Yes kids should be forced to play a sport. There is something for everyone. Maybe it is just hiking. But you have to get off your butt and be active. Sorry but that is what I would force is I were President. But you get a tax credit. If you, Sam, sign up for the local softball league, you can deduct it from your taxes. And for the teens... this will get them to be more social. Look at all the school shooters. They were on extremist websites and succumbed to extremists ideas. I read up on them and I haven't found any athletes that were school shooters. So there you; I just solved one big issue that no one else has been able to solve. (and no I'm not saying playing sports means you won't have any mental health issues)
Shay don't think you are all that because you used some obscure internet buzz word acronym. Speak regular English. This is America
What everyone is telling you is that you are constantly putting the cart before the horse. You assume he is already good enough to potentially get recruited in both sports before he even hits puberty. Even if he does make the MLS Academy team at U13 it doesn't mean he will even stick. More than half those kids wash out before 15. Then when the kids start to grow and an academy is fully funded they start to actually recruit kids from across the country. You're no longer competing against local kids at a MLS academy once High School starts. I don't know your kid, he might be the next soccer god but i will say that I doubt he is. 1. Make sure his overall technical game is sound. 2. Make sure he is a good student. Grades matter and there is more merit money 3. He isn't on a MLS team until he is on a MLS team. Stop counting your chickens before they've hatched. He could get injured, he might not be good enough, any number of disappointments can happen so don't get to far ahead of your skis. 4. Don't add another variable 4 years away based on MLS rules because when he is in HS he may not even be on a MLS academy team or even a MLSNext team. Don't plan further than two years out.
Yes, it is just a question but it is a stupid question none the less when your kid isn't even in middle school.
1. check 2. check 3. he could play in MLS Next in 1-2 years. So better to ask these questions now than later. Since he has always been on the top team, and our club is in MLS Next, then most likely he will funnel into our club's MLS Next team at U13. 4. Middle school though is only 2 years away. And MS has sports teams too.
lol no he's not ready yet to compete against kids 2 years older. some kids did it and that is up to them. but i don't think they had a great experience. i am taking it an appropriate pace for my kid. its important for him to get along with teammates and socialize with them too, and he will socialize better with kids his age. so even if he were ready physically for u13 both he and I would say no just stay with your age group.
Yes, quite a few of them (moms too, more than one). I've never seen one yet who was correct (or, alternately, who didn't over-plan whatever talent their kid had to point they drove them out of the game, or -- in a couple of cases I've seen in the past few years -- pressured them to keep playing for dad long after the kid stopped caring about it, even though both of the players I'm thinking about are quite good). I wish you well, but your arguments all seem to boil down to "I'm different than all those cautionary tales." Consider for a second that you might not be, take a step back, and enjoy the moments along the way rather than worry about 8-10 years from now. Those moments go by quickly. Re music, you're way off. My youngest was a nice trumpet player. A college professor sat in with him and some other kids at a middle school jazz concert once and let us know afterward that he'd like to keep in touch, recruit my son to his program, ... My son lost the serious level of interest in trumpet required to go down that path (hint: you have to to specialize to make that next step in music), but there's most definitely a music version of what we're talking about here (and art, film, ...).
Over-planning... hmmm... not sure if that is the right word. Its more like doing my due diligence. And giving my kid the resources he needs to succeed. Because if he doesn't fulfill his potential, I don't want it to be because I didn't support him enough, get him the right training, stuff like that. My dad didn't support me very much. He didn't expose me to things that I was good at and could have gone far in. Not just talking about soccer, but everything. We all reflect on our upbringing and the shortcomings, or perhaps what your parents did right (if you are so lucky)... and we try to do better for our kids, give them what we lacked. But I agree that it's not good to push them too much. Though... it partly depends on the kid. Some kids respond well to strict training and some don't. That's no my approach. My kid has fun. But I like to digest a lot of information, as we are in the information age, and we can get a lot of information through the internet, which our parents could not. So if they didn't know something, well the kid probably suffered due to ignorance (unknowingly). But nowadays I can learn a lot and hence have a better idea of what a good path is for my kid. There are many things my kid can do in life. A lot of parents are singularly focused on soccer. I admit I was kinda like that for a while, but not anymore. But even when I was, I made sure he had fun.
It isn't due diligence, it isn't planning. It is excessive helicopter parenting. Your child is in 4th grade? My college athlete was one of the worst players on her AYSO team in third grade and only started to develop her skills in 4th and 5th. The studs she played with in 4th and 5th grade whose parents sounded EXACTLY like you, quit. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Back off, let your kid have fun, and let them decide their pathway. If they are good enough they will advance. If you keep it up, he will quit, there is not a question of if, but when. This is the last I will say on it to you, I have tried over and over and you have no desire to listen to those who have come before you and learned these lessons.
Folks, I think you need to lay off the OP a bit. I don't always agree with his posts (more often not) , but he has a point. You have to start planning early. It may not pan out, but if you don't plan and prepare it certainly won't work out. He never said anything to the tune of : every day I make my kid do 100 pushups, run 300 laps, ban him from studying math so that he can juggle more. etc. I agree that statistically he won't make it to be a 2 sport athlete, but there are statistics, and then there are individuals. Statistically, 4' 4" 11 year old kids don't become sport stars, they become accountants, teachers, truck drivers, lawyers, etc. And yet, the world has Messi. I think it would be more constructive if collectively we had suggestions on what would help to get there in terms of training, balancing time commitments, preventing burnouts while still pursuing the goals, etc.
He's going into 5th grade. Yes I hear you. It doesn't matter too much where kids are now. There will be many changes as some burn out and some rise up. I see changes every year. I was just tracking how my kid's soccer team has evolved from U8 to U11. About half the kids are still there. Some moved. Some went to other clubs. Etc. A lot of new kids rose up from the lower teams or came from other clubs. And I'm sure a lot more will change in the coming years. Do all the studs quit? Probably not all. Also I would not call my kid a stud. He's close perhaps. But I almost think it's bad to be in the top 1% due to the same reasoning you gave. It's better to just be more slow and steady with development. Since it is a marathon not a sprint. The kids (and parents) who are sprinting... may burn out. If my kid were a "stud" he would be playing up a year. And he's not. I'm glad he's playing with his age group because he'll have the most fun that way.
Thanks. I know we disagree on a lot of things. It's hard to believe I've been on this board for almost 5 years. And I've never been liked much. But that's ok. Its very easy to get into disagreements on the internet. I have still learned a lot from everyone here. It is hard to get things right with regards to our kids. We are all trying to do the right thing. I was overzealous for a while. But I am more chill now. Probably my kid playing baseball has helped me be more balanced. But now I see that he's good at baseball so it's like, oh boy here we go again, because he did exceedingly well, and I'm trying to learn a lot about baseball. But at least now I have capitulate to the reality that my kid is a multi sport kid whereas before I thought he should be doing soccer only because that's how the European kids and South American kids lived. Baseball was the priority in the Spring and soccer took a backseat, and honestly that felt kinda good. But now soccer is ramping back up. He has been doing well in the pre-season scrimmages. You're right I don't make him do 100 pushups, etc... I'm glad you see that. What I do do is just try to have him touch the ball everyday. But it might be only... "let's see how many juggles you can get to"... let's do a few reps of these moves... or some 1v1, etc. Its pretty chill and really I break up his screen time with some soccer or baseball so that he's not just on the screen for hours at a time. I know the 2 sport thing... probably fall into the category of "can my kid go pro" and are kinda superfluous... these moonshot type questions I think are kind of fun to discuss, and I don't think should be taken too seriously. But I guess also that there is a serious side to the question in the sense that in 2 / 3 / 4 years he will have to make a real decision. And if he is excelling at both soccer and baseball then it will be a hard decision. It would be more of a relief and easy decision if he weren't good at one or both of those sports. A kid being good at sports is a blessing and curse. It makes it harder to sit back and enjoy and you see his talent then you are now concerned with "am I not doing enough to help him develop his talent to the same level of his peers". I guess in the end it will depend largely on the limitations set forth by MLS Next. Will they let my kid play school baseball? Maybe even if they let him maybe he wouldn't have the time. It seems that, if a kid is very athletic and multi-sport, they have to chose between age 12-14... 1. Soccer-only (year round club soccer) or 2. High school sports, pick 2 or 3 (baseball, football, basketball, HS soccer, tennis, track, wrestling, golf)
You don’t need to ask questions about something regarding high school. Are you asking about pre calc yet? Is your kid taking practice SATs? The answer is NO because there is a lot of road yet to be paved before it is a concern. MLSNext didn’t even exist 4 years ago. I’ve seen DA come and go. ECNL, GA come online after DA folds, MLSNext take off after DA. Grade year change to birth year and now there is talk of birth year changing back to grade year. College recruiting rules change seemingly every year, roster sizes are being reconfigured. NIL money is changing things everywhere. Seriously, the landscape is on sand so we are telling you that it IS stupid to plan out more than two years. I’ve seen soccer clubs implode, injuries ruin promissing careers. Seriously, relax.
My kids have played with and against kids who have made the National Team as well as a pro prospect. Their clubs have produced pro and NT level players. I’ve seen up close what it looks like and how kids at that level just have a different gear. A couple I’ve seen since they were U10’s. I know what I’m talking about and much of what everyone here is telling you are absolute facts.
Actually a lot of parents with kids in elementary school discuss middle school, high school, and yes even college academics. It is actually quite common in my world. Not sure what world you are in.
Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it. But I do feel like I have a good approach on things now. My best friend's son plays at the San Jose academy so he is a good resource to see the process.
Yeah, and you’re discussing high school in elementary school. Nobody does that in elementary school to the specifics that you are. Yes, everyone has a basic road map but your kid is in 4th grade and you’re asking about high school sports now. You’re not talking about academics, you’re wondering if it is possible to play two D1 sports before your kid has even made an MLS academy while already talking down ECNL and other MLSNext clubs. You just think it’s a given, that whatever you plug your son into that greatness is just going to oooze out of him. For athletics, look no further than two years ahead.
I think it's the "forced to play a sport" wording that's the problem here. You seem to be OK with a kid doing just about any activity, even in a non-competitive format (I'm not aware of Competitive Hiking although this is a world where Pro Cornhole gets televised, so who knows). To that degree, I more or less agree with you--I think it's good for every kid to do some physical activity on a regular basis.
idk, I feel you should expand your thinking a bit. The vibe from you feels a bit cencorship-ish. You want to think in various dimensions and not limit your self.
Yes kids should move their bodies and also get outside and also be around others to learn social skills. There is an obesity epidemic in our society. There is also a myopia (near sightedness) epidemic caused by being indoors too much and too much screen time. Spurred on by the extreme locked-indoors rules and mindset from the pandemic. Look at the kid who just shot at the political rally. He was 20 yrs old and was a "loner". If he had played sports very unlikely he would have done what he did. I can't think of any school shooter that played sports. This kid tried out for the rifle team but didn't make it. I applaud him for trying out at least. The parents should have prepared him for the tryout better. Probably had he made the team he would not have done what he did because he would have had more social skills and less general angst against the world.
I’m not censoring or canceling. Just telling it straight. You can plot a few things out but trying to plan further than 2 years out with athletics is a waste of energy to the degree that you are doing. It’s fine to ask if it is possible to play two D1 sports at once but the implication that for your 4th grader that this is a real possibility is hilarious. Ask it again in HS IF your son is a top soccer player, plus all state in track, baseball or any other sport. Hell, collegiate sports may not even be around for the Olympic sports by the time your son is of age. There is just little value in handwringing about it now. One foot in front of the other and 2 year chunks.
Well my friend we will have to agree to disagree. I think, to have a shot, you have to look into the future and then work backwards from there. You can say the same thing about life. Only look directly in front of you. And that's not a bad strategy. it works for most people. Or you can look over an entire life span. Which is what I like to do. I analyze my life, assuming I might live to the avg age for a male. Then I can see the whole picture and look backwards. This way I know how many years I have to do various things in life. Now, sure you are probably right that thinking seriously about 2 sports at D1 is a waste of time... for 99.99% of the cases. But at the same time... if it's fun to think about, then I see no harm. Also, probably you will have a better chance of it happening if you can examine the blinds spots along the way and also properly calibrate to a certain path, which can only be done by looking forward a long ways. It's like a torpedo that you want to hit a target far away. You have to see the target, you can launch the torpedo in the general direction and along the way you can calibrate as it gets close to target. I would say also, I don't think that this replaces the "one foot in front of the other" thinking. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. We also do one foot in front of the other. And we can also do 2 year chunks as well. 2 year chunks within say a greater context of say 5 year or 10 year chunks.