Stay or Go?

[Guest]

Why stay somewhere when not playing? For Instagram post? Bragging rights? Go be a part of a team that you contribute to the teams success. Trust me, your kid will have more fun and will most likely develop more as a player if they are playing and succeeding.

The way most rosters are, what do you consider "not playing"? Sometimes expectations are just as much of a problem. People forget there are a finite number of playing minutes, so someone has to sit for you to play more. The better teams have more engagement, so less likely a kid will miss a game unless they are injured. Most teams only have 1 goalie, so they aren't coming out. Defense (or at least CBs) tend to play a bit more minutes at most levels, so if you are playing midfield, on the outside or forward and playing about half the game, that's probably what you should expect.

If your previous experience was on a town travel team or lower level EDP team and now you've moved up to a better team, of course it will feel different because they were probably playing 80-90% of minutes as one of the best players.

[Guest]

My D is on a top team for her age group. She mostly comes off the bench, and hears it from the coach a good amount while she is on the field (more negative than positive), while the "star" players always get praised. Averages less than half the game playing time. For the real "important" games, she plays even less minutes. Is this worth it? Anyone else been in this situation? Do I try to put her on a team of a lower level so she gets more playing time? Not sure the right move, and don't wanna screw it up for her.

Is that you Joey?