SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Academy Players Can't Play High School Soon?

Shagging fly balls is not just beneficial for keepers. Half the girls playing in the field can't judge a ball when they challenge for a header.

Heck even when they are not challenged it seems girls miss/ miss hit the ball at least half the time! Funny how much better boys are at getting the headers than the girls are. Maybe becasue they start heading it sooner than the girls do they pick up the timing sooner. (IMHO)

Chief, I do not coach pop Warner, I coach HS ball, and yes 7 and 8, and 9th grader can learn all that, if you have good coaches! B-team football starts at 7th grade in this state.

I was just making the point that playing QB or OL is a lot harder then you think, just having a little fun.

Of course, to be fair to the Academy side of the argument, we are talking about how playing multiple sports can help players master new skills in soccer...which does not necessarily address those who have already risen to mastery of their basic skills and are looking to further fine-tune them in a concentrated environment. I wouldn't suggest baseball or basketball as a way to turn a great soccer player into a world-class soccer player, but they can be a big help in developing the skills that made them great players in the first place.

I totally got your point. Same thing with being a catcher in baseball, intellectually the hardest position in Baseball thats why so many go on to coach.

But let me ask you which 8th grader you would rather have a 5' 165lb kid with great understanding of playing O line (from his years in peewee and pop warner ball) or a 6' 215 lb farm kid who is an athlete but has never played O line in his life but wants to learn? Can ones skills off set the others physical advantage?

If the 3 months of high school season really stops a player's progress, then why not convert to a 12 month academy season? Wouldn't those 2 months off (with no soccer at all) be just as harmful? Who cares about getting burned out and never having a vacation.

Personally, I don't think the 3 months makes that big of a difference. 2 hour practices a few times a week over 3 months isn't enough to make a drastic difference. I still think that the best players are so good because of how much time they spent by themselves practicing when no one else was without a coach rather than going to team practices.

Someone mentioned Messi moving to Barca at 14. Doesn't the fact he moved there so young prove he was an elite talent? Should we really credit him moving there as the reason he is so good? I think he would be amazing regardless of when he moved. Neymar is another. Lukaku is still in high school and playing professionally. And since the thread has turned into which sport is easiest, doesn't the fact that there are high school aged kids playing professional soccer kind of show it is the easiest? Players like Wilshere, Neymar, Lukaku, C. Ronaldo were all making impacts before graduating HS (assuming they didn't drop out). Can't think of any other sport where that happens, partly because the other sports require more size and athleticism along with skill.

And how big of an impact has the academy had on developing players? Are the teams really good because they just go get the best players, or are they dramatically improving the players skills? Will be years before that is answered, but players like Caleb, Erik Clark, Nestor, Koty, Dunbaker, etc. were all identified as great players years ago. It is only natural as they continued to age, they got better and remained some of the better players. How much of that is due to academy coaching compared to just being gifted?

Players like Messi and Ronaldo were going to be superstars regardless of where they played and who they were coached by as a U18.

Chief I Would take both! The bigger kid is going to DL!

Happy Daddy or anyone else,

Is there a list of the high schools with players currently represented on South Carolina Academy teams available anywhere? If not would someone please provide it here?

Thank you.

Just to add to one of the above posts
Wes Knight played for Wren, the College of Charleston and now for Vancouver in the MLS.

TSO: A big part of the "problem" is our haste to identify/anoint "prospects" at ridiculously early ages, often to the exclusion of kids who are BETTER later. Then, as if to justify the early selections, we continue to select and promote those same kids, year after year after year, even when they don't age/grow/mature into high-level athletes.

This is NOT a knock on any of these you've named. They're NOT the problem. The problem is a system that effectively discourages and excludes thousands of kids by ages 10-12.