GotSoccer Insanity

From Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider

GotSoccer Insanity: Ranking 9-year-olds! Really?

By John O'Sullivan

America is obsessed with rankings. From NCAA football and basketball to top high school recruits across the sporting spectrum, the American sports fan has no shortage of statistics and ratings in every professional and college sport. Unfortunately, team rankings have leached into youth sports as well, where any benefit they bring is far outweighed by the negative consequences of rating young athletes and teams during their developmental years.

Unfortunately these rankings have now taken over the youth soccer world. On Oct. 14, the web site GotSoccer.com, the most well-known youth soccer ranking site, decided to expand its ratings and begin ranking 9- and 10-year-old soccer teams in both small-sided and full-sided game categories. In the words of CEO Gavin Owen-Thomas, "We've always received a tremendous number of requests to rank the younger ages and I believe the time is now right.”

Really? Right for what? Right for who? It’s certainly not right for the kids who are actually playing!

Any coach who has taken a USSF E License knows that the 9- to 12-year-old age group is known as the “Golden Age of Skill Development.” According to USSF best practices in Long Term Athletic Development, the years prior to the growth spurt for both male and female players are the time when their bodies are most sensitive to developing sport specific skill. It is a time when technical training is crucial, and games should be used as a training tool and a way to measure development.

This age is a time when players need ample game minutes to hone their new skills at a variety of positions. Players need to be encouraged to take risks. Defenders and goalkeepers should not be afraid of playing out of the back. Attacking players need to develop the confidence to beat opponents on the dribble, and possess the ball instead of launch it up the field. Any coach will tell you that these things usually go out the window if your sole focus is to win your games. Unfortunately, that is what the new GotSoccer rankings will do; hinder what little emphasis there already is on development and put all the onus on winning games.

In GotSoccer, you don’t get ranking points for style, or possession, or close games. You don’t get points for letting all your athletes have playing time, or putting your fast goalscorer in the back or midfield to develop his all around ability. You get points for beating teams, and for winning games and tournaments. You earn points and the higher rankings that go with them for focusing on winning at the exact ages when that should be the least of your worries as a coach and as a parent. It is a terrible message being sent by an influential voice.

I am not naive enough to think that this does not happen already. We all know that youth soccer has stopped focusing on children competing against other children. We all know it’s often focused on adults competing against other adults through their children. A hyper-competitive, win-at-all costs mentality has already taken over youth soccer down to the U9 age group in many places. It is causing many talented, developmentally focused coaches to quit rather than make sure their U10 team wins all its games.

It is causing many parents to have their 7-year-old specialize in only soccer so they can make the travel team at 9 and be a star, only to burn out by age 13. This environment is driving far too many kids to quit the most beautiful game in the world. It is causing them to hate soccer!

We all should know better!

Gavin Owen-Thomas states on his bio that he has a USSF and a UEFA A License. He states that they have had many requests for 9- and 10-year-old rankings. From whom? The USSF, U.S. Youth Soccer, or perhaps the NSCAA? Of course not. The requests come from mis-guided parents who are living out their unfulfilled athletic dreams through their children. The rankings serve these parents; they do not serve the best interests of the children!

I do not know Mr. Owen-Thomas, but hopefully this message will reach him. Sir, please reconsider your decision to start ranking 3rd and 4th grade soccer teams. If you are really a person who is concerned with the future and growth of the game in the United States, please do right by the kids, and stop this nonsense.

You have a choice. Your legacy can be one of a good soccer man who made a mistake and fixed it, or you can be the guy who enabled little Johnny’s dad to proudly proclaim “My son plays on the No. 1 ranked 3rd grade soccer team in the whole USA.”

Choose wisely Mr. Owen-Thomas, for our kids’ sake.

[quote="Se La Perdio"]From Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider

GotSoccer Insanity: Ranking 9-year-olds! Really?

By John O'Sullivan

America is obsessed with rankings. From NCAA football and basketball to top high school recruits across the sporting spectrum, the American sports fan has no shortage of statistics and ratings in every professional and college sport. Unfortunately, team rankings have leached into youth sports as well, where any benefit they bring is far outweighed by the negative consequences of rating young athletes and teams during their developmental years.

Unfortunately these rankings have now taken over the youth soccer world. On Oct. 14, the web site GotSoccer.com, the most well-known youth soccer ranking site, decided to expand its ratings and begin ranking 9- and 10-year-old soccer teams in both small-sided and full-sided game categories. In the words of CEO Gavin Owen-Thomas, "We've always received a tremendous number of requests to rank the younger ages and I believe the time is now right.”

Really? Right for what? Right for who? It’s certainly not right for the kids who are actually playing!

Any coach who has taken a USSF E License knows that the 9- to 12-year-old age group is known as the “Golden Age of Skill Development.” According to USSF best practices in Long Term Athletic Development, the years prior to the growth spurt for both male and female players are the time when their bodies are most sensitive to developing sport specific skill. It is a time when technical training is crucial, and games should be used as a training tool and a way to measure development.

This age is a time when players need ample game minutes to hone their new skills at a variety of positions. Players need to be encouraged to take risks. Defenders and goalkeepers should not be afraid of playing out of the back. Attacking players need to develop the confidence to beat opponents on the dribble, and possess the ball instead of launch it up the field. Any coach will tell you that these things usually go out the window if your sole focus is to win your games. Unfortunately, that is what the new GotSoccer rankings will do; hinder what little emphasis there already is on development and put all the onus on winning games.

In GotSoccer, you don’t get ranking points for style, or possession, or close games. You don’t get points for letting all your athletes have playing time, or putting your fast goalscorer in the back or midfield to develop his all around ability. You get points for beating teams, and for winning games and tournaments. You earn points and the higher rankings that go with them for focusing on winning at the exact ages when that should be the least of your worries as a coach and as a parent. It is a terrible message being sent by an influential voice.

I am not naive enough to think that this does not happen already. We all know that youth soccer has stopped focusing on children competing against other children. We all know it’s often focused on adults competing against other adults through their children. A hyper-competitive, win-at-all costs mentality has already taken over youth soccer down to the U9 age group in many places. It is causing many talented, developmentally focused coaches to quit rather than make sure their U10 team wins all its games.

It is causing many parents to have their 7-year-old specialize in only soccer so they can make the travel team at 9 and be a star, only to burn out by age 13. This environment is driving far too many kids to quit the most beautiful game in the world. It is causing them to hate soccer!

We all should know better!

Gavin Owen-Thomas states on his bio that he has a USSF and a UEFA A License. He states that they have had many requests for 9- and 10-year-old rankings. From whom? The USSF, U.S. Youth Soccer, or perhaps the NSCAA? Of course not. The requests come from mis-guided parents who are living out their unfulfilled athletic dreams through their children. The rankings serve these parents; they do not serve the best interests of the children!

I do not know Mr. Owen-Thomas, but hopefully this message will reach him. Sir, please reconsider your decision to start ranking 3rd and 4th grade soccer teams. If you are really a person who is concerned with the future and growth of the game in the United States, please do right by the kids, and stop this nonsense.

You have a choice. Your legacy can be one of a good soccer man who made a mistake and fixed it, or you can be the guy who enabled little Johnny’s dad to proudly proclaim “My son plays on the No. 1 ranked 3rd grade soccer team in the whole USA.”

Choose wisely Mr. Owen-Thomas, for our kids’ sake. [/quot


gotsoccer rankings are a joke!!!!!!!! some leagues don't use got soccer. in others, a 4th place d1 team gets zero points but a d3 first place team does????? which of those two teams are better? lmao

gotsoccer rankings are a joke!!!!!!!! some leagues don't use got soccer. in others, a 4th place d1 team gets zero points but a d3 first place team does????? which of those two teams are better? lmao

Remember, if your team plays in a tournament/league that does not use Gotsoccer for registration/scheduling/results, your team can't acquire Gotsoccer points for those activities.

Gotsoccer charges tournaments/leagues by the team and for credit card processing, so many stay away.  And, if a tournament pays over $1000 to be a "promoted event", the tournaments/leagues receive a higher tournament ranking which gives teams more points.

I know many people dis-like gotsoccer and what it stands for but its the best ranking system we have around, especially for thousands of teams around the country. It's just an indication of how successful a team is compared to other teams around the country who they will probably never ever play.

Most people in the sports world love ranking, thats why you have sooooooo many ranking system and if I had to pick one, this system is much better than how we determine a College Football champion or Best HS football program or just about any other ranking system which uses opinions. It has its flaws but its still much better than anything we use for any other sports..

"This age is a time when players need ample game minutes to hone their new skills at a variety of positions. Players need to be encouraged to take risks. Defenders and goalkeepers should not be afraid of playing out of the back. Attacking players need to develop the confidence to beat opponents on the dribble, and possess the ball instead of launch it up the field. Any coach will tell you that these things usually go out the window if your sole focus is to win your games. Unfortunately, that is what the new GotSoccer rankings will do; hinder what little emphasis there already is on development and put all the onus on winning games.

In GotSoccer, you don’t get ranking points for style, or possession, or close games. You don’t get points for letting all your athletes have playing time, or putting your fast goalscorer in the back or midfield to develop his all around ability. You get points for beating teams, and for winning games and tournaments. You earn points and the higher rankings that go with them for focusing on winning at the exact ages when that should be the least of your worries as a coach and as a parent. It is a terrible message being sent by an influential voice.

I am not naive enough to think that this does not happen already. We all know that youth soccer has stopped focusing on children competing against other children. We all know it’s often focused on adults competing against other adults through their children. A hyper-competitive, win-at-all costs mentality has already taken over youth soccer down to the U9 age group in many places. It is causing many talented, developmentally focused coaches to quit rather than make sure their U10 team wins all its games. "

Nailed it.

Ranking teams younger than u16 is ridiculous.

Wish this much effort went into ranking individual players. Of course, that would require some actual work.

Laimport wrote:Ranking teams younger than u16 is ridiculous.

Wish this much effort went into ranking individual players. Of course, that would require some actual work.

Maybe I can develop a program to rate players problem with ranking individual players is subjectivity of the observer/critic though...

There is one on the girls side dot no about boys

AllPaoTeam wrote:

Laimport wrote:Ranking teams younger than u16 is ridiculous.

Wish this much effort went into ranking individual players. Of course, that would require some actual work.

Maybe I can develop a program to rate players :)problem with ranking individual players is subjectivity of the observer/critic though...

Good point.

Until youth soccer starts using quantitative/qualitative performance stats (like Castrol Index, etc.) it is all too subjective.

Wait...I probably just gave somebody a new business idea...to sell to parents...

WHAT? We have a Castro index? Please elaborate!

John O'Sullivan wrote:

GotSoccer Insanity: Ranking 9-year-olds! Really?

By John O'Sullivan

We all should know better!

Gavin Owen-Thomas states on his bio that he has a USSF and a UEFA A License. He states that they have had many requests for 9- and 10-year-old rankings. From whom? The USSF, U.S. Youth Soccer, or perhaps the NSCAA? Of course not. The requests come from mis-guided parents who are living out their unfulfilled athletic dreams through their children. The rankings serve these parents; they do not serve the best interests of the children!

I do not know Mr. Owen-Thomas, but hopefully this message will reach him. Sir, please reconsider your decision to start ranking 3rd and 4th grade soccer teams. If you are really a person who is concerned with the future and growth of the game in the United States, please do right by the kids, and stop this nonsense.

You have a choice. Your legacy can be one of a good soccer man who made a mistake and fixed it, or you can be the guy who enabled little Johnny’s dad to proudly proclaim “My son plays on the No. 1 ranked 3rd grade soccer team in the whole USA.”

Choose wisely Mr. Owen-Thomas, for our kids’ sake.

This is another example of why the USA does not produce top International players. The link to the article below shows what the world does.

The NY Times article "How a Soccer Star is Made" is in stark contrast to all this touchy-feely, lets poke fun at the "Stupid Parents" who are living vicariously through their kids nonsense. It is all too easy to bash parents and players and pen woefully about the impending burn out that ensues so that you sell a politically correct agenda where competition is evil and we are all the same (but different when it suits our own personal agenda).

American Tackle Football players start as early as 5 years old playing and training in their sport and the same goes for Tennis, Swimming, Gymnastics etc. so why is early training in Soccer/Football excluded?

"How a Soccer Star Made"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0