Tryout season is here.....

I think the key thing this time of year is to be VERY patient.
Some clubs will straight up lie to you. But many of them don't have answers yet to the questions you want answered.
They don't know who is leaving. They probably don't know who the coach will be next year. They certainly have no idea how much playing time your kid will get unless they only have 9 on the roster for an 11v11 team.
Shop around. Take your time. Make sure the level is the right one for your kid.
A Flight 2 kid on a higher flight team won't learn much by sitting on the bench and her teammates not being inviting to her. A top talent kid on a team with a bunch of "Flower pickers" will be bored silly.
 
timbuck said:
I think the key thing this time of year is to be VERY patient.
Some clubs will straight up lie to you. But many of them don't have answers yet to the questions you want answered.
They don't know who is leaving. They probably don't know who the coach will be next year. They certainly have no idea how much playing time your kid will get unless they only have 9 on the roster for an 11v11 team.
Shop around. Take your time. Make sure the level is the right one for your kid.
A Flight 2 kid on a higher flight team won't learn much by sitting on the bench and her teammates not being inviting to her. A top talent kid on a team with a bunch of "Flower pickers" will be bored silly.
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Great stuff coach buck :) I like helping others avoid the snake pits as well. Some dads glee when another dad gets bit by a viper. October tryouts iis gnarly.
 
Jar!23 said:
How do I look out for liars? Looking to send my kid to a few practices. The ideal situation would be to find a team that needs players (for example, routinely only has 1 or 2 subs for a 11v11 game). I'm realistic and not thinking that my kid will displace a starter that is doing well and I wouldn't expect that. Current team will be going through some reorganization and club has too small of a player pool to compete, that's why I'm looking.
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So difficult to answer. I've joked that if a coaches lips are moving they're lying. That's not actually true and its unfair to coaches. I do take whatever coaches say with a huge grain of salt. Many coaches will tell you what you want to hear, or what is true at that very moment without looking ahead. Quite frankly most coaches are not known for their communication skills and consider parents to be a nuisance. The best way to choose a coach and team is to observe games/practice and try to talk to other parents. But keep in mind many parents don't know what makes a great coach and oftentimes its comes down to the fit of your kids personality and the personality of the coach/team.

I'm not down on youth soccer, its been great for my son, with ups and downs like anything else. I just recommend "buyer beware". It's an interesting industry where they either don't understand or ignore the fact that they are in the customer service business. So adjust your expectations accordingly.
 
If someone is trying out now they are either on a roster right now or are not, right? If they are on a roster unless their current team is willing to release them (unlikely) they can’t really join a new club for a while (not really sure when that time is being that the current SCSL season doesn’t end until March). I’ll be honest, I’m not sure when my DD’s contract ends and don’t have it handy. Could be the end of State Cup or could be the end of league.
 
toucan said:
Today, most club players in Southern California are registered through US Soccer. Previously, most were registered through USYA (Calsouth). The Socal Soccer League, ECNL and the GA teams are all different gaming leagues, but all use US Soccer as their registar. CSL uses Calsouth.

Calsouth's transfer rule is simple: A player initiates the transfer through Calsouth's online system. The registrars of the two clubs approve or disapprove. No club can deny a transfer because of a financial dispute. In fact, there is almost no way to deny a transfer to a player unless the transfer is requested during the Fall roster-freeze period, which only last for about 3 months of the year. If the outgoing registrar does not respond to the request, the transfer is granted after a week.

The Socal Soccer League has taken transfer restriction to a new (and in my opinion, inappropriate) level. According to their rules, no player can ever transfer from one Socal Soccer League team to another without the outgoing DOC's approval. If a player is not paid "in full," then the DOC can block the transfer. If there is any dispute about whether the player is paid "in full," then the DOC can block the transfer. In scholarship cases, the DOC can block the transfer even if the player has paid every penny owed, and can add on additional fees and costs.
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Quick clarification...I believe its US Club Soccer, not US Soccer which used to regulate DA.
 
toucan said:
Today, most club players in Southern California are registered through US Soccer. Previously, most were registered through USYA (Calsouth). The Socal Soccer League, ECNL and the GA teams are all different gaming leagues, but all use US Soccer as their registar. CSL uses Calsouth.

Calsouth's transfer rule is simple: A player initiates the transfer through Calsouth's online system. The registrars of the two clubs approve or disapprove. No club can deny a transfer because of a financial dispute. In fact, there is almost no way to deny a transfer to a player unless the transfer is requested during the Fall roster-freeze period, which only last for about 3 months of the year. If the outgoing registrar does not respond to the request, the transfer is granted after a week.

The Socal Soccer League has taken transfer restriction to a new (and in my opinion, inappropriate) level. According to their rules, no player can ever transfer from one Socal Soccer League team to another without the outgoing DOC's approval. If a player is not paid "in full," then the DOC can block the transfer. If there is any dispute about whether the player is paid "in full," then the DOC can block the transfer. In scholarship cases, the DOC can block the transfer even if the player has paid every penny owed, and can add on additional fees and costs.
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All of that begs the question… Why have tryouts right now?
 
JumboJack said:
All of that begs the question… Why have tryouts right now?
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$$ trying to find more paying customers
Team or club is floundering
Existing players are leaving or not available for later in the year for competitions due to other interestes or commitments.

The convoluted system is place just has people jumping leagues and clubs so they don't have to deal with the gatekeepers or docs.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
There's lots of reasons. One I haven't seen mentioned is sometimes parents want to get away from the other parents on the team. Spending week in, week out with people you don't like gets old quick.
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I get that but wouldn’t you think most kids today are locked into their team for until at least after State Cup ?
 
JumboJack said:
I get that but wouldn’t you think most kids today are locked into their team for until at least after State Cup ?
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Individualism before team.

Club loyalty does that exist anymore?

Our youngest was on a u9 team with several of his friends, one of his best buddies didn't show up for the 1st state cup and they where a bit lost at first but rallyed to pull it all together.

Soon as he got home he went to his friends house only to find him not happy at all, turns out his parents made a deal with a rival for next season so they he won't be playing with his current team any longer. Bummer for him and everyone as his former team rose and the rival pretty much srunk later on.

Our young u9 player vowed never to ever leave a team or consider one until everything is said and done for the current playing season. Wasn't really mad at his buddy since he knew it was the parents decision and they never even asked him. They would remain friends all along and eventually get a chance to play together in a couple tournaments which was a good ending for that player but he did miss out on a lot of things like tournaments, travel, playing in college that all the other player on his U19 team had the opportunity to do so.
 
lafalafa said:
Individualism before team.

Club loyalty does that exist anymore?

Our youngest was on a u9 team with several of his friends, one of his best buddies didn't show up for the 1st state cup and they where a bit lost at first but rallyed to pull it all together.

Soon as he got home he went to his friends house only to find him not happy at all, turns out his parents made a deal with a rival for next season so they he won't be playing with his current team any longer. Bummer for him and everyone as his former team rose and the rival pretty much srunk later on.

Our young u9 player vowed never to ever leave a team or consider one until everything is said and done for the current playing season. Wasn't really mad at his buddy since he knew it was the parents decision and they never even asked him. They would remain friends all along and eventually get a chance to play together in a couple tournaments which was a good ending for that player but he did miss out on a lot of things like tournaments, travel, playing in college that all the other player on his U19 team had the opportunity to do so.
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Nice story and lesson thank you for sharing......Effed up for teammates to leave mid season so glad it worked out best for your DS who stayed....clubs shuttering or families moving cities aside, I think that parents who move their kids more than 2 to 3 times from U12 - U19 are doing their kid's a disservice.....to move a couple times to play at the top MLS Next or ECNL level, or to get away from an abusive or knucklehead coach makes sense...but more moves than that is why some coaches like to call us parent club hoppers and, talking to DD, a lot would be lost from a transient experience......loyalty is a two way street though so if your coach does not believe in your kid (and this needs to be your kid's decision not yours imho) then make the move and enjoy the love of the game no matter the level!
 
My personal opinion is that players should definitely stay until the end of the season. Norcal’s fall season ends early December (some teams go longer for State Cup depending on the bracket). Clubs are advertising tryouts now looking for rec players who want to play competitive (AYSO is only in fall) to join for spring. Other comp players need DOC approval to tryout or practice with another club.

One players on my kid’s team left in the middle of the season. I thought that was strange. I guess he (or his parent) thought the situation was so unbearable they didn’t want to stay any longer. Sometimes that works out better for both sides if the relationship isn’t working. That particular player wasn’t get as much playing time and ended up going to a lower level team. Finding the right playing level is definitely key. My kid’s current club only has one team for his age group. The difference in skills between the players is pretty noticeable. Some should be playing rec and some should be moving up.

I tend to hate the spring season as it seems half the team is playing another sport and splitting time.
 
Jar!23 said:
How do I look out for liars? Looking to send my kid to a few practices. The ideal situation would be to find a team that needs players (for example, routinely only has 1 or 2 subs for a 11v11 game). I'm realistic and not thinking that my kid will displace a starter that is doing well and I wouldn't expect that. Current team will be going through some reorganization and club has too small of a player pool to compete, that's why I'm looking.
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You can't really know how many players will be on a team "next season". The coach may tell you their target number-- but they may or may not adhere to that, and/or be telling you the truth, and/or have the players to fill their target/intended roster number.

Also, a coach may end up with a roster number of 11 players but have 2-3 guest players every match. So, it can be hard to determine.

I've found that going and watching games coached by a potential coach can be really, really insightful. I've done this incognito (when my kid isn't guesting). In my mind, it helps to determine if the coach is a jerk/psychopath, screamer/yeller, joy-sticker, etc. -- all things that you may not be able to see at a practice session or two when they are trying to woo you/your player. This also allows you to see how the team plays (and coach acts) in a competitive environment. Also, talking to parents who have kids on the team can also be helpful.
 
watfly said:
Is State Cup even relevant anymore? Seems to me, other than for the youngest teams in CSL, that its rather meaningless.
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Outside of those ECNL players, its very relevant for the rest of the teams. In our age bracket, we have 7 ECRL teams, 1 ECNL, 1 DPL, and 120+ G09 teams from Flight 1 to Flight 3. Yes, it's relevant for the masses.
 
zebrafish said:
You can't really know how many players will be on a team "next season". The coach may tell you their target number-- but they may or may not adhere to that, and/or be telling you the truth, and/or have the players to fill their target/intended roster number.

Also, a coach may end up with a roster number of 11 players but have 2-3 guest players every match. So, it can be hard to determine.

I've found that going and watching games coached by a potential coach can be really, really insightful. I've done this incognito (when my kid isn't guesting). In my mind, it helps to determine if the coach is a jerk/psychopath, screamer/yeller, joy-sticker, etc. -- all things that you may not be able to see at a practice session or two when they are trying to woo you/your player. This also allows you to see how the team plays (and coach acts) in a competitive environment. Also, talking to parents who have kids on the team can also be helpful.
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Some teams record and upload their games on YouTube. A local club close to me does it with some of their teams. I don’t know why when in my opinion the videos are not flattering to the coach. Screaming, arguing with the ref, arguing with opposing coaches, loud joystick coaching like crazy, negative comments. Maybe some parents think that is proactive coaching.
 
SoccerFan4Life said:
Outside of those ECNL players, its very relevant for the rest of the teams. In our age bracket, we have 7 ECRL teams, 1 ECNL, 1 DPL, and 120+ G09 teams from Flight 1 to Flight 3. Yes, it's relevant for the masses.
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Maybe I'm confused. I thought Cal South State Cup excluded US Club Soccer teams which is the sanctioning body for ECNL/ECRL and So Cal Soccer League, hence why So Cal Soccer League is having its own "State Cup".

I thought CSL was the only league playing under the CalSouth umbrella since Presidio is effectively defunct. Any decent 2010 and older team playing in CalSouth would be playing in National Cup, not State Cup. That was my basis for my comment that its rather meaningless except for CSL younger teams.

When I say meaningless, I meant in terms of determining the best teams in the State or SoCal. I'm sure its meaningful to some kids and parents, but I do question whether too much emphasis is being placed on these "State Cups". Let's be perfectly honest, as someone else mentioned, these are league cups.
 
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