Even though high-school soccer has its issues, I agree. One of the positive aspects of it, which I'm looking forward to seeing, is the opportunity for player reinvention that it provides. My player has primarily been an outside back and defensive midfielder on her club teams, but on the high school team, I have a sense that she's going to be getting time at the wing. Her school is a regional power, but they're losing 8-9 seniors off of this year's strong squad. The coach has already indicated to me that he will be leaning on the incoming '07s quite a bit, so it's a great opportunity for her and the incoming freshmen.
100% spot on. My 05 has played outside wing or defender for club since she was 6. In high school she was put in as center forward and played a false 9 and managed to fool the defense and grab 3 goals this season. She has also played attacking mid and defensive mid - which she is struggling with but the coach is forcing the issue. She hates it but it will give her more experience on the field for sure.
A couple of the teams my son's been around (one summer-only team in particular comes to mind) have had this problem. I get not wanting to devote every weekend to this, but when you sign up, understand that you're making a commitment to mostly be there for practices and games and that other players are counting on you. On Volk's questions, my son's tryouts will be late fall, after the (back to normal) fall boys season in our state. That's a long way off, and a cut would leave him with precious few options, particularly at that time of year. Gulp.
Sorry, I think I wasn't clear enough. My daughter is seventh grade and all her teammates are 8th grade. Some of her teammates are going to play high school starting in the fall. The rest of the team will be put into a group to practice and play games at her current club. But the teams they were set to play are much older so there's no real plan for the younger girls. That combined with some other factors has us (including my daughter) wondering if it's the right place for her. Coaches have been exiting, facilities falling behind and other conversations make me wonder if this club actually has a direction or if it's just winging it. My daughter fully intends to play high school next year. After seeing her brother's experience in high school she definitely will play. She was actually considering quitting the Girl's Academy because at the time they didn't allow for them to play high school. Some of the play at the HS level can be quite awful. But there's a lot more to the HS experience that outweighs that negative. Especially considering they only play for 2 1/2 months.
OP here - ironically, some concern now that the team was overly optimistic and turned away a few mid tier players (not my son) after tryouts and are now scrambling to fill the roster. I see a lot of good things, especially now that DA is dead and the club kids can play, about high school soccer. We've always planned on participating. But what about middle school? Just steer clear and stick with club? If we could do something like games only maybe, are such arrangements likely? I know it takes practices and time together for chemistry, but the season is so short that seems unlikely regardless.
Talk to the coaches. For my kids, the club coaches would rather they didn't play MS ball, but didn't stop them, PROVIDING the club came first. Which means if there's a club practice or game, that takes priority. Both MS coaches understood that (they each had a number of select players) and would roster more players than normal.
Depends on your situation, your standing with your club, etc. For my son, MS soccer was a godsend--right when his club career was at it's worst (and I was worried he would give up on his only serious activity on the cusp of adolescence), along came the opportunity to be a key player getting lots of minutes, and plenty of attention from his coach. The soccer itself was absolutely dire--but he made friends in his own school who loved the sport (none of his club teammates went to his ES, and none of his grade school friends were much interested in soccer at all), which led to pickup games, FIFA video gaming, watch parties for pro games, etc. MS soccer was his gateway to being part of a genuine soccer culture, and reaffirmed his sense of being part of it. Right when short-sighted club soccer higher-ups were in the process of possibly weeding him out. BUT--that's not the only path, nor would it necessarily work out for everybody. Full disclosure--he went to a MS that was over 35% Hispanic and another 15-20% African & Asian, so he ended up being teammates with a lot of first- and second-generation immigrant kids who usually didn't play travel soccer, but did have older siblings and family members who played pickup for fun. It was a far cry from the overwhelmingly white/middle-class world of club soccer which he came from. So--an important caveat. I wouldn't universalize his experience by any means.
Standing pat at new club for next year... didnt know where else to go...experiencing buyers remorse. Second club where coach has made him play as a striker even though hes primarily a winger. Getting better in the middle and resigned to the fact but extremely frustrated as mates cannot get him the ball. Coach then says due to his frustration he cannot promote him to next group at this time. Wtf. Also second club where I proposed coaches let him play wingback as he has played there and is way faster than all but maybe academy players at that postion... Shot down both times. Double standard much? The more I experience with clubs the more I'm mystified... Sorry to rant
It's experience. My kid is a right Def or Forward and she ended up being put in as a center forward, defensive mid and attacking mid all season long for high school. Short of the DM position, she did really well - scoring 4 goals this season compared to 1 goal in total for her club career. She gets frustrated but this experience is worth it IMO. When she goes back to club, she will have a better understanding of the overall game.
So our tryout week isn't going well. Club A's tryouts on Tuesday were cancelled because the fields were underwater when DS was about 75% of the way there. They had put out an email less than two hours previously, after multiple rain storms that tryouts were still on. This club is about 45 minutes from our house. Club B's tryouts (90 minutes from home, but a USL Academy) were last night. They got cancelled about an hour in. They did a couple drills and some Rhondo's, no scrimmaging. This is the club DS really wants to play for. He did say he was the only one "talking" during the Rhondo's and the coach made a comment on his effort to get a loose ball, so we'll see. He doesn't think he made it. He only got a few touches on the ball. Club C tryouts (again about 90 minutes from home) are tonight and Club A's makeup is tomorrow night.
Tryouts will build character, patience, and other things, I guess. Good luck to him, and I hope he gets the team he wants. I'm sure this is common, but my son has left every tryout he's ever been to sure he may have just blown it and most of them, it turns out, have gone fine.
Thanks. I think he's more disappointed that last night was cut short. The drills they did were apparently more "offensive based" and he's a defender, so he feels he didn't really get a chance to show what he can do. Of course, more than likely, the coaches already know who they want and they're just trying to make sure there's not a surprise at tryouts.
Tryouts are tough, especially if you're not a known commodity. My son was invited to try out for a MLS academy. He looked like a deer in the headlights. It was rough, but he learned a lot from it.. Keep doing what you do.. There is a reason you are here I told him. Never give up.
DS found out late last night he didn't make the pool for Club B (the one he really wanted). He couldn't make it to Club C tryouts last night because of storms and traffic, so he's doing Club C AND Club A today. Club C is State Champions, and supposed to be merging with club that was the runner up, so that will be a tough row to hoe too.
He ended up signing with Club A. It's going to be a combined 03/04 team and apparently a number of kids he played with before the age change 5 years ago are also joining the team. The team he's joining lost 0:1 to the eventual state champions (Club C) in pool play, so they could/should be pretty competitive. At least he has a team for his final year.
It's tryout season again. This is starting to be my least favorite time of year. From 2014-2019 it was a non-issue. We had a club where we liked the coaches and the families and it was local. Then it became limiting as he had hit the ceiling and the coach wasn't helping him grow, but we didn't move DS because he was shifting schools and we didn't want to disrupt his life in both of his social spheres the same year. So every year since 2019, when I first thought about moving him, it's been something. This year it's that our current club will cease to exist. The club it's transitioning to is going to be smaller and will be cutting players from the old club. So it's time to hit the tryout circuit. Club A has the biggest name, but we've found the coaching inconsistent. Good crew of families and kids, but who knows how many will make it through. Drive of 40 min to 1 hour 15 minutes. Club B we've danced with for two years but haven't signed on (though we almost did). Will they even extend an invitation to us this time? Up and coming club, but inconsistent results. I've actually promoted this club to my friends, despite not signing on. Their best players regularly get poached. Multiple field locations, so inconsistent drive time (20 min to 1.5 hours). Club C is brand new, has a coach that gets a ton from his players, shapes top players and has gotten, in a short amount of time, a lot from my DS. DS would be on a 2010-11 team and be on the 11 end of it, which means he would vault to 11 v 11. But the coach's reputation isn't great in the community as he was at three clubs in the space of a year. DS would have one friend there. Drive time of 30 minutes. Club D is established, plays at a high level, but is 30 miles away, a 45-60 minute drive. There was a Club E, but I think we decided against it as it has too many of the issues that our original club had. The metrics I'm using are: 1. Will he have fun? 2. Will the club help him grow to his fullest potential? 3. Is the drive sustainable? I don't worry a ton about #1. He has been around clubs A-C and is fine. There's a coach at B that doesn't seem to rate him, but I don't think he will be his coach during the season as he's a littles coach. For #2, only C gives me confidence at this point that it will be able to do this. Don't get me wrong, they all have good coaches, with Club D probably the second in this category. For #3, C is absolutely the, on average, closest. The others, because of the distance, need to have a place to hang out and work during the hours of wait time since they're too far from home to go home. A has the best facility for this. B is pretty awful in this category. C is o.k. D is pretty good. So thanks, everyone, for letting me vent and think aloud. I'm doing this in part because all of the posts that preceded it are worth reading again, and to hopefully get some insight from you all into things that I'm just not considering. Thanks in advance.
Good luck on the tryout process! Son's club, as we just found out, has been sold. The owner of the club wants to retire, as he's getting up there in age. And a large company has been buying local clubs around a 3 or 4 state area, with hopes of creating a residential academy (the parent company already has a residential basketball academy, so they have the facilities). Local clubs will remain local - I assume only the best of the best will be invited to the academy. Moot point for us, as son will be a senior this fall. Son's coach also told his team that he's stepping away from coaching after this season. He has a full time job along with 4 young kids (the oldest, I think, is 6) so his wife has been asking for him to stop coaching for a while now. So it's looking like this is probably his last season of club soccer. Unlikely he's going to want to start all over with new coach, uniforms, etc. for one season of soccer, especially if he's not planning on playing in college.
Sometimes I wonder if we are begining to lose good coaches because USYS has messed up soccer so much.
Good luck, lots to think about. Don't forget to think about down the line. Inconsistent coaching will always be found at every club. Coaches come and coaches go so that's uncontrollable. It may fit for you in the immediate future but not in the long run. Just keep that in mind. I've actually pushed that from my mind as my son and daughter go through the process because I hear it from other parents at other clubs and see it everywhere. My son could easily have switched to a different more competitive club but he's chosen to stay where he is because he gets along great with his team and the more competitive club seems to have a lot of inner turmoil between players. You didn't mention money, so I'm assuming that's not an issue. Showcases, travel, etc play a part for a lot of people. My daughter's showcase will cost us more than the whole year of "tuition" for the club because of hotel and flight prices right now. Some clubs and levels don't travel as much.
Update... My kid now gets put in as mid with an upper classman when we play teams with "known" forwards. Coach essentially calls it the Jordan Rules and she loves it. She's also moved on to taking all the teams corner kicks - has a beautiful foot on her. She's grown way more in high school and developed far more confidence and an appreciation of herself from 2 seasons of high school then all the years of club. Of course she would not be here if it wasnt for club but IMO the last 2 seasons, club could not move her forward in a way where she gets the time and opportunities that high school has.
My son played boys DA and then left to play High School. He was pinned at left back for them even though they always discuss development and kids playing multiple positions. Went to High School and played left back and then last year moved to left mid. Made All Conference and was a Max Preps player of the week for the State at the position. Different club now and he's playing mostly at the CB and LB position but sees time a mid. If it wasn't for High School he wouldn't have that opportunity.
I do not envy those with tryout choices. There's a lot of information to weigh. One thing that shouldn't be a factor is kids on the team. Unless you know the majority of kids trying out, you don't know who's going to make the team, who's going to get selected but decide to go elsewhere (if not quit), and who's going to move (out or in). Try to make the best decision you can and just know next year will be here before you know it (and you have the choice to go somewhere else).