Team selection advice needed for 7yr girl

[pewpew]

Some final words of advise. Find a reason to STFU during games. She does not need to hear anything from you other than cheers. Not advice, no coaching, no complaining (and the same goes for her teammates). Before the game tell her to have fun and that you love her. After the game only talk about the game if she brings it up, and if she does, only make positive comments. If she likes to go to the park with you and kick the ball around, great, but again, be positive (and a bit silly). Your job is to give her moral support and run interference between the toxic adults in youth soccer and her. If she ever feels like quitting, ask her if she can finish the season and then walk away and don't look back. Attend all of her practices and watch from a distance to make sure nothing toxic is going on. Never show loyalty to a team, coach or club for more than a season. Your job is to protect her interests.

My DD was always big, strong and fast for her age. Small players are disadvantaged at the high levels unless they are fast and skilled.

If you do private training, try to find a good female trainer. Female role models matter for girls (and are a good idea for boys also).

Always cheer a good save by a goalkeeper, whatever team they are on (and my DD was a forward most of her career).

Finally, think long and hard if the opportunity for college soccer comes up. Most college players do not like their coaches.

^^^ Very good advice here. No bad comments about any other players either. Keep quiet. Remember she's only 7. She's not getting scouted for a D1 scholarship. On top of all that @outside! mentioned on game day..don't forget the ice cream after EVERY game. As a GK parent...ALWAYS cheer a good save by any GK. Find a team with good parents as well. A few bad parents can really ruin a team that has good chemistry between players/coaches/parents.

Yes completely agree. Always look to join the top team of a club. The top team gets better of everything. My son started club with the top team of a small club and in flight 3. We beat everybody in flight 3 that season. At the young age of 7, often times the club sand bags the team in lower flights to build the kids’ confidence.

Avoid a team like this that is already putting the W before anything else. That coach is a POS imho. To this coach it's cool to smash on other teams to make your players feel confident..but screw the confidence of the other team you just beat 10-0. Coach should be developing the players while still having fun.

As far as your three options OP. I've seen plenty of good AYSO Select and/or Extra teams over the years on boys/girls sides that played good soccer. So a good coach that develops players with AYSO is not unheard of. Encourage your kid to try all the positions, including GK. At this age it will only make her a better, more well-rounded player. There'll be a lot less pressure regarding mistakes as they learn to play the game. At this age it won't be costing you as much either. You can spend some extra money on extra training if you see it's needed. Clubs have a habit of shuffling coaches around too. So you might join a team because of a particular coach only to have that coach moved 6 months later for whatever reason the club decides.
Find a team with a good coach, players, and parents. The journey will be a lot more fun. Worry a whole lot less about what jersey she's wearing.
Good luck!!

 

[ElKosh106]

Always pick club over AYSO Extra...will get more/better training. Some AYSO Extra coaches have no business coaching soccer. Regarding which club to pick, go with your daughter's and your own gut instinct after playing with the teams. Just a one-year commitment so can always change after the season is over.

On the flip side, there lots of club coaches that have no business being coaches, and lots of other club coaches that took their AYSO EXTRA teams to a Club and are coaching there now. ‘\_( ‘’,)_/`

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

On the flip side, there lots of club coaches that have no business being coaches, and lots of other club coaches that took their AYSO EXTRA teams to a Club and are coaching there now. ‘\_( ‘’,)_/`

There is a large percentage of AYSO coaches that have little to no experience playing soccer. You're going to find very few club coaches that don't have a fairly high level of playing experience. The AYSO coach becoming a club coach is a rarity.

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

Hi everyone, a dad of a 7yr old girl here. Seeking some advice on club selection and AYSO extra. My daughter has been doing AYSO rec for two seasons, one Spring this year and fall this year. She has been doing very well so I am looking for more challenge for her. She just finished the tryout week and got 2 SoCal League flight2 team offers. She is also contacted by the to-be AYSO Extra coach before tryout. This is my only child so no prior experience on club soccer or even sports teams before. My daughter is shy, and also a December kid. Physically she is one of the smallest, even though she is very fast. So debating between those three teams:

1. A very well known, one of the best if not the best clubs locally. It is a flight2 team offer and the 3rd team in the club. The 1st and 2nd team of the club both play in flight 1. We need to make a decision this weekend. My daughter loves the club as she has been playing in several camps there but the team itself is completely new. The coach has good credential and previously a 1st & 2nd team coach in another club. Just joined this club recently. Our concern is it will be a full 1-yr commitment, and more likely my daughter will be the weaker if not the weakest player in the team even though she might have good potential. We are worried she loses joy and confidence there because of the competition.
2. The other flight2 team is from a newer and smaller club. That team is an existing team playing in U8 flight3 now. The coach might not be as experienced as the option 1 but I heard the youth director for girls has pretty good reputation previously from a top club. The team my daughter is joining is the top team in that club. The best thing about this choice is the coach and director mentioned my daughter is invited to participate in the training with the team from now to say Feb and then decide. No need to rush after I expressed my concern that whether my daughter will like it and commit for a full year. Just by observing the tryout and two tournament games, I feel my daughter might be around the middle or maybe even upper-mid in the team.
3. Finally is AYSO Extra team. My daughter loved her time in AYSO Rec both seasons. There will be her friends in the Extra team as well. The concern I have is she likely to be one of the top players there. Every time when I sent her to the camp host by option 1's club, she improved so much. So she might not develop as fast. Price is definitely cheaper (~500 vs. ~3000), can be a factor but I can afford the club no problem.

Many thanks for the help in advance!

Last comment I have is to choose a coach or club where your kid will get the best development. Development is king, winning/results mean nothing at the younger ages. Keep us updated on how it goes...good luck.

 

[TrailBraking]

Thanks a lot for all the advice! I read through all of them very carefully and learned a lot from them. Sorry for not being able to reply earlier but yesterday we finally decided to have my daughter playing in AYSO extra for 2025.

We first eliminated the first option. Then had my daughter attended a practice for the second which is a pretty ordinary one. Recently had a practice with the new AYSO extra team. We loved the extra one comparatively, mainly because of the coach who really tries to go extra mile to build a great team, even thought my daughter might be at the top of the team in terms of currently ability. Hope that works out well. My daughter might also learn to play the center mid in her new team instead of just out run other defenders at the wing. Hope that will develop her more technically!