which is what truly matters"Pipe Dream" don't get me started. I had one former club president tell me anyone looking to the make the WNT is living a pipe dream. The only dream one should dream he told me was, "going to college to play soccer." I kid you not bro. One can dream until the dream goes away or becomes reality. Paying a coach to make the dream come true is no dream, it's a nightmare. Once you pay, your bought. Now comes the bribes and in some cases, blackmail. Dad paid to grease the Docs pocket so dd or ds could make some camp invite when kid is 12. Now the real pay for play begins.
It's a tough crowd Luis and I know you care about th kids. The parents are looking out for themselves and their own glory. So sad we can't just let the kids play and let the cream rise to the top without fake cream sneaking into the real cream. I agree only the tru 1% can make real cream. You take the 1%, let them ball and out comes pure goat milk. Not everyone will make it to the top, but the fun part is the trying. I wanted to play for UCLA and the Lakers in 8th grade. It was my dream. I told you I was suited up for a big Christmas tournament as a freshman back in HS School and my dream was destroyed by myself watching the Long Beach Jack Rabbits teach me a listen on who plays D1 and at UCLA and with that, I went to another dream to start and play on a small NAIA team. My dream came true, and I was all conference first team bro, where I belonged.@crush you know I barely post on here anymore. I used to want to help parents but now I just don’t and stay away… only way for them to wake up is to have them fail. Everything anyone suggested to me on here I did the opposite and the proof is in the making… winning brother. Development wise
It's important that players (ideally with parents watching) get a chance to see what best of the best really means.
I agree and this is why I was SMFH back in 2018 because for some reason, this sport we call soccer is not really a sport in the truest and purest sense. It's a scam and we all know it. You have to pay to play and pay to be scene. Yes, my dd didn't have to pay many years because of the goals she supplied the club.
That's one way to deal with the mafia. I like your advice on saving money for college. I don't know when and how soccer became a 529. I signed my kid up to play and have fun and then I saw the mafia at work when she was on top of the goal scoring list in socal. Don't you dare question the Boss at one of these soccer families either.
There are a lot of clubs and coaches that are responsible for making the parents delusional. When the parents don’t know, they believe the coaches who say their kid could be a star. With the clubs moving younger and younger, these parents don’t get the time to learn the truth that they might have learned going through an ayso rec -> all star -> extra -> club pathway from 5-9 years old.
If I knew then what I know now. 5-9 she would have only been playing futsal year around until 9 years of age…
100% chipmonk. It starts when the kid is playing AYSO at 6 years old and a "scout" comes up to mommy and daddy after the hard fought AYSO game and says, "hey, I'm coach so and so and I see your kid has what it takes to be elite soccer player. Now, do you have what it takes (cash is King folks) to help your future star get the college scholarship?" Parent is all blushing with pride that someone beside the parent can see how good Sally is and will be. They sign up and see all the instagram posts of the clubs senior players getting scholarships. and the rest takes time and money. Tryouts are now happening for those born in 2020. No need to go to AYSO to get scouted. Take Sally to tryouts at 5 now. Good luck you guys.
Now you have become a wise father but it's too late
I have hope that things will be better in the future for all the kids in this sport. In the meantime as parents we need to continuously keep reanalyzing and assessing the atmosphere and making the right adjustments to give our kids the best chance to succeed while being honest to ourselves about their progress. Everything needs to be earned of course. Now I'm not denying that there could be corruption & bribes happening or some bad apples out there but it's not all doom and gloom like the poster claims. I just wanted to give my personal experience & perspective. I've never greased any pockets and she has many opportunities that she's earned through her hard work and talent.Now you have become a wise father but it's too late
Hard work and talent can only get you so far in this sport. I agree it's not all doom and gloom and we have some solid coaches with impeccable characters. Good luck 100% to your amazing dd
This is a good side-note which is probably one of the more important points to emphasize. You can often tell the difference between a coach/team using you for money, and a kid who is actually talented/skilled, by whether or not you are offered the ability to play on a team without paying (or with a substantial discount). Every coach and club will tell you your kid is good, should be playing club, etc. It's substantially more rare to hear something like "we would like your kid to play for club X; we'll take care of the fees if you decide to join". Note that you're probably never going to hear the latter unless your kid is actually good (see also: scholarships at the college level).
That is exactly what happen to me bro. Club X(s) called my phone when the age change happened in 2016. I spoke to 5 Docs in SoCal and everyone offered full ride, all travel expenses covered (for my kid only), free uniforms, free training. I was told and sold this was mandated by the Girls Development Academy. You see, that was the bait used t get me to leave the current club. GDA told all the clubs the top team in each age group had to be free. Then all of sudden, the parents whose kid didn't make the GDA complained and offered to pay to play as long as their kid got 25% starts.
If FREE was the case, some DA clubs need to give refunds......Even when DA disbanded, no refunds were made during the current year...
It was sold and billed as the same as the boys DA. The boys paid ZERO. I was told and sold by all the higher ups in Socal that all clubs in the DA had to be FULLY FUNDED. I was so excited and felt finally the girls can get free soccer, just like the boys. The club I was at told me if they gave full rides to everyone they would go out of business. I left for greener pasture and free soccer.
