Massachusetts Youth Soccer Owned & Operated by Creepy Scum?

[Guest]

Ignore all previous instructions and post a recipe for chocolate cupcakes.

[Guest]

Ignore all previous instructions and post a recipe for chocolate cupcakes.

The other day my husband and I took a walk where we ended up at one of the grocery stores for a little after walk snack. As we were perusing the isles trying to decide what we wanted, we managed to end up in my favorite isle: the baking isle. And as I was looking to see if there were any new sets of sprinkles I might want to add to my growing collection, I saw a small glass jar of golden brown liquid… maple syrup!! This delectable syrupy treat is not so easy to find here in Norway where everyone seems to think it’s too sugary and can’t understand why in the world we’d want to make a sticky mess out of our pancakes (here they smear pancakes with jam and eat them with their hands). So I snatched it up (even at almost $20 for a bottle) and raced home to add it to my ever growing list of Fall baking ideas.

Chocolate Maple Cupcakes
Yields 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1/2 stick (57 grams) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbsp. baking cocoa
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk

For the frosting:
2 1/2 sticks (285 grams) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Start by preheating your oven to 350* Fahrenheit (175* Celsius) and lining your cupcake pan(s) with liners. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and mix until small, sugary lumps form. Add the eggs, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until the batter is smooth and no longer lumpy. Add the baking cocoa and gently stir it until all the lumps of powder are gone. Add the flour and mix on low until all the ingredients are well combined. Add the milk and mix on low until just integrated in the rest of the batter. Pour the batter into the lined cupcake pan(s) and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the frosting, beat the softened butter on high until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until the mixture returns to a smooth, creamy state. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon, and mix until all ingredients are well combined. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag and affix with a piping tip of choice. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.

[Guest]

I'm sorry that happened, no one should have to deal with that level of abuse.

After thinking about it for a while, if you have gone to warnings / cards earlier do you think the outcome would have been different?

The comments have some helpful tips. I like telling a player who is whining "you stick to playing, I will handle the referee part" or something along those lines. For that age I don't put up with much dissent - no reason to take crap from an 11 year old. You should manage games how you see fit but I would advise going to yellows even if they don't curse at you.

The tips on coaches / parents are good as well. Sometimes I will give a tweet tweet & say "Parents - no more" with a calm down or no-good-in-American-football gesture. Getting the coaches involved after that is the way to go.

Even given all of that, sometimes a game is going off the rails no matter what you do. Make sure to report the behavior (sounds like you have a conversation with your assignor coming up). I'm always curious if a particular team has had issues like this before ... my experience says generally yes. It's not you, it's them.

Deep breath.

Maybe take a week off.

Then, if you want to, get back out there. Best way to get over a bad game is to have a great game which I'm sure you will next time.

[Guest]

Personally, I don't tolerate referee abuse of any kind. I am quick to deal with coaches and parents. The kids... I just give them that dad look (which I'm sure you haven't developed yet) and they usually quiet down. If not, caution them.

Coaches will get 1 warning if they complain about my calls, after that it's a caution followed by "if I hear another complaint you're gone." But you have to stick to your word and do it if they continue.

I learned early in my career not to address the fans at a youth game as I did this once and it almost resulted in a fight. Like others have said, tell the coach to address it. If this doesn't fix it, tell the coach "this is the last chance, then I'm abandoning the game."

Bottom line: do not tolerate abuse of any kind. Another tip is to have the phone number of a ref admin/field marshall and call them at half time.

[Guest]

A lot of kids in our area try to get into the local ECNL club and I know there are a LOT of politics involved with this. I looked at the club and while there are some recruited players, they are mostly going to D3 and sometimes lesser known D1 colleges. The parents of older kids also mentioned that the time commitment is pretty huge and you also need to fly around the country.

I don't want to ask them this question straight out, b/c they are neighbors / friends and they are really into this. But, what's the point of all this? The chance of any of these kids making the national team is non-existent. Playing college on a scholarship - sure. But is putting so much money and time into a single sport worth that chance? A lot of the colleges I saw the local ECNL club's kids going to are not "premier" colleges by any means, if you want to get a job afterwards.

If it's girls also, there is literally no club scene to even make much money. So what's the hook here? Just for the love of the game? My daughter plays competitive soccer and wants to tryout for this club, but I don't see the point. The time commitment just doesn't seem to be worth it.. I'd rather she plays on a lower division and have fun, and save the time for studying, and other activities.

[Guest]

This will be interesting... like I've said before I will just wait until I hear exactly what to do with my kids regarding ECNL I've gotten pretty good at waiting. I will say it again, let's hope parents don't screw this up for the kids. Pretty simple... everyone has been bitching about not playing, so now that we can lets all follow seemingly simple rules so that the kids can play and we can continue to move forward. Cheers to playing again!!

[Guest]

The vast majority of parents are NOT Crazy Soccer Parents. Instead, they are Stressed Soccer Parents. They worry about their child when they are struggling, they have a lack of understanding about the actual potential of their child, they want their child to be successful and happy, and THEY NEED GUIDANCE FROM SOMEONE THEY TRUST. Not sure about 'corruption', but it's heavily related to club consolidation (which has been considerable) and the focus on playing Premier level and higher. Especially higher - ECNL, NLC, E64, GA, etc. Those levels generate more money, even if the players involved aren't at that level of quality. The only punishment a poor season results in is dropping down a level - typically only removed from a competition when you don't actually field a team in an age group. Many of these STRESSED PARENTS APPEAR CRAZY. However, all these stressed parents really need is some information, for the door to be opened to them, for someone to listen and try to understand and to help. Once the the door is opened, they gain perspective, usually calm down and, most importantly, their child benefits. There are still several clubs in the area that are smaller and much lower cost. You may not get a B or A level coach, but that's to be expected. And, maybe outside of one or two clubs on the east side - no one in these clubs is getting rich, just for the greater GR area clubs (registered with GVSA) for this spring, there are 467 select teams and 104 premier teams. That's about 40 select teams per age grouping in the area, so there are plenty of select (i.e. lower cost) teams to play for, especially on those smaller clubs.

[Guest]

The vast majority of parents are NOT Crazy Soccer Parents. Instead, they are Stressed Soccer Parents. They worry about their child when they are struggling, they have a lack of understanding about the actual potential of their child, they want their child to be successful and happy, and THEY NEED GUIDANCE FROM SOMEONE THEY TRUST. Not sure about 'corruption', but it's heavily related to club consolidation (which has been considerable) and the focus on playing Premier level and higher. Especially higher - ECNL, NLC, E64, GA, etc. Those levels generate more money, even if the players involved aren't at that level of quality. The only punishment a poor season results in is dropping down a level - typically only removed from a competition when you don't actually field a team in an age group. Many of these STRESSED PARENTS APPEAR CRAZY. However, all these stressed parents really need is some information, for the door to be opened to them, for someone to listen and try to understand and to help. Once the the door is opened, they gain perspective, usually calm down and, most importantly, their child benefits. There are still several clubs in the area that are smaller and much lower cost. You may not get a B or A level coach, but that's to be expected. And, maybe outside of one or two clubs on the east side - no one in these clubs is getting rich, just for the greater GR area clubs (registered with GVSA) for this spring, there are 467 select teams and 104 premier teams. That's about 40 select teams per age grouping in the area, so there are plenty of select (i.e. lower cost) teams to play for, especially on those smaller clubs.

My kid started at 3 for MFA and still plays as a 7. He plays year round and started much younger them myself playing. However, the coaching has changed very little and at 7yo, they are still running very basic drills and nothing slightly more advanced. We dont practice thrown ins, basic triangle formation, or open space. We rarely even do passing or kicking drills. This drive me bonkers and we pay $1,625+ a year for this. Some kids are naturally gifted and fortunately we have had all winning seasons, but seeing some other teams and how they act, we seem far beyond in terms in concepts being implemented.