In this YouTube advisory clip, the speaker outlines a practical roadmap for parents who want their 11‑ or 12‑year‑old children (typically in 6th grade) to eventually play college soccer. He begins by emphasizing a concrete skill benchmark—achieving 300‑500 ball juggles by age 11‑12—as an early indicator of soccer obsession and ball‑touch proficiency. He then discusses training options, contrasting private coaching with self‑directed wall work, and stresses the importance of video analysis of both games and training sessions to develop better habits. The speaker introduces an IDP (Individual Development Plan) model used by elite clubs like Barcelona, where a young player selects a professional to emulate and regularly trains with older age groups. He warns that skill alone isn’t enough without exposure: participation in MLS NEXT or ECNL leagues, attending middle‑school camps, and proactive outreach to college coaches are essential for visibility. Finally, he offers his services, directing viewers to a link in the bio or a direct message for personalized assistance.
Chapters
How can I ensure my son or daughter will play college soccer if they're only in 6th grade, they're only 11 or 12 years old? The first and most obvious is they obviously have to be good at soccer. The best tangible way to measure if your athlete is good is if they can get over 300 juggles by the age of 11, 12, aiming towards 500. That means they're obsessed and they really love soccer. Now, being a good juggler does not make you a good soccer player, but if you can't juggle, then odds are you don't touch the ball enough. There are a few ways to become a really good soccer player at that age. Number 1 is you can hire a private coach. But one of the things that I strongly encourage is private coaches are great because it makes you go play and you get someone else to play with. But really, you can do everything you can do with a private coach against a wall. What you really want is somebody to go over footage with you. So if that private coach, or if you wanted to use us for example, because this is something that we do, we go over the game footage with you. We go over your training footage with you. How do you know when to look over your shoulder? How do you get better training habits? Because remember, we're trying to train you So that way you have these habits that you're going to take with you for the next 4 to 5 years. And if you train really well for many years in a row, you'll be better. So with our youth kids, what we do is we do something called IDP, which is exactly what Galaxy does and Barcelona does, which is they watch footage with said athlete at 11, 12 years old. They pick a pro player for them to emulate and learn from, and then you go play with older kids. And that's the best way to get better at this age. Now you could do all that great stuff, be a great player, but if you're also not playing within an MLS NEXT or ECNL environment, and you're also not going to middle school camps, and you're also not emailing these coaches and going to their games in the fall, you could be the best player ever and you're not going to get noticed. You know, if you're really the best player ever, then good for you, you're the exception to the rule. But for the most of us, including myself, who did everything I just discussed and still didn't get picked, this is why the political part is really important. If you're 11 or 12 years old and you want to play college soccer, give me a call. Link is in the description, the bio, and/or just DM me if you want help finding it. Bye.
