Youth Soccer Culture: A Parent's Perspective

[Guest]

in your case, the height of your soccer career is being a troll on talking-soccer. You da real MVP.

Hear, hear. He's the same loser who always says Who cares? to every single post. Most be the loneliest man alive to spend his time on this board with everyone who is so beneath him.

[Guest]

everyone is on their own journey that is important and meaningful to them.

Yeah, you are correct, it's meaningful to _them_. You somehow want to make it meaningful to everybody else, which will never happen. No one cares about D3 or D1 or any other college soccer games, except for participants and some parents.

[Guest]

Playing D3 is a career similar to playing chess with strangers in Central Park, i.e. hardly a “career” at all, more of a time passing activity.

You clearly know absolutely nothing about college recruiting and college soccer. About 9 percent of female high school players are recruited to play in college. D1 is not necessarily a reflection of program quality or rigor. My daughter's team has never fallen out of the top 20 D3 teams in 4 years. Every player was recruited for D1 but chose the school and program to align with academic and life goals. Very hard to be pre-med in D1. I'm sure the athletes who experienced concussions, torn ACLs etc in D3, who put in 25+ hours/week for training, games and travel appreciate your comparison of college soccer to chess in the park. I hate it when people on her say, someone is just popping off because they can't cut it on the field, but in this case, it might be accurate. The other likely scenario is that your kid plays but you're pushing your kid to burnout and resentment with your lack of respect for their effort etc. Bless your bitter heart.

[Guest]

Yeah, you are correct, it's meaningful to _them_. You somehow want to make it meaningful to everybody else, which will never happen. No one cares about D3 or D1 or any other college soccer games, except for participants and some parents.

The original post was about toxic team culture and what coaches can do. College soccer came up as an example of a healthy team culture being possible and key to success. Sorry you're unable to understand the connection and can only process posts as they relate to your personal interests and lack of soccer ability.

[Guest]

Yeah, you are correct, it's meaningful to _them_. You somehow want to make it meaningful to everybody else, which will never happen. No one cares about D3 or D1 or any other college soccer games, except for participants and some parents.

Did someone ask for your opinion on D3? I didn't see that anywhere.

You're like a child who because the other kids aren't talking about what he wants to talk about starts screaming so no one else can hear each other. Put a sock in it if it doesn't interest you and go to the threads that do. This isn't your personal board.

[Guest]

As a parent involved in multiple youth soccer clubs, I've noticed concerning patterns about player burnout and team dynamics, particularly leading up to the collegiate level. I'd like to share my observations and get feedback from other parents.

From what I've seen, collegiate soccer often becomes viewed as a "finish line" rather than a stepping stone in a player's journey. By high school, many players and parents seem burnt out, viewing college recruitment as their exit goal rather than a milestone in ongoing development. Player happiness appears to be a significant concern, especially among female players, and I often wonder how many are simply putting on a brave face.

After experience with 4 different clubs and various programs, I've noticed a consistent problem: coaches often take a hands-off approach to developing team culture. This creates what I call a "Lord of the Flies effect" where a clique of 4-6 players typically emerges to dominate team culture. The remaining players either try to join the dominant clique, accept their outsider status, or actively resist the social hierarchy.

These dynamics aren't just social - they seem to directly affect playing time, ball touches during games, and even position assignments. As someone who has both played and coached various sports over the years, I haven't seen these issues manifest to this degree in other athletic environments.

I'm curious to hear from other parents: How happy is your child in their soccer experience? Have you observed similar social dynamics? Is this unique to soccer, or am I seeing patterns that don't actually exist? I'd appreciate hearing others' perspectives on this.

College sports it's pretty much the end of the road for most athletes. Like, seriously, only a handful even make it to college athletics, and the number that goes pro after that? Tiny. I mean, what other options are there once you're done with college, right?

As for coaches, we've seen it all. Some are great at getting everyone to mesh as a team, while others just drill the soccer basics. And yeah, we've definitely dealt with those little cliques of players. That stuff can really mess with a team (especially girls), and you notice it way more in soccer than in other sports. Think about it - in football and basketball, the coaches are calling all the shots. Baseball and softball? Pretty much by the book.

But in soccer (same goes for hockey, lacrosse, and field hockey), you've got to think on your feet and make decisions in the moment. If you're only passing to your buddies on the field, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Maybe that's why these cliques stick out like a sore thumb in soccer - you can't afford to play favorites when you need to make split-second decisions, right?

[Guest]

A Parent's Perspective: D3 parents seem to be very upset on this forum for some reason.