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Big Daddy - I agree that year round soccer is what's up and that the speed of play and speed of decision making drops but to say that fitness levels drop in high shool.....

I know you can not lump all HS coaches together but the HS coach gets fitness in 5-6 days a week vs 3 days a week club. Then you can get into the discussion about the number of games played whether good or bad for the individual. Remember the academy approach is fewer games more practice. I am in no way trying to compare HS & club. Club skills level are way above HS.



Well, there's fitness and then there's match fitness.

My son plays on a NC Academy team and he spent the Fall playing SC club on a pretty good challenge team. He's a very fit kid and pretty much played the whole game in the fall. When he switched to Academy.....his first competitve exposure was a Showcase event and when I asked him if there was anything that surprised him, he replied "the fitness required". Kind of a surprising response until I started watching the games and saw the speed of play and intensity of play. Its just different.

High school for the most part is slower paced than club. The kids are moving.....but they aren't moving explosively all the time, under duress. I'm sure Irmo-Wando or Irmo-NW or NW-FM or Dorman-Mauldin games are different. But for every one of those games there are 5 NW-Andrew Jackson or Irmo whomever games that end up being 9-0.

A bunch of 9-0 games on the schedule doesn't do a whole lot for speed of play for the better players. And slower speed of play leads to deteriorating match fitness. Again, some coaches can simulate it in practice......most don't have the horses though.

IMO.