Premier or Town

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My 13 y/o is playing for a town team she is pretty good there so started thinking about premier teams saw a couple last week and again today at Bliss field....they don't look any better than our town team but a lot more money any suggestions on what is the best avenue for her to progress

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What clubs were you looking at @ Bliss? And in what divisions/leagues do they play? There are quite a few good clubs depending on where you live. You may have just been watching a not so great one.

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I wouldn't judge premier by anything you saw at bliss.

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I went to Bliss mainly because I was told BW played there.... the teams I saw were from maple i think

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I went to Bliss mainly because I was told BW played there.... the teams I saw were from maple i think

That was the first problem. You watched BW. You need to watch teams in NEP. Go to Lancaster next weekend and I bet you will change your mind. You haven't seen anything yet. U13 division in NEP has the best clubs in New England. Maple lost most of the better teams to NEP. They still have some good clubs but eventually all the better teams and clubs will go to NEP. If you are interested, go to Lancaster MA next weekend. Citizen bank fields.

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That was the first problem. You watched BW. You need to watch teams in NEP. Go to Lancaster next weekend and I bet you will change your mind. You haven't seen anything yet. U13 division in NEP has the best clubs in New England. Maple lost most of the better teams to NEP. They still have some good clubs but eventually all the better teams and clubs will go to NEP. If you are interested, go to Lancaster MA next weekend. Citizen bank fields.

Yes, true. But NEP is not for all premier players. NEP is for players who are "soccer only" Larger clubs do not always work for kids who excel in multiple sports. Most don't allow it. Maple may not be the most competitive, but smaller clubs allow kids to play competitive soccer and still be competitive in other sports (which in some cases may be their primary sport).

The answer to this question really does depend on the situation of the individual child and family. Some kids are better than town, but still do not want to commit to soccer 100%

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Yes, true. But NEP is not for all premier players. NEP is for players who are "soccer only" Larger clubs do not always work for kids who excel in multiple sports. Most don't allow it. Maple may not be the most competitive, but smaller clubs allow kids to play competitive soccer and still be competitive in other sports (which in some cases may be their primary sport).

The answer to this question really does depend on the situation of the individual child and family. Some kids are better than town, but still do not want to commit to soccer 100%

Good point! Didn't know your situation. I was just saying that NEP teams are very good and yes, top clubs and if your kid plays other sports then a smaller club might be good but experience won't be as good.

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BW doesn't play home games at Bliss; it might be Tidal Wave or Nova..and if you are looking at U13, check out last year's State Cup and where the current teams play.. Bayside won State Cup (11 v 11) and is in NEP; Lusitana is in 2d Div MAPLE, BW/Tidal Wave in 3rd Div MAPLE.

Of course, you missed the tryout window so not sure how many teams are going to have openings unless they just want to pad their bottom line..

Always MA teams (NOVA, etc.) depending on where you live..

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Good point! Didn't know your situation. I was just saying that NEP teams are very good and yes, top clubs and if your kid plays other sports then a smaller club might be good but experience won't be as good.

if the bigger clubs say my daughter cant play other sports then why would a smaller club not be a good experience?

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if the bigger clubs say my daughter cant play other sports then why would a smaller club not be a good experience?

Smaller clubs are fine. Lusitana is in 2nd division Maple and played Bayside last year in the finals for the state cup. ALL multi sport athletes (most three seasons), they only lost to Bayside who trains double 2-1 in the State Cup finals. Tidal Wave is in 3rd division Maple, were competitive in RI State Cup, place fairly well in tournaments, and have multi sport athletes (most three seasons). In reality with more lax training schedules these clubs should not be able to even hang with the big dogs, but they always do.

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if the bigger clubs say my daughter cant play other sports then why would a smaller club not be a good experience?

Experience? LOL

That's how it should be viewed and lesser clubs are as valuable for their players as the top tiered clubs are to theirs. For me it's all about the experience and coaching. If the best my kid can do is a 3rd, 4th, 5th or whatever tiered team then I am proud that they work hard to achieve that. When all is said and done it's the memories and not the wins and losses that the players remember.

As to the original intention of the thread. If competition is a driving force that motivates a player then premier is the choice all day long. The competition in games and practices is usually better on a premier team. There are many great town teams with good dedicated coaches with good players. Due to the watered down nature of youth soccer they are not always facing the best competition which may not be the best for them. then again less competition is exactly what some players need and if that's the case then I would not hesitate to bring my kid to a team that is less competitive.

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Experience? LOL

That's how it should be viewed and lesser clubs are as valuable for their players as the top tiered clubs are to theirs. For me it's all about the experience and coaching. If the best my kid can do is a 3rd, 4th, 5th or whatever tiered team then I am proud that they work hard to achieve that. When all is said and done it's the memories and not the wins and losses that the players remember.

As to the original intention of the thread. If competition is a driving force that motivates a player then premier is the choice all day long. The competition in games and practices is usually better on a premier team. There are many great town teams with good dedicated coaches with good players. Due to the watered down nature of youth soccer they are not always facing the best competition which may not be the best for them. then again less competition is exactly what some players need and if that's the case then I would not hesitate to bring my kid to a team that is less competitive.

Poster is correct, but I would add, contrary to what many would tell you, the diffference between the premier clubs based in RI is of relatively minor degrees. On the other hand, the difference bewteen premier and most town clubs is huge in most cases

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Poster is correct, but I would add, contrary to what many would tell you, the diffference between the premier clubs based in RI is of relatively minor degrees. On the other hand, the difference bewteen premier and most town clubs is huge in most cases

As is price and time commitment. This poster is correct the the difference between premier and MOST town clubs is huge. But you're also likely to find a town club in close range that will meet your needs. Just look at the Anchor division of any Superliga Division in your daughter's age group, they'd be happy to have your daughter playing for them.

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How many teams in the NEP don't have multiple sport athletes?

Premier clubs have a bad name because of the garbage town programs spread about them. Almost any good female player plays multiple sports. I guarantee you that at U13 there is not as much specialization as you think.

But, if you are considering Bayside or Tidal Wave, be careful. Your town program probably has better coaching.

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How many teams in the NEP don't have multiple sport athletes?

Premier clubs have a bad name because of the garbage town programs spread about them. Almost any good female player plays multiple sports. I guarantee you that at U13 there is not as much specialization as you think.

But, if you are considering Bayside or Tidal Wave, be careful. Your town program probably has better coaching.

The reality is that most premier clubs have "standards" about practice attendance, if you are consistently absent, it will impact playing time and your kid's future on the team.

Most kids drop out of premier when they get to HS because they want to play other sports in winter and spring. Also they realize, while premier was beneficial for their soccer, that D1 scholarship isn't in the cards either.
My kid has played on SuperLiga championship teams, Premier State cup finalist teams and Varsity HS. The standards of play differ greatly, if you kid is going to be a u14 next year (or older), I wouldn't waste my time with premier unless she is a real diamond in the rough and an undiscovered talent. She will want to play other HS sports with her friends and while she may lover soccer, likely she will struggle with the change in style of play, speed of play, etc. Premier soccer and HS soccer are about as closely related as baseball and cricket