SoccerAmerica - Academy coaches off to French program 02/26/2013

12 comments

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 10:01 a.m.

What in the world those coaches will be doing in France? How many WC championships France has besides that made up WC final in 1998 when the Brazilian National player Ronaldo almost died right after lunch hours before living the hotel to the final match? Spend a month in the streets of Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires, you will learn more about soccer and how we should approach it in America than any other federation course can give to you as coach anywhere in the world, especially an American coach. American coaches need to learn how to build scenarios seen and done daily in Brazil and Argentina...Have a nice trip to France!!!

Jamie Nicewander

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.

Didn't France have a debacle in the last world cup that embarrassed the entire Nation? Regardless... I wish them luck and it will be a great learning opportunity. The "two weeks of immersion at an international youth academy at two of the following clubs: Paris St. Germain, Lyon, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and VfB Stuttgart."...THIS will be an amazing learning opportunity. Especially the Athletic Bilbao program, hopefully this includes some time with the Genius Bielsa! Now I'm jealous. The visits to help create more youth academies is possibly the best thing to come out of the trips. THIS is where American Teams really are faltering. With healthy , well organized academies, youth soccer can become so much more effective and profitable.

Ric Fonseca

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 1:58 p.m.

Holy smokes!!! A 16 month-long learning experience? Will the successful candidates also receive their licenses AND a baccalaureate degree? And here I thought that our coaching licensing courses, from one to several was a time consuming and "well earned" task, but Mon Dieu! 16 months?? Is this a typo, maybe 16 weeks??? At least they'll be able to travel Western Europe and see many wonderful sights, cultural and sporting and the cathedrals of soccer, etc. Nevertheless, hope the coaching candidates benefit and return to share their newly found knowledge and experiences! Bon chance, mon amis!!!

Jamie Nicewander

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 2:23 p.m.

With Charter schools being easier and easier to establish, I am shocked that more MLS teams are not creating satelite academies (ex; mini academy schools in far reaching areas across the united states. Under most Charter school regulations the State would pay for all of the educational needs, (which by the way, after nearly 20 years in education, I can see distance learning and online classes replacing almost all staff in such a charter school), and the MLS team would just have to support the athletic side. It is a very small, low risk investment. It would create talent (each team academy has first rights to contact etc.)and a fan base across the united states for each team, as well as spur on local community teams to step up their game. This could grab young talent before they are corrupted by football, basketball in high schools that typically don't care about soccer programs. I live right on the border and the talent is amazing but there is no investment in the youth in that direction. These don't have to be huge sprawling facilities, there are so many free and city supported amenities that it could be done very cheaply. I really think Academies are where U.S. soccer needs to place its attention.

Rich Perry

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 4:05 p.m.

So Luis, your recommendation is that they go to Brazil or Argentina and learn what exactly? So what you're saying is these academy coaches need to learn that kids who grew up in an environment where soccer is more like a religion, and are also growing up in the abject poverty of a favela or whatever, will play soccer all day own, because they have nothing else to do, and by playing on their own all day, they'll learn skills they wouldn't pick up in suburban soccer here. Wow, you may be onto something, nobody else has ever noticed that. What would these coaches then do with this before now unknown info? Fabricate a fake slum for their academy players to live in, so that they can be just like the players they'd see playing in the streets in South America. Please, keep these great ideas coming, you obviously know more than the rest of us.

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 9:57 p.m.

RICK, WHAT AN IGNORANT COMMENT!!! YOU GO TO BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE PROCESS AS A WHOLE. BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA DON'T HAVE 7 (SEVEN) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS COMBINED SIMPLY BECAUSE THE KIDS LIVE IN THE SLUM OR PLAY SOCCER IN THE SLUMS? FOR YOUR INFO, THEY DO IN THE SLUMS WAY MORE THAN AMERICAN KIDS DO IN THE SUBURBAN AREAS HERE AND NOT ONLY SOCCER. DO YOU THINK MICHAEL JORDAN TOOK BASKETBALL AS A RELIGION? WHAT ABOUT MICHAEL PHELPS? WHAT ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON? YOU WANT TO BE GOOD ON ANYTHING AND ANY SPORTS, YOU NEED TO EAT AND SLEEP DOING IT. BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT ONLY TREAT SOCCER LIKE A RELIGION, BUT HOW SOCCER IS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE AGES WHERE CRUCIAL DEVELOPING SKILLS, AWARENESS AND PASSION OCCUR. WHAT THEY ARE DOING, HOW THEY ARE DOING AND WHO IS COACHING THEM...DID YOU PLAY SOCCER AT ALL? WHO COACHED YOU FROM 5 TO 14? WHAT DID YOU DO? HOW LONG? YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS WERE SOCCER FANS OR FORMER PLAYERS? NORTH AMERICANS ARE PLAYING SOCCER SINCE WE BRAZILIANS STARTED PLAYING AS WELL. DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A LIVING OFF SOCCER? HOW MUCH ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND? WHO HAS THE MONEY TO AFFORD SOCCER IN NORTH AMERICA? WHO WATCHES SOCCER? WHO IS A TRUE FAN OF AN AMERICAN MLS TEAM AND TRULY FOLLOW THEM? ...

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 9:58 p.m.

Think about the best coach you know and wish he could be the US Soccer Head Coach! Now, bring him over to Mr. Klinsmann's spot, and you will soon realize again that coach is not the biggest problem. The biggest problem in USA soccer is its youth developmental ages growing up from 0 to 14! Watch the videos from Zico, Maradona, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi...when they were just 9-10 years old. They were already doing things with the ball exactly how they were doing at the age of 25! They simply improved through the phases, got faster, got physically stronger...Now they put the academies together, and they believe they found the problem...Which academy player you know moved up the levels and is excelling at the professional level?Don't be fool by seeing more Americans in Europe! Which one of them play for a top Champions League caliber? Pick an academy and go watch their practices from 12 to the 19s. Same junk...no movements off the ball, no CREATIVITY!!! Coaches standing by the sidelines and all the wrong bad habits happening under their own eyes. Also, just now US Soccer is demanding Futsal to all US Academy Clubs by 2014? Who will be doing the Futsal part for the academy clubs? For how long? Three months? Their soccer coaches really never played and never coached Futsal before? If they are going to start to do Futsal just because the federation is demanding them, you can tell who they are and never really saw, felt, believed what Futsal does to to youth players growing up...Oh, let's sign the teams up in a Futsal league! You are doing no good to them at all! When these players get to any decent true developmental coaches, they are lacking the major principles in skills, awareness and true passion for the game. Mr. Klinsmann is not a magician! None of the coaches is!

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.

Like some people mentioned, USA players cannot devote the same time as Brazilians and Argentinians devote to soccer. Too much distractions, too much school work to get done. Above all, the competition among them is many times unfair and unrealistic! Youth coaches try to put the best together to win, winning they call themselves great coaches, winning the players think they are on the right path. Sorry tournaments, players who can't trap, pass, dribble, cross, move of the ball, at the age of 14 he has 300 medals and 200 trophies at home. American families are not deeply involved in soccer for generations...despite the fact they are going broke spending on coaches' fees, soccer gear, gas, travelling, food and hotel like no one else in the world! They stop their lives to watch NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB games, but they still don't stop their lives to watch soccer leagues' games throughout the world. We still find soccer players who don't know who the greatest soccer players were or are. They don't watch the game enough. Say they are fan of a certain team and player, but you ask about a nice play or team roster, they don't know can't tell. Most of the professional MLS players are picked from colleges, and the real soccer player he does not have too much time to spend with school, you will not find him in colleges because he can't afford or does not meet the school minimum requirements. How he will get scouted to play MLS and eventually be at the national soccer team roster if he is not attending any college? Mr. Klinsmann is not a magician, and no matter how well he does coaching, training the team, if the team is not good enough, you will be reading stories like this one above until he gets fired! Bring Mr. Mourinho, Guardiola, Ferguson, Parreira, Dunga...he will not do it too! All the answers are all there for you to see them...

Rich Perry

commented on: February 26, 2013 at 11:09 p.m.

Heh, Luis, I see you found your caps lock key. Sorry, I couldn't read but the first few lines of your first reply, then I kinda scanned some of the rest. I'm sure I'm not the only one who reads your stuff and is amused how you spout obvious ideas that are commonly held by many many American soccer fans as if it's some wondrous insight that only you know (really? the reason the US isn't a soccer power is NOT because they just haven't found the right coach yet? fascinating), and how you also seem to imply that it would be so easy to replicate in this country how kids learn to play soccer in South America, simply by going and down there and watching. Environment has nothing to do with it according to you, it's just coaches not wanting to learn. You're funny.

Luis Arreola

commented on: February 27, 2013 at 12:30 p.m.

Rich, since when the obvious what everybody follows or agrees with?? You both have good points and I think you are misunderstanding each other. What I think Luis is saying is why go to France when Brazil and Argentina are obviously better top class player machines that would be more valuable to learn from ?? The fact that they might be poorer does not mean that this is the missing ingredient to developing the best. Brazil, is now in fact the leading Economy in all of Latin America, I think including Mexico. They must have a very effective development program aside from the fact that it is the most popular sport and lived differently. The same could be said of France but these 2 countries are obviously more successful. Do you know for a fact that all of their top players come from poverty/slums? I think it would be wrong to assume that. But let's say it is true to at least some degree. We have plenty of impoverished communities in USA as well and cultural communities where soccer is the top sport that is played with a passion that is passed on from many generations of immigrants. Given this fact we could in fact learn from Brazil at a more successful scale than France. Don't you think?? Mexico is right next door and they are proving great success in player development. Do we even care to look there?? Of course the environment would have to do alot with it. Can we not implement ideas that would influence that type of environment??

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 27, 2013 at 4:20 p.m.

Rich, I didn't say USA didn't find the right coach yet. I said "Who are the youth soccer coaches?" Anyone can coach soccer especially during crucial developmental ages from 5 to 14, find the park nearby and see what they are doing to the kids... I also didn't say environment has nothing to do with it. ENVIRONMENT has a lot to do with it. Why do you think a person growing up in Japan speaks English? Same in China, France and England. The way the environment is exposed to you, it is directly related to who you are! Japan is copying the Brazilian soccer and their women soccer team is the current FIFA World Champions even before Brazil and Marta (five time FIFA Player of the Year)...Look at Marta and look at Wambach? Any similarities? They speak different languages, they have nothing alike and skill wise speaking they are what their environments expose soccer to them like. One last thing, I am totally responsible for what I have been writing, but I am not responsible for what you believe and think I wrote! I have said many things, and you seem to totally misplace my points! For sure, the coaches will be grabbing many things here and there going to France and getting their coaching diploma. My final point is, you want to get a certificate in Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, American Football...why travel to Japan and get their certificate for if the USA have the best to offer?...No more comments from me that's for sure!

Luis paulo Oliveira

commented on: February 27, 2013 at 4:22 p.m.

Growing up in Japan speaks Japanese!!!

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