Girls Soccer: Got crazy?

[Unregistered]

Why are girls soccer parents so crazy? Just curious.

[Unregistered]

Why are girls soccer parents so crazy? Just curious.

G damn crazy mo fos

[Unregistered]

I've got both genders and hand down girls parents are worse - and it's mostly the dads. I don't know if they're reliving their failed athletic careers, daddy pride in their daughters....? No doubt the fact that there is more money available for college soccer is a big driver of lunacy as well. But they're all convinced their U12 stud will be getting a free ride to top school. With older girls teams it's an arms race on the girls side - who's getting how much, how early are they committing, what schools? On the boys side it's much more mellow and enjoyable. Still a few loons. Parking yourself near the net let's you enjoy the game without the nuts in the middle.

[Unregistered]

I've got both genders and hand down girls parents are worse - and it's mostly the dads. I don't know if they're reliving their failed athletic careers, daddy pride in their daughters....? No doubt the fact that there is more money available for college soccer is a big driver of lunacy as well. But they're all convinced their U12 stud will be getting a free ride to top school. With older girls teams it's an arms race on the girls side - who's getting how much, how early are they committing, what schools? On the boys side it's much more mellow and enjoyable. Still a few loons. Parking yourself near the net let's you enjoy the game without the nuts in the middle.

I think Dads are living through their daughters for certain. Either they don't have boys or the lopsided scholarship opportunity for girls is driving them over the edge.

I'm all for equal rights but Title 9 is a joke. How is it fair to handout scholarships to girls and leave all non football men hung out to dry? i get that football makes the money. But either let money drive all decisions or make it fair for everyone. And I do have a DD that has a shot at a scholarship

[Unregistered]

I think Dads are living through their daughters for certain. Either they don't have boys or the lopsided scholarship opportunity for girls is driving them over the edge.

I'm all for equal rights but Title 9 is a joke. How is it fair to handout scholarships to girls and leave all non football men hung out to dry? i get that football makes the money. But either let money drive all decisions or make it fair for everyone. And I do have a DD that has a shot at a scholarship

Special rights, reverse discrimination and political correctness is killing us.

[Unregistered]

I think Dads are living through their daughters for certain. Either they don't have boys or the lopsided scholarship opportunity for girls is driving them over the edge.

I'm all for equal rights but Title 9 is a joke. How is it fair to handout scholarships to girls and leave all non football men hung out to dry? i get that football makes the money. But either let money drive all decisions or make it fair for everyone. And I do have a DD that has a shot at a scholarship

Opportunities for female student athletes in general is a bit mind boggling. LAX, field hockey, ice hockey - play a sport well and have good grades and your schooling will be cheaper than your brother's.

At the 30,000 ft level the concept of college athletics is a bit absurd. The NFL and NBA use college to train and build their athletes. So much money spent on athletic programs and facilities when there's so many qualified students that can't afford college. Non revenue sports are just that - losing money while tuition costs rise 10% every year

[Unregistered]

I think Dads are living through their daughters for certain. Either they don't have boys or the lopsided scholarship opportunity for girls is driving them over the edge.

I'm all for equal rights but Title 9 is a joke. How is it fair to handout scholarships to girls and leave all non football men hung out to dry? i get that football makes the money. But either let money drive all decisions or make it fair for everyone. And I do have a DD that has a shot at a scholarship

NCAA decides how to apportion the scholarships. Don't blame the girls because NCAA decides to put all the boys scholarships in football.

[Unregistered]

NCAA decides how to apportion the scholarships. Don't blame the girls because NCAA decides to put all the boys scholarships in football.

no shiz Sherlock. but the government created Title 9 to make things fair and equal. They are not equal. If it were completely up to the NCAA they would probably cut all women's sports because in every case, men do better with the ticket sales.

No one blames the girls, I have a girl. Maybe the government should make a Title 99 which will force the NCAA to distribute them equally to genders and sports. Let's all hold our breath until it happens.

[Unregistered]

Girls Soccer: Got Crazy?

The real answer is take sports out of schools at all levels. High School and College. Let school be what it is suppose to be a learning institution. Clubs and communities will pick up the slack for sport. Schools can rent out their fields, make money and provide a better and cheaper education at all levels.

[Unregistered]

I think Dads are living through their daughters for certain. Either they don't have boys or the lopsided scholarship opportunity for girls is driving them over the edge.

I'm all for equal rights but Title 9 is a joke. How is it fair to handout scholarships to girls and leave all non football men hung out to dry? i get that football makes the money. But either let money drive all decisions or make it fair for everyone. And I do have a DD that has a shot at a scholarship

http://scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html

Very few boys or girls are getting any college money. At D1 men's teams get 9.9 scholarships to split between 27 team members. Women get 14 to split among 27. D1 is the only level with a discrepancy. All other levels of college are completely equal in scholarships for boys and girls.

http://scholarshipstats.com/varsityodds.html

9.1% of high school boys players will play at any college level. 10.9% of high school girls will play at any college level.

Put all of this together and very few of the kids playing club soccer will get any money regardless of being a boy or a girl.

[Unregistered]

http://scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html

Very few boys or girls are getting any college money. At D1 men's teams get 9.9 scholarships to split between 27 team members. Women get 14 to split among 27. D1 is the only level with a discrepancy. All other levels of college are completely equal in scholarships for boys and girls.

Well yes but you conveniently leave out that there are nearly 2x as many D1 girls soccer programs as boys, on top of having more scholarships per program. This is not because of supply and demand. This is because of Title 9. Again, no one blames the girls. The government tried to even things out. Unfortunately the result is that male non football players get the screw. I'm not a fan of anyone getting the screw. I get that this is all about money... until you get to Title 9. I say you either eliminate Title 9 and we all just realize that this is true supply and demand, let NCAA decide what stays and what goes based on money. Or, if we all really believe that scholarships should be fair to all, distributed to both genders, all sports... then we implement Title X.

[Unregistered]

This has gotten a bit off topic so let me try to bring it back to the OP's question:

I think the "crazy" around girls soccer stems from parents pushing their unrealized dreams onto their daughters. That, combined with the entitlement that paying thousands of dollars per year to play a club sport gives some parents, leads to some really deplorable behavior.

I have occasionally been guilty of less than stellar behavior. My daughter has made it clear to me that not only is that behavior not welcome, but it makes her not want me at her games. So I do much better now and try to do better every day.

As far as the scholarship piece, I always shake my head at parents who see club soccer as any kind of investment or who "plan" on their kid playing college soccer at any level. The odds are so small that they'll play at all, and much smaller still that it will be at a D1 level. That doesn't mean you should crush your kid's dreams and say "yeah this will never happen." My daughter still thinks she has what it takes to play at D1 level and as long as she does, I will support and encourage her (without building up a sense of entitlement, hopefully).

In a sense, I guess club soccer IS an investment. Your dollars are spent supporting your daughter engaging in a pro-social, healthy activity. They are keeping her away from bad behaviors and hopefully with a group of likeminded kids who share her priorities and values. You are spending family time together (yes, even driving to Medford!). When she's off to college you will miss those weekends in the car. More than you think.

Every study ever published about youth sports touts the fact that female athletes, whether they play collegiately or professionally or stop after high school, are more successful in their careers, are healthier, and are happier, more confident individuals. THAT'S what you are investing in. A brighter future for your kid. And at the end of the day, after all the nonstop drone of ECNL v Thorns Academy v TA...isn't that what we all want?

[Unregistered]

This has gotten a bit off topic so let me try to bring it back to the OP's question:

I think the "crazy" around girls soccer stems from parents pushing their unrealized dreams onto their daughters. That, combined with the entitlement that paying thousands of dollars per year to play a club sport gives some parents, leads to some really deplorable behavior.

I have occasionally been guilty of less than stellar behavior. My daughter has made it clear to me that not only is that behavior not welcome, but it makes her not want me at her games. So I do much better now and try to do better every day.

As far as the scholarship piece, I always shake my head at parents who see club soccer as any kind of investment or who "plan" on their kid playing college soccer at any level. The odds are so small that they'll play at all, and much smaller still that it will be at a D1 level. That doesn't mean you should crush your kid's dreams and say "yeah this will never happen." My daughter still thinks she has what it takes to play at D1 level and as long as she does, I will support and encourage her (without building up a sense of entitlement, hopefully).

In a sense, I guess club soccer IS an investment. Your dollars are spent supporting your daughter engaging in a pro-social, healthy activity. They are keeping her away from bad behaviors and hopefully with a group of likeminded kids who share her priorities and values. You are spending family time together (yes, even driving to Medford!). When she's off to college you will miss those weekends in the car. More than you think.

Every study ever published about youth sports touts the fact that female athletes, whether they play collegiately or professionally or stop after high school, are more successful in their careers, are healthier, and are happier, more confident individuals. THAT'S what you are investing in. A brighter future for your kid. And at the end of the day, after all the nonstop drone of ECNL v Thorns Academy v TA...isn't that what we all want?

All of your comments are solid. But why are girl parents, generally, more crazy than boys parents? I think most of us agree this is true. But why?

I do think the stakes are higher for girls because of the scholarship opportunities. That's why Title 9 is relevant, not off topic. I also sometimes wonder if Dad's who only have daughters, or maybe Dads that have an athletic daughter but not an athletic son... Maybe just maybe they are amped up a bit more living through their daughter, becomes the son they never had.

[Slow Xavi]

This has gotten a bit off topic so let me try to bring it back to the OP's question:

I think the "crazy" around girls soccer stems from parents pushing their unrealized dreams onto their daughters. That, combined with the entitlement that paying thousands of dollars per year to play a club sport gives some parents, leads to some really deplorable behavior.

I have occasionally been guilty of less than stellar behavior. My daughter has made it clear to me that not only is that behavior not welcome, but it makes her not want me at her games. So I do much better now and try to do better every day.

As far as the scholarship piece, I always shake my head at parents who see club soccer as any kind of investment or who "plan" on their kid playing college soccer at any level. The odds are so small that they'll play at all, and much smaller still that it will be at a D1 level. That doesn't mean you should crush your kid's dreams and say "yeah this will never happen." My daughter still thinks she has what it takes to play at D1 level and as long as she does, I will support and encourage her (without building up a sense of entitlement, hopefully).

In a sense, I guess club soccer IS an investment. Your dollars are spent supporting your daughter engaging in a pro-social, healthy activity. They are keeping her away from bad behaviors and hopefully with a group of likeminded kids who share her priorities and values. You are spending family time together (yes, even driving to Medford!). When she's off to college you will miss those weekends in the car. More than you think.

Every study ever published about youth sports touts the fact that female athletes, whether they play collegiately or professionally or stop after high school, are more successful in their careers, are healthier, and are happier, more confident individuals. THAT'S what you are investing in. A brighter future for your kid. And at the end of the day, after all the nonstop drone of ECNL v Thorns Academy v TA...isn't that what we all want?

Agree with a lot of this. Do wonder if we need to add some coach/club behavior and structural issues to the discussion.

Coaches/clubs may contribute to the problem here precisely because parents are willing to invest real dollars in their daughters: there is a real fight (apparently as you get older) for those dollars. Throw in the fact that this country is addicted to closed leagues (ECNL, USDA, hell even MLS) where folks can't necessarily earn themselves a place once local franchises are assigned (or once they get it, there doesn't appear to be a mechanism for pushing clubs down or allowing new entrants), you have a constant supply of coaches who are dependent on girls numbers, but closed out of systems that attract those dollars; or vice versa, have the franchise and protect it at all cost.

Systemically, folks were more willing to defer to USDA/MLS programs out of the gate on the boys' side, because of apparent similarities with European system and they largely got out of pay to play; however, seeing increasing push back there as well.

[Unregistered]

This has gotten a bit off topic so let me try to bring it back to the OP's question:

I think the "crazy" around girls soccer stems from parents pushing their unrealized dreams onto their daughters. That, combined with the entitlement that paying thousands of dollars per year to play a club sport gives some parents, leads to some really deplorable behavior.

I have occasionally been guilty of less than stellar behavior. My daughter has made it clear to me that not only is that behavior not welcome, but it makes her not want me at her games. So I do much better now and try to do better every day.

As far as the scholarship piece, I always shake my head at parents who see club soccer as any kind of investment or who "plan" on their kid playing college soccer at any level. The odds are so small that they'll play at all, and much smaller still that it will be at a D1 level. That doesn't mean you should crush your kid's dreams and say "yeah this will never happen." My daughter still thinks she has what it takes to play at D1 level and as long as she does, I will support and encourage her (without building up a sense of entitlement, hopefully).

In a sense, I guess club soccer IS an investment. Your dollars are spent supporting your daughter engaging in a pro-social, healthy activity. They are keeping her away from bad behaviors and hopefully with a group of likeminded kids who share her priorities and values. You are spending family time together (yes, even driving to Medford!). When she's off to college you will miss those weekends in the car. More than you think.

Every study ever published about youth sports touts the fact that female athletes, whether they play collegiately or professionally or stop after high school, are more successful in their careers, are healthier, and are happier, more confident individuals. THAT'S what you are investing in. A brighter future for your kid. And at the end of the day, after all the nonstop drone of ECNL v Thorns Academy v TA...isn't that what we all want?

Wait a sec. I clicked on this thread hesitantly thinking it was going to be ugliness and instead there is logic and reason. Good post. Ultimately we all want our kids to be happy.