LIJSoccer.com recently sat down for an extensive interview with the Director of Coaching for the LI Select Player Development Program (Select PDP), Ronan Wiseman. In a wide-ranging discussion, he talked about the changes to the game over the last 25 years, the state of youth soccer in the United States and on Long Island, and some things that can be done to improve the development of players in the US, from the youth to national team level.
If you missed it, click here to read Part I
Today, in Part II of a three-part series, Ronan talks about his thoughts on how we should be thinking about youth player development, the role of parents in youth sports, and soccer training as a business.
Q: So should we be taking the young player and moving them up the ladder quickly? Should they be playing on teams
based strictly on ability level? Should a great player be moved along quickly into the highest level they can play in?
A: Yes. Age really doesn’t matter in something like this. It becomes a matter of can the player play at a certain level. They have to be pushed to succeed. The best teacher of the game is the game itself, when they are playing with and against players of the same or better ability levels. That’s when they are going to start to develop. If they are playing on age and they are far superior, it’s just not helping the game at all. It actually hinders the game.
Q: I read an article years ago in an NSCAA magazine and a guy was talking about not moving the best players up onto these higher level teams because the other kids, who could be future soccer players, try to emulate those great players, and if those great players aren’t there, they don’t have a real role model to emulate. This coach thought that was a big problem.
A: Well, you can keep that player within that club. You don’t have to move him to a different club or different program, but if a 10 year old is as good as a 12 year old, he should probably play with the 12 year olds. That frees up space for a 9 year old who may be good enough to play with the 10 year olds. This creates a system where everyone is playing based on ability, not age. So the good players are still playing within the club and the other players can look ahead and set a goal that two years from now I want to be like those players, regardless of how old they are.
Q: We currently don't allow that sort of movement within the league. Are we set up properly for that sort of tier system here on Long Island? And if not, what do we need to do at the club and league level to make that happen?
A: It’s not an easy thing to do, and in order to make it work, people in the soccer community need to work together for the benefit of the kids. For example, with the Select program I think we’re probably at the third level of youth soccer. You have the academies first, then you have the state program, then comes us, and then the clubs. Do the club programs push their kids to play Select? Some do and some don’t. On the other side, in the Select program if we have good kids; players who are at the state level should be pushed on to the state program. That relationship isn’t really there, or certainly isn’t formalized to make that kind of movement happen. The state teams push their kids on to regional and national teams, so we have to be part of that progression to get our kids to that level. At this point, I think the blocks are there, but I don’t think they are all lined up so that movement, that flow of talent up the pyramid is not effective.
Q: To use your words, player movement up the pyramid system would greatly enhance Long Island soccer?
A: Yep. If there’s a mechanism in place to do it, and those relationships are established where good players are trying out at higher levels and are pushed by their coaches to go to that next level where they belong.
Q: The problem with the coaching side of it is having so many parents coaching. They all want to have winning teams and the best players, as do a lot of the trainers, and I don’t feel they care as much about the players as they do their own teams. So I don’t see them encouraging the kids to move on that ladder.
A: You’re right. It goes back to what I said before. They don’t put the kids first. They put their own reputations first, and put themselves ahead of the kids. They hold these kids back instead of pushing them ahead. It’s a big problem, because it’s become such a big business, especially here on Long Island. It helps people’s bottom line if they’ve got winning teams and winning programs.
Q: How do you feel about parents and the role they play in this whole picture? Where do you see them as coaches? Are parents a detriment to the process, or are they helpful?
A: As coaches, I have no problem with parents trying to be coaches, but they do have a vested interest in their own child, so they don’t tend to look at things objectively, which puts them in a lot of tough situations. Even if they really are being objective, there is always a certain percentage of the parent group that is going to perceive they that are not just because of the fact that they have a son or daughter on that team. Again, I have no problem with it, as long as they are doing what’s best for the team. There are some guys out there who do that, and some who don’t. The other part of it is they need to be educated. If they’ve played at a certain level, or have soccer experience at a certain level, it gives them some credibility, but from my perspective, coaches, many of whom have spent countless hours in training, going through seasons, and coaching courses for licenses and accreditations, it’s sometimes insulting when parents sort of look down at you as a soccer coach. Parents think they can do that, and things you say or teach are taken as coming from a professional, and I find that disrespectful. That’s certainly not in every case, but you can’t people who think like that, who don’t really know what goes into training and preparation, and getting kids to the next level.
As far as just being parents, it’s probably prevalent all over the country that their too hands on with their kids. They can’t let the kids go enjoy the experience and the game. They become too involved. It’s competitive nature, and goes back to where we live. They just want their kids to be the best, and that pressure they put on their kids to win and be the best tends to drive a lot of kids out of the game at a young age. They get burnt out by the pressure that is being put on them. It takes away from their childhood. It’s not fun for them anymore.
Q: Certainly it wasn’t this way 20 years ago. Maybe you had one in a hundred that were that way and got in the way of the child’s development. Today, it seems so much more prevalent. Why do we have this acceleration of parent involvement?
A: Like I said, it’s become a big business. A lot of people are making a living off the game, and I’m all for that. I’m one of them. But unfortunately there are also a lot of people in it for the wrong reasons, and because it’s become such big business, and there are now professional leagues to play in here, it’s more prominent. Of course there is always the lure of scholarship money, which I believe drives everything. That’s why they are pushing kids to excel. Lacrosse is the same way as well. That’s another big game on Long Island and I see it starting to go the way of soccer. It’s becoming more and more professional with full time trainers working with teams, and I think it’s become this race to chase that scholarship dollar or professional contract.
Q: Would you agree it’s also a money issue? “I’m paying professionals for my child’s development and I don’t feel like I’m getting what I paid for.”
A: Yeah, it could be that. The pay for play situation is a whole other question, but I think sometimes people are unrealistic about where their children belong as far as their playing ability, and I don’t think that the paid professionals are completely honest with them, and don’t tell them the truth, that they don’t belong at this level at the moment. Kids change all the time. But I think people appreciate it when you’re honest with them. Some people can handle it and some people can’t, but you can at least give them your professional opinion. If you can let parents know if their child is at the right ability level and this is their role on the team, then there isn’t much room for complaining if you lay it out like that.
Look for Part III of the interview on Thursday.