duke street 10 wrote:
What do the football coaches teach youngsters at an early age in this country?.
Why do we look terrible at controlling and keeping the ball?, nobody looks comfortable with the thing at their feet.
Its time for the F.A to sorted it.
It's because when the initial scouting is done at 5-8, they look for players that stand out matches, rather than watching them train. So that's the fast players, the physically strong players. If a kid is one of those that looks a year older than he actually is physically, they're an almost automatic pick. My cousin is the apple in everyone's eyes in the family at the moment, having been scouted and asked to train with Everton, Liverpool, United and City recently. He's a freak of a kid physically, more like a 10 year old than the 7 he is. Talent? He's got two left feet and does nothing but tackle/push the other kids off the ball then dribble it forward until he hits an opposition player's legs, then hacks away until he's free, the repeats. There are three or four kids on his team far better with a football than him, who barely get a kick during games, let alone attract any interest.
At junior levels they've tried to copy the Spanish system with reduced player numbers, but it won't work. It just means kids like my cousin find it easier as there are a few less legs to hack it past and all the easier to dominate games. Until they start picking kids on technical ability (To develop them physically) rather than picking the fast/strong kids (To develop them technically) they won't improve anything.