Club soccer is evil, only about money, and waste of time

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Just because TS can use the same thread repeated another thousand times, while all of the OPs of these threads are still on the sidelines stopwatching how much time his kid is getting and dreaming to get the kind on the next higher, more expensive level.

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Just because TS can use the same thread repeated another thousand times, while all of the OPs of these threads are still on the sidelines stopwatching how much time his kid is getting and dreaming to get the kind on the next higher, more expensive level.

So is Select hockey and AAU baseball and basketball. All designed to poach your wallet and sell a D1 pipedream to you. Remember 1% of all athletes go pro.

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So is Select hockey and AAU baseball and basketball. All designed to poach your wallet and sell a D1 pipedream to you. Remember 1% of all athletes go pro.

Stop acting like going D1 or pro is the only positive outcome of club soccer. Many priceless lessons are learned, even through failure. There are virtually no kids that play soccer, don't make d1, and think to themselves "oh wow, that was a waste." Sports play duh an important role in developing kids, and playing at a higher level and pushing yourself usually magnifies the effect that it has on someone.

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Stop acting like going D1 or pro is the only positive outcome of club soccer. Many priceless lessons are learned, even through failure. There are virtually no kids that play soccer, don't make d1, and think to themselves "oh wow, that was a waste." Sports play duh an important role in developing kids, and playing at a higher level and pushing yourself usually magnifies the effect that it has on someone.

Exactly. All these bitter parents should just take their kid’s ball and go home. No one will miss them.

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Stop acting like going D1 or pro is the only positive outcome of club soccer. Many priceless lessons are learned, even through failure. There are virtually no kids that play soccer, don't make d1, and think to themselves "oh wow, that was a waste." Sports play duh an important role in developing kids, and playing at a higher level and pushing yourself usually magnifies the effect that it has on someone.

Exactly.

We sit and complain we have no soccer culture and get our a55 handed to us internationally, then we complain about everyone dedicating so much time and money to the game, and the end result may be just furthering the love of the game.

Some people just get up in the morning, take a crap and mull what they are going to b!tch about today.

[Unregistered]

Yes our kids should all just play rec soccer and we should save our money

[Unregistered]

Stop acting like going D1 or pro is the only positive outcome of club soccer. Many priceless lessons are learned, even through failure. There are virtually no kids that play soccer, don't make d1, and think to themselves "oh wow, that was a waste." Sports play duh an important role in developing kids, and playing at a higher level and pushing yourself usually magnifies the effect that it has on someone.

What's strange in reading this post is how all of these benefits and positive experiences are attributed to "club soccer" but then referred to as "playing soccer" or "sports." So sure, I suppose you can get this positive experience from "club soccer" (my kids have and have not, depending on the situation). It also includes spending a couple of months playing school sports, but if it was up to clubs, they'd be the only game in town, encouraging you to given them your business and forego that experience altogether. And if you listen to your own club, I'm sure they remind you often that they're special, the end all and be all, deserving of more credit than anyone else, even more than the players themselves.

This is laughable of course and deserves the critcism it gets.

So pardon those of us who sip the Kool-Aid slow enough to see club soccer for what it is, at best, a business, not nearly as indispensable as they pitch themselves to be, a part and not the whole of serving a larger purpose, highly flawed, requiring careful navigation.

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Yes our kids should all just play rec soccer and we should save our money

Nice straw man.

[Unregistered]

What's strange in reading this post is how all of these benefits and positive experiences are attributed to "club soccer" but then referred to as "playing soccer" or "sports." So sure, I suppose you can get this positive experience from "club soccer" (my kids have and have not, depending on the situation). It also includes spending a couple of months playing school sports, but if it was up to clubs, they'd be the only game in town, encouraging you to given them your business and forego that experience altogether. And if you listen to your own club, I'm sure they remind you often that they're special, the end all and be all, deserving of more credit than anyone else, even more than the players themselves.

This is laughable of course and deserves the critcism it gets.

So pardon those of us who sip the Kool-Aid slow enough to see club soccer for what it is, at best, a business, not nearly as indispensable as they pitch themselves to be, a part and not the whole of serving a larger purpose, highly flawed, requiring careful navigation.

Yet at the end of the day, it is entirely your choice whether to participate or not. No one is forcing anyone that do anything.

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Yet at the end of the day, it is entirely your choice whether to participate or not. No one is forcing anyone that do anything.

I love that answer. It's the most tedious TS response in history. It's obviously true, but it's also disingenuous.

I love the game and I love that I've been gainfully employed from it, but I'm not going to ignore what's wrong by saying it's not my fault and that no one is "forcing anyone to do anything."

I've learned a lot about the business working around a lot of different characters over a long period of time for a few different clubs, ones you're very familiar with and ones you might not be. The game would benefit, players and parents would benefit, from those parent consumers being A LOT more informed about what they're buying and why they're buying it.

[Unregistered]

What's strange in reading this post is how all of these benefits and positive experiences are attributed to "club soccer" but then referred to as "playing soccer" or "sports." So sure, I suppose you can get this positive experience from "club soccer" (my kids have and have not, depending on the situation). It also includes spending a couple of months playing school sports, but if it was up to clubs, they'd be the only game in town, encouraging you to given them your business and forego that experience altogether. And if you listen to your own club, I'm sure they remind you often that they're special, the end all and be all, deserving of more credit than anyone else, even more than the players themselves.

This is laughable of course and deserves the critcism it gets.

So pardon those of us who sip the Kool-Aid slow enough to see club soccer for what it is, at best, a business, not nearly as indispensable as they pitch themselves to be, a part and not the whole of serving a larger purpose, highly flawed, requiring careful navigation.

like everything, its all in the details. terms like Club and HS are bandied about with no regard for specific situations. I love the last post that says

The game would benefit, players and parents would benefit, from those parent consumers being A LOT more informed about what they're buying and why they're buying it.

this is the line that sums most of it up. I have no issue with anyone knowingly buying a product but so many of the consumers have no real idea as to what they are buying and what motivates the person selling it.

On balance ,playing soccer has been a great experience for my kids but that includes some bad periods in both Club and Hs soccer.

I wish posters just shared thier own experiences as opposed to telling others what they should feel, think or do.

[Unregistered]

I love that answer. It's the most tedious TS response in history. It's obviously true, but it's also disingenuous.

I love the game and I love that I've been gainfully employed from it, but I'm not going to ignore what's wrong by saying it's not my fault and that no one is "forcing anyone to do anything."

I've learned a lot about the business working around a lot of different characters over a long period of time for a few different clubs, ones you're very familiar with and ones you might not be. The game would benefit, players and parents would benefit, from those parent consumers being A LOT more informed about what they're buying and why they're buying it.

But, yet, the part to key on is bolded.


You are trying to put a model in place to gear someone toward some expected outcome. There are many different outcomes from playing youth soccer, from giving a kid some fresh air for an hour a week to trying to get a free education and beyond.

Why does it bother people that some kids, and us parents, want them to play at as high a level with similar minded players for as long as possible. If my kid comes out with a love of the game, and passes it to her kids, that I do, it's a win. Absolute win.

I love the game that much, and so does she.

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There just aren't enough threads on the perils of club soccer.

[Unregistered]

Nice straw man.

It's only a matter of time until that comes up. If you've spent any time on this board you know it's coming.

[Unregistered]

There just aren't enough threads on the perils of club soccer.

And yet you read/comment in every one ?