Am I the only one...

S

SocalSoccerMom

SILVER ELITE
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
 
SocalSoccerMom said:
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
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Welcome to club soccer. I personally would trade you Lancaster for Temecula (based solely on distance of travel), but it's impossible to put every team in a place that is geographically friendly to them. Get used to more of this if you stay in the activity, but generally only for State Cup until your team gets older and more ambitious and wants to travel far for tournaments or gets to a higher/older level in league where you have to travel farther to find teams at your team's competition-level.

Only thing I will say, as someone who has had multiple kids playing with one aged out and a couple of others still in it, is that my aged-out son recalls the long trips better than any of the local games. Sometimes the memories are about the wind and frost in Lancaster or the pouring rain in San Bernardino, but they are memories nonetheless and he seems to remember them fondly.
 
Soccermoms, that does seem like a lot for an 8yo to my eyes...maybe you started competitive soccer too early for your family's tastes/ethos/values...my kids started club around 11yo...every family and every kid is different tho you are right to question the orthodoxy/age appropriateness of 6 hrs of travel rt etc at 8yo...girls are different than boys tho...best wishes...
 
SocalSoccerMom said:
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
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DD is on a highly competitive team. While they always play to win, there have certainly been tournaments where the players were not all that upset about not moving on. After losing in PK's in the quarter finals of last year's National Cup, they were excited about the prospect of a soccer free weekend and were already making plans to go to the beach on the drive home. I personally don't think a U9 team should ever travel out of it's normal playing area.
 
SocalSoccerMom said:
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
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First, 8 year olds should not be playing club soccer. Second, if you commit to club soccer that is a COMMITMENT. Hoping to lose is mentality that permeates everything and is not a good mentality to have. Again why do you have an 8 year old playing club soccer if the commitment isn't there?

My experience was that my player LOVED to travel to far off places to play soccer from the beginning (age 9). I hated to drive to Lancaster every year but I LOVED the time spent with my player and her passion for it. And she remembers her game in the freezing rain that she played in U12 National Cup to this day. She remembered it this year when they played in bad conditions in college this year.

Just a little perspective...
 
Oh I totally understand the commitment with Club soccer, he's my 3rd. I agree it is a bit young to be playing SC at this age; we agreed knowing it'd be a gamble with the venues. It's a terrible feeling to wish your child to be unsuccessful at something because you as a parent, doesn't want to take the effort.
 
SocalSoccerMom said:
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
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A few years ago, my boy's U11 team qualified for the "next round" as the wild card in Lancaster. Sure, we hoped the team would take their bracket, but it was clear too all that they didn't have the horses to go deep and would eventually lose to the stronger teams. So, it was with mixed emotions that we all accepted our fate with the Wild Card advancement and made plans for another trip to Lancaster the following weekend. They played a hard fought game that ended in a draw and went to PKs. We lost. I wasn't sad. Were we committed to winning? Yes. But was I kinda glad we didn't advance? You betcha. In short, you are not alone.
 
So much depends on the family and the kid. I got lucky and my son's first two State Cups (age 7 and 8) were played locally. But his first trip to Lancaster (age 9) was really a lot of fun (drive the musical road, it is cool). My son has now been with teams to Dallas twice, Orlando, Manchester, England, and in April he is headed to Barcelona. He now thinks it is not tournament if he doesn't get to stay in a hotel and not a good tournament if he doesn't get to go on an airplane. Two weekends ago we spent a Saturday night in a hotel in Corona for an 8am CRL game at Silverlakes. When it was time to go to bed my son turned off the TV, lay down in bed, put his hands behind his head and said "Life is good". Then he turned over and fell asleep.

You are definitely not alone in not looking forward to the trip to Lancaster. But, give it a chance, it may turn out that your player loves it.
 
SocalSoccerMom said:
If my 8 yrs old make it out of R1 of Mayors div, we will head to Lancaster. I'm secretly wishing they won't, as that's 3 hrs for us from SD. Yes we could have opted out, but I didn't want my kid to be the only one from his team not playing. But I'm not looking forward to traveling that far! Just curious, any other parents feeling this way? I might be okay if they are much older.
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Is your kid staying with the same team/coach/club next year?
Think about the kids that already have 1 foot out the door to another team. Driving to Lancaster/Temecula/Etc knowing that as soon as it ends, they can move on to their new team.
 
State Cup has used some far-flung venues in its time. A few years ago you might have been sent to Apple Valley, and not the good part of Apple Valley, either. A few years before that and you might have been sent to Bakersfield. Lancaster is better than either. Sadly, from the cuisine department, the best place to eat is still the AM/PM at the corner of East Ave. M and Division.
 
It won't be be last time you will not mind losing. Whether it is avoiding a long drive for State Cup, losing on Sunday morning in Vegas so you can beat the traffic or getting eliminated on Saturday afternoon at Nomads so can have at least one day off at home during Thanksgiving weekend.

Winning isn't everything.
 
Daniel Miller said:
State Cup has used some far-flung venues in its time. A few years ago you might have been sent to Apple Valley, and not the good part of Apple Valley, either. A few years before that and you might have been sent to Bakersfield. Lancaster is better than either. Sadly, from the cuisine department, the best place to eat is still the AM/PM at the corner of East Ave. M and Division.
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We once tried to meet the team at the mall for dinner. Everyplace was packed and the kids were starving. We found a Japanese place called Saku Saki at 1232 W Ave K that was very good and reasonable priced. I also liked that it was not a part of a chain.
 
Daniel Miller said:
Sadly, from the cuisine department, the best place to eat is still the AM/PM at the corner of East Ave. M and Division.
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If you have time either on the way up or the way back, stop at Charlie Brown Farms (http://charliebrownfarms.com/). This place is old Americana at its best.

After that, you have all the same places you would get anywhere else in Southern California. Take the team to the Antelope Valley Mall and there is a BJs, Yard House, Claim Jumper. There is even a Trader Joes if you want to just do it yourself.
 
Daniel Miller said:
A few years ago you might have been sent to Apple Valley
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My daughter's team won their flight and had to go to Apple Valley in U12 Governor's division last year. If they had come in second or Wild Card, they got to play in Norco. Some reward for winning!!!

Daniel Miller said:
Lancaster is better than either. Sadly, from the cuisine department, the best place to eat is still the AM/PM at the corner of East Ave. M and Division
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There is a great place in the old Downtown Palmdale called Lee Ester's Cajun or something like that.

The Palmdale Holiday Inn goes out of its way to cater to soccer families. They will hold breakfast late if you have an 8:00 game and rush back.
 
timbuck said:
Is your kid staying with the same team/coach/club next year?
Think about the kids that already have 1 foot out the door to another team. Driving to Lancaster/Temecula/Etc knowing that as soon as it ends, they can move on to their new team.
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Please don't put Temecula in the same sentence as Lancaster. It is much more central and light years ahead as a destination than Lancaster.
 
Temecula is a nice choice except for the 15/91 construction.

Alls I know is last time we stayed in Victorville for an Apple Valley weekend, I had that uncomfortable feeling that there's no way I'd want to be outside of my hotel alone after dark. Didn't feel that in Lancaster, although could do without the unpredictable whether there.
 
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