How much Soccer does your Child Actually Play

SOCCERMINION

SOCCERMINION

SILVER ELITE
So there seems to be alot of talk out there on how much soccer our children play, Id like to start a topic for people to post the truth so others can get an idea of the amount the kids are actually playing.
U14 Girls Club player.
Max play time in a week:16.5 hours
Monday: 6-7:30 Private Lessons
Tuesday: 4:30-6 Team Practice, 6-7:30 2nd Practice
Weds: (personal play time at the park 2 hours)
Thursday: 6-7:30 Team Practice
Friday: 4-5:30 Small goup training, 6-7:30 Team Speed and Conditioning training
Saturday: Mourning Game 2 hours, (Warm up and Play time.)
Sunday: Mourning Game 2 hours, Futsal 6-7:30
Min Play Time in a week: 8 hours
Monday: Off, (to allow player rest and parents wallets to cool from privates)
Tuesday: 4:30-6 Team Practice, 6-7:30 2nd Practice
Weds: Off
Thursday: 6-7:30 Team Practice
Friday: 4-5:30 Small goup training.
Saturday: Mourning Game 2 hours, (Warm up and Play time.)
Sunday: Off, (One game on weekend and Skip Futsal becuase hassle to get there.)
GU14 Girls Club Soccer estimate average 12 training hours a week.
 
Gu13 schedule
Monday practice 530-7
Tuesday attack clinic 5-6
Wednesday off (this is homework/study day)
Thursday practice 530-7
Friday conditioning 4-5, futsal 7-8
Saturday game 1 hr warm up, 1 hour play
Sunday Indoor 1 hour various weekends when time permits
She also runs with her dad Tues, Thurs and Sun about 2/3 miles in the morning before school bc they like to run, regardless of soccer.
So only 9 hours not including her runs.
 
College in-season. 2-3 hours of training Monday-Friday on non-game days plus at least an hour of film review the day after games. Games twice a week ~3 hours each game. If no games the coach gives them Saturday and Sunday off but expects them to run or do some other cardio or strength. My DD does a gym weight session and exercise bike three mornings for 90 minutes Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings in addition to the team stuff. My DD also plays an indoor pickup game on Friday evening if she does not have a game. She likes these pickup indoor games because it gives her a chance to let loose and be more physical. The men who play in these pickup games have learned that the little 5'2" girl will and can knock them on their ass. I really like going to watch, when my DD lets me, these pickup games.
 
SOCCERMINION said:
My DD guests on a 2nd team and practices once week with them on same day as her other team.
Anyone have a child playing club and HS Soccer that can share their schedual?
Click to expand...
Got it. Thanks.
Is she cooked after?
Ill coach my 2 teams back to back on Tuesday and I'm exhausted after. It's good to be young and full of energy!!!
 
GU14 Club Player
Team Practice Monday/Wed/ Thurs 1.5 hours (4.5 total) 630-8, 515-645
Small Group training Tuesday 1.5 hours 7-830
Speed and Agility Tuesday 1 hour 5-6
Friday free day
Depending on the weekend she will have one or two games at 2 hours each, so 2-4 hours
Total is 9-11 hours weekly
 
G03 Club/GK
Mon. 2hrs keeper training
Tue. 1.5hrs team training
Wed. 1.5hrs team training
Thu. 2hrs keeper training
Fri. 2hrs-1hr skills clinic/1hr shooting clinic (keeper training)
So in theory she could spend 9hrs just on training for the week.
Sat/Sun depends on game schedule. But the norm for game days. 2hrs (warm-up/game)
13hrs max for the week unless it's a tournament weekend and we all know how that can run.
Thu/Fri we are flexible in that we usually pick one over the other depending on how the week has been going. If it's a bye weekend or maybe only a Sunday game she might train Mon-Fri. We always remain flexible. I don't want to burn her out either. And she needs rest from throwing her body around the way she does. If she's tired or not feeling well we'll keep her home. I don't see the need to train train train if it's going to be counter-productive and possibly cause her to miss more days then the one night she's taking off. Homework is still first priority so if there's too much and she has to miss training she will. But she is pretty good about getting it done so it doesn't become a problem. She maintains a good GPA.
 
When our kid was U13, he trained 2x week w/his team and 2x week with U15 team on the other two days. So that's 4x week @ 90~120 min per, or 8 hours or so a week. Anywhere between 2~4 games on the weekends (club + Santa Ana league games). Before U13 he did his team 2x week and travel baseball 2x week and both sets of games on the weekends. Privates were used to address specific issues and never ongoing activity for us.

At U14, he trained 2x week with his team in fall, through winter (his club team had 6 HS players at U14 so the team continued to train and compete in tournaments - he only trained with the team) while he had daily training with HS. In the spring of that year he trained 4x with DA team (he moved to DA) though June. He ultimately liked HS better than DA (friends and representing his HS), he didn't bother going back to DA.

U15 on (he's now U17 playing on U18 team competing in U20 in CSL and CRL), he only trains 2x week with his team. During HS season, he trains with HS team only, and transition back to club after CIF playoffs.

We've balanced sports and academics as he got older and HS years. The benefit of extra training and soccer, we believe, diminishes as the player gets to be around 15+ yrs. While the players get better with more repetitions, tactics becomes much more important aspect of the game and how well the player performs, especially at the high level (assuming that the player has sufficient technical skills and natural abilities, such as speed and agility). The benefit of academic achievements will outweigh the time spent on extra soccer training in our view (we're not thinking that our kid will be a pro - otherwise, we'd have sent him to Europe already since he is a dual US/EU citizen).

If you're wondering how all this has worked out for college - not playing DA and only training 2x week - he's recruited. And, if all goes like it should (keeping our fingers crossed!), he'll be playing next fall for a great academic institution. So there are many different ways to get to there. Just have to have a bit of luck and find what works for your kid....
 
Mirage everything you said above was pretty much what I heard thus weekend from a mom who has two girls playing college. Both played highschool, over academy after trying it and not feeling it as the right fit. She emphasized stamina, speed and ball movement. Hard work, good ethics and academics. It was interesting to me to hear from someone who went through it twice. She also said visibility is key, to never burn bridges with coaches as they transfer clubs, ages etc all the time and that the soccer world is small. Our conversation echoed what you wrote so much. Thanks for your insight.
 
SOCCERMINION said:
My DD guests on a 2nd team and practices once week with them on same day as her other team.
Anyone have a child playing club and HS Soccer that can share their schedual?
Click to expand...

Whew. Your daughter's schedule similar to what my daughter's schedule was like a couple years ago (u12/13). Now doing club soccer, HS volleyball, and HS soccer. I've posted my thoughts about this on other threads, but I think it's too much. When she was 11 or 12 (also a GK, so there was GK training) all the high impact training and sports weren't so bad. Less massive bodies mean less force applied in collisions and less strength means less torque on the joints. But as she's gotten bigger, the beating is taking its toll. We've cut back dramatically on soccer practices because of the HS volleyball commitment (the two seasons overlap) but it is still a ton of hours of sports (probably 16 hours + a week). I think she's going to drop Vball next year because it has been just too much. HS soccer and club don't overlap, so I imagine it will be a tiny bit lighter during the HS soccer season, but not by much. Looking at some of the other schedules posted here, I would say that it looks like not enough recovery time. Those schedules are ok in short bursts or over a season, but I promise you a year of that with no breaks, and something else will break eventually. I was thinking about interspersing two weeks of recovery every few months, regardless of what her club does. Rest is a seriously underrated part of high performance.
 
mommato2girls said:
Mirage everything you said above was pretty much what I heard thus weekend from a mom who has two girls playing college. Both played highschool, over academy after trying it and not feeling it as the right fit. She emphasized stamina, speed and ball movement. Hard work, good ethics and academics. It was interesting to me to hear from someone who went through it twice. She also said visibility is key, to never burn bridges with coaches as they transfer clubs, ages etc all the time and that the soccer world is small. Our conversation echoed what you wrote so much. Thanks for your insight.
Click to expand...
Academy????
 
Mystery Train said:
Whew. Your daughter's schedule similar to what my daughter's schedule was like a couple years ago (u12/13). Now doing club soccer, HS volleyball, and HS soccer. I've posted my thoughts about this on other threads, but I think it's too much. When she was 11 or 12 (also a GK, so there was GK training) all the high impact training and sports weren't so bad. Less massive bodies mean less force applied in collisions and less strength means less torque on the joints. But as she's gotten bigger, the beating is taking its toll. We've cut back dramatically on soccer practices because of the HS volleyball commitment (the two seasons overlap) but it is still a ton of hours of sports (probably 16 hours + a week). I think she's going to drop Vball next year because it has been just too much. HS soccer and club don't overlap, so I imagine it will be a tiny bit lighter during the HS soccer season, but not by much. Looking at some of the other schedules posted here, I would say that it looks like not enough recovery time. Those schedules are ok in short bursts or over a season, but I promise you a year of that with no breaks, and something else will break eventually. I was thinking about interspersing two weeks of recovery every few months, regardless of what her club does. Rest is a seriously underrated part of high performance.
Click to expand...
 
My post was to show Min and Max. My DD training time is somewhere in the middle. Obvioiusly we look at the total she is training and make her take time off but sometimes the stars align and her club has extra training and her friends invite her to some new activity. All this is driven from my DD . And if it was up to her she would probably play even more soccer with her friends. Its an odd thing , socccer in the OC. For my DD is not just bout her love of the game but also a social activity. The friends that will be there plays a big part in her decisions if she wants to attend extra trainings or not. I don't think my DD would attend half the extra activities or play futsal at all if her friends wernt there playing as well....
 
G2008 gu9
Monday 1 1/2 hrs soccer training
Tuesday 45min of martial arts
Wednesday 1 1/2 hrs soccer training
Thursday 45 min martial arts
Friday 1 hr of gymnastics
Saturday 2:10 hrs game including warm up
Sunday 1 hr private soccer training

B2009 bu8
Monday 1 1/2 hrs soccer training
Tuesday 30min martial arts
Wednesday 1 1/2 hrs soccer training
Thursday 30 min martial arts
Friday nothing
Saturday 2:10 hrs game including warm ups
Sunday 1 hrs private soccer training

B2001 bu16
Monday 1:45 hrs of soccer training
Tuesday nothing
Wednesday 1:45 hrs soccer training
Thursday nothing
Friday nothing
Saturday 2:30 hrs game including warm ups
Sunday nothing


Sorry I know the question was soccer but over the years i have learned to much of one sport can be damaging and they can get burned out. So I mix it up.
 
Desert619 said:
Sorry I know the question was soccer but over the years i have learned to much of one sport can be damaging and they can get burned out. So I mix it up.
Click to expand...
3 kids, and yet that doesn't even add up to 40 total hours? How will they ever succeed?! I keep reading on this board that most (many? only good ones?) players spend 30-40 hours at soccer. :):)
 
jrcaesar said:
3 kids, and yet that doesn't even add up to 40 total hours? How will they ever succeed?! I keep reading on this board that most (many? only good ones?) players spend 30-40 hours at soccer. :):)
Click to expand...


Lol I know right!? Well I should say my b2001 made the odp player pool this year and he made varsity as a freshman last year. So he must be doing something right. Also I have 4 kids. My 19 year old daughter plays college soccer, so there's that. They're successful and all with a under 30-40 hour soccer schedules.

I'm speaking from experience. To much of one sport is damaging and it's ok to take a break. People shouldn't go overboard on training. These hours I'm seeing are a lot in my opinion.
 
G01 Club (during the club season)
Monday: 5-6:30 Club Team Practice, 7-8 Yoga class at the gym
Tuesday: 2:30-4 High School practice, 6:30-8 24 gym
Wednesday: 5:30-6:30 Club core workout, 7-8 gym if no homework
Thursday: 2:30-4 High School Practice, 5-6:30 Club Team Practice, 7-8 occasional gym
Friday: No workouts. Rest for weekend games
Saturday: 1 hour warm up, 1:20 hour game time
Sunday: 1 hour warm up, 1:20 hour game time

Yoga, Club core workout with Division 1 trainer and gym visits are the key to limiting injuries and getting stronger.
 
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