Has club soccer taken over your life too?

Soccer players make the best football players. You can't replicate the footwork you learn in soccer training in football practice.
Agree he was in shape and fastest on the team day
one. They put him at CB and WR.
 
It sounds rather obvious, but you really need to become a fan of the beautiful game to enjoy club soccer. Otherwise, you will overly focus on the negative aspects of youth sports and be in club soccer hell for years. I now have a greater appreciation for what my kids are able (and unable) to do. Once a while they might just do something astonishing that reminds me of my favorite pro players. I don’t want to sound too sappy, but those moments make it all worthwhile.

After so many years my own conclusion is that we are essentially paying $5000 per year for club soccer to hang out with our kid. So enjoy it. My older one is in HS with a car, and hanging out with family is not that high on her priority list. But when we drove back from Surf Cup a couple of months ago, I got her undivided attention and we talked the whole way home for two hours. You can decide whether $5000 is better off spent on club soccer or toward a family vacation.

Hah. I actually think if you're a big fan of the beautiful game club soccer can be even more infuriating. Especially if your kids have had good coaching where you know great things are possible. The fact of the matter is most kids aren't getting good coaching. The vast majority of ECNL matches I've watched on the girl's side are really really really bad. The top 10%, sure, they're good. The rest is just hard to watch. I'm sure this applies to GA as well. The boys side it's not as bad. I think overall boys get better coaching. But, there are still a lot of coaches that don't emphasize the cognitive part of the game enough.

I absolutely agree being able to spend time with your kids on those long drives is priceless. Just make sure they don't put those airpods in :)
 
I only became interested in the sport from my kid playing in it. Yes, for years club soccer took over our lives. Now, my kid is older and starting to show signs of losing interest and doesn’t seem to want to try to play in college. I think I have a harder time letting go than my kid. It’s a great bonding experience and I’ll always love soccer.
 
And the reasons for parents getting less nutty are:
1. They realize everybody is getting 1/4 college scholarships
2. Most D1 schools are not academically desirable schools. The ones that are are extremely difficult to get in playing soccer
3. Their kids aren’t as good as they once thought they are
What do you mean getting 1/4 college scholarships? 1/4 of what?
 
What do you mean getting 1/4 college scholarships? 1/4 of what?
He's saying that the scholorships many clubs sell as the pot if gold at the end of the youth soccer rainbow aren't always that people think they are.

Currently D1 teams are limited to 14 scholorships per team. To make things work coaches spread them across an entire team which might be 35+ playes. The net effect is 2-3 players get full scholorships, 10-16 get some form of a partial scholoship. The rest pay for school themselves. *

* With the new House vs NCAA settlement the max number of players a team can carry is 28. Also schools can give 28 full ride scholorships (or none). Basically NCAA is no longer arbitrarily limiting the number of scholorships colleges can provide. Colleges however aren't required to give out 28 scholorships.
 
He's saying that the scholorships many clubs sell as the pot if gold at the end of the youth soccer rainbow aren't always that people think they are.

Currently D1 teams are limited to 14 scholorships per team. To make things work coaches spread them across an entire team which might be 35+ playes. The net effect is 2-3 players get full scholorships, 10-16 get some form of a partial scholoship. The rest pay for school themselves. *

* With the new House vs NCAA settlement the max number of players a team can carry is 28. Also schools can give 28 full ride scholorships (or none). Basically NCAA is no longer arbitrarily limiting the number of scholorships colleges can provide. Colleges however aren't required to give out 28 scholorships.
To be exact, currently speaking, the maximum number of scholarships available for NCAA Division 1 (D1) soccer teams is 9.9 for men's teams and 14 for women's teams
 
You people are so fancy. I just want my kid to start in high school!
Just wait until your kid tells you that they want to play Soccer in college. Mine did in 1st grade. I didn't take it seriously at the time but now it's becoming more and more of a reality. Because of this I'm forced to figure out how college soccer works. Just like 8 years ago when I had to figure out how youth soccer works.

I wish there was some kind of handbook parents that are new to competitive sports could review to get up to speed. Unfortunately there isn't and even if there was it would change every 24 hours so what you read yesterday might be old news today.

Because of all this we end up on this site commiserating in the same existence.

Have fun 👍
 
Just wait until your kid tells you that they want to play Soccer in college. Mine did in 1st grade. I didn't take it seriously at the time but now it's becoming more and more of a reality. Because of this I'm forced to figure out how college soccer works. Just like 8 years ago when I had to figure out how youth soccer works.

I wish there was some kind of handbook parents that are new to competitive sports could review to get up to speed. Unfortunately there isn't and even if there was it would change every 24 hours so what you read yesterday might be old news today.

Because of all this we all end up on this site commiserating in the same existence.

Have fun 👍
My son hasn't said that to me yet although he has had that he wants to play football (which I am never allowing him to do). He is decent but there is no way I foresee him playing beyond high school.

A manual for parenting would be outdated in about 30 seconds...besides...what's the fun of parenting without the daily stress, constant anxiety, and unforeseeable crisis and events! 🤣
 
You people are so fancy. I just want my kid to start in high school!
Mine does start in high school so I do count that as a success. But not going to lie, I’m still holding out hope kid will decide to try to get recruited for college.
 
What you're experiencing is fairly normal. I only had one kid in club soccer, I can't imaging having three, although I did have another kid in competitive dance. So at least you and your wife are together. My wife and I had to divide and conquer.

My first piece of advice would be trust your gut. The following advice is based on my personal experience (although I know others that shared the same experience), so take it with a grain of salt.

1) Take it one year at a time. Don't worry about whether your kid is in a club that has MLS Next or ECNL. Don't even think about playing college soccer until you kid is a sophomore. (Odds are much higher that your son will be playing a high school sport(s) and not club soccer)
2) If a club or coach starts talking about how their the "pathway" is the only way to go, put your hand over your wallet and run away. There is only one "pathway" to your child's extended soccer career and that's your kids own skill, passion and dedication.
3) Trust, but verify, what other parents tell you about a club or coach. What may be a good fit for their kid doesn't mean it is going to be a good fit for your kid. You know your kid best (i.e. trust your gut).
4) Don't rely on tryouts, they are the worst way to get on a team. Ask to have your kid participate in a few practices if you're looking at moving teams.
5) Don't worry about other kids getting opportunities or "preferred" positions. US coaches are terrible at talent identification. Just keep the focus on kids improvement.
6) Give your kids a break from soccer. You can miss games and tournaments. They play far too many and your not letting the team down. Just be upfront with the coach and give them plenty of notice. Clubs' don't own your kids, although many act like it.
7) Stay in the moment, take advantage of the time spent in the car traveling to practice and games. Make out-of-town travel fun. Most of my son and I fondest memories aren't from the games themselves. Minimize talk about soccer and their performance on the ride home after games.
8) Get to know the other parents on a cordial, non-soccer basis . You're going to spend a lot of time with them and you get the opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds.
9) Keep it fun. Listen to your kid when they seem to lose interest in soccer, are reluctant to go to practice, and or aren't excited for games.

I'm very critical about youth soccer, but I don't regret any of my decisions. I would do things differently if I had a do over, but no regrets. Youth soccer is the best preparation to play other sports when your kid gets to high school. We now have the weekends off and my son competes on Friday night in front of hundreds from his school and community.
This should be manditory reading for all new club sports parents. Speaking Truth!
 
I have 3 kids 11 and under playing club soccer. The older two play on pretty competitive teams. Why is it so many people I know that have kids that play club soccer have their entire life consumed by it? It’s all we talk about with each other. my spouse and I are always talking about it. It’s on my mind all the time. It’s taken over our life. Every aspect of soccer has. It’s like never ending conversations. All. The. Time. And 90% of it just speculation. But still being discussed.

Is this just the way it is for the next 10 years of my life? I grew up playing club sports, I cannot imagine my parents were like this.

I am really a bit embarrassed by this. But I don’t know is this common or not? Please be nice as it’s not easy writing this. I see the memes on this and laugh. And then I realize no that’s my life right there.
Have something else you talk to your spouse about, cuz when soccer's over and the kids are moved out, it could get very boring at home
 
One of my kids plays a different sport and I see how obsessed the parents are and I tell myself - "thank god that's not me", only to realize it is EXACTLY me when it comes to youth soccer 😅
 
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