SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Win at all Costs!

Reccos,
Not disagreeing necessarily, but please explain. I tend to believe it was April Heinrichs that ruined the women's team. She didn't know what she was doing. In between, there was Tony Dicicco, who I actually met here in Greenville at a camp while he was still just the GK coach. He had a phenomenal winning %. Team went downhill, and fast, after that.

Did the team go downhill? Or did the rest of the world catch up (and surpass us)?

The problem our National teams have right now is the lack of talented players. Think Marta!

Why? Bigger, stronger, faster, is apparently better!

AD started that trend and now almost every youth & college coach follows blindly ... sad!

Nobody will admit it though! Why? Trophies! Isn't that how we measure player development?

Let's face it, the USA enjoyed an enormous decade-plus advantage in women's soccer largely because other countries simply didn't embrace the women's game. That has certainly changed (i.e. Germany, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, China, etc.) and the other countries have caught up with the U.S.

As for the "downhill" blame, I too think Heinrichs was a poor hire. Tony DiCicco was competent and did fine. Anson Dorrance was the pioneer that was able to enjoy the riches before it got more competitive, eerily similar to his time at UNC. However, he still gets to pull in the pick of the litter in the college game due to the outstanding reputation and focus placed on Tar Heels women's soccer.

Several years ago my daughter was on a CESA Premier team. After we had paid our fees and purchased uniforms the coach held a parent meeting and basically said he would let everyone have some playing time the first half of the season, but after that he would play who he wanted to. He was true to his word - about half way through the season my kid got zero playing time at many, many of the games. As with all premier teams we were driving our daughter out of state, paying for hotels and meals so she could sit on the bench. It was definitely a “win at all cost” mentality and the coach was not interested in developing her as a player. I learned some things from the experience that I hope to pass on: 1. There is not much time between a player being selected for a premier team and accepting the spot, but ask the coach questions anyway. Find out what his policy is on playing time if your child is not a starter (and yes your kid might not start on premier team no matter how skilled you think they are). Try to figure out if your kid is going to like playing for him. 2. Being on a premier team is not the only way to get to play soccer in college. 3. There is a lot more scholarship money for academics than athletics. 4. Playing soccer is supposed to be fun.
Needless to say, it was a miserable season. I was proud of my daughter for her efforts in continuing to train hard, recognizing it was a temporary situation and she could change teams next season, and for finishing.

Two coaches who come to mind that are all about player development are Alan Riches of Lexington County Soccer Club and Tomasz Kluszczynski of South Carolina United. Both great coaches who have the ability to develop players and have successful teams.

I do understand that coaches need to experiment but when you have kids that are playing between u13-u16 and they still can't pass the ball with predictability or receive the ball with confidence then something has gone horribly wrong along the way. In fact at this point it has to be like the last possible time when it can be fixed. The emphasis then should completely shift to fundamentals and basics of passing and receiving even though it may sacrifice some wins. If the kids are fast, then let them learn how to run with the ball and finish with a pass as opposed to just looping the ball over defenders. They will improve their ball handling skills and also improve their passing accuracy since it is over a shorter distance. The long ball is a low yield play that sacrifices development of other much needed skills.
SL.

Very nicely put Manchester. We will definitely evaluate all our options if style doesn't change.

A very good point Clark.
Many a coach succumb to bigger/taller/faster is always better philosophy. On one of our former teams, I saw firsthand how hopelessly wrong this approach can be. Two forwards were added to the team after tryouts. One was a speed demon but he could never settle the ball to finish, he could never pass the ball accurately when he needed help and just kept losing the ball -- coach tried every drill on earth and the player could not figure it out. Other forward was built like a running back, very well developed musclature he could run through any tacke but he just didn't have a good touch either and the results were the same. I know there are probably other cases where the results are different but I really wish coaches could look harder at tryouts for the subtle indicators like first touch, balance, vision, accurate passing etc ..
On our current team, we do have two smaller players: a defender and mid-fielder and they are two of the most reliable, smart and hardworking players on this team.
SL...