High School soccer or no?

U

uburoi

Guest
My DD wants to play high school soccer because she doesn't want to do general PE. I think she could benefit from four months of training to really build her skills now that she's at a level where she can really excel and grow, rather than a high school experience that she knows will not be as good as her club. Anyone have any experience with this?
 
My DD only played HS her fresh/soph years because the college coach that recruited he asked her not to play HS. My DD and I have talked about this subject numerous times. The only thing she said she missed was playing with classmates. She did not miss the 5x a week useless "AYSO level" practices or the lower level of play in games. She said during most games she was worried about some lower level player injuring her. She had three friends that had fairly decent college scholarships that got injured playing HS their senior year by either just an out of control bad player or an overly physical tackle. None of the three ended up playing in college and one of the girls is still hoping she will be able to just jog again someday. She had a tib/fib break with knee and ankle ligament damage.

DD used the off time those two HS seasons (junior and senior) to rehab and recover from minor injuries and work with a trainer.
 
My dd is entering her freshman year of HS, so I don't have personal experience between the club season and the HS season for her. However, she would be devastated if she could not play HS soccer. I think it is widely known that HS soccer is not at the same level as club soccer, but the chance to play with your HS friends is too much to pass up for my dd and probably lots of other HS girls.
 
bababooey said:
My dd is entering her freshman year of HS, so I don't have personal experience between the club season and the HS season for her. However, she would be devastated if she could not play HS soccer. I think it is widely known that HS soccer is not at the same level as club soccer, but the chance to play with your HS friends is too much to pass up for my dd and probably lots of other HS girls.
Click to expand...
I think it's the hardest thing that these girls are wrestling with, regarding DA. Mine was a freshman varsity starter and had a great time. When DA info first came out, it was stated that the "no HS" mandate would not be enforced until 2021. She was in the clear, or so we thought. Now it's enforced and she had to tell her HS coach that she would not be back. On one hand, she is upset, but on the other she understands and is giving it a year to see if this is everything it is being pegged to be. If not, she has her Jr and Sr years left.
 
It's really simple.
If you have a serious player - she needs to stay in DA and forget about HS soccer.
If your DD just want to have fun and play with her classmates - forget about serious soccer and enjoy HS.
 
Eagle33 said:
It's really simple.
If you have a serious player - she needs to stay in DA and forget about HS soccer.
If your DD just want to have fun and play with her classmates - forget about serious soccer and enjoy HS.
Click to expand...

I disagree. You can have a serious player who doesn't want to practice four times a week and give up HS soccer or ODP. That same player can play on a high level club team (DA reserve, ECNL, CSL Premier, Flight 1, etc.) most of the year and then play the HS season. Somehow it worked for many years prior to today.

If a player has her heart set on playing for a YNT, then yes, give up HS soccer and focus on GDA. If a parent has his or her heart set on puffing their chest out and saying their dd plays GDA and thus she is better than 99% of the other players, so be it.

Not everything is black and white.
 
Eagle33 said:
It's really simple.
If you have a serious player - she needs to stay in DA and forget about HS soccer.
If your DD just want to have fun and play with her classmates - forget about serious soccer and enjoy HS.
Click to expand...

I don't think that it is that simple. Let me start by saying that I believe that you should let your player choose. It is a good start on her path to independence and at the end of the day it is their journey so they should live with the consequences of their decision. Now let me share my player's story.

My player played ECNL all 5 years from U14 to u18. She is a YNT player and a starter on a top college team. I did not want her to play HS soccer due to the low level of play and the risk of injury. She didn't play her club position and to be quite honest she was playing at a level much higher than any of her teammates and most players in the league and this was as a freshman. She played in a pretty good league where all of the varsity players played club at a decent level. I had no illusions that she was going to improve playing high school so I was surprised when she did improve. She learned how to adjust to more physical play and playing against players that were 3-4 years older than her on average. Fast forward to the spring club season and the ECNL Champions League playoffs and she was notably more physical in a good way. The biggest benefit though was the boost in social status that she got from being the only freshman on varsity and being the star player on the team. That kind of social capital is pretty valuable to a teenage girl, even one that eats and breathes soccer.

Her sophomore year came around and again I tried to convince her not to play. She again chose to play. This time around she wasn't an unknown so teams played her much more physically. It was a little rough for her and although she had another good season she was a little less enthused about it due to the constant fouling. She did still enjoy the notoriety that she enjoyed and some of her high school teammates even came out to see her spring club games because they wanted to see her in do what she does against other high level players. She had committed to the school that she currently attends during the high school season and due to the high profile nature of the school her teammates were curious.

Her junior year she initially decided not to play and to just train with the team and to be the team stats person. She listened to my concern about injury and sat miserable while her team struggled knowing that she could help them. Her teammates understood but them and her coach constantly lamented not having her. After 7 or 8 games she decided to play and ended up helping the team turn around the season. She got her third straight first team all league honors and was elected to ASB (another added benefit). She told me that she was glad that she decided to play.

Her senior year was the year that I actually showed up to the more games than all of the previous years added up. She enjoyed the season and it was her school's most successful season in 10 years. Due to playing soccer in addition to her other sports she was named the league and county female athlete of the year and won a bunch of other awards. She even skipped a YNT camp to attend a school function. She made it through all 4 years with no real injuries and tons of lessons learned and experiences had.

I know that every player's journey is unique but high school soccer was a good experience for my player. It has not hurt her development and it helped enhance her high school experience. Good luck to you and your daughter through this process.
 
bababooey said:
I disagree. You can have a serious player who doesn't want to practice four times a week and give up HS soccer or ODP. That same player can play on a high level club team (DA reserve, ECNL, CSL Premier, Flight 1, etc.) most of the year and then play the HS season. Somehow it worked for many years prior to today.

If a player has her heart set on playing for a YNT, then yes, give up HS soccer and focus on GDA. If a parent has his or her heart set on puffing their chest out and saying their dd plays GDA and thus she is better than 99% of the other players, so be it.

Not everything is black and white.
Click to expand...

I would add that even if a player has her heart set on playing for the full national team she should not be prevented from playing high school soccer. We are talking about girls here.
 
bababooey said:
I disagree. You can have a serious player who doesn't want to practice four times a week and give up HS soccer or ODP. That same player can play on a high level club team (DA reserve, ECNL, CSL Premier, Flight 1, etc.) most of the year and then play the HS season. Somehow it worked for many years prior to today.

If a player has her heart set on playing for a YNT, then yes, give up HS soccer and focus on GDA. If a parent has his or her heart set on puffing their chest out and saying their dd plays GDA and thus she is better than 99% of the other players, so be it.

Not everything is black and white.
Click to expand...
Well said! Agree with you 100%
 
This is all great stuff, and thanks. My DD is not a DA player, plays on a good flight 1 team, and is in the middle of the pack on her HS team. She will not be a varsity player first year, but the pool of players is very high in our area. Right now she has a great opportunity to grow and I can see the growth happening at a much faster rate than ever before. I know there will be very little to any time to do any good skills training after the club season ends. That being said, there is no ODP or YNT on the table and there will probably not be. She expressed some frustration about the process and style of HS play. Maybe playing for the first year is best and decide from there? Thanks.
 
We switched districts just so my older daughter could be on a High School Dance team. Can't imagine ever saying no to my younger kid playing a High School sport once she gets there. I do have a question. DA players can't play soccer in High School. Would they be able to play another sport in High School?
 
UB, if your daughter is playing JV or Frosh/Soph, she won't get a good feel for the level of play on the varsity team. She will more than likely continue her frustration. That being said, if she isn't going to shoot for a DA slot, why not have her play HS? The conditioning will keep her in good shape, and the social aspect of HS soccer is also a plus. However, the threat of injury on a HS pitch is real , and depending on the school/soccer program, she may pick up some bad habits. And what are the winter plans of her club team? Are they shut down during the HS season? If she decides not to play HS, you might have the added cost of a personal trainer to keep her conditioning up.
 
uburoi said:
This is all great stuff, and thanks. My DD is not a DA player, plays on a good flight 1 team, and is in the middle of the pack on her HS team. She will not be a varsity player first year, but the pool of players is very high in our area. Right now she has a great opportunity to grow and I can see the growth happening at a much faster rate than ever before. I know there will be very little to any time to do any good skills training after the club season ends. That being said, there is no ODP or YNT on the table and there will probably not be. She expressed some frustration about the process and style of HS play. Maybe playing for the first year is best and decide from there? Thanks.
Click to expand...

If your DD is not in DA, then by all means let her play HS. Her club team will be dark during HS season anyway.
 
socalkdg said:
We switched districts just so my older daughter could be on a High School Dance team. Can't imagine ever saying no to my younger kid playing a High School sport once she gets there. I do have a question. DA players can't play soccer in High School. Would they be able to play another sport in High School?
Click to expand...

There is not enough time of the day between training 4 days a week all year long, plus homework, plus all social events to play other sports.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JJP
bababooey said:
I disagree. You can have a serious player who doesn't want to practice four times a week and give up HS soccer or ODP. That same player can play on a high level club team (DA reserve, ECNL, CSL Premier, Flight 1, etc.) most of the year and then play the HS season. Somehow it worked for many years prior to today.

If a player has her heart set on playing for a YNT, then yes, give up HS soccer and focus on GDA. If a parent has his or her heart set on puffing their chest out and saying their dd plays GDA and thus she is better than 99% of the other players, so be it.

Not everything is black and white.
Click to expand...

We can agree to disagree. However you missing very important fact that ECNL, Flight 1, Premier or whatever else were all dark during HS season, not GDA. A lot of things worked in the past but time changing and so is the game.
 
CaliKlines said:
UB, if your daughter is playing JV or Frosh/Soph, she won't get a good feel for the level of play on the varsity team. She will more than likely continue her frustration. That being said, if she isn't going to shoot for a DA slot, why not have her play HS? The conditioning will keep her in good shape, and the social aspect of HS soccer is also a plus. However, the threat of injury on a HS pitch is real , and depending on the school/soccer program, she may pick up some bad habits. And what are the winter plans of her club team? Are they shut down during the HS season? If she decides not to play HS, you might have the added cost of a personal trainer to keep her conditioning up.
Click to expand...

Shoot for a DA slot? Is that some sort of reward? The players that should be there aren't shooting for anything. You must be in marketing because everything that you say sounds like an add pitch.
 
MakeAPlay said:
Shoot for a DA slot? Is that some sort of reward? The players that should be there aren't shooting for anything. You must be in marketing because everything that you say sounds like an add pitch.
Click to expand...
sounds like u should talk 2 some of the girls that tried out and didn't make it...it would have been a reward for my kid, but despite her hard work and efforts, she will go back to her csl premier team and try again next year. try not 2 be so pompous...some of your info is good.
 
Tea, Coffee, or both?

For youth soccer HS and Club programs have coexisted until recently when Boys DA under JK decided they where no longer compatible, choices had to be made :(

Of all the USSDA guidelines the most hated one has to be the forced choice between HS play and DA. I have really never understood why the choice is necessary?:rolleyes:

With a slight adjustment there are actual gaps in the DA program that would HS play, for example my sons DA Fall schedule has/normally ends after the 2 week in Nov and doesn't pickup until sometime in February, 2nd week most of the time.

My daughter is going on her 4th season playing both HS and club (ECNL) and its been great for her, she has enjoyed the experience immensely even though most years her HS team hasn't not been in the playoffs the comradery and pride playing with her hometown friends is something she won't trade. She knows all about the DA from her brother and has zero interest in giving up HS play for that. Each to there own. She was also able to fit in track and Volleyball one season.

If your DD doesn't want general HS PE there are other sports compatible with Soccer, the winter, spring ones can work.

I know a lot of people talk about the injury risk for HS players but I not sure the % of HS injuries are any greater than high level club players. In my daughter case there has been more girls injured and missed games in club vs HS but maybe that's just because there are more club games?
 
RiverRat said:
sounds like u should talk 2 some of the girls that tried out and didn't make it...it would have been a reward for my kid, but despite her hard work and efforts, she will go back to her csl premier team and try again next year. try not 2 be so pompous...some of your info is good.
Click to expand...

I have spoken to one particular kid that tried out a lot and got named as an alternate and didn't make the final 18 of a much more prestigious team than anything GDA will offer, so I know what that looks like on a pre-teen. Guess what that girl did? She worked harder until she was better and made it. Disappointment offers a fork in the road for all of us. What we choose to do with it defines our character. It shapes who we are. It sounds like your player has made the right choice. Don't worry about me. Sometimes people don't like to hear the truth without all of the millennial sugar coating and I tell it like it is. I'm like guacamole either you like me or you don't. I suggest you put me on ignore if you offend to easily. Good luck to you and your daughter.
 
MakeAPlay said:
I have spoken to one particular kid that tried out a lot and got named as an alternate and didn't make the final 18 of a much more prestigious team than anything GDA will offer, so I know what that looks like on a pre-teen. Guess what that girl did? She worked harder until she was better and made it. Disappointment offers a fork in the road for all of us. What we choose to do with it defines our character. It shapes who we are. It sounds like your player has made the right choice. Don't worry about me. Sometimes people don't like to hear the truth without all of the millennial sugar coating and I tell it like it is. I'm like guacamole either you like me or you don't. I suggest you put me on ignore if you offend to easily. Good luck to you and your daughter.
Click to expand...

Most people like guacamole. You're more like spinach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top