I agree it's best in the ideal. It's also why some say historically the US has produced some world class keepers-- because of all the catching they do in other sports. But there's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma here, as pointed out by the fact that kids seem to be going club (and DA) younger and younger. Soccer is part talent, part hard work...you get better by getting more and better touches on the ball. So the kid at age 10 who is doing GK training with a coach that knows the little details is simply going to be better than the kid at age 10 who has great natural talent but may be coached by someone who has no idea what they are doing at goal. The competition for college admissions (not just in sports, but also in academics and things such as fake charities which all the kids seem to have now days) has made it an arms race so parents are panicked their kids may fall behind, particularly if they aren't "naturals" at the sport and able to catch up to the others quickly.
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I agree it's best in the ideal. It's also why some say historically the US has produced some world class keepers-- because of all the catching they do in other sports. But there's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma here, as pointed out by the fact that kids seem to be going club (and DA) younger and younger. Soccer is part talent, part hard work...you get better by getting more and better touches on the ball. So the kid at age 10 who is doing GK training with a coach that knows the little details is simply going to be better than the kid at age 10 who has great natural talent but may be coached by someone who has no idea what they are doing at goal. The competition for college admissions (not just in sports, but also in academics and things such as fake charities which all the kids seem to have now days) has made it an arms race so parents are panicked their kids may fall behind, particularly if they aren't "naturals" at the sport and able to catch up to the others quickly.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
I love it when that AYSO superstar that averaged 8 goals a game comes to club soccer and finds out that it's not so easy to score against players that aren't chasing butterflies. And then the parent blames the coach since they expected to score 8 goals a game for the rest of their youth career until they make the national team.
Players at age 5-7 have very few options in general at the club level. There are 07 teams out there. So, AYSO is it for a year or two. Your saying their discouraging scoring and aggressive play, but if it’s running up the score and over running a team any classy club coach would refrain from doing so as well. And this is in a competitive environment. Not going to argue on everyone’s a winner. That’s a very salient point.
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Chalklines
GOLD
I think we all know there's really only a handful of young boys and girls who can transition from AYSO to club at a young age and continue to score in volume but at least there's a place with club and these new leagues at least seem to offer actual training and allow a competitive environment
My brothers daughter played on U9 team where a 6 year old (late 2010) carried the team all year and then deep into state cup by her scoring. I actually laugh thinking at what disaster would happen if she stayed playing AYSO. That girl played with some serious fire and aggression.
My brothers daughter played on U9 team where a 6 year old (late 2010) carried the team all year and then deep into state cup by her scoring. I actually laugh thinking at what disaster would happen if she stayed playing AYSO. That girl played with some serious fire and aggression.
Lambchop
GOLD
They are! Multiple sports in middle school, sports they play just for fun. They may not have a jersey or patch but they are still playing. Why do so many people assume because they don't have a jersey or patch that they aren't playing other sports. So interesting.
ItsCalledSoccer
SILVER
Stats show that kids who specialise in a sport too young rarely make it. Injuries usually build up as a result of over-exertion and an over-reliance on certain muscles and joints. All the sports require certain co-ordination, balance, proprioception, awareness etc skills and they all transfer. Yes American's have produced great goalkeepers because of the hand-eye co-ordination of other sports.
ItsCalledSoccer
SILVER
Yes but they have 'committed' to focusing on one sport aged 7. I've seen too many kids who get burned out of soccer by 11/12 years old and don't have a back up plan because they put all their eggs into the same basket.
I'm not sure it's all just getting burned out. The other factor is by 13/14 high school looms.
With puberty underway, the kids have a reasonable idea of where they stand and how far they can get. And since for many, college is the big goal, choices need to be made. To get to the next level at that age in any sport, a lot of time is going to have to be put into it. If you don't make it your thing, it's not going to help you much beyond the checking of the athletic box in the well rounded part of college applications. And if you don't make it your thing, whatever else is your thing is going to start sapping a lot of time leaving little room for sports. Burn out I'm sure plays a role...but time management is the other part of the problem.
Ulittles should be about experiencing every sport they can try. That will help them develop many skills, and eventually will have common knowledge of the sports and have a better opportunity to play 2-3 sports in high school. If kids are playing 2-3 sports in high school that will keep them busy, will be training almost daily, they will create their own schedule to balance school with sports and lastly have the discipline to succeed in life.
This is where AYSO rec is great, Little League, and whatever other rec sport is offered locally, kids can play and have fun.
This is where AYSO rec is great, Little League, and whatever other rec sport is offered locally, kids can play and have fun.
Chalklines
GOLD
This is only true if the athlete's training programs flawed from the start.
Teach them the importance early of speed/ajility/strong core/proper warm up/stretching and balanced training your not going to have problems specializing in one sport.
Most of these stats on youth sports injuries are lopsided because of baseball and everyone having their kid throw a curve ball by 10 years old. UCL injuries are getting out of control.
Chalklines
GOLD
You understand 3 sport Varsity Athletes in high school are VERY rare now. It doesn't happen anymore because of early specialization.
I'm very well aware of that. That has a lot to do with club sports and how much they have disrupted high school athletics by making it convenient for college coaches to recruit in centralize events and what not.
Then you have tracksuit wearing cheap used car salesmen infiltrated in the high schools taking kids away from other sports as well.
You a high school coach?
The real culprit isn't club sports. That's just the symptom. The culprit is colleges. They don't really value the kid as much that can varsity in 3 sports (unless for a boy one of those sports is football or basketball and that kid can play at a college level in one of those 2 sports). The college care about what you can do for them...and if the kid is not good enough and is going to be forced to drop the sports in college they are going to ask "what else do you bring to the table". One sport checks the "well rounded" box. Three sports doesn't really get you any further unless one of them are going to be your "thing" (and then the rest you are doing it just because you like it or from cross training like track & football).
I'm not a high school coach. I used to be a tracksuit club coach and a baseball coach. I don't know if colleges are fully at fault. I feel they are in a lame duck situation, as before the explosion of club competition they had to go and recruit in high school events and those kids in teams that weren't performing, kind of miss out and now the kids that are not about spending hours in a car all sugared up with the kool aid, miss out. There is no perfect system other than let the kids have fun and enjoy their HS years.You a high school coach?
The real culprit isn't club sports. That's just the symptom. The culprit is colleges. They don't really value the kid as much that can varsity in 3 sports (unless for a boy one of those sports is football or basketball and that kid can play at a college level in one of those 2 sports). The college care about what you can do for them...and if the kid is not good enough and is going to be forced to drop the sports in college they are going to ask "what else do you bring to the table". One sport checks the "well rounded" box. Three sports doesn't really get you any further unless one of them are going to be your "thing" (and then the rest you are doing it just because you like it or from cross training like track & football).
And you mention something very important that a lot of parents fail to realize in regards to college and their great pursue of that acclaimed scholarship, which is colleges care about what you can do for them at that moment. The minute you are hurt and you are of no value for them, the kid loses their scholarship and boom all this money spent paying the range rover lease for the tracksuit wearing salesmen just went down the drain.
Things react to the marketplace. College became hypercompetitive (lots of reasons why...NCLB, shrinking opportunities, foreign students coming in...different people will say different answers), colleges became much more selective, parents taking the sports route wanted to give their kids an edge, clubs saw there was a market place both for training kids and providing college ID, parents signed up with the clubs, other parents saw their kids were falling behind and jumped to club, club grew, rinse and repeat. The story goes out from there to encompass the growth of DA, the deterioration of AYSO core and the creation of the United program, the decline in Varsity sports.
Club soccer isn't all about the scholarships. In fact for the boys it's an even worse bet than for the girls. It's about admissions. And as others have pointed out it's not just about the sports scholarship....if they can bring good grades they might get an academic scholarship too.