looking at leaving a large club for a smaller one

My son is an 03 and plays for a large soccer academy. Unfortunately, the coach is too busy with 5 other team and gets to practice late and leaves early and sometimes onle is at the games until half time. The parents have to warm up the kids when he is not around. they are losing every game in the UAL. They are getting a new coach but it is taking some time. Recently I heard of Gordon Hill and United FC getting a new 03 team together. I heard Gordon was a good coach and a great player in his day. Does anyone know much about United FC and weather it would be a good club to play for? I want him to have the development he needs and a coach that is dedicated to these young players.

Better do it now while the small ones still exist. The range and choices diminish each year.

Hill has multiple teams as well. You may very well be leaving one situation and going to the same.

Multiple is fine but if it is more than 3 teams plan on not having him at alot of games.

Thanks, Does anyone know anything about Gordon Hill? Does he produce good teams?

I would suggest trying out 2 or 3 different clubs before making a decision.

Ayses SC
http://ayses.com/

Good advice from J90

We have been in both small and large clubs. Both have their definate pros and cons. IMO - at the younger ages find a coach not the club that fits your child. We made one poor decision over the years, but it all worked out okay and my BB's are right where they should be.

Personally, i think the club itself has very little impact on how a young player develops. In the grand scheme of things, the team doesn't really matter anyway. Especially at this age.

Skill with the ball, applying those skills in games, that's what is most important. Second, and this is key, is enjoyment. Are they having fun?

If they are consumed with soccer, playing on their own in the backyard, etc. then all this other stuff is irrelevant.

A good coach (really a teacher at this age) can make a difference. But it is not the key to a player's success.

No coaching is certainly better than bad coaching.

I don't think the club is very important but I do think the team has some relevance.

If your kid is too good for the team he does not get enough challenge, will develop a habit of keeping the ball too much and be held back & frustrated by the ability of the others to interact.

If he is not good enough his confidence will suffer, his team mates won't trust him, he will spend a lot of time on the bench and the fun will go out of soccer.

At 9 years old kids are generally still in stage 1 (learning skill with little to no pressure)technical development.

"Challenge" is a relative term. Passing at this age is still largely a secondary consideration. So, even if a kid is the best player on his team, as long as he is enjoying himself and expressing his skill on the pitch, that's all that matters.

If a kid is truly that gifted, and needs more challenge, then they can play up.

This concept of forming select teams at 8,9 and 10 is ridiculously inept.

Because it forces kids into playing certain "roles" and has a negative developmental impact.

yes, there's merit to the "challenge" argument, but at 9 it hardly warrants consideration.

At 12? Maybe. At 14? yes. At 16? It is critical.

My son likes the kids on the team. He enjoys playing and plays on a rec and academy team. He is getting more out of the coaching from our rec coach than the Academy coach and as stated earlier the Academy coach is there half the time. The reason why I posted was to see if anyone knows United FC and Gordon Hill and how he is as a coach.

Frequent Flyer, you can get various opinions on here but you can't beat watching the coach during a game or two and going out to a practice to test him out.

Thanks,
I am having my boy go to practice with them next week since it is on a different day than he is with his current team. I am leaving the decision up to my son to weather or not he likes Hill or if he likes to stay with his current team. The good news is we have two other rec boys wanting to join him where ever he ends up so it might be a win win either way.

Laimport, I think you underestimate the motivation that comes from the challenge of good team mates. I know my 9 year old has aspired to be as good as others and that has motivated him to practice more.

In the past he was typically the best player on his team. Then last couple of years he was on a couple of different Rec teams that had excellent dribblers. He realised his close control was good but could be so much better. It motivated him in team practice and at home to match the skills of his team mates and the improvement was dramatic both times.

Now he has been with a good academy team for 6 months and the skill level of his new team mates has driven him on to be one of the best. I am not pushing him (note he didn't start academy until age 9) he is motivating himself.

Our kids need motivation if they are going to practice in the yard or go to that extra skills session. I think part of that can derive from the challenge of team mates.

davito, I understand motivation and being in the 'proper environment'.

my point is that team dynamics (unless the kid is miserable) take a back seat to him being able to acquire and sharpen his technical skill.

Yes, I agree that if he is with other motivated players that it will benefit him.

But, the problem is people (meaning parents) generally gauge their kids individual development and ability based on the team's "success" (ie wins and trophies)exclusively.

So, you have to separate the team from the player in that respect.

Of course that requires the parents educate themselves. Not just constantly looking for the "perfect team or perfect coach". No such thing exists.

I really wish people wouldwise up to what it's really all about. If it was really all about structured leagues, coaching and high level coaching and competition we'd be seeing a lot more players going off and playing at the highest levels.

80% of the total equation (what the players end up being) is totally up to the player himself...

You can't develop a player by just writing more and bigger checks and otherwise shopping around for the 'perfect' soccer experience.

Come on now...the most important thing is to have your elite kid on an elite team...otherwise how can you consider yourself an elite parent...

I am ok with paying for good coaching and we have some good clubs and leagues but I agree that we suffer from a lack of casual soccer. My son is lucky that they play at recess at his school.

When we lived in England the kids played casually at school, after school, weekends, all the time. Plus soccer is the "coolest" sport to be good at in England.

davito wrote:Come on now...the most important thing is to have your elite kid on an elite team...otherwise how can you consider yourself an elite parent...

I am ok with paying for good coaching and we have some good clubs and leagues but I agree that we suffer from a lack of casual soccer. My son is lucky that they play at recess at his school.

When we lived in England the kids played casually at school, after school, weekends, all the time. Plus soccer is the "coolest" sport to be good at in England.

no kids will play soccer at recess with my son anymore. they say he is too good. good thing he practices on his own all the time and plays rec a year up to get additional touches on the ball. i wish there was more casual soccer around here that was not linked with any one club.

Laimport wrote:davito, I understand motivation and being in the 'proper environment'.

my point is that team dynamics (unless the kid is miserable) take a back seat to him being able to acquire and sharpen his technical skill.

Yes, I agree that if he is with other motivated players that it will benefit him.

But, the problem is people (meaning parents) generally gauge their kids individual development and ability based on the team's "success" (ie wins and trophies)exclusively.

So, you have to separate the team from the player in that respect.

Of course that requires the parents educate themselves. Not just constantly looking for the "perfect team or perfect coach". No such thing exists.

I really wish people wouldwise up to what it's really all about. If it was really all about structured leagues, coaching and high level coaching and competition we'd be seeing a lot more players going off and playing at the highest levels.

80% of the total equation (what the players end up being) is totally up to the player himself...

You can't develop a player by just writing more and bigger checks and otherwise shopping around for the 'perfect' soccer experience.

Bravo! I think I like you . until you piss me off..

Haha...it'll happen sooner or later....

I find merit though to the 'casual soccer' analogy though. There's a lot to be said for no adult interference (i mean "supervision") and playing for the sheer joy of it.

Mine has been playing pickup on saturday mornings with adults for a couple of years now. Hispanics, Africans, Euro expats and former college players. Quite an eclectic group.

At some point yes, you should gravitate to an environment that challenges him and is highly competitive.

No coach, club or team though is going to make a huge difference.

And at his age, it matters much, much less.

If he is enjoying himself that is all that matters.

davito wrote:I don't think the club is very important but I do think the team has some relevance.

If your kid is too good for the team he does not get enough challenge, will develop a habit of keeping the ball too much and be held back & frustrated by the ability of the others to interact.

If he is not good enough his confidence will suffer, his team mates won't trust him, he will spend a lot of time on the bench and the fun will go out of soccer.

Yes! I agree wholeheartedly. What we found in the smaller club was that our son would pass the ball and there was no one there to receive it. His coach was good and we liked the coach in the smaller club. Unfortunately, the coach left and the club folded. Which is a real danger in a smaller club. Sometimes just fielding a team for a game is tough in the smaller clubs.

If your son is learning and advancing in a smaller club, it's a good experience. But the instruction a lot of times in a larger club is so much better and offers many more opportunities as well. What we found is that we were spending $1000 plus a year on additional coaching for our son for him to play on the rec team. Which didn't make sense to us.

plantit wrote:

Laimport wrote:davito, I understand motivation and being in the 'proper environment'.

my point is that team dynamics (unless the kid is miserable) take a back seat to him being able to acquire and sharpen his technical skill.

Yes, I agree that if he is with other motivated players that it will benefit him.

But, the problem is people (meaning parents) generally gauge their kids individual development and ability based on the team's "success" (ie wins and trophies)exclusively.

So, you have to separate the team from the player in that respect.

Of course that requires the parents educate themselves. Not just constantly looking for the "perfect team or perfect coach". No such thing exists.

I really wish people wouldwise up to what it's really all about. If it was really all about structured leagues, coaching and high level coaching and competition we'd be seeing a lot more players going off and playing at the highest levels.

80% of the total equation (what the players end up being) is totally up to the player himself...

You can't develop a player by just writing more and bigger checks and otherwise shopping around for the 'perfect' soccer experience.

Bravo! I think I like you . until you piss me off..

However, it's not motivating to lose every game. After awhile that takes the fun out of it too.

I heard Liverpool has a new 03 team that has been playing up and is looking for committed players I am going to take my bb out to check it out

Coach email is ddkc48@yahoo.com his name is Dean Robertson

"Unfortunately, the coach is too busy with 5 other team and gets to practice late and leaves early and sometimes onle is at the games until half time."


I have a question for you. If you hired a tennis pro and had a standing practice time for 1 hr 15 minutes every tuesday and thursday and he consistently showed up 15 minutes late and left 15 minutes early but still wanted to get paid for 1 hr 15 minutes, would you pay him and keep him as your pro?

your boy has a relatively small window to learn skills in before select Don''t waste your time with a coach who views your team as a little spending money in his pocket.....

Interesting. I recieved an email from another parent on our club that has moved to Liverpool and is Recruiting for the Reds Academy at Liverpool.

Soccerdude48 wrote:I heard Liverpool has a new 03 team that has been playing up and is looking for committed players I am going to take my bb out to check it out

Coach email is ddkc48@yahoo.com his name is Dean Robertson

soccerisgood123, you must know the situation pretty well. I watched United FC 02's play this week and had a good conversation with Gordon Hill. He seems like the real deal and we are going to one of their practices next week. I spoke to some of their parents and they love the atmosphere and the direction Hill is taking the club. Some say that later in Select, if your son or daughter is good and sticks with it then these larger clubs have access to Colleges for scholarships. Hill has connections all the way to Man U and has a good reputation so I don't know if that proposed benefit holds any truth. Its a shame that our Academy can't get it together even though it is touted as one of the top 10 in the country, It sure doesn't feel that way to me. I am not only taking my son to United FC, but we might have 4 other talented boys go there to check it out. I am not impressed with the way these larger clubs run as just a business and doesn't focus on the individual kid and developing thier skills.

soccerisgood123 wrote: "Unfortunately, the coach is too busy with 5 other team and gets to practice late and leaves early and sometimes onle is at the games until half time."


I have a question for you. If you hired a tennis pro and had a standing practice time for 1 hr 15 minutes every tuesday and thursday and he consistently showed up 15 minutes late and left 15 minutes early but still wanted to get paid for 1 hr 15 minutes, would you pay him and keep him as your pro?

your boy has a relatively small window to learn skills in before select Don''t waste your time with a coach who views your team as a little spending money in his pocket.....