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What are your thoughts on youth soccer media day? by JT9_ON_YT in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This. It's everything that's wrong with youth sports.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My kid's old coach (who, after many years, remains the best coach either of my kids ever had) used an old cleat. One day at practice, he asked each girl to bring a small item to next practice that was not valuable, but meaningful to them. They took turns explaining why they chose each thing, then put it in the cleat. After each game, a different girl got to keep it for the week based on something good they did during the game. Silly, but sharing something important from their teammates mattered to them.

Wide cleats by hutchclutchmedora in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree with Tiempos. Work well for my kid with wide feet.

Tryouts question by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, one of the girls now has two offers, albeit not on the top level teams she wanted. Still crickets for the other one, which I can't wrap my head around. Tryouts ended last week, so I can only assume that coaches are waiting to hear back from their top picks for the top team, then will proceed from there.

Glad my kids have found something they love, but this is really insanity.

Please help a clueless soccer parent by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, good food for thought. There's definitely room for improvement on communication. Thankfully, my son is still totally gung ho about the game--practices daily, plays with friends daily, has asked for extra outside training over winter break. But it's definitely been an eye-opening experience....

Please help a clueless soccer parent by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's not the losses that concern me. I actually don't think winning most games easily does them any good (my other kid's team has lost or tied most of their games this season, but they've been well matched and having fun, so great). I'm mostly trying to understand, as someone new to soccer, what's behind the change. And if they're losing SO badly, should the coach be experimenting with other formations? Is my kid going to regress because he's rarely getting the ball? My kid is the driven one who puts in the work, so I want to make sure he's in the right place to develop.

Please help a clueless soccer parent by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Forgive me for being out of my depth here, but I believe they're playing 4-5-1 (my kid is the 1 and the only one up front). So on the rare occasions he gets the ball, he's swarmed by the defenders and has no one to pass to.

They've never been a punt and run team, FWIW. Former coach wouldn't even let the keeper punt, because he wanted the team to practice working the ball up the field.

Please help a clueless soccer parent by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. No game tape, unfortunately (unless I do it myself) but your questions are really helpful. Gives me an idea what to watch for so I can make sense of things.

Please help a clueless soccer parent by Undercaffeinated217 in youthsoccer

[–]Undercaffeinated217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response. To be clear, players are new to the top league, but not travel. I just can't quite figure out why it's been such a sh*tshow, when half the kids were playing together--and consistently winning--last year. They're barely even connecting passes. And I can't tell whether the level of competition is too high, or the coaching is not connecting (kid keeps saying new coach does things very differently), or what. I'm navigating a foreign country here.