Yallop laments lack of technique

[Cheeta]

Ouch. Harsh.

Boys football at least in The 'Peg is far, far, ahead of what the girls play. But that being said, don't neglect the fact that up north our little ones are learning to play the ball in the air. Dose it show? And is it any less a quality than being able to dribble slightly more effectively with your off foot than your southern neighbours?

Don't discredit either, the power of hard play and how much quality tackling can effect your opponents game play. That would be a mistake.

[Soju]

So we should ignore women's soccer because a woman said she was taught to kick hard and play physical, OK got it. I'll never understand this slamming women in sport routine I see on this forum from time to time.

[kelownaguy]

By reading the article, I really don't think Yallop was trying to use our lack of technical skills as a scapegoat for our losses, it sounds like more or less he was trying to stress how important it is for the youth coaches to get these skills developed at a younger age. Canadian athletes no matter what sport seem to be known worldwide for giving 110% and playing with a lot of heart , but maybe lacking in the technical skills department which really shows against the top ranked nations (ex.- rugby and soccer) with hockey the exception of course. I know one of the players on the Canadian national rugby team who plays professionally in Cardiff, Wales. He told me that the calibre of rugby he sees in the pro ranks in Wales is like night and day to what he sees when he comes back to play for the Canadian national team. It's not for a lack of trying, as they give it their all everytime out, they just can't compete with the top 6 or 7 nations in the world cause the skillset on the top teams is so much more superior. (Canada is ranked 14th in the world) I can't remember the exact score, but last week in England our rugby team (minus a few pros that couldn't play due to club commitments) lost something like 70-6 to England. If we could ever combine the technical and individual skills with our heart and desire, we would be a world cup calibre team every year.

[savagebeast]

Frank'son the score network tonight....lets hear his excuses this should be priceless? Canadian comedy tv at it best.

[The Beaver]

[kelownaguy]

whoops,,hit submit too early there.

Anyways, one thing that frustarates me as a Canadian soccer fan is it always seems like our opponents have the superior passing and dribbling skills and are a lot more confident on the ball compared to our players. (With the exception of a few,,,Deguz, Stalteri, and DeRo seem okay) Just look at the amount of times each game where our defence has to pass the ball back to the goalie as compared to the other team. Call it a lack of creativity, or confidence or skills or whatever,,, but were just not on par with many of the other countries.

The reason why we are so superior in hockey is not just because these skills are taught at an early age, its because kids play so much pickup hockey and games of shinny on ponds and outdoor rinks where they learn to develop confidence, creativity , and practice their skills on their own. Its amazing how many of this countries top hockey players come from small towns and farming communities, where they can practice all the time, as compared to players in the NHL that grew up in downtown Toronto or other big cities. I've been to Mazatlan Mexico for springbreak vacation a couple years in a row, and everyday when I go lie on the beach to nurse my hangover, there are Mexican kids all over playing pickup soccer games on the beach (and this is just in the tourist zone) , all day long.....I'm sure this is like this in many other Caribbean and South American nations,,, very similar to how our kids play hockey on the frozen ponds and outdoor rinks all day long. In Canada, I rarely ever see little kids or teens getting together for pickup games of soccer where they can develop these kinds of skills, so we are kind of behind the 8-ball right off the bat, that's why it makes it even more important that we stress that youth coaches teach these at very early ages.

[kelownaguy]

Beaver , as I mentioned in an earlier post, if we could ever get our ball control , creativity and passing skills on par with other countries, to go along with our well organized team play and effort we have now, I think we'd be seeing us qualify for a lot more world cups...

[BrennanFan]

"Coaches coaching Coaches to Coach". Let me use a photocopying analogy to demonstrate to uselessness of this. When you make a photocopy of a photocopy, its not as good as making a photocopy from the original. Steadily, the photocopy quality gets worse and worse. same thing here- wont improve much. Anyways, i think we're missing the whole essense of improving ball skills and technique by stressing coaching. You cant really coach that, it has to develop on its own, its like DaVinci, great painter that he was, couldnt just go out and teach someone to paint like him no matter how talented his student might have been. Why do nations like brazil, england, italy, even honduras and guatemala produce more skilled players? is it really because of the coaching, or is it because, from a young age, the kids are kicking the ball in the streets from dawn till dusk? Canada doesnt produce skilled players because soccer is to controlled and formal. Kids should be playing by themselves in parks, and using smaller fields- not be put into associations for $80 a summer and wear uniforms and shin pads and play 11 on 11 on large fields. You cant breed creativity like that. Focused coaching is great, but it wont change much.

[bettermirror]

exactly brennanfan. each and every single week, i stress to my u11 rep boys that they HAVE to play on their own in their yard. in the hallway (without getting caught!), in the street (if it's not busy) at lunch, at gym. EVERY CHANCE THEY GET. without hesitation and with imagination. always trying different things. only 1 or two of the boys take this to heart and the improvement in them during the skill drills is immense and are way ahead of the more "talented" individuals on the team.

i used to play for hours on my own in the backyard and at the park and it got me places i only dreamed of as a youth soccer player.

soccer cannot be seen as recreation anymore if we want to compete and win. it has to be seen as a passion.

[BrennanFan]

Yea individual passion is needed, but theres other things we can do. I am of Peruvian heritage by the way, and when i went back to see my family in 2000, i was amazed by the amount of little soccer fields everywhere. They were like the size of a tennis court, with nets a little bigger than a hockey net. They were everywhere. The surfaces were dirt or concrete (in fact most kids never see a grass field until they reach a certain skill level, its like a goal for them to play on a proper field). Also at every field there were buckets with soccer balls in them. Yea we need passion, but we could also give the kids a little shove in that direction, by creating things like this. Yea i know theres soccer fields in some parks, but that just doesnt say 'passion' to me, it doesnt cut it- need a more focused infrastructure to breed creativity, AND ITS NOT ABOUT COACHING.

[The Beaver]

quote:Originally posted by bettermirror

exactly brennanfan. each and every single week, i stress to my u11 rep boys that they HAVE to play on their own in their yard. in the hallway (without getting caught!), in the street (if it's not busy) at lunch, at gym. EVERY CHANCE THEY GET. without hesitation and with imagination. always trying different things. only 1 or two of the boys take this to heart and the improvement in them during the skill drills is immense and are way ahead of the more "talented" individuals on the team.

i used to play for hours on my own in the backyard and at the park and it got me places i only dreamed of as a youth soccer player.

soccer cannot be seen as recreation anymore if we want to compete and win. it has to be seen as a passion.

I'll agree with Brennan fan in the same way that BetterMirror does (ie. kids need to play a lot to get good), but I'll disagree with the assumption that "coaches coaching coaches to coach" is a useless or poor idea. First off, what if senior coaches were telling newer coaches that one of the most important things to do is encourage your players to buy a ball and practice dribbling and ball control etc in their backyards or with friends for an hour every day? This is a very good tip, and not one that all coaches will think about. Now imagine all the other amazing tips experienced coaches have to offer. The photocopying analogy is interesting, but you've not taken it as far as it needs to go, and have not looked at it more realistically. First off, there are copiers now that kicks ass in terms of copy quality. Technology has improved the copier to the point where some copiers produce copies nearly as good as the original. And guess what, they are only going to get better? Now, when applied to "coaches coaching coaches to coach", this reality of the photocopying analogy becomes very important. If the quality of the copier (the coach who is coaching other coaches) and the technology (the system by which coaches coach other coaches) are poor, then you are right--not much will improve, though it WILL improve marginally. If the quality of the copier (coach) and the technology (the system) are of a high level, then the results will be quite impressive.

Passion is vital, but it must also be nutured or it will die. This happens too often in all areas of our lives. Not very many of us know how to nurture and encourage the passions of others. i am glad to hear that the two of you are aware how vital passion is to the game, and i am sure you will do your damnedest to nurture it. A stronger soccer culture would help, but Canada is a long ways from having one--still, we cannot wait around for the rest of society to catch up. Good post, lads.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Yea i know theres soccer fields in some parks, but that just doesnt say 'passion' to me, it doesnt cut it- need a more focused infrastructure to breed creativity, AND ITS NOT ABOUT COACHING.

But a coach can help facilitate that passion. I can only speak of it from a basketball perspective but as a coach in that sport, I have successfully imparted in a number of players a real desire to improve their ball handling, dribbling, and shooting skills by encouraging them to show boat and have fun in practice. This carries over to the playground because when its fun, and they are not simply trained to run set plays and make the safe pass, they will go out and practice those skills foolishly thinking that they are just having a good time. You want a point guard who can make a one handed bounce pass through traffic you have got to allow him to fail several times in game situations and encourage him/her to continue to try. It also means putting time and effort into the mental aspect of the game - which ever game - so they can learn from those mistakes and take it to the next level. Basketball in Saskatoon is an "activity", and many of the "activity" kids simply become better recreational players and that is it. But the atletes with desire, develop some real interesting skills. It doesn't win a lot of junior trophies, but it develops skillful and creative players.

So yah, kids have to be out on the playgrounds hacking around and trying the unusual, the risky, the stylish. Coaches can encourage that by allowing the same into their practices and game play.

[Robert]

Well done Frank. Finally some truth. This is the most optimistic I have felt about Canadian soccer in years. First we have to be honest and admit our shortcomings. Now we can start to address them. How sensitive we get when the truth is spoken. This type of thread clearly seperates the men from the boys. Frank spoke the truth, we do not pocess ANY players with a high international level of technique. That is why Guatemala walked al over us at Swangard. Controlled winning of the ball was so superior by the Guatemalans, Ruiz in particular. When can only dream of a talent like his. Go ahead, let me have it! Ruiz will get Guatemala to Germany, and I'll wager anyone on that. So not only do we lack in technique as admitted my our still employed national coach, few will argue we failed in preparation as well. Not one of our players is at an technical level that rates as international. We have a collection of role players. Stalteri is in excellent condition and can read the play of the game. Does he have the technical talent to dictate play? No way. Radzinski can put the ball in the net when he receives international calibre service. Can he do so without? Obviously not. Do we currently have a play maker? No, never had. Maybe Hargreaves could have been. De Vos, A for effort, knows how to keep the ball out of danger, but can he turn it around. De Guzman, he reminds me of Bunbury, technical ability at a national level, but international? The record speaks for itself. So if you don't have the individual technique and you don't prepare enough to preform well as a team, then we got exactly what we deserved. An early exit and having to listen to Kevan Pipe and all the other cry-babies in this country pointing there finger in every direction so they don't have to look in the mirror.

[Guest Ed]

That's not truth, it's a load of rubbish. Julian de Guzman is as good technically as any player in CONCACAF. Can I throw your "First we have to be honest and admit our shortcomings" quote back at you. The truth is that Frank Yallop didn't field our strongest team and played several players out of position. You don't experiment in the opening game of the semis. Our worst WCQ round ever and yet the coach continues to be praised?? It boggles my mind.

[Robert]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

That's not truth, it's a load of rubbish. Julian de Guzman is as good technically as any player in CONCACAF. Can I throw your "First we have to be honest and admit our shortcomings" quote back at you. The truth is that Frank Yallop didn't field our strongest team and played several players out of position. You don't experiment in the opening game of the semis. Our worst WCQ round ever and yet the coach continues to be praised?? It boggles my mind.

Without adequate preparation the opening game could only be an experiment. Rad doesn't show and DeVo gets misdiagnosed and you say it's Frank's fault. On top of that you say Ju de Gu is as good technically as anyone in the States, Mexico and the rest of Concacaf. No one has ever taught him how to pass. Give your head a shake.

[Grizzly]

Maybe you should give your head a shake, Robert, and try writing less ill-informed, illogical posts. The only team in our group that was more technically skilled than Canada was Costa Rica and their performance in the tournament was not that impressive despite their (barely) qualifying for the next round. Guatemala was the least technically gifted, their best player being an MLS player and not someone of a "high international level of technique" like Wanchope or Radzinski. Their success was due to better preparation, better tactics, playing more as a team and a coach who used what he had available to him far better than our coach did. They may well qualify for the WC now that they are playing in what must be the weakest Hex round in recent memory.

All of the posters here would love to see our skill level improve and technique emphasized more in training youth players. Noone would deny that steps should be undertaken to achieve this. I would commend Yallop if what he said was that our coaches and associations should do more to promote teaching technical skills to our players. What he said, however, is that we did not have the technical skills to qualify and that is absolutely false. We definitely had players skilled enough to get to the Hex and at least have a decent chance of qualifying for the WC from the Hex. The problem is Yallop did not call several of our top players, did not respond or notice weak performances of several starters, played players out of position and in tactics not suited to them, did not call a strong bench to bail us out when injuries such as those to Radz and DeVos occured, did not use the limited time and matches he had effectively, etc, etc. I have watched De Guzman play in the Bundesliga and he passes quite effectively. However, his coach there has the innovative idea of playing him in his proper position with players running into positions where they can receive a pass. If you want to separate men from the boys, one of my first criteria would taking personal responsibility and admitting to your errors. Yallop is the one pointing the finger and not wanting to look in the mirror. I have heard a number of excuses from him for why we failed to qualify none of which included any personal responsibility whatsoever. I would have more respect for him and more hope for the future if he would take responsibility and admit to mistakes that he will correct in the future.

[BrennanFan]

Maybe our 'technical skill' was on par with the rest of our group, but in terms of creativity, we are so behind its a joke. We have absolutely no creatively gifted player on the team. Deguzman and DeRo showed sparks, but that wasnt gonna get us anywhere. All of the other teams going to the hex are way ahead of us in terms of creativity. Nevertheless, based on the strengths we did have, we should still be in it, and the fault lies primarily on Yallop's decision-making.

[Canuck Oranje]

Creativity is developed through free play and not through structure. Until we have a soccer culture that results in informal small-sided games in parks and thriving indoor futsal activities, we will lag behind on creativity.

In my opinion, we are further behind in tactical coordination than we are in in individual technique. But that would mean, the coach and the CSA has to take a little more responsibility.

[Gordon]

One thing that every team in our group did better than us by a large measure was support of the player with the ball and their movement off the ball to provide that support. It allowed for all the teams to keep possession better and take positive actions that were easy.

One thing that happened repeatedly when Canada played the ball out of their own zone was for th forwards to pressure the deep mid who presented for the ball. This was where DeGuzman struggled sometimes as he tended to turn immediately and would find himself pressured by a defending forward and a midfielder with very few options for going either forward or laterally. Grande did better as he tended to move the ball laterally immediately (away from the pressure) after recieving it and gave himself one or two more options although committing to a specific flank in doing so.

I think Julian is used to better support from his teammates. There is nothing wrong with his skills - I agree with ED they are as good as any in CONCACAF. I think he is just used to playing with better support - backs and midfield partners who present for the ball consistently and compentently. I would venture that we'd have seen fewer problems if Stalteri had played more than one game and we had a more skilled Centre half partnering DeVos.

[RJB]

I think that he's right. How often do you go to a park and hear the coaches and parents yelling from the sidelines, "Good Boot!"

Or a player screaming down the field away from the ball, yelling, "Send Me!"

Not to mention the fact that coaches in youth soccer only care about results. They don't care if players don't practice, or practice poorly. Believe me, I know, because I'm fresh out of the youth set up of the BCSA.

[Thrylos 7]

Been reading the thread and various comments about technique/development from our youngest 5-11 years to National level.

It is clear that the grassroots level youth clubs play a key role in what comes out of the pot in regards to producing quality players who aspire to college/pro/ National level.

The CSA and the Provincial bodies should be taking a more pro active approach in guiding youth clubs as to the best way to foster all the right elements and ingredients that are needed in order for Canadian kids to develop.

Here in the Abbotsford club we believe that the "environment" in which kids play in from the age of 5 is key to getting our hooks into them and instilling a love for the game. Our Wee Kickers program for 5 & 6 year olds marries the elements of free play/street soccer with some organization. We have no set teams, no subbing, no coaches or parents screaming "boot the ball" we allow the kids to play small sided games 3v3, 4v4,to "live" the game and make mistakes, we encourage them to keep the ball, dribble and score.

We educate volunteers and parents about overcoaching and sideline behaviour etc.

When the kids reach U-8 we offer 2 programs, Recreational for those who wish to continue on the traditional 12 to a team 1 practice/1 game a week with a volunteer coach or Development for those who are keen and want more.

In our Academicals Development program for U-8 -U-10 we provide a qualified paid head coach who oversees their particular age group and trains the kids and works with the volunteer coaches.We work on skill development twice a week and play 1 weekly game .

The philosophy & training approach of the “Academicals” program is influenced by various European youth development systems that encourage creativity, skill & technique development and the right attitude within the young player while virtually ignoring teaching the game itself until the appropriate time. This logic is based on the premise that without the correct background and tools more complicated situations such as tactics and game scenarios cannot be performed. The Academicals format is to create, provide & encourage an environment that is conducive to the player’s long term development & enjoyment. We should walk before we run.

Also during the summer we provide a "Street Soccer" free program. Kids from 5-11 turn up 3 times a week for a couple hours at a park and run the show as they would in the streets/beaches/sandlots in the rest of the world. No coaches, refs, lined fields, parents interfering etc. Just kids playing the game .

So anyhow this is how we in Abbotsford try to address and promote the game & development at our younger levels and hope that the passion and self motivation sinks in for them and hooks them as they grow and aspire.

Cheers

[manutd1]

Yallop can talk about technique, but the fact is that before we worry about producing another Owen Hargreaves, maybe we ought get our guys together a few more times before we start trying to qualify for the WC. The fact is that we have players on good pro teams, but they are not pivotal players on those teams. Wales has good players on pro teams but again they are not the pivotal game changing players on their teams. Despite this, if the team was organized properly we could find success. Everton currently is an example in the EPL. We lack a midfield player with real savvy, but perhaps currently the CSA should focus on creating a cohesive unit before they start critisizing our players technique. Even Brazil has to play a few friendlies!!!

[Guest Ed]

quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Maybe our 'technical skill' was on par with the rest of our group, but in terms of creativity, we are so behind its a joke. We have absolutely no creatively gifted player on the team. Deguzman and DeRo showed sparks, but that wasnt gonna get us anywhere. All of the other teams going to the hex are way ahead of us in terms of creativity. Nevertheless, based on the strengths we did have, we should still be in it, and the fault lies primarily on Yallop's decision-making.

I don't fully agree with that assessment. Watching Radzinski and de Guzman live, they show all sorts of creativity but they don't have anybody on the same page. A lot of our problems as a team boil down to a lack of familiarity. Some of the players were short on technical skills but not all. Some were definitely not creative, booting the ball up field at the slightest hint of pressure, but again not all. No one is arguing against teaching skills to young players. But I do have an issue with that being used as an excuse for our WCQ peformance. I do agree with you that selection played a big part.

[Grizzly]

I think a strong distinction has to be made between the issues of whether the technical training of our young players could be improved and whether we had a squad that was technically gifted enough to qualify for the World Cup. I don't think anyone regardless of their opinion of Yallop or the reason we didn't qualify would deny that improvements could be made in training young Canadian players. It is the claim by Yallop that his team was not technically proficient enough to qualify that is controversial. He had a pretty good idea of the players available to him and the CONCACAF opposition before taking the job. If he thought our players were not able to qualify for the World Cup he should have said so earlier and turned down the job offer. The failure to stand behind his team is cowardly and the worst sin that a coach can commit. Near the end of his reign Ossieck did this as well (comments after games in Germany and Estonia). He didn't last long after this and this may have hastened his departure more than his excessive discipline.

[bettermirror]

hopefully after chilliwack employs a head coach (it's being advertised on the web site) as abby have done then we can begin to follow your footsteps. i agree completely with teaching technique, not tactics. all i ever bring to practice are skill drills. abby are a program that everyone should emulate.