Club soccer

[Ohdanigirl]

Do any of you have experience with youth club soccer? Can I get the good and the bad?

 

Ds has expressed some interest. He has played soccer since he was about five. It has mostly been street soccer in Mexico. After coming to the US this year, he began playing recreational outdoor and indoor soccer. He thoroughly enjoys soccer and it is his main activity during his free time. He began attending ps because he wanted to be able to play on a school team (not an option for home schoolers). He has since learned about the local clubs and is beginning to show interest.

 

I know club soccer is a whole new level. I have always been concerned about possible injuries, and only allow him to play fall out door and a 10 week indoor during spring. No teams over the summer. I am also not sure if ds would be cut out for the competitiveness of club. It is not that he is not good. He plays very well, and quite a few coaches have made attempts to recruit him into their teams. He is very mild mannered and easily turned off by overbearing sideline parents and teammates that get mad at teammates, coaches, or refs when they begin to lose. This is big reason he stopped playing with a club in Mexico. While he's competitive and enjoys winning, he fully believes in playing for the love of soccer. I wonder if his personality would work here.

 

Opinions?

 

Thanks.

[Nart]

It really depends on where you live and how old your son is. If you live in a place where there are only one or two club soccer teams you don't have a lot of choice. I live in Southerm California and there must be hundreds of soccer clubs, so there are a lot of options. In between club and rec soccer is the AYSO Extra program where kids try out to make the team. If they make the team they get guaranteed playing time.

[journey00]

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[journey00]

Hi.  My 14 yr old dd has been playing soccer since she was 5 and began playing competitive soccer club at 9 yrs of age.  She loves it. Yes, club soccer is a whole new level but I would not go back to recreation (rec) soccer. I have noticed that parents on the rec teams are the loudest and rudest.  They scream instructions and negative comments at their kids from the sidelines and they think they really know what they're talking about...most of the time they do not.  I have seen kids cry in rec because their parents voice loudly how disappointed they were in their child's play.  In the club soccer, the parents leave the coaching to the coach, who is well qualified to do the job.  There is no sideline coaching from the parents. Our club soccer coaches are trained and have a zillion certificates and they truly love the sport and the kids. Yes, the training is hard and it is a big time commitment  with 3x's a week practice plus weekend games and tournaments but the skill level of playing is worth it to us.  My dd is a bit thin-skinned but has been able to keep up with the competitiveness and has grown & been challenged because of it.  One season (two yrs ago) we had to sit out of club soccer and she played rec.  She was very frustrated because the other players hogged the ball, parents were barking instructions from the sidelines, one of the parents made their kid cry on the field, etc.  She is very empathetic and was hurting for her teammate.  She said she wanted to quit soccer altogether.  I had never heard her say that about soccer...ever.  I knew it was the frustration from playing rec.  I told her no and she would be trying out for the competitive team again after the rec season was over (I do not allow quitting in the middle of a season for any activity unless it has become unhealthy).   She has never again said she wanted to quit playing soccer.  I am sure that not everyone has had a positive experience with club soccer but this has been ours and I wanted to share it with you.  I say, let him try out for the club soccer, if you are willing to make the time commitment.  If he doesn't like it, he can finish the season and not play again.  Good luck! :)

Edited May 27, 2014 by journey00

[Home'scool]

We have been involved in club soccer and softball.

 

The level of competitiveness and training is higher than with rec league sports. Some of the teams practice and play year round. If your son is on one of those teams he will be expected to do so also.

 

The training is much better because they use coaches as opposed to parents coaching the rec league. Once we went to club softball my daughter was told not to play rec softball because the fathers that coach train them like it is baseball and not softball. Plus the speed of the pitches were much slower in rec league which completely threw off my daughter's timing. We were not able to go back and forth between rec and club.

 

One thing to look out for: We joined a highly competitive club soccer organization. They had 3 levels of players that you tried out for. Level One players got the best coaches and the best training. The coaches worked full time for this organization and ran both the practices and the games. Level 2 players got mediocre part-time coaches. Level 3 players got parents who used to play soccer or had some sort of experience with soccer as coaches. We all payed the same dues. It became obvious that the Level 2 and 3 players were subsidizing the Level 1 players. I do not need to pay thousands of dollars to have a parent, experienced as they may be, coach my daughter.

[sassenach]

We're currently investigating club baseball.  What I'm learning is that the culture can be very different from team to team.  We are on a highly competitive little league team this year, which happens to have a few kids from different clubs.  One kid is a total nightmare.  Terrible, cocky attitude, throws all sorts of fits, doesn't take correction well, openly criticizes teammates, really appears to be poorly coached (and parented).  Our coaches haven't done a good job correcting him either.  We were told by another parent that basically the entire club team that this kid is on is like him, and that the coaching breeds that type of behavior.  No thank you.  In comparison, there's another club team that we know several kids on and they're all outstanding players and kids.  Awesome attitude, sportsmanship and skills.  That's the team we're looking at.

[Ali in OR]

We love our dd's club soccer team, and the whole club soccer experience. If rec isn't enough for you (enough games, enough learning, etc), it is worth checking out club. We live in a small town with one soccer club. Our cost at $900 per year (including uniform) is way cheaper than the metro area clubs we play against--they can be almost twice as much. And it's significantly cheaper than ballet, which is our other dd's activity. But it's way more expensive than rec league.

 

In our area, it would be difficult to play soccer in high school without being on a club team. They won't cut freshman--all freshmen can play at least that one year. But if you want to progress and play all 4 years, make it to varsity, etc, there are so many players who play club (and thus have a great skill set), that it would be difficult to compete against that playing only rec.

 

One more thing--around here all clubs just had tryouts in mid-May. That's the start of the new season. You would now have to arrange to play for coaches and see which teams have openings (easier for younger ages, harder for U12 and up around here).

[trulycrabby]

Well, if he is talented and loves the game, then club soccer is the way to go. Look for a club that emphasizes player development rather than winning, especially when the kids are younger. I wouldn't touch a club with parent coaches unless they are retired professional soccer players.

 

Before tryouts, have him go outside and work on juggling the ball, recieving a ball with one foot (inside and outside of foot), dribbling between cones with one foot, and practicing different moves such as scissors, double scissors, etc...

 

Also, if he doesn't already watch soccer games on tv, then have him start watching them, especially the World Cup which starts in just a few weeks.

 

Good luck! It sounds like a club team will be lucky to have him! :)

 

The clubs here in north Alabama have try outs in June, starting next week, but unless the club is super duper competitive, they will allow for a late registration, especially if he is talented. If there is any resistance, just mention that he played in MEXICO and most teams will fall over themselves to sign him up. :)