When is enough, enough?

mirage said:
You must be Youngers parent. Your thinking too regionally. The part of the appeal of DA is playing in the national gaming circuit. You quickly run out of competition at the top, if its only regional as you've suggested.
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Yes I am, I will admit I am naïve in this whole area, but it just doesn't make sense to me! Ha!

But people are saying that some DA teams are on a lower level to other DA programs. So if you cant beat the local competition/current flight 1 teams, why on earth would you compete nationally? Conquer your own back yard before you travel to someone else's turf, surely? The whole concept of the DA program is for the elite kids right? There shouldn't be dozens of teams unless they can all compete at the top top level, which people on this forum are disputing.
 
timbuck said:
Not sure of your age group - But I would say the "Extra" team has decided "enough is enough." They have players that can compete at higher levels, but have decided "Why pay the money? We have good players. A "good enough" coach" and we don't have to follow the latest trend." Maybe in a few years, that team will decide they need a different level of competition. But for now, they are spending $300-$500 for a year of Extra instead of $2,000-$3,000 for the next level.
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2008s, so I'm aware I'm at the younger stage of the soccer parent life and still have a lot to see and learn! Yes not long ago we were in the 'extra' circuit and there are many teams in there that could easily compete in the club circuit but still find good local competition in their AYSO Extra circuit and I don't blame them at all!
 
ItsCalledSoccer said:
Yes I am, I will admit I am naïve in this whole area, but it just doesn't make sense to me! Ha!

.................There shouldn't be dozens of teams unless they can all compete at the top top level, which people on this forum are disputing.
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If your kid stays with soccer into olders, perhaps you'll change your mind. If this is your first time through the ages, its natural that your perspective is heavily shaped by what you know, and not know what you don't know.

As for number of teams, there are exactly 12 teams (a dozen, not dozens) from U15 and above in boys SW conference. And if you up to U17/16, that number drops to 11 teams and by the time you get to U19/18, there are 10 teams in SW, or Total of 19 teams in the entire western region (SW+NW) - from Vancouver Canada to San Diego, as far east as Salt Lake City and Casa Grande in AZ.

Just keep an open mind and you'll discover that there's a whole different complexity to youth soccer through the ages.
 
mirage said:
If your kid stays with soccer into olders, perhaps you'll change your mind. If this is your first time through the ages, its natural that your perspective is heavily shaped by what you know, and not know what you don't know.

As for number of teams, there are exactly 12 teams (a dozen, not dozens) from U15 and above in boys SW conference. And if you up to U17/16, that number drops to 11 teams and by the time you get to U19/18, there are 10 teams in SW, or Total of 19 teams in the entire western region (SW+NW) - from Vancouver Canada to San Diego, as far east as Salt Lake City and Casa Grande in AZ.

Just keep an open mind and you'll discover that there's a whole different complexity to youth soccer through the ages.
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Looking forward to learning more, I'm sure by that age, the soccer scene will be even more complex than it is at the moment. At the end of the day, I want my son to be playing level competition and the closer that it is to home, the better for everyone. Even at the U-Little level, we are driving past cities full of equal level teams to play other teams when we could all play each other and save everyone the hassle. Then the best few teams within our cities can travel further to play further afield.
 
ItsCalledSoccer said:
Looking forward to learning more, I'm sure by that age, the soccer scene will be even more complex than it is at the moment. At the end of the day, I want my son to be playing level competition and the closer that it is to home, the better for everyone. Even at the U-Little level, we are driving past cities full of equal level teams to play other teams when we could all play each other and save everyone the hassle. Then the best few teams within our cities can travel further to play further afield.
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I'm in a similar boat. The Extra/AYSO in our area has been pillaged by all the local club teams as people have been sold a false bill of goods. I've been lucky to find a club team where my daughter is playing at the appropriate level and we have a coach who is willing to listen to feedback from parents about not wanting to travel 100+ miles to play a team that is an equivalent challenge to one down the street. Honestly, the coach probably has similar goals to me/you -- he/she doesn't want to drive 100 miles or be staying in a hotel all weekend. So some polite, gentle feedback/pressure might be useful if other parents feel similarly. By no means is it perfect, but it is the best of a host of imperfect options for us.
 
zebrafish said:
I'm in a similar boat. The Extra/AYSO in our area has been pillaged by all the local club teams as people have been sold a false bill of goods. I've been lucky to find a club team where my daughter is playing at the appropriate level and we have a coach who is willing to listen to feedback from parents about not wanting to travel 100+ miles to play a team that is an equivalent challenge to one down the street. Honestly, the coach probably has similar goals to me/you -- he/she doesn't want to drive 100 miles or be staying in a hotel all weekend. So some polite, gentle feedback/pressure might be useful if other parents feel similarly. By no means is it perfect, but it is the best of a host of imperfect options for us.
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Glad to hear you have found a good solution for your daughter. Yes our coach doesn't like traveling, we didn't enter a spring league and he has been sourcing local games for us since we finished State Cup. All between Tustin and Ladera so everything pretty local.
 
zebrafish said:
I'm in a similar boat. The Extra/AYSO in our area has been pillaged by all the local club teams as people have been sold a false bill of goods.
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With the expansion of AYSO club programs it will be interesting to see if more AYSO Extra teams end up staying together longer. At the 02 and 01 age groups in State Cup this year both champions (and half of the semi-finalists) were AYSO Extra teams that had converted to AYSO-sponsored club teams when the girls got older.
 
SocalPapa said:
With the expansion of AYSO club programs it will be interesting to see if more AYSO Extra teams end up staying together longer. At the 02 and 01 age groups in State Cup this year both champions (and half of the semi-finalists) were AYSO Extra teams that had converted to AYSO-sponsored club teams when the girls got older.
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Which Division?
 
SocalPapa said:
With the expansion of AYSO club programs it will be interesting to see if more AYSO Extra teams end up staying together longer. At the 02 and 01 age groups in State Cup this year both champions (and half of the semi-finalists) were AYSO Extra teams that had converted to AYSO-sponsored club teams when the girls got older.
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The south bay team 02 team was never an extra team, however is quite an accomplishment for that team to have stuck together and win their 2nd presidents cup. They had survived talent pilfering and they keep going strong.
 
Here is another option. Let your son or daughter play and have a good time. When they are old enough to "RUN" competitively, then have them start Cross Country and Track and Field. Soccer players make great runners. If they like the contact then I think the 800m or 1600m are great events for them to run. They have a better chance at getting a full or partial scholarship in running than they do in soccer. They have to be on the right team, they have to play the right position, they have to be seen at the right time by the right coach. All these things have to fall into place for there to be a chance. For college cross country or track. All they have to do is look at a website that has all the kids times listed from top to bottom. I believe in the last 10 years 6 or 7 of the winners of the 800m state meet has been a soccer player. Those kids get FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS to almost any school they want to. My kids will play for the experience and if they make a team they make a team. But they will always run for fitness and fun.
Just my two cents.
 
Pirates1 said:
Here is another option. Let your son or daughter play and have a good time. When they are old enough to "RUN" competitively, then have them start Cross Country and Track and Field. Soccer players make great runners.............My kids will play for the experience and if they make a team they make a team. But they will always run for fitness and fun.
Just my two cents.
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My kids HATE running for running sake (i.e., track, cross country). Have no issue running playing soccer, basketball and so on as a part of the game. They tell me that its boring as $hit just to run.

That said, one of my kids friend is national ranked 800m and 1600m runner and is being targeted by all the big school since 8th grade. He was running in high 4's for a mile in 8th grade. He gave up soccer early on because he liked running for running. So there's a natural selection of sports for you. Kids will pick the sports that they are good at or excel at.
 
mirage said:
He gave up soccer early on because he liked running for running. So there's a natural selection of sports for you. Kids will pick the sports that they are good at or excel at.
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Agreed, and this natural selection goes for most kids involved in sport. You want to do more of what you’re good at, although some of this is genetically influenced. I feel the same about running; just doing it for the sake of running, I don’t like but I’ll chase a ball around for 90 minutes and do 10k with a smile on my face

With the natural selection thing, many kids give up soccer for example because they can no longer compete or because their experience wasn’t a good one. Early engagement and/or good coaching helps with the competing element and the experience element is simply down to the club/coach and the environment they create. This is why parents need to be selective about the environment they put kids into; it has long-term effects, positive or negative.
 
Pirates1 said:
Here is another option. Let your son or daughter play and have a good time. When they are old enough to "RUN" competitively, then have them start Cross Country and Track and Field. Soccer players make great runners. If they like the contact then I think the 800m or 1600m are great events for them to run. They have a better chance at getting a full or partial scholarship in running than they do in soccer. They have to be on the right team, they have to play the right position, they have to be seen at the right time by the right coach. All these things have to fall into place for there to be a chance. For college cross country or track. All they have to do is look at a website that has all the kids times listed from top to bottom. I believe in the last 10 years 6 or 7 of the winners of the 800m state meet has been a soccer player. Those kids get FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS to almost any school they want to. My kids will play for the experience and if they make a team they make a team. But they will always run for fitness and fun.
Just my two cents.
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Good point...but my kid chose to play keeper so as to avoid running. LOL
 
Pirates1 said:
Here is another option. Let your son or daughter play and have a good time. When they are old enough to "RUN" competitively, then have them start Cross Country and Track and Field. Soccer players make great runners. If they like the contact then I think the 800m or 1600m are great events for them to run. They have a better chance at getting a full or partial scholarship in running than they do in soccer. they will always run for fitness and fun.
Just my two cents.
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I agree. My son quit soccer when he entered high school. He took on cross country and became one of the fastest freshman for his league (5k in 16.57 minutes ). They do need to enjoy running because unfortunately for cross country they have to run 5 times a week all year long! If he can continue to do this for the next 3 years he has a great chance at getting a scholarship.
 
I am the first to say running is not for everyone. During the average soccer game a player will run about 2 to 3 miles. And with the right group of running friends it can be amazing. Cross country runners also tend to have very good grades do to their work ethic and drive to do more than what is expected. Even if your child isn't great in school wouldn't it be good to have them surrounded by those kids who are? Great to hear some soccer players who have already tried it and are having success. I hope they continue.
 
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