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I will be posting a couple new blogs later today and Friday before leaving for a 10-day trip to Europe on Saturday. While I'm out, the blog will still be running with pre-set blogs set to post. And it should be interesting doing the weekly Soccer Top 10 from London, Paris and Germany.
As I was leaving Denver on Wednesday, I had a former standout soccer player approach me - former Lincoln-Way and Chicago Magic star Steve Doster. He recently moved to Denver from San Diego and was traveling through Chicago to have dinner with his parents before heading to Boston for a trip.
We talked about the past, and how the Magic has fallen since Mike Matkovich left and the overall fall of soccer in the South Suburbs.
"It really has changed a lot, and it's not the same," said Doster, who still stays in touch with former Magic teammates Ned Grabavoy and Brad Guzan.
Doster was just the latest to chime in about the demise in that area. After posting that blog last week, I received more than a 100 calls and emails from former coaches and players and even current coaches and parents of players today that asked why I didn't write that sooner?
I'm hoping by putting the spotlight on this issue that it will be a call to action for folks out there. Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa said Tuesday night that it's going to take three-to-five years to fix things.
And here's the question of the day...Sandburg lost to Bolingbrook on Tuesday 1-0, the Raiders' first-ever win over Sandburg. Does the result show how the mighty have fallen or has Bolingbrook improved?
It's not a slap in the face to either, but an honest question. It's really a little of both, but it shows the difference of soccer today compared to five, 10 or even 20 years ago out there.
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I was at the Bolingbrook vs Sandburg game, and here are my observations.
The game was won not because of the great offensive power but by the limited number of quality chances give to Sandburg. Bolingbrook has a solid defense and is lead by senior #11.
Is Bolingbrook improved? Tough to say as Sandburg's first touch is awful, and Bolingbrook only scored one first half goal. Neither side can boast that theie players play for any Club Power Houses. Sandburg has 3 and Bolingbrook has 2.
Parents and the High School Coach need to understand if they want to see improvement their children/players need to be with the Best Coaches and play against the Best Players. Playing for a small 'community team' is not doing anyone any favors.
Yeah parents! Send your kid to a big time club so they can play for the 4th team that plays in the brown division in NISL. That would put them in a division with great players... Sometimes, the "community team" is the best option.
The community team does not have the best players from the Bolingbrook community playing on them. It has the better players from Naperville, Plainfield, Lockport, Downers Grove very few Bolingbrook kids names are on the rosters of the top Bolingbrook traveling teams. They are running a travelling soccer team that helps other communities players get better not the players that go to Bolingbrook. Bolingbrook community travelling soccer should be represented by Bolingbrook kids not by other communities kids. So why don't we try to build Bolingbrook soccer up!! Plainfield, Lockport and Naperville are doing just fine on there own.
Anonymous is correct when he states playing on the 4th team for a large club will not help your child. Clubs which promote "POOL" players, or will not tell you which team your child has made are just taking your cash. If your child makes the 1st "POOL" along with 60 other players - guess what they will never see the top competition. If the club can not be honest with you take your money and find somewhere else to play.
But playing for a club team that uses parents and coaches does help either.
Find a club that has professional coaches, plays in the top leagues, and is willing to be honest with you. There are a few of them out there - you just have to look.
There is nothing wrong with playing for a small (or large) community team. Many of them have professional coaches, some do not. I am a professional coach, with a USSF National D license, and I have had the great fortune to coach my kids in their community for the past 12 years along with other guys like me that grew up with the game. My kids have had the opportunity to play with their friends at a pretty high level .
What I have discovered over the past 12 years is that there are a few factors that contribute to player development. The most important is the individual player's desire to improve on his/her own - think of the kid shooting hundreds of free throws in the driveway. I think of one of my sons who would dribble around the backyard endlessly taking on trees and avoiding the dogs and their business. The other important factor is the opportunity to be challenged by quality players during training sessions. This is where the bigger clubs have a huge advantage over the community clubs.
The reason I have always coached is to pass along my love for the game to the next generation like my coaches did to me. Not for kids to get scholarships or win tournaments or whatever. For the kids to play a game they love and have it be a part of their life. My hope is that in the next 10 to 20 years, there will be enough of these kids who are going through the system now who will have the knowledge and desire to be coaches when they have kids.
The best answer is to find a club where your kid is happy with the soccer and the parents can tolerate the commuting commitment. The rest of it will take care of itself.
Well Said Simple Simon. You have it right. Now if we could just clone you and spread around your attitude and outlook. That would improve the entire youth soccer community, more than anything else. If you have the love of the game and the heart to match, to a certain extent club and coach are not as important as everyone thinks. As long as the coach is teaching the game, and giving the athletes the proper atmosphere for improvement, the player is only limited by their own attitude and work ethic.
you are not a professional coach just because you attend a 4 day class to earn a D license.
So, what makes a professional coach, profi? And are you one?
No, I am not a professional coach. I am much like you in that I devote my time to coaching my kids teams and my high school team. I also have a D, but the course offered nothing new to me. Great, so now I know how to organize a practice...I can now run a 20 minute drill focusing on some aspect of the game. How many times did you see a candidate do the same drills that were demonstrated by the staff? To me, this is a scam to make money off of many who want to coach, but don't know the game or how to teach it. For those who know nothing, the course is helpful in getting started to provide their son's or daughter's teams with some kind of challenging practice to make the players better.
A professional coach in my opinion would be someone who has been around, either playing or working up the ranks as a coach, at a very high level and doing it for a very long time. In my opinion, that would mean a collegiate level or above. Playing experience would and should be a must, but again at a high level, and the coach does not necessarily have to be a great player either. That may include high school, but more likely competitive clubs and beyond.
I have seen the business aspect of soccer change greatly in the last 20 years. I am very skeptical of coaches who label themselves "professional" so they may command a higher fee for there efforts, in turn forcing kids to pay more than necessary. An accent or piece of paper does not mean you can charge 2500 a season/year, which is what happens, and parents who have not grown up with the game and don't know the game blindly pay it.
I figured from your original response that I wouldn't agree with your answer, but much to my pleasant surprise, I do. You have nailed one of the bigger problems of youth soccer on the head. I have all the qualifications you list with the exception of who I have coached for and I don't have an accent (unless you count my Midwestern one).
The problem is that the same parents who are ignorant about soccer are the same people who drive the decision of where their kids play. So the clubs that use (or used) volunteer coaches who are surrounded by clubs with professional coaches are forced to either get professional coaches (paid trainers) or run a very real risk of disappearing and not being able to provide a local alternative to the bigger clubs.
I can remember being bored stiff until it was my turn to get behind the camera. ,