He’s been a high profile LHP prospect for a couple of years now. BA ranked him as the #15 prospect in baseball coming into the season. He’s since undergone TJ surgery, but that has nothing to do with my comparison. It’s more that we were all discussing the wet dream of adding a McGee not too long ago, and we might just have one anyway. Here’s BA’s profile for him. He’s bigger and probably less athletic than Holland, but I see a lot of similarities:

Jake McGee, lhp Born: Aug. 6, 1986. • B-T: L-L. • Ht.: 6-3. • Wt.: 190.
Drafted: HS—Sparks, Nev., 2004 (5th round). • Signed by: Fred Repke.
Background: After leading the low Class A Midwest League with 171 strikeouts in 134 innings during a breakout 2006, McGee followed up by ranking fourth in the minors with 175 whiffs in 140 innings. McGee had no trouble overpowering hitters once he got to Montgomery in August.I

Strengths: McGee has a nasty fastball that managers rated as the best in the high Class A Florida State League. His heater sits at 93-95 mph and touches 98 with impressive movement. His slider has good tilt and he has improved the depth and fade on his changeup. He dominates lefthanders, who hit just .147 with two homers against him in 2007.

Weaknesses: McGee is still working on mastering his secondary pitches, though both have the makings of becoming plus offerings. He was erratic with his changeup early last season and doesn’t fully trust it. He struggles with the command of his slider and also has trouble locating his fastball when he overthrows.

The Future: Scouts believe McGee could be a power reliever if he can’t refine his changeup. At this point, he’ll remain a potential No. 2 starter. He’ll likely return to Double-A to open 2008.

but the most important thing to remember at that age is that they are 5 and the number one mission is for to make sure they have fun and enjoy the sport. if you can pull that off, wins and losses are really pretty secondary.

at age 5 im not sure its even possible b/c kids tend to hurd and all want the ball all at once so it gets kinda trivial on the teaching.

other than that here are a couple basics,

1)figure out what footed the kids are early. left footed kids play on the left side of the field, either left back or left wing, right footed kids play on the right side of the field, either right back or right wing, thats kinda a fundamental position thing which i’d say is equivalent to making sure a lefty kid isnt playing 2b in baseball even at little league. generally it is whatever handed the kid is.

2)fast kids up front, smart kids in back. kid who can handle pressure situations in goal. (this is kinda trivial too until they understand positioning, but its a good start to how to put a lineup on the field)

those 2 things will give ya a decent idea of positions early on. but again, they wont actually stay in position for a couple years. probably by 7 or 8

as for a regimen, i can lend you some advice on a few books and point you in the direction of a community of local soccer coaches online.

books i think are worth checking out:

The Manual of Soccer Coaching its one of those books that you can keep and continue to use as your team grows up, discusses good techniques in practice and should help in understanding and implimenting strategy

Coaching U8’s-A Complete Coaching Coursesome of this may be a little advanced b/c its for under 8 but anything regarding coaching and developing thats put out by the dutch FA is a goldmine and im sure you can weed out what might be a tad too advanced

Coaching Soccer – 6 to 10 Year Olds sorta like the dutch coaching guide but its 6-10 year old emphasized.

Soccer Coaching for 5-8 Year Olds or something a little more basic.

here’s a decent site that may help put it into perspective though: clicky

at that age just make sure they enjoy the sport and get comfortable with the ball at their feet. get them to understand and have a decent grasp of the rules of the sport. i think adults tend to underestimate kids understanding and learning when it comes to being young and learning skills but its kinda fine line. if you can get out of the season and the kids enjoyed the sport and have a decent understanding of the rules of the game, you’ve done well.

hope that helps some, the whole time i was writing this, my mind kept going back to the fact and pounding into the back of my head “remember they are 5, remember they are 5, remember they are 5”

ps: any questions and i would recommend asking here. it may not be the perfect place, but i guarantee they lead you to the answers if you have more questions and probably with a more substantial coaching background than i have. they will send you in the right direction and online community wirh experience to answer any questions that arise.

just like Kenny Rogers!

after last week’s turn, when Blake was dominant and Derek turned in his first human performance in High A, there was a lot of buzz about Blake finally showing the ability to K batters.

after last night, of course the buzz is all about Holland. I don’t really get caught up on any single prospect at any given time, but I am very optimistic about the group that includes Feliz, Holland, Kiker, Beavan, Main, Boscan, and others.

Although after last night the gap is closing

and i agree with much of what you said, especially about Young. But the fact remains that formers Rangers pitchers are going elsewhere and developing (another pitch, better control, confidence, etc) beyond even what was projected when they were with the org. it may not be misevaluation on the front office’s part, but the blame must fall somewhere, and at some point it cannot be dumb luck.

am i “mis-remembering”