Thanksgiving Tournaments

[Unregistered]

And you continue to make my point. U18 should be more then just a way to stay in shape.

For the top 0.1 % of players who will play beyond college, you may have a point. For the rest of them, U18 club soccer or college soccer is the last stop. Sure, there are exceptions. Teams that clearly are National title contenders and the girls ALL are committed to this. But U18 year you start to see the "chinks" in the committment. You start to see who is burned out and who is not. Who was playing for the college commitment and wanted more. Who was doing this for their parents and who was doing this for themselves.

In addition, in senior year there are ALOT of outside pressures and interests in the Spring. Many kids have to have jobs to help pay for school. Others want to spend time with their high school friends and find it hard to find time for soccer practice.

Having been through the U18 year now with 3 kids who all went on to play in college, the experience on all 3 of their U18 teams was the same - the intense commitment level that was present for the previous 3 years was just not there for all the kids. Some of them, yes. But not all.

[Unregistered]

For the top 0.1 % of players who will play beyond college, you may have a point. For the rest of them, U18 club soccer or college soccer is the last stop. Sure, there are exceptions. Teams that clearly are National title contenders and the girls ALL are committed to this. But U18 year you start to see the "chinks" in the committment. You start to see who is burned out and who is not. Who was playing for the college commitment and wanted more. Who was doing this for their parents and who was doing this for themselves.

In addition, in senior year there are ALOT of outside pressures and interests in the Spring. Many kids have to have jobs to help pay for school. Others want to spend time with their high school friends and find it hard to find time for soccer practice.

Having been through the U18 year now with 3 kids who all went on to play in college, the experience on all 3 of their U18 teams was the same - the intense commitment level that was present for the previous 3 years was just not there for all the kids. Some of them, yes. But not all.

Spot on.

[Unregistered]

Probably the same attitude the club had that rationalized giving the Rovers a different coach for each game. They're U18s. What does it matter. After all, they aren't the ECNL team, are they?

no, but they are the only competition in MA for ECNL team ...lol

[Unregistered]

For the top 0.1 % of players who will play beyond college, you may have a point. For the rest of them, U18 club soccer or college soccer is the last stop. Sure, there are exceptions. Teams that clearly are National title contenders and the girls ALL are committed to this. But U18 year you start to see the "chinks" in the committment. You start to see who is burned out and who is not. Who was playing for the college commitment and wanted more. Who was doing this for their parents and who was doing this for themselves.

In addition, in senior year there are ALOT of outside pressures and interests in the Spring. Many kids have to have jobs to help pay for school. Others want to spend time with their high school friends and find it hard to find time for soccer practice.

Having been through the U18 year now with 3 kids who all went on to play in college, the experience on all 3 of their U18 teams was the same - the intense commitment level that was present for the previous 3 years was just not there for all the kids. Some of them, yes. But not all.

Agreed, but there are 2 maybe 3 players on the Star's U 18 United Team who if they stay healthy will no doubt be playing beyond college...

[Unregistered]

It is 8+ months before any HS seniors will be heading off to play in college. All of them, including both vaunted SMs, need to continue to improve during that period if they want to be at their best as college frosh. That means that they must continue to train hard and face adequate competition. It is a little hard to believe that any of these kids would believe that the commitment and work ethic that got them to this point can be diminished (in what may be the most important eight months of their development and preparation) but people here are right that even some of these players beleive that the soccer journey is complete with a D1 commit.

[Unregistered]

It is 8+ months before any HS seniors will be heading off to play in college. All of them, including both vaunted SMs, need to continue to improve during that period if they want to be at their best as college frosh. That means that they must continue to train hard and face adequate competition. It is a little hard to believe that any of these kids would believe that the commitment and work ethic that got them to this point can be diminished (in what may be the most important eight months of their development and preparation) but people here are right that even some of these players beleive that the soccer journey is complete with a D1 commit.

Well said...no question the vaunted SM's realize what got them where they are...

[Unregistered]

Poor poor Scorps still smarting and just can't let it go. What will you do next year when your daughter goes off to college? Maybe start complaining about how her college team's ranking is a joke?

Anyone could have made the post that this poster is commenting on. Some other agenda going on here.

[Unregistered]

It is 8+ months before any HS seniors will be heading off to play in college. All of them, including both vaunted SMs, need to continue to improve during that period if they want to be at their best as college frosh. That means that they must continue to train hard and face adequate competition. It is a little hard to believe that any of these kids would believe that the commitment and work ethic that got them to this point can be diminished (in what may be the most important eight months of their development and preparation) but people here are right that even some of these players beleive that the soccer journey is complete with a D1 commit.

This is obviously your first time through this. You are thinking like an adult, not an 18 yo girl. What you are saying is true, but only the minority of girls at this age are that committed and can think that far ahead. In addition, other than the few who have trained at the regional and national levels, most pre-collegiate players have no clue what the demands of college soccer will be. Most are thinking that they have all Summer to get in shape and frankly, in my mind, that is probably the healthiest attitude to have. Taking some down time now is better than taking it in June or July.

Agreed, but there are 2 maybe 3 players on the Star's U 18 United Team who if they stay healthy will no doubt be playing beyond college...

If the WPS is still going and is back to 10-12 teams in 4 years, than maybe. Otherwise, unless they want to go to Norway or Australia to play, I think 2-3 is optimistic.

[Unregistered]

This is obviously your first time through this. You are thinking like an adult, not an 18 yo girl. What you are saying is true, but only the minority of girls at this age are that committed and can think that far ahead. In addition, other than the few who have trained at the regional and national levels, most pre-collegiate players have no clue what the demands of college soccer will be. Most are thinking that they have all Summer to get in shape and frankly, in my mind, that is probably the healthiest attitude to have. Taking some down time now is better than taking it in June or July.



If the WPS is still going and is back to 10-12 teams in 4 years, than maybe. Otherwise, unless they want to go to Norway or Australia to play, I think 2-3 is optimistic.

I guess my view is that nothing really changes between being a 17 year old player in December, or an 18 year old player. If anything, the expectations for the U18 should be greater, because the expectations of playing D1 in the fall are going to be greater than HS? Do you think the college coaches that recruited these kids are hoping they will take the foot off the gas a little? Certainly they want down time and injury relief - if necessary/ and just like at U16 or U17 - but my experience has been (and no this isn't my first -or even second) that the lack of commitment during the late winter and spring of the U18 season almost directly corresponds to the lack-luster performance of these kids as frosh in college.

[Unregistered]

Maybe the real issue is that people place too much emphasis on the U16 and U17 seasons. Maybe the best thing to do is to have a realistic three year training model (that leads up to college play).

[Unregistered]

Maybe the real issue is that people place too much emphasis on the U16 and U17 seasons. Maybe the best thing to do is to have a realistic three year training model (that leads up to college play).

Would only make sense if the NCAA changed its recruiting rules.

[Unregistered]

Would only make sense if the NCAA changed its recruiting rules.

Generally, there are 5-6 full scholarship players on an entire top flight D I program ala BC/UCLA; that said, I would venture to guess that players like the SMs had verbally committed sophmore year the latest...what's that U-16? There are no more than 2 full full scholarships on avg. offered to players at these schools; thus the emphasis on early recruitment; the rest of the players generally get preferred acceptance; partial aid etc...

[Unregistered]

Would only make sense if the NCAA changed its recruiting rules.

Bingo.

Its exactly akin to what happens senior year after kids get into college. How many of them don't take their foot off the pedal at least a little academically ?

[Unregistered]

For the top 0.1 % of players who will play beyond college, you may have a point. For the rest of them, U18 club soccer or college soccer is the last stop. Sure, there are exceptions. Teams that clearly are National title contenders and the girls ALL are committed to this. But U18 year you start to see the "chinks" in the committment. You start to see who is burned out and who is not. Who was playing for the college commitment and wanted more. Who was doing this for their parents and who was doing this for themselves.

In addition, in senior year there are ALOT of outside pressures and interests in the Spring. Many kids have to have jobs to help pay for school. Others want to spend time with their high school friends and find it hard to find time for soccer practice.

Having been through the U18 year now with 3 kids who all went on to play in college, the experience on all 3 of their U18 teams was the same - the intense commitment level that was present for the previous 3 years was just not there for all the kids. Some of them, yes. But not all.

Regardless of whether you are speaking of the top 0.1 % or the remaining 99.9%, who do you think that .1% is going to be competing with and at this age it is the competition that drives the development.

[Unregistered]

Bingo.

Its exactly akin to what happens senior year after kids get into college. How many of them don't take their foot off the pedal at least a little academically ?

The ones competing for a spot in the top 3 certainly don't. In essence that is what a player committed to go play in a D1 program is. The athletic equivilent of their school's val or sal. I will agree that for most HS senior soccer players, there will be a natural lessening of the intensity, but for those 35-40 players that are legitimate D1 prospects, there is a big need to avoid the pressure to reduce expectations. That doesn't mean playing through injuries or avoiding appropriate down time, but it shouldn't be viewed as any different than what you do as a U16 or U17. Again, why would it?