SMALL players make BIG plays. on Soccer Nation Soccer News for Youth Soccer, Club Soccer, Soccer Training

SMALL Players Make BIG Plays.

What do all the world class players (both past and present) mentioned below have in common?

You would probably not connect that question, as they all come from different countries and generations. These are all great players and most are unbelievable goal scorers.

Pele (Brazil), Maradona (Argentina), George Best (Nr. Ireland), Hugo Sanchez (Mexico), Xavi, (Spain), Johan Cruyff (Holland), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Andres Iniestra (Spain) and Wayne Rooney (England).

Not one of these players is over six feet, and most of them not even close to that mark. Yet these are all famous worldwide names that were not judged by their size and were able to make their mark in this great sport.

Here are the height stats:

Pele (5ft /8ins)

Maradona (5ft/5ins)

Best (5ft/9ins)

Sanchez (5ft/10ins)

Xavi (5ft/7ins)

Cruyff (5ft/11ins)

Messi (5ft/7ins)

Iniestra (5ft/7ins)

Rooney (5ft/10ins)

Sometimes when we coaches are looking at adding players to our club teams, we tend to go for the big powerful athlete, rather that the small technical player.

Is power and strength more important than technique?

That is a question that has surrounded youth soccer in this country since day one. Even at the higher levels: National, Professional leagues, ODP levels, the coaches are looking for that special athlete, “comments like, well he maybe on the small side” or “don’t think he will be able to handle the physical side of the college game” are quite common remarks I hear around high profile games.

Of course, we would all love to be able to pick up the good sized athletic players with great technical skills, but we have to understand that skill and passion comes in all shapes and sizes. All kids do not develop in the same time frame.

An example I can give you, and I was right there to experience it. When I was 14 years old, and one of the players was George Best he was 14 also, we were trying out for the Nr. Ireland National BU15 team, and after the final selection process, we were told to get together as a group and the coach would name the team to play in the British Championships, against England, Scotland and Wales.

I thought I had done ok in the tryouts, but the smallest and lightest player just happened to be George. When the list was named I was fortunate enough to be named, but George was not. I asked him why, and they told him he was too small!

I think most of us, at least the older generation, know what happened after that. George Best went on to become the best player in the world in the late 60s/early 70s. Even the great Pele said George was the best.

So when you watch a tryout session, or get a player recommendation, take a look at the big picture, know what you are looking for, always remembering the growth and maturity levels of young players does not always happen at the same time. Decision making is crucial at the youth level, being able to judge natural talent in any youth sport is an art. It is hard to visualize what a 10 year old will be capable of doing at age 13.

The great Pele was only 5ft/8ins but scored over 1,000 goals in his professional career. Hugo Sanchez was 5ft/10ins played in 769 professional games and scored 477 goals, which is an unbelievable statistic.

Other great players through the years such as Alfredo Di Stefano who was a hero at Real Madrid for many years, was 5ft/10ins, scored 374 goals in 521 games at the top level. Scottish International and former Manchester United great Dennis Law was 5ft/9ins scored an unbelievable 237 goals in 404 games for them. Probably the biggest giant in terms of goal scoring was German International Gerd Muller who scored 365 goals in 427 games in the German Bundesliga, and added another 66 goals in 77 International games for Germany.

All of the above are staggering statistics, which may never be repeated anywhere in the world.

We all know what young players like Messi and Rooney are capable of doing in today’s game, but they will have to be consistent and injury free for many years to compare with some of the greatest goal scorers in soccer history.

Coaches: So next time you as a soccer coach are out there looking to add to your team, look for technical ability as your leading component.

Naturally talented kids in any sport are a gift, size should not matter, (maybe in other sports yes), but then again look at Darren Sproles of the San Diego Charges, he is 5ft/6ins and what he does in his position as a running back is incredible.

We as coaches can teach many things, but with the natural ability every child brings to the start of their sports life should not be the deciding factor as to where they end up. Will this be the only component? Absolutely not! It takes effort and training to not waste the natural ability that may have been a DNA gift. How many times have we heard the saying “Tiger has had a golf club in his hands since he was 5” and “Peyton could throw a spiral when he was 6”. Did they become great players in their chosen sport? Yes, and we could all see the pattern of dedication develop even in those early years. “Many sports legends will tell you they were not blessed with the natural abilities of their sports and how hard they had to work at the game.”