High School Soccer season is starting**

[Unregistered]

Maybe you should send your kid to a high school with a decent soccer coach. Many private schools have excellent coaches and HS soccer becomes another opportunity to develop soccer skills and build your child's soccer resume. A state championship and selection as an all-state first team player is not a waste of time. Don't always be bashing HS soccer. You can find value there if you look for it and position your child to take advantage of it.

[Unregistered]

For my player, winning a high school state championship with the school and friends there to cheer them on was more exciting than winning a club state cup. Blessed to have the opportunity to do both. It is about memories and many clubs do frown upon players playing HS. HS soccer has its issues with injuries due to playing against players without the skills, but let them be kids. Good luck.

[Unregistered]

For my player, winning a high school state championship with the school and friends there to cheer them on was more exciting than winning a club state cup. Blessed to have the opportunity to do both. It is about memories and many clubs do frown upon players playing HS. HS soccer has its issues with injuries due to playing against players without the skills, but let them be kids. Good luck.

I have to agree . My boy was involved in both State Cup Finals and HS district finals and the atmosphere at the HS game was much more exciting by a lot!

[Unregistered]

if your kid is good the HS coach will be fine with her missing practices to go to club training.

[Unregistered]

if your kid is good the HS coach will be fine with her missing practices to go to club training.

if your kid is good the club coach will be fine with her missing practices to go to HS training.

[Unregistered]

if your kid is good the HS coach will be fine with her missing practices to go to club training.

Like many, our HS coach also coaches at a local club - HS age, same gender team. This coach falls into the category of hypocrite. Everyone knows he allows flexibility with his own club players when they run afoul of rules for HS practice, timeliness to games, etc, he is not so flexible if you happen to play for another club. Not only has this been a topic of conversation for all parents of all players while sitting in the stands FOR YEARS, the players actually taunt each other with this information during school. Yea, great guy. Parents are afraid to approach him as they are rightly concerned there will be retribution for it. The kids know what they can get away with and throw it in the faces of the other kids. They know the Coach looks the other way. It has given us the opportunity to speak with our kid about life lessons, and how people can be treated, but the only solution is to not allow the kid to play HS soccer, or to allow them to try to work through it.

[Unregistered]

Like many, our HS coach also coaches at a local club - HS age, same gender team. This coach falls into the category of hypocrite. Everyone knows he allows flexibility with his own club players when they run afoul of rules for HS practice, timeliness to games, etc, he is not so flexible if you happen to play for another club. Not only has this been a topic of conversation for all parents of all players while sitting in the stands FOR YEARS, the players actually taunt each other with this information during school. Yea, great guy. Parents are afraid to approach him as they are rightly concerned there will be retribution for it. The kids know what they can get away with and throw it in the faces of the other kids. They know the Coach looks the other way. It has given us the opportunity to speak with our kid about life lessons, and how people can be treated, but the only solution is to not allow the kid to play HS soccer, or to allow them to try to work through it.

OR... join the HS Coach's Club? Easy to brown nose when you are under his umbrella. But if your Club ids better or more important then suck it up and enjoy the ride.

[Unregistered]

Only conflict I am aware of is with ECNL. They don't change their season for anyone. This has caused a huge rift with HS coaches, especially the private schools. Then the clubs all decided to commit to the Final 4 Showcase because it was at FAU. Our HS coach benched half the team because they all went out of town and missed a game. Only problem is that he was not proving a point. He was benching his best players. Called playing for HS a priviledge. Really? What about playing for ECNL? US National Team? ODP Regional Team? ID2?

You see where I am going here. It does not matter if you are talking a HS team, college team or even a NWSL team. Players are going to have other team commitments and the coach can't take the approach that his team comes first when you have someone who is talented enough to play on your national team. You have to find common ground and do what is best for the player and the team. If a player is going to be missing significant games, perhaps they should not play HS ball. If a player is going to miss 1-2 games a season and have to leave practice a little early, then you have to make a decision on whether that player is worth having around for those minutes. If you take the player, you can't punish them for missing games or practice because they are playing soccer somewhere else. It ain't like she is ditching workouts to go to Chipotle. Just saying...

[Unregistered]

I have to agree . My boy was involved in both State Cup Finals and HS district finals and the atmosphere at the HS game was much more exciting by a lot!

Performing in front of your peers representing your school is much better than just performing for mom and dad. All kids should experience that in some form or another.

[Unregistered]

Performing in front of your peers representing your school is much better than just performing for mom and dad. All kids should experience that in some form or another.

True but that is not the club argument. Club's go to showcases and tournaments that college coaches attend. They simply do not attend high school games. You could count the college coaches at the State Championships on one hand. So if Landon or Mia is worthy of a look, you gotta have them play where they will be seen. Disney Showcase has 400+ coaches. ECNL Showcase has 600+. You will never get that kind of exposure playing behind the school house.

[Unregistered]

True but that is not the club argument. Club's go to showcases and tournaments that college coaches attend. They simply do not attend high school games. You could count the college coaches at the State Championships on one hand. So if Landon or Mia is worthy of a look, you gotta have them play where they will be seen. Disney Showcase has 400+ coaches. ECNL Showcase has 600+. You will never get that kind of exposure playing behind the school house.

Hard to believe that people are still buying the showcase pitch after all of these years. Unless your kid is playing in the finals AND a coach already has him/her on his radar, nobody is going to see them. And if you are one of the lucky ones, you better perform your best for the 5 minutes that the coach is going to watch you for. You better get playing time that day as well. Coaches don't look at the bench.

If your kid is strong player, identify the colleges they may be interested in attending and attend their ID camps. And if your kid is REALLY good, don't worry,they will find him/her even behind a school house. Can't keep soccer talent hidden for long. Eventually someone makes a call and doors open.

[Unregistered]

I have to agree . My boy was involved in both State Cup Finals and HS district finals and the atmosphere at the HS game was much more exciting by a lot!

All we need to do is ask our kids. If its a good overall school it will be hard to find a kid who would rather play for a bunch of adults, scouts included, than to play in front of their school mates and girlfriends. We the parents are the ones that are thinking about the elusive "college scholarship" and "Elite Academies" not them. Why ruin their High School memories?

[Unregistered]

Like many, our HS coach also coaches at a local club - HS age, same gender team. This coach falls into the category of hypocrite. Everyone knows he allows flexibility with his own club players when they run afoul of rules for HS practice, timeliness to games, etc, he is not so flexible if you happen to play for another club. Not only has this been a topic of conversation for all parents of all players while sitting in the stands FOR YEARS, the players actually taunt each other with this information during school. Yea, great guy. Parents are afraid to approach him as they are rightly concerned there will be retribution for it. The kids know what they can get away with and throw it in the faces of the other kids. They know the Coach looks the other way. It has given us the opportunity to speak with our kid about life lessons, and how people can be treated, but the only solution is to not allow the kid to play HS soccer, or to allow them to try to work through it.

Wow, you sound like a drama momma, let the kid sink or swim. Stopt blaming everyone else.

[Unregistered]

Only conflict I am aware of is with ECNL. They don't change their season for anyone. This has caused a huge rift with HS coaches, especially the private schools. Then the clubs all decided to commit to the Final 4 Showcase because it was at FAU. Our HS coach benched half the team because they all went out of town and missed a game. Only problem is that he was not proving a point. He was benching his best players. Called playing for HS a priviledge. Really? What about playing for ECNL? US National Team? ODP Regional Team? ID2?

You see where I am going here. It does not matter if you are talking a HS team, college team or even a NWSL team. Players are going to have other team commitments and the coach can't take the approach that his team comes first when you have someone who is talented enough to play on your national team. You have to find common ground and do what is best for the player and the team. If a player is going to be missing significant games, perhaps they should not play HS ball. If a player is going to miss 1-2 games a season and have to leave practice a little early, then you have to make a decision on whether that player is worth having around for those minutes. If you take the player, you can't punish them for missing games or practice because they are playing soccer somewhere else. It ain't like she is ditching workouts to go to Chipotle. Just saying...

Well worded manifesto, except your opening premise is faulty. ECNL adjusted their schedule this year to accommodate HS. Our ECNL season will take a break from Nov 1 to Mar 1 except for Sanford Showcase. All the ECNL girls are playing HS this year.

[Unregistered]

Well worded manifesto, except your opening premise is faulty. ECNL adjusted their schedule this year to accommodate HS. Our ECNL season will take a break from Nov 1 to Mar 1 except for Sanford Showcase. All the ECNL girls are playing HS this year.

How would know? You know every girl that plays ECNL?