The worst has happened to me...

It happened to both of my kids at 16. For 12 straight years I watched them practice and play, and then they decided to hang it up. Both were starters on their club team, and both made varsity as freshman. I MISS WATCHING THEM PLAY SO MUCH! Sometimes I think about adopting and doing it all over again. Bring on the 8AMs in Lancaster and the parking fees, I would gladly drive and play to see my kids play again. When I read about some people complaining about distance, fees or climate conditions I wish I could be their kids parent for a day and drive them to the game , set my chair up, shag balls, and enjoy every touch on the ball. The most euphoric feeling I have ever had was my son making his PK at Surf Cup 2011 to send his team to the final.
I think I need to go watch a tournament and pick a team to root for it might be good therapy LOL
Dominic, if you're in the south bay area you're welcome to watch one of our U8 or U10 games as an honorary parent.
 
Joining the crowd in saying that this is going to happen to all of us. The majority of players quit at some point whether it's when they're young, graduate high school, or graduate college. Enjoy the ride while you can!

My last in line (of 3) considered quitting last year. She just wasn't having fun anymore. Thankfully she decided to move to a different more local team where she is still competing at a high level but also is having a great time socially. Being local also gave her time for other things outside soccer.

Now here we are senior year and she's debating whether she wants to play next year. She could play soccer for what used to be her number 1 choice college, but she may just choose to go to a different school and not play and instead enjoy the other social aspects of college. This kid enjoys going to Football games almost more than playing futbol.

As for me, with three kids I assume one of them will give me a grandkid someday that I will happily encourage to play the sport I love to watch!
 
Cycling, swimming, and beach sports continue to be some of things I still participate with my kids together.

Couldn't image spectating cycling but we enjoy this together outdoors going places and hanging out.

Indoor we use the bike for fitness, rehab, etc why we watch a game, listen to music, etc so can be a good workout for the legs, back, core.


Yeah would like to here more about that, my son is a pretty fast soccer player but hes just average to on the slower side on a bike, same for the daughter.

I was more of a middle distance runner, not really fast but I had better speed on a bike but we rode a lot more I suppose.

I didn't play soccer so never really experienced that with my kids but I kind of miss playing ball with them, besides the occasional driveway horse or vball at a party don't play with them much anymore besides indoor ping pong.

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I neglected to specify female players/cyclists. Many cyclists get into the sport rather casually, without the training background and base fitness that upper level club soccer players are used to. Cycling is all about power to weight and the ability to suffer. High level female soccer players do well in both of those metrics. If I was a cycling coach looking for high level athletes, I would look for burned out soccer players or soccer players recovering from an injury. I know my DD's power to weight ratio is much better than mine.
 
My kid quit. Long story

I feel so bad for her losing her passion for the game, a game she loved so much and was such a big part of her life. And I feel sorry for myself, not getting to watch her play, she was so talented and such a joy to watch. I hope it never happens to you...


Happened to me this year (2 of 3 have quit). My advice is to have her pick another sport or activity and support her as much as possible. Kids want to see if you will continue to support them. This is a test that you need to identify and show her that you still want to be part of her new activity.

You would be surprised how your adrenaline kicks in again as a parent when they start doing a sport outside of soccer. My kids are very happy now doing cross-country and wrestling. My cross country kid actually has a chance to be an elite runner and I am enjoying it even more than soccer because he is winning because of his individual effort and doesn't need to depend on others.

My youngest one loves soccer but I now need to focus on not putting so much pressure to make her quit. I get to do this all over again and I will try to not make the same mistakes as I did with the older ones.

Good luck but remember to support her.
 
My grand scheme for club soccer is after my DD leaves house for college/work, she would visit me EVERY weekend so we can watch a FC Barcelona match and spend quality time together (much like dad and son watch NFL together). Regardless whether or how long she wants to play soccer, I hope she will continue to love this beautiful game. If there is one thing I'm certain of, it is that she will be a much more qualified AYSO coach for her kid than I ever was for her.
 
Our daughter hung them up this past May, but she wanted to quit three years ago, when her former coach just burned her out. We talked her into trying just one more year on a lower level team, and ended up with 3 years--eventually moving back up to a team that was better than the original. We were so happy for each day we got to watch her. There's just something about being"allowed" to watch them, and cheer them (although sometimes we got dirty looks if we were too vocal)...Maybe what makes it special is that environment where you can have on display for all to see how much you truly enjoy your child. If I could go to her English class and read a paper she wrote out loud to everyone -- I would do that too.
 
It happened to both of my kids at 16. For 12 straight years I watched them practice and play, and then they decided to hang it up. Both were starters on their club team, and both made varsity as freshman. I MISS WATCHING THEM PLAY SO MUCH! Sometimes I think about adopting and doing it all over again. Bring on the 8AMs in Lancaster and the parking fees, I would gladly drive and play to see my kids play again. When I read about some people complaining about distance, fees or climate conditions I wish I could be their kids parent for a day and drive them to the game , set my chair up, shag balls, and enjoy every touch on the ball. The most euphoric feeling I have ever had was my son making his PK at Surf Cup 2011 to send his team to the final.
I think I need to go watch a tournament and pick a team to root for it might be good therapy LOL

14-16 is the bewitching hour, in general, for kids to call it quits. It coincides with the general good times at this age as kids push back and start thinking they know everything there is about everything there is. It's why its so important to making the early years as less stressful as possible and nurture THEIR luv of the game. This has been talked about at nauseum on this site, so I will not try to type what that looks like, but I think you all can figure it out.
 
My grand scheme for club soccer is after my DD leaves house for college/work, she would visit me EVERY weekend so we can watch a FC Barcelona match and spend quality time together (much like dad and son watch NFL together).....

You don't really think this will happen do you????

Good luck with that though..... Hoping it will be so for you.
 
Our daughter is a senior this year so I made a promise that I will attend more of her HS soccer and volleyball games. Have some regret not attending more of these over the years, but at least I saw most of the postseason ones.

Lots of times these games are during regular working hours in the day but his year I decided to change/adjust my schedule so I can attend. HS Volleyball is not a great spectator sport (lots of hugging) and its easy to get bored as the games get drawn out so having something else to stay interested in is nice. Been trying out some action still photography and getting some pictures of her, she plays a lot so I snap about 6-1 for the ones she/we like but who cares, these are fun memories. Not many fans or parents at regular season volleyball games or HS soccer for that matter as compared club soccer matches but its so much more chill that i tend to relax and enjoy the games without all the background noise and commotion.
 
Our daughter is a senior this year so I made a promise that I will attend more of her HS soccer and volleyball games. Have some regret not attending more of these over the years, but at least I saw most of the postseason ones.

Lots of times these games are during regular working hours in the day but his year I decided to change/adjust my schedule so I can attend. HS Volleyball is not a great spectator sport (lots of hugging) and its easy to get bored as the games get drawn out so having something else to stay interested in is nice. Been trying out some action still photography and getting some pictures of her, she plays a lot so I snap about 6-1 for the ones she/we like but who cares, these are fun memories. Not many fans or parents at regular season volleyball games or HS soccer for that matter as compared club soccer matches but its so much more chill that i tend to relax and enjoy the games without all the background noise and commotion.
My DD, a Senior in college, is playing her final year. I'll stop mid day to to stream her game and next week I will probably drive up to Oregon to watch her play. Makes driving to Lancaster seem like a trip to the market...
 
This happened to me. I felt the same way. It was hard at first. But he found his passion and I’m happy for him. He is now a gym rat and plays lacrosse. He’s busy everyday and loves what he does.
 
I neglected to specify female players/cyclists. Many cyclists get into the sport rather casually, without the training background and base fitness that upper level club soccer players are used to. Cycling is all about power to weight and the ability to suffer. High level female soccer players do well in both of those metrics. If I was a cycling coach looking for high level athletes, I would look for burned out soccer players or soccer players recovering from an injury. I know my DD's power to weight ratio is much better than mine.
Are you referring to Road or MTB?
 
Are you referring to Road or MTB?
I don't see much difference as far as power to weight or the ability to suffer are concerned. From an athletes perspective the only difference I see is that MTB requires more upper body strength and better bike handling skills.
 
I don't see much difference as far as power to weight or the ability to suffer are concerned. From an athletes perspective the only difference I see is that MTB requires more upper body strength and better bike handling skills.
Big difference between the two. Mountain Bike racing is an anaerobic sufferfest. From the time the gun goes off you are taxing the upper limits of your heart rate. A Road race... a slow death. Sit in, grab a wheel for an hour, check the breakaways and be in the right place for the final sprint. Both are tough and require some gamesmanship but very different.
 
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