Thanks. Two questions and an explanation

by Greg, seemingly ranch, Thursday, July 24, 2014, 14:02 (3586 days ago) @ Puck52

Question 1. What did you do when you had one or two players who were far better at a young age -- but not because they were more skilled, simply because they were bigger or stronger (genetically gifted) or they had older siblings and played often with them (circumstantially gifted)?

The explanation. One of the problems that I and River and others are trying to get at is the propensity of coaches to rely on those types of kids to score goals at the younger levels and therefore to not teach actual one on one skills or passing or touch around the goal or really anything that will help the entirety of the team (including the gifted kid) as they progress. What we are saying is that by eliminating the scoreboard (which you're right, every kid tries to keep in his head), you eliminate the reliance on a kid who isn't actually a skilled player but just an aggressive or strong one. Further, you teach kids to attempt things when the kids are not worried about the score -- a defender will try to play a ball earlier, a midfielder will try to make a pass to a kid making a run down a side (instead of feeding a well-guarded Big Johnny for a goal), etc.

Question 2, which obviously stems from the above. If we're not going to have kids playing the sport in the streets and parks on a friendly, no big deal, neighborhood kids basis, then when do you think that the kids can have time to experiment and to just try new things without the pressure of having to win? I see the same thing in baseball, by the way, so this isn't just a soccer thing. I can't recall the last time I saw kids playing ball in a park without coaches and uniforms and rulebooks.

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The 2007 ND-UCLA game was a once in a lifetime experience, I hope