Young Parents: Why youth soccer should be your last resort

[Eagle33]

California could have it's own National Team. I agree 100% that "they" should come here to play us. We have it all and we have more of the best players in the country. Weather, fields and players makes California the place to come to test your talent against the Nations Best. I'm telling you this from the horse mouth, the rich dads got their hands on the great game in SoCal and forced all of us to do travel ball to play pay to play soccer. If you complained because they forbid HS Soccer and other sports, plus complain about how expensive the fees are, plus travel around the country all year expense, privates with Doc to secure your play time and all the "other" extras thrown at you during the season like forced fundraising, you were blacklisted and made fun of on the forum. Oh ya, insane per diems for top Doc and his presidential suite in Scottsdale. The Docs had the picks in 2017, ran Training Centers and basically controlled everything. We need regulations and promotions and we need Dad and Mom to step aside and get their hands out of the decision making.

Actually hot bed of soccer is not CA, it's TX.

 

[lafalafa]

If the goal is to get money for college, why are you playing travel ball at all?

Add it up. A lot of folks are spending $10,000 per year for six years. $60,000.

That's enough for two years of CC and two years of UC. Problem solved.

Play for the love of the game, like Jamisfoes said. It's not an investment.

More than enough for 4 year CSUs for sure

Yes Play for the love of the game not the $$ college pie and the sky..

CSU resident tuition is < 7k for a year (fall and spring) so you can attend D1 at places like Fullerton or SD state for 28-30k for the 4 years. Besides room, board, meals, many of players get some financial assistance and tuition covered if your a starter but it's not a great plan to think youth sports spending is equitable, it's really just "entertainment" expenses and ways to spend "disposable income".

Yes it's nice that tuition is covered but it's more of a bonus situation and the education is the real "Investment"

 

[crush]

Actually hot bed of soccer is not CA, it's TX.

If we fix our issues in SoCal we could put a very good top 11 plus 7 reserves and beat a lot of teams. TX would lose to SoCal and if we add NoCal's top players to the competition, then no one beats us Eagle. I bet you 1 keg of your favorite beer

 

[aong cangkol]

One of my old schoolmates has amazing company and that's all she does, helps students find college dollars outside of sport and outside of the college fund. If your Middle Class and spend $7000-$10,000 a year doing Travel Ball, that's the college fund and tithe for church all going to sport and most of your Sundays are on the 5 or 405 frwy. Soccer is a religion for the Elite and their kids. They own it and some even worship it. Middle Class and the Lower Class folk and the Poor Class are priced out of Elite Soccer. $10,000-$17,000 a year is insane.

See attachment for youth sports academy, this IMG Bradenton Academy has golf, basketball, football, tennis, lacrosse, soccer and track and field. Same price $65k for daycamp and $85k for boarding school.

Admissions & Tuition

The journey to greatness starts here. Learn about IMG Academy tuition before and submit your application to IMG Academy today or learn more about the application process and admission criteria.

www.imgacademy.com

This academy has been around for decades so definitely it playground for the rich. Soccer is not the only one or the worst. Not that there is anything wrong with it.
The only problem IMO is lacking affordable youth sports because AYSO or NJB (basketball) are not sufficient, same for track and field. I can see golf is really for the elite due to facility/equipment but soccer/basketball facility is available anywhere in USA.

 

[Carlsbad7]

That's what my dd did and I chased the wins with her. The winning changed in 8th grade and the big win became getting admitted to Big U or any U for that matter. 10%, 25%, 50% or 100% off to play college ball is what it's all about. Class of 2023 top players are going pro and turning down college.

Can you say NWSL Next? Its coming. ;-)

 

[supercell]

Need to be mentioned, most kids don't get full scholarships. They get 1/2 or 1/4 scholarships. Don't play soccer for the scholarships. Play it to kick ass and chase wins.

Playing for scholarships can lead to individualistic play in some cases. Chasing wins is one of the symptoms of what is wrong with youth soccer. Relentless effort on wins tends to lead to a lack of technical development in our system. Its just not that simple.

 

[MacDre]

Playing for scholarships can lead to individualistic play in some cases. Chasing wins is one of the symptoms of what is wrong with youth soccer. Relentless effort on wins tends to lead to a lack of technical development in our system. Its just not that simple.

Spot on! I also think this has a lot to do with why there’s so much kickball in college as there are usually 11 individuals and not one cohesive team. My kid played lots of pickup all throughout Tijuana and it was never a problem to keep the ball on the ground and play as one unit with strangers.

Sorry @Carlsbad7 but I’m not buying that old song and dance that college coaches don’t have enough time to teach possession. Meet me in Tijuana on a Saturday and I’ll show several instances where 10 year olds are playing pickup and possession with kids they don’t know.

 

[socalkdg]

You can't look at total scholarships offered. You need to look at total offers vs total applied (how many play it in HS and seek scholarships).
High number of scholarships are offered for football and basketball for boys but there are also a TON of kids who play it and want those scholarships and thus extremely hard to get.

Different charts have different sports that list the "easiest" to earn scholarship sports but a few always make the cut: lacrosse for both boys and girls, ice hockey for both boys and girls, and soccer for girls.

If the goal is to get money for college... academic scholarships are much easier to get than athletic scholarships...

There are also ways to "make finances look tight" right when the kids are applying for colleges and receive substantial financial aid... and revert those back after they're done college... a few thousand spent on a good college admissions counselor could earn you tens of thousands in additional financial aid...

First, academic scholarships are not much easier. Oldest did dance (most expensive "sport") had 10 AP classes and was in top 10 of her senior class. Zero scholarships for UC and Cal State schools available. Private schools, yes, but they are so expensive they are still more than a Cal State even with the scholarship.

Second, total applied is a complete BS number for many sports because all they do is look at participants in the sport for High School. I've looked at my daughters High School soccer team, JV and Varsity. 60 players and maybe 3 can play college since most are average athletes with average skill. If your kid is ECNL level (not saying you have to play ECNL, but your kid is as good as ECNL players), you can get a scholarship to a college.

Third, "make my finances look tight" ???? I've worked at the same job for 33 years, wife 25. We make enough to own a house and cars, which means we make too much for any type of scholarship, but we also don't have any extra money.

Lastly, we never played ECNL, GA, ECRL, etc. Is it really 10K a year that people like to throw out? Honestly I never paid more than $2000 in a year and that included keeper training that we paid on our own.

 

[Kicker4Life]

How many of you went to NWSL or MLS games last season?
How many bought jerseys or Team gear?
How many games did you watch on TV?

In short...the more everyone in this board starts watching and supporting (buying jerseys, going to games, etc) the more money the clubs have which in theory they would invest in developing players (ie Academies) like European Clubs do.

 

[Carlsbad7]

Playing for scholarships can lead to individualistic play in some cases. Chasing wins is one of the symptoms of what is wrong with youth soccer. Relentless effort on wins tends to lead to a lack of technical development in our system. Its just not that simple.

If your kids team doest win what would Moms (and some Dads) use to make other parents jealous about how great their lives are on social media? Or better yet at the country club?

Literally have a couple of these on my kids team right now. Even worse are the moms that actually get jealous over what's posted + let it rule their lives.

One Mom actually said "I don't understand why we cant just play certain teams. Like we do when our club plays other clubs" (she was talking 50k per year Country Club not a 5k soccer club). There were so many levels of condemnation, elitist attitude, and general obliviousness all wrapped up into that statement I just walked away.

 

[socalkdg]

How many of you went to NWSL or MLS games last season?
How many bought jerseys or Team gear?
How many games did you watch on TV?

In short...the more everyone in this board starts watching and supporting (buying jerseys, going to games, etc) the more money the clubs have which in theory they would invest in developing players (ie Academies) like European Clubs do.

4 NWSL games, 2 USWNT games. 1 MLS game. No gear. 40 games on TV.

 

[Carlsbad7]

Spot on! I also think this has a lot to do with why there’s so much kickball in college as there are usually 11 individuals and not one cohesive team. My kid played lots of pickup all throughout Tijuana and it was never a problem to keep the ball on the ground and play as one unit with strangers.

Sorry @Carlsbad7 but I’m not buying that old song and dance that college coaches don’t have enough time to teach possession. Meet me in Tijuana on a Saturday and I’ll show several instances where 10 year olds are playing pickup and possession with kids they don’t know.

Maybe we'll come down some time.

 

[lafalafa]

See attachment for youth sports academy, this IMG Bradenton Academy has golf, basketball, football, tennis, lacrosse, soccer and track and field. Same price $65k for daycamp and $85k for boarding school.

Admissions & Tuition

The journey to greatness starts here. Learn about IMG Academy tuition before and submit your application to IMG Academy today or learn more about the application process and admission criteria.

www.imgacademy.com

This academy has been around for decades so definitely it playground for the rich. Soccer is not the only one or the worst. Not that there is anything wrong with it.
The only problem IMO is lacking affordable youth sports because AYSO or NJB (basketball) are not sufficient, same for track and field. I can see golf is really for the elite due to facility/equipment but soccer/basketball facility is available anywhere in USA.

View attachment 15404 View attachment 15405 View attachment 15406

$$ doesn't buy success or even great looking soccer.

On the boys side funny thing is when top west coast teams play IMG teams thinking they should be pretty good only to find out they don't make it out of bracket play and they get blown out. Although they say thats it's invite only, you can be average as long as you have the $$$.

Housing & food is a major expensive for out of area residence just like college but IMG and Barcelona academy in Arizona really cost the big bucks

 

[Jamisfoes]

If your kids team doest win what would Moms (and some Dads) use to make other parents jealous about how great their lives are on social media? Or better yet at the country club?

Literally have a couple of these on my kids team right now. Even worse are the moms that actually get jealous over what's posted + let it rule their lives.

One Mom actually said "I don't understand why we cant just play certain teams. Like we do when our club plays other clubs" (she was talking 50k per year Country Club not a 5k soccer club). There were so many levels of condemnation, elitist attitude, and general obliviousness all wrapped up into that statement I just walked away.

I like chasing wins. We have been on teams where passing the ball to a teammate means the ball is lost. My son once played a scrimmage with players his level. He was so happy after the game. Good passes lead to good things and kids pass the ball back after you make a good run. There are teams that always preach development and there are teams that already have good players.

 

[Grace T.]

How many of you went to NWSL or MLS games last season?
How many bought jerseys or Team gear?
How many games did you watch on TV?

In short...the more everyone in this board starts watching and supporting (buying jerseys, going to games, etc) the more money the clubs have which in theory they would invest in developing players (ie Academies) like European Clubs do.

What is this tv thing you all are talking about?

mls games are pretty unwatchable. And I say this as a long time fan of an mls team that catches 3-4 games a year. If they want to build an audience they have to remove the salary caps and install pro rel. I get the business reasons why not but as long as the mls is out of step here they’ll always be an also ran. While it may not be able to overtake the epl there’s no reason the mls at this point couldn’t give la liga bundes and seria a run for its money

dont Even get me started on women’s soccer. Outside the context of the highest national team games, also unwatchable.

 

[dad4]

First, academic scholarships are not much easier. Oldest did dance (most expensive "sport") had 10 AP classes and was in top 10 of her senior class. Zero scholarships for UC and Cal State schools available. Private schools, yes, but they are so expensive they are still more than a Cal State even with the scholarship.

Second, total applied is a complete BS number for many sports because all they do is look at participants in the sport for High School. I've looked at my daughters High School soccer team, JV and Varsity. 60 players and maybe 3 can play college since most are average athletes with average skill. If your kid is ECNL level (not saying you have to play ECNL, but your kid is as good as ECNL players), you can get a scholarship to a college.

Third, "make my finances look tight" ???? I've worked at the same job for 33 years, wife 25. We make enough to own a house and cars, which means we make too much for any type of scholarship, but we also don't have any extra money.

Lastly, we never played ECNL, GA, ECRL, etc. Is it really 10K a year that people like to throw out? Honestly I never paid more than $2000 in a year and that included keeper training that we paid on our own.

To understand 10K on youth soccer, add up a normal ECNL season: Two showcases in Phoenix, one post season event in Seattle or SD, and one trip to Surf Cup.

3K on club and team fees.
6K for “stay and play” tournaments or showcases. (1.5K each: 600 hotel, 600 flights, 300 car and food.)
5K for private trainers. (100 per week X 50 weeks)
1K in car mileage for league games.

That’s 15K. 10K if you skip the private trainers.

Solo was right when she said we’ve made it too expensive.

 

[Carlsbad7]

I like chasing wins. We have been on teams where passing the ball to a teammate means the ball is lost. My son once played a scrimmage with players his level. He was so happy after the game. Good passes lead to good things and kids pass the ball back after you make a good run. There are teams that always preach development and there are teams that already have good players.

Going for Wins are fine.

In the example I relayed the implication was that we should only play against predetermined opponents that were guaranteed wins for our team.

This is the slippery slope when chasing wins. If you're avoiding top teams to guarantee wins or searching out worse teams (or playing down a level) again to guarantee wins something is wrong.

 

[Kicker4Life]

What is this tv thing you all are talking about?

mls games are pretty unwatchable. And I say this as a long time fan of an mls team that catches 3-4 games a year. If they want to build an audience they have to remove the salary caps and install pro rel. I get the business reasons why not but as long as the mls is out of step here they’ll always be an also ran. While it may not be able to overtake the epl there’s no reason the mls at this point couldn’t give la liga bundes and seria a run for its money

dont Even get me started on women’s soccer. Outside the context of the highest national team games, also unwatchable.

Gotta start somewhere and based on what I’ve seen over the past 5 years, NWSL is evolving quickly as is the MLS. We are only a century or so behind Europe in our development of the game in our country and our best players will export to Europe if the opportunity presents itself.

hopefully There will be more interplay between Eu and US Women’s pro teams.

 

[espola]

What is this tv thing you all are talking about?

mls games are pretty unwatchable. And I say this as a long time fan of an mls team that catches 3-4 games a year. If they want to build an audience they have to remove the salary caps and install pro rel. I get the business reasons why not but as long as the mls is out of step here they’ll always be an also ran. While it may not be able to overtake the epl there’s no reason the mls at this point couldn’t give la liga bundes and seria a run for its money

dont Even get me started on women’s soccer. Outside the context of the highest national team games, also unwatchable.

I would rather watch a women's pro game than an MLS game

 

[crush]

To understand 10K on youth soccer, add up a normal ECNL season: Two showcases in Phoenix, one post season event in Seattle or SD, and one trip to Surf Cup.

3K on club and team fees.
6K for “stay and play” tournaments or showcases. (1.5K each: 600 hotel, 600 flights, 300 car and food.)
5K for private trainers. (100 per week X 50 weeks)
1K in car mileage for league games.

That’s 15K. 10K if you skip the private trainers.

Solo was right when she said we’ve made it too expensive.

The Travel Leagues that mandate "Stay Here or No Play" and the "Train Extra & Pay or No Play" is the big cause of out of control high prizes. It's also understood now that you should and need to support the local Pro teams financially and go to games, buy merch and watch the great game on TV. That is a hard ask for most families in the lower classes of the food chain.

 

[Jamisfoes]

Going for Wins are fine.

In the example I relayed the implication was that we should only play against predetermined opponents that were guaranteed wins for our team.

This is the slippery slope when chasing wins. If you're avoiding top teams to guarantee wins or searching out worse teams (or playing down a level) again to guarantee wins something is wrong.

I guess we were referring to different things.
What I mean by "chasing wins" is joining a stacked roster and seek out the best teams. Do it too much it becomes "club hopping". My point is play soccer for the competition and love of the game. Continue to challenge yourself against the best competition.