“Premier” & “Elite”

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OK got it. You both need to chill a bit. If she is good enough to play NPL she will eventually get there but I doubt she is. A little story for you...my kid was a good town player who moved to club and yes it was a big change cause the fact was the kids in club were better. However, after her first year she moved from the Select team to the Premier team, as she improved a lot. Then after her 2nd year she moved from Premier to NPL. It took 2 years. So be patient. Your primary concern should be whether she is getting the right training and that the coach is good. Worry about getting the NPL "badge" later. If she is not enjoying herself you need to ask her why.

Yes. I have since heard it's rare to be put on NPL in less than 2 years. Would you agree?

Certainly a lot to think about. Thanks for the dialogue.

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Yes. I have since heard it's rare to be put on NPL in less than 2 years. Would you agree?

Certainly a lot to think about. Thanks for the dialogue.

One thing I would add is that NPL is not as great as you might think. There are plenty of NPL teams that are just at or above a good travel team. It is not what it used to be and is now third and sometimes 4th tier depending on the league (and even then lots of disparity between the top and bottom teams).

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One thing I would add is that NPL is not as great as you might think. There are plenty of NPL teams that are just at or above a good travel team. It is not what it used to be and is now third and sometimes 4th tier depending on the league (and even then lots of disparity between the top and bottom teams).

I forgot to add that you should stop chasing a label .... be it NPL, elite, extreme, select, premier ...... your goal should be for your kid to progress each and every year. It's a race against her own skills not everyone elses.

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One thing I would add is that NPL is not as great as you might think. There are plenty of NPL teams that are just at or above a good travel team. It is not what it used to be and is now third and sometimes 4th tier depending on the league (and even then lots of disparity between the top and bottom teams).

Agreed mostly. Don't get hung up on titles of leagues or teams (that's coming from a parent who has had their kid with a label of "Select", "Elite", "Premier", "NPL", and "DA" attached to team name. It varies widely and ultimately doesn't mean much (DA commitments aside).

One should be concerned their child is at the correct level, meaning they are not head and shoulders above someone else, but also able to keep up. A perfect world for me is that my kid is in the top 5 on her team and they tie every game they play...

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I forgot to add that you should stop chasing a label .... be it NPL, elite, extreme, select, premier ...... your goal should be for your kid to progress each and every year. It's a race against her own skills not everyone elses.

I get that but if I'm spending close to $3k i want her in one of the top leagues eventually. I don't want to keep paying that kind of money for a league that's virtually the same as town travel. Don't mind it now if that's where she belongs but at some point if she's not progressing I need to move her back to town

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Agreed mostly. Don't get hung up on titles of leagues or teams (that's coming from a parent who has had their kid with a label of "Select", "Elite", "Premier", "NPL", and "DA" attached to team name. It varies widely and ultimately doesn't mean much (DA commitments aside).

One should be concerned their child is at the correct level, meaning they are not head and shoulders above someone else, but also able to keep up. A perfect world for me is that my kid is in the top 5 on her team and they tie every game they play...

I've just been following along here, not the OP you were replying to, but that does bring up a question from me. What if your kid is top 2 or 3 per the coach, team is weak, loses most games, and your kid isn't being challenged because her teammates are just too far behind developmentally, except maybe 2. Team above yours is full. Now what? Feels like a waste of a year. How do you salvage it? Its still early in a 10 month year. Not chasing a name or title but truly feeling development is slowing way down. Would really love some advice.

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I've just been following along here, not the OP you were replying to, but that does bring up a question from me. What if your kid is top 2 or 3 per the coach, team is weak, loses most games, and your kid isn't being challenged because her teammates are just too far behind developmentally, except maybe 2. Team above yours is full. Now what? Feels like a waste of a year. How do you salvage it? Its still early in a 10 month year. Not chasing a name or title but truly feeling development is slowing way down. Would really love some advice.

I'd push to see if you can practice with the other team. We took that route for a while and it definitely helped her. I don't see any coach not allowing that assuming he did say they were in the top 2 players.

I'd look to supplement their training with futsal or private trainings in the meantime.

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I've just been following along here, not the OP you were replying to, but that does bring up a question from me. What if your kid is top 2 or 3 per the coach, team is weak, loses most games, and your kid isn't being challenged because her teammates are just too far behind developmentally, except maybe 2. Team above yours is full. Now what? Feels like a waste of a year. How do you salvage it? Its still early in a 10 month year. Not chasing a name or title but truly feeling development is slowing way down. Would really love some advice.

Also ask the coach if your kid can guest play up with the 'top' team or even guest up a year. Just present it as you would like to see how she handles it. Our coaches do it all the time.

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I get that but if I'm spending close to $3k i want her in one of the top leagues eventually.

Welcome to the pay-to-play marketing trap. Every player on that team is paying the same and likely has the same hope.

[Unregistered]

I've just been following along here, not the OP you were replying to, but that does bring up a question from me. What if your kid is top 2 or 3 per the coach, team is weak, loses most games, and your kid isn't being challenged because her teammates are just too far behind developmentally, except maybe 2. Team above yours is full. Now what? Feels like a waste of a year. How do you salvage it? Its still early in a 10 month year. Not chasing a name or title but truly feeling development is slowing way down. Would really love some advice.

Listen this situation should only happen for a year or so. If you know the situation and your portrayal is accurate of your kid as a top 2 or 3 on a bad team then you should see it is time to look for more to suit her. You should continue to see her improve this year and her confidence should skyrocket as should some leadership skills. You should have a grip on several local or regional teams, clubs, and coaches and you shpuld ask them tobworkput with their teams 2 or 3 times each come spring. Test drive as many as you can as often as you can. You will get a feel for the kids, parents, coach, prqcrice quality, style of play and you will see which place seems likr a good or bad fit for your kid. Stagger the workouts for each team ..... She wont like the first one or two because it is new but it gets easier the more she does it more so make sure not to penalize the first one or two teams that you go to.

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Yes. I have since heard it's rare to be put on NPL in less than 2 years. Would you agree?

Certainly a lot to think about. Thanks for the dialogue.

I wouldn't put any timeframe on it. Some kids never make it to NPL. Frankly you're worried about the wrong thing. Like others have said NPL doesn't necessarily mean anything. There are plenty of non NPL teams that are better than NPL teams. There are plenty of non NPL teams that have better coaches than NPL teams. Your focus should be on your daughter's development and having her get the best coaching available. Also whether she is having fun and being challenged.

[Unregistered]

I've just been following along here, not the OP you were replying to, but that does bring up a question from me. What if your kid is top 2 or 3 per the coach, team is weak, loses most games, and your kid isn't being challenged because her teammates are just too far behind developmentally, except maybe 2. Team above yours is full. Now what? Feels like a waste of a year. How do you salvage it? Its still early in a 10 month year. Not chasing a name or title but truly feeling development is slowing way down. Would really love some advice.

Speaking from experience coaching and having 2 kids playing club in a similar situation. One stopped playing after high school due to injury (DIII player) and the other has committed to a D1 program. First and foremost if the player is young, touch, receiving and passing fundamentals are most important if the coach is teaching that and she is learning, working hard at speed and enjoying it, that is most important. Involve her in the decision. Games are a side effect of the American system, training should be more often and less games... That said I agree with some others, ask to practice with the higher team or another team as well as hers. If she is top 3 on the team coaches will go with the idea. If not then ask anyway, accept it if you get a no and work with her in the yard. The more she touches the ball outside of games the better she will become. If she has a brother or older sibling have them play together at home. Learning game strategy and the like is easier to teach/learn when the player is older. Being creative and having touch takes lots and lots of practice and comes from enjoying the game! Be realistic and enjoy watching your player play. If the money is an issue than you have to weigh that situation. Time is needed for whatever decision to become what your family makes of it.

[Unregistered]

Speaking from experience coaching and having 2 kids playing club in a similar situation. One stopped playing after high school due to injury (DIII player) and the other has committed to a D1 program. First and foremost if the player is young, touch, receiving and passing fundamentals are most important if the coach is teaching that and she is learning, working hard at speed and enjoying it, that is most important. Involve her in the decision. Games are a side effect of the American system, training should be more often and less games... That said I agree with some others, ask to practice with the higher team or another team as well as hers. If she is top 3 on the team coaches will go with the idea. If not then ask anyway, accept it if you get a no and work with her in the yard. The more she touches the ball outside of games the better she will become. If she has a brother or older sibling have them play together at home. Learning game strategy and the like is easier to teach/learn when the player is older. Being creative and having touch takes lots and lots of practice and comes from enjoying the game! Be realistic and enjoy watching your player play. If the money is an issue than you have to weigh that situation. Time is needed for whatever decision to become what your family makes of it.

Another old timer here .... I slightly disagree. The easiest way to an elite team is for your kid to be very fast. This single trait is, by far, the most important thing coaches look for ..... far more than technical ability or soccer IQ. Almost any coach in America will take extreme speed over extreme technical ability and most premier teams are littered with fast kids with very few technical kids (which is why so few teams can move the ball well). Work on the technical, but have them improving fitness, speed, and quickness at least as much.

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Another old timer here .... I slightly disagree. The easiest way to an elite team is for your kid to be very fast. This single trait is, by far, the most important thing coaches look for ..... far more than technical ability or soccer IQ. Almost any coach in America will take extreme speed over extreme technical ability and most premier teams are littered with fast kids with very few technical kids (which is why so few teams can move the ball well). Work on the technical, but have them improving fitness, speed, and quickness at least as much.

As being yet another old timer, I think you may need to realize the game is different today. yes, at one time, speed was overly important because, frankly, our skills lacked how to offset it. The game is much different today.

Not saying it's not important, but at younger ages I know of many really fast kids not getting into the top teams because that's all they have. They get noticed for being in front of everyone, but they also get noticed because they run themselves into the corner too much in an attempt to avoid taking someone on.

I think coaches today have evolved to look at someone's first touch to gain an understanding of their abilities than speed.

I will also revert back to Johan Cruyff quotes when thinking of speed: What is speed? The sports press often confuses speed with insight. See, if I start running slightly earlier than someone else, I seem faster.