Two GK teams at older age groups/higher levels

With a goalkeeper it takes a village to train them. Good and bad teams, regular coaches and keeper coaches. Private training and keeper camps.

My daughter has had multiple chances to move teams that may have been "better". She loves her current keeper coach thus wants to see him 3x a week. She loves her teammates thus wants to practice with them 2X a week and play a game with them every weekend. We have a great DOC that had her guest playing with the 02 team last year as an 05, plus spent an hour talking to her and us after a game about the game. We plan on attending ID camps where she can show off her skills compared to Big Club keepers.
 
socalkdg said:
With a goalkeeper it takes a village to train them. Good and bad teams, regular coaches and keeper coaches. Private training and keeper camps.

My daughter has had multiple chances to move teams that may have been "better". She loves her current keeper coach thus wants to see him 3x a week. She loves her teammates thus wants to practice with them 2X a week and play a game with them every weekend. We have a great DOC that had her guest playing with the 02 team last year as an 05, plus spent an hour talking to her and us after a game about the game. We plan on attending ID camps where she can show off her skills compared to Big Club keepers.
Click to expand...

One of the issues too is that to get a well rounded education you can’t be doing keeper training just once a week (it’s not enough since there’s too much to train) or with one person (since their emphasis may be really different). The problem is there are a whole bunch of coaches (including some keeper coaches) that either don’t know how to teach or don’t know about goalkeeper technique/tactics/conditioning. It forces gk parents to become semi experts in gking because they need to be able to sort out quality instruction from the garbage and make sure all areas of the keeper’s growth are being addressed and to sometimes help them reconcile conflicting information (at least til they are old enough to do it themselves).
 
Grace T. said:
One of the issues too is that to get a well rounded education you can’t be doing keeper training just once a week (it’s not enough since there’s too much to train) or with one person (since their emphasis may be really different). The problem is there are a whole bunch of coaches (including some keeper coaches) that either don’t know how to teach or don’t know about goalkeeper technique/tactics/conditioning. It forces gk parents to become semi experts in gking because they need to be able to sort out quality instruction from the garbage and make sure all areas of the keeper’s growth are being addressed and to sometimes help them reconcile conflicting information (at least til they are old enough to do it themselves).
Click to expand...
Agree 100% especially with the reconciliation part.
 
socalkdg said:
With a goalkeeper it takes a village to train them. Good and bad teams, regular coaches and keeper coaches. Private training and keeper camps.

My daughter has had multiple chances to move teams that may have been "better". She loves her current keeper coach thus wants to see him 3x a week. She loves her teammates thus wants to practice with them 2X a week and play a game with them every weekend. We have a great DOC that had her guest playing with the 02 team last year as an 05, plus spent an hour talking to her and us after a game about the game. We plan on attending ID camps where she can show off her skills compared to Big Club keepers.
Click to expand...
Agree with your comment about it taking a village. I have often wished that I could just go to one person and they could direct her in her development.

You seem to have a great situation and not one you would leave easily. I have heard goalkeepers are a bit different from other players and you don't need to be in the elite leagues to get noticed by college recruiters because of ID Camps etc. I didn't know how true that was.
 
Keepermom2 said:
Agree with your comment about it taking a village. I have often wished that I could just go to one person and they could direct her in her development.

You seem to have a great situation and not one you would leave easily. I have heard goalkeepers are a bit different from other players and you don't need to be in the elite leagues to get noticed by college recruiters because of ID Camps etc. I didn't know how true that was.
Click to expand...
First, we have it easier than most to get film of our kids. I tripod my Iphone 11 and focus on one end of the field. Also video some practice sessions. Showcase helps, but considering how few touches your kid might get during a game, you just don't know. ID camps are very important, especially if your kid looks the part and then performs.

My biggest problem right now is more game footage, and actually have my kid think about what colleges she wants to go to. We have UCLA(duh), PLNU(because her sister goes there and the field overlooks the ocean), and Cal Baptist(because she loves the food there). She heard on a comercial that Grand Canyon University had two Chick-Fil-A and all of a sudden she became interested. Crazy kids. Need to expand that list to 15-20, but I can't even get her to wear her retainer, so getting more school thoughts may take a while.
 
I appreciate everyone's insightful comments here. I really enjoy coming on a soccer forum and finding a thread that discusses soccer issues.

In this instance, I think it really depends on what your endgame is. If it is to play in college, then yes, you need as much playing time as possible. You get better by being on the field and you get more exposure being on the field. If your child doesn't have those aspirations, I think two keepers and split playing time can be a good thing. Other than the top 1%, kids play sports to have some fun, get some exercise, and learn life lessons. There are a lot of life lessons that can be learned by competing with another keeper: Hard work to earn playing time. Learning to get along with and be friends with someone who you are competing with. Rooting for your competition to do well because it is best for the team, although it may hurt you personally. And so many more....

My keeper is 12 and hasn't hit a growth spirt yet, so I'm not sure if there is college soccer in the future or not. But, if some of the lessons above can be learned early through having two keepers, it's a win.
 
SoccerFan6 said:
I appreciate everyone's insightful comments here. I really enjoy coming on a soccer forum and finding a thread that discusses soccer issues.

In this instance, I think it really depends on what your endgame is. If it is to play in college, then yes, you need as much playing time as possible. You get better by being on the field and you get more exposure being on the field. If your child doesn't have those aspirations, I think two keepers and split playing time can be a good thing. There are a lot of life lessons that can be learned by competing with another keeper: Hard work to earn playing time. Learning to get along with and be friends with someone who you are competing with. Rooting for your competition to do well because it is best for the team, although it may hurt you personally. And so many more....

My keeper is 12 and hasn't hit a growth spirt yet, so I'm not sure if there is college soccer in the future or not. But, if some of the lessons above can be learned early through having two keepers, it's a win.
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Without a doubt, the GK forum is the most pleasant, soccer focused, and helpful section on SoCalSoccer. I think it's because GK parents already have to deal with too much insanity as it is just being a keeper parent to bother with any more of it on a soccer forum. :D

It's easy to loose sight of what is most important for our kids when we focus too much on results, whether that result is winning a game, or being named the starter, or playing in college. When you said, "kids play sports to have some fun, get some exercise, and learn life lessons." it hits me much differently today in 2020 as a parent of kids dealing with remote classes and the cancellation of all sports activities than it would have a few years ago. Seeing how unpredictable life can be and seeing how fleeting the chance is to play soccer at a high level, it makes it all the more critical that when youth soccer resumes, everyone puts their focus on the fun, the camaraderie, the life lessons, and the joy of physical competition. I'm thinking of all the college and HS seniors who didn't know they'd played their last soccer game a year ago, all the incoming freshmen next year who don't know if they'll ever have a shot at the opportunities that existed when they started playing youth soccer, and all the youth soccer parents who missed out on their kids' final seasons before adulthood... it's cliché, but oh so true: You really have to live in the moment and enjoy the process no matter where it takes you. Good luck to you and your player!
 
SoccerFan6 said:
I appreciate everyone's insightful comments here. I really enjoy coming on a soccer forum and finding a thread that discusses soccer issues.

In this instance, I think it really depends on what your endgame is. If it is to play in college, then yes, you need as much playing time as possible. You get better by being on the field and you get more exposure being on the field. If your child doesn't have those aspirations, I think two keepers and split playing time can be a good thing. Other than the top 1%, kids play sports to have some fun, get some exercise, and learn life lessons. There are a lot of life lessons that can be learned by competing with another keeper: Hard work to earn playing time. Learning to get along with and be friends with someone who you are competing with. Rooting for your competition to do well because it is best for the team, although it may hurt you personally. And so many more....

My keeper is 12 and hasn't hit a growth spirt yet, so I'm not sure if there is college soccer in the future or not. But, if some of the lessons above can be learned early through having two keepers, it's a win.
Click to expand...
I think there is an opportunity to play college ball for every keeper that really wants it. There are plenty of schools across the county at different levels.
Just make sure academics is always first.
 
Eagle33 said:
I think there is an opportunity to play college ball for every keeper that really wants it. There are plenty of schools across the county at different levels.
Just make sure academics is always first.
Click to expand...

D1 is not for everyone, in fact it's for very few. At least that is what I have taken from reading all the recruiting threads. D2 and D3 even NAIA has some wonderful schools in there.
 
forksnbolts said:
D1 is not for everyone, in fact it's for very few. At least that is what I have taken from reading all the recruiting threads. D2 and D3 even NAIA has some wonderful schools in there.
Click to expand...
It's an interesting dilemma and journey if your player is lucky enough to move on to the next level. So many different factors involved. Most players move on to D3 (still a tiny percentage). Next is D1, with the least going to a D2 school. It's competitive across the board, for many reasons.

My oldest player (not a keeper) has chosen a D2 school over a D1 school, for many different reasons. Main reason was location, 2nd reason was academics. His #1 D1 school didn't offer (after months of conversation) and the D1s on the list didn't meet all of his "requirements". What's funny is that he didn't know he had "requirements" until he went on campus visits. Things change when you go on campus and meet coaches/players/staff. An interesting requirement that arose was his perception of playing time. He felt playing time at some of the D1 schools was going to be hard to come by in the early years. His gut told him he would play more where he eventually decided to go. I don't really know how he perceived his playing time over the years, but whatever.

I'm proud that he developed some sort of personalized criteria during his process. He didn't get as caught up in the D1 vs D2 vs D3 (at first he was). We insisted on visiting campuses at different times of the year, not just during official/unofficial visits. Visits tend to be slightly staged and unintentionally misleading. JAN in the midwest and the northeast is different than JUL - weather carried double weight for his selection criteria!

Enjoy the process, know that it's unlikely your player moves on after college. Be happy that your player has an opportunity to do something that less than 2% of HS athletes get to do., regardless of the "Division" they play in.
 
socalkdg said:
First, we have it easier than most to get film of our kids. I tripod my Iphone 11 and focus on one end of the field. Also video some practice sessions. Showcase helps, but considering how few touches your kid might get during a game, you just don't know. ID camps are very important, especially if your kid looks the part and then performs.

My biggest problem right now is more game footage, and actually have my kid think about what colleges she wants to go to. We have UCLA(duh), PLNU(because her sister goes there and the field overlooks the ocean), and Cal Baptist(because she loves the food there). She heard on a comercial that Grand Canyon University had two Chick-Fil-A and all of a sudden she became interested. Crazy kids. Need to expand that list to 15-20, but I can't even get her to wear her retainer, so getting more school thoughts may take a while.
Click to expand...
I have often thought your daughter sounds a lot like mine both being crazy gamers but, the Grand Canyon University comment sounded like something my daughter would say. By the way....I was literally just talking to my daughter about getting braces and she said; "What is the point? You know I won't wear the retainer so they will become crooked again. (note her sister is 2 years out of braces and still wears her retainer religiously at night.)" Valid point.
 
happy9 said:
It's an interesting dilemma and journey if your player is lucky enough to move on to the next level. So many different factors involved. Most players move on to D3 (still a tiny percentage). Next is D1, with the least going to a D2 school. It's competitive across the board, for many reasons.

My oldest player (not a keeper) has chosen a D2 school over a D1 school, for many different reasons. Main reason was location, 2nd reason was academics. His #1 D1 school didn't offer (after months of conversation) and the D1s on the list didn't meet all of his "requirements". What's funny is that he didn't know he had "requirements" until he went on campus visits. Things change when you go on campus and meet coaches/players/staff. An interesting requirement that arose was his perception of playing time. He felt playing time at some of the D1 schools was going to be hard to come by in the early years. His gut told him he would play more where he eventually decided to go. I don't really know how he perceived his playing time over the years, but whatever.

I'm proud that he developed some sort of personalized criteria during his process. He didn't get as caught up in the D1 vs D2 vs D3 (at first he was). We insisted on visiting campuses at different times of the year, not just during official/unofficial visits. Visits tend to be slightly staged and unintentionally misleading. JAN in the midwest and the northeast is different than JUL - weather carried double weight for his selection criteria!

Enjoy the process, know that it's unlikely your player moves on after college. Be happy that your player has an opportunity to do something that less than 2% of HS athletes get to do., regardless of the "Division" they play in.
Click to expand...

All of this^^^^

100%
 
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