Jack8602

So i went along to a kids soccer game the other day where a friend of mine took his lad to play, he's only 3.

Mostly ball chasing, no real formation etc which i obviously expected - they're only small.

Then at the end, all players huddled into a crouched circle and the coaches shout "1, 2, 3 - I'M A STAR!" and get the kids to follow suit!

Then they got the parents to do it! i sat still in my outdoor chair thinking "wtf is this - no, half of you are not stars, you didn't do anything, you do NOT deserve the free cupcakes that Linda Soccermom has bought for the whole friggin playing field"

Is this normal? is this how they teach soccer in the US? Up to what age does this go on until!?

This must be where participation trophies and 'everyone's a winner' comes from

ian-mstm

It's not about deserving something, or playing well, or even playing at all. It's about team building and camaraderie. My granddaughter started soccer at 3 and she's now 7. The team building kept her interested in the game... well, that and it turns out she's really fast with the ball!

Ian

Rete

Anian

No, it's where "I'm a grumpy sod and everything was better in the rose-tinted days of my youth" comes from.

Jack8602

I wouldn't say the rose-tinted days of my youth are really all that long ago considering I'm 30 - it was a question between the differences in which training is done here and in the UK.

It genuinely interests me as to how the training methods adapt as the kids get older, especially being as heavily involved in Soccer as i have been.

Ian - have you noticed any changes in the way your granddaughters team now trains as she's got older? is there more focus on strategy at that age, or is it a more similar laid back approach?

Pulaski

"Training methods"???? You're talking about a three year old!!!

Based on what I have seen with my daughter and her exposure to soccer (she is now 10) is that the biggest hurdle that MLS has to overcome is that there is limited/no interest in "pushing", or even offering, soccer at schools, so they are trying to get young kids interested in something that most parents aren't actually interested in anyway. Therefore up to around age 6, they will use just about any trick to capture kids attention and keep them coming back, and if that involves cupcakes then so be it! ..... My daughter's experience at age 3-4 was that the soccer coach was an utter dïçk, who only succeed in putting her off any interest in soccer!

chawkins99

Coaches???
A soccer game for 3-year-olds is just that. A GAME. IMO there shouldn't even be a coach, let alone coaches!
It should be a fun kick-about so the kids enjoy themselves which will entice them to come back again and (maybe) 5 OR 10 years down the road, if they still enjoy it, THEN be coached to improve their skills and maybe engage in competition.

lansbury

When you have followed kids soccer here for more than one season you will realize that the parent coaching does so because they want to, and usually it is the only way to form a team. They are not required to know anything about soccer, have played the game or have a coaching certificate.

My grandson has played Little League baseball since he was 4, he is 13 in a weeks time. In all those years not one of his teams coaches has been a qualified coach, and this year the coaches only qualification seemed to be he was married to the league president.

Where we are they seems to be no requirement for the person coaching a kids team (any sport) to be qualified to do so.

StuBear65

Wayne Rooney still gets a cupcake at the end of every game he plays, it's the only way they can keep him interested!

SultanOfSwing

They're three years old, lighten up for ****'s sake.

If they're getting outside and running about, having a good time and maybe getting a bit of exercise, then that's more than enough at this age. Until they're 8-10, soccer is going to amount to nothing more than a kick about, and they'll start honing their skills when they get to the U10 level or thereabouts.

I coached my son from U10 up to U14 and my guys worked their arses off and we were essentially a non-competitive team.

scrubbedexpat099

We always kept score...

Anian

My kids have been through it, although grew bored of it before age 10.
Before five, you don't really have a coach as much as someone who directs them in running around and hopefully moving the ball at some point. It's not until age 8 that they even keep score, and by then they will be okay at dribbling/passing and there is an actual ref. And a goalie. Still have infinite substitutions though. The emphasis is really on having fun, since only a few have any talent at all - you really notice which kids have older siblings who play.

Former Lancastrian

Is that a 50 yr old cupcake or one with actual icing on top perhaps with sprinkles or a cherry and wrapped in a paper holder?
Do you think Colleen actually bakes or is that the hired helps job?

OldJuddian

In the PNW, by 10 soccer ranges from rec (anything goes) to Select (all volunteer, try your best) to Premier (serious with paid coaches).
My premier kid has come on so much over the last three years and appears to have enough talent to continue into college. My select kid just wants to have fun. I'm OK with both - as has been said above it gets them running around outside.

Wintersong

That hasn't been my experience - I've found it to be incredibly competitive from a very early age. My kids wanted to play soccer, but there are no non-competitive clubs around. They're not particularly skillful so they're not able to play at all.