u15 the limbo year

pooka

pooka

SILVER ELITE
how is everyone's DD doing so far this season? Our girls are a mix of middle and high school, which brings it own challenges. I also feel like we are the age most affected by this new ECNL/DA divide. the older girls are done with recruiting, and the younger ones aren't concerned with it. We are kind of in a weird limbo trying to see what is going to happen next year at u16.
 
pooka said:
how is everyone's DD doing so far this season? Our girls are a mix of middle and high school, which brings it own challenges. I also feel like we are the age most affected by this new ECNL/DA divide. the older girls are done with recruiting, and the younger ones aren't concerned with it. We are kind of in a weird limbo trying to see what is going to happen next year at u16.
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I hate to say it but this is the year that stuff starts to go sideways. U16 gets a little crazier then it settles back down for U17. U18 is an absolute *shit show because most of the team are seniors and senior year priorities hit after the New Year.

I would ask your question again towards the end of November and then again come April and you will get a feel for the craziness. This is one of the main reasons that I have always said to focus on your player and not some team/league. Good luck to your player during this difficult time.
 
what did you see from the girls when your DD hit U15? I am noticing that some of the girls are really leaning in and taking their development seriously, and others are starting to get distracted. I am also seeing more parents (myself included) becoming more concerned about "resume" building accolades because recruiting is starting to loom over the horizon...

folks are also sending their children away (out of state) so that they can play DA....its getting interesting for sure
 
A good indicator is looking at the number of posts in the age group forums. You will notice that it peaks around U11-U13 then slowly year after year the posts/posters slowly go downwards. U15/16 is a big attrition year. Up until that point everyone's little Mallory is going to play in college and on the national team. Reality hits the players before it hits the parents and eventually the draw of "other" things becomes really strong.

Plenty of people don't like how I tell it like it is but trust me, I am speaking the truth. Good luck to everyone's player. This is a marathon not a sprint. Act appropriately.
 
YES!! its DEAD in here! not even surf cup garnered a thread, last year it was pages and pages. I'm going to have to find a new forum home lol. I'll be honest and say I believed my little kiddo was good enough to make regional team,but apparently she was not what the coach was looking for. it was a HARD summer for my DD, a lot of adult BS, change, and trying to adjust to a new team. It made her want to work harder. Now she's out for the rest of the fall because these kids do not know how to properly slide tackle and at Blues Cup a girl took her out from behind :mad:.
 
pooka said:
what did you see from the girls when your DD hit U15? I am noticing that some of the girls are really leaning in and taking their development seriously, and others are starting to get distracted. I am also seeing more parents (myself included) becoming more concerned about "resume" building accolades because recruiting is starting to loom over the horizon...

folks are also sending their children away (out of state) so that they can play DA....its getting interesting for sure
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Sending someone's child out of state is a little extreme IMHO.

Your observations about resume building are 100% spot on as is your observation about half of the players working hard to improve and generate recruiting offers and half starting to get pulled away from elite soccer. It happened on my players team and will continue to happen. Unfortunately the players recognize their future in the game before most of their parents do. At U15 the girls that want to play in college are asking for more opportunities to improve and they start watching games (this is about when my player wanted to watch college and pro games). Some of the players on my daughter's U15 team still treated it like U12. Most of those players either switched teams (due to no longer being at the appropriate ability level to contribute) or quit soccer all together. It sucks but the demands of high level soccer aren't for everyone and once you start getting to the high school ages in gets harder. If a kid wants to play at an elite level and/or play in college they have to keep working at it and unfortunately once those teenage hormones kick in all bets are off. You pretty much have to hope that you instilled a love for the game in your player because once they are full fledged teens THEY are in charge of their development.

Good luck to you and your player.
 
Going through what MAP is describing right now with my u16 freshman, talked her off of the edge of the cliff with some good advice from some of the college posters in here. Hopefully she stays healthy this year and enjoys high school during the club break. It is important to listen to the old codgers around here. You only get one shot at it.
 
pooka said:
YES!! its DEAD in here! not even surf cup garnered a thread, last year it was pages and pages. I'm going to have to find a new forum home lol. I'll be honest and say I believed my little kiddo was good enough to make regional team,but apparently she was not what the coach was looking for. it was a HARD summer for my DD, a lot of adult BS, change, and trying to adjust to a new team. It made her want to work harder. Now she's out for the rest of the fall because these kids do not know how to properly slide tackle and at Blues Cup a girl took her out from behind :mad:.
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Sucks.
 
pooka said:
YES!! its DEAD in here! not even surf cup garnered a thread, last year it was pages and pages. I'm going to have to find a new forum home lol. I'll be honest and say I believed my little kiddo was good enough to make regional team,but apparently she was not what the coach was looking for. it was a HARD summer for my DD, a lot of adult BS, change, and trying to adjust to a new team. It made her want to work harder. Now she's out for the rest of the fall because these kids do not know how to properly slide tackle and at Blues Cup a girl took her out from behind :mad:.
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I am sorry to hear about her injury. There is no way to properly prepare for it. I wouldn't worry about the regional team thing. My player was the alternate several years before a fresh set of eyes (and a lot of inquiries from some top college coaches) changed that. It's not where a player starts but where a player finishes that matters. As long as SHE is willing to put in the work, then almost anything is possible. Just help her work on the things that she needs to work on and continue to focus on getting great grades in academically challenging classes and everything will work itself out. I promise. Good luck to you and your player.
 
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