U13G Predictions

[Unregistered]

GV was suspended for tampering with a Scorpions player almost 2 years ago. I dont know where they got their newer players but Scorpions have 4 U13 teams two of them in D1, so it probably wasnt from them.

Check the roster if you don't believe me

[Unregistered]

I wish Western Mass had more teams to choose from!

[Unregistered]

I wish Western Mass had more teams to choose from!

Don't worry, at some point PM will end up out there if history repeats itself. After he has overstayed his welcome in Dartmouth/NEFC "South Coast" he will be looking to out run his reputation and head west.

[Unregistered]

So you don't like me. Oh well. Are you the guy who drives cross country to soccer events rebuilding his car as they go? That sounds like a real cost savings approach. How about the one where the kids share one room and the parents another. Here is some math .. two rooms split by two families equals one room cost a piece. How about packing bag lunches for the weekend so you don't have eat in resturants. Sure that is cheaper but unless you are getting the food from a food pantry there is still a cost. It all costs money. You want to quibble about whether my budget of $1,800 per tournament is real, go test it out over a couple of years and report back to us what you find. Here is what I found, the farther you go the more it costs and the more frequently you travel the higher the price tag gets. Hey I am all for economizing but the fact of the matter is the only way you dramatically reduce travel costs is to not go. If that is your game plan, here is another little tidbit, if your kid is on one of these teams (never mind an impact player) and only shows up for the "important" tournaments that doesn't go over real well with the rest of the team and parents. You are either part of the team or not.

Go ahead and spend a fortune chasing a dream for your child. It is your money and your heartache. I don't actually care what an individual person chooses to do with their money, what I care about is the group dynamics and where they drag me and my family. Unforunately you would seem to be exactly the sort of person who is helping to perpetuate some of the crazy notions that people start to believe as fact. There is actually a lot of misinformation being put out there and it appears to be leading the group down a path that a whole lot of people are going to find is unfulfilling. Having been down that path, I'm just trying to share some experience for those who want it.

Its not that I dont 'like you'... I dont know you... it is just that no matter how badly your assertions are refuted you just blindly defend them. Its funny.

By the way if your soccer experience is that you guided one player through her youth soccer career and now have another U13 player I have more children who played, for more years, at higher levels and I have traveled more than you have. That doesnt make my opinion any more valid than yours... I just know what it costs to travel. It does cost, but your statements bout how much are exaggerated.

[Unregistered]

Its not that I dont 'like you'... I dont know you... it is just that no matter how badly your assertions are refuted you just blindly defend them. Its funny.

By the way if your soccer experience is that you guided one player through her youth soccer career and now have another U13 player I have more children who played, for more years, at higher levels and I have traveled more than you have. That doesnt make my opinion any more valid than yours... I just know what it costs to travel. It does cost, but your statements bout how much are exaggerated.

ok smart guy. why dont you give us a budget of what it should cost. we are not talking 4-5 trips a year to PDA or Jefferson. figure in a disney trip and at least a few west coast trips.

[Unregistered]

Trip to anywhere along East Coast is the cost of gas and tells plus the wear and tear on your car plus two nights hotel stay. I dont count food because people need to eat whether they are home or away. It might cost a little more to eat out for a few days but thats not too substantial. Our teams orders into the hotel a lot, that saves for sure.

My last trip to Va. 1300 total miles. About $200 in gas and tolls. Hotel room $275. Say $500. NJ, Penn or Long Island would be a little less, not much. N. Carolina would be a little more not much.

Trips involving flights different story. It depends a lot on when you go and where. Disney at Christmas one of the worst cases so lets go with that. Two flights $400 each. Car rental (brutal over holidays) split with other family $175. Hotel rooms 3 nights would be $500 or so, maybe less. Say $1450.

Most of us that have been doing this a while figure the longer trips average about $1,000.

[Unregistered]

BTDT wrote "No matter how you slice it the ECNL is going to cost a family some extreme (roughly $9-10K a year in addition to club fees and other costs) money and you shouldn't sugar coat it."

This is just patently false. It isnt supported by anything... just BTDT anti ECNL propaganda. Credibility diminishing rapidly.

[Unregistered]

''Given the results to date there are essentially 6 teams right now that are really in the mix for being considered the top teams. These are Western, Pioneers, Aztec, Stars, NEFC, and Scorpions.''

''True, but the Scorpions were raided by the fat man from the Crusaders. What's left there for FM?''

''Haha.... misinformation!''

''Is this true or just a troll?''

''No truth. Troll.''

''OK, then where did the players come from to have enough to start a second Crusaders U-13 team and why was the fat man suspended for tampering with Scorpions?''

''GV was suspended for tampering with a Scorpions player almost 2 years ago. I dont know where they got their newer players but Scorpions have 4 U13 teams two of them in D1, so it probably wasn't from them.''

''Check the roster if you don't believe me''

I just checked the Crusader U13 rosters. They have at least 4 players on their B team that are actually on the Scorpions 3rd team. Nobody on either of their U13 teams that was on either of the two Scorpions top teams last year.

[Unregistered]

Trip to anywhere along East Coast is the cost of gas and tells plus the wear and tear on your car plus two nights hotel stay. I dont count food because people need to eat whether they are home or away. It might cost a little more to eat out for a few days but thats not too substantial. Our teams orders into the hotel a lot, that saves for sure.

My last trip to Va. 1300 total miles. About $200 in gas and tolls. Hotel room $275. Say $500. NJ, Penn or Long Island would be a little less, not much. N. Carolina would be a little more not much.

Trips involving flights different story. It depends a lot on when you go and where. Disney at Christmas one of the worst cases so lets go with that. Two flights $400 each. Car rental (brutal over holidays) split with other family $175. Hotel rooms 3 nights would be $500 or so, maybe less. Say $1450.

Most of us that have been doing this a while figure the longer trips average about $1,000.

So you eat peanut butter and jelly the entire weekend and hot swap the beds. Maybe this IS the way to go, but that seems like a whole lot go through just in the hope my kid gets noticed by a college coach.

So $1,450 without meals or entertainment and only $400 for flights. Suppose you get stuck parking at Logan for the weekend or can't split a car with another family, your number is going to jump up pretty quickly. Don't you see that even with all of your cost savings measures you really are not too far off the $1,800 average figure for a tournament on the east coast trip. How much do you figure it will cost you for a west coast trip? Please consider that the folks on the west coast might not be so keen on particpating if all the tournaments are limited to an 8 hour ride away from Lancaster and so these tournaments will always be spread out evenly across the country. Unless you are going to limit your participation to only the northeast tournaments, which is something I bet the other families on the team would just love, your number is going to climb dramtically. I seriously doubt that you are going to 4-5 tournaments spread out evenly across the country for a budget of $5,000.

[Unregistered]

So you eat peanut butter and jelly the entire weekend and hot swap the beds. Maybe this IS the way to go, but that seems like a whole lot go through just in the hope my kid gets noticed by a college coach.

So $1,450 without meals or entertainment and only $400 for flights. Suppose you get stuck parking at Logan for the weekend or can't split a car with another family, your number is going to jump up pretty quickly. Don't you see that even with all of your cost savings measures you really are not too far off the $1,800 average figure for a tournament on the east coast trip. How much do you figure it will cost you for a west coast trip? Please consider that the folks on the west coast might not be so keen on particpating if all the tournaments are limited to an 8 hour ride away from Lancaster and so these tournaments will always be spread out evenly across the country. Unless you are going to limit your participation to only the northeast tournaments, which is something I bet the other families on the team would just love, your number is going to climb dramtically. I seriously doubt that you are going to 4-5 tournaments spread out evenly across the country for a budget of $5,000.

You sound a little hostile.. its just a discussion man..

Peanut butter and jelly that costs $2 here, cost the same there so thats a wash (to me, you can count it if you want).

You mentioned a few legitimate examples of how costs could go up. That is fair, but they can also go down if you
A. Send your kid with another family
B. Split a room with another family
C. Get a good flight price (I just quickly looked up Jet Blue for todays rate for my post). It was actually less than $400 but I rounded up.

I believe the West Coast trip would be a little less than the Fla. trip over the holidays because the flights would be cheaper and it would be at a less travelled time.

ECNL teams choose 3 of 5 tournament options, so it is likely that a team could totally avoid the West Coast every year if thats what they wished.

"I seriously doubt that you are going to 4-5 tournaments spread out evenly across the country for a budget of $5,000" ... I just showed you how that is the average. If you dont want to believe it just do the math yourself. You can look up flights and car rental rates easily enough.