I definitely agree with her on one point: her comments did make me angry.
I’m still in a “we need to grow the game in the US” phase of my fandom, and you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Berating fans ands prospective fans for not being knowledgeable enough, and that they can’t trust commentators to help them learn isn’t going to draw new fans in or help existing fans build their knowledge. Instead, it’s going to make soccer seem inaccessible and unknowable.
I coach a middle school over in West Seattle and I love it. I dont have the pressure of club soccer and honestly they’re just happy to have me. It’s mostly U12 and my focus is intro to tactics. We start with the 433, then I have them morph to a 451 based on the flow of the game. Then we transition to a 343 and we talk about how responsibilities change based on formation and flow. By the end of the season my team makes their own changes on the fly in game.
It’s fuckin great. The kids are getting better every year, and I don’t mean a little. My JV squad this past season would have kicked the shit out of my varsity team from three years ago. American soccer is screaming forward and it’s great to be a part of it.
And fuck anyone that wants to denigrate it. Seriously, what the hell was she thinking?
I definitely agree with her on one point: her comments did make me angry.
I’m still in a “we need to grow the game in the US” phase of my fandom, and you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Berating fans ands prospective fans for not being knowledgeable enough, and that they can’t trust commentators to help them learn isn’t going to draw new fans in or help existing fans build their knowledge. Instead, it’s going to make soccer seem inaccessible and unknowable.
It’s cool that you coach. What age group/level?
Well said. I can’t agree more.
I coach a middle school over in West Seattle and I love it. I dont have the pressure of club soccer and honestly they’re just happy to have me. It’s mostly U12 and my focus is intro to tactics. We start with the 433, then I have them morph to a 451 based on the flow of the game. Then we transition to a 343 and we talk about how responsibilities change based on formation and flow. By the end of the season my team makes their own changes on the fly in game.
It’s fuckin great. The kids are getting better every year, and I don’t mean a little. My JV squad this past season would have kicked the shit out of my varsity team from three years ago. American soccer is screaming forward and it’s great to be a part of it.
And fuck anyone that wants to denigrate it. Seriously, what the hell was she thinking?