NotFromCali
BRONZE
Nah. Moved clubs left on good terms. Big club kinda a mess, won’t go through the details. That club won’t make or break my kids chances..
Better team vs. more play time
- Thread starter NotFromCali
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Rollonyoubears
BRONZE
If your kid is averaging 3-4 goals per game you are on the wrong team and or flight.
Not when they're U10. That's incredibly common at the younger ages. Until you go to the big field and play 11 v 11, anything and everything is on the table. That's the great equalizer.
I didn't read thru all the pages but I'll throw in my .02
Worry less about playing up, what flight your kid plays in, and what jersey he/she is wearing. Find a club/coach that focuses on development
and puts winning second. And makes playing soccer FUN..especially at these earlier ages.
This year my youngest moved up to 11v11. Coach told us things would change and we'd be winning games and losing games as they learned to play on the big field. We finished 5th of 8 teams in F1. A few losses due to dumb mistakes but they're continuing to learn and develop. Coach isn't the big yelling and screaming type vs the previous club/coach we played for. (Who we heard eventually got fired for some BS he was pulling. No surprise.)
Good chemistry between the players and good parents also helps. We've been on teams with some parents that were so obnoxious I sometimes looked forward to getting knocked out early from a tournament because I couldn't stand listening to them.
As far as worrying about HS and college..you've got a few years before you need to start worrying about that. If your kid isn't having fun now
and not developing..he/she might not even be interested in playing HS.
DI DII DIII etc. People get too focused on that. One coach told us long ago..if you had to choose between a DI soccer program with minimal playing time with a DII-equivalent school that your kid will major in and spend their life/career doing vs a DII soccer program with a lot of playing and time and with a DI-equivalent major the answer is obvious. (Playing time is an added plus.) The long-term career should be the bigger picture.
Worry less about playing up, what flight your kid plays in, and what jersey he/she is wearing. Find a club/coach that focuses on development
and puts winning second. And makes playing soccer FUN..especially at these earlier ages.
This year my youngest moved up to 11v11. Coach told us things would change and we'd be winning games and losing games as they learned to play on the big field. We finished 5th of 8 teams in F1. A few losses due to dumb mistakes but they're continuing to learn and develop. Coach isn't the big yelling and screaming type vs the previous club/coach we played for. (Who we heard eventually got fired for some BS he was pulling. No surprise.)
Good chemistry between the players and good parents also helps. We've been on teams with some parents that were so obnoxious I sometimes looked forward to getting knocked out early from a tournament because I couldn't stand listening to them.
As far as worrying about HS and college..you've got a few years before you need to start worrying about that. If your kid isn't having fun now
and not developing..he/she might not even be interested in playing HS.
DI DII DIII etc. People get too focused on that. One coach told us long ago..if you had to choose between a DI soccer program with minimal playing time with a DII-equivalent school that your kid will major in and spend their life/career doing vs a DII soccer program with a lot of playing and time and with a DI-equivalent major the answer is obvious. (Playing time is an added plus.) The long-term career should be the bigger picture.
I did a study before the Girls Development (grooming) Academy came to us all 2017. ECNL had scores of 2-1, 1-0 and so on and it was very rare to see anyone with hat trick. Then the GDA started and all of sudden girls were scoring two hat tricks a game bro. Pad the stats (PTS) with goals and more goals so you can make the list and go to Big U. I watched it. The GDA was so watered down because all the parents that paid to play for their children's play time were guaranteed 25% starts. I saw scores of 14-0, 16-1, 10-0, 13-2, 9-0, 11-0 and even worse.
This is an interesting post because it got me to thinking about the arrogance of club soccer. Many of these coaches, when they're not nailing a player's divorced mom or selling merch out of the trunk, come off as pretty dismissive of parents. In some ways we do that to ourselves. To your point, you want a coach that develops. I think all of us would agree on that. Yet what do the parents, especially of younger teams, want all the time? Wins. Those are the parents that yell, call, email and otherwise make a good coach lose his or her mind. It's a bit of a self inflicted wound. Maybe some of these prima donnas aren't 100% to blame for their behavior. That shit gets old as a parent. Imagine a good coach dealing with it year after year.
I played the game from my youth, and coached (w)rec(k) level teams when they needed a coach, so in many ways parents were just glad they had someone that knew the game and showed up so the kid could play. I never coached a high level club team and deal with parents... with or without a large checkbook. You bring up a ton of valid points... like play for development, play in good chemistry environments if you can because toxic teams kill, ignore the Jones family and their hiring of special coaches, screaming at games, buying expensive cleats, college recruiting services, D1s, etc.
In the end, there has to be a passion for the game. Most of these kids become great because of passion, work ethic and good coaches. Not all the other bullshit.
Rollonyoubears
BRONZE
In my experience with B2016 teams, nobody was averaging 3-4 goals a game in flight 2 or 3. Based on scores I've seen in flight 1, I'd say the same for the highest levels. My son's team scored the 2nd most goals in their league (59 in 12 games which was 1 or 2 behind the top team) and sure, we had a few hat tricks, but nobody was AVERAGING a hat trick. I stand by my original statement - If that's the case, said player is in the wrong flight.
My oldest did that a lot as a GK. She'd guest all over the place if a team needed help. It started out with our coach loaning her out one weekend
to help a coach/friend of his that needed a GK for a tournament. Turned into quite a gig. I'd get a text or phone call from a coach stating that Coach
A gave me your number..told us your daughter is a good GK. Could you help us out?
She played at West Coast's tournament 3 years in a row with 3 different clubs/teams. Got all three to the Semi-Finals.
She played Surf Cup, Blues Cup and a whole lot more. You learn a lot guest playing with other teams. Parents and players were usually really appreciative. Every once in awhile you'd get the injured GKs parents coming over to let us know who they were and how great their GK is.
I wanted to say "look..we're just here to help Coach X..not looking to take anyone's spot" but I usually just nodded and kept it cool. Then there were the parents of the field player "who could also play GK" Those parents I wanted to tell them to shut the hell up and say "if your kid could play GK then we wouldn't be here" but again just nodded and kept it cool.
I've found that over the years..the higher level of play coupled with older age groups = more mature parents. The outlook on the game was totally different from the U-Littles and chasing a W at all costs.
Once they hit the older age everyone is fighting for scholarships. The sad part is most parents don't know their teammates are not their completion. Not doing the all-star u-littles or olders again. The delusion is very high with top teams. Just play and get good grades and it will take the kids pretty far.
*competition
Guest GK parent had it way easier than Guest Striker Parent
Oh my gosh, the hell I took was insane. I was helping a Doc that needed goals to save his job most of the time.You striker parents have it made. Make one of five shots and everyone says you are the hero and high fives you. Keeper lets in one goal out of 5, the team and parents glare at you.Guest GK parent had it way easier than Guest Striker Parent
We're talking "Guest" parents. I agree with you 100% GK parent has it worse on the actual team, but not as guest GK parent.You striker parents have it made. Make one of five shots and everyone says you are the hero and high fives you. Keeper lets in one goal out of 5, the team and parents glare at you.