Player Development
I apologize in advance, this will be a longer post and packed with just some general thoughts that have come up a lot recently. Since Delusion Group was started I had no idea what my first post would be, but then these discussions have come up so regularly that I knew I had to start with these. If you know me you know I am soccer-centric, so this will be heavy on soccer but applied across all sports.
There is more than one path in player development.
No matter who you talk to or where you read, everyone has their own theory. Even me. In the end, no one path is the right way for every athlete. In any sport you can see that. No matter what people try to tell you, it is up to the athlete (and family) to discover which path is the right path for the individual(s).
A huge debate in soccer is between high school versus club versus academy. There are positives in each pathway. There are negatives in each pathway. Just because someone plays club does not mean they have better coaches than a high school player does. Just because someone is part of an MLS academy does not mean they are the best players in the state/region/country. I had a conversation recently with an MLS academy coach that said he would take eight (!) players from the local club that would start on his MLS academy team. They chose not to play with the academy for a reason, and that is fine. It is their choice.
Unfortunately because there is such a fractured soccer ecosystem in the US (and world) there will be talent that is gone unidentified. We can pick those players out anywhere who have just been “missed” that have either gone to make it OR have just left the game completely. That is life, you know? Sometimes we do not get the jobs we want. Sometimes we do not get the girl we thought we were destined to be with. Sometimes we miss out on friends that we have had for a long time. Sometimes our family becomes absent from our lives. Not everything will work out as we wish or desire.
The best we can hope for in the path we choose is that we better ourselves and better those around us. If we work towards continually bettering ourselves and those around us, then we can ensure that the sport, teammates, coaches, and community all benefit from the work we put in.
Multi-sport v. Specialization
Wow oh wow is this a hot topic. To me, the discussion is largely driven by sports who do not like missing out on their athletes. Coaches want to dictate what is best for their players. Look at how everyone quotes Urban Meyer (just one example) on his player selection. Watch the NFL draft boards talk about how players are athletic and have competed in 3-5 high school sports in their careers and that is what propelled them up the draft board. I saw it today emphasizing how a high school wrestler won a state tournament match, then went to score 33 points in a game, yet he is still a DI football signee. This kid is 6’5” and 260 pounds. He is not me as a senior in high school at maybe 5’10” and 165 pounds. I am not sure I ever met someone his size throughout my 18+ years in school. We definitely had no one with that athleticism in the area where I grew up.
My reply to the specific situation was, “I’ll tell Messi and Ronaldo they could get a DI football scholarship if they would have been multi-sport athletes.” What worked for the high school athlete to be a wrestler/basketball/football player does not always work for everyone. Nor should it be used to always emphasize how multi-sport is better. There are always outliers to these situations. I was a multi-sport athlete for most of my life and I would have never been a DI signee. But, thinking back to my development, if I emphasized more on one sport (say, soccer) I know my career would have been much better. I would have spent more time on a ball. I would have spent more time in the weight room. I would have spent more time working on my fitness.
This multi-sport v. specialization debate is largely an American problem. Why? Because coaches do not like losing their talent. Imagine how good a coach can look if they do not lose an athlete that can help their team.
“Oh, but it is only an American problem because other countries do not have the number of sports that we have available in the US.” This is one of the worst statements/opinions to make. This shows how much people do not know about other countries and what they have available. I always like to use that I have been to Northern Ireland and drove around much of the country, only to see more lawn bowling courts than soccer pitches. Every other country has their own extracurriculars just like we have in the US. Individuals are free to choose what they want to play, when they want to play it, and how they want to play it.
Know why specialization is probably a little more common now too? Recreational playing opportunities are minimal in most areas. I have coached in five states since 2009. In every situation there are no opportunities to truly play recreationally. I liked playing basketball, but I was not good enough to even consider HS basketball. But, you know what did not exist? Recreational basketball leagues to keep playing for fun where I grew up (or wherever I coached, for similar players). Know what basically does not exist for soccer? Local, recreational leagues for players if they choose not to play competitive/travel club — especially from say 12 years old and above.
I do not blame one family or kid for choosing the specialization route. It makes a lot of sense, especially if there are multiple kids in the same family that play sports. If competition and training is now stretched out all over the city/state/region, it is nearly impossible to keep up with what is required.
Yet as this is primarily a sports-driven conversation, very little is ever talked about in specialization for musicians, academics, or other avenues. If someone wants to be the best pianist, no one says, “you should play guitar to be more well-rounded.” If someone wants to become a great doctor, or mathematician, or whatever, no one says, “you should focus a little more on geography or world history because you need to be more well-rounded.” Why should it be continuously talked about with athletes only?
Age Discrimination
I use that as a generalized term, not necessarily truly discriminatory. Hear me out.
In nearly every sport in the US we break the competition down to same-age competition. U6 to U7 to U8 to U9…so on and so forth. Players are nearly-always competing within their same age bracket. This is a major detriment to many athletes’ development. How?
Players need to be playing where they are pushed…and at the same time where they fit…while also ensuring they are maximizing playing opportunities. I refereed a game this last weekend and a coach was justifying to his team on why they were U11s playing in a U12 age bracket, “they don’t have age brackets for every year, they do every two years.” That is okay! (Side note: that is what I prefer)
We do not need to always have same ages compete with same ages. Why should we? We constantly talk about “playing varsity” when we get to high school. That encompasses four-plus age brackets. College athletics encompasses potentially six age brackets. Professionals can have a 20-plus age differential!
There are many reasons why “playing up” has been rejected and often neglected through the years. Here is one example: if the U12 plays up for U14, that means a U14 may end up losing his/her spot on the team (moving from starter to bench or bench to cut). If that player loses that spot, a parent will probably get upset and take their player fee elsewhere. Thus, a club does not want to lose potentially thousands of dollars out of moving a kid up to be better competitively.
In the end, “playing up” is lesser and lesser of a possibility because there are few opportunities to truly do that. If you are in 8th grade and are the best player in the school/program, most likely you cannot play up because the HS federation only permits 9th-12th grade to play HS sports. An athlete misses out on a great year of potential development. Likewise, if you are good enough at 16 to play with 18+ year olds, you still cannot because the next competitive possibility is in college and you cannot play in college until you graduate HS. This is a major hold-up in American sports overall because of the interscholastic/collegiate ties to competitive opportunities.
Removing age brackets or extending age brackets will open the door to more development. Playing up is not a bad thing. Playing up should be encouraged. But, at the same time, we all can be in it together with open dialogue in what works best for each athlete/family.
Solutions
Personally, when I talk about problems or enter discussions that are “debated,” I like to dive into how things can be resolved/fixed. Obviously, the US does not change things quickly or entertain much change in general. But, are there ways that we can improve on player development pathways?
Figure out what works best for you and your family. That is what matters most. No need to truly listen to a specific coach or club or program. It is okay to go in with an open mind and hear opinions of others. But, there are no wrong decisions if the decision you make works best for you and family. Sure, there can be missed opportunities or consequences, but that is life and we never know what that could be. There also can be major benefits and better outcomes.
Specialize or don’t. Just know, whatever you do in life you will have to work at it. If you want to be the best soccer player AND still play another sport, that is fine! Just understand you may have to put in some extra time to be better at soccer if you are spending time playing baseball. Even if you choose to specialize and want to play for Club XYZ because it is the best in the city…know you better spend more time training on your own and developing on your own because training 2-3 times a week and playing 3-5 games at a showcase/tournament on the weekend is not going to make you the best player you can be. It also does not take much time to do a little extra to become a better player. You will not become worse by spending a little extra time either.
Find a place to play. But, challenge yourself when you can. It is important to have a good balance of training and meaningful competitions. It is also important to push yourself more than you think you are capable. See if you can get some extra training in with the U14s if you are U12, but keep playing with the U12s. Ask your club to get more opportunities if U18 is too easy, help start a senior team to play in a local/regional league.
Play and train regularly, but rest. The body can only handle so much. Your rest is important. Down time is important. Everyone needs to rejuvenate, regardless of if you think you do or not. Parents do not need to push their kids to play in 5 games in a weekend because a showcase/tournament is big for recruiting. The body wears down so much after one game, you think that the next 4 will be good? Figure out a way to train more regularly, travel less, but play locally. This increases all that we need: regular training, regular competition, and regular rest (which includes sleep!). Know what else it opens the door to? Better nutrition, better health, better bank account, and a better lifestyle.
In conclusion, thank you for potentially reading a long-winded post. Here at Delusion Group we appreciate your support and encourage you to get involved in some fashion. The world needs more people involved doing things for the greater good — soccer, art, gaming, or whatever you fancy.