Pamela H in Texas Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 How much of a time commitment is soccer? Like how long each day? How many days per week? What day are games on? Does this all change over the years? Sign ups are Saturday evening. Trying to decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 What age and what type of program? Recreational? Our rec league has maximum practice limitations and mandatory play time of half the game for each player. Under 6, only practice once a week for an hour. Under 7, 8, and 9-- they allow 3 team contacts a week. So, 2 practices and a game. 1 practice, 1 scrimmage, and 1 game, etc...... Our practices are an hour, because there are likely other teams before or after. I don't know how old those rules go, because dd (8) just joined an academy team. It's a developmental league that feeds into a competitive league at under-11. We have 2 mandatory practices a week and frequent extra optional practices. Honestly, you can go all the way up to teams that travel to tournaments all over the country. Our soccer club has a few that do that. Others travel in state or surrounding states. Or you can stay rec and keep it light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hmm. Well.... in our town soccer is in the fall. For one child we had 2 1-1 1/2 hour practices a week and then games were on Saturday. We had three children in soccer in the fall, on three different teams. That was a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeFe Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 This will vary greatly. It depends on your location, the age of your child, recreation league, travel league or Upward, ect. When my son was younger it was generally one practice a week and one game a week. Almost always on weeknights. These were recreation and Upward leagues. Now that he's 15, we have the high school team. They practice every week day afternoon (2 hours) and one to two weeknight games during season. Then there's the travel team. Off season is usually once a week practices. In season they will practice more. Games will vary between weekday/weekend. About 5 tournament weekends. Most, out of town but within 2-3 hours from home. There's also indoor soccer and futsol. Those are typically game-only leagues. Then there is conditioning that they're expected to do at home on their own. And also camp weeks. Bottom line - you could be very busy or you can keep it simple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 The answer varies from league to league, Pamela. Right now, my 8yo is practicing one hour, once a week. We have 10 games in a season and they are all on Saturdays, 45 minute games. My oldest used to play. His team practiced 2x a week, 10-12 games a season and most of them on Saturdays. Some were on Thursday nights because there were too many teams and not enough fields. As the player grows, practices are often a couple times a week and often more games. If you're looking at soccer for your littles, I would anticipate 1 practice and 1 game a week for a total of 2 hours for the week. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 In AYSO here, at least U8 and up, they have two 1-1/2 hour practices per week and one game on Saturdays. The time commitment for soccer is not bad at all. Even better is Friday Night Lights flag football: one practice and one game per week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Our soccer season is only 2.5 months long, but we have 3 kids in soccer. We are at the soccer field at least 2 hours a day between 3-7 days a week. Most saturdays last season we were there from 7:30 am - 2 p.m. in rain or cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 While it depends on what your goals are I will start with this disclaimer: you are near me in the DFW are, so honestly the answer for us is unlike any other area of the country (except for maybe some parts of California and North Carolina). There are few other places in the country where soccer becomes so competitive so quickly. If you are just playing rec ball, then it varies by age - my youngest is playing Under-4 this year and we only have "games" for an hour on Saturday mornings. "Games" actually consist of about 10 minutes of all the U-4 teams getting a short instructional talk by an association coach showing a skill, then about 20 minutes of small activities that include parents working on skills, then about 30 minutes playing 3 v. 3 against another team. Then we have snacks and go home. This is the format for U-4 and U-5 here. Starting at U-6, teams typically practice one evening a week for about an hour, then have a game on Saturday. They may occasionally have a weeknight game due to scheduling conflicts or rain-outs. Rec will probably stay this way, with practices maybe going to 2 nights as they get older, as long as you can find a rec team in that age group. As you get older, you may have to travel further to find rec teams as competitive teams become the norm for that age. Seasons are generally fall and spring. The time and money comes into play if your child has the skill and desire to play soccer longer term. In the DFW area, some competitive leagues start training academy players as young as U-5 (our association starts Academy at U-7). My DD 8 plays Academy now in one of the most affordable organizations and it is $250 per season, plus tournament fees (at least 2-3 a year). (Other teams have training fees of $80-100+ per month.) They also play at least 2 indoor seasons per year. We have also just started speed training which is another $75 per month. In season, she has team practices 2 nights a week, skills one night a week, speed training 1 afternoon a week, plus a rec game on Saturday and an Academy game on Sunday. There is a possibility that team practices may go to 3 nights a week (2 Academy and 1 rec). Our association really encourages Academy players to continue on their rec teams at this age. Academy trains/plays year round. My husband and I did not send her to a camp last summer but now we realize it isn't going to be optional if she really wants to keep playing, so we are saving several hundred dollars for camp fees for the summer. The problem in this area is that most kids who play past age 11 are playing for competitive select clubs. In order to play for those teams, they have to start in Academy very young (or just be super-natural talents). I really struggle with this because I hate the pressure for kids to achieve and specialize so early, but it is in every sport and activity available, not just soccer, so if a kid is going to be able to "make the team" in *anything*, they have to take that route. We are facing the same thing with my 11 YO DS who is into acting, for him to get any parts beyond ensemble, we are looking at much more time and money to provide private voice, acting, etc. This area is just insane in that respect! I don't want to be discouraging, but I did want you to know that responses from soccer moms in other parts of the country probable won't prepare you for what you are getting into here in DFW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Depends on the league. Rec here is an hour on saturday for games and once a week practice that is a hour. Another league here is 2 hour games and twice a week practices that can be 1.5 hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 What ages are we talking about here? My kids have done soccer for fun several times. We usually end up doing it in the spring. For K they have 1-2 practices a week and games on Saturday for 1st-2nd they had 2-3 practices a week and games on Saturday. The amount of practices depends on the coach. We have only done rec soccer. The kids have also done itty bitty a few times and that was just Saturday for 6 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 fhjmom-- I didn't quote you, but :iagree: with what you wrote. We weren't going to put dd (8) on a competitive team for a few years. But, then fall started and her team had all new players (I'm glad. It's a healthy sport) BUT she couldn't move forward with the teamwork style soccer that she was ready for. So, we went ahead and moved her when the season ended. We are so glad. Dh (who was the soccer player of our family) says he doesn't know how a total rec player could possibly go into a try-out for a competitive team at 10 and make it (unless they are just THAT naturally talented. The difference in level of play is huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 DD7 has played soccer and may play again this season. She plays for the Y and they have an hour practice on a weekday, then an hour long game on either a Friday or Saturday. So basically about two hours per week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 For what age? Both of my boys play soccer with the community league, so it is just practices once a week and a game once a week. There is a fall season (September-November) and a spring season (March-May). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengjohnson Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 My 12 yo plays for a travel team. 2-3 practices per week, 1-2 games per weekend unless it's a tournament. My 9 yo plays rec. 2 practices and one game per week. My 6 yo plays rec, but is already in supplemental practices b/c she will most likely play at a high level. 3 practices a week, 1-2 games per weekend. Her team is already starting to play tournaments. In spring and fall season we have soccer 6 days a week. During the winter it's 4. In the summer they attend a week or two of camps, and one skills training per week. I know it's drudgery for a lot of families, but I love it, it's just what we do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in MI Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 It depends on how old your kids are? The younger they are the less practice and games they have. We also have 2 seasons Fall (Sep-Nov) and Spring (March-May). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Last time we did soccer kids were 6 and 8. DD6 had practice on Wed. for about 1 1/2, DS8 had practice on Tues. and Thurs. also for 1 1/2 each day. Then there were games every Sat. If we were lucky they would have games back to back, so we could be done in less then 2 hrs. Really bad luck consisted of DD's game at 9am, DS at 4pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thanks y'all. Princess is six and our main consideration. I thought I might buy me some time by making a family rule of waiting til kindergarten. Lol. My youngest is 14 days too young for t-ball. The other two could do that. Or soccer. And then there is gymnastics and swimming we could do for all three. Soccer and tball are cheaper. I like that the others are year round. I'm feeling poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 There are so many variables to the questions you're asking. Around here, rec soccer is about $45 for one practice and one game a week. At higher levels or competitive soccer, it can cost hundreds and there may be games or practices almost every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlanne Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Another that says it depends. We started coaching our oldest daughter back 12 yrs ago. We had just moved toLouisiana and figured she could meet people this way. Dh knew nothing about soccer but it was free signup to coaches kids in rec league. I picked him up a video titled "All you need to know about coaching kids soccer." LOL. We coached her thru 5th grade, two seasons a yr. As each of our children grew, we started coaching them as well. (Our ds, and two more dds) We have had as many as 4 teams in a season. Practice time here is chosen by the coaches. Rec league here usually practices once a week thru u8 and twice a week above that age. Cost was always free for coaches but for all others of ran from $75-$90 per season per child depending on age and district. Later dd1 played middle school soccer and D1 tournament soccer which Dh assistant coached. Practice for middle school was daily with games throughout but free with fundraising. D1 cost us around $150 per season with fundraising and three practices a week with weekend games. Dd1 now plays high school soccer which is same as middle along with tournament D1. The cost for D1 at this level is $1200 per yr. However our coached waved his fee and we were able to purchased used uniforms reducing our cost to $600 per year. They practice daily for high school with games throughout. (Mon, Tue, and Fri game next week) D1 is 3 practices per week with occasional Sat practice and games on weekends. We travel quite a bit too. Ds still plays rec since he takes one season to play football and one soccer. Dd2 had her first tournament team this passed season. We coach but still had to pay $425 for the yr. (She broke her leg and is out this season but we still have to coach and pay.) We practiced 2 times per week for. 2 hrs each and games on Sat and/or Sun. Dd3 plus as well but hers is rec at $135 per yr, once a week practice, and Sat games. Whew if you get this far I am amazed. Lol. Last season we had every night of the week taken with some sport,usually.soccer, and most weekends to. It was difficult but lots of fun. BTW, dd1 is 16, ds 12, dd2 is 10, and dd3 is t. We have two others ages 3 and I months. We will be out there with our walkers.lol...we just got home from a soccer game matter of fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlanne Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Don't like not being able edit from phone. Dd3 is 5 and our youngest two are 3 and 8 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahlanne Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 BTW....gymnastics is even more of an investment time wise and financially. At least it is here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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