Boys: No $$$ for you so play HIGH SCHOOL

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Many folks view Revs soccer that way as well, so good for you.

#ignorantscholarhipwhore

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Many folks view Revs soccer that way as well, so good for you.

There is no good option in MA

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My son has played DA soccer for 4 years. There has been no fitness benchmarking. This is fantasy land.

That’s unfortunate for you and your club then

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There is no good option in MA

The best option is to use soccer to get a good education.

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The best option is to use soccer to get a good education.

And we have a winner

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Do you live in some redneck town in flyover country? My kid has friends in HS who love soccer, but are rec players at best. His lifelong friends will be from HS and his DA team. Hard for you to understand?

Hard for you to understand everyone's experiences and situations are different? There is no one answer except what is right for each individual player. Around here the dearth of good DA club options make the pitch for giving up HS tougher to accept. The annual commitment lists show that many non DA players wind up playing in college and that playing DA isn't a golden ticket.

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The best option is to use soccer to get a good education.

Now that pot is legal, at least we know what you’re smoking...

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My wife and I are from a soccer country. Both our kids play DA and all 4 of us view US high school soccer as an alien and slightly comical concept. Ok if your kid wants to do it, but don’t pretend it is high level soccer..

Is it a “flyover redneck” country?

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The best option is to use soccer to get a good education.

And we have a winner

Only if you have a son who can't play soccer well enough to earn one of the few scholarships that are out there. Problem with the boys parents seems to be they think that everyone's kid has scholarship level talent and they are just getting screwed because of the limited opportunities. If that were actually the case the college level on the men's side wouldn't be flooded with international players. The actual issue is most American male soccer players are just of lesser stock than their international counterparts. It starts with their relative athleticism (the cream of the crop athletes generally play other sports in this country) and erodes from there because the training environment is generally lacking because the speed of play is dragged so far down by the glut of lesser quality players. The bottom line is there are not many in the country worthy of a scholarship.

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Only if you have a son who can't play soccer well enough to earn one of the few scholarships that are out there. Problem with the boys parents seems to be they think that everyone's kid has scholarship level talent and they are just getting screwed because of the limited opportunities. If that were actually the case the college level on the men's side wouldn't be flooded with international players. The actual issue is most American male soccer players are just of lesser stock than their international counterparts. It starts with their relative athleticism (the cream of the crop athletes generally play other sports in this country) and erodes from there because the training environment is generally lacking because the speed of play is dragged so far down by the glut of lesser quality players. The bottom line is there are not many in the country worthy of a scholarship.

Yup. Until our DA trained kids start winning those spots back from international players - most of whom weren't quite good enough to go pro in Europe but are still better trained than ours - then we'll know DA is doing it's job lifting the overall level of US soccer.

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So, for example, while my kid has played soccer we have gone on trips and extended it out for family vacations; we've gone to Colorado, California, Florida, NYC, D.C., San Diego, Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio. We used the time to travel as a family, see the country and had a great time in the process. Lots of families take vacations every year. I'm not a beach guy, so I forego the summer house on the cape and instead spent a few extra days in the Rockies. You consider this a bad thing?

As for skiing, my boards and rest of the setup costs about $1500. I used to exclusively forego lifts, but with a family now I've scaled it back. Spent about $1000 on my kids gear. Lift tickets when we go run about $300 for us three, and when you add in meals and gas it's a $400 day. Times 4-5 times a winter, that's $2k. We have (depending on soccer schedule) gone for a few days over winter break. Add in another $2k for hotel and meals. So, that's anywhere from $3-6k per year on skiing. No Olympic dreams, no scholarship plans, just some time enjoying the fresh air and exercise with the family. And, here's the thing: Most people who ski spend a lot more than that. They go every weekend. Many have better equipment, and some do trips out West. We have a small family, so it would be even more. So, it's a much larger impact on the wallet than soccer ever will be.

So, you can say "it's not useful" but you must be a cold-hearted accountant. Our week in Colorado this summer was a trip that we will never forget. Family had a great time, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

What will come out of it in the end? Not much. Love of the game which hopefully will be passed to their kids; love of the outdoors and other pursuits which will hopefully passed to their kids. A weekend away from work and stress just with the family: priceless.

DA cheerleader dad?? That you, man?

Don't even attempt to reason with this one. His D has been in DA for 3 months now and he's drank so much Kool aid that it's a wonder he hasn't drowned.

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Yup. Until our DA trained kids start winning those spots back from international players - most of whom weren't quite good enough to go pro in Europe but are still better trained than ours - then we'll know DA is doing it's job lifting the overall level of US soccer.

The problem isn't really the DA or the training it is the basic building blocks where our young men fail. Soccer in this country largely only gets the athletes who can't make it in other sports. That's the bitter truth. The boys who play soccer in this country generally have less upside potential than their international counterparts and as such they are destined to come up short against them regardless of the quality of their training. Then the parents put them into training groups with a bunch of future accountants and lawyers and complain that the training is inferior. It's a vicious cycle fueled by the whole "put academics first" mindset that pervades a lot of club soccer. Nothing like taking a slow kid and telling him he doesn't have to run hard then complain when he doesn't win the race.

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The problem isn't really the DA or the training it is the basic building blocks where our young men fail. Soccer in this country largely only gets the athletes who can't make it in other sports. That's the bitter truth. The boys who play soccer in this country generally have less upside potential than their international counterparts and as such they are destined to come up short against them regardless of the quality of their training. Then the parents put them into training groups with a bunch of future accountants and lawyers and complain that the training is inferior. It's a vicious cycle fueled by the whole "put academics first" mindset that pervades a lot of club soccer. Nothing like taking a slow kid and telling him he doesn't have to run hard then complain when he doesn't win the race.

Fair points, but “academics first” has to be the mantra-there are virtually no other options.
Internationally speaking, there are more levels of soccer in which to earn a paycheck. Here, not so much. To put eggs in a soccer basket in this country is a dicey gamble, both academically and professionally.

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The problem isn't really the DA or the training it is the basic building blocks where our young men fail. Soccer in this country largely only gets the athletes who can't make it in other sports. That's the bitter truth. The boys who play soccer in this country generally have less upside potential than their international counterparts and as such they are destined to come up short against them regardless of the quality of their training. Then the parents put them into training groups with a bunch of future accountants and lawyers and complain that the training is inferior. It's a vicious cycle fueled by the whole "put academics first" mindset that pervades a lot of club soccer. Nothing like taking a slow kid and telling him he doesn't have to run hard then complain when he doesn't win the race.

I don't entirely agree - we have plenty of athletes and players but we can't develop them. Not having a soccer culture doesn't help either. Some kids will be drawn to other sports simply because that's what their friends and family play. That's a decades long cultural battle

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Fair points, but “academics first” has to be the mantra-there are virtually no other options.
Internationally speaking, there are more levels of soccer in which to earn a paycheck. Here, not so much. To put eggs in a soccer basket in this country is a dicey gamble, both academically and professionally.

This is the classic chicken/egg situation that most club soccer parents find themselves in. If your kid doesn't have the potential to succeed at something then why do it. The whole "because they love it" logic just doesn't fly. Besides being overly indulgent it ultimately sets a kid on a course that they are bound to fail at which then necessitates changing the goalposts in order to save everyone's ego. Putting kids in an activity and then encouraging them to govern their effort doesn't make much sense either. Who ever succeeded at anything following that logic?