Tone of Posts

[Unregistered]

You have to realize that this IS what club soccer is all about!

Clubs try to influence parents and kids to keep them paying -- it is a business afterall!

Parents try to finagle a position for their kids on teams where they think they will have the best opportunities -- oftentimes at the expense of other KIDS!

Clubs and players have no loyalty to anyone but themselves! Clubs will sell unrealistic dreams to kids, they will screw parents/players over if it benefits them, and players will leave teammates in a bind while pursuing their pipe dreams.

If you can't handle these everyday occurences, have your kid play in the backyard with friends.

Club soccer is not a friendly environment where it's all about development and getting your player ready for higher level competition. . . it is a cut-throat money game where the "winners" are just better at playing the "game" than are the losers!

It's a sham and when a well-intentioned person attempts to pull the curtain aside to allow others to peak behind it, the people trying to protect it do their best to discredit the messenger!

Actually you are painting with too big a brush. No doubt the experience you describe is out there but it is far more club specific than you are leading on to. That type of environment starts at the top with the people who run the club and it emanates down through the coaches to the parents and then on to the players. Those clubs tend to spend an awful lot of time here on TS trying to shape the perception that their world is not only normal but desirable as well. That is why we have such contentious threads here on TS because every attempt to compare and contrast what they do is treated with abject scorn and derision. There is just no respect for anyone other than the alpha dogs and their one size fits all mindset. That lack of respect more so than anything is what has turned TS into one big ******* contest. The truth of the matter though is there are actually different environments for parents to choose from and they all are not based upon the dog eat dog mentality you have experienced. Even though this site can be extremely difficult to read at times it still does help those with an open mind see the issues so they can make their own informed decisions. You just need to bull your way through the all bull crap.

[Unregistered]

Actually you are painting with too big a brush. No doubt the experience you describe is out there but it is far more club specific than you are leading on to. That type of environment starts at the top with the people who run the club and it emanates down through the coaches to the parents and then on to the players. Those clubs tend to spend an awful lot of time here on TS trying to shape the perception that their world is not only normal but desirable as well. That is why we have such contentious threads here on TS because every attempt to compare and contrast what they do is treated with abject scorn and derision. There is just no respect for anyone other than the alpha dogs and their one size fits all mindset. That lack of respect more so than anything is what has turned TS into one big ******* contest. The truth of the matter though is there are actually different environments for parents to choose from and they all are not based upon the dog eat dog mentality you have experienced. Even though this site can be extremely difficult to read at times it still does help those with an open mind see the issues so they can make their own informed decisions. You just need to bull your way through the all bull crap.

btdt, this is just blatantly dishonest. 90% of what happens here from other clubs is a result of frustration tolerance finally breaking down and folks speaking up to you. Your spin in this regard is the core agitation on the whole site. Step back for one second and try to calculate the amount of force you have exerted here, and for a very protracted period of time.

[Unregistered]

Posts like yours are part of the problem. Everybody in here thinks their kid plays at a high level. If you are paying for them to play? Not high level. Sorry to bust your bubble. Diego Fangundez played at a high level. He didn't pay to play.

College soccer is a chimera. Don't waste your kids time by feeding them a dream that has a reality far different than you can imagine. Trust me - I have been there. Pushing my kid to play in college was the dumbest thing I did as a parent.

What do you regret about it? I feel uneasy about talking up college soccer as a goal for my daughter because I really don't know if that would be good for her or not.

[Unregistered]

The truth of the matter though is there are actually different environments for parents to choose from and they all are not based upon the dog eat dog mentality you have experienced.

Oh by all means, everyone who is happy at their own club thinks their own club is both different and better...

They all have some good, some more than others, but they are all part of the same marketplace and there is plenty wrong with it - from organization to people, club to parents.

[Unregistered]

The truth of the matter, especially when considering what folks here have to endure and the constant malicious attacks, is that the treatment of NEFC on this site generally has been positive and often quite positive. The restraint shown by most is laudable. Throw out the obvious juvenile "my team is better than yours" stuff, and I've found that almost everyone describes NEFC as an elite club with elite teams among the best in the state. Almost everyone has endorsed btdt's point about different paths and endorsed that a great player can develop and reach D1 via NEFC. A ton of folks would love to get more overtly excited about his kid and her future. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how he cannot see how counter-productive his actions here are. He decided to insert himself permanently into the site as a hemorrhoid that he refuses to remove, and so occasionally he gets some agitated replies in response, but all of this is self-inflected on him (and us). He has everything he desires and needs right in his hands and for some reason he is compelled to spoil all of it.

[Unregistered]

Awesome.

And 40% of them will be unemployed and living at home when they are 23 and not playing soccer.

[Unregistered]

You are the problem not me. My kid is the one pushing themself.

So anyone not turning pro as a teenager is wasting their time? Sorry that your kid had a bad experience in college. Sounds like Dad is still bummed out.

No just feeling a little stupid that we took soccer so seriously. It is just a game. Nothing more nothing less. If your kid is playing for a college scholarship he is probably wasting his time. There is not that much money out there.

[Unregistered]

btdt, this is just blatantly dishonest. 90% of what happens here from other clubs is a result of frustration tolerance finally breaking down and folks speaking up to you. Your spin in this regard is the core agitation on the whole site. Step back for one second and try to calculate the amount of force you have exerted here, and for a very protracted period of time.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Unregistered]

And 40% of them will be unemployed and living at home when they are 23 and not playing soccer.

That's no joke.

[Unregistered]

What do you regret about it? I feel uneasy about talking up college soccer as a goal for my daughter because I really don't know if that would be good for her or not.

Different responder answering. People tend to think college soccer is a higher level then club. It isn't. It is actually more like high school soccer.

[Unregistered]

And 40% of them will be unemployed and living at home when they are 23 and not playing soccer.

That's true with any American kid these days, soccer or not.

[Unregistered]

The truth of the matter, especially when considering what folks here have to endure and the constant malicious attacks, is that the treatment of NEFC on this site generally has been positive and often quite positive. The restraint shown by most is laudable. Throw out the obvious juvenile "my team is better than yours" stuff, and I've found that almost everyone describes NEFC as an elite club with elite teams among the best in the state. Almost everyone has endorsed btdt's point about different paths and endorsed that a great player can develop and reach D1 via NEFC. A ton of folks would love to get more overtly excited about his kid and her future. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how he cannot see how counter-productive his actions here are. He decided to insert himself permanently into the site as a hemorrhoid that he refuses to remove, and so occasionally he gets some agitated replies in response, but all of this is self-inflected on him (and us). He has everything he desires and needs right in his hands and for some reason he is compelled to spoil all of it.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Unregistered]

What are the other forums?

Try Big Soccer's youth section.

[Unregistered]

Why are 90% of the post I see on here so confrontational?
I came to this site figuring it would be a good place to get some info into the world of club soccer. Instead all I read is a bunch of negativity towards anyone who posts.
Is it all 13 year olds? Or are there truely that many angry adults with nothing better to do?

Because 5% of the reader population are self-indulgent looney-birds living life vicariously through their children and they do 90% of the posting.

Do what most sane individuals that visit here do.

1) Sift through the heaps of garbage looking for worthwhile nuggets of information (they are out there);
2) Ignore blatant stupidity (there is no cure for stupid, in fact, don't even try because it is super-contagious);
3) Contribute meaningfully when possible so the 90% can find the worthwhile nuggets;

and for the love of Pete ....

4) PLEASE do not get caught up in the insanity of; "My child plays for <insert club name here> and therefore I must despise and denigrate all players, coaches and parents of <insert rival club name here>".

Here is a news flash; NEFC, Scorpions, Stars, MPS, Aztecs, Bolts, Select, Crusaders, Valeo, Seacoast, Western United, etc., are ALL good clubs with ever-evolving pros and cons, if your kids is playing club soccer, kudos to you and enjoy!

3,
2,
1,


.............

[Unregistered]

What do you regret about it? I feel uneasy about talking up college soccer as a goal for my daughter because I really don't know if that would be good for her or not.

Everyone's motivation differs, from player to player and parent to parent. My daughter finished playing her freshman year at an elite D1 university and it was the best experience for her. A huge time commitment for sure, but the right kid will use that fact to better manage her time. And it provided a ready made group of friends from the moment she arrived on campus. Her social circle expanded over the year to include non athletes, but her soccer teammates are her closest friends.

She received a partial scholarship, but that wasn't the goal. Aside from just loving to play and being able to compete at a much higher level on a club team than she had on her high school team, the other key goal with doing club was to have soccer give her an edge in gaining admission to a school that regularly turns away many academically strong students. The number 5 ranked student in her high school was declined and my daughter was admitted. Although a very good student, she was only in top 10 percent of her class, not the top 10. I highly doubt she would have been accepted without the athletic tip.

It's certainly not for everyone and some kids will not be able to handle the comittments and drop the sport, but she was told it's only happened a handful of times at her school over the past 5 years or so. Which leads me to believe that college soccer is a positive experience for most of the players.