So my daughter plays age appropriate (U10) on her travel team and up to U11 on her Club team. Strongest player on her travel team and fitting right in with girls 1-1.5 years older on her Club team. I was thinking of requesting for her to play down with our "B" team this winter on her travel team (U10). She would still get the competition on her Club team but this would let her work on some things this Winter, continue to build confidence and help out a "B" team that could really use it. Has anyone ever done this before? Good idea, bad idea??
My son is a year younger than your daughter. By way of background, he's an October birthday, so with our Oct. 1 school cutoff he generally plays with kids a grade above him when he plays on age. He's used to playing up a year, which puts him with kids 2 grades above him. Given his birth month and the fact that his club draws from a couple towns, he very rarely gets to play with his friends from school. This summer, he played on a team that was formed for two tournaments and made up of his friends from town. He was definitely "playing down", as a good chunk of the kids had only played rec up to that point and are currently in their first club season. When the game schedule was released, it was clear they'd have no shot. We had crossed paths with these teams before and he was the only player that had played at that level. They got pummeled in their 2 tournaments, losing most of their games by 8-10 goals. And you know what? He had a blast. For 8 weeks he was practicing 2 nights a week with some of his best friends and got a fair amount of experience at CB since the coach had to keep him back there in a vain attempt to keep the score somewhat respectable. At your daughter's age, why not mix it up a little bit? She'll likely get a different perspective than she gets on her other teams.
Strongest player on her travel A team and you want her to play down with the travel B team? Not sure I understand what benefit you think she would get out of that…what do you think she’ll be able work on there that she can’t while playing on the A team? What are these “some things” you are talking about? I am all for “helping out” the lower teams, when needed, and my son has done so in the past, but only ad hoc or temporally…it’s fun, it’s nice to do, it feels good, but I don’t know if developmentally it had much benefit (for him)…not to discount “fun” as something of value, because certainly it is…
Footskills, 1v1 moves and building confidence to use them continually in game situations. Another thing to add is that our team, including our coach, have been together for almost 4 years when you include rec. Looking for a change of scene for a bit.
I guess the question is…do you get better playing against/training with weaker players or stronger players? Everything I’ve ever heard, read or seen, indicates the latter…vmmv But then again, nothing wrong with a change of scenery if that what you’re looking for….
Change coaches - it's huge. I don't think kids should be with a coach for longer then 3 seasons, And try to find somewhere that she does not have to play on 2 teams in order to get the training she needs.
There may also be some benefit to downshifting a bit for the winter. Training at the edge of your ability all year has to be a grind for young kids.
kind of my thinking. she would still face good competition with her club team, while scoring 2-3 goals a game with the "B" travel team.
I get change of scenery, new coaching or opportunities…but it sounds like you are going backwards for all the wrong reasons… After our couple of years in club, my son went back to a rec indoor team one winter session…I was thinking exactly like you do now; big star on a weaker team; build confidence by dominating a bunch weak players, score lot of goals…but in the end, it wasn’t very satisfying and lost its appeal pretty quickly…kinda of waste of time, no real development value or even much fun….son didn’t care for it one bit; he knew he was “out of place”…once again, vmmv…
I am no expert in this area, but what stands out most to me is that your daughter is already the strongest on her team made up of predominantly older players. That could indicate there is a large gap between her skill level and those on the lower team. If there isn't much separating the two squads,then maybe it wouldn't matter as much. I have never had the stongest player for any team sport so it is difficult to relate totally to your situation. We have one daughter who was a middle of the pack player on her rec league one season who absolutely benefitted from playing with the "lower" division team for the same age group. Another daughter saw her playing time, particularly at positions that saw the most action with the ball per our coach's tactics, dip as those "playing down" occupied those areas. It doesn't fit your scenario exactly, but I sometimes think of it in terms of both how does it help my kid or how might it affect the team/other kids. If there isn't much separating the squads and your daughter is still challenged, maybe it is worth it.
Averaging a hat trick a game doesn’t sound like much of a challenge…just sayin’ Look at this way….If a team purposely played down a division or bracket, just to rack up a lot of goals and to pad their win/loss record, nobody would be too impressed…many around here have and would be critical for such a situation…developmentally it isn’t doing much and gives a very false/misleading level of talent/skill…. Not seeing how this is any different…. Like I say, I get looking for a change of pace and/or different/new opportunities….just think you'er looking in the wrong direction…. The B team isn’t the place for A level players to rack up cheap goal stats…if I was a B team parent or player, I think I’d be pretty resentful of player who was allowed to use it as such…I’d be disappointed in the program that allowed that…”helping out” the B-team is occasionally playing with them when they don’t have the numbers, not dominating their whole season…
I tend to agree with these points. While in my example,there wasn't an A and B team officially, there was a disparity. I know I was a bit uncomfortable in both situations. Even now, we have a U12 team that may have more U11s in it. There are some U12 girls by age playing up that will play secondary for us. Thing is, more often than not they are starting. Aside: Last game one of those girls yelled at the team which irked me because she never works with us and maybe there are ways to use that experience and skill advantage to actually help make the team play better not feel worse.
My son has been placed in the A team of his age group. But he has been loaned to the B team for two games this season to fill the lineup when there are players absent. I can say it is a mixed bag because while he gains playing time, he has also developed bad habits when facing easier competition. The B team plays 4 divisions lower than the A team.
I'm always hesitant to weigh in because I don't know as much about soccer as others, much of my evidence is anecdotal, and I don't want to appear that I'm bragging about my kid. Nonetheless, here it goes. I think playing down has benefits at younger ages, about up to 13 or 14. However, and it's a big however, it must be done under the right circumstances. The player would have to play down on a team where his teammates would be on the lower end of the league. Second, the player should not be so good as able to dribble through the other team at will. Thirdly, the player must have the proper mental makeup to handle the situation. I say this because I believe this has immensely helped my son develop as a player. He didn't play down at his club per se, but we could have elected to move to clubs in the area that had much better teams. His teammates throughout the years were always a mixed bag of decent to not so good players. Most of his teammates were however, decent kids. Since starting with the club he has been the best player on his team since third grade. He played up in age in 2nd grade and on age in 3rd through 7th. With the birth year change he played up in age. He is currently in 9th grade. His teams always competed in the 3rd division except one year at division 2 in 4th grade. His teams usually finished mid table. What has really benefitted him is learning how to make his teammates better. He wasn't good enough to dribble through the other team at will and score five goals a game. He had to do things to get teammates open, help them on defense, make good passes, etc. He also had to learn to be a leader, which isn't always easy in grade school when kids don't take kindly to you pointing out where they need to be on the field. Leadership took time but eventually through hard work, example, knowledge and attitude teammates became more receptive over the years. If he had moved to another club and played in division 1 he may have developed in to a good player. I also think that he would not have had the opportunities he received by 'playing down' with a lesser team. At a larger club he may have developed into an ancillary player who rotates with some other kids. He's left footed and may have played out wide rather than in the middle. He did play ODP in 5th and 6th grade, and got cut in 7th grade. He worked hard between getting cut and the tryouts and made the ODP in 8th grade. He travelled to regionals and played all the minutes. As for development, playing down helped him learn to work hard because he knew that he had to play better in order to help the team win. As he enters 9th grade he has moved to an MLS academy and is currently starting. The academy team is filled with kids from big clubs that did not play down. So playing with good teams doesn't hinder development. I wanted to offer a description of development through playing down. It won't work for everyone, but done correctly it can be valuable. Whether his development continues or not I don't know. What I have learned is that development is a journey and most of it is his doing.
This is my first post on this board which I joined about a week ago. I joined this board b/c we are considering club soccer for our 5 year old son who is soccer-obsessed -I also have an 8 year old daughter who loves the game but is one of the weaker players on her rec team. I would like to preface this by saying I really don't know much about soccer. My daughter is finally getting some real play time where she can dribble, pass, etc -for the past couple of years 2 extremely talented girls dominated to the point that the not so great players never got the ball. It was nice that the team won every game (thanks to the 2 very talented girls) but it's also important for the lesser players to get the experience they need to develop as players. This fall the 2 talented girls moved to a club team and it's been amazing to watch my daughter and other teammates gain confidence and skill. They lost their first few games and finally one one -they are really able to grow as players without the 2 talented girls. So, what I'm saying is that at U9, U10 on a rec team good players can really dominate, in a way that is not great for everyone and I'd be careful about having your talented daughter join a less talented team for this reason.
Great story...really illustrates that there is no one size fits all path to success…. But with that said, I think we’re stretching the definition of playing down a bit…more an example of perhaps smaller club vs. bigger club? From your description, I would be hard pressed to say your son “played down.” Like your son, I know lots of kids who could have opportunities to go play for the bigger and “better” academy club just south of us. Many choose not to make the move for various reasons…cost and convenience probably being the biggest of them. But for those kids I wouldn’t say they are playing down…. Yes, it’s a smaller environment, that plays at a lower level then what they might find at a bigger club, but still at an appropriate level that pushes and challenges everyone involved. I think if it wouldn’t have been (had been too easy for your son), you probably would have moved him sooner then you did… By your definition of playing down, I would say the OP’s daughter was already “playing down” with her travel A team…
Quoted above is not play down. The OP's thought of moving his daughter full time to the B team while the girl is already the strongest player on her A team is 100% play down. Playing on the weaker team, she can still gain experience by playing in the goal or defense. She will not gain as much when playing offense, especially when she wants to try any team tactics: other players are likely just not technically ready for that. That's my son's situation when he plays with the B team this season.
To be fair, I don't think he's looking for a full-time move to the B team but rather to play with the B team for the winter between seasons (though correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe moving to the B team in the same club would cause problems for the reasons cited above, but I think the idea of seeking out a different team for the winter that may be a step below what she's used to can have some positive outcomes.
Got it. I'd strongly suggest you play your daughter in the defense position (CB, less preferably LB or RB). When my son is playing CB for the club's B team, he is often forced to face 2-on-1 type of situation. Quick decision making plus some improvised play can be trained this way in a short season.
Yes, I believe the sticking point (for me anyway) is that the fact this is the some club…it isn’t a case of trying a new team that may be a step down…it’s the B-team in the same club; so clearly it’s a step down… If this winter play is organized through the club, and permission has to be given, and if is given, I would be very interested on how the DOC or whoever is giving permission can justify it… Even if there would be some positive outcomes to the player being allowed to play down, it would seem to me to have to come at the expense of those who are legitimately B-team… Especially, If the reasoning for the request is simply to score a lot goals… I totally get using the winter for something different…perhaps more casual, more fun, etc…I just think they need to look outside the club or accept the “burden” of being a A-level player….
I agree that it is not the true definition of a play down. I used it as an anecdote of what a play down could do. My son's A team played against the B and C teams of other clubs. I guess that is the only comparison. The main thing about playing down, if temporary, to work on things is to make sure player doesn't resort to out running people as their go to move in a play down situation.
We are back to this rather genetic idea of “working on things”…I am still rather confused on what these things are that necessitate seeking out weaker teammates/opponents to practice with/against…. Maybe I reading this all wrong, but I can’t help but feel like the idea is to treat these B-team players as little more than breathing, moving training dummies…some warm bodies to dribble though, applying some pressure, but not too much and with a large margin for error….to me that raises some fairness, if not some ethical, questions….