# Does High School Matter?



## ilovetowatchuplay (Aug 17, 2016)

so our dd is an 02 ECNL player going into 8th grade and will start high school in a year's time. we're in a strong public school district academically but the soccer program is not so great while the private schools seem to house both strong academics AND strong soccer programs. private school would be a big stretch for us financially and would be an outside possibility, if at all. as we start to weigh the options the question is: assuming good grades, does the strength of a high school soccer program, or lack thereof, matter when it comes to a college commitment or is ECNL enough?


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## mahrez (Aug 17, 2016)

ilovetowatchuplay said:


> so our dd is an 02 ECNL player going into 8th grade and will start high school in a year's time. we're in a strong public school district academically but the soccer program is not so great while the private schools seem to house both strong academics AND strong soccer programs. private school would be a big stretch for us financially and would be an outside possibility, if at all. as we start to weigh the options the question is: assuming good grades, does the strength of a high school soccer program, or lack thereof, matter when it comes to a college commitment or is ECNL enough?


9 out of 10 players that played ECNL during HS ended up with college commits according to a article on goalnation.com

Focus on the getting good marks, test scores, citizenship in HS to help with college.  HS soccer from some programs can get you noticed, some op to wait until junior or senior to have some fun playing with friends.


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## Surfref (Aug 17, 2016)

ECNL is enough.  Concentrate of getting good grades and high SAT scores.


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## Overlap (Aug 24, 2016)

HS gives your DD an opportunity to HAVE FUN and play with her friends, other than that, it doesn't count for much these days....(they're looking at her club play)


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## soccerobserver (Aug 24, 2016)

ILTW, it depends on what type of college DD wants to attend. Most private high schools and some public high schools show on their websites which colleges the seniors are matriculating into and in some cases you can look back 5 years. If the public school is getting the job done then that is perfect. You said you have a strong public school nearby so that sounds ideal. Some HS's are feeders into certain colleges and you will see that in the matriculation statistics on the HS websites. I know kids who are on ECNL teams and cannot get into colleges they desire bc their soccer skills or grades are not strong enough. But they are getting exposure to just about any school they desire. I think HS is somewhat irrelevant from a soccer standpoint but can make a difference in getting considered for certain colleges from an academic standpoint.


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## Robdog (Aug 24, 2016)

My high school niece played club soccer through high school and then made a comment about another cousin that learned the piano.  She said, "Why didn't you guys (parents) get me piano lessons or something other than playing soccer."  She jokingly said, "soccer isn't something I can do after 30".  
It's something to ponder.


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## espola (Aug 24, 2016)

Robdog said:


> My high school niece played club soccer through high school and then made a comment about another cousin that learned the piano.  She said, "Why didn't you guys (parents) get me piano lessons or something other than playing soccer."  She jokingly said, "soccer isn't something I can do after 30".
> It's something to ponder.


I played soccer until I was 57.  I quit when it started taking 10 days for my back to recover from the games every Wednesday night.

However, I kept on skiing until I was 67, and I might go back again if the right opportunity comes up.

As for the piano lessons, I started learning to play the guitar when I was 64.


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## zebrafish (Aug 24, 2016)

Man, at my mid 40s I need to get into the league with the 50 somethings.

I could be CR45


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## espola (Aug 24, 2016)

zebrafish said:


> Man, at my mid 40s I need to get into the league with the 50 somethings.
> 
> I could be CR45


I was the oldest player in the over-35 indoor league when I got cut.  What was worse than the sting of being cut was that the team that cut me won the league title the next season.

Then I became the oldest player in the over-40 3v3 indoor league.  Eventually I was ready to quit and I was going to tell my teammates after the last game of the season, but I scored 5 goals that night, so I suffered through another season.


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## meatsweats (Aug 24, 2016)

Robdog said:


> My high school niece played club soccer through high school and then made a comment about another cousin that learned the piano.  She said, "Why didn't you guys (parents) get me piano lessons or something other than playing soccer."  She jokingly said, "soccer isn't something I can do after 30".
> It's something to ponder.


At 44, I play as much as time allows (I have two girls that also play), but I have friends that play every week, regardless of time that allows (48 and over). LOL! You can play as long as you live. Literally, there are leagues for all. The "beautiful game lasts a lifetime." 

Hell, this is enough inspiration as any...When I'm 100, I wish!


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## espola (Aug 25, 2016)

meatsweats said:


> At 44, I play as much as time allows (I have two girls that also play), but I have friends that play every week, regardless of time that allows (48 and over). LOL! You can play as long as you live. Literally, there are leagues for all. The "beautiful game lasts a lifetime."
> 
> Hell, this is enough inspiration as any...When I'm 100, I wish!


I used to run 5k road races with my kids.  They were sometimes competitive, I was out for exercise and family fun.  Then after one race we were sticking around to see if the kids had won any medals, and my name was announced as a winner - third place in men 55-59 group.  As you may have guessed, there were only three men entered in that group.


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