams in those age groups (especially the U13s...a couple of those players opened my eyes between their speed and technical skill and the ability to hammer shots from 25 yards out).
Preston lost his mind with his team...not at their decision making or poor passing/technical skill but I could tell he was disappointed in the lack of effort. Almost like his girls sensed they couldn't win and just lacked fight. He kept going on and on about 50/50 balls and trying to win them. There were a couple of girls who could play and understood things but there was no support for them. And I don't know what Preston is thinking but every one of the teams handled the kickoff the same...pass the ball back to the 6 and the 6 hammers it up the field. Problem is the wings never got off the MF line to put pressure on the back. I understand what you may be trying to do but if you don't have the speed and athleticism on the wings to put that pressure on the back, that is basically a turnover and giving possession away.
GK for the U14s was actually pretty good. I liked her decision making for the most part and she really understood cutting angles down and challenging breaks.
GKs for Sting all warmed up together (multiple age groups) before each time slot. Central GK coach. About 10 minutes before game time, they'd go to their respective fields. I love this for the GKs in that program. The fact that a GK coach travels with the group to away weekends is great. In 9 years of club soccer, my son never had this (heck TSC rarely had a consistent GK coach to even train the GKs in the club). I also didn't see this for WSA and you can tell the GKs are sort of an afterthought there. The U14 GK was big but she was fundamentally lacking in a few places especially her technique fielding low balls.
EDIT: Just to clarify I was out at WSA on Sunday for the WSA vs Sting matchups.
Haha. I have only gotten as low as "2" in the count so far. I make it a point to speak with the GKs directly before the game about the new rule so they understand what they are seeing. The U13 Sting GKs then asked me when the count started...it's a very good question to be honest as it might be slightly different from referee to referee although the law states it starts as soon as the GK is deemed to have possession with their hands.
We didn't take water breaks although we probably should have in the 1pm slot. I think it was 88 degrees by then.
Oh, and my son's Tufts team bounced back with a 2-0 win over Holy Cross yesterday.
I assume the referee in our game either didn’t understand the rule or its application. He didn’t count out loud nor did his move his arm like you see in basketball to indicate he had started or was even giving a count. Just signaled the violation. Never gave anyone an explanation as to why it was a silent count with zero indications. (I assume he suppose to acknowledge a count has started and is progressing rather than just blowing his whistle).
Royals U13 coach is Ben Williams. He’s one of the best youth coaches in the country imo. I’ve posted about him before
Yeah I was out there. We were on field 6.
The Sting game was brutal and I agree; the WSA girls were playing as if they were tired / not motivated. I also don't like the hammer it up the field thing. Sting was just too good at keeping possession and we didn't do that against FCD, for example. Plus, it's really hard for the wingers to do anything when we are just giving the ball away. I felt like my daughter played fairly well, all things considered.
I like our keepers a lot. They're both pretty tough and pretty talented, imo. The keeper that started had to come out due to hitting her head whenever she tried to clear a ball. She's alright though.
I don't talk to my daughter about how to play soccer. I don't know about that. One of the things we did sorta touch on was how important it was to not let Sting just get free headers. They were really good at taking any ball near them and just keeping it. Whether it was their defenders just heading the ball away or them basically playing a big rondo as soon as they got the ball. I understand how frustrating it can be to play against those teams. They're just quick and good.
I was told by a Tulsa parent whose kid plays at Energy that the win against FCD didn't go unnoticed and was "very impressive", so that's cool.
Oh, also: there was a 2013 girl playing on the field behind us on Saturday. She took a ball to the face at some point and had a bloody nose.
She didn't whine or anything. She just kept playing and the ref stopped the game to make sure she was okay / send her off. Whenever she came to the sideline, she was all smiles. Blood literally running down her face, staining her teeth and jersey and her whole attitude was "what? I'm fine. Let me play. I have to come off?! UGH FINE."
She went and got cleaned up, swapped jerseys and went back in with a gauze jammed up her nose
She didn't whine or anything. She just kept playing and the ref stopped the game to make sure she was okay / send her off. Whenever she came to the sideline, she was all smiles. Blood literally running down her face, staining her teeth and jersey and her whole attitude was "what? I'm fine. Let me play. I have to come off?! UGH FINE."
She went and got cleaned up, swapped jerseys and went back in with a gauze jammed up her nose
The beginning of our first season (with TSC) in ECNL was brutal, we had several games were we lost by 5+ goals, but by the end of the season we were competing for a playoff spot. Wins in that conference are hard to come by, just tell the girls to keep their head up and to continue training hard.
For sure.
Largely, I think the 12's are pretty happy with their team and continue to work. They've picked up some pretty "big" wins and even draws so far and that's got their confidence up.
@TU_BLA I gotta asked: Which wsa u14 players stood out for you?
#2. She played up top on the right (so in front of me in the 1st half. She created a lot of problems for the FB on that side. She was pretty quick and used her body well to get position and win the ball. She was really the only dangerous player. There was also a defender (#22 maybe) who I thought played pretty well positionally. Her touch needs some help but she frequently won challenges and picked out the right ball transitioning from defending to attack. (She may have been a MF but she was frequently having to come back and defend). I thought the GK was decent all things considering. She made several saves but I also questioned her coaching because she parried a ball away that she should have been trying to catch. It wasn't a hard shot at all and it ended up going out for a corner. She did show a lot of toughness as she was being peppered with shots that were struck with more force than I would anticipate from that age group. She also got trucked and bounced up from it (the Sting player earned themselves a yellow for this challenge which was just a poor choice for her).
Y'all were out there on Sunday? Is your daughter U13 or U14? I know we had to stop play for the GK who started on a ball that I think she pushed onto the bar, it dropped down and she was trying to keep it out of the goal. The effort was outstanding, IMO. Unfortunately, the ball did cross (AR signaled right away and we did talk at half about it just to be sure).
Yeah. My daughter is u13.
I'm an idiot. I always forget which actual designation is there. She's on the WSA 12 NL
Oh, also: there was a 2013 girl playing on the field behind us on Saturday. She took a ball to the face at some point and had a bloody nose.
She didn't whine or anything. She just kept playing and the ref stopped the game to make sure she was okay / send her off. Whenever she came to the sideline, she was all smiles. Blood literally running down her face, staining her teeth and jersey and her whole attitude was "what? I'm fine. Let me play. I have to come off?! UGH FINE."
She went and got cleaned up, swapped jerseys and went back in with a gauze jammed up her nose
My daughter is good friends with her and I was watching that game when it happened. That was a brutal ball and hella grit from her. <3
So I have a question. Do most of you have a daughter playing soccer, and it just so happened that the first few that got on here to post had daughters and that led to others who had daughter's playing soccer to hear about this by word of mouth? I'm surprised those that have sons haven't come on here and joined the conversation at one point or another.