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Realities of club soccer, would you do something different?

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    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    I think 6 years to get ready for College travel is a bit much...don’t you?
    The plane tickets to San Diego and Seattle get expensive, and then they end up playing teams from the southeast.

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      Looking back, may have been wiser to put the money into SAT and ACT reviews and invested more money into their college education because the reality of playing college soccer at a college of the player's top choices is slim. Fifty thousand freshmen applications are expected to roll in to FSU and UF for 2018, and participation in travel soccer won't give them an advantage into getting admitted. It will be mostly based off of GPA and SAT or ACT to make the cut.

      Comment


        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        I saw a earlier post on this page and thought I would put a twist on the question...

        Parents, who have kids who are all done playing club (or near done) now that you have the advantage of hind site, what would you do different?

        Asking for a friend.
        I'm not going to bother reading the other responses. Instead, I'm going to take your question seriously and answer it candidly.

        My children (two girls and a boy) were talented and skilled enough to play competitive soccer, two of them at so-called "elite" level of competition. If I had it to do over, I would have encouraged them all to stay in rec programs instead. The fitness, friendships, sportsmanship, discipline, etc. that come from playing team sports can be found on rec teams every bit as much as on comp teams. Without the drama.

        I didn't mind the expense or the travel. I didn't mind the crazy packed conflicting schedules.

        I didn't care for the back-stabbing, condescension, snarkiness, and destructive gossip. And I'm describing the parents. Unfortunately, parent behavior was predictably replicated by their precious offspring.

        I didn't care for coaches who think life is measured in gold medals and college signings when that doesn't account for the needs and expectations of the majority of their players. None of my kids had the slightest interest in playing once they went to college and didn't pursue recruitment even though one of them definitely could have if she'd wanted to. Didn't matter to me which route she went, I'd have supported her either way. But she wanted college to be about parties and academics, not 5:30 a.m. soccer practices every day.

        I know those who worship at the altars of DA, ECNL, and whatever league they prefer will gasp in collective horror, but I honestly believe club competitive soccer has more downsides for children than positive attributes.

        Just my opinion.

        Comment


          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          I'm not going to bother reading the other responses. Instead, I'm going to take your question seriously and answer it candidly.

          My children (two girls and a boy) were talented and skilled enough to play competitive soccer, two of them at so-called "elite" level of competition. If I had it to do over, I would have encouraged them all to stay in rec programs instead. The fitness, friendships, sportsmanship, discipline, etc. that come from playing team sports can be found on rec teams every bit as much as on comp teams. Without the drama.

          I didn't mind the expense or the travel. I didn't mind the crazy packed conflicting schedules.

          I didn't care for the back-stabbing, condescension, snarkiness, and destructive gossip. And I'm describing the parents. Unfortunately, parent behavior was predictably replicated by their precious offspring.

          I didn't care for coaches who think life is measured in gold medals and college signings when that doesn't account for the needs and expectations of the majority of their players. None of my kids had the slightest interest in playing once they went to college and didn't pursue recruitment even though one of them definitely could have if she'd wanted to. Didn't matter to me which route she went, I'd have supported her either way. But she wanted college to be about parties and academics, not 5:30 a.m. soccer practices every day.

          I know those who worship at the altars of DA, ECNL, and whatever league they prefer will gasp in collective horror, but I honestly believe club competitive soccer has more downsides for children than positive attributes.

          Just my opinion.
          Yes, parents should support their children either way. Soccer must be the kid's passion. I have seen players go to D3 small, no nothing colleges in the middle of nowhere to pursue their passion, but if that is what they want and they are happy then I think highly of those parents who allowed their children to make that decision. I do wish the local recreation leagues were more competitive. Too often it is hard to pull enough older recreation players together to make a team and have enough players show up for games.

          Comment


            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            Looking back, may have been wiser to put the money into SAT and ACT reviews and invested more money into their college education because the reality of playing college soccer at a college of the player's top choices is slim. Fifty thousand freshmen applications are expected to roll in to FSU and UF for 2018, and participation in travel soccer won't give them an advantage into getting admitted. It will be mostly based off of GPA and SAT or ACT to make the cut.
            The colleges aren't supposed to be using race, economic level, or zip code but they do to keep the diversity balanced to a tee. UF and FSU have become big business and out-of-state students will be admitted at a high percentage to get back the exact 23-25% of out-of-state fall freshmen enrollment.

            Comment


              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              I'm not going to bother reading the other responses. Instead, I'm going to take your question seriously and answer it candidly.

              My children (two girls and a boy) were talented and skilled enough to play competitive soccer, two of them at so-called "elite" level of competition. If I had it to do over, I would have encouraged them all to stay in rec programs instead. The fitness, friendships, sportsmanship, discipline, etc. that come from playing team sports can be found on rec teams every bit as much as on comp teams. Without the drama.

              I didn't mind the expense or the travel. I didn't mind the crazy packed conflicting schedules.

              I didn't care for the back-stabbing, condescension, snarkiness, and destructive gossip. And I'm describing the parents. Unfortunately, parent behavior was predictably replicated by their precious offspring.

              I didn't care for coaches who think life is measured in gold medals and college signings when that doesn't account for the needs and expectations of the majority of their players. None of my kids had the slightest interest in playing once they went to college and didn't pursue recruitment even though one of them definitely could have if she'd wanted to. Didn't matter to me which route she went, I'd have supported her either way. But she wanted college to be about parties and academics, not 5:30 a.m. soccer practices every day.

              I know those who worship at the altars of DA, ECNL, and whatever league they prefer will gasp in collective horror, but I honestly believe club competitive soccer has more downsides for children than positive attributes.

              Just my opinion.
              I really agree with what you just posted. I have experience with a child in ECNL, and wow are you right. The parents can be the worse part of the whole experience. I am not sure what some of their deals are, but they are obsessed, fanatical, and he**bent on getting their kid to start and play, be a star at all cost. And you are right, this is reflected at times with their kids, and then the whole situation worsens from there, to where it is just not fun anymore. And then the coaches, some seem focused on some illustrious goal of winning every game so that one day they can climb the coaching ladder and get out of there. They don't care about the kids, what their experience is like. I have really come around to also thinking the same about my child, that lower level is where they have the most enjoyment, though sadly the skill level is low, which then frustrates the child. It can be hard then to find a happy medium....

              Comment


                Thanks

                Thanks for the candid responses. We are still early in the competitive process. I heard another parent this evening complaining about parents on her DA team this evening. I said the solution was to grow local soccer leagues. Kids shouldn't have to travel to get competitive quality play.

                Better coaching and each reasonably sized city could have their own decent competitive league. And from what I've seen while club soccer is indeed better than rec soccer I'm not convinced it has much better coaching on the whole.

                It seems like each club has a few good coaches and then a bunch of very mediocre ones.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  The colleges aren't supposed to be using race, economic level, or zip code but they do to keep the diversity balanced to a tee. UF and FSU have become big business and out-of-state students will be admitted at a high percentage to get back the exact 23-25% of out-of-state fall freshmen enrollment.
                  Asian American students Harvard bias discrimination lawsuit continues.....

                  Comment


                    Harvard admissions dean confirmed there were different SAT standards required for different groups of students with regard to race and gender.

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by Unregistered-J View Post
                      Thanks for the candid responses. We are still early in the competitive process. I heard another parent this evening complaining about parents on her DA team this evening. I said the solution was to grow local soccer leagues. Kids shouldn't have to travel to get competitive quality play.

                      Better coaching and each reasonably sized city could have their own decent competitive league. And from what I've seen while club soccer is indeed better than rec soccer I'm not convinced it has much better coaching on the whole.

                      It seems like each club has a few good coaches and then a bunch of very mediocre ones.
                      Community college vs. out-of-state Ivy league

                      Comment


                        Originally posted by Unregistered-J View Post
                        Thanks for the candid responses. We are still early in the competitive process. I heard another parent this evening complaining about parents on her DA team this evening. I said the solution was to grow local soccer leagues. Kids shouldn't have to travel to get competitive quality play.

                        Better coaching and each reasonably sized city could have their own decent competitive league. And from what I've seen while club soccer is indeed better than rec soccer I'm not convinced it has much better coaching on the whole.

                        It seems like each club has a few good coaches and then a bunch of very mediocre ones.
                        Like traveling to Chicago at age 11...Boy I hope my kid goes pro

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          The colleges aren't supposed to be using race, economic level, or zip code but they do to keep the diversity balanced to a tee. UF and FSU have become big business and out-of-state students will be admitted at a high percentage to get back the exact 23-25% of out-of-state fall freshmen enrollment.
                          While you are an idiot, you are at least persistent.

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            While you are an idiot, you are at least persistent.
                            I knew a team of 10 year olds that went to South America. Ridiculous !!! I'd pull my kid off that team if that was me.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              Because outside of big football and basketball (that et big $ from TV and advertising) every other sport costs schools money. Sometimes schools have to prioritize and make tough choices. It's hard enough to have enough female athletes to counter football. Add in soccer and there's an additional hurdle. There are 100 fewer men's D1 programs than women's, so those are not the only schools opting out of men's soccer
                              What women's sports could be added for UF and FSU to gain mens soccer to balance?

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                What women's sports could be added for UF and FSU to gain mens soccer to balance?
                                UF will never have a men's soccer team. UF is the quintessential southern college - its all about football, and they aren't about to change that, and they very definitely would never spend a penny on men's soccer. Women's , sure, but since soccer is universally viewed as a game for foreigners and kids who can't play real sports UF will never have a men's team.

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