Youth Soccer - Questions, Discussion and Stories (1 Viewer)

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Spring season, more casual in California as State Cup is the fall season, was a mixed bag. Team was often short due to players split between soccer and baseball, with baseball often the precedent. My son played well and is increasingly specializing in soccer, though maintains an interest in basketball, skiing, etc.

In spring, he tried out for and made the top local team, was in a Nike camp last week, is in another camp this week, has a soccer sleep away camp in July, is taking 3x/week lessons from a high school grad who's going to play D1 in the fall, and he still has energy to ask me to go kick with him just about every night. Kicking includes us long passing, short passing with both feet, ladder drills, long sprints, and running sideways and backwards for stretches. He's 10 years old. I'm embarrassingly sore at times. But I can never say no. I don't know where he gets it. Yeah, I had my talents when I was younger. For example, I was really good at coming up with semi-believable excuses for why I shouldn't go to practice.

I gotta keep an eye out for burnout.

 

[The Z Machine]

Deadhead, you should also work on his flexibility with stretching. It'll help in a lot of ways.

 

[acarey50]

Deadhead, you should also work on his flexibility with stretching. It'll help in a lot of ways.

100% this for every youth athlete. Prehab work like this will go miles in preventing injuries.

 

[SwampDawg]

Well so ends the soccer season. Boys had a great run at regionals, won their group, won the quarterfinal 3-0 before falling in the semifinal 3-2 in a game that was sort of a perfect storm. We dominated play, way more corners and shots but they scored on a counter, a PK and a counter while we hit the cross bar or posts at least two or thee times and their keeper made some nice saves. Feel like we would have given the team that won the final (Dix Hills from Long Island) a much better match then the team that moved on. Dix Hills beat them 5-1 in the final this morning. While going to Nationals would have been a thrill my wallet isn't disappointed, Regionals ended up being 7 days/6 nights just outside DC which isn't exactly a cheap area. Having to book flights and hotels in Florida on just a 2 week turn around would not have been cheap. Overall it was a fun trip and spent some quality time with my son away from the pitch going to see the monuments in DC, the Air and Space museum and just hanging out. That's what it is really all about.

6am this morning my son was off to the gym to lift with some of his HS teammates and they have a kick around tonight. I told him go ahead and take some time but he is ready to get into the HS season.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son this last season ended up playing goalie. It was not really planned or anything but apparently in the first game the coach asked another kid to go in and he didn't want to but my son asked if he could. He went in and then was easily their best goalie on the team. He didn't have gloves and borrowed some. After the game, I asked if he liked it etc and when he said he did then we went to Dicks and I got him basically the cheapest gloves they had for his size. I had no idea if it was something that would stick or not at that point and didn't want to spend a bunch of money on something he ended up never using. He played the season with them but then after the Championship game (they lost) he told me that the gloves were too slippery and it was hard to get his hands on the ball. So.... thinking ahead to next season... assuming he playes goalie again, which I believe he will as again, he was clearly the best they had at goalie... what should I get him for gloves since it looks like it is a more serious position for him?

 

[titusbramble]

Can you not just take your kid to the shop and see which ones he likes the best? I would have thought at this stage of soccer's development you'd at least have the option of doing this

 

[PIK95]

Select makes some decent gloves for keepers that won't break the bank.

Select Sport America 3 Youth Hard Ground Goalkeeper Gloves https://a.co/d/4byzAA2

 

[Chadstroma]

Can you not just take your kid to the shop and see which ones he likes the best? I would have thought at this stage of soccer's development you'd at least have the option of doing this

Could you not post and keep your dumb unhelpful responses to yourself? I would have thought at this stage of personal development you'd at least have the option of that

 

[titusbramble]

Can you not just take your kid to the shop and see which ones he likes the best? I would have thought at this stage of soccer's development you'd at least have the option of doing this

Could you not post and keep your dumb unhelpful responses to yourself? I would have thought at this stage of personal development you'd at least have the option of that

You are asking us what the best product is when it is entirely down to personal preference. He will know better than you do. If I'm stating the obvious it is because it is obvious. Don't ask us, point your son in the direction of options and ask him what works.

 

[Chadstroma]

Can you not just take your kid to the shop and see which ones he likes the best? I would have thought at this stage of soccer's development you'd at least have the option of doing this

Could you not post and keep your dumb unhelpful responses to yourself? I would have thought at this stage of personal development you'd at least have the option of that

You are asking us what the best product is when it is entirely down to personal preference. He will know better than you do. If I'm stating the obvious it is because it is obvious. Don't ask us, point your son in the direction of options and ask him what works.

A perfectly good answer would be something like "The gloves are interchangeable. There is really no difference among types or brands. The best thing is to have your son go in and try some on." which would be helpful and... well.... not being a jerk for no reason.

I don't play this sport. I never have. Never will. I know the basic rules which I picked up while watching my son play. Other than watching my son play, I have never watched a full soccer game. I tried once during the Olympics when I enjoy watching all sports but grew bored and changed the channel to something else. I have no interest in the sport otherwise. My only interest is helping my son with this simply question. That is the level of background that I have to ask this question. I have no idea if there are different types of gloves let alone differences in brands. I don't even know what I don't know. I don't know, so I ask in a thread where people who would know would be able to answer. But then I get you.

For every other sport that I do know about, equipment is MUCH more involved than simply "try them on". Usually, being involved in those sports, when a parent is trying to help their child out and asks a question when they clearly have no information at all about it- those who actually know the sport are happy to explain it and give them information that is helpful. I don't often see people be jerks for the sake of being a jerk. EVEN MORE SO here in the FFA community. Maybe soccer is full of a bunch of jerks who like to make unhelpful posts back that do nothing but show that they are jerks... or it is just you. I am going to bet it is just you.

No need to respond. Just go away.

 

[PIK95]

Can you not just take your kid to the shop and see which ones he likes the best? I would have thought at this stage of soccer's development you'd at least have the option of doing this

Could you not post and keep your dumb unhelpful responses to yourself? I would have thought at this stage of personal development you'd at least have the option of that

You are asking us what the best product is when it is entirely down to personal preference. He will know better than you do. If I'm stating the obvious it is because it is obvious. Don't ask us, point your son in the direction of options and ask him what works.

That's not really true. Impossible to test out gloves in game conditions. Unless the store will let you wet them a bit and fire balls at him. Like I said, Select brand is very good bang for the buck. We tested many different brands when I was buying in bulk for the club. Select was the best option available to us by a decent amount.

And there were so many trash brands so be careful.

 

[titusbramble]

That is quite the unnecessary level of aggressive response, I won't try to be helpful to you in the future, you can count on that

 

[Chadstroma]

That is quite the unnecessary level of aggressive response, I won't try to be helpful to you in the future, you can count on that

Exactly my point. And you never were helpful.

 

[The Z Machine]

Chill, yall.

 

[acarey50]

Late bringing it up but we are at National Cup in Denver this week. Just finished our first game, ended in a 1-1 draw. We started sluggish and it showed as we gave up an easy goal in the first 5 minutes, and it still took another 10 for the boys to wake up and look themselves. We tied it up in the 35th minute. We had opportunities but nothing that got in target with pace to be a real threat, they had one sequence where they broke through and my kid had two foot saves in a bang bang fashion. Save, hop up, just in time to get back down.

We will need to win the next two to advance as I believe only the pool winner advances.

Anyone else happen to be out here for this? If so, how are your teams doing?

 

[acarey50]

@Chadstroma sorry I didn’t see this earlier but my son is a goalie, started playing it when he was in 1st or 2nd grade and is now in high school.

At your sons age, just go to Ducks and find a pair that is comfortable and fits his hands. There’s no need to break the bank. You can find fairly cheap ones - ie Dicks store brand and some of the entry level Adidas and Nike models, for less than $50, even down to the $25 range.

Until he is older and you know if he is going to continue playing keeper, and playing at a high enough level that it matters, then you can look at the more premium offerings.

My son has used Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reusch and many others and currently his preferred brand is One. They are primarily a UK brand but do have a US based online store. They have some models in the $60 range, but most are in the $80-120 range depending on quality, features, etc.

Your son will need to figure out if he likes to have finger saves in or not, what type of “cut” he prefers, glove with wrist wraps or a more of the form fitted pull on.

But in my opinion, go to the local sporting goods store or soccer shop and just try on different types and go with what he likes the most.

And also know that at his age, regardless of the glove you get, when he inevitably lets a ball go through his legs and into the goal, it will be the gloves fault.

 

[Chadstroma]

@Chadstroma sorry I didn’t see this earlier but my son is a goalie, started playing it when he was in 1st or 2nd grade and is now in high school.

At your sons age, just go to Ducks and find a pair that is comfortable and fits his hands. There’s no need to break the bank. You can find fairly cheap ones - ie Dicks store brand and some of the entry level Adidas and Nike models, for less than $50, even down to the $25 range.

Until he is older and you know if he is going to continue playing keeper, and playing at a high enough level that it matters, then you can look at the more premium offerings.

My son has used Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reusch and many others and currently his preferred brand is One. They are primarily a UK brand but do have a US based online store. They have some models in the $60 range, but most are in the $80-120 range depending on quality, features, etc.

Your son will need to figure out if he likes to have finger saves in or not, what type of “cut” he prefers, glove with wrist wraps or a more of the form fitted pull on.

But in my opinion, go to the local sporting goods store or soccer shop and just try on different types and go with what he likes the most.

And also know that at his age, regardless of the glove you get, when he inevitably lets a ball go through his legs and into the goal, it will be the gloves fault.

Thanks! Good info that really helps me be able to navigate this better.

Yea, pretty much all the sports "they held me" "they fouled me" "the gloves are too slipper" "I had to wait so long for my event." (that last one today for his regional swim meet)

 

[The Z Machine]

The "all-star" group from my son's rec league just registered as an "independent team" so they can play in more tournaments. No club dues, only tournament fees split evenly by player. I think the plan is something like 4 tournaments all year, so none of this every weekend thing. So I guess my son is playing club ball now, lol. Main league will still be rec in the fall.

 

[Chadstroma]

The "all-star" group from my son's rec league just registered as an "independent team" so they can play in more tournaments. No club dues, only tournament fees split evenly by player. I think the plan is something like 4 tournaments all year, so none of this every weekend thing. So I guess my son is playing club ball now, lol. Main league will still be rec in the fall.

That makes a lot of sense. It shouldn't bother Mrs Z as it isn't taking much away or a huge commitment but then it gives him time to player against higher level of competition which is good. Good for him!

 

[PIK95]

The "all-star" group from my son's rec league just registered as an "independent team" so they can play in more tournaments. No club dues, only tournament fees split evenly by player. I think the plan is something like 4 tournaments all year, so none of this every weekend thing. So I guess my son is playing club ball now, lol. Main league will still be rec in the fall.

That makes a lot of sense. It shouldn't bother Mrs Z as it isn't taking much away or a huge commitment but then it gives him time to player against higher level of competition which is good. Good for him!

We had so many girls teams in our league pull this move when I was in charge. It bothered alot of people, but I never gaf. I never made those people a priority to our club after that though. The irony was 100% of the time the top 3-5 players on that breakaway team would breakaway from them, to join another "better" team within a year or two. Then the remaining people would come back to me to complain. It was awful and hilarious at the same time.

 

[The Z Machine]

The "all-star" group from my son's rec league just registered as an "independent team" so they can play in more tournaments. No club dues, only tournament fees split evenly by player. I think the plan is something like 4 tournaments all year, so none of this every weekend thing. So I guess my son is playing club ball now, lol. Main league will still be rec in the fall.

That makes a lot of sense. It shouldn't bother Mrs Z as it isn't taking much away or a huge commitment but then it gives him time to player against higher level of competition which is good. Good for him!

We had so many girls teams in our league pull this move when I was in charge. It bothered alot of people, but I never gaf. I never made those people a priority to our club after that though. The irony was 100% of the time the top 3-5 players on that breakaway team would breakaway from them, to join another "better" team within a year or two. Then the remaining people would come back to me to complain. It was awful and hilarious at the same time.

The kids will still play in the rec league, spread out among the 6 teams in that league. But this will allow them to play together in 4 or 5 tournaments in the fall and spring. These kids could easily make club teams but choose to play rec for a variety of reasons. I think the primary one for most is that the kids also like to play basketball and baseball instead of focusing only on soccer. I hope it doesn't piss off some of the other rec league parents.

 

[PIK95]

The "all-star" group from my son's rec league just registered as an "independent team" so they can play in more tournaments. No club dues, only tournament fees split evenly by player. I think the plan is something like 4 tournaments all year, so none of this every weekend thing. So I guess my son is playing club ball now, lol. Main league will still be rec in the fall.

That makes a lot of sense. It shouldn't bother Mrs Z as it isn't taking much away or a huge commitment but then it gives him time to player against higher level of competition which is good. Good for him!

We had so many girls teams in our league pull this move when I was in charge. It bothered alot of people, but I never gaf. I never made those people a priority to our club after that though. The irony was 100% of the time the top 3-5 players on that breakaway team would breakaway from them, to join another "better" team within a year or two. Then the remaining people would come back to me to complain. It was awful and hilarious at the same time.

The kids will still play in the rec league, spread out among the 6 teams in that league. But this will allow them to play together in 4 or 5 tournaments in the fall and spring. These kids could easily make club teams but choose to play rec for a variety of reasons. I think the primary one for most is that the kids also like to play basketball and baseball instead of focusing only on soccer. I hope it doesn't piss off some of the other rec league parents.

I get it. It happens alot. Especially the other sport angle and certain parents wanting to be together. I'm not judging, just sharing my experience from the other side how it never ends well. With girls teams especially. Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group. That was another nightmare. I think I have ptsd from all of it, lol.

 

[The Z Machine]

Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group.

I hope that doesn't happen here. It ruptured ruin the rec league. All players from all teams practice together for 75 mins doing skills and drills, followed by 15 mins of scrimmage broken out by team.

Like the rec baseball league run by the same folks, it's not about winning or goals or hits. It's about building skills and knowledge of the game. They really try to make the league fun for players of all levels. The reality us that it is very unlikely any of these kids make it to pro level or even top level college ball for any sport. Instead they should develop skills and have fun with their friends.

 

[Chadstroma]

Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group.

I hope that doesn't happen here. It ruptured ruin the rec league. All players from all teams practice together for 75 mins doing skills and drills, followed by 15 mins of scrimmage broken out by team.

Like the rec baseball league run by the same folks, it's not about winning or goals or hits. It's about building skills and knowledge of the game. They really try to make the league fun for players of all levels. The reality us that it is very unlikely any of these kids make it to pro level or even top level college ball for any sport. Instead they should develop skills and have fun with their friends.

To be fair, it is very unlikely that the kids playing on club teams will make it to the pro or top college level for any sport.

 

[PIK95]

Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group.

I hope that doesn't happen here. It ruptured ruin the rec league. All players from all teams practice together for 75 mins doing skills and drills, followed by 15 mins of scrimmage broken out by team.

Like the rec baseball league run by the same folks, it's not about winning or goals or hits. It's about building skills and knowledge of the game. They really try to make the league fun for players of all levels. The reality us that it is very unlikely any of these kids make it to pro level or even top level college ball for any sport. Instead they should develop skills and have fun with their friends.

To be fair, it is very unlikely that the kids playing on club teams will make it to the pro or top college level for any sport.

Club/premier is the highest level for young kids around here. I don't understand what you mean? Town versus Club is always the battle to retain players.

 

[Wrigley]

My 10 year old just accepted an invitation to play on a 14u team.

She's pretty good, but there is a pretty large size/skill difference

we will see.

 

[brun]

My 10 year old just accepted an invitation to play on a 14u team.

She's pretty good, but there is a pretty large size/skill difference

we will see.

She may need better competition than she gets now, but besides size/skill, the age difference may not be as socially compatible as you might find optimal. Only you would know but thought I'd mention it.

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

I tried to quote, hit the vmback button and gor hosed up. I'm a little behind

To whoever asked about keeper gloves go to renegade dot com. More than your nor.al gloves but great stuff. Highly recommend. Plus their website has a lot of info about fit/feel/level.

My daughter won't wear anything else no.

 

[Chadstroma]

I tried to quote, hit the vmback button and gor hosed up. I'm a little behind

To whoever asked about keeper gloves go to renegade dot com. More than your nor.al gloves but great stuff. Highly recommend. Plus their website has a lot of info about fit/feel/level.

My daughter won't wear anything else no.

That was me. Cool, thanks!

 

[Chadstroma]

Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group.

I hope that doesn't happen here. It ruptured ruin the rec league. All players from all teams practice together for 75 mins doing skills and drills, followed by 15 mins of scrimmage broken out by team.

Like the rec baseball league run by the same folks, it's not about winning or goals or hits. It's about building skills and knowledge of the game. They really try to make the league fun for players of all levels. The reality us that it is very unlikely any of these kids make it to pro level or even top level college ball for any sport. Instead they should develop skills and have fun with their friends.

To be fair, it is very unlikely that the kids playing on club teams will make it to the pro or top college level for any sport.

Club/premier is the highest level for young kids around here. I don't understand what you mean? Town versus Club is always the battle to retain players.

The best kids on the club teams still have a fraction of a percentage of a chance to go pro or even be in the best D1 programs for that matter.

70% of kids quit sports by age 13.

Then for those who keep going into HS most will not play college at any level. For those who do, other than baseball which drafts half of the NCAA every year... the chances of being drafted to a pro league is extremely low.

Sport	NCAA PARTICIPANTS	APPROXIMATE # DRAFT ELIGIBLE	# DRAFT PICKS	# NCAA DRAFTED	% NCAA TO MAJOR PRO	% NCAA TO TOTAL PRO
Baseball	36,011	8,002	1,217	791	9.9%	--
M Basketball	18,816	4,181	60	52	1.2%	21%
W Basketball	16,509	3,669	36	31	0.8%	6.9%
Football	73,712	16,380	254	254	1.6%	--
M Ice Hockey	4,323	961	217	71	7.4%	--

 

[PIK95]

Around here people would also try and get them all on the same rec team after they already made a breakaway travel/tournament group.

I hope that doesn't happen here. It ruptured ruin the rec league. All players from all teams practice together for 75 mins doing skills and drills, followed by 15 mins of scrimmage broken out by team.

Like the rec baseball league run by the same folks, it's not about winning or goals or hits. It's about building skills and knowledge of the game. They really try to make the league fun for players of all levels. The reality us that it is very unlikely any of these kids make it to pro level or even top level college ball for any sport. Instead they should develop skills and have fun with their friends.

To be fair, it is very unlikely that the kids playing on club teams will make it to the pro or top college level for any sport.

Club/premier is the highest level for young kids around here. I don't understand what you mean? Town versus Club is always the battle to retain players.

The best kids on the club teams still have a fraction of a percentage of a chance to go pro or even be in the best D1 programs for that matter.

70% of kids quit sports by age 13.

Then for those who keep going into HS most will not play college at any level. For those who do, other than baseball which drafts half of the NCAA every year... the chances of being drafted to a pro league is extremely low.

Sport	NCAA PARTICIPANTS	APPROXIMATE # DRAFT ELIGIBLE	# DRAFT PICKS	# NCAA DRAFTED	% NCAA TO MAJOR PRO	% NCAA TO TOTAL PRO
Baseball	36,011	8,002	1,217	791	9.9%	--
M Basketball	18,816	4,181	60	52	1.2%	21%
W Basketball	16,509	3,669	36	31	0.8%	6.9%
Football	73,712	16,380	254	254	1.6%	--
M Ice Hockey	4,323	961	217	71	7.4%	--

I thought you meant there was some other path that all the pros took. I know all that. FWIW, we know many kids playing all levels of college soccer right now, some that came through our program. There is one kid that was recently on the Revs top team from our town. Another local not long before him. Most of the kids that never have a shot at playing college weed out by u16 imo.

 

[SwampDawg]

Most of the kids that never have a shot at playing college weed out by u16 imo.

I think this is pretty accurate, there are always exception but once you get to the U15/U16 age range if you are college material you will know it because you are most likely playing MLS Next, ECNL or the upper levels of USYS on the boys side, girls replace MLS Next with the GA. Right or wrong college coaches don't care about HS soccer and unless they have a specific kid maybe they are going to see because they didn't get to a club game. Same goes for a kid playing in a lower tier USYS or US Club soccer league, there are no doubt some really talented kids playing there for various reasons but unless they are on a team that hit the showcases regularly or are going to enough ID camps that the college coaches can see them against equal competition it's going to hard to get noticed.

 

[massraider]

70% of kids quit sports by age 13.

Whaaaa

 

[SwampDawg]

So question...anyone's teams play on natural grass fields and if so do they have an irrigation system? By sons HS team plays on grass and after years of neglect and after they shot down putting in turf they decided to finally put some work into the field this year. Hired an outside company with experience in and over seed, fertilize and treat it. They also hired someone to come in and put an irrigation system in which was great. We stopped in yesterday to take a look at how the grass was growing in where they trenched the irrigation and the bleacher upgrades. While the grass looks great I was shocked to see that where the sprinkler heads are it's flush with the ground but there is like a two inch diameter plastic cap that is the top of the sprinkler that pops up. There are 6 or 8 of these throughout the field. Now He's played on really nice grass fields before that surely have irrigation and never saw the sprinkler heads. I thought they normally go below ground level and are hidden by grass on top of them. I certainly wouldn't want to make a slide tackle across these the way they are. I'm hoping since we have a week and a half until the first home scrimmage (they train on a different field) that they just haven't completed that part yet but given the history our school has of cutting corners I could see them bringing in a company that primarily does lawns to run the irrigation and not know enough that they need to be covered.

 

[Chadstroma]

So question...anyone's teams play on natural grass fields and if so do they have an irrigation system? By sons HS team plays on grass and after years of neglect and after they shot down putting in turf they decided to finally put some work into the field this year. Hired an outside company with experience in and over seed, fertilize and treat it. They also hired someone to come in and put an irrigation system in which was great. We stopped in yesterday to take a look at how the grass was growing in where they trenched the irrigation and the bleacher upgrades. While the grass looks great I was shocked to see that where the sprinkler heads are it's flush with the ground but there is like a two inch diameter plastic cap that is the top of the sprinkler that pops up. There are 6 or 8 of these throughout the field. Now He's played on really nice grass fields before that surely have irrigation and never saw the sprinkler heads. I thought they normally go below ground level and are hidden by grass on top of them. I certainly wouldn't want to make a slide tackle across these the way they are. I'm hoping since we have a week and a half until the first home scrimmage (they train on a different field) that they just haven't completed that part yet but given the history our school has of cutting corners I could see them bringing in a company that primarily does lawns to run the irrigation and not know enough that they need to be covered.

That is crazy and sounds very dangerous. a lawsuit waiting to happen.

All the HS's around us are going to turf. A big project was done this summer on the girls softball field. The field was pristine and gorgeous so I was a little surprised by the change. All the Catholic HS fields and the 3 public schools in our area are all turf.

 

[SwampDawg]

So question...anyone's teams play on natural grass fields and if so do they have an irrigation system? By sons HS team plays on grass and after years of neglect and after they shot down putting in turf they decided to finally put some work into the field this year. Hired an outside company with experience in and over seed, fertilize and treat it. They also hired someone to come in and put an irrigation system in which was great. We stopped in yesterday to take a look at how the grass was growing in where they trenched the irrigation and the bleacher upgrades. While the grass looks great I was shocked to see that where the sprinkler heads are it's flush with the ground but there is like a two inch diameter plastic cap that is the top of the sprinkler that pops up. There are 6 or 8 of these throughout the field. Now He's played on really nice grass fields before that surely have irrigation and never saw the sprinkler heads. I thought they normally go below ground level and are hidden by grass on top of them. I certainly wouldn't want to make a slide tackle across these the way they are. I'm hoping since we have a week and a half until the first home scrimmage (they train on a different field) that they just haven't completed that part yet but given the history our school has of cutting corners I could see them bringing in a company that primarily does lawns to run the irrigation and not know enough that they need to be covered.

That is crazy and sounds very dangerous. a lawsuit waiting to happen.

All the HS's around us are going to turf. A big project was done this summer on the girls softball field. The field was pristine and gorgeous so I was a little surprised by the change. All the Catholic HS fields and the 3 public schools in our area are all turf.

I wish we would have went to turf but we are a fairly small school and somewhat rural (even though we are only an hour from Philly) and the school board wouldn't approve the cost. He plays 98% of his club games on turf and the few we do play on grass are usually nice complexes when we are traveling for showcases in the south. The only other grass fields we play on are the school right next to us that uses their football field, nice field but it can get rough later in the season. And then a the school district that probably has the most money also has grass but it is very well maintained. They are a football power house but wanted to keep a grass football stadium so they built a separate new soccer only field that is also grass.

 

[Chadstroma]

So question...anyone's teams play on natural grass fields and if so do they have an irrigation system? By sons HS team plays on grass and after years of neglect and after they shot down putting in turf they decided to finally put some work into the field this year. Hired an outside company with experience in and over seed, fertilize and treat it. They also hired someone to come in and put an irrigation system in which was great. We stopped in yesterday to take a look at how the grass was growing in where they trenched the irrigation and the bleacher upgrades. While the grass looks great I was shocked to see that where the sprinkler heads are it's flush with the ground but there is like a two inch diameter plastic cap that is the top of the sprinkler that pops up. There are 6 or 8 of these throughout the field. Now He's played on really nice grass fields before that surely have irrigation and never saw the sprinkler heads. I thought they normally go below ground level and are hidden by grass on top of them. I certainly wouldn't want to make a slide tackle across these the way they are. I'm hoping since we have a week and a half until the first home scrimmage (they train on a different field) that they just haven't completed that part yet but given the history our school has of cutting corners I could see them bringing in a company that primarily does lawns to run the irrigation and not know enough that they need to be covered.

That is crazy and sounds very dangerous. a lawsuit waiting to happen.

All the HS's around us are going to turf. A big project was done this summer on the girls softball field. The field was pristine and gorgeous so I was a little surprised by the change. All the Catholic HS fields and the 3 public schools in our area are all turf.

I wish we would have went to turf but we are a fairly small school and somewhat rural (even though we are only an hour from Philly) and the school board wouldn't approve the cost. He plays 98% of his club games on turf and the few we do play on grass are usually nice complexes when we are traveling for showcases in the south. The only other grass fields we play on are the school right next to us that uses their football field, nice field but it can get rough later in the season. And then a the school district that probably has the most money also has grass but it is very well maintained. They are a football power house but wanted to keep a grass football stadium so they built a separate new soccer only field that is also grass.

That might be the difference there in that all the fields I know of use the football field for soccer and lacrosse and whatever else that needs a field so how you use it might be a big factor in that.

 

[The Z Machine]

I bet there are still a lot of grass soccer fields in FL, TX, and CA.

 

[SwampDawg]

I think it is going to be a long high school season, honestly just want my son to make it through it without injury and getting run down. First scrimmage Saturday wasn't horrible, 2-2 draw against a bigger school. I felt we actually outplayed them the first half and led 1-0 at the break. But our keeper was standing on his head making saves and my son was tracking back from his CAM position sometimes all the way back to help the CB's which isn't sustainable over full game. Yesterday played a team that talent wise wasn't as good as the one Saturday but played a much more attacking style, Lost 0-7, coach told my son to not track back more then he should for his position so the defense could learn to work together, we had one of our other 4 returning varsity players out injured and our starting keeper wasn't playing bad but not out of his mind and gave up 2 goals in the first half. Second half they played the backup just to try him out, that did not go well with 5 goals conceded. It's sort of funny the past two years we've had a bunch of really good players on the teams and a coach that played an outdated formation and just wanted to play kick and run offensively. We get a new coach that finally wants to play a more modern formation and move the ball around the correct way but with 14 seniors graduated, our starting CAM moved and only 4 returning varsity players (3 starters) we are honestly more built to play pack the defense and try to score on counters.

 

[brettdj]

Sophomore son made the JV team, but has been playing Varsity for the scrimmages. He is doing well adjusting to the speed. Coach told him he did great after reviewing film of first scrimmage. He played just less than half the scrimmage at the second scrimmage. He was told he is officially dual rostered (V/JV) Hopefully he gets a decent amount of field time.

 

[The Z Machine]

Son played his first game of the season on Saturday. It's rec league but there are some quality players there. He played mostly central mid and wide mid, got 4 assists, go goals. They were up 5-3 with about 2 minutes left but lost 6-5 when the best player in the league started shooting from 20-25 yards out. My son's team wasn't closing him down or doubling him like they were in the first half.

After the 3:00 game he had his first all star / club team practice. It looked like it's well run and the kids are getting more time to gel with each other. Working on less iso / hero ball play and learning to pass into space where they expect their teammates to be.

They'll play in like 2 or 3 tournaments from now into January.

 

[SwampDawg]

HS season was a total disaster and is now over as my son decided to walk away from school soccer and focus solely on his club team. First game of the year defense gave up 4 goals in the first 20 minutes and it wasn't the keepers fault, He made numerous saves and was being shot on point blank. Coach moved my son back to CB to settle them down and they only gave up 1 more goal the rest of the way but the offense was pretty stagnant. Game 2 was against a small private school, my son played CB the whole game, we won 2-1 and he had an assist taking a free kick and slotting it right onto the strikers foot. Right before this game he had spoke with the head coach and said he was not having any fun (for numerous reasons) and wasn't sure he wanted to keep playing. They spoke and decided he would take the rest off the week off, not play in the weekend games (lost 6-0 and won 4-3) and reset for the next week when league play started and give it a try. Well as it happened my wife and I came down with Covid that weekend, son tested negative the first two days but Wednesday (game day) he wakes up with a sore throat, headache, congested. Still tested negative and left to go to school, he was back 5 minutes later and said he started to feel light headed and turned around and came home. Obviously didn't play that night, lost 6-1 to our arch rival, 5 of the goals were on breakaways that our defense couldn't run with them. Two days home sick, he tested negative the whole time and felt fine the third day so went back to school. Played that Saturday, game is 0-0 mid second half and the other CB totally misses marking his man. My son flies across on a 50/50 ball header to try and prevent a 1v1 breakaway if the kid flicks it on and they collide heads going for the ball. Both go down. Luckily my son took more of a glancing blow (pretty sure the other kid had a concussion) but he did get a pretty nasty cut above his eye. Trainer calls for us to come over and said they got the bleeding stopped and wrapped it but that he needs to go for stitches. We leave to the ER and he gets 7 stiches, there was 20 minutes left and it was 0-0 and had been an even game to this point. We gave up 4 goals in that last 20 minutes and lost 4-1. Now he was out the next 6 to 7 days until he can get the stitches out. He went to the game that Monday and sat on the bench.

When he got home Tuesday after school he told us he didn't want to play anymore. He thought it through, had conversations with two teachers he respected (one of which has a son that plays D2 college soccer) and had several legitimate reasons that he wasn't having fun and it was causing him to be unhappy in his day to day school life and making him dread practicing and playing. Winning and losing really wasn't a factor, it was several things to do with how other players were acting and an assistant coaches attitude. He also happened to have had a club training with his new coach that weekend, he couldn't participate because of the stitches but went and did the walk through stuff and watched. He came home from that talking a mile a minute and excited to be able to go to the next one when he could participate. We had a long talk and while I expressed disappointment he was walking away mid season I understood what was bothering him and we had always told him no matter school or club when he wasn't having fun it was time to walk away. He had talked to a couple of the better players and his closer friends on the team and at least a couple had told while they would love for him to play they cared more that he was happy which I thought was very big of them. I'm sure they didn't all feel that way and we told him to expect some flack at school. He went that night and talked to the head coach and explained his decision and turned his stuff in. He said they left on a good note and that he told him That he would see where he was at mentally come spring and he was open to maybe at least participating in summer kick arounds (and a summer league if they did one) and seeing how that went to maybe play his senior year.

 

[SwampDawg]

@The Z Machine ECNL realigned the divisions so we have 4 games down around the Baltimore area next spring. If want your son to watch some older kids play high level games I can get you the date and times.

 

[The Z Machine]

@The Z Machine ECNL realigned the divisions so we have 4 games down around the Baltimore area next spring. If want your son to watch some older kids play high level games I can get you the date and times.

That would be cool. What are the venues?

 

[SwampDawg]

@The Z Machine ECNL realigned the divisions so we have 4 games down around the Baltimore area next spring. If want your son to watch some older kids play high level games I can get you the date and times.

That would be cool. What are the venues?

Not sure, only have dates and teams on the schedule right now. They don't add the venues until later. But these are the clubs we are playing and what they list as their locations:

Potomac SA in Germantown MD - April 13th
Maryland United FC in Bowie MD - April 14th
Pipeline SC in Bel Air MD - May 11th
Baltimore Celtic in Mount Airy MD - May 12th

Will usually be U15 (2009), U16 (2008), U17 (2007) and U19 (2006/05) all playing consecutively or if they have multiple fields sometimes they will play two games at the same time. I can let you know more when I get times and field locations.

 

[acarey50]

For those that have gone through the college recruiting process, would like input on our situation. My son (goalkeeper in junior year of high school) is also in the process of getting his pilot's license. Our high school has an aviation program, and many of the airlines (American, Delta, etc.) now have programs where you can go through them for flight training/hours and it is basically an extended interview. You pay them up front for the training which is a 2-3 year commitment, and upon successful completion, you basically have a job with them, usually starting in their regional airlines and working your way up. This is his passion and what he wants to do as a career.

While we are fully supportive of him if the path is to go straight into one of these academies, we also are making sure that he is doing everything to be able to also get into college and will have him apply, that way he has the option to do college first and then go to one of these programs. Fairly difficult to do both concurrently given the time commitment. Several universities have strong aviation programs that would translate well, and these schools have soccer teams. While he has not been very active in trying to be recruited for college as right now, in his stubborn one track brain, he is going straight to an airline academy, he has received calls from a couple coaches that got film of him, I believe from when we played in National Cup. Even though we didn't reach out to them directly, they've made the point of contacting him.

What is the best approach to keep those doors open, while being honest about his goals? I know they are of course reaching out to hundreds if not thousands of kids, but I also know from the football recruiting process for my nephews, not everyone is getting personal phone calls from the coaches, it's usually a lot of instagram, twitter or email. We've told him that the coaches at the very least deserve a call back (they asked for a parent to call back with him), but I'm not sure if I need to put on the full poker face and not let them know that he is considering several paths and that playing college soccer is not the top priority for him, so that the door doesn't get closed on him, though if it's the right opportunity at the right place, he is interested.

Just looking for any input for anyone that has either been in a similar spot or been through the process directly so that we don't accidentally close doors that we don't want closed.

 

[humpback]

For those that have gone through the college recruiting process, would like input on our situation. My son (goalkeeper in junior year of high school) is also in the process of getting his pilot's license. Our high school has an aviation program, and many of the airlines (American, Delta, etc.) now have programs where you can go through them for flight training/hours and it is basically an extended interview. You pay them up front for the training which is a 2-3 year commitment, and upon successful completion, you basically have a job with them, usually starting in their regional airlines and working your way up. This is his passion and what he wants to do as a career.

While we are fully supportive of him if the path is to go straight into one of these academies, we also are making sure that he is doing everything to be able to also get into college and will have him apply, that way he has the option to do college first and then go to one of these programs. Fairly difficult to do both concurrently given the time commitment. Several universities have strong aviation programs that would translate well, and these schools have soccer teams. While he has not been very active in trying to be recruited for college as right now, in his stubborn one track brain, he is going straight to an airline academy, he has received calls from a couple coaches that got film of him, I believe from when we played in National Cup. Even though we didn't reach out to them directly, they've made the point of contacting him.

What is the best approach to keep those doors open, while being honest about his goals? I know they are of course reaching out to hundreds if not thousands of kids, but I also know from the football recruiting process for my nephews, not everyone is getting personal phone calls from the coaches, it's usually a lot of instagram, twitter or email. We've told him that the coaches at the very least deserve a call back (they asked for a parent to call back with him), but I'm not sure if I need to put on the full poker face and not let them know that he is considering several paths and that playing college soccer is not the top priority for him, so that the door doesn't get closed on him, though if it's the right opportunity at the right place, he is interested.

Just looking for any input for anyone that has either been in a similar spot or been through the process directly so that we don't accidentally close doors that we don't want closed.

I don't have soccer specific experience but much of this is pretty universal across sports.

Most importantly, what does he want? Does he love soccer or does he just like it? Playing in college (at any level) is an honor but it is also a big commitment. It doesn't work out well for everyone, especially for those who aren't "all in". I know where you're coming from in wanting to keep the doors open, however I think it's critical that he's the one that wants to keep the doors open, not his parents.

That said, he's young and these kids change their minds more than they change their underwear. You may already know, but if not, try and have an honest conversation with him about it. No pressure at all, just to get a sense of where his mind is at. Would he even consider an opportunity to play at the next level? What if he can't get into the airline academy for some reason? I'm not sure how it works with those at all, but for instance I know the service academies have varying degrees of academics that need to be met, plus obviously physical, and unfortunately sometimes things pop up on the medical screenings that are deal breakers. Etc.

If you all are on the same page that there's no harm in seeing where it goes, then I'd recommend reaching out and setting up those phone calls. You shouldn't lie per se, but no reason to go into detail about playing not being his first choice. Again, kids change their minds all the time, all you would be doing now is seeing if there are any opportunities to consider. It's always great to have options, although if your kid struggles with stress/anxiety that may not be the case.

No need to feel guilty about "leading" coaches on, it's all part of the game and they do it to recruits every day. But if you do pursue it, yes, put on the poker face and approach it as if he's really interested in playing at the next level. If not, they'll know and move on to kids who are because that's what they're looking for. Again, you can always close the door later, that happens all the time and even the best recruits in the world say "thanks but no thanks" to every coach but one, you just don't want doors closed on him before you even know if they can be opened.

Good luck!

 

[SwampDawg]

Pretty much agree with what @humpback said. I wouldn't lie to the coach but be it the airline academy or another school most kids are looking at other options they aren't expecting you to only be looking at them. Just have him tell them he is looking at all his options right now but is happy to hear what they have to say. And unless it is top half D1 program most lesser D1's and D2 and D3 are just finalizing their 2024's now and lightly looking at 2025's and won't start heavily recruiting them until spring.

What I do find sort of odd is that they want a parent on the call. Most of what we've been told when coaches address kids at ID clinics and from various club coaches is that the college coaches really want to communicate with the kid initially so that they get a feeling for them. Obviously when it gets down to making offers they know parents need to be involved but they prefer not to deal with parents early on in the recruiting process.

 

[The Z Machine]

My 10 y.o. son plays rec soccer in a league here in Baltimore. He's tried out for a local club but the commitment is just too much for us. Anyway, 2 of the rec league dad/coaches put together 2 all star teams (2013, 2014). Both teams played in a tournament last fall and won their "rec" divisions.

This fall they are doing the same and have been doing some additional team practices on Saturdays after the rec league games finish as well as a few practices mid week. These teams entered into the SAC Columbus Day tournament, which is massive. Im this tournament, there were 7 divisions of U11 (2013), each with 8 teams. You can imagine the total number of players in U8 to U15. Anyway, since this all star team is barely a club and doesnt play in any club competitions, they got slotted into the lowest division. Still playing against other club teams, but not the elites of those clubs, like their 3rd or 4th team.

At U11, they play 9v9 and the 2013 team had 11 kids on it. First game they squeeked by with a 1-0 win on Friday night. It was physical and the kids were still getting used to playing with each other on a fairly wide field. The other team had few chances but only scoring 1 doesn't leave much margin for error. Game 2 on Saturday afternoon was better played, but they went down 3-4 at the half on 2 own goals. A little sloppy at the back. The second half they controlled and won the game 7-4. Game 3 was this morning and on grass, not field turf so it was slower. We hit like 8 shots right at their goalie in the first half and it was only 2-1 us at the half. Ended up 6-1 as again the team dominated the second half with possession and team speed. This put them in the championship game this afternoon with 3 wins in 3 games.

The other side of the bracket had a Liverpool Academy (MD) team that had scored 19 and let in 1 in 3 games. Also, the Orioles played this afternoon and some of the families had tickets. So my son's team was down to exactly 9 players (no subs). The other team had at least 6 subs. Also, our goalie left his cleats at home in between games... he played in basketball shoes. So thing were looking rough. Can you tell we don't play a lot of travel games???

My son was nervous before the game and he thought they were gonna lose badly. He was wrong. Our team ran them off the field. Final score was 5-0 and they didn't get a shot on goal. Just a complete domination. Our goalie had very little to do, just shag balls that went out of bounds. The level of effort given by every player was awesome to watch. They were gassed with about 2 mins left, but it didn't matter. The other team knew it was over.

Overall, they scored 20, let in 5 with two "owen" goals. My son had 2 goals and 6 assists. The top scorer was definitely not our best player. He's a small, skinny kid but is quick and willing to collapse down on defenders with the ball and crash the box. He scored 5. Of the 11 players total only 3 field players did not score, so it was a great team effort. You could see them get better as the tournament went on, they were picking out passes and gaining confidence in each other. Really proud of the team play and the good soccer skills and IQ displayed.

We have another tournament in 5 or 6 weeks. The organizers should bump us up a level, but we'll see. Our players were better athletes and better soccer players than this level of competition.

 

[The Z Machine]

The U10 2014s didn't do as well. They got knocked out in the finals 3-4 despite being up 3-1 at the half. They had chances but couldn't capitalize and the other team had a beast of a kid that looked 2 years older than the rest of the team. He wasn't just huge, but also coordinated and could dribble and shoot. It was a tough loss for the younger set.

It was a long weekend with a lot of driving. Reminds me of why we don't commit to doing the club thing.