Akeem Adams on trial with Seattle Sounders FC.

[DeSoWa]

Not sure where to post this so I started a new thread, if you guys want to merge it go right ahead. 




I saw Akeem Adams for the first time last night as he came on at the start of the second half for the Sounders as they take on Chivas de Guadalajara. Sounders end up winning the game 3-1 

I am no Touches, so I am just gonna share my thoughts and observation.

The good:

He is big and strong, he is left footed and played Left Back. Not sure if this is his normal position though. He is very young and got good exposure last night. Took him a good 20 mins to actually touch the ball, but showed some good composure after the players try to get him involved.

The bad:

He is very slow. Picked up an unnecessary yellow card and was at fault for the Chivas goal. A cross came in, lost his man, who is much smaller than him and an easy header was scored. Made a nice run down the left as the Chivas players left him by himself..lots of room, he made it down the end line and then he miss kicked his cross in, ball going out for a goal kick. He look very one footed, kinda strange for a left footer.

I left with 5 mins remaining, so not sure if you did any thing else..Sounders did score a late goal as I wass walking out.

I think he is a good prospect for the future, I mean he did get a tryout with a MLS club at the age of 19, that has to mean something. He probably was a little nervous and not match fit and I think that was the only competitive game he had in the week he was here.

I wish him all the best and hope it works out for him  Would love to see ah Trini make the team 

Big Up!

[palos]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.

I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

[ZANDOLIE]

He supposed to be one of our fastest under 20 players..suprised to hear he move slowly.

Left back is his normal position. I like this player, hope he get thru.

Thanks for the report

[Jah Gol]

He's one my favorite young players. I wish him the best.

[Dumplingdinho]

don't know what was the reason for his slowness but he is not typically a slow player, left back is his favoured position but played left wing in his final SSFL season, u know how the best player on a college team tend to play out of position on ah regular (i.e. KJ).

[elan]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.

I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

You can "teach" speed.

[lil damo]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.

I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

You can "teach" speed.

you can't teach speed, you can teach sprinting but speed is one of those things u have or dont. I wasn't impressed with him at the world cup and he's very slow indeed but at the end of the day a trial in the MLS at age 19 is impressive speed or no speed. Wish him all the best.

[College]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

Dais the same problem ailing Javed Mohammed

[Jah Gol]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

Dais the same problem ailing Javed Mohammed

Javed much slower though.

[Tallman]

He probably was a little nervous and not match fit and I think that was the only competitive game he had in the week he was here.

Keep in mind that his father recently passed away.

[fish]

CD Guadalajara is not Chivas de Guadalajara 

Yeh I agree dah speed ting go be a factor. I miss the game. If his positioning good I go be inclined to say he could compensate but with our notorious backline speed it go be hard for him to pick up someone if ah next defender lose him (classic case).
But good defenders always welcome in my books yes. Right now is Jlloyd spot.

[Dumplingdinho]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.

I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

You can "teach" speed.

explain that one

[Jah Gol]

Akeem Adams is better than Akile Edwards, right now. Even without the the pace.

[elan]

He is very slow.

That's a big problem.

Yuh could teach many things in football.  Speed is not one of them....ESPECIALLY the position he plays.

Speed not only in general but most importantly in recovery is mandatory for the modern wing back.  You HAVE TO be able to AT LEAST keep up with the opposition wide player or else you have no chance.

I liked him when I saw him play for the U20's.  Thought he had a chance at a future and I really didn't notice a significant lack of speed.  But that's at the U20 level even though it's against the best U20's in the world.  In big man football, is a different kettle of fish

You can "teach" speed.

explain that one

I was not referring to the pure speed Palos was referring to but other speeds that can make up for the lack of pure speed.

But still

They say that sprinters are "born and not made" due to the necessity of having a preponderance of fast twitch muscle fibres. The development of pure speed involves stimulating the central nervous system to send messages through to the muscles to tell them to contract. The speed of this contraction has a significant bearing on the power of the movement.

When applied in the field of sport however this "element of speed" is not enough on its own. Genetically our muscles comprise of a certain level of fast/slow twitch fibres, which does not significantly change (although training effects can modify them to a limited extent).

In racquet sports like tennis and field events like the javelin, limb speed is essential but strength, suppleness, stamina and skill all play a part in the application of speed to the field of performance. Speed is therefore an element of the conditioning of the body to meet the specific needs of the sport, but how do we develop it? As a track coach, my sprinters use a variety of exercises and drills to stimulate the responses needed within the body to run fast.


Speed can be thought of in the pure context of speed of limb movement or in the context of the 100-metre runner exploding down the track. The need for speed is important in many sports and this may be of a maximum or optimum nature. To improve speed will require work on the other fitness components. Strength is required to move the body and flexibility (especially in shoulders and hips) to allow sufficient range of movement to apply this strength. Poor running technique will place a limiting factor on the potential to create speed. The methods used to develop speed needs to be appropriate to the age and ability of the athlete and the demands of the sport or event.

[Bakes]

Elan, sounds like you talking aobut "quickness"... which can indeed be taught, proper sprinting form etc.  I remember posting an article earlier this year about how Ajax teaches players how to improve their overall quickness.  The coach was expressing his frustration with this one young player in particular about how when he get tired the instruction goes away and the natural 'bad' form returns.

[elan]

Elan, sounds like you talking aobut "quickness"... which can indeed be taught, proper sprinting form etc.  I remember posting an article earlier this year about how Ajax teaches players how to improve their overall quickness.  The coach was expressing his frustration with this one young player in particular about how when he get tired the instruction goes away and the natural 'bad' form returns.

That to, but speed of thought, speed of action and technical speed will also assist the pure speed or lack thereof, giving the illusion of speed and/or quickness. John Terry and Alex are not extremely fast players, but their technique and understanding makes up for the lack of pure speed. Marvin Andrew eventually learnt to make up for his lack of pure speed.

Our coaches need to recognize early on our players strengths and weaknesses and work to minimize the weaknesses as much as possible and accentuate the strengths.

[Dumplingdinho]

Elan,

I get what you are saying, makes sense to me.

[Sam]

Marvin Andrews played a position that being slow was not a big problem but as a wingback you need speed it's a plus

I saw akeem play and I never realized he was slow

Maybe it was his off day but I don't think he is that slow

[DeSoWa]

A Sounder Blogger caught up with Akeem and did a small interview with him:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundersfcblog/

By Joshua Mayers

(How did you end up in Sounders FC camp?) "I have an agent who told me about Seattle and told him, 'OK, I'm going to come over.' "

(What do you think so far?) "It's a pretty good team. The players have been nice to me. I think it's going pretty OK so far. I'm enjoying it."

(Where do you like to play?) "Basically left back. I can play midfield also on the left side, but I prefer left back."

(What was it like playing Tuesday?) "It was great. Football was a bit fast. The atmosphere. It was a bit cool, I'm not accustomed to this weather, but it was OK."

(You have played internationally for Trinidad and Tobago?) "Yeah, I played with the under-20 team in Egypt at the World Cup. I've also played a couple games with the senior team."

(So you already have some experience for a young guy?) "You could say so, yeah."

(What's your timeline for being in Seattle?) "I'm leaving Friday and the coach said he'd probably talk to me today."




Big Up!

[chelsealife]

CD Guadalajara is not Chivas de Guadalajara 

Yeh I agree dah speed ting go be a factor. I miss the game. If his positioning good I go be inclined to say he could compensate but with our notorious backline speed it go be hard for him to pick up someone if ah next defender lose him (classic case).
But good defenders always welcome in my books yes. Right now is Jlloyd spot.

Cant buy a game for Bolton atm so he surely cant be picked on form. We have two good options at LB right now and Cyrus can fill in there as well

[fish]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

[Flex]

A quick stop & chat with Sounders FC invitee Akeem Adams.
By Joshua Mayers (Seattle Times-blog).

19-year-old defender Akeem Adams made a Sounders FC debut of sorts Tuesday night, playing 45 minutes at left back in the international friendly against Chivas. I caught up with the young kid out of Trinidad and Tobago after training Wednesday.

(How did you end up in Sounders FC camp?) "I have an agent who told me about Seattle and I told him, 'OK, I'm going to come over.' "

(What do you think so far?) "It's a pretty good team. The players have been nice to me. I think it's going pretty OK so far. I'm enjoying it."

(Where do you like to play?) "Basically left back. I can play midfield also on the left side, but I prefer left back."

(What was it like playing Tuesday?) "It was great. Football was a bit fast. The atmosphere. It was a bit cool, I'm not accustomed to this weather, but it was OK."

(You have played internationally for Trinidad and Tobago?) "Yeah, I played with the under-20 team in Egypt at the World Cup. I've also played a couple games with the senior team."

(So you already have some experience for a young guy?) "You could say so, yeah."

(What's your timeline for being in Seattle?) "I'm leaving Friday and the coach said he'd probably talk to me today."

[just cool]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

COSIGN.     ( Weary ah takin ah borrow, hope yuh don't mind. )

[Storeboy]

Sometimes it is not speed as much as reaction time and reading the game well so you are not left for dead!  Never seen him but if he played all these years and made the U-20 WC team, he may be salvaged by good coaching and good fitness,

[chelsealife]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

He could be. Not necessarily as a player but for T&T in the long term. And reserves are not the PL. Its a bunch of kids, up and coming players, players on comeback from injury, flops and rejects.

[fish]

CD Guadalajara is not Chivas de Guadalajara 

Yeh I agree dah speed ting go be a factor. I miss the game. If his positioning good I go be inclined to say he could compensate but with our notorious backline speed it go be hard for him to pick up someone if ah next defender lose him (classic case).
But good defenders always welcome in my books yes. Right now is Jlloyd spot.

Read sah. I say right now is Jlloyd spot. The future is not right now. He is 19. And what u trying to tell me?  Anybody could make the PL reserves then Them kids and so called up and coming players killing we sides easy. He playing against much higher opposition than d Pro-League could offer.

[Mose]

Elan, sounds like you talking aobut "quickness"... which can indeed be taught, proper sprinting form etc.  I remember posting an article earlier this year about how Ajax teaches players how to improve their overall quickness.  The coach was expressing his frustration with this one young player in particular about how when he get tired the instruction goes away and the natural 'bad' form returns.

That to, but speed of thought, speed of action and technical speed will also assist the pure speed or lack thereof, giving the illusion of speed and/or quickness. John Terry and Alex are not extremely fast players, but their technique and understanding makes up for the lack of pure speed. Marvin Andrew eventually learnt to make up for his lack of pure speed.

Our coaches need to recognize early on our players strengths and weaknesses and work to minimize the weaknesses as much as possible and accentuate the strengths.

Anticipation??

[andre samuel]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

Jlloyd not playing in the reserves, he had surgery and is currently in rehab and is scheduled to return in late January.

[andre samuel]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

He could be. Not necessarily as a player but for T&T in the long term. And reserves are not the PL. Its a bunch of kids, up and coming players, players on comeback from injury, flops and rejects.

You clearly no NOTHING about reserve team football in England.

[palos]

But Jlloyd sweating in reserves for Bolton in the PL. Cyrus better than Jlloyd?

He could be. Not necessarily as a player but for T&T in the long term. And reserves are not the PL. Its a bunch of kids, up and coming players, players on comeback from injury, flops and rejects.

You clearly no NOTHING about reserve team football in England.

Any European top league (EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga etc) reserve team will beat T&T national team 5 times out of 5.