# Surf Select ID Camp



## met61 (Feb 10, 2021)

Is it worth attending, thoughts?

Thx


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## greekgirl (Feb 12, 2021)

Depends on the age of your child IMO. If your child is older, not sure. it feels alot like a money maker for surf charging $145 to try out for the Select team. If your child doesn't make the team, $145 wasted?


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## met61 (Feb 12, 2021)

greekgirl said:


> Depends on the age of your child IMO. If your child is older, not sure. it feels alot like a money maker for surf charging $145 to try out for the Select team. If your child doesn't make the team, $145 wasted?


Similar thinking...not to mention those traveling in from out of state.


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## WestOfFive (Feb 14, 2021)

Where is ID Camp at? Polo? ..& when.... I have $145.00 to waste..


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## Eagle33 (Feb 16, 2021)

WestOfFive said:


> Where is ID Camp at? Polo? ..& when.... I have $145.00 to waste..


just give me $20 and I will tell you whether your player will make it or not


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## rainbow_unicorn (Feb 16, 2021)

$145 for youth club soccer tryout is just horrible...horrible


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## crush (Feb 16, 2021)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> $145 for youth club soccer tryout is just horrible...horrible


It takes play to play to a whole new level.  Funny thing, my dd never had to tryout.  She was always offered free rides and told, "you dont need to tryout."


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## Eagle33 (Feb 16, 2021)

crush said:


> It takes play to play to a whole new level.  Funny thing, my dd never had to tryout.  She was always offered free rides and told, "you dont need to tryout."


goats don't need to try out, but all other mortals do


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## crush (Feb 16, 2021)

Eagle33 said:


> goats don't need to try out, but all other mortals do


I remember one goat whose dad was in the inner circle was told to go to tryouts to make it look like they had to tryout as well.  Oh the stories I can tell.....


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## Eagle33 (Feb 16, 2021)

crush said:


> I remember one goat whose dad was in the inner circle was told to go to tryouts to make it look like they had to tryout as well.  Oh the stories I can tell.....


My goat was asked to come to few trainings so other players sign before he left that team....


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## crush (Feb 16, 2021)

Eagle33 said:


> My goat was asked to come to few trainings so other players sign before he left that team....


Wow!!!


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## WestOfFive (Feb 16, 2021)

Eagle33 said:


> just give me $20 and I will tell you whether your player will make it or not


I also will give you an extra $15.00 if you show me a solid pathway to pros...


Eagle33 said:


> just give me $20 and I will tell you whether your player will make it or not


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## Highlander (Feb 17, 2021)

My DD is at a Surf Nation club and has attended some of these. Definitely a money grab, but what in the youth soccer world isn't? They don't make you go, it's your choice if you are selected. Kind of funny, they are saying you can go to Spain to play in their Surf Cup international tournament...that's what when they jumped the shark for me...10 year olds going to Spain to play?  Not that I wouldn't mind going to Spain, but I wouldn't want to watch youth soccer while I was there.


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## Eagle33 (Feb 17, 2021)

Can someone explain WTF is wrong with those people reporting little kids playing soccer?


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## WestOfFive (Feb 17, 2021)

Eagle33 said:


> Can someone explain WTF is wrong with those people reporting little kids playing soccer?


Lol.............."old footage"..........Journalism is dead!


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## Eagle33 (Feb 17, 2021)

WestOfFive said:


> Lol.............."old footage"..........Journalism is dead!


Not sure about the footage, but the talk is about Feb 13th event


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## Cruzer (Feb 17, 2021)

Man, the YouTube comments for that video are comedy!


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## Your Mom (Dec 6, 2022)

Highlander said:


> My DD is at a Surf Nation club and has attended some of these. Definitely a money grab, but what in the youth soccer world isn't? They don't make you go, it's your choice if you are selected. Kind of funny, they are saying you can go to Spain to play in their Surf Cup international tournament...that's what when they jumped the shark for me...10 year olds going to Spain to play?  Not that I wouldn't mind going to Spain, but I wouldn't want to watch youth soccer while I was there.


Going to revive an old thread as the Surf Select process for 2023 is on the horizon and I'd like to offer a little PSA.  (Here's the TLDR--I would recommend doing it at least once if you can swing it.)

We did the trip to Spain.  As pointed out, everything in club soccer is a money grab and this is no different.  That said, it was an experience I would recommend.  On the plus side, the tournament itself was very well run, included top teams (at least at our younger age group) and gave us a good taste of European soccer culture and the accommodations were decent.  The kids got the opportunity to play against outstanding European academy teams and got to connect with teammates from around the country.  Parents/fans from Valencia, FC Barcelona, AC Bilbou, etc. brought the flags, horns, drums etc. and really made it a fun environment.  Everything was taken care of (which is both a good thing and bad).  It was good in that there was nothing to plan or think about.  They did a decent job of giving us a taste of Spain through the non-soccer experiences which included a day trip to Barcelona, a Womens Champions League Game at Camp Nou, a Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting, and a day trip to Tarragona, a nearby city with 2000 year old Roman ruins.  Yes, very touristy, but you probably would have just put your fat American ass in a pair of Crocs and a fanny pack and loaded into a site-seeing tour bus if you went on your own anyway.

The biggest downside is that your meals are all cafeteria food.  It was actually pretty decent for caf food, but caf food is like fish and visitors (they all stink after 3 days) and the monotony of the food offerings can get to you.  Most of us just took a day or two away from the caf and got dinner at a local restaurant to get a break from the cafeteria food.  The scheduling was also constantly in flux, which was a pain.  I'm pretty sure that's also an unavoidable consequence of the logistics of coordinating buses, cafeteria time, game schedules, field time, and site-seeing experiences for a few thousand people in one place.  One other thing that is probably unavoidable is if you didn't like the accommodations, you didn't have much choice.  You could choose from little bungalo-type huts or apartments.  They were clean but basic.  We actually found them quite adequate, but if you're looking for luxury, this isn't it.  And if you expect a luxe American hotel mattress like you had at the Four Season in Aspen, you're going to find the twin bed with the tiny little mattress (just a piece of foam?) a little lacking.   

All in all, we're glad we went.  I viewed as a possibly once in a lifetime experience and we aren't guaranteed to make the team every year.  Yes, we have plenty of good competition near us and don't need to travel all the way to Europe to find it, but this was about the opportunity to experience something different.  It's similar to making the decision to take a vacation in Europe when you could just go to Mexico or Napa or Tahoe or Palm Springs or where ever you SoCal folks go for short trips.  It's a chance to see and do some things you and your kid probably wouldn't otherwise be exposed to.  

As pointed out, it is a CHOICE and each family can evaluate whether the uniqueness of the experience justifies the cost to them.  At least one player at the tournament was the only player from her affiliated club.  The family lacked the funds to go, but their community held fundraisers for the family to go.  If you think this is some kind of pathway to college, I doubt there was a college scout there.  If you think it is a pathway into a Euro academy, well I suppose a kid could open the eyes of an opposing coach, but if the kid is that talented, I'm sure there are better ways to do that than dropping a few grand on a lottery ticket.

If you end up doing the full boat--regional tryout, then a regional tournament, then the national team tryout in SD, then an international tournament--it could be a pretty large financial and time commitment especially if you have to travel to the tryouts and have extra travel and hotel costs for that.  For us, it was worth doing at least once.  We can always re-evaluate year to year if we have the opportunity to do so.  One parent on my child's team plans to do it every other year (assuming his kid makes the team) and that might not be a bad idea.

One other comment:  Many of the parents of Select kids actually believe their kids are among the top 25 or 30 or so players at their age level in all of Surf Nation (assuming two teams per age group).  While the talent is very good on these teams, to think these are the best 25 or 30 is misguided. There are now 47 Surf affiliates.  Using rough numbers, let's call it 50 affiliates for easy math.  If you assume there are 15 kids on the top team at each age for 50 affiliates (9v9 will have fewer, 11v11 more), that would be 750 kids competing for call it 25 spots.  I personally know a few from our club who chose not to go because of the commitment of time and money.  There also seemed to be a concentration of players from some clubs and no representation from other clubs.  I'm wondering if it is not marketed equally at all 47 affiliates, or if some affiliates are just that much stronger or what.  I also heard SD Surf doesn't participate and sends its own teams to the Select Tournaments.  And it seems there are some affiliates who may have a handshake deal or a wink that they will be able to send a number of kids.  If I had to guess, I would say we're talking more like 25 of the top 100 players from each age group for the Select teams.


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## Highlander (Dec 6, 2022)

Your Mom said:


> The biggest downside is that your meals are all cafeteria food.


That would get old really quick! One of my favorite parts about Spain is the food and wine! Tapas is so good there!

Sounds like you had a great time overall though...very cool!


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## Your Mom (Dec 7, 2022)

Highlander said:


> That would get old really quick! One of my favorite parts about Spain is the food and wine! Tapas is so good there!
> 
> Sounds like you had a great time overall though...very cool!


It isn't as if you can't go to a local restaurant, but you'd be eating the cost (bad choice of words) of the cafeteria food you paid for as part of the package. 

You'd also have to get transportation to the restaurant.  In the immediate area around the complex, I don't think there are many restaurants, so you're probably talking 20 minutes or so by cab or rental car to Tarragona.   Looking at a map it is probably not too far to bike either.  The kids are supposed to eat as a team, but they could miss one or two for a taste of Spain.


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## crush (Dec 7, 2022)

Highlander said:


> That would get old really quick! One of my favorite parts about Spain is the food and wine! Tapas is so good there!
> 
> Sounds like you had a great time overall though...very cool!


The food in Spain is freaking amazing, affordable and everyone is so chill. No one brings you your check, you just ask for it. No tip is expected either. They just love to cook and have siesta. Soccer is King here and then food


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## oh canada (Dec 7, 2022)

Your Mom said:


> Going to revive an old thread as the Surf Select process for 2023 is on the horizon and I'd like to offer a little PSA.  (Here's the TLDR--I would recommend doing it at least once if you can swing it.)
> 
> We did the trip to Spain.  As pointed out, everything in club soccer is a money grab and this is no different.  That said, it was an experience I would recommend.  On the plus side, the tournament itself was very well run, included top teams (at least at our younger age group) and gave us a good taste of European soccer culture and the accommodations were decent.  The kids got the opportunity to play against outstanding European academy teams and got to connect with teammates from around the country.  Parents/fans from Valencia, FC Barcelona, AC Bilbou, etc. brought the flags, horns, drums etc. and really made it a fun environment.  Everything was taken care of (which is both a good thing and bad).  It was good in that there was nothing to plan or think about.  They did a decent job of giving us a taste of Spain through the non-soccer experiences which included a day trip to Barcelona, a Womens Champions League Game at Camp Nou, a Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting, and a day trip to Tarragona, a nearby city with 2000 year old Roman ruins.  Yes, very touristy, but you probably would have just put your fat American ass in a pair of Crocs and a fanny pack and loaded into a site-seeing tour bus if you went on your own anyway.
> 
> ...


Dear Mom and Dad - we already spend so much time of our family life and travel doing soccer stuff (and you spend so much of your money on soccer stuff). If we are fortunate enough to have the time and money to take a big family trip next year, can you please show the foresight, intelligence, and open mindedness to expose me to something other than kicking a ball around? I understand soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and I love playing the game, but I also know that there is so much more to this World and life than futbol. Just because Mr. and Mrs. A down the street are crazy soccer parents who do nothing but sleep, eat, travel, and talk, about the "beautiful game", doesn't mean we have to too, right?  Love, your DS/DD


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## aong cangkol (Dec 7, 2022)

This Spain soccer trip story made me sad. I am in this same youth soccer "pay to play" trap but this is just above and beyond. Clubs selling this as "top player" camp is just cynical borderline scamming parents.
I am also sad because this means US will never develop real talents. Yes, some rich kids can be talented but statistically impossible.
I wonder how many Americans realize that Maradona, Zidane, Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe ......... would have ended their career at AYSO All-Star if they were born in USA?


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## flynight2 (Dec 11, 2022)

Surf Select...lol...just another youth soccer scam.


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## Carlsbad7 (Dec 11, 2022)

aong cangkol said:


> This Spain soccer trip story made me sad. I am in this same youth soccer "pay to play" trap but this is just above and beyond. Clubs selling this as "top player" camp is just cynical borderline scamming parents.
> I am also sad because this means US will never develop real talents. Yes, some rich kids can be talented but statistically impossible.
> I wonder how many Americans realize that Maradona, Zidane, Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe ......... would have ended their career at AYSO All-Star if they were born in USA?


I'm not a fan of pay to play for the olders. For youngers traveling to and playing in localish tournaments is great for both players and parents.

Reguarding soccer top talent being missed in America specifically because of pay to play I dont think this is true. The real reason America doesnt produce elite players is that in the US those type of players are playing football, basketball, or baseball. If soccer was more popular in America talent would find a way to the field.


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## EXSD007 (Dec 12, 2022)

WestOfFive said:


> Where is ID Camp at? Polo? ..& when.... I have $145.00 to waste..


DOC and coach make player recommendation. Not all players can “tryout” why doesn’t Surf allow their teams to tryout out? Is it only affiliate clubs?


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## aong cangkol (Dec 12, 2022)

Carlsbad7 said:


> Reguarding soccer top talent being missed in America specifically because of pay to play I dont think this is true. The real reason America doesnt produce elite players is that in the US those type of players are playing football, basketball, or baseball. If soccer was more popular in America talent would find a way to the field.


There are many variables in play. Yes, US soccer would have gathered more talents if we do not have football/basketball/baseball/ice hockey. 
However, it is not that simple. They are different sports with different skillsets.
Lebron, Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, even Michael Jordan. None of them can be an elite soccer player, even if they were born in England.
Maybe a good case is Ohtani, he is a talented athlete but not for soccer. A good system like in Japan discovered a child's potential and properly train/direct him to maximize his talent.
There are exceptions, of course. Van Dijk would have been a football player in USA but even CR7 with his leaping ability is too short for NBA.


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## socalkdg (Dec 12, 2022)

aong cangkol said:


> There are many variables in play. Yes, US soccer would have gathered more talents if we do not have football/basketball/baseball/ice hockey.
> However, it is not that simple. They are different sports with different skillsets.
> Lebron, Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, even Michael Jordan. None of them can be an elite soccer player, even if they were born in England.
> Maybe a good case is Ohtani, he is a talented athlete but not for soccer. A good system like in Japan discovered a child's potential and properly train/direct him to maximize his talent.
> There are exceptions, of course. Van Dijk would have been a football player in USA but even CR7 with his leaping ability is too short for NBA.


10.4% of kids played soccer in 2008.   Dropped to 6.2% in 2020.   Just beats out Tennis and Golf.


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## crush (Dec 12, 2022)

socalkdg said:


> 10.4% of kids played soccer in 2008.   Dropped to 6.2% in 2020.   Just beats out Tennis and Golf.
> 
> View attachment 15188


Soccer is like a country club in the States. It's way too expensive to play travel ball and it's 99% about getting your kid into college. Renaldo's mother was a cook and a cleaner.* The family was so poor his mother, Dolores Aveiro, considered terminating her pregnancy and tried a homemade recipe*, she revealed in her book Mother Courage. Thank God that homemade recipe didn't work. I got emotional when he was crying in the tunnel. Dude can ball and he has 4 kiddos. I like this guy!




His family today


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## Carlsbad7 (Dec 12, 2022)

aong cangkol said:


> There are many variables in play. Yes, US soccer would have gathered more talents if we do not have football/basketball/baseball/ice hockey.
> However, it is not that simple. They are different sports with different skillsets.
> Lebron, Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, even Michael Jordan. None of them can be an elite soccer player, even if they were born in England.
> Maybe a good case is Ohtani, he is a talented athlete but not for soccer. A good system like in Japan discovered a child's potential and properly train/direct him to maximize his talent.
> There are exceptions, of course. Van Dijk would have been a football player in USA but even CR7 with his leaping ability is too short for NBA.


Maybe but when you see the kids of professional athletes play sports youll quickly realise that they'd good at whatever sport they play.

Trinity Rodman is freaky fast + talented. When she played for Blues she was Super Freaky Fast + talented. It was easy to see that she would likely play pro soccer. It was also easy to see that she could play several sports professionally (if she wanted to)


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## Dirtnap (Dec 12, 2022)

Eagle33 said:


> goats don't need to try out, but all other mortals do


been there done that. We, peasants, have been to all the tryouts and even made teams we never tried out for. "congratulations thanks for coming out to our tryouts, and want to congratulate your DD on making the team" Huh?!SMH.


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## MacDre (Dec 12, 2022)

aong cangkol said:


> There are many variables in play. Yes, US soccer would have gathered more talents if we do not have football/basketball/baseball/ice hockey.
> However, it is not that simple. They are different sports with different skillsets.
> Lebron, Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, even Michael Jordan. None of them can be an elite soccer player, even if they were born in England.
> Maybe a good case is Ohtani, he is a talented athlete but not for soccer. A good system like in Japan discovered a child's potential and properly train/direct him to maximize his talent.
> There are exceptions, of course. Van Dijk would have been a football player in USA but even CR7 with his leaping ability is too short for NBA.


I think you’re missing the point.  Oakland, CA is similar to Bahia, Brazil.  The distinction is that folks in Oakland don’t know about soccer except for recent immigrants.  When soccer becomes known to “native Oaklanders”, Oakland will produce just as many stars as Brazil.  GUARANTEED!

There are several great athletes that aren’t built for the NFL or NBA that would be great soccer players in Oakland.


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## Jamisfoes (Dec 12, 2022)

Dirtnap said:


> been there done that. We, peasants, have been to all the tryouts and even made teams we never tried out for. "congratulations thanks for coming out to our tryouts, and want to congratulate your DD on making the team" Huh?!SMH.


We just got an email like this from a club that constantly ranked lowest in ECNL standing.


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## focomoso (Dec 12, 2022)

MacDre said:


> When soccer becomes known to “native Oaklanders”, Oakland will produce just as many stars as Brazil.  GUARANTEED!


Yes, but it has to be more than just being known. People have to know about soccer, play all the time when young, and want to keep playing as they get older. This gets hard when all your friends play basketball or football in high school. Even my son who is very soccer focused has said he wished he could play football in high school. A couple of his friends have stopped soccer altogether to move to football / basketball.


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## MacDre (Dec 12, 2022)

focomoso said:


> Yes, but it has to be more than just being known. People have to know about soccer, play all the time when young, and want to keep playing as they get older. This gets hard when all your friends play basketball or football in high school. Even my son who is very soccer focused has said he wished he could play football in high school. A couple of his friends have stopped soccer altogether to move to football / basketball.


I get what you’re saying.  However, I sincerely feel that most of the kids I’m referencing in Oakland will be in academies working their way to the first team by High School.  Once those kids in Oakland realize they can make Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe money in Europe…it’s a wrap Fam!


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## MacDre (Dec 12, 2022)

MacDre said:


> I get what you’re saying.  However, I sincerely feel that most of the kids I’m referencing in Oakland will be in academies working their way to the first team by High School.  Once those kids in Oakland realize they can make Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe money in Europe…it’s a wrap Fam!


Brazil v Oakland


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## rainbow_unicorn (Dec 13, 2022)

socalkdg said:


> 10.4% of kids played soccer in 2008.   Dropped to 6.2% in 2020.   Just beats out Tennis and Golf.
> 
> View attachment 15188


I'm a bit skeptical of these numbers...where did you get this?  Have a hard time believing almost the same amount of kids have played golf and tennis as much as soccer.


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## Jamisfoes (Dec 13, 2022)

Tennis and golf are social distancing sports. So the pandemic probably has something to do with their 2022 numbers. Tennis is one of the hardest sports to learn, very few kids stick to it.


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## socalkdg (Dec 13, 2022)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> I'm a bit skeptical of these numbers...where did you get this?  Have a hard time believing almost the same amount of kids have played golf and tennis as much as soccer.











						State of Play 2021 |  Ages 6–12 Data, 2020 — The Aspen Institute Project Play
					

The newest youth sports participation data and analysis of trends for youth ages 6–12.




					www.aspenprojectplay.org


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## socalkdg (Dec 13, 2022)

Here is 13-17 age group.


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## Carlsbad7 (Dec 13, 2022)

socalkdg said:


> Here is 13-17 age group.
> 
> View attachment 15204


Funny that bicycling is going up.

I cant remember the last time I saw a kid riding anything other than an electric bike.


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## Jamisfoes (Dec 13, 2022)

I laugh at the number of kids bicycling. It seems these people count getting on the bike once a year has having participated in a sport. Makes you wonder the validity of the rest of their numbers.


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## Grace T. (Dec 13, 2022)

Jamisfoes said:


> Tennis and golf are social distancing sports. So the pandemic probably has something to do with their 2022 numbers. Tennis is one of the hardest sports to learn, very few kids stick to it.


This is exactly right.  If you look at the declines all the team sports and gymansium sports (with the exception of basketball) declined in the time period including cheerleading and gymnastics.  3 sports which are up are the 3 you could social distance during the pandemic (and lots of kids got shinny new bikes during the pandemic....dirt biking right now is huge among boys 11-15...my kid always feels left out because his friends are dirt biking and he's on the soccer pitch).  In addition, when schools did go back, it was tennis, golf and track which resumed when the team sports were sidelined.  So some kid choosing to do a sport as a freshman in middle school might have picked golf which was "safer" pandemic wise and they could actually participate fully in (plus the golf courses were closed for a relatively short time in comparison to say dance studios).

The pandemic is going to have a lot of trickle down effects down stream.  I know of at least 3 friends my son had during the pandemic that just gave up soccer during the shutdowns and never returned because their parents didn't want to either put them in a restrictive practice or risk exposing them.  So that's 3 kids that after a year off just aren't going to come back and some things (like soccer and cheerleading) are awfully hard to jump back into because your friends in the interim have made progress and maybe even moved up a level.  Anecdotally, a friend who teaches at a karate studio in Los Angeles also notes that people are still nervous about close contacts indoors and business has never resumed to prepandemic levels.

As for basketball, I suspect the small drop in numbers was because the hoops in the parks were closed for a relatively short time (remember when they were pulling down some hoops???) and it was easy for kids just to hang around and even shoot with their parents, which kept them somewhat interested in the game.  As with other things, we will being the effects of the pandemic for a while....maybe look out for some new US tennis and golf superstars 10 years down the line.


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## aong cangkol (Dec 13, 2022)

socalkdg said:


> State of Play 2021 |  Ages 6–12 Data, 2020 — The Aspen Institute Project Play
> 
> 
> The newest youth sports participation data and analysis of trends for youth ages 6–12.
> ...





rainbow_unicorn said:


> I'm a bit skeptical of these numbers...where did you get this?  Have a hard time believing almost the same amount of kids have played golf and tennis as much as soccer.


Yeah, manipulating data for presentation is normal. I do that for a living.
My kids would be included in Bicycling, #1 sport on the list. They bike 5 days a week. Even during normal year (not covid), our basketball/soccer/swim club practice only 3-4x/week. How are they gathering the data? online survey on kids?


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## Highlander (Dec 19, 2022)

MacDre said:


> I think you’re missing the point.  Oakland, CA is similar to Bahia, Brazil.  The distinction is that folks in Oakland don’t know about soccer except for recent immigrants.  When soccer becomes known to “native Oaklanders”, Oakland will produce just as many stars as Brazil.  GUARANTEED!
> 
> There are several great athletes that aren’t built for the NFL or NBA that would be great soccer players in Oakland.


There is hope...Sheriffs FC operates for free in Alameda county (where Oakland is) and are an MLS Next club. https://www.sheriffsfc.org/
These guys are doing god's work.


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