r/TheSoccerNetwork

My kid's 6, been playing about 6 months. Quietly loves it. Not the loudest on the pitch but you can tell it means a lot to him.

Early on I kept doing the thing on the drive home where I'd debrief him. Not harshly just like "you played well today", "next time try to..." thought I was being a good dad honestly.

Then I read something that got me. Kids were asked what they wished parents would say after games and the most common answer was nothing. Just "I loved watching you play."

Now I just wait for him to speak first. If he doesn't I say "I really enjoyed watching you, what was your favourite part?" and then actually shut up.

He talks about it so much more now. Brings it up himself.

Took me way too long to figure out. Anyone else had one of those moments with this stuff?

In his interview, Henry talks about playing for New York Red Bulls and the moment with his daughter where he realised his body just wasn’t responding anymore.

He said his daughter asked to play tag and his body couldn't move.

It reframes his MLS spell a bit, because it wasn’t just a retirement league phase. It was clearly a stage where he was becoming aware that his playing career was coming to an end.

Do Red Bulls fans look back at his time there more emotionally now, knowing what he was going through off the pitch and even on it?

Came across an old Kevin Campbell story about Rooney being involved around Everton’s first team at just 14.

It’s almost unthinkable compared to modern academy systems, especially with how strict safeguarding rules and structured development pathways are now.

It makes you wonder whether early exposure to senior environments like that actually helped accelerate players back then, or whether it would just be seen as too risky in today’s game.

Do you think any player at 14, could join the premier league in today's day and age and dominate, the way Rooney did for Everton?

Saw this clip of Michael Owen talking about how modern football is more about athleticism, pressing and systems than pure technical ability.

He argues that in today’s game, players don’t necessarily need elite skill anymore if they can run, press and fit the system.

Made me think about how Real Madrid always seems to balance both, technical brilliance + physical intensity at the top level but is he right?

Genuinely curious what people think on this one.

Any good suggestions of work out routines for my 14 year old son? There's so much conflicting info out there id like someone with real experience to offer advice. At the moment we just do general work outs to build strength and muscle but theres like a million "soccer specific" workouts depending where i look and its really just overwhelming. Ty for your time yall

When it comes to player development, I believe some of the most important things you can do is to develop fun and creativity from the beginning, create structure and systems in their 10's / teens, and then watch how these 2 come together in their college / pro years. When a player is able to nurture their creative side while having a strong understanding of the tactical side, I believe this is where we see the standout players.

I've seen kids who are around 5-8 years old, kids who are just getting into soccer, being told to follow a certain system which comes with negative reinforcement whenever they break away from this. This is a period where the athlete needs to develop the love for the game that will allow them to find their own intrinsic motivation to learn the fundamentals (like systems, styles of play, how to play a certain position in a certain formation, etc.).

The most important thing for any athlete is always the love for the game. There are so many uncontrollables when it comes to this sport, but the love for the game is something that always has to be there for the athlete to reach their potential. This is why I just think it's absolutely imperative to prioritize this from a young age over anything else. It is their love for the game that will get them through all the boundaries and obstacles that come with the pursuit of a soccer dream. However, it is their understanding of their role, tactics, and general structure that will get them to reach their potential which is why it is so important to develop both.

I’ve seen a technically gifted 9 year old get told he’s a goalkeeper because he’s tall and has good reflexes. His coach plays him there every single game, every single season. By U15 he’s a decent keeper but has no idea how to receive under pressure, can’t play out from the back with any confidence and his understanding of outfield movement is years behind his peers. That’s not a hypothetical. I’ve seen that exact story play out multiple times coaching across 8 teams from U9-U16. Early position specialisation is one of the most quietly damaging things happening in youth soccer right now and most coaches and parents don’t even realise they’re doing it.

My rule is simple, anything before U14 (recreational/competitive)I am rotating my players across multiple positions and I genuinely believe every coach should be doing the same. A striker who has never played defensive midfielder has no idea what a defensive midfielder is actually trying to do when he presses. A fullback who has never played centre forward doesn’t understand the runs he should be making space for. When you move players around early you’re not confusing them, you’re building a complete football brain. The best players I’ve ever coached and the best players I played alongside across Morocco, France, Senegal, England and the US could all play multiple positions comfortably because somewhere early in their development someone gave them the full picture of the game. Position specialisation has its place but maybe not before U14 in my opinion. Give them the whole game first and let them figure out where they belong within it.

Thoughts ?

The offseason can, in my opinion, be one of the most important times of the year for athletes. You may have just had a great year... this is the time to compound on your results and build momentum into the next season. You may have had a rough year... this is the time to work on your weaknesses, your confidence, and foster an environment for a huge comeback season.

The offseason is also a great opportunity for athletes to finally work on their own schedules and develop parts of their game where they maybe just didn't have the time to spend on during season. What I want to get into with this post is the difference between elite and average players in their approach to offseason.

Right away, I think the most obvious point to start with is who actually trains during offseason. Average players will often view this time as a break from soccer while elite players see this as an opportunity to get a leg up on their competition (The best way to relate this to the real world are college students who take the summer off versus college students who get internships). Both sets of players take a break (your body needs a break and it shouldn't be encouraged to train at a high level all summer / offseason without one), but the elite player understands that this is a period of deliberate rest which must be followed by a real plan of action to improve. What I noticed the most from my time in football was that the elite players would come back almost completely different players. Their fitness would already be excellent, their weaknesses from last season would be noticeably better, their general ability would be higher than those around them. These players came into preseason looking like they were in the middle of the most competitive period of the season. One player who is a great example of this is Ronaldo... he is a player who takes every offseason as seriously as the season itself which is why he is still playing and still competing at a high level.

Another thing that separates elite players from average players in offseason is their recovery practices. Elite players understand that they need to solidify their offseason gains through active recovery (great sleep, stretching, eating healthy, etc.) while average players will still train, but will go home after training and eat junk food, or get terrible sleep, or just sit down without doing any movement or stretching. You are not just working on your athletic weaknesses, but also strengthening habits which will help you perform at your highest level next season. Recovery is almost just as important as the training itself. Elite players are on top of this while average players tend to slip up here.

Lastly, elite players find other ways to improve in the offseason outside of the field. This can come through things like intentional game analysis (Ex: following a certain players full 90 minute game and analyzing what they're doing well / what they're struggling with, then finding ways to adapt this information to you as a player and your own development - I was a 10, so I used to watch players like Bruno Fernandes and Prime Dele Alli (so unfortunate what's happened to his career) and do this exact format). This can also come from other things like analyzing your own gameplay from last season, studying your opponents for next season, or even watching tactical breakdowns of how to play in certain formations / against certain formations to give you more of a coaching perspective on the game. There's also of course the importance of offseason gym work, and having a structured plan for this is essential.

The players who arrive at pre-season faster, stronger, technically sharper, and mentally refreshed don't get there by accident. They usually just make a decision in the first week of the off-season that most of their peers did not make, and they stick with it. Consistency is everything for anything you do.

With offseason coming up, I'm curious what your plans are. If you're a coach or an athlete, we'd love to hear from you and get your take on this.

Something came up on the training pitch recently that I couldn’t stop thinking about and wanted to bring it to this community. The shin guard debate. If you’ve been around youth soccer lately you already know what I’m talking about, kids showing up with shin guards so small they barely cover a third of the shin. I’ve been around this game a long time, played at semi-pro and pro levels across Morocco, France, Senegal, England and the US and coached across 8 teams from U9-U16, and the shift in what players are wearing for protection has been dramatic. When I play I still wear proper shin guards that actually cover and protect my shin the way they were designed to. Call me old school but I’ve taken some serious kicks over the years and I know what real protection feels like versus a piece of plastic the size of a credit card taped to your leg.

I get the argument on the other side, comfort, mobility, not feeling restricted, and at the highest levels of the game you can see why players prioritise that. But we’re talking about youth players whose bones are still developing, playing competitive soccer where physical contact is real and tackles are not always clean. A serious collision with a poorly protected shin at U14 can mean weeks off the pitch and potentially long term damage. As coaches and parents are we prioritising how a kid feels in training over actually keeping them safe? There’s a middle ground between the old school bulky shin guard and something that offers zero real coverage. Curious where coaches, players and parents stand on this, are modern shin guards actually safe or have we let comfort completely win the argument over protection?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I work with a lot of young athletes and one of the strongest pillars we work on is developing confidence. Anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in sports knows how important confidence is. With it, you can reach your greatest potential, but without it, you become an unrecognizable version of yourself. When it comes to young athletes, it is so important that we develop this early on and work through those times where confidence is lacking. I want to talk about a few things I do to help my athletes, so that confidence is something they can foster in every aspect of their life.

The first thing we do (whether it's in sessions or just watching film) is consistently point out moments where the athlete has excelled or done something well. This can be even the smallest things to show them that they are capable and can do great things on the field. If an athlete also is struggling to learn something or is having a rough session, or a rough game, we try to remind them of instances / games where they've excelled. We want the athletes to learn the importance of positive reinforcement (regardless of how they are performing). When a young athlete is in an environment where they feel confident enough to make mistakes, that's how you know you're developing an athlete who understands that confidence doesn't come from avoiding mistakes, but from pushing through them.

The second thing we do is realistic goal-setting. Nothing helps with confidence more than building momentum through the accomplishment of even the most simple goals. This can be something as small as connecting a certain amount of passes in your next game, or putting in a certain amount of crosses, or taking on a player a certain amount of times. This is a smaller exercise to just get athletes to understand the importance of goal setting. We don't encourage this approach for their whole career, but just in moments where they're trying to learn a certain concept, or they are just struggling and need to regain confidence. One form of this which is great is setting weekly goals for sessions in the gym, or extra sessions on the field (things that are entirely in their control). We want to build confidence around the athletes showing up for themselves and learning that they are in control of the one thing that matters most... showing up.

The third thing we do is to try and recommend environments with other trainers or coaches we know and trust, especially in situations where the athlete really needs a change of team. We've had our fair share of players who are on teams which destroy their confidence. We almost always recommend searching for a new team, especially when it has to do with issues with the coach. It's not just about providing an environment ourselves where we can foster and develop the athletes confidence, but also ensure they aren't in other environments which destroy their confidence. Of course, we can't control this stuff, so these are always just healthy recommendations we try to make in situations where the athlete is clearly in an environment where they are struggling.

If you're coming across this post, feel free to share your own opinions. The point of this post is to share solutions with parents or athletes who may need help with developing their confidence.

When I moved to the UK, one of my first coaches out there was a former pro who played for the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Coventry City, etc.. Under this coach, I learned a ton, especially when it came to attacking as he made his career as a forward, but there was one thing he constantly taught us that has always stuck with me...

He would always come back to this one point... the best players aren't better than you in the sense where they can hit a top bins shot, or an exceptional long ball, or make a perfect slide tackle, and you can't. Any quality player can do these things, but the difference is in consistency. His point was that the best players, the ones who make it to the highest level, have a level of consistency that those under them just don't.

An example of this is here... you give three CMs a task. One of these players is at the semi-pro level, one of these players is at the professional level, and one of them is at the highest level (first or second division in Europe's top leagues). You have all 3 of these CMs do one play, and you give them 10 reps. For this example, let's say it's a perfect cross field ball to a winger making a run in behind. The semi-pro player will hit this pass perfectly 2-3 times, the lower professional will hit this pass perfectly maybe 5-6 times, but the one at the highest level, he will hit this pass perfectly 8-10 times and will likely be at a 9/10 range. Each of these players can hit this ball perfectly if given enough opportunities, but the best players are the ones who can consistently do these plays.

You aren't different to a pro in the sense where they can do things you just can't do, they are different to you in the sense where they can do things at a far higher, consistent rate. This is why I encourage all of my athletes to focus on consistency over flair. Do things that build this consistency and you will see far greater gains, and potentially even end up accomplishing those high-level professional dreams.

Controversial take maybe but after coaching academy soccer for years across 8 teams from U9-U16 and having played at semi-pro and pro levels across Morocco, France, Senegal, England and the US I will take the hard working coachable player over the supremely talented one almost every single time. I’ve seen it at all the levels I’ve worked with, the kid who looks like a cheat code at U12 because he’s physically ahead of everyone, technically gifted, does things on the ball that make parents gasp. Then stops growing because nobody ever challenged him, he never had to work for anything and the moment coaching got demanding and honest he switched off. Talent without work ethic in my opinion has a ceiling and it usually arrives earlier than people expect.

The player I enjoy coaching the most are the ones who stay after practice, who asks the right questions, who takes a coaching point and applies it immediately without ego getting in the way. Technique can be taught and refined. I’ve seen players transform their weaker foot, their first touch, their decision making through deliberate focused work and getting to those 1 million touches outside of practice. But it is extremely tough from my experience to coach attitude into someone who doesn’t want it (not impossible but difficult).

Coachability to me is an underrated quality in a young player because it’s the thing that determines how far every other attribute takes them. The talented lazy player will always eventually be overtaken by the average player with an obsession to improve. Attitude and work ethic will always trump raw talent over time, do you agree or have you seen it go the other way?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

r/realmadrid

You MUST please kick Mbappe out of your club! He's laughing thinking that he won the LaLiga title! But your club didn't!

Mbappe, YOU'RE the Problem of Real Madrid!

Vinicus Jr, Bellingham, and others players were better than you, Mbappe!