# The Benefits of Flights 2 and 3



## Woodwork (Feb 18, 2017)

We are towards the tail end of tryout season and a lot of kids and parents are looking at tough decisions.  There are plenty of obvious benefits to simply choosing the most competitive team.  But I thought it would be helpful to put down some reasons to choose less competitive teams for younger players. Please share your own thoughts and experiences.

1.  Let your child be the leader and the teacher.  - There are more than just 11 positions on the field.  There's the captain, the heart of the team, the key player, and the social glue.  Being the most experienced or skilled player on the team can give your child the opportunity to grow in new ways.

2.  Your kid can have space to learn an offensive position.  - You know what America needs?  Creative players and goal scorers.  You know why they aren't being developed?  Because they are stuck at right back or on the bench on Flight one teams at early ages as utility players, pigeon holed before they have the chance to be a ball hog and to take creative risks. 

3.  Playing time, if used by coaches as teaching opportunity, is equally as important as practice time.  -  If you watch professional soccer regularly, you'll notice young players being loaned out, sent to far away tournaments or exhibitions, or given time on second tier teams to get playing time.  There is no substitute for experience in real time conditions.

4.  Maybe playing on a top team is more about your ego than the kid's.  - Always good to step back and keep this in check.  

5.  Letting your kid stay with friends.  - Your kid not the next Mia Hamm?  
Maybe he or she can be the next Ross or Rachel.  I am seeing a lot of parents with average kids out there break off their kid's relationships for the sake of development.  As someone who still has his friends from youth sports and didn't play sports professionally, these priorities seem a bit wacky.


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## jrcaesar (Feb 18, 2017)

That's a good list. I'll just note that there's nothing wrong with playing right back, but if you're on a U-Little team that should *not* be your primary position for the next seven years just because *that* coach has put you there. 

I'll add this: If your child isn't among the top 6 in minutes on their Flight 1 9v9 team,  you should really think about moving your child to the next team for all the reasons @Woodwork writes.


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## mirage (Feb 18, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> .............There are plenty of obvious benefits to simply choosing the most competitive team.  But I thought it would be helpful to put down some reasons to choose less competitive teams for younger players............


The key phrase in this post is "younger players", and as such, competitive team really does not enter into selection/decision criteria. At olders, it matters more as learning to win and tactics that goes with it is important.

Without spewing dreaded "development" word, as I've posted prior, the thing to do is to put your kid onto a team where the player is in the top 1/3 of the team.  Who cares what tier that is.  By doing so it assures couple of things. First, playing time on the field.  Really cannot progress if the player is sitting on the bench more than playing on the field.  The other is appropriate level of competition within the team and other teams.  There is no point in playing and simply being over matched consistently, or blowing away competitions.

My kids are both olders now and I recall when they were younger, some parents would put their kid onto a higher level tier team than should have.  Result was that the kid played 5~10 minutes per half or the whole game.  Sometimes, never go onto a field, if the game meant something in tournaments.  But the parents got to tell their friends, my kid is on this club, this level team and so on.

Recommend parents to think about this whole thing backwards.  Start with end in mind and work your way back.  So as an example, if your kid wants to be recruited by colleges, map the way to get there by doing all the hard work to get you there.  That's means develop skills and techniques first and foremost.  Acquire and execute tactical knowledge on the field. Learn to lead by examples and express compassion in the games.  

Nowhere on the list of things to acheive the goal, is to be on the most competitive team at younger ages.  Frankly, unless the kid is in the top 1%, it won't matter.  What matter is the how you spend the early years working on skills and techniques.  It is significantly easier at younger ages than at older to do so.  Take advantage of time on your kid's side.  

And if you happen to be in the top 1%, then it simply allows you to advance faster than your peers by working on improving what you already have and to learn new things.  Unfortunately, there are more early 1% players that fall by the wayside than those that go onto bigger and better things.  Between puberty and life happing to them, it changes things - a lot.


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## Woodwork (Feb 18, 2017)

jrcaesar said:


> That's a good list. I'll just note that there's nothing wrong with playing right back, but if you're on a U-Little team that should *not* be your primary position for the next seven years just because *that* coach has put you there.
> 
> I'll add this: If your child isn't among the top 6 in minutes on their Flight 1 9v9 team,  you should really think about moving your child to the next team for all the reasons @Woodwork writes.


Definitely nothing wrong with right back.  There is actually a lack of depth there on both the USMNT and the LA Galaxy!  But, the choice to play one position in order to "play up" could be the choice to set back more creative offensive potential.  Costs and benefits to all these choices.


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## S00CER1 (Feb 18, 2017)

Like the list.  We found out the hard way sometimes their are other factors that may be involved in who makes a team.  We are taking the approach that friendships, development and fun are more important factors for us at this stage regardless of flight.


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## jrcaesar (Feb 18, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> Definitely nothing wrong with right back.


Totally understood  ... I was thinking (agreeing) parents shouldn't be content that their child is the starter at right back on a Tier 1 team and end their development/path there. For the most part, kids should switch positions each season until much older. If your U11 child is promised right back for a second straight season, ask to train with the B team.


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## seesnake (Feb 18, 2017)

I think it's a very good point made to start with the end in mind. My son, who has been courted by DA's at the 2006 level, is not interested in spending literally all his time in soccer to the exclusion of other things he enjoys. He doesn't aspire to be a professional and would be happy if college play happened, but isn't really desirous of it. I asked him, he told me, I listened. He gets to play on the top team of a decent club with lots of playing time and a good coach/role model. 

I think this is the same for flight 2 and 3. There are lots of kids who want a better experience than rec and can benefit from the non-soccer parts of club teams that fit in perfectly at lower flights.


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## Soccer Cat (Feb 18, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> We are towards the tail end of tryout season and a lot of kids and parents are looking at tough decisions.  There are plenty of obvious benefits to simply choosing the most competitive team.  But I thought it would be helpful to put down some reasons to choose less competitive teams for younger players. Please share your own thoughts and experiences.
> 
> 1.  Let your child be the leader and the teacher.  - There are more than just 11 positions on the field.  There's the captain, the heart of the team, the key player, and the social glue.  Being the most experienced or skilled player on the team can give your child the opportunity to grow in new ways.
> 
> ...



Excellent post.  I wish I could pass it along to some of my daughters teammates parents to read LOL.

My kiddos team is losing their top player this year.  Now many parents are taking their kids elsewhere because they fear our team won't be as good or be competitive in flight 1 now, and may drop down to flight 2 (gasp!  LOL).   Its disappointing to see friendships broken up.  Such is club soccer from my few years at it.  I am choosing to see it as an opportunity for the the reasons you listed.  In the end, soccer is something my daughter does for fun, keeps her active and busy, builds great friendships, and it teaches life lessons.  Everything positive the kids get out of it can be gained even if you aren't on the best team around, or if you are in flight 2.


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## Yolinda (Feb 18, 2017)

AYSO Extra or Signature teams are great way to develop and keep teams together at the younger age groups.


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## MWN (Feb 18, 2017)

S00CER1 said:


> Like the list.  We found out the hard way sometimes their are other factors that may be involved in who makes a team.  We are taking the approach that friendships, development and fun are more important factors for us at this stage regardless of flight.


Such as?


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## zebrafish (Feb 18, 2017)

Soccer Cat said:


> My kiddos team is losing their top player this year.  Now many parents are taking their kids elsewhere because they fear our team won't be as good or be competitive in flight 1 now, and may drop down to flight 2 (gasp!  LOL).   Its disappointing to see friendships broken up.  Such is club soccer from my few years at it.  I am choosing to see it as an opportunity for the the reasons you listed.  In the end, soccer is something my daughter does for fun, keeps her active and busy, builds great friendships, and it teaches life lessons.  Everything positive the kids get out of it can be gained even if you aren't on the best team around, or if you are in flight 2.


I think this is a great perspective. I try to keep this view myself. I can say that one benefit of losing "the best player" is that it gives an opportunity for other players to step up and fill that gap. My daughter played on a team where there was a dominant scorer and I noticed my daughter trying to score less as the season went on. I asked her, why aren't you trying to score as much? The reply-- "that's ***'s job". Next season, my daughter was on a team w/o the dominant player and scored a bunch more goals because the other player wasn't there to rely/depend on. They lost more games, but I saw my own kid develop her own offensive skills much more in that environment.


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## Yolinda (Feb 19, 2017)

I would want my DD to be in the middle of team's talent. If your paying for club soccer, it should be a challenge.  Being the best player on the team develops egos in some players causing them problems later.  If a parent decides to go that route, then they need to make sure they are at a club that they can guest play up.


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## ESPNANALYST (Feb 19, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> We are towards the tail end of tryout season and a lot of kids and parents are looking at tough decisions.  There are plenty of obvious benefits to simply choosing the most competitive team.  But I thought it would be helpful to put down some reasons to choose less competitive teams for younger players. Please share your own thoughts and experiences.
> 
> 1.  Let your child be the leader and the teacher.  - There are more than just 11 positions on the field.  There's the captain, the heart of the team, the key player, and the social glue.  Being the most experienced or skilled player on the team can give your child the opportunity to grow in new ways.
> 
> ...


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.


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## Yolinda (Feb 19, 2017)

ESPNANALYST said:


> 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.


Coach, Team, Level,Club that's what we did this year.  We found the right coach for our DD, made sure her talent was in middle.


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## Woodwork (Feb 19, 2017)

Yolinda said:


> We found the right coach for our DD, made sure her talent was in middle.


By this reasoning, the best kids should leave your team.  Seems like an endless doe-see-doe.  That has to stop somewhere. 

Also, if you consider the top goal scorer or the CAM to be the most skilled player, by this reasoning all these kids end up on the tippy top team together, fighting for playing time at right back instead of developing as creative offensive players.  Again, nothing wrong with that, but a choice is made with some costs and some benefits.

I think the free-rider issue raised above is fair.  Some parents find value in teaching their kid confidence and responsibility, to bring up their team rather than leave.

Finally, parents need to take into account their level of delusion.  A lot of parents think their kid is at the top or at the middle when the reality is they are just barely above average or middling to worse.  We had kids leave the team this year whose best position was forward, but who could only occasionally score a goal in the odd game against lower tier teams, reasoning that they wanted to move up a tier.  This was met with a shrug by everyone who stayed.


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## Yolinda (Feb 19, 2017)

Woodwork said:


> By this reasoning, the best kids should leave your team.  Seems like an endless doe-see-doe.  That has to stop somewhere.
> 
> Also, if you consider the top goal scorer or the CAM to be the most skilled player, by this reasoning all these kids end up on the tippy top team together, fighting for playing time at right back instead of developing as creative offensive players.  Again, nothing wrong with that, but a choice is made with some costs and some benefits.
> 
> ...


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## chargerfan (Feb 19, 2017)

seesnake said:


> I think it's a very good point made to start with the end in mind. My son, who has been courted by DA's at the 2006 level, is not interested in spending literally all his time in soccer to the exclusion of other things he enjoys. He doesn't aspire to be a professional and would be happy if college play happened, but isn't really desirous of it. I asked him, he told me, I listened. He gets to play on the top team of a decent club with lots of playing time
> 
> 
> Woodwork said:
> ...


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## Yolinda (Feb 19, 2017)

My DD plays defensive, we left our team for a coach, not a tier.  Great examples to stay or leave.


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## Woodwork (Feb 19, 2017)

Yolinda said:


> My DD plays defensive, we left our team for a coach, not a tier.  Great examples to stay or leave.


Coaching is definitely a primary factor.  My thoughts on this kind of are a counterpoint to the team-jumping based on team competitiveness.  Of course there are very good reasons for a kid to join a new team like convenience, getting a better coach, playing time, or better jerseys. Your daughter's are perfectly fair reasons.

I am not really putting down competition as a valid reason either, even at the younger ages.  Some kids really want and need it.  Some are ready to be starting CAM in a Top flight team.  Others really do have a big soccer future at right back.  Seems to be the case a lot less frequently than many parents think at ages 8-10 though.


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## Yolinda (Feb 20, 2017)

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?


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## MakeAPlay (Feb 20, 2017)

ESPNANALYST said:


> 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.


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## Woodwork (Feb 20, 2017)

Yolinda said:


> 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.


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