I'm coaching high school and u-10 girls soccer. In youth soccer player development Juggling ability has a direct impact on skill level. The kids who can juggle 10 times are the elite players; their first touch is better.
And the point isn't to juggle in a game. That's obvious. Juggling helps with balance, first touch, foot-eye coordination.
The question isn't about "players preparing for competition." It's about player development. Ball skills at a young age is the most important focal point. Lots of coaches spend time making 9, 10, and 11 year old kids run w/o the ball. Big mistake. Everything w/ a ball. Every drill needs a time frame or reward/consequence.
And about training: Training develops players. Games do too. Kids learn most of their ball skills in the backyard or pickup games by practicing for hours. Young kids shouldn't have to drive all over the place. Older players need to if they want to play the best competition. I played on an elite nationally ranked club team. 18 of the best 30 players in our age group in the state of South Carolina played on our club team. Since that was true, who were we supposed to play in South Carolina to get competition against players our own age? We creamed everyone.
We played up against more physically mature teams. We played a younger team of equal skill level but we beat them because we were older. We HAD to go out of state. Professional clubs travel. Mature 15-18 year old athletes must travel too.
Last edited by Brock Scott; 03/14/11 06:07 PM.
