As we approach the end of the youth soccer season for many who aren’t lucky enough to spend their summers in West Virginia playing Regionals and other tournaments/leagues going through June and July, I wanted to take some time to write about something I’ve noticed a lot of over the last few seasons, which is player positions.

A good coach, a good team, and a good club are able to create a consistent environment where youth players are able to excel. The players are put in a position to succeed. They have consistent and quality training facilities, a consistent message from their youth coach(es) who have hopefully been able to keep the same core team together through multiple age groups, and they have parents who don’t put too much pressure on them to obtain college scholarships. They are put in positions to develop at their own pace, learn the importance of competing, and are ready to do whatever to help the team succeed, even if that means giving up playing time so others can get a chance on the pitch.

If you’re reading this and thinking to yourself that this sounds like a wonderful land of unicorns and rainbows where 100% of youth soccer players have every opportunity to develop and excel, then I would probably agree with you.

The honest fact, from my past year of coaching two teams in EDP (one in National League, another in EDP D3 under National League), is that this consistent development path is hardly ever followed by the majority of youth soccer players.

By creating multiple leagues which are seen by many as the “pinnacle” of youth soccer, it’s my opinion that development in this country may be taking a step backward, due to the lack of consistent coaching at young ages, and a constantly changing youth soccer landscape. But for anyone who follows us on Twitter, this is hardly a revelation. We’ve expressed these opinions on multiple occasions. Once the Development Academy was torn down, there are now two major leagues for “elite” youth soccer players: MLSNext, and ECNL (which is expanding their regional leagues as well). I won’t get into specifics in regards to leagues, but what I will say is that this change in the overall youth soccer landscape has encouraged parents and players, more than ever, to take a detour from their development plan and look for greener pastures, in an attempt to gain more “visibility” by college coaches, with leagues promising they provide a “proven pathway” to collegiate soccer.

For the first few years of my coaching career, I spent time as an assistant coach in US Soccer Development Academy. I then spent 3 seasons as an assistant coach with a USYS/EDP (and later ECNL) club team which was already competing for State Cups and making appearances at National Championships. For these combined 6 or 7 seasons, we never had a problem with players wanting to leave, because we were either already at the top of the pyramid, or a strong enough team that players knew they were developing.

Fast forward to this season, my first season as a head coach at a smaller lesser-known youth soccer club in Washington, DC were I could get more experience as a head coach. I grew up in PG County and wanted to challenge myself to coach in an environment in “The DMV” which was different from normal pay-to-play models, where it was a given that parents could afford to spend thousands of dollars every season on travel, and sacrifice their entire weekends for out-of-state matches and tournaments.

What did I take for granted in those early years in the higher echelon of Baltimore youth soccer? The fact that access to consistent training facilities is important. The fact that parents don’t actually tend to stick around at the same youth clubs unless those clubs are included in the ECNL/MLSNext roadmaps. The fact that most of those kids in Baltimore were well coached in their earlier youth days, learned to play specific positions, and weren’t just allowed to only focus on the part of their game which they could watch replays of on Instagram.

The number of players I have come across over this past year who have told me they want to stay on the wing and only dribble at players 1v1 has been a bit of an eye-opener, and the number of youth players who haven’t actually been coached to specialize in one or two specific positions has also been a huge surprise. I’ve had multiple kids quit because they weren’t being played in their favorite positions, and a number of kids who have openly tried out for other clubs as they attempt to find the “magic bullet” to help them be seen by more college coaches.

Unfortunately this is the youth soccer landscape which we all, as coaches, have to abide by. There are those players and families spending thousands of dollars to be in ECNL and MLSNext, giving up their weekends to play in a college showcase down in NC or traveling out of state for a basic league match, all while promising that this is where the NCAA coaches are looking for their next commit.

But how are we not expecting players to fall through the cracks when we have a landscape that encourages players to switch clubs every season? How do we expect players to develop when they have so many inconsistent experiences and guidance throughout their youth careers? We really expect to keep developing diamonds in the rough, raw talent, overlooked players, and others when most major MLSNext and ECNL clubs have 100-200 players at their tryouts? What are the odds that a player moves to a new club team, has played 3 or 4 different positions at their past club, and are asked to learn a new position with their new team?

How many youth clubs, realistically, are able to employ youth soccer coaches who are put in a position where they can keep the same team together for multiple seasons, vs looking to make a move to greener pastures themselves? How many youth clubs over the last few seasons, and in seasons moving forward, will struggle to continue to exist as a result of being unable to attract quality players as a result of the current “elite vs everyone else” landscape? Are we really expecting everyone to drive an hour or 2 hours 2-4 times a week for training, spend the majority of their weekends at out-of-state matches, and spend thousands of dollars on hotel rooms, gas, flights, and other travel expenses in order to compete, based on the fact that those clubs on the outside looking in are leaking players and coaches every other week?

Not to mention the fact that some players who move onto other teams may not have ever actually learned and specialized in a particular position, either because their coach now needs them to fill in for one of the better players who have left for ECNL/MLSNext teams, or because the coach allows the player to basically do whatever he/she wants in order to try to keep them around. I can’t tell you how many players I have coached this season who simply want to play the wing, dribble at players 1v1 in space, serve balls into the box. At 41 years old I’m pretty sure I could spend 20 minutes on the pitch standing out wide in space, playing no defense, and my only responsibility is to try to beat a guy 1v1 in space and kick the ball blindly into the box hoping someone can get onto it.

I would say that a number of youth players who go onto college are asked to play a new position, but it’s hard to believe that this current inconsistent landscape where 100% of the players’ attention is spent trying to reach the “elite” promised land with college coaches everywhere is developing players on teams who are outside of the top echelon. Because literally everyone is climbing over each other to try to get to “the top”. I miss the days when, if you were good enough to play in college, you would play in college. Instead lately it seems like all kids care about is “more visibility” all while there are less college spots available than ever before, more programs folding, more International players coming over to play NCAA soccer. It’s almost impossible to believe that players aren’t falling through the cracks, as we continue to focus almost all of our attention on the top 10% of teams, players, and clubs, and everyone outside of that upper echelon is every man/woman for themselves.

My apologies for taking so long to write a new piece. As some of you may be aware, we recently launched a podcast series which we’ve been focusing some time and attention on, which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or by clicking here.

I’m not claiming to be a soccer genius or expert coach by any means, but it can just be frustrating getting a pick-up or match in, and the same players who think they’re the reincarnation of Cristiano Ronaldo and are quick to brag about their playing careers when they were young just don’t understand basis principles of the game.

Here are 3 common soccer misconceptions that I notice on regular basis which drive me absolutely crazy.

1. Defending vs Playing Defense

Soccer is like a game of chess, whether your team is attacking or defending. When your team has the ball, how can you eliminate as many players from the opposing team, and manipulate numbers in attacking situations to your advantage?

If you’re building out of the back, your center backs are probably wide and opening up the space for the 6 to drop in and find it, your outside backs are up the field, and you’re trying to stretch the opposing team in an attempt to open up passing lanes and eliminate defending players.

We’ll use Manchester City last season as an example.

Following the 2016-17 season, Pep Guardiola surprised everyone in the summer by spending a total of £155.3 million on 3 outside backs- Kyle Walker (£45 million), Benjamin Mendy (£49.1 million), and Danilo (£26.5 million)- and a Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson (£34.7 million) who can play with his feet.

Manchester City went on to win the EPL title in 2017-18 in convincing fashion, finishing with only 2 losses and 19 points above second place team Manchester United. They built out, Ederson was a genius with the ball at his feet, and for as good as City’s attacking players like Aguero and De Bruyne and Silva are, the reason why City are dominant is the offensive play from their back line and Fernandinho.

This season, Manchester City are once again on the top of the table, and a few of the usual suspects are among the top passers in England:

City have 4 players in the top 15 for EPL passing stats, and none of them are offensive players. Stones and Laporte (two center backs), Fernandinho (CDM) and Walker (right back) have combined to complete a total of 7,320 passes so far this season, which is 231 more than Cardiff City have completed as a team.

So back to the main point- defending vs playing defense.

If you’re defending against a team like Manchester City or Liverpool who you know have smart players in the back who can handle the ball, and who will be patient and pick out the right pass, and you’re one of the front 2 or 3 in charge of trying to disrupt their build up, your focus is to keep everything in front of you and try to cut off distribution between the CB’s and the 6, or between CB’s. You probably don’t want to be running around at full speed, chasing the ball, diving in to try to make every tackle, flying around like a madman, tiring yourself out and basically taking yourself out of the play every time you don’t win the ball.

If you’re a midfielder, your job is to keep everything in front of you, read the game, don’t over commit and take yourself out of the play because you’re running around like a madman trying to make 20 tackles.

If you’re a defender, and the forwards and midfielders have failed at this and have taken themselves completely out of the play because they’re running around like maniacs, chasing the ball and trying to make every tackle, you’re going to have your work cut out for you and you should be upset at your teammates. Unfortunately, and this comes from 32 years of playing soccer, a lot of defenders are probably going to be more upset at a forward or midfield player if they’re not running around “hustling”, blind pressuring the other team’s CB’s at full speed and basically eliminating themselves on every possession.

Playing defense isn’t about making a tackle. If you’re 1v1 in space as a defender, you don’t just have to worry about the attacking player going front, back, side to side. That player can go literally anywhere within a 360 radius, and once you go diving in the first chance you get, the attacking player knows they have you beat, and is gone and past you before you even realize it.

Again, I’m not claiming to be Ronaldo on the pitch or Guardiola on the sideline, this is just from my experience. The number of players who don’t understand the basic concept of proper defensive body shape – feet not square, staying low and waiting for the attacking player to commit to a direction and defending accordingly, moving your feet to keep them in front of you, versus diving in at the first chance and completely taking themselves out of the play- combined with the number of players who think that running full speed at an attacking player 100% of the time to “show hustle” and dive into every possible tackle, versus tactically cutting the field in half by cutting off a passing lane, is overwhelming in my opinion.

Go play a pick-up match sometime, indoor 5v5. Play up front, let the opposing 2 defenders knock the ball deep, drop in and keep everything in front of you, stay around midfield and connect with your teammates, play proper defense, and watch how many of your teammates are like “come on bro! run! go play defense! go get the ball! hustle!”.

2. Running Is How You Get Your Fitness In! Let’s Go Running!

Soccer is not cross country. To think that the movements that your body needs to be prepared to make on a soccer field can be replicated by running around in a circle on a track, or by going for a 10-mile cross country run around the city, is one of the most frustrating misconception on this list in my opinion, because there are actually Division 1 NCAA programs out there who spend the majority of their Spring and Fall off-seasons doing zero ball work and 100% “fitness” work.

I’m not saying that strength and conditioning isn’t important.

But when you’re actually playing soccer, you’re not just running. For anyone who has played, especially into your late 30’s and beyond, you are more likely to realize how many different muscles you use, and how many different movements you make, the next morning when muscles that you don’t even know you had are aching and you can’t walk for 2 days.

The change of pace, change of direction, movement with the ball, balance, and overall fitness involved in playing soccer can’t be prepared for by simply running. Yes, you might end up in better cardiovascular shape, but you’re not getting ANY repetition in the hundreds of different movements that you should be working on getting stronger at by not using a ball.

If your team spends 60% of sessions running laps, doing suicide drills and beep tests, and you come up against a team which spends 100% of their time in a structured 4-part training session where players are getting touches in and knocking the ball, you’re going to be in big trouble. I wish I could share some examples, but if you know of a coach who makes his or her players run without the ball for a majority (or even portion) of their training sessions, go watch how they look when they play against a team that focuses on touches, knocking the ball, movement, and getting fitness work in with the ball at their feet, and see how they look.

3. Speed Kills

The common perception when it comes to the collegiate game is that college coaches are only looking for fast, strong, athletic players. There was a Tweet this week that said how important speed was to make it in collegiate soccer, which I personally took exception to because of the amount of coaching and work that has gone into developing youth players to be ready for the Division 1 collegiate level, and at NO point have I ever said to a player “you’re really fast, you’re going to excel at the collegiate level”. Once again, not to make this about me, but I grew up playing soccer in the area. I’m 6’2″, had decent  technical ability, good shot, etc. but pace was definitely not my strong suit. Some of the worst coaches I’ve ever played for or met judged me immediately based on how fast I moved. Some made comments about it, some belittled me over it. I will never tell a youth player that he or she is going to make it because they’re fast, because it’s just not true. Yes, you need to have pace, but it’s not a difference maker.

I’ve watched some of the fastest players you can imagine at the collegiate and professional level, I’ve played with guys with pace who went on to play for DC United and for various USL teams, and here’s what I would say about being fast- when was the last time you saw a guy (or girl) just completely blow by a defender on a run, leave him (or her) in the dust, and go score a goal? At the collegiate or professional level?

It might happen once in a while, but what you see a lot more often are players who have the awareness and experience to get the ball, go at a defender, and hit them with a CHANGE of pace, versus the predictable route of running at them at full speed, allowing the defender to judge where he or she is going because they’re completely predictable.

The game moves so fast at the collegiate and professional level that pace might be a factor for outside backs who need to cover ground in transition, but very rarely are you watching a match and a player with tons of pace and above average technical ability is making the type of impact that equates to the amount of attention some coaches (and others) give when it comes to evaluating ability and potential.

(Note: This is an Op-Ed piece. The views expressed in this article are my views and beliefs only. I plan on bringing up the sensitive topic of race in soccer, and would not feel right expressing my views and opinions without sharing my past experiences. I am not writing this to promote a political agenda.)

Bethesda U18 players come out to support their teammate. Credit: Rachel Chason/The Washington Post

Back in January, when current president Donald Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United State of America, thousands (and in DC, millions) protested against his victory in the 2016 Presidential Elections, for a number of different reasons. This isn’t going to be a history or sociology lesson, it was just earlier this year and you already know about everything that happened by now. Our country has been divided based on political party affiliations, with the subject of race being the elephant/donkey in the room.

Part of Trump’s political agenda during his campaign was to enforce the deportation of illegal immigrants, primarily those with criminal backgrounds who he and his supporters believe are a danger to our country.

On Monday, news started making its way around Twitter that Lizandro Claros, who this past season played for Bethesda’s u18 USSDA squad, and his older brother Carlos were detained by ICE following a routine check-in with immigration officials and were scheduled to be deported back to their home country of El Salvador.

Lizandro, listed as a defender on the team’s website, has been with Bethesda since 2015-16, making 24 appearances in 2015-16 and 21 appearances this past season. In other words, he has been a pretty integral part of a squad which managed to make the USSDA playoffs this past season.

Lizandro and his brother were deported back to El Salvador on Wednesday, despite numerous rallies and media reports making the argument that the young man deserved to stay in the country and fulfill his dream of playing college soccer at Louisburg College in North Carolina. Lizandro does not have a criminal record.

I coached as a volunteer in the Development Academy for 2 seasons, and it’s a LOT of work. 4 training sessions every week, travelling out of state every other weekend for away matches, etc. Competing in US Soccer Development Academy, while also fulfilling responsibilities as a student athlete, is something that Lizandro obviously worked very hard at in order to achieve his dream of playing college soccer, a dream which will apparently not become a reality after all.

DMV Soccer: The D is for Diversity

I’m a big goofy white guy who can’t dance or dunk, despite being 6’2″… seriously, as white as they come. I grew up playing youth soccer in PG County, in an era where simply finding a local soccer team to play for was difficult. There weren’t 2 or 3 travel clubs in every county in those days. You couldn’t watch EPL matches on television, big clubs didn’t come here for their Summer Tours, and 90% of Americans at this time probably thought soccer was the most boring sport ever played.

In PG County during the 90’s, my options were basically to play for a local rec team like Fort Washington or Waldorf, or if your parents had time and money (they did not), they could drive you all the way to Bethesda or Columbia. I was lucky enough to grow up playing soccer in a racially diverse area, where I was able to learn more about other cultures and get others’ perspectives on life.

Fact: DC, Maryland, and Virginia are among the most diverse states in the country. According to a recent report, Maryland is the 5th most diverse state in the country, with Virginia coming in at 14. Montgomery County is home to some of the most diverse cities in the country, along with Washington, DC.

Fact: Soccer is referred to as the World’s Game because of the cultural diversity that comes along with playing or watching the sport.

That being said, playing soccer in the DMV allows kids and coaches to interact with teammates and parents from diverse backgrounds that they may not have otherwise interacted with in normal day-to-day life.

THIS IS WHAT MAKES PLAYING SOCCER (IN THE DMV) SO GREAT.

One quick personal story. My younger brother and I grew up playing with/against 2 brothers from Honduras, Danny and Hector Funez. Anybody familiar with PG County Soccer in those days knows how good of a player Danny Funez was. Dude could play, which is all I cared about when it came to race, and he was the same way. “Game recognizes game”, no matter where you’re from or what color your skin is.

Fast forward to 2013, my brother and I were at the USA vs El Salvador Gold Cup Quarterfinal match at M&T Stadium. USA won the game 5-1, but the main story was the fact that the majority of those in attendance were not USA supporters. I guess I should have done a better job researching where we’d be sitting when I bought tickets, because we were practically the only USA fans in our entire section.

Around halftime, I looked down to a lower section of seats, and for the first time in probably 10 years I saw Danny and Hector sitting with a large section of Honduras fans who were coming to watch the second match, Honduras vs Costa Rica. My brother and I went down to say hello, and they both embraced us like no time was lost at all.

Later in the second half, when the US scored, someone in the section above us threw (what smelled like) an open beer towards the group of El Salvador fans below us. A few of them looked up at my brother and I saying we threw it (we didn’t, we weren’t that stupid). I think El Salvador was out of the game by this point, and it was obvious that these guys were a few beers deep and wanted to start some problems….which was unfortunate for us, there were a LOT of them and only 4 of us (my brother and I, his wife, and my female friend).

Things started getting a little tense. I glanced down to where Danny and Hector were sitting, and they must have seen some of the El Salvador fans turning and pointing to us because they already had their group of friends standing up, ready to come give us some back-up.

Danny looked at me and said “you guys good?”. I gave him a shrug like “yeah, we’re cool” trying to diffuse the situation. Luckily things calmed down, and we got out of there once the final whistle blew, but the fact that Danny and Hector would round up a group of a group of guys from Honduras who didn’t really know us, and were ready to help out these two white guys who their friend hasn’t seen in 10 years… it’s something that I still think about. Danny didn’t have a ton of white friends growing up, and I didn’t have a ton of Honduran friends. We grew up with completely different backgrounds. But we grew up playing together, respected each other, and still to this day have each other’s backs.

I still think about this, and if I didn’t grow up playing soccer in the DMV, I would never have been lucky enough to have met such a diverse group of people in my lifetime.

Using Soccer as an Outlet

Playing soccer is more than just a sport sometimes. It’s a way for young people to express themselves, and escape certain real-life dilemmas that can take a mental and emotional toll. During a difficult time for our country… reports of a potential war on the horizon, and with racial tension at seemingly an all-time high, it’s extremely important, in my opinion, for youth players to have access to a productive outlet like playing soccer without outside issues contaminating their experiences.

Today’s news that Lizandro has been deported, after working so hard to become a college soccer player next season, catapults real-life politics into the protective bubble of playing soccer, and affects more than just Hispanic families who are worried that the same thing might happen to members of their communities and families.

Hopefully people understand that Lizandro spent practically every day of these past 2 years with teammates and coaches from all different backgrounds, becoming more of a family member than just a teammate. I cannot imagine having to watch a teammate that I grew up playing with forced to leave the country, for a reason that many believe is unjust. And even the thought of a player that I have coached going through something like what Lizandro and his family have gone through this week…well, hopefully today’s news makes everyone appreciate their teammates and coaches just a little more.

Props to Coach Ney and the entire Bethesda Soccer Club for stepping up and speaking out on Lizandro’s behalf. Many coaches would have taken the high road and stayed away from such a politically-sensitive topic, but Bethesda coaches Matt Ney, Jonathon Colton, and Bethesda Soccer club as an organization stepped up and did everything they could to attempt to convince the authorities that Lizandro should be allowed to pursue his dream.

People Fear The Unknown

I’ve played soccer since I was 6 years old. This year will make it 30 years since I started playing, and through all of this time I have realized two things:

1. I am very proud to have played with, and coached, people from such a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, and
2. There are a lot of people in our country who haven’t had these same experiences.

If anything positive can come from today’s news, it’s that we can all make a better effort to understand where others are coming from. Politics may have the country divided, but playing soccer is a common bond that can carry on for longer than you realize.

We can all use today’s news to appreciate each other, treat each other with a little more respect, and not take each other for granted. Only one thing truly brings us all together, and that is the game of soccer.