OT: travel soccer in NJ

[hrdcorhays]

Just go outside and play. Meet your neighbors. Preferably, play against older kids - that will make you tougher. Grab a ball, and make up your own rules for a game. We used to play bounce baseball with a tennis ball for the ball, and a wiffle ball bat stuffed with wet newspapers. Pegging was encouraged. Come inside when it was too dark to play. Kickball, wallball,whatever.

Why does everything need to be organized and observed by parents or adults???? What's gone wrong in the last 20 years? If anything, you now have cell phones to stay in constant contact, which we didn't have then.

 

[miker183]

How so?

Club soccer is usually less expensive that what they told me they paid/year. Of course I can't verify any of this, it is only what I was told.

I have never paid close to that price for club soccer.

 

[RU from Jersey]

Soccer is the sport that is really responsible for this mess. They were the ones who really started this all year long commitment thing. I think it was to try to get the US of A up to par with the rest of the world in terms of player development, but now it has just become a money grab. Now every sport sees that there is money to be made. There are now elite pay teams in every sport for kids including those 7 on 7 football clubs.

 

[Beancounter88]

Soccer is the sport that is really responsible for this mess. They were the ones who really started this all year long commitment thing. I think it was to try to get the US of A up to par with the rest of the world in terms of player development, but now it has just become a money grab. Now every sport sees that there is money to be made. There are now elite pay teams in every sport for kids including those 7 on 7 football clubs.

I don't know if soccer started it, but there is a push to get on par with the rest of the world. A major change was just announced where youth soccer will be organized by birth year rather than academic year (as is currently the case). So, all of my daughter's team is in one grade - going forward it will be split 50/50 with a younger or older grade. All to coincide with the Olympic Development Program which they hope will somehow help US National Soccer. It will make soccer less fun for kids having multiple grades on each team.

 

[miketd1]

Soccer is the sport that is really responsible for this mess. They were the ones who really started this all year long commitment thing. I think it was to try to get the US of A up to par with the rest of the world in terms of player development, but now it has just become a money grab. Now every sport sees that there is money to be made. There are now elite pay teams in every sport for kids including those 7 on 7 football clubs.

Soccer is different in that if you really want to be world class, you have to start very young.

 

[vkj91]

I don't know if soccer started it, but there is a push to get on par with the rest of the world. A major change was just announced where youth soccer will be organized by birth year rather than academic year (as is currently the case). So, all of my daughter's team is in one grade - going forward it will be split 50/50 with a younger or older grade. All to coincide with the Olympic Development Program which they hope will somehow help US National Soccer. It will make soccer less fun for kids having multiple grades on each team.

Why? You sound like all the moms freaking out at my girls practices. What's wrong with meeting new girls from different grades? I get that the girls are upset about teams breaking up but if the paren't don't harp on it they won't either. My son's travel baseball team has 1st through 3rd graders and I think it's great for him.

 

[Beancounter88]

Why? You sound like all the moms freaking out at my girls practices. What's wrong with meeting new girls from different grades? I get that the girls are upset about teams breaking up but if the paren't don't harp on it they won't either. My son's travel baseball team has 1st through 3rd graders and I think it's great for him.

My daughter wouldn't mind - she's played ODP and HS varsity for 3 years so she's used to it. I would think younger girls may not like as much because there is overnight travel and carpooling involved so it could impact the team bonding.

 

[jvdavy]

the "academy/clubs-industrial complex" Everyone has touched on the issues -

1- your kid can play the town rec sport but it's not that competitive because the better players/athletes are in a travel club or academy setting.

2- you can try out for the travel/club/academy team (and likely make it to some level if your kid is decent) but it's somewhat expensive and you have to play all year 'round otherwise your kid is at risk of losing his/her spot on the team. That makes playing any other organized sport difficult.

3- the games aren't necessarily close by, nor are practices and the club activities may be inconvenient but the organization doesn't seem to care so don't complain! The soccer club team we did would tell us there is a tournament on some weekend and ask for availability. If you said yes, a day or two before the tournament you would find out where and when it would be (which could be 100 miles away) and they would expect you there (and it could be - show up in like Allentown PA at 7:30 AM on Sat and we have 2 games Sat (next one in the afternoon) and 1 or 2 Sunday. For regular weekend games, our club sometimes would not have fields or times set until a day or two before - so you weren't always sure where you were going on any weekend and had to keep your schedule open to accommodate your 10 year old's soccer club! Try this with 2, 3 or 4 kids who are at different ages in the same club or doing different sports that have similar focus...how these people manage I can't imagine. We only had 1 child in club soccer.

4- you get some English/Spanish/Brazilian coach who is somewhat of a professional and (this is a generalization based on my experience) isn't all that interested in the kids having fun, but is a legit coach. Note, the coach may be forced back to his home country due to visa issues which had happened 2x to us with two different clubs.

5- there are "optional" winter and summer training sessions/tournaments that again aren't technically mandatory, but do influence how your kid is viewed by the club decision-makers. So they kind of are mandatory.

6- the basic cost seems not unreasonable (our club was $1,800 for the entire year I think), but the 'optional' training, individualized training, the summer camp and some non-included tournaments also cost money. Oh, we also had to buy our son team authorized gear with the club logo on it. if he wore a pair of sweatpants to practice that were generic, they frowned upon that - they wanted the 'team kit' to include training wear as well.

I have no doubt the US will become a world power in soccer in the next 20 years at this pace, but as many have said.......this all-year 'round one-sport focus is not something I like as a parent.

 

[hrdcorhays]

the "academy/clubs-industrial complex" Everyone has touched on the issues -

1- your kid can play the town rec sport but it's not that competitive because the better players/athletes are in a travel club or academy setting.

2- you can try out for the travel/club/academy team (and likely make it to some level if your kid is decent) but it's somewhat expensive and you have to play all year 'round otherwise your kid is at risk of losing his/her spot on the team. That makes playing any other organized sport difficult.

3- the games aren't necessarily close by, nor are practices and the club activities may be inconvenient but the organization doesn't seem to care so don't complain! The soccer club team we did would tell us there is a tournament on some weekend and ask for availability. If you said yes, a day or two before the tournament you would find out where and when it would be (which could be 100 miles away) and they would expect you there (and it could be - show up in like Allentown PA at 7:30 AM on Sat and we have 2 games Sat (next one in the afternoon) and 1 or 2 Sunday. For regular weekend games, our club sometimes would not have fields or times set until a day or two before - so you weren't always sure where you were going on any weekend and had to keep your schedule open to accommodate your 10 year old's soccer club! Try this with 2, 3 or 4 kids who are at different ages in the same club or doing different sports that have similar focus...how these people manage I can't imagine. We only had 1 child in club soccer.

4- you get some English/Spanish/Brazilian coach who is somewhat of a professional and (this is a generalization based on my experience) isn't all that interested in the kids having fun, but is a legit coach. Note, the coach may be forced back to his home country due to visa issues which had happened 2x to us with two different clubs.

5- there are "optional" winter and summer training sessions/tournaments that again aren't technically mandatory, but do influence how your kid is viewed by the club decision-makers. So they kind of are mandatory.

6- the basic cost seems not unreasonable (our club was $1,800 for the entire year I think), but the 'optional' training, individualized training, the summer camp and some non-included tournaments also cost money. Oh, we also had to buy our son team authorized gear with the club logo on it. if he wore a pair of sweatpants to practice that were generic, they frowned upon that - they wanted the 'team kit' to include training wear as well.

I have no doubt the US will become a world power in soccer in the next 20 years at this pace, but as many have said.......this all-year 'round one-sport focus is not something I like as a parent.

This is all borderline criminal to me. Excuse me while I go get a vasectomy....

 

[Scarlet1984]

Good thoughts in this thread. From what I have seen with boys, it seems like soccer might have the highest burnout rate - where I've seen some really good athletes drop the sport some time in middle school or 9th grade.

In general, I think that over specialization (where the kid is playing one sport all year) can lead to them losing the love of the sport. There can be a lot of pressure and parental expectations.

We tended to avoid those all-consuming sports and my kids played mostly on rec and middle school teams (football, basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse). My older boys (now in college) kind of discovered the sports they were good at in high school (distance running and football) and really thrived.

My approach (no young specialization) is not necessarily the best approach, but it ended up working out for us.

 

[RU205]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-sailor/myths-of-sports-specializ_b_8972126.html


Article published in January talking about kids specializing in one sport.

 

[RU205]

http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/club-sports/part2/

Another good one on this topic.

 

[UMRU]

So what is the right level for a grade school kid that wants more than rec league and a family that wants to let him/her explore their ability, have fun and learn but is not harboring dreams of scholarships and pro careers?

Many towns have travel leagues that play nearby teams. Often there are A, B and sometimes even C level teams. Each of these teams is assigned to a flight. There are as many as 10 flights - 1 is the best.

Your best bet is to look for a town travel league that has a B team that plays around flight 3 or 4. The kids take it seriously but are not crushed by losses. Probably a parent coach with a paid trainer, which works pretty well as long as you like the coach. Costs for the whole year, depending on the number of tournaments and if they do winter training will be $500-$1000 plus uniforms.

 

[RUinBoston]

What is it with all these abbreviations for soccer, I hope I never learn what they mean.
FUTSAL, TSF, MOSA, YMS, FIT, PDA's
WTF.....

My kids are never going to be good enough for any of this stuff and I'm feeling pretty good about it right now!

 

[PhDKnight]

Just curiously, at what age do the academies start? Please tell me its not until late grade school or middle school at least. Do the academies recruit kids from the town travel teams?

 

[ho26rus]

This is gonna sound sexist but I don't mind my girls concentrating on one sport. I wouldn't let my son do it but the girls have no interest in playing softball or lacrosse. We talked about them trying REC basketball but they prefer soccer.

not a direct connection but earlier you mentioned being at TSF. Do your daughters play for Luis Mendoza? Is he still head of training there?Good friend, great trainer. just curious

 

[vkj91]

not a direct connection but earlier you mentioned being at TSF. Do your daughters play for Luis Mendoza? Is he still head of training there?Good friend, great trainer. just curious

Yes he is still there but I don't know him. They do an amazing job of ushering parents upstairs and limiting contact with the coaches. Presently, my daughters both play for another academy team but are on TSF's inter academy team. We are thinking about switching everything to TSF but need more info on games, leagues, etc. as you know, this stuff can get out of control and I want to make sure my wife can handle it all when I can't break away from work. There are tons of good programs in NJ and I just can't justify driving up and down the east coast for little kids soccer. Last year we drove to pougkeepsie for a game to lose 6-0. Whole way home I thought to myself there has to be 50 NJ teams who could beat us just as bad why am I driving to NY? Lol. We originally joined our present team because games were on Sunday's and didn't clash with RU football. Sadly, that's no longer the case.

 

[RutgersDom]

LOL Zap, I hear ya...So unfortunately it is true that college coaches scout their potential kids at club showcase tournaments. I played with Tony Meola a long time ago and he told me that 10 years ago when I hooked my niece up with him to train as a keeper. So my suggestion would be this....If your kid is really good enough for a club team and really LOVES the game and really wants to play in college it's probably worth going for it once they hit a certain age. However, I would suggest finding one that might have other local town girls on the club to make it more fun and keep/make friendships along the way. As an example my son (Who is very good and lives for soccer (8 years old) plays on a club team a town away that is half made up of kids from Chatham so his friends are on the team. He has actually become very good friends with a kid he met there that lives in town and we are now close as parents as well. Don't underestimate the importance of that. My daughter who is also very good really liked soccer (Not loved) so we kept her on the town travel team and she loved her first year (With her friends!). She now looks forward to practices and games. One other tidbit I would add. My niece was being recruited as a keeper and could have played D1. She decided she wanted to play locally but D3 to concentrate on her studies (especially in the off season where the schedule is much different between D1 & D3). Initially I was bummed because I knew she was a D1 keeper but impressed with a kid that age putting her studies first. So she decided to go to Montclair St and it was a great decision. Long story short she broke pretty much every keepers record (Most wins, most shutouts, lowest GAA ect ect) before graduating last year. She actually had the lowest GAA average in the country in her Jr year (Giving up 2 goals all year!). Her defense was great btw. Anyway my point is you really have to know the kid and the personality before you try to help and make the best decision for them... Good luck..

 

[lighty]

Soccer is the sport that is really responsible for this mess. They were the ones who really started this all year long commitment thing. I think it was to try to get the US of A up to par with the rest of the world in terms of player development, but now it has just become a money grab..

Soccer has been played year round for decades in the US. This is nothing new.

In the eighties, I played Spring soccer, Fall soccer, and indoor.

They are trying to get players up to par with the rest of the world, but that's not what led to this IMO.