All-Purpose Soccer Parents Thread

Discussion in 'Youth & HS Soccer' started by becomingasoccermom, Apr 15, 2020.

  1. NewDadaCoach

    NewDadaCoach Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    United States
    Sep 28, 2019
    In youth soccer what happens when a team forfeits - of course the other team gets the win... BUT how do they handle Goals For / Goal Against?
     
  2. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    It should be listed in the rules for the specific league/tournament. I've normally seen games will be recorded as 3-0 or 4-0 (depending on what the maximum GS or GD is used). But our state HS rules had games recorded as 1-0 if it was cancelled because of Covid.

    I think most league games will be rescheduled (or try to) before committing to a forfeit.
     
  3. NewDadaCoach

    NewDadaCoach Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    United States
    Sep 28, 2019
    We had 4 games over the weekend. 4th one was the tournament final. We won all games. Won the final 8-0.
    Total goals scored (in this tourney) was 32, and 3 allowed. I don't even post these to facebook anymore because I feel kind of embarrassed and I feel like I'm bragging. They seem like made up scores because they are always so lopsided. I wish we had more even matchups.
    I don't even care about winning; too much winning distorts things. Have to remember that what matters.

    Well that wraps up our games for the year. It's crazy to think they played 26 games in a few months. Our first time doing club soccer.

    Across league and tournaments games, vs U8 teams they finished with a record of 12 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw.
    Vs U9 teams it was 7 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw.

    I'm guessing this team will look slightly different in the spring, but will mostly stay intact.
     
  4. NewDadaCoach

    NewDadaCoach Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    United States
    Sep 28, 2019
    Do you enjoy watching your kid play or are you indifferent or is it a chore?

    For some parents it seems they want to "get it over with" so they can get on with their weekend. But for me it is the highlight of my weekend. I really enjoy watching him play. Just as much or more so than watching any pro team.
     
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  5. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Same. I've never outgrown it, either--my son is 23 now, and I still go watch him play semi-pro whenever I can.
     
  6. sam_gordon

    sam_gordon Member+

    Feb 27, 2017
    I love watching both kids play. Always have. I even used to enjoy watching them practice (not that I do that any more).
     
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  7. soccerdad72

    soccerdad72 Member

    Chelsea
    United States
    Apr 5, 2021
    Love watching my sons play - always have. Realizing I only likely have one more year of games bums me out a little.
     
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  8. MySonsPlay

    MySonsPlay Member

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Oct 10, 2017
    When people ask me why I still watch soccer, my answer is simply:
    " It's the gift my sons have given me."

    In fact, went and watched my oldest play (he is 26) in the Carolina Cup (an adult soccer tournament) a couple of weekends ago.

    This spring will be my first without a competitive game my sons are in since 2005
     
  9. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    Thumbs up to all of the responses above and the question re watching your kids play.

    I'm a soccer fan, so I'd watch soccer even if none of my kids liked or played it, but I love watching my soccer son play -- that statement about this being a gift is on the money (though I still ache a little when he makes a crucial mistake and cringe when play gets chippy and he's too eager to be part of it). And I'll miss it when it's gone, which could be as soon as the end of Spring '22.

    I remember glancing over at games involving high school-age kids when mine was 11 or 12 and trying -- mostly failing -- to imagine him playing at that age, with kids that big and physically mature, when the game was that fast, ... I try not to forget to take it all in and enjoy it.

    I know a family who still goes to watch their son play highish-level college club soccer, so I think a lot of us just love seeing them play.

    On the other hand, I remember volunteering at tournaments and seeing parents sitting on sidelines staring at iPads or phones while games went on. I actually heard a dad say once "Mine's coming off, I can stop watching now." I didn't and still don't understand.
     
  10. soccerdad72

    soccerdad72 Member

    Chelsea
    United States
    Apr 5, 2021
    I know my son is considering playing club in college (he's mostly been looking at D1 ACC schools, so varsity level is not happening) and I'd love to be able to see him play if he does do that. I know my wife and I would do a road trip or two to try to catch a couple games.

    That's sad :( We've been fortunate in that the clubs we've been involved with have always had great families that really made you want to cheer for their kids as well as your own, wanting the whole team to succeed, not just your own kid.
     
  11. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    In this case the parents work at the school their son goes to and live in the same town -- they can walk or ride a bike to see him play. That I'd do in a heartbeat. :)

    The iPad/phone thing wasn't uncommon at the tournaments I worked, and it often was at older-kids games (as was the guy who was happy to no longer have to watch). With a younger player at the time, it made me wonder if we were all destined to hit a point where you were just playing out the string and tired of writing checks.
     
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  12. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Club can be very competitive in college, and a lot of fun to watch. After two years of JuCo, my son played club at a Div I four-year college. The general level of play was pretty good (the downside was the inconsistency since you never know which players will show up for any given game) and opposition usually takes the games very seriously.
     
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  13. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    Make that Spring of '23. That's soon enough, but an ending in '22 I would definitely not be ready for.
     
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  14. MySonsPlay

    MySonsPlay Member

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Oct 10, 2017
    The ACC schools I live near, Duke UNC and NC State all have highly competitive club teams. I know UNCs club team won the national club title a few years ago. A number of both my sons club and high school teammates were on that team. Most of them could have found a D1 school to play, but they chose the school.
    I am also aware of number of kids at Duke and NC State who got opportunities with the varsity squad at those schools after time on the club teams. And also aware that some leave the varsity and play club at these schools.

    These club teams have try-outs, run by upperclassmen, and they are very competitive.
     
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  15. NewDadaCoach

    NewDadaCoach Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    United States
    Sep 28, 2019
    I've been wondering about club soccer at colleges. Don't know much about it - but wondering things like... are they supported (financially) by the school? do they have a relationship with the school team? are they considered like a JV squad while the school team is varsity? why would a kid play club instead of on the school team? didn't make the cut or don't want the commitment?
     
  16. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was not involved in it but did talk to my son a bit about it, and a friend's son played club at another 4 year state university here in VA, so my answer is based on that limited data set. :)

    1) As far as I know, they are not supported by the school but are allowed to use school facilities (fields, gyms, etc.).
    2) No relationship with the school team at all.
    3) Not at all like a JV situation; the club team exists completely independently.
    4) In my son's case--the school team wouldn't take him. Playing JuCo probably hurt his chances; he did go to a tryout and thought he did pretty well but the coach told him they thought he was too far behind as an incoming Junior compared to the Juniors they already had on the roster, so he'd be taking a spot from a promising Freshman.
    5) As for why a kid would play--probably a number of reasons. My son would have liked to play for the school team, but his heart wasn't set on playing Div I school soccer (he turned down a chance to transfer into a program at a different school he didn't want to attend) for it's own sake--he really wanted to go to that college. So while he was disappointed he realized that going to a college he'd never been recruited at and then going to an open tryout was a long shot.

    So he was definitely one kid who played club because he didn't make the cut. I'd wager the other kids were a mix of guys like that who also didn't get recruited and a few others who never tried because they didn't want to do what they needed to do to make the team. And maybe a couple who could have made the team but didn't think they'd get to play--college teams are, as I am sure you know, notorious for big rosters full of players who never, or almost never, take the field.

    With club, you get to play competitive games with other good players, without having to worry about staying in a coaches good graces to get playing time. The games can be pretty serious and the level of competition pretty high. You won't play in front of a crowd and you likely won't get invited to any cool parties for being BMOC, but you also won't be getting up at 5:00 a.m. for a team meeting to get yelled at by a coach who has no intention to ever put you in.
     
  17. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    Not sure these answers are universally true, but based on the club sports I'm familiar with at a few Midwestern schools (soccer and others):

    -- Little or no school support, though I believe field/rink/court space is provided (not a small thing). Players pay, including travel costs. My oldest son's first college roommate was part of the water polo club at their school and they traveled extensively, so I think mom and dad wrote some sizable checks.
    -- No formal connection with the varsity sports that I'm aware of.
    -- A lot of kids choose club based on that commitment level -- varsity athletes, at least at DI, are making a huge, FT job-level time commitment and in most cases can't realistically study really demanding subjects (engineering, most of the sciences, ... there are exceptions, of course). With one of my kids in mind, I once asked the head of a large university music department if he had any varsity athletes. He was curious and went looking, found two out of several hundred music majors in the department, and said their advisors were constantly challenged to help them make their school schedules work around the demands of their sports.
    -- Some kids choose club because they want to go to a particular school, as mentioned above re the ACC schools, and either can't realistically expect to play for the varsity team at that school or the school doesn't have one (I live near a Big Ten school that has no men's varsity team but does have a club team).
     
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  18. soccerdad72

    soccerdad72 Member

    Chelsea
    United States
    Apr 5, 2021
    As far as I know, club teams are not financially supported by the schools (they usually have club dues like any other club on campus) and have no ties to the varsity teams. Varsity teams have enough active players on their roster to have a separate reserve team (aka JV team) already.

    My son is thinking of college soccer and realizing he's probably a D3 athlete (maybe D2) and doesn't want to put in all the time necessary to play intercollegiate soccer (not to mention the time spent away from his studies), but thinks he would like to continue to play at a high level. I would suspect if he gets cut from a club team, he'd probably even play some intermurals, just for fun.
     
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  19. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    That's interesting (and not in an encouraging way, unfortunately).

    I wonder to what extent if any that might vary by program (resisting the urge to go down a rabbit hole of college rosters looking for juco transfers ...) and if it's more or less likely in soccer than other sports.

    Once upon a time lots of juco basketball players went on to 4-year schools (maybe that's still true?). And some jucos are like little factories for baseball players who either move on to 4-years or get drafted by MLB teams. One near me has a great baseball track record for both.
     
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  20. soccerdad72

    soccerdad72 Member

    Chelsea
    United States
    Apr 5, 2021
    I think in many cases (especially with basketball), the Juco route was the way a player without the required grades or test scores could make their way back into a 4 year school. I'm not sure if the big schools do that anymore, to be honest? I mean, most major college basketball programs know they're only getting a player for a year or two at most, so would they even look at a 20-year old transfer from a Juco?
     
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  21. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wouldn't take any discouragement from this--my understanding was that this was very much particular to this program/coach.

    And I should give a BIG caveat: Keep in mind my son did no outreach or communication with the coaching staff prior to showing up on campus; he had not laid any groundwork or developed any relationships. He's a smart kid and very focused in many ways, but he has a bad habit of only handling one aspect of his life at a time, and not anticipating what proactive actions he might need to take in the here-and-now to make the next project/stage of life go smoother.

    So...a different player, who'd had his heart set on playing for that school for some time and had been reaching out since High school and through his JuCo career, might have had more luck. Also, my son is a pretty solid player technically but not an outstanding athlete and he does not tend to 'wow' people at tryouts.

    Bottom line--if he'd really wanted to play Div I after JuCo, I'm pretty sure he could have (remember, one school did try to recruit him but for some reason he didn't want to go there), it just didn't work out at the State school he really DID want to attend.

    EDIT: I see I had stated that "playing JuCo probably hurt his chances" and that's unfortunate wording on my part; that was just one reason the coaching staff gave him after the tryout. I don't think that's a general rule.
     
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  22. NewDadaCoach

    NewDadaCoach Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    United States
    Sep 28, 2019
    Some big name athletes started a juco, Aaron Rodgers for example. From his wiki:

    Despite his impressive high school record, Rodgers attracted little interest from Division I programs. ...
    ....
    He was then recruited to play football at Butte Community College in Oroville, a junior college about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico.[32]
    .....
    While there, he was discovered by the California Golden Bears's head coach Jeff Tedford, who was recruiting Butte tight end Garrett Cross.[34] Tedford was surprised to learn that Rodgers had not been recruited earlier. Because of Rodgers' good high school scholastic record, he was eligible to transfer to the University of California, Berkeley after one year of junior college instead of the typical two.
     
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  23. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    I looked at a handful of DI hoops rosters. Looks like you can still find quite a few juco players at mid-majors, particularly lower-end teams (Horizon League schools, ...). I can remember a decade or so ago seeing some on high-major rosters (not at the blue bloods, but at historically solid programs) but my non-exhaustive search didn't turn up any now. I'm guessing those schools fill gaps in their rosters out of the transfer portal these days.

    Sorry about veering away from soccer. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
     
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  24. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A few of my son's former JuCo teammates went on to play at a Div I four-year school. He just picked the wrong school, the wrong coach, and the wrong approach.
     
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  25. CornfieldSoccer

    Aug 22, 2013
    I appreciate the candor. My son doesn't exactly have the approach piece dialed in here, either.

    This line in particular from your earlier post: " ... not anticipating what proactive actions he might need to take in the here-and-now to make the next project/stage of life go smoother."

    Yeah. 100 percent that.
     
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