What a bunch of losers on this site. 2014 Boys? Really? The best players now will most likely not be best players at 15, 16 or 17 years old. This is such a waste of time. None of this matters and the odds your kid will play college soccer or higher are slim to none! A lot of these kids will get burnt out and move to other sports- football, cross country, lacrosse, baseball, etc. You are pushing these kids too hard. I know, I know. the kids want to play at a higher level. That may be true, but you are the adults and should pull back on these crazy programs that want you at every practice, every game, every futsal- not just for the fall or spring, but year round. Do yourselves a favor and pull back. I delayed this level of play with my 2012 daughter and she was invited to 4 tryouts this year- SJEB, Deptford, PDA, & Real. Guess how many we went to? ZERO. She has improved so much in 3 years we don't need to push up to EDP or play 11 v 11 a year early. This is all so stupid. My son is a 2013 and I am doing the same for him. SJEB, FutbolTech & Real invited him to tryouts and we said no thanks. If your kid is good enough and they keep improving they can make a team at 15 or 16. Just being on a team at younger ages does not guarantee teams will keep you or not take better players. Both my kids are super fast, have good skill, and see the game differently than kids their age due to all the other sports they play. They play in SJSL at Flight 2 and dominate. They both average 2+ goals and 2+ assists per game and get to try crazy moves because they are better. Both played 4 scrimmages against EDP teams and while they did not dominate to the level of SJSL, they both drove play at both ends and each scored 2 goals. With that being said, the game and players change once kids hit 15/16 years old. None of this crap people are posting means anything. Even my kids may get passed by, but that is the point of my post. Let the kids be kids and stop all this BS. Parents of EDP/GA players don't even realize it is a business. Maybe 2-3 players on a team will go on and play soccer in college. They rest would have been better off putting all their money in a 529 plan. Wake up! Your kid will not have a leg up once puberty hits. Puberty is the great equalizer. Just like all the other sports. None of this means anything until then. There is a ton of talent not playing EDP/GA, you people just don't realize it because you are too wrapped up the B.S. Just get your kid to enjoy sports and do not put so much pressure on them!
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Forgot one thing. A wise parent coach (that played in ACC from '91-94 told me something three years ago. They said "would you rather your kid be the best at 9 or the best at 18?" Naturally I said 18. They then said "keep it fun, master the fundamentals (both feet & at home) to the point everything looks natural, and do not rush to a higher level of competition. If you do this, your kid has talent and they love the game they will be fine." I have followed this for both my kids and when they played against EDP teams, they were top 3 players on the field. EDP/GA will not dictate to me, I will move kids if and when I see fit. It is not my kids decision unless they don't want to move up. I am the parent and will decide what is best. ALL OF YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND STOP DRINKING THE KOOLAID OF EDP/GA CLUBS. They just want your money!!!!!!!!!! -
Originally posted by Guest View Post
This is the first time somebody on this website has a point. Some parents make their child leave their town club for a MLS Next/ECNL/GA. The parent would be happy about this but the child won’t and why because they wanted to keep playing soccer with their friends but you had other plans and wanted your child to play for that MLS Next/ECNL/GA team. Some parents do this because they want the best for their child but others do this for the wins and trophies. I’m not saying spoil your child but listen to them if they want to keep playing for their town team with his/her friends. If you and your child are happy for joining that MLS Next/ECNL/GA team then good for you guys. There’s reasons why you shouldn’t do this with your child at him/her being at a young age, 1.What if your child wants to play another sport instead of soccer in a few years? and 2.What if your child gets downgraded the next year to the B team for better players? Now if you let your child play for their town team but you want them to develop more put them on a program like A-Game, SGE Elite, etc. And you can also let your child play a year up to help them gain experience against older kids and 9v9/11v11 experience. If your child wants to go all the way around the age of 14-15 then now is the time to put your child on tryouts for an academy. This would be a good idea doing it at this age because many academies at this age don’t change rosters often. Have fun and don’t go for wins and trophies.
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Wow, so...You philosophy is to do nothing and continue dominating on a lower plain instead of playing against better and better players. Your 2012 D getting invited to tryout at SJEB, Real, PDA - I assume South, and Deptford would have her play against the top of EDP instead of SJGSL div2. There is a HUGE difference in play speed even at the younger ages. As for college obviously you never seen commit lists for any club. While 1 or 2 may be normal for Deptford SJEB, Real and South have most players on their ECNL/GA teams and several more from the 2nd teams that go on to play in college. On the boys side, the earlier the better, size doesn't trump skill on the boys side and smaller boys are brought in to Red Bulls and Union all the time. Skill is what matters most and if you wait until puberty to hit your kid will be years behind.Originally posted by Guest View Post
While I am at it I'm going to call you out on your standing that your kids are great. Looking up SJGSL flight 2 for the 2012s and no team has more than 2 goals a game average. None of the 2012 teams have close to supporting a player that puts up 2 goals and 2 assists a game on average. Can't call you out on your B side as u10 games score and standing are not kept at that age.
Having kids go through SJ I'll tell you this...You won't find many that can or will be able to break into most rosters on a GA or ECNL level at u15/u16. There may be a few but I have yet to see or hear of one that has and became a starter. Usually they all have the same knocks, fast and athletic but no soccer IQ or ball control skills and can't keep up with the speed of play. If you want your kids to just have fun with friends to pass the time and never give them an option to play in college then stay the course you are on. If your kids want a chance to succeed then they will need to move on from local town ball. Girls side would be SJEB as they do the most for girls in the area and on the boys Real maybe FutbolTech, don't know them but have friends who's youngest are going through them and that kid is awesome. Real has been one of the top 100 clubs in the US before they got into MLS Next as they sent several kids to Union.
Look, I get it, spending the money that soccer parents do seems nuts and when I think back to the tens of thousands I spend through the years I think about how I could have done so much but in the end what does it teach your kids. Don't chase your dreams because chances are you'll fail? You'll never make it to a college team so why bother trying any harder? My oldest Ds town team coach had the same speech your giving. That team had a lot of talent on it. They broke up around u10/u11 because he thought he could keep them and have a winning SJGSL flight 1 team but the girls and parents didn't want that. Most moved on to ECNL and DA/GA teams with a few going to div 1 and 2 USYS teams. Almost all start for their HS teams and most are looking at playing in college. Even the former coach knows he never could have gotten them that far. If they have talent, let them compete, don't handicap them because you think they don't have a chance.
Best advice for the area if you don't want them to go to the next level yet is to get them in with NCE, A-Game, Kemp Soccer, and some kind of futsal like SJEB/FDP/Pro Skills. Most don't like one or the other or any training but outside training doing even once a week 8 week trainings can do a lot of wonders. Swearing by one or the other for training is one dimensional as well. Scott at NCE teaches more passing, movement, and ball control while A-Game helps a lot with confidence on the ball and speed of play. Also look into things like 10 minute touch drill. The drills are simple and seem mundane but it teaches great ball control. Also, have them tryout, you don't have to say yes to join and it is a good measuring stick to see how they stack up against others at or looking to move up to the next level.
Wish the best for your kids, good luck with everything.Comment
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While you raise some good points regarding outrageous costs and letting kids have fun, your argument is severely flawed. Most top level clubs will develop your children far better than any SJ league teams like Voorhees. It's going to be a lot harder for your children to break into a team at at U14 or U15 if that is your end goal. Rosters are already set and they aren't going to bring in any newcomers unless they are going to come in and be a top 5 player on the team. Most kids on these teams do play multiple sports.
I'd recommend reaching out to some of the clubs you mentioned and ask to train with those players to see how your child compares and to see if they are still a top 3 player on the field. It will be a good gauge for you at this point.Comment
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You don’t want your kids to peak at 12 you want your kids to begin to rise at 17,18,19. Have them train with the best coach you can find. Have them play in a competitive league for them- whatever league that is. Most importantly SAVE YOUR MONEY AND KEEP IT FUN!Comment
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Puberty. LOL. Luka Modric, Andres Iniesta, Erickson, Pulisic all still waiting for puberty to hit. This is soccer not baseball or nfl. Look at Europe and South America and try and learn something. Quality touches, quality competition, and an understanding of the pace of the game, how to receive a ball, how to scan a field in a super high tempo game, how to rotate positions, how to build out under actual real pressure.
If we are talking about preparing kids for a sub elite level of soccer like US college soccer - then yes it doesn’t matter. If you are talking about preparing the kid to be elite and to have actual prospects of playing the game then yes it does matter to find a highly competitive level and proper quality coaching.
The elite level at younger youth ages in the United States is closing the gap with Europe very quickly and it’s not town teams - with their six inch grass fields and dad coaches that are making that happen.
So what if it’s a business? US system is pretty humane compared to how kids are trafficked into France at a young age for example.Comment
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Lotta words in these posts.Comment
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Have you taken your daughter to a high-level team practice to see if she can keep up with the pace? It will give you an indication of where she is on the curve. Start with the top and work your way downOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Absolutely correctComment
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My observations would be that moving to an ECNL/GA/MLS Next team usually isn't for the wins as only 1 team wins those conferences and they rarely play outside their league showcases. Very few town teams know how to develop a player, most hire outside training companies who could care less about actual development and others hire family of board members as trainers. Most town teams are also run by a parent or a couple of parents who always favor their kids and their friend over others. If you want your kid to develop farther, move them, if they still want to play with friends then it doesn't take much to ask the new club if they can also play their. ECNL and GA don't card the same as EDP/USYS. You may run into issues with ECNL and some local leagues as they both card US Club but you can request your kid to be a discovery player for ECNL. You can play the what if game all you want but facts are a player with better training earlier will always be more skilled at the older ages. Sure, when puberty hits and your kid is still 5'2 100lbs while other have grown to 5'7+ 150lbs looks daunting but trust me...it isn't. Very few girls will grow to a size that is unmanageable for most players while most others will be between 5'1 to 5'8 and anywhere between 100lbs to 155lbs. This isn't to say that all the best players should move at a young age. There have been a handful of local teams that moved from local league to EDP/USYS that had players go on to D1 schools and even professionally, just less than a handful. Each parent needs to look at their situation and their kid needs to look at what they want and move from there. If your kid is lighting up local leagues and looking like the USWNT playing Puerto Rico then friends or not they need to advance as they aren't going to get better where they are at.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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I am the original poster. I altered my kids flight and statistics so the online detectives could not figure out who my kids are. I have a 30ish son from my first marriage. Lived in a different State until I moved to SJ 10 years ago. My older son played ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer growing up. Soccer was third sport until he hurt is wrist at 14. Started concentrating on soccer and made an Academy level team at 15. Went on to play soccer at a Big Ten school as a 4 year starter. Coach when he was 15 could not believe his soccer IQ, instincts and skills for not playing high level soccer until 15. My son said soccer was slow compared to hockey and lacrosse so the pace was a step down to him. Point of first post was playing soccer at high level at young ages means nothing. Other sports are much faster than soccer- hockey, lacrosse and basketball and train young kids minds to think and react faster. This is the key to playing at a fast pace, not playing a high level early on. Sports that attack a net also have the same concepts, so playing basketball and lacrosse (like my 2 younger kids play) make soccer seem slow. Mentally they are very advanced compared to kids that just play soccer year round because their processing speed is faster, which makes them play faster. Both of my kids go out in our yard and practice their skills on their own which allows them to keep up with the kids playing EDP/GA. Since they practice all their sports, they are better athletes than a lot of the kids they practice against when they are invited by EDP teams. They have both been to 3 different clubs practices and were offered guest practice and tournament slots on all 3 teams. My kids have a chance to play at the next level since me and my current wife were both Division 1 athletes. When my kids are older they may or may not chose soccer as their sport, but they will definitely have a chance to play at the next level if they do chose soccer. Competing has nothing to do at the level they play. They compete in other sports and some SJSL teams make it harder on my daughter by designing ways to keep her in check. My kids love soccer and their skills are top notch. I am not "doing nothing" as you say and I am not handicapping them. I am taking a different route which I recommend (and worked for my oldest son, my first wife, 2nd wife and me) for others as EDP/GA is not the only route to making a great player. The EDP/GA will tell you it is the best route because they run a business and without tuition payments they go bankrupt. Somewhere along the way soccer told parents this is way to develop your kid. the way to develop kids is have them play and practice on their own. Look at how great US basketball is. Kids play on their own year round, develop their dribbling and shooting and the US is the best basketball country in the world. Basketball really pulls kids into plane travel when they are 14 & 15. Soccer thinks hopping on a plane at 10 years old is the way to develop kids. Parents need to wake up and not listen to the so called experts. If your kid wants to play soccer in college and they have the talent, it will be the work they put in away from the team that will get them there, not the EDP/GA. That is how players become great. My kids go to camps and learn the drills and skills needed for the next level, then go home and work on them. Do you think soccer stars make it because they played EDP/GA. No they make it because of the work they put in off the pitch. Hard work and talent are a great combination. Just because my kids and other kids do not play EDP/GA does not mean they do not work on their games. Parents are so delusional to think EDP/GA before 15 is best route. WAKE UP!!!!Comment
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I played up until '95-'96, does your friend have any idea how much things have changed since then? Just around her in SJ it used to be that only the very best players played on a travel team and travelled to out of state tournaments while most players played on local town teams either against other local town teams or worse yet other teams from your town. Girls soccer wasn't even a thing as most high schools still had girls playing on the boys teams if they wanted to play simple because they didn't field a team. I do agree that fundamentals and a love for the game are key, but you can't keep them back when it is time to move on. 1 rule we stuck to and a lot of others have as well as some variation is at the lower levels ie local town, EDP and such, if your kid is truly a top 5 player they should be looking to move up.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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You do you, not everyone's path will be the same or similar. I will say this though, regardless of what you read here not many teams travel so far they need a plane other than those dim wits who think going to Super Copa, Dallas Cup, Disney or Surf Cup are needed to be great. The farthest any pre-ECNL or pre-GA club travel would be Jeff Cup and even that isn't usually until u12. Don't get sucked into what worked for your oldest 15 years ago. A lot has changed just in the last 5-6 years between the age changes, rules, leagues and over all structure of the level of play. You have players playing at clubs now starting at u5/u6 who also play basketball, lacrosse, track, field hockey, and volleyball so they start off with the same advantages as your kid only at a higher level. Right now, at the u14/u15/u16 ages, I've seen very little movement between USYS players to GA or ECNL teams. Not for the lack of trying out or desire to play for them but more so the level of skill required. Most new players are either moving from ECNL to GA, GA to ECNL, ECNL to ECNL, GA to GA, ECNL-RL to GA or ECNL-RL to ECNL. The only team I know of in ECNL that took a lot of USYS/EDP players was PDA Souths 09s and well, you can see how bad that went. Me personally, in your situation, I would look for a D1/2 EDP team to play on as a guest or part time player to get a feel for the game at that level.Originally posted by Guest View Post
D is a starter in GA but still plays with her friends from her HS team on the local town team when she can. The local team plays some very, very bad players but D said it is sometimes harder to play them because you don't know what they are going to do. At a higher level a player with good IQ can see how a play develops but when playing against clueless players the obvious answer in a situation may not always be done so they keep her on her toes. She isn't going to get any better though from having to slow down her game for others and to not blow teams out and become a target for irate players. At the older ages it becomes less about skill and more about strength at the local and even lower EDP levels.Comment
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