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What's Killing Youth Soccer in America Is Also Hurting Most Every Other Sport

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    #16
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    The root of the problem that explains the drop in participation is tangled up in this previous post:
    "While you may be able to apportion some blame to video addictions, that is only a part of the reasons sports are declining. Cost, time, travel, the" if you're not in a top league you may as well not be playing" message kids get, push to specialize very early, and (most importantly) it's become all too SERIOUS!"

    If you look closely at the reasons listed - one set of reasons is that playing at a high level just takes too much - time, money, driving, travel, getting on the top league, etc. The other set of reasons is that it is not fun and too serious, specialize very early, etc.

    And therein lies the root of the problem - it's deranged parents who don't get their kids aligned with the correct level of play (for their kid's talent and ambition level) and then the kid and the parents end up disappointed and leave the sport.

    Our son played rec and travel soccer, FYSA style and enjoyed the game up until High School and then switched to swimming - he's very happy he chose that path. Our daughter plays ECNL and has committed to a D1 program in the Northeast. She puts five times more time and effort into soccer than he did because she truly thrives on that. They both would be miserable if we flip-flopped soccer paths for them - but some parents want their kid on the elite track more than the kid does and that usually ends poorly.
    I agree parents can get caught up with keeping on what is seen as the "right track" rather than letting their kids drive the bus. Some kids do need a gentle nudge now and then (mine might still be playing travel if I hadn't suggested trying out for clubs), but many parents give a full on shove. Even with the same genes every kid is very different.

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