Im hoping someone can give me some general, unbiased information as We are new to club soccer and went to my daughter's first tryout this week - U10. After the tryout one of the coaches told me that my daughter had a place on their "A" team. We are so new to this that I'm not sure what that means. Do I need to bring her to the remaining tryouts? What's the general difference between A and B teams..different leagues/schedules? Should i bring her to another clubs tryouts as well? What is typically expected of you when you are on the team in terms of # of practices, games per week, can kids play pvjsl and club? I know these questions are very basic but I didn't expect this outcome. Thanks for your help!
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depends on the club. I would go to the second tryout to make sure, but that is just my opinion. I would contact the club and ask for clarifications between the two teams. -
Go to the 2nd & cheer your kid on loudly with a vuvzela throughout the whole tryout.
They love the enthusiasm.Comment
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Just speaking in terms of soccer growth here:Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
1: You want to be on a team of good players because they make each other better.
2: When your on that better team you often end up playing better teams in better leagues which also makes you better.
3: Kids who enjoy competition and enjoy getting better belong on the best team they can make.
there are other factors which you will learn by talking to parents. How good the coach is, is my kid enjoying themselve and is the price fair. However the difference in premier soccer between an "A" team and a "B" team is huge. If your daughter ends up being the best player on the "B" team she would have trouble improving at practice due to practicing with weaker players and playing weaker competition.
Go for the "A" team and by years end you will have learned a ton for a U11 decision.Comment
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Regarding can she do both pvjsl and club, mine did ok with it for a year. It depends on what level the pvjsl team is, if it is in 1st division its usually fine since they dont play Sundays. If there are other girls playing club it will lead to a forfeit if to many are missing on the same day. Last year mine just did club and we were all much happier.Comment
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I think the first half of this post is on target, but the second half is significantly overgeneralized. Sometimes the difference between A and B teams is huge, as the poster claims, but sometimes not. On my son's club, the A and B teams for his age group twice met in tournament finals. (Big tournaments, too.) The A and B teams also practiced together, so there was no difference in the quality of the practices.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
In any case, this probably doesn't matter for you, since your daughter's been invited to be on the A team. Congratulations!Comment
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While there have been some fine generalities offered as answers, the facts are that the variables here are huge. Potentially within a club even, but certainly from one club to the next.
The FIRST answer is all of what you posed to this audience should have already been asked at the last tryout, especially in light of that good news you received, or absolutely should be asked at the next one.
My advice is that you should continue to go to this club's tryouts regardless. Coaches appreciate being able to see kids more, in addition to potentially having the extra players to round out small sided games, etc.
Whether or not you seek out another club as a bit of a "2nd opinion" should be a function of the answers you get, even more so the level of comfort you derive from those answers, during a conversation with the first club's coach and perhaps a technical director.
They're trying to win your business, trust and relationship - not the other way around, don't forget that. If you have the impression that the latter is the case, rather than the former - run! Find another tryout.Comment
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The difference is only HUGE if the club does not have a good coach assigned to their B team. At U10 coaching matters much more than the label of team. Do your own research. Every club is different with what their A team and B team goals are. The B team GU15 Stars of Ma won the State Championship this year. The B team GU12 Stars of MA is #2 in the league. There is no HUGE difference in these two teams. The B team GU13 Stars of Ma played in northeast regional league this year. NEFC boasts similiar B team statistics in their ranks.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
The difference may be more prevalent in other smaller clubs, however do your own research and again at U10 - the COACH matters MUCH more than the team label. It would be good if your A team has got both a good coach and good players. But in any event, you are obviously not going to get all the best information from Talking Soccer. I am a biased Stars parent who has both A team and B team kids in my family.Comment
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Go to the second tryout. Ask the questions via phone, email or in person, but probably not tryout night unless you are invited to. U10 club players typically practice 2x a week Fall and Spring; 1x a week winter, depending on the club. Leagues are abundant but in MA NEP and MAPLE seem to be where U10s play. U10 A teams will typically be put in the better brackets for competition in both, but you won't be able to judge this because most U10 leagues don't keep score officially. Club is more of a commitment that travel/town leagues and expect club practices and games to take priority regardless of who scheduled what first. That is the expectation from most coaches across the board.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Congrats on the A team selection but agree with the other poster that coaching matters more at this age than the team label. There are basics which need to get learned over the next two years and the coach is very important to this process. U10 teams sometimes succeed on their size and athletic ability but they don't continue succeeding if they are not taught good soccer at the same time. In other words, a U10 kick and run team can win alot--- but if they are never taught passing, etc., they will be far behind by the time U13 rolls around. Coaching coaching coaching is what's important. An A team slot with a mediocre coach would be worse than a B team slot with a coach with a proven track record. Hopefully you got both!!!Comment
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Great point - that really sums it up. A very difficult determination to make as others have noted, because even in this statement, the problem of club labels muddying the waters and decision faced isn't presented.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Cachet persuades parents to make bad decisions for their situation. However rare that might be, it can happen. You need to know everything you can about the commitment you can make and the commitment required - find the best soccer environment for your kid within that equation. Be objective about it, don't be impulsive or reactionary. Really nice looking uniforms can't make up for an otherwise fine coach perhaps misplaced with the wrong age group or worse.Comment
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Ignore this post. Long time coach here, youth through college.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
1) There is no such thing as a "good" u10 player. There are kids that are early bloomers but this is predictor of future ability. Rather than good players you want your child playing with kids who genuinely enjoy the game. That enjoyment manifests itself in dedication and enthusiasm.
2) Once again "better" is totally irrelevant at this age. What is important is that the team is challenged. Middle of the pack is probably best. You really don't want them winning or losing my more than a goal or two. Anything else is not really productive. A 7-0 season or 0-7 season of blowouts are equally bad.
3) This point is only partly true. You want your daughter on a club that does its best to keep a core of players together for 2 or more years. Players affinity for one another, which only comes through the experience of playing together, is just as important as skill and talent. Kids need stability in terms of coaches and teammates. Turnover in both areas is one of the biggest inhibitors of development in youth sports.
Here is a fact 50% of both the A and B team will have given up soccer in 4 years. The most important question that the coach can answer is how does he or she allocate playing time and do players rotate between positions. Your child should play every position at this age, more importantly the players should play roughly the same amount of time per game. If the coach is not willing to guarantee that your child is going to see at least 50-60% playing time walk away.
Try this. Ask your daughter which team she would rather be on. My daughter played on B teams early on because she was more comfortable with less pressure. She went on to being one of the top HS players during her HS years and played in college for two years before she retired due to injury.
She never played above D2 in MAPLE but that was never important. She had the same coaches from U14 to U18. The most important thing is that she absolutely loved the game and was a fierce competitor. Her experience at U10 and U11 was horrible because she was in a situation where the coach was obsessed with winning and created a cutthroat environment. She got most of her early development in town soccer where she learned to be confident and comfortable with the ball.
Bottom line? A or B teams at this age will have zero bearing on where she winds up.Comment
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The suspense is killing me, where did she go? I assume she got the offer on the first night.Comment
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Someone mentioned that the OP wouldn't get the best answers from talking soccer. Is there another place to check out? I think I saw a link in another thread to another board or site with coaching and development tips?Comment
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