Agreed, Midwest is what it is and I don't see a reason why 'fixing it' should be at the top of USSF's priority list. They need to draw a fire line down in the southeast. #MAGAbomber country is shockingly bad at producing talent. Either that or they just have way too many clubs in both GDA and ECNL. Florida teams are buried at the bottom of every table. The Atlanta teams have to be shaking their heads every time they drive five-eight hours south when there is much better competition right across town or up in NC and VA. In checking my facts I noticed the big club in Atlanta, Concorde Fire, is another club that has "A" and "B" ECNL teams, and they appear to have the same struggle. "A" teams doing very well, "B" teams pretty much winless.
Well done OC, you have killed yet another thread. What is that now, five in a row? For the rest of you sports fans... State Cup finals this weekend. Anyone want to handicap the match-ups? http://www.illinoisyouthsoccer.org/illinois-state-cup/brackets-schedules-and-results
U15- FC 1974 GLSA U16- inter U17- Crystal Lake U18- Campton U19- OBSC Magic Let the watered down comments begin
Hey, leave OC alone, we don't need any more cyberbullies. He can't help that he's a Trumper. Go back and troll the GA board or cite another dubious source about a new ECNL team coming to Peotone. BTW, how did that Campton u19 team lose to Jorge's Magic/FC United Magic/OBSC Magic Team?
Darn it - Those where exactly who I pick although I would not have tried guessing the scores. Now I'm just a "me too" guy. At U17 Rockford back to back beating Campton and Team Chicago,whom I would have early on picked as the favorites...
Sockers were there scouting, ruffled some feathers with Grandpa Gus... Saturday not so good for FCU. 0-3 at State Cup and their 19s DA lost to Shattuck. Nice to see some of the "smaller clubs" being more successful. Good local competition is a positive for all Chicagoland clubs.
Confused. Did they win at 2003, 2001, or 2000 in Rockford? Email from IYSA says they didn't. Also DA website shows a 0-1 loss to Shattuck on 11/3, is that incorrect?
Was just an experiment... proving again that screaming "Fake News" gets otherwise educated and rational people to question actual sources of news and information. You began to doubt our great institutions, IYSA and USSFDA, just by me posting a SouthPark GIF. We're all doomed.
Their 19s also lost to Sockers on Sunday also, rumor has it that a significant amount of the players are going to to play HS when it starts. Lake Forest players for sure
The older kids that abandon FCU GDA last year are mostly in college now. The younger kids that left last year didn't go back. I have no idea if that was because they didn't want to go back or they were told they were not welcome. Regardless, I'm pretty sure if a group leaves again this year it will be a fresh bunch of disillusioned GDA players and parents taking their talents to a venue where they might feel like they are playing for something they want to be a part of. Good for them if they do.
Girls leaving to play high School their senior year is nothing new. Last year, seniors left Eclipse, Sockers, and FC united to play high School. Before GDA, Hawks, Eclipse, and Sockers required 10 month commitment even though it was not an ECNL rule, and guess what; Girls left those ECNL teams their senior year to play high high school. From this discussion it sounds like the FC united numbers may be higher but girls leaving to play high school their senior year is not new.
If they have $$$ locked in for college as a result of soccer, why not? I mean that's got to be a ton of fun to represent your school in your last season - knowing you are a rock star and are set for college. I just don't see anything any of these clubs can do to change their minds - at least those who are seniors. Even FREE soccer ain't gonna get it done. For those kids who want to experience high school soccer - they are simply going to do it. Maybe DA needs B teams as well? I think Eclipse and FCU may be able to handle that but definately not Sockers. Of course the question then becomes, why not just put the B teams in IWSL A or MRL? LOL - What a complete mess!
The number of players that stepped away last year was a result of a variety of issues. Some players had come thru the ECNL and been told they would be able to play their senior year in HS, so they did. I know for a fact this happened at Sockers with 3-4 players. Some players did not enjoy their experience in the DA because of playing time. Why spend the last year of youth soccer sitting on the bench? Understandable. This likely accounted for a few players at all the clubs. I firmly believe that if the player truly values the club environment they will stay out of high school, but too many clubs don't create the environment that girls are looking for. Clubs focus just on the soccer and for many girls their interest in the game goes beyond soccer. How is the coach-player relationship? Do the girls feel valued and feel they're benefitting from the environment? Are there social bonds built within the team? Does a full academy (boys and girls) integrate their programs for off-field activities or have each others support at home matches to create a social environment? How does the club handle social media, which for older folk is hard to relate to but is massive to young people these days? Semi-related: Stumbled on an interesting Twitter piece about the importance of a good assistant coach. Someone that can act as the player-advocate, basically play good cop so the head coach can push the players just a little harder. The assistant coach maintains the coach-player relationship so the head coach can be the one to make the hard decisions (i.e. playing time) without losing the trust/faith of the player. I think about how any youth clubs actually have formal assistant coaches and none really come to mind...food for thought.
I agree very with your post for the most part. However I think girls are more social creatures. They are under a ton of pressure as early as 6th/7th grade to fit in - far moreso then the boys. They just have such a harder time getting on then the boys. Hard too say why but I've gone through two of them and scratch my head all day long over how mean they are to each other - as friends no less. Add in their monthly cycles and it can be quite a mess - especially for girls who are specializing at that level in an activity which has nothing to do with their school/friends. That may be why so many of them go back to soccer for high school because they lost that time with their friends in the years prior. I know my 2005 desperately wants to play with her friends - she asked to play for her Jr High team but I said no for multiple reasons. In turn I let her play with her friends at her age in Rec and up with a high school rec team. She likes these game a ton! It's likely I will figure out a way to get her into basketball with school friends for Spring while playing travel soccer as well - all a result of her wanting to spend time with friends in a sport that she has confidence playing. I think it's a desire to be with school friends - contribute to the school effort and get a bit of reward for all the hard work and effort from years of travel play. I know when I watch H/S rec games I can see how far my daughter has come - and she does as well. She goes in to travel games with far more confidence in herself and it all just feels really good. At the highest level of ECNL/DA, it's for the most part a struggle - all the time. Big difference compared to playing for fun - which is also something I hear from my u13-college players during open-play in the summer... No coaches, no refs - just playing. Lots of smiles, freedom to push oneself without worry of getting jammed by coaches, players etc... Good Cop / Bad Cop Yes - you are 100% right! I am the bad cop with my u6 and u10 groups and have assistants who are the warm blankets and it works for sure. As a parent - I can say that Albert @ Sockers 04/05/06 is a great example of the sort of coach you would put in that good cop role. The girls REALLY like him - he's firm but human.
By letting her play up with a different team you created a different social environment that had nothing to do with school, which is exactly the point I'm making. She made some new friends and finds enjoyment in soccer outside of just the competition. This is what I mean by clubs getting creative with managing their environments. Have younger teams interact with older teams, schedule days where the girls get together and just play...turn the music on, go for a quick bite after/cater in if you have a clubhouse...not constantly driving competition. If done correctly, you can actually drive competition MORE on other days because the players are happier. It's about putting together a seasonal plan that caters to both competition and enjoyment. Think of it like chores: the kid half-asses chores because it's not something they enjoy. Find a way to make it enjoyable and the kid will do a better job and be more open to doing it again. The other side of this is the player's love for the game. So many boys players play because they love the game. This is evident by the number of mens leagues where sometimes +50 year old men are still playing. Not for competition, but because they love soccer. You don't find many women's leagues because there are much fewer girls that just love soccer. Some if it comes down to their youth experience, some of it cultural, some of it who knows, but fact is there are much less.
Re-read - she's also playing rec with friends (from her class). In turn I let her play with her friends at her age in Rec and up with a high school rec team. Not sure if you are a coach - or coached girls or have girls but they are basket cases at these ages and most of that comes from the social part of school. All they generally want is for that part of their lives to be rewarding more then anything else because that is where they are spending a good deal of their time. Unfortunately it's a daily battle which one day is good while the next day is terrible. All I am saying is that trying to take the same approach with the girls that you have with the boys will fail - any coach who has coached both can tell you that the style needed to get the best from both genders is very different. But that leads us to what you are saying which I 100% agree with - there has to be more then just the soccer to make it appealing. Unfortunately I don't think many clubs are that progressive in their thinking.
Great point... I don't think many (any?) travel clubs around here, even with their highest level teams, regularly provide assistant coaches. Even if it is just to take and report the temperature of the team and to nudge the head coach in ways that he/she can be more effective. DOCs could play that role, but I have hardly ever seen a DOC do much of anything after rosters are set, coaching assignments complete, and checks cashed.
All it will take is a college coach pulling an offer to make all the kids stay in club over high school. I have heard of a few colleges telling kids they need to be at an academy club because they expect their players to compete at the highest level to prepare for D1 soccer. Not many high schools can create an environment close to what an academy can.