Great feedback on this thread. We're nowhere in the discussion for college athletics. She only knows that she's going to A&M and has to bust her ass in the classroom to get there. Right now is all about having fun and playing the game.

The parent watching is a blast though! Holy crap they are bat**** crazy!

AgCMT said:

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Great feedback on this thread. We're nowhere in the discussion for college athletics. She only knows that she's going to A&M and has to bust her ass in the classroom to get there. Right now is all about having fun and playing the game.

The parent watching is a blast though! Holy crap they are bat**** crazy!

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Agreed, great feedback. There is no right or wrong answer but I will say watching the parents just lose their minds is sad and yet amusing. I've seen more than my share of fights and verbal abuse.

Buddy of mine is a physical therapist and former D1 athlete. His daughter is on one of our national level teams but has no illusions of grandeur, he's just happy she's having fun, it keeps her busy and in shape.

He told me last night that the parents we are all describing keep him in business across all sports. He says its mainnly repetitive/overwork injuries driven by mom/dad trying to live out their dreams for their kids his words, "Jaime has to be ready for nationals in two weeks fix her", "Tommy has regionals in three days fix him he can't miss it".

My best advice is don't be one of those parents. Make sure regardless of whatever level they reach in whatever sport that the lessons learned and friendships made are the biggest take aways and that they love the game. It is not the worst thing in the world for a kid to be told they're not good enough and then work to prove someone wrong.

I've been lucky, there has been no burn out for my kiddos but we also aren't at the uber high levels of soccer either...FDL level for one and a level below that for my older daughter. I will admit it is hard not to look over the hedge and want that higher level for your kids, its natural. But, if they want it and have the ability they will get there, you can't force it. The friendships with their club mates are probably the best part of it all. Honestly watching them be idiots in a hotel lobby in Houston on a random Saturday night are the things they remember...not the game played in front of 60 people.

If your kid(s) love it they will play it. If they really love it they will work hard enough to rise to the level of their physical abilities. You cannot force the issue. Give them opportunities but avoid burning them out whether it be multiple sports or just time away from the game.

Soccer parents can be bad because most of the time, they don't know wtf they're talking about. Very amusing and very embarrassing sometimes. I've seen much worse dad behavior at peewee football, competitive baseball, and AAU basketball though.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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oh no said:

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Soccer parents can be bad because most of the time, they don't know wtf they're talking about. Very amusing and very embarrassing sometimes. I've seen much worse dad behavior at peewee football, competitive baseball, and AAU basketball though.

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Adults ruin kid's sports.

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What do folks pay down there for a year of club soccer? In our club I think it's about $1300 for select (actually the lower level here) and maybe about $2000 for Academy (the higher). Then of course if you make a GA/EA/ECNL team that cost skyrockets plus travel.

Club dues were over $3k for competitive at Dynamo Dash Youth a few years ago. That's not including kits, travel, tournament entry fees, etc.

It isn't that high this year. About 1500 for academy, and about 2200 for select. Same with legacy

Sorry to piggyback on this, but quick question:

Are there any summer camps in the BCS area that would be appropriate for beginner/novice level players? Our oldest is 8 and enjoys the game but still struggles to keep up with most of the boys on his team. I dont care as long as he is enjoying himself, but we also want to encourage building his skills if he is going to continue playing so he can contribute to his team more.

Jinx said:

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Sorry to piggyback on this, but quick question:

Are there any summer camps in the BCS area that would be appropriate for beginner/novice level players? Our oldest is 8 and enjoys the game but still struggles to keep up with most of the boys on his team. I dont care as long as he is enjoying himself, but we also want to encourage building his skills if he is going to continue playing so he can contribute to his team more.

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I bet Consol or College Station have a summer camp.

Cavalry club will have camps

Jinx said:

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Sorry to piggyback on this, but quick question:

Are there any summer camps in the BCS area that would be appropriate for beginner/novice level players? Our oldest is 8 and enjoys the game but still struggles to keep up with most of the boys on his team. I dont care as long as he is enjoying himself, but we also want to encourage building his skills if he is going to continue playing so he can contribute to his team more.

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I would check in and see if Challenge CS would have a camp.

Thank you everyone for all the info. I know at least a couple of camps have already been announced, just hoping to find something appropriate for his skill level. Thanks again

AgCMT said:

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Thank you for responding. I will definitely add another day of practice if she starts sitting in her room on the iPad. We were doing rec and club, but the rec season just ended.

My wife have often found that watching the parents can be more entertaining than watching the game.

I'm going to push her a little bit more this year with the drills that her coach gave her. If she starts making those habits, then we can look into additional training.

Thanks again for your feedback. This club stuff is a whole new world for me. This summer it goes from Academy to Select. I'm trying to drink less in case I need to sell a kidney to pay for this thing.

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Become a certified official. It's amazing some of the crap parents say and do.

Agracer is right on when writing, "Become a certified official. It's amazing some of the crap parents say and do." All too often I saw it's embarrassing to the kids playing. Some parents were a disgrace.

While not a soccer parent (nor a former player) but we had similar questions years ago when my kids started swimming club. They started club swimming at age 6 and the best advise we got from the parents of the elite swimmers (one that swam at Stanford and another that swam for Israel) from the club is to have the kids play different sports until they're in middle school and let them decide if they want to concentrate on one sport.

Don't forget the coaches

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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oh no said:

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Soccer parents can be bad because most of the time, they don't know wtf they're talking about. Very amusing and very embarrassing sometimes. I've seen much worse dad behavior at peewee football, competitive baseball, and AAU basketball though.

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Adults ruin kid's sports.

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This can be true, and completely false. Dads without sons who push their daughters is weird dynamic that can have mixed results.

The mst important thing any parent can do to grow a great soccer player is to encourage a love for the game, and that comes from watching games with them, and playing with them with they're small. making everything so fun that they fall in love with the sport and they want to play and train on their own and in their free time.
find a wall.
everything before age 10 should be fun fun fun
soccer is unique to other american sports because it so skill-based. and the USA is unique and there are a million reasons to drop out of the sport when it's not fun.

and, especially for a boy showing talent, have them learn another language.

the worst thing, that seems very American, is a screaming session at a little kid after a bad game on the car ride home from the soccer complex.

There are always exceptions. A while back I asked my players which they preferred, school or club ball and most said it depends. There are pros and cons to each. One of the pros that made the most noise was, in school ball my dad is far away from the field and I can't hear him.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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There are always exceptions. A while back I asked my players which they preferred, school or club ball and most said it depends. There are pros and cons to each. One of the pros that made the most noise was, in school ball my dad is far away from the field and I can't hear him.

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yep. a lot depends on the kid.
In my experience
The best select dads, and there weren't that many of these guys, didn't even watch from the sideline. they found a place on a hill 30 yards away to watch the game....usually because the other parents drove them crazy.

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and, especially for a boy showing talent, have them learn another language.

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This seems like funny advice to learn "a" language". I mean playing in Texas, Spanish seems like the only legitimate option. What else would they learn? French? And then what if they end up in Bundesliga??? I kid.

There is a team we played in the State Cup that spoke Spanish on the field and I found myself wishing I knew what they were saying.

This past weekend my daughter had an indoor game at Big League Dreams in League City. A super nice baseball complex but what surprised me was that they have a restaurant there. It sits surrounded by three fields, a home plate on each of three sides of the restaurant. You can just sit in the A/C and watch your kids game. The real surprise was that they have beer on tap!!! At a little league baseball complex? That seems like a recipe for disaster. I can only imagine a dad toasted on IPA getting out of hand with a ref.

Jim01 said:

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Quote:

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and, especially for a boy showing talent, have them learn another language.

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This seems like funny advice to learn "a" language". I mean playing in Texas, Spanish seems like the only legitimate option. What else would they learn? French? And then what if they end up in Bundesliga??? I kid.

There is a team we played in the State Cup that spoke Spanish on the field and I found myself wishing I knew what they were saying.

This past weekend my daughter had an indoor game at Big League Dreams in League City. A super nice baseball complex but what surprised me was that they have a restaurant there. It sits surrounded by three fields, a home plate on each of three sides of the restaurant. You can just sit in the A/C and watch your kids game. The real surprise was that they have beer on tap!!! At a little league baseball complex? That seems like a recipe for disaster. I can only imagine a dad toasted on IPA getting out of hand with a ref.

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okay. learn Spanish. the point is the learning. It's easier to learn any 3rd language after any 2nd.

I know what you meant, just busting balls.

Texas velvet maestro said:

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last thing. domination in open tryouts is where everything can change for a kid...no matter what team or club he's been playing with.

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That's awesome; what a crazy ride your family must have been on for the past few years. My 2010 daughter played up with the 09 team at Nationals and, while they went 1-2, she played really well and had a great experience.

I've seen at least two young (~16 y.o.) sign and play with NWSL teams recently, I assume Kennedy has been approached by teams as well? Is she determined to get her degree or would you/she consider going pro early if the call came?

Again, congrats to both your girls success.

King Koda said:

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The landscape of professional women's soccer is definitely changing at a dramatic pace. She has already spent anywhere from one week to two weeks training with the Sprit, Current, and Wave. She also went to Lyon and trained with the OL reserve team. She's still firmly committed to UNC and is just focused on getting better and testing herself against the best. Who knows where her future will take her so we want her to be ready for any possibilities which may arise in the future and make sure she has the confidence to know she belongs.

It's been a pretty cool three year run. My younger's team lost in pks or they both would have made it to Richmond three years in a row.

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Congrats! Now just switch that commitment from UNC to TAMU. Ha!

When is it too late to move up from Rec to Academy/Select?

My daughter and many of her teammates are playing up one year in rec and doing really well. A few of her teammates are playing rec and academy starting this upcoming season.

We are thinking about waiting until middle school at least - is that too long?

I think so, depending on her goals.

I think Academy level is completely optional and often more of a money maker for the club team rather than a tremendous benefit over rec for the young player (if they have a decent coach and not just someone's dad who played football in 8th grade). I think it behooves kids to move up to select as soon as they are given the opportunity to avoid falling behind. I feel like it's also easier to make select earlier on - as kids get older, the coaches are more likely to select a known quantity who understands the system rather than a new kid with potential at tryouts.

Depends on your goals. If a kid wants to, say, play for A&M someday, then waiting for middle school to play competitve soccer is likely too late.

It would surprise me if there was a single SEC player who wasn't playing competitive club soccer by U11, and I bet 90% were doing it by U9. I'm pretty sure every single one of the 100+ players on Albion's ECNL teams (U13-U19), which are among the top teams in South Texas, started playing competitive club soccer by U10 at the latest.

Soccer isn't like football or track, which are relatively easy to pick up in your teens. Unless a kid is an absolute freak of an athlete, it is very difficult to catch up skillwise with soccer players who have been training and playing at a high level with other top players and coaches since they were 8 or 9 years old.

The gap between "good" rec soccer and top level competitive club is quite big, even at younger ages.

But not everybody's goal needs to be to become good enough to star at Ellis Field. If the goal is to have fun with the sport and perhaps make an impact at the high school level, then waiting until U12 or so to play competitive club ball is very viable.

This question can't be answered without knowing what your daughter's ambition is for the sport. If she (and the parents) want her to be a high caliber player, I would suggest getting them into the most competitive environment possible as soon as possible. If not, then make the switch whenever she feels comfortable.