Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
This weeks game summary I was able to watch most of the games or at least a half of the games. (Not looking to start negative discussion but rather talk about play)

Common Mistakes noticed in all the games. Still saw a lot of teams not use the shot clock to their advantage but rather it was to their detriment. Coaching through the box and managing players coming on and off the field caused for player confusion. I really noticed at a 2028 game where players where not ready to come on the field and a team was 2 players down in transition.

lose.

Box substitutions/coaching are horrific throughout 2028-2029 except for the very top teams. Coaches seem intent on subbing out middies, even defending fast breaks, and in almost all cases, it leads to a LONGER not SHORTER man-down (or 2 man down) defense for their team. I've watched so many times over the past few years, the SSDM or LSM (or both) has sprinted 3 steps on the field, and their team gives up a goal. That is just poor coaching. Coaches also seem intent on pulling LSMs off the field immediately upon possession, and several times a game you'll see the LSM still trotting off when his offense turns it over and the ball heads back the other way. It's hard to watch.

So why do coaches do it? My guesses:
1- Tryouts lead to the selection of long legged, goofy/skinny LSMs who can't really defend, can't really body up, and certainly don't "know defense."
2 - Tryouts lead to the selection of some big LSMs who can't actually play offense except from running it up and shooting vs lower quality defenders.
3 - Tryouts lead to the selection of fast midfielders who straight up refuse to ride or play any defense in a real game situation (as soon as tryouts are over). Which creates the need to quickly get them off the field when the offensive unit loses possession.

This is a great observation. Our club team had this issue last weekend and in one instance, it resulted in a goal.

I don't know how much pressure to make sure each player gets sufficient opportunities to play their role (i.e. LSM's and SSDM's getting short changed because the top O mids get used to playing 2 ways)

Coaches drill the substitution concepts into the players and most players don't have the field IQ yet to accurately assess their need to sprint back on D.

I see the same thing with Attack. We run an offense with alot of motion and interchanging of attack/mids. On ocassion, we have a freak turnover on offense resulting in a fast break the other way while our mids were caught deep. We will have an attackman closer to the opposing player than any midfielder by 10+ yards and yet he will only pursue to the midline.