Top U15/U14 Players From Dallas

According to Top Drawer Soccer, there are 3 NTX players in the Top 50 for 1998 birth year.

#12 Alejandro Zendajas (F)
#17 Damien Hernandez (D)
#28 Weston McKennie (M)

Also, Ben Hale (K) is on the U15 National team.

Congrats boys on your dedication and excellent work rate!

How is eligibility determined?

Great job, guys!

You just missed me at #51. Playing for Guameru

Also, the #1 player in Texas is currently Orrin Gaines with Lonestar. He is the starting forward on the U15 National Team. Seen him play several times. He is without a doubt the fastest kid on the pitch. An absolute screamer down the sidelines and up the middle. If you want big, fast and strong, he's your man. First touch is questionable. Shots are mostly off target, but wow is he fast!

finish1 wrote:Also, the #1 player in Texas is currently Orrin Gaines with Lonestar. He is the starting forward on the U15 National Team. Seen him play several times. He is without a doubt the fastest kid on the pitch. An absolute screamer down the sidelines and up the middle. If you want big, fast and strong, he's your man. First touch is questionable. Shots are mostly off target, but wow is he fast!

This here is the problem with Soccer in the U.S. No touch and most shots are off target yet he starts for the national team? Personally I wish we produced better soccer players, and not just raw athletes with the ability to run fast.

Congrats to the boys though, keep it up!

finish1 wrote:Also, the #1 player in Texas is currently Orrin Gaines with Lonestar. He is the starting forward on the U15 National Team. Seen him play several times. He is without a doubt the fastest kid on the pitch. An absolute screamer down the sidelines and up the middle. If you want big, fast and strong, he's your man. First touch is questionable. Shots are mostly off target, but wow is he fast!

..


ha ha ha....holy crap....typical U.S. development. He's fast but has questionable touch and has erratic off target shots. Is he related to Jozy Altidore by any chance?

I will take a slower guy that will finish with touch.

We are obsessed with sending giant beasts straight at the net. Clubs promote them, coaches scour the landscape to find them and our soccer isn't getting any better.

A few years ago, I went to a meeting where Manchester United representatives talked about Americans playing soccer in England. First, they stated that no child in Texas has a chance of playing for them. We just don't know enough about the game to develop quality players. We don't have the history or the culture necessary to create a world class product.

Very true.


We don't spend enough time honing our skills, starting at the very young ages up to the early teens. Most clubs in NTX don't have formal skills training sessions for their players. Those that do have skills training end the courses at U10. Something is very wrong here...

okay I will piggyback on finishes deal. What I see in NTX is coaches and team focused on picking up kids that will never be a world class player no matter how much you train him. Kids that while they are great athletes lack the particular athleticism required for soccer. They lack the natural touch, quick feet, etc. The coach feels like wow this kid is big and fast and I can train him to be a soccer player. The reality is he can do well in youth soccer because he is bigger than his peers but you cannot change his innate trait. They are just coaches not magicians. For many teams I say okay I get it you can win now with that kid, but saw FCD pre academy over the weekend and they were full of those players. Which is not a problem in itself, but the problem is while we focus all of our effort trying to develop Altidore Jr we completely overlook little Messi. Our training in the US isn't great but I see our real problem as the identification system. The end product of all the training will never be better than the origional potential of the child.

go99 wrote:okay I will piggyback on finishes deal. What I see in NTX is coaches and team focused on picking up kids that will never be a world class player no matter how much you train him. Kids that while they are great athletes lack the particular athleticism required for soccer. They lack the natural touch, quick feet, etc. The coach feels like wow this kid is big and fast and I can train him to be a soccer player. The reality is he can do well in youth soccer because he is bigger than his peers but you cannot change his innate trait. They are just coaches not magicians. For many teams I say okay I get it you can win now with that kid, but saw FCD pre academy over the weekend and they were full of those players. Which is not a problem in itself, but the problem is while we focus all of our effort trying to develop Altidore Jr we completely overlook little Messi. Our training in the US isn't great but I see our real problem as the identification system. The end product of all the training will never be better than the origional potential of the child.

or just wait til' DC when Cali brings their smaller teams down to once again show us hows its done but dont ask questions especially on here because coaches and clubs will start posting/bashing you to help with the cover up:P matter of fact did anybody notice this past weekend in the Bobby Rhine tourney how FCD El Paso came down and 3 out of the 4 teams they brought were in the finals? with the 4th younger team losing in the semis and probably just because of the BFS at 12/13

the 98 team wasn't big at all. Actually had a few tiny kids on the team

So how do we turn this trend around in NTX?

go99 wrote:okay I will piggyback on finishes deal. What I see in NTX is coaches and team focused on picking up kids that will never be a world class player no matter how much you train him. Kids that while they are great athletes lack the particular athleticism required for soccer. They lack the natural touch, quick feet, etc. The coach feels like wow this kid is big and fast and I can train him to be a soccer player. The reality is he can do well in youth soccer because he is bigger than his peers but you cannot change his innate trait. They are just coaches not magicians. For many teams I say okay I get it you can win now with that kid, but saw FCD pre academy over the weekend and they were full of those players. Which is not a problem in itself, but the problem is while we focus all of our effort trying to develop Altidore Jr we completely overlook little Messi. Our training in the US isn't great but I see our real problem as the identification system. The end product of all the training will never be better than the origional potential of the child.

Well put.

BFS wins at youth level.

However, the problem isn't just player identification. (Although that is probably one of if not the biggest issue.)

The problem is technical and especially tactical. And that is due to focusing on results first.
The typical American player doesn't train enough on the technical side of the game. Don't train enough period. Typical Euro/South American academy players train twice as much.

Then there is the tactical. Building from the back, possession, etc.

Sure, there are a handful of clubs/teams/coaches that are trying to do it right. But they typically aren't the 'big clubs' which overwhelmingly feed the youth national teams.

Setting up all these 'elite' teams, leagues and competitions has probably done more harm than good.

Especially in NTX.

Riquelme wrote:So how do we turn this trend around in NTX?

No easy answer to that.

First, we need to focus on training kids to be complete players. That means focusing on technique first. Up until the age of 15/16. Everything else is secondary.

Second, teach possession first when it comes to tactics.

Nothing wrong with having "athletes". But if they have poor technique and low soccer iq it is worthless.

Finally, parents need to educate themselves on the basics of player development.

And a major 'attitude shift'. In other words, patience and foresight.

I personally think trying to form national teams with players as young as 12 or 13 is a joke anyway.

Especially the way we do it. Everything centered around physical maturation and the cronyism associated with club 'pedigree'.

Laimport wrote:

Especially the way we do it. Everything centered around physical maturation and the cronyism associated with club 'pedigree'.

All of us can see it, but the coaches can't...Oh wait, there's Ben Franklin blocking their view?

go99 wrote:okay I will piggyback on finishes deal. What I see in NTX is coaches and team focused on picking up kids that will never be a world class player no matter how much you train him. Kids that while they are great athletes lack the particular athleticism required for soccer. They lack the natural touch, quick feet, etc. The coach feels like wow this kid is big and fast and I can train him to be a soccer player. The reality is he can do well in youth soccer because he is bigger than his peers but you cannot change his innate trait. They are just coaches not magicians. For many teams I say okay I get it you can win now with that kid, but saw FCD pre academy over the weekend and they were full of those players. Which is not a problem in itself, but the problem is while we focus all of our effort trying to develop Altidore Jr we completely overlook little Messi. Our training in the US isn't great but I see our real problem as the identification system. The end product of all the training will never be better than the origional potential of the child.

Well said. Barca 99 has a good mix of big and small players. I am always amazed at how well those little guys control the ball and have great ball skills. This team has good touch and can win the battle of possesion against any team out there. Just goes to show that size matters not...(Yoda)

every coach believes they can take an elite athlete and make him/her into a player. it happens in every sport at every level of it. Sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn't. the coaches always see potential and what they can mold or shape. kinda like a sculptor, the bigger the ball of clay you have, then the more you can shape it. what happens most of the time, though, is that you end up with a bigger ball of ______ instead of a work of art.

Post of the day, 2T. So true and very funny!

Laimport wrote:

Riquelme wrote:So how do we turn this trend around in NTX?

No easy answer to that.

First, we need to focus on training kids to be complete players. That means focusing on technique first. Up until the age of 15/16. Everything else is secondary.

Second, teach possession first when it comes to tactics.

Nothing wrong with having "athletes". But if they have poor technique and low soccer iq it is worthless.

Finally, parents need to educate themselves on the basics of player development.

And a major 'attitude shift'. In other words, patience and foresight.

Probably one of the wisest statements ever posted on this forum......
Unfortunately not all will understand it....

Laimport wrote:

go99 wrote:okay I will piggyback on finishes deal. What I see in NTX is coaches and team focused on picking up kids that will never be a world class player no matter how much you train him. Kids that while they are great athletes lack the particular athleticism required for soccer. They lack the natural touch, quick feet, etc. The coach feels like wow this kid is big and fast and I can train him to be a soccer player. The reality is he can do well in youth soccer because he is bigger than his peers but you cannot change his innate trait. They are just coaches not magicians. For many teams I say okay I get it you can win now with that kid, but saw FCD pre academy over the weekend and they were full of those players. Which is not a problem in itself, but the problem is while we focus all of our effort trying to develop Altidore Jr we completely overlook little Messi. Our training in the US isn't great but I see our real problem as the identification system. The end product of all the training will never be better than the origional potential of the child.

Well put.

BFS wins at youth level.

However, the problem isn't just player identification. (Although that is probably one of if not the biggest issue.)

The problem is technical and especially tactical. And that is due to focusing on results first.
The typical American player doesn't train enough on the technical side of the game. Don't train enough period. Typical Euro/South American academy players train twice as much.

Then there is the tactical. Building from the back, possession, etc.

Sure, there are a handful of clubs/teams/coaches that are trying to do it right. But they typically aren't the 'big clubs' which overwhelmingly feed the youth national teams.

Setting up all these 'elite' teams, leagues and competitions has probably done more harm than good.

Especially in NTX.

You can't argue with these statements people....


I've enjoyed reading this forum today...... Don't forget about passion... If the player is not passionate about the game, whatever game it may be then no matter how good the coach, team or how much money you throw out for skills, cleats, balls, transportation, club fees, etc etc etc.... I could keep going but I'm sure ya'll get my point... No Passion No Reason to keep going....

As parents and customers we should demand development over results. There are a few parents who understand the concept but for most this is total nonsense. It is stated in the US soccer federation developmental plan but not followed by the vast majority of coaches and ignored by parents. Perhaps if we keep insisting and educating the tide will one day change.

Real Barcelona wrote:As parents and customers we should demand development over results. There are a few parents who understand the concept but for most this is total nonsense. It is stated in the US soccer federation developmental plan but not followed by the vast majority of coaches and ignored by parents. Perhaps if we keep insisting and educating the tide will one day change.

This is a case of the tail wagging the dog. The clubs are dictating everything because the money funnels up to the federation. Parents equate winning with development. And that's the product the clubs try to serve up.

The US over the years has become a bastion for foreign coaches to come over and make more money than they could in their own countries. A foreign accent is a hot commodity.

But remember, if these guys were so good they would be able to make it as high level coaches elsewhere in the world.

I'm not implying they are all bad. Some of them I'm sure are well intentioned and otherwise good people. But the system dictates that they follow the 'party line' in order to obtain and keep these jobs.

It's a vicious cycle.

Because of our society and our traditional sports, we see the coach as a skilled tactician/strategist that controls every decision. Soccer is a players game. Baseball, basketball and gridiron are not.

Therefore we look to the coach to be responsible for developing our players. In reality they are merely facilitators.

So, the only real development occurs organically. A relative handful of players basically develop themselves.

We don't have 'pros developing pros' as is the case in the rest of the world.

The short term answer is that we need to see more kids playing on their own. Learn by 'doing' and not 'instruction'.

And then there's the whole pay to play problem.

Laimport wrote:

Riquelme wrote:So how do we turn this trend around in NTX?

No easy answer to that.

First, we need to focus on training kids to be complete players. That means focusing on technique first. Up until the age of 15/16. Everything else is secondary.

Second, teach possession first when it comes to tactics.

In a recent tournament, our D1 U12 boys beat two out-of-town possession teams but lost to a local kick-ball team and a local long-ball direct team. Our kids were without SEVEN starters due to the pre-academy commitments, yet the coach (correctly) continued to play the normal possession style. We were fortunate to borrow 4 players from a D3 team that also played a similar possession style.

Teams with little focus on technique still continue to win locally. The Big, Fast, Strong can still wallop the Technique boys. Short term gain vs. long term development.

In the long run technique and posession style soccer will take over long ball. There will always be the exception with the team playing long ball winning over technique and possesion style soccer in the older age groups. There are times during the game that a long ball is appropriate but it should not be the predominant or even worse the only way the team plays. Let the kids play and explore the game and stay away from coaches that believe they are playing XBOX (directing every single play of the game). The game is for the players to implement what was learned during practice not to robotically follow constant instructions from the sideline.

I've been a ref out at classic league for many years and the game really has changed. The game has evolved into big, fast, physical and long ball play. We are seeing less and less of the creative play, it's a shame. Many more fouls during the game now days. My son isn't select yet, but I love his love for the game. I hope the game can get back to creative play.