Why are fewer kids playing youth soccer?

[Unregistered]

Some of the other statistics are very telling...The graph at the bottom discussing proper training of coaches...

If you exclude "other sports" as we have no idea what that indicates...

Soccer is at the bottom or close to it in every category. From Safety to knowledge of the game. Soccer also has the worst "churn" rate (losing players vs adding new ones).

I do wonder if a lot has to do with soccer's demand that kids specialize in the sport at such an early age...year round soccer tends to lead to burn out quicker.

To your last point - not being fun is a huge reason for burnout. Variety helps keep it fun.
Sure some kids are singularly focused on one sport, but most would love to play other things even if at lower levels.

[Unregistered]

To your last point - not being fun is a huge reason for burnout. Variety helps keep it fun.
Sure some kids are singularly focused on one sport, but most would love to play other things even if at lower levels.

Yes, and I could be wrong, but from what I understand....sport specialization can lead to an increase in sports injuries as well.

My daughter switched teams because the coach told the team that they would not be allowed to participate in other sports. She wants to be able to do Track, Flag Football, and swimming. Nothing wrong with the coach wanting players to be more available for practices, but she found a club team close that was fine with her participating in other sports.

[Unregistered]

Yes, and I could be wrong, but from what I understand....sport specialization can lead to an increase in sports injuries as well.

My daughter switched teams because the coach told the team that they would not be allowed to participate in other sports. She wants to be able to do Track, Flag Football, and swimming. Nothing wrong with the coach wanting players to be more available for practices, but she found a club team close that was fine with her participating in other sports.

There is loads of medical literature about the impact of early specialization on young bodies. Kids are getting injuries that used to only be seen in professional athletes. Ask any pediatrician who has been in practice for 20+ years. They've seen it unfold right in front of them.

Good for your daughter knowing what she wants and what works best for her.

[Unregistered]

Most of the players who quit club in our big club before birth year change, quit because:

1. Got to the competitive travel age and failed to make the A team. Players usually hung on for at least one year of B team but then quit to make time for other things.

2. Top player, great multi sport athletes forced to choose by middle or high school to concentrate on one sport. Especially in the case of boys, many of the top multi sport players chose to drop soccer

3. Miscellaneous dropping soccer due to school academic demands, wanting to be in the party/social crowd at high school and not willing to spend so much time at soccer, or the parents said not or can’t spend the that much money and time on soccer.

After the change to birth year, at our club, we lose about an additional 15-20 players at the 8th-9th team mix up shuffle and the 11th-12th two teams into one with a dozen kids forced out or to B teams. We are a mid sized club so losing 15-20 additional players per year due to birth year has made a significant negative impact. We are the only club in our area and pre birth year fielded at least two teams at every age group except the oldest which had one team with a large roster of about 22-24. After birth year, we can’t even field one team at one of the older age groups and can only field 2 teams at one of the high school age groups. A dramatic drop off.

So let me get this straight. Prior to the birth year changes you used to field 14 teams at the high school ages (2 at every age group - U15, U16, U17 - except the oldest - U18 - where you only fielded one team). So that's 7 teams per gender. NOW (thanks to the birth year change) you only have enough players to field 2 teams (per gender) at the HS age groups (U15 thru U18/19). So taking an average 11v11 team size of 18 players per team, you are stating that the BIRTH YEAR CHANGE cost your club 180+ players per year.

Seriously?

*cough* Bullshat *cough*

You anti birth year folks are really ratcheting up the propoganda these days. Our club hasn't seen any effect from it. Of course we are in a large municipal area where kids on a team can be from different schools and schools have multiple classes per grade so Billy & Bobby can be in the same class in school from 2nd grade to HS and be on the same soccer team that entire time also. Maybe that's the difference right there.

I hope things take an upturn there at Hooterville FC. Maybe you'll get an influx of new citizens and to make up for the hundreds of kids that US Soccer stole from you!

[Unregistered]

TBU is an extremely large and successful soccer club in Tampa Bay.

They only have 14 boys teams in TOTAL between their competitive/travel programs of DA and ECNL from U11-U18/19

They have no U16 team in their DA program.

The birth year is a brand new variable introduced by US Soccer with one of their expressed intents for making the change would be that it would increase youth soccer participation.

That has not happened.

Variables have effects.

Sometimes good.

Sometimes bad.

To suggest that it has had no effect on youth soccer participation is not supported by the Times article’s data or by TBU’s data.

[Unregistered]

Most of the players who quit club in our big club before birth year change, quit because:

1. Got to the competitive travel age and failed to make the A team. Players usually hung on for at least one year of B team but then quit to make time for other things.

2. Top player, great multi sport athletes forced to choose by middle or high school to concentrate on one sport. Especially in the case of boys, many of the top multi sport players chose to drop soccer

3. Miscellaneous dropping soccer due to school academic demands, wanting to be in the party/social crowd at high school and not willing to spend so much time at soccer, or the parents said not or can’t spend the that much money and time on soccer.

After the change to birth year, at our club, we lose about an additional 15-20 players at the 8th-9th team mix up shuffle and the 11th-12th two teams into one with a dozen kids forced out or to B teams. We are a mid sized club so losing 15-20 additional players per year due to birth year has made a significant negative impact. We are the only club in our area and pre birth year fielded at least two teams at every age group except the oldest which had one team with a large roster of about 22-24. After birth year, we can’t even field one team at one of the older age groups and can only field 2 teams at one of the high school age groups. A dramatic drop off.

Point 2 nailed it on the head. The clubs really push kids to only play soccer as they get older. I have a kid that players travel soccer, AAU basketball, and runs track. The other sports don't push to focus on one sport. Playing multiple sports makes you a better overall athlete.

[Unregistered]

The birth year is a brand new variable introduced by US Soccer with one of their expressed intents for making the change would be that it would increase youth soccer participation.

Whaaaa???

Increasing youth soccer participation had nothing to do with the implementation the birth year mandate. Whoever told you this was flat out lying to your face.

Soccer participation was dropping long before Birth Year was implemented. And travel soccer is just a small component of soccer participation nationwide. The vast majority of kids play soccer in recreational or school leagues on teams which are not required to follow the birth year mandate. The true impact of birth year on participation statistics is next to negligible.

But I'll admit TBU was once a much more respected and successful club than it is now. I also suspect this decline began long before the Birth Year, Heading and Small Sided Play guidelines were brought into effect.

[Unregistered]

Whaaaa???

Increasing youth soccer participation had nothing to do with the implementation the birth year mandate. Whoever told you this was flat out lying to your face.

Soccer participation was dropping long before Birth Year was implemented. And travel soccer is just a small component of soccer participation nationwide. The vast majority of kids play soccer in recreational or school leagues on teams which are not required to follow the birth year mandate. The true impact of birth year on participation statistics is next to negligible.

But I'll admit TBU was once a much more respected and successful club than it is now. I also suspect this decline began long before the Birth Year, Heading and Small Sided Play guidelines were brought into effect.

Well, I guess Tab Ramos is a liar.

Tab Ramos in numerous interviews stated that the birth year mandate would increase player development, improve the playing environment and make it more enjoyable and increase and create more opportunities for play.

Sadly, the more opportunities for play is less, not more as Mr. Ramos had hoped from his birth year mandate as youth soccer participation has declined more since his introduction of that new variable.

[Unregistered]

Point 2 nailed it on the head. The clubs really push kids to only play soccer as they get older. I have a kid that players travel soccer, AAU basketball, and runs track. The other sports don't push to focus on one sport. Playing multiple sports makes you a better overall athlete.

Doing things with one's feet and other parts of the body that aren't your hands runs contrary to what our species is accustomed to. Humans use their arms and hands for virtually every activity, so in order to master a sport like soccer you actually do have to only play soccer.

This is not to say that there aren't outstanding athletes with limited foot skills that don't excel, its that those players are just athletes and not necessarily soccer players. You can spot them a mile away.

[Unregistered]

Doing things with one's feet and other parts of the body that aren't your hands runs contrary to what our species is accustomed to. Humans use their arms and hands for virtually every activity, so in order to master a sport like soccer you actually do have to only play soccer.

This is not to say that there aren't outstanding athletes with limited foot skills that don't excel, its that those players are just athletes and not necessarily soccer players. You can spot them a mile away.

You just described 80 percent of the kids in s florida