Well, the added problem is that it's U9 so his squad has 12 kids 7 on field at time. As a keeper, he's a starter. As a field player, he usually plays winger and is a middling player for his middling club. It's u9 so it's early and he's gone from being an AYSO player ranked 1.5/5 his first year at U6, to a 3.5/5 at U7, to 5/5 at u8, to a rookie club year, so there's a lot of upside potential. But right now, he's a natural at keeper, though only meh on the field which makes it difficult to demand playing time with the other benchers competing for the 6 non-keeper slots as well.
Club soccer and other teams
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Well, the added problem is that it's U9 so his squad has 12 kids 7 on field at time. As a keeper, he's a starter. As a field player, he usually plays winger and is a middling player for his middling club. It's u9 so it's early and he's gone from being an AYSO player ranked 1.5/5 his first year at U6, to a 3.5/5 at U7, to 5/5 at u8, to a rookie club year, so there's a lot of upside potential. But right now, he's a natural at keeper, though only meh on the field which makes it difficult to demand playing time with the other benchers competing for the 6 non-keeper slots as well.
At least for EXTRAS, in the regions surrounding our home region the kids are required to wear plain white shirts without any club or select markings. The evaluators who are checking them out are different from the coaches who will coach the team. The rules say that the players with the highest points are supposed to win the slots, but 1) I can't see how that would work (you'd have a team of all fowards, and no keepers) and 2) I've been told by other parents in the know that it really doesn't work out that way and the coaches do have an influence, particularly if they are trying to keep a squad together.
I don't know anything about AYSO, but I do know about keepers. My 03 Keeper will be playing up next season on a Flight 2 02' team. Now, at age 13 or 14 to be successful, the technical skills needed for the position require a certain level of dedication. That said, a U9 SHOULD NOT be sitting between the sticks all game. Your club should have at least 2 keepers and a backup. 1/2 the game for one the other half for the other. The kid is in the field when not between the sticks.
I have seen otherwise decent soccer players lose interest in the game and/or watch it pass them by because they were stuck as a keeper at an early age. Some kids just stop growing and what was a successful U10 keeper is no longer a viable option at U14 because mom's 5'4" genes are dominant.
As far as playing Rec in the field and club as keeper there is another practical problem and that is most Rec kids simply don't have the ball skills and the game is basically kick ball. Assuming your son has a good soccer IQ and decent club level skills, Rec may be actually stunt his growth.
My advise is to find a coach that understands U9 players need to be moved around the field (even the keepers) and learn the game from all facets, at this age it is about development and not winning (so sayeth US Soccer).
They do. DS, though, is the starting keeper but doesn't play the entire time in goal.
It's his rookie year in club, and I have been assured that he will get some field playing time at winger, but I'm a little nervous about this because it is a squad of 12 for 6 field positions + keeper. If he's already playing 1/2 the game at keeper, it doesn't leave a whole lot of room. I suppose I could look for a smaller squad, but around our area I'm not aware of any that have less than 10 players. If it doesn't work out, and his skills continue to progress, I do intend to move him (at least I'll have a good answer now to the where did your player formerly play question), but I do want to continue his growth on the field. I'd worry less if he were both a superstar on field and goal, but the jump from AYSO to Club is vast, and most of his teammates have a year of club already while he still has a ways to go.
@Grace T. - Based on your response, I suggest you take a step back and let things proceed in the natural course. A lot of parents place far too much importance on "the game." The game is just a 1 hour fun thing every weekend. The real development takes place in practice. Small sided games, some drills, more small sided games, drills, fitness, skills and more small sided games. The fundamental problem with youth soccer over the years has been placing too much importance on winning. This is changing with the new small sided mandate, prohibiting competitive soccer at the younger levels, etc. If the boy is having fun at practice and in the games, gaining new skills and facing stiffer competition (at practice and the games) then he is right where he needs to be.
If your kid is a natural at keeper, AND likes playing keeper, let him player keeper. To work on his field skills have him play futsal and/or street soccer. IMO, futsal & street soccer are excellent ways for your kid to go out and work on their footwork without having to worry about the score or playing keeper. My daughter is a FT keeper and has played street soccer & futsal this last year; she had a lot of fun, and got to work on her foot skills. And it had the added bonus of making her a better keeper. My $0.o2.
I coached so I could control the practice times. Once or twice there was a game conflict.