The Benefits of Flights 2 and 3

[MakeAPlay]

I think this is such a great post but it's lacking the most important thing INMHO. Your child's coach at 8-11 is the most important thing that occurs- and the selection of the coach should far outweigh any "team". To be clear at the younger ages I see technical coaches coaching B And C teams in my particular area.
Find the right coach.

My players first club had the coach with the highest license and the most professional playing and coaching experience coaching the "C" team in her age group. One of the reasons that we moved her is we asked if she could play for that coach and they said no he was the "bronze" team coach. He gave her privates for a year and a half and we saw the biggest gain in her technical skills in her entire career.

Like ESPN said, pick the coach not the team.

 

[Woodwork]

My DD is U13 this season, this is the first club change since we started. Multiple Players on our old team have changed ever year club.

There are other factors like the club breaking the team apart, etc. Coach not coaching that age group. Girls developing faster than other girls.

Are you a coach woodwwoodwork?

U13 is about where I'm thinking team-level competition will become more of a factor for mine. Before then, I see a lot of benefit in terms of individual creativity in not moving to a top tier team where the emphasis is on learning one position and on passing. I think those things are important, but development-wise I think fluidity and fluency with the ball at a kid's feet in real time situations gets harder if it isn't the focus early on. One thing I noticed is that my kid hones skill moves and feints when going against less skilled players first, learns what works and doesn't work with less on the line, and then has the confidence to use them more routinely against tougher players or teams. As others have said, this is the opportune time to develop. We can compete later.

I'm not a coach, but I played for many years including a state championship team as a youth and a little in college (not anything close to D1). I ended up playing with a lot of different types and levels of players, including a lot of internationals. That was all before youtube had as good stuff, cable tv (for me), and the MLS boom. Everyone can be an expert on soccer now if they want to be, but I'm not trying to raise a soccer player so much as a well-rounded person. Part of that just so happens to be soccer since it is something I can teach better than golf.