Damn if you do, damn if you don't

As the kids get older and if serious about soccer, I know several players/families have made the trip. And not just distance but traffic direction and time involved.

Player 1 - Santa Clarita to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 2 - Rancho Palo Verdes to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 3 - Laguna Beach to SD Polo Fields 4x week
Player 4 - El Toro to Fairplax 2x week
Player 5 - Cerritos to Great Park 2x week
Player 6 - El Segundo to San Juan Capistrano, then Costa Mesa and now Woodland Hills 4 week

One in particular, prior to LAGDA started boarding HS program, commuted 4x week from Palm Desert to Carson.

Its a value proposition that only the player and his/her family can make and justify. There simply is no way to generalize what's acceptable and what's not in terms of distance and time.

My son was offered a spot on a top-level team (Presidio Premier), but we said it was too far away - 22 miles. However, we did go over occasionally to practice for guest spots in tournaments, so it was close to the limit.
 
I would jump at 15 miles in comparison to my 50 mile drive to Great Park in Irvine! Sign me up!

My kid commuted 66 miles each way her senior year and her carpool mate went 94 miles each way. It was worth it in order to play with 2 of her current college teammates both of which are now her roommates. Some things that are expensive are worth it...
 
So based on the music choices, its safe to assume most of you are from the '70s......

Except Sharif Joe, who appears to be from the 60s
 
My son was offered a spot on a top-level team (Presidio Premier), but we said it was too far away - 22 miles. However, we did go over occasionally to practice for guest spots in tournaments, so it was close to the limit.

That is a little extreme. It's 32 miles from Poway to Carlsbad via freeway. That limits your options quite a bit.
 
As the kids get older and if serious about soccer, I know several players/families have made the trip. And not just distance but traffic direction and time involved.

Player 1 - Santa Clarita to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 2 - Rancho Palo Verdes to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 3 - Laguna Beach to SD Polo Fields 4x week
Player 4 - El Toro to Fairplax 2x week
Player 5 - Cerritos to Great Park 2x week
Player 6 - El Segundo to San Juan Capistrano, then Costa Mesa and now Woodland Hills 4 week

One in particular, prior to LAGDA started boarding HS program, commuted 4x week from Palm Desert to Carson.

Its a value proposition that only the player and his/her family can make and justify. There simply is no way to generalize what's acceptable and what's not in terms of distance and time.

100% correct. As you get older and teams get distilled down to the serious players commutes become commonplace. I think on my players last team (Surf 97/98 ECNL) there was only 1 player that lived in Del Mar so pretty much everyone commuted including my player that commuted from Irvine and her teammate that came from Downey.
 
My daughter's favorite is Dean Martin, she has listened to the Rat Pack Christmas CD all of her life and is now downloading his songs. Pretty funny.

Interesting. Drake is her pump up music. She also loves Mobb Deep because I play it to pump her up. Her team always plays hip hop over the stadium loudspeakers prior to games. That would be interesting to hear the Rat Pack prior to games. I would think that would be more mental warfare than pump up music for milennials.
 
As the kids get older and if serious about soccer, I know several players/families have made the trip. And not just distance but traffic direction and time involved.

Player 1 - Santa Clarita to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 2 - Rancho Palo Verdes to Chino Hills 2x week
Player 3 - Laguna Beach to SD Polo Fields 4x week
Player 4 - El Toro to Fairplax 2x week
Player 5 - Cerritos to Great Park 2x week
Player 6 - El Segundo to San Juan Capistrano, then Costa Mesa and now Woodland Hills 4 week

One in particular, prior to LAGDA started boarding HS program, commuted 4x week from Palm Desert to Carson.

Its a value proposition that only the player and his/her family can make and justify. There simply is no way to generalize what's acceptable and what's not in terms of distance and time.
No, believe me, I get it. I'm going 30 miles one way 3x week at the moment and know one kid who used to do Pasadena to Laguna Niguel 3x week. Technician's kid is a younger, and I'm used to seeing those big commutes more for the olders, plus I was imagining him having to brave the 405 for 50 miles during rush hour, which would just about kill me. But hey, I don't judge. There's no blueprint for success as a parent. Everybody's situation is different. It's like they say on the Appalachian Trail thru-hikes: Hike Your Own Hike. It's a term for not letting anyone else dictate what's right or wrong for your journey or trying to dictate to others; it applies to just about everything in parenting too.
 
Interesting. Drake is her pump up music. She also loves Mobb Deep because I play it to pump her up. Her team always plays hip hop over the stadium loudspeakers prior to games. That would be interesting to hear the Rat Pack prior to games. I would think that would be more mental warfare than pump up music for milennials.
Drake is on my DD's playlist as well, but I personally think he sucks. She and I at least agree on Kendrick Lamar, so that's her current go-to. Just to balance out the AC/DC and Metalica, I did make sure to introduce her to Run DMC, Doug E. Fresh, and NWA. She's the type of kid that might dig some Sinatra, too. Nothing like having a deep playlist for those long ass drives to Norco or Palmdale!
 
Drake is on my DD's playlist as well, but I personally think he sucks. She and I at least agree on Kendrick Lamar, so that's her current go-to. Just to balance out the AC/DC and Metalica, I did make sure to introduce her to Run DMC, Doug E. Fresh, and NWA. She's the type of kid that might dig some Sinatra, too. Nothing like having a deep playlist for those long ass drives to Norco or Palmdale!

My player said to me about 8 months ago that she had "discovered" Tupac. Run DMC and Public Enemy are still my go toos (of course along with NWA). You sent me down memory lane with Doug E. Fresh (and the Get Fresh Crew).
 
My player said to me about 8 months ago that she had "discovered" Tupac. Run DMC and Public Enemy are still my go toos (of course along with NWA). You sent me down memory lane with Doug E. Fresh (and the Get Fresh Crew).
Yeah, one of my prouder moments was when she was doing chores around the house with her headphones on rapping along to "The Show."

"Six minutes, six minutes, six minutes Doug E. Fresh you're on . . ." :D
 
@Sheriff Joe isn't from the 60's. He seems a little too pro Trump for that.
It is funny you say that and it got me thinking, the first time I can remember anything political was in elementary school and Nixon was running, my favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins and they were the team to beat when I first started watching football in 1970. Product of my environment I guess.
 
I would like parents take on the subject cost of clubs. I've had a couple clients bring up the subject why the cost of club is so high. After hearing some of them complain that they have been ask to pay $2k + for G2008-06, I thought it was hilarious. I told them that was a normal rate going in their area and some of the surrounding cities. They said that they would get 2 tournaments, referee fees, SCDSL Fall League, registration etc. but uniforms are separate. Also normal to me but when I informed them that I had a friend that charges for G2007 a little over $1k that included the same things except they get 4 tournaments and the coaching fee was covered, of course uniform was separate there were excited to know more. When I informed them that they would have to drive 15 miles to were the team practices, their reaction was "Never mind, its too far for me". LMAO, what wrong with this picture?
I totally hijacked this thread, sorry. Seems like $2000 is a normal range. Some clubs give you a lot for that $2k, others nickel and dime you to death above that. We were at one club where $2000 was the touted price, but the uniforms were insanely expensive (3 different kits, warm-ups, bag, etc. all mandatory almost $350.00) and the team had to collect for every tournament, coaching per diem, ref fee, spring league, etc., and there was some mandatory club fundraiser that we ended up buying out of and all that ran an additional $1500, so $35oo when it was all added up. On the other hand, current club has an annual fee of $2300, but it covers everything and we did about 4-5 big tournaments. We never have to collect or pay for anything during the year. Much better. If I were running a club, I'd mandate a total all-inclusive fee.

*caveat emptor: If your club offers a slick looking on-line ordering system for the uniforms (that incidentally always malfunctions), customization options, has more than 3 pages of "optional" branded gear, requires you to have home, away, and "alternate" kits, and hasn't had the same uniform design or logo more than 2 years in a row, run away. Run far away.
 
It is funny you say that and it got me thinking, the first time I can remember anything political was in elementary school and Nixon was running, my favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins and they were the team to beat when I first started watching football in 1970. Product of my environment I guess.

Bob Griese was fun to watch as, of course, was Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. I never got to see them live but I have seen plenty of replays. Everyone is 50% nature and 50% nurture sir.
 
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