I found an article in the Boston Globe recently that talks about player development and the unrealistic amount of time spent traveling to games. The article is about hockey but I feel it applies to our wonderful sport — soccer.
How many of our youth players are traveling over two hours each day to train with a club team, how many are spending thousands of dollars a year on traveling to the “elite” tournaments, and how many players are not getting enough training time in to improve themselves? These are questions we all need to ask ourselves. The article provides a solution to a growing problem at the youth hockey level. Do we have an answer in soccer?
Seems that we keep spinning farther and farther out of control, there are players that travel from state to state to play club soccer. I think that town associations and/or clubs can provide a player an avenue towards skill development, tactical awareness and instill passion all without breaking the bank or sacrificing the love of the game.
I think we do our players a disservice if we just say – go to club – we can’t help you anymore. Why not? Why can’t we provide quality coaching education, quality player development and increase our parent education. It will not be easy – it will take a lot of time but I think it will be worth it. I am in the middle of this process now for my town club as Director of Coaching. I hope you enjoy this article and I would love this to spark some discussion. Please share your ideas and what you are doing to combat this exodus to club/elite soccer that sometimes is no better than your town program.
Enjoy!
Boston Globe
January 31, 2010
New Program Emphasizes Development
Add Mike Milbury, father of two young hockey players, to those who believe Massachusetts youth hockey has gone to hell in a puck bucket, a theory underscored by the fact that not one Bay State boy will suit up in Vancouver for the Olympics.
“What we are doing is just not right,’’ said Milbury, NESN’s outspoken commentator. “We are not developing players. We’ve got a lot of parents out here spending a lot of time and money and it’s obvious that we’re still not getting it right.’’
But the former Bruins defenseman from Walpole believes that help has arrived. USA Hockey, in tandem with the NHL, over the last two years began rolling out a new initiative, the American Development Model, across the country. Now four Massachusetts rinks have committed to the program. ADM’s focus is getting young players to the rink, but not grinding them into the ice by encouraging them to join travel teams, play in countless out-of-town tournaments in pursuit of $5 trophies, or play the game year-round.
For many young players, and especially their parents, that runs counter to the way Massachusetts youth hockey has operated for the last couple of decades (often to pull money out of parents’ pockets). Roger Grillo, the ADM director for the Massachusetts-New England region, wants players and parents to know they now have an alternative.
Beginning next season, rinks in Dedham, Hingham, Bedford, and Dracut will be fully ADM-compliant, meaning that their programs will focus on skill development, building a love and passion for the game, and finding a comfortable balance between developing skills and playing games.
“Not everything Massachusetts has done is wrong,’’ said Grillo. “But the balance is out of whack. I mean, in some cases we’re talking mites [5- and 6-year-olds] out there checking, playing as many as 60 games a year.
“The idea behind ADM is for kids not to play year-round, to have balance in their life, play other sports, and when they come to hockey, have a passion for the game, not get burned out. Some of what goes on in Massachusetts, well, it’s like taking a T-ball player, dropping him in Fenway Park and saying, ‘OK, kid, let’s see what you’ve got.’
“It’s just not healthy. The kids don’t develop their games.’’
According to the ADM website (admkids.com), 60 percent of those who try hockey drop the sport by the time they reach peewees. Another considerable percentage, said Grillo, will leave soon after peewee.
“It’s a scary environment in Massachusetts,’’ said Grillo. “For some parents, it’s like an arms race. They think, ‘If I don’t get my kid on a travel team, if he’s not playing 80 games a year, uh-oh, he’s falling behind.’ All that happens is that the kid really doesn’t develop – because he’s too busy playing – and he gets burned out.’’
“Finally, a break in the iceberg,’’ said Milbury, who didn’t start playing the game until age 12. “Time for a change. It should not be a 12-month-a-year sport, and kids shouldn’t be put in a car for a three-hour drive to New Hampshire where they’ll be in a game that has three 12-minute periods and they play, what, 10 minutes each?
“Limit their games. Increase their training. Keep them focused, happy, and having fun.’’
Photo credit – bugeaters
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article John, I couldn’t agree more. It’s good to see that US Soccer is taking steps to address this with programs like the Development Academy on the boys side. However, that program only supports a few thousand elite players already in their teens. We, as a collective soccer nation, need to find ways to instill the importance of things like technical development, rather than just winning games, at the grassroots level. Local community clubs and rec programs are the base; we need to find ways to push (the overall level of American soccer) from the ground up to supplement the efforts of US Soccer, MLS, and WPS pulling from the top down.
As you said, coach and parent education is key to bringing this message to the vast majority of the youth soccer population in order to raise the overall standards of US Soccer at every competitive level.
When I read this article in the Boston Globe, the first think I thought of is how it relates to youth soccer. Good job sharing this John.
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