I'm late to the game here but do yourself a favor and go Rec. Encourage her to make friends on the team and joke around and have fun playing. Once she has fun then it won't seem like a chore to go outside and kick the ball on her own. Kids are still developing and she has time to catch up if you think Club is a thing in her future...but honestly I wouldn't worry about that for now. I'd encourage you to get out there and play with her and just have fun. Something my kids love to do is just play keep away with me. Teaches great footwork and it's easy to do anywhere. Or "kick the coach" where they have to dribble and tag me with the ball as I run around. Something about kicking the ball at Dad is a ton of fun for kids. I lived in Gahanna for a long time and heard a lot of good things about GSA (https://www.gahannasoccer.com/) I looked and registration is still open. Don't worry about "failing" a tryout though..if your check clears then she has a spot on any team. She might not get to play (or be on the B, C team that plays lower divisions against club teams that you pay half as much for). Crazy that there are parents that pay 5k to 10k a year for kids to play in MOSSL on a "top" club team playing down a level when 3 hundred bucks can land you on a good team in the same league. Good luck!
I assure you anyone doing this is insane because no club fee I've ever seen in the city is remotely that high. That said, by the time you get to U11/U12 MOSSL is nothing but the B/C level teams anyway, so you're absolutely right that you'd be better off paying a couple hundred at a club that plays in the same division. Our annual fees as a 2008 player on a highly ranked team are around $1800. Granted there is occasional travel which adds in, but it's still nowhere near $5k. There are definitely ways you could get yourself there (doing outside club training programs being the biggest, I've seen a few that hit $300/month.) But to the actual point, if she's a new player I'd highly advise playing rec for a season first. If she really enjoys it, by all means start looking into clubs, but don't fall into the trap of paying a bunch of money for an experience barely better than rec.
My 2011 is at $2000 (fees, camp, uniform) and hasn't kicked a ball yet for the club. We have at least 3 out of town tournaments (I know the older age groups travel even more than that). Count in indoor leagues, early spring sessions, private training and it's not hard to see how ridiculously high this prices out a lot of the families. It's a dumb system.....
There you go, private training! I agree that the uniforms tend to be a racket, especially if you join a club mid-cycle.
Does anyone know of a good Recreational program on the West side ? I live by the Casino and my Wife has boys 6&7 and daughter 10 who have all expressed interest in playing. I know i need to act quickly because the spring season will be starting soon
"where have you gone Joe Dimaggio..." I understand this much better now than I did when I first heard the song at age 12.
There's GCKA in Grove city. HOSA Locomotive in Hilliard. Olimpia USA does a Jr. Academy in Hilliard (which would be good for the 6&7 if it's not too far for you). I've been told there's some sort of heavily latino club in hilltop, but I can't remember their name and no idea about Jr programs for that age with them. There's also i9, but I don't know much about them. Is your daughter a 2010 or a 2009 birth year?
Does anyone have experience with toddler soccer in Central Ohio? When I grew up there were Tiny Tots and Soccer Sprouts, but the only thing I've found so far is: https://columbus.soccershots.com/ Does anyone have any experience with them?
I didn't like soccer shots much, too much standing in line waiting for your turn rather than time with the ball. Soccer First has some nice small kid stuff and both my kids enjoyed that more. My son plays indoor there now and I see the activities on their small field when he's playing. The kids all seem to be having a good time and moving around a lot. The same guy, I believe one of the owners or managers, Chris, runs it, same guy that was doing it 7 years ago when my kids participated.
The Latino Club would be perfect I’ll have to try and find it. They are Guatemalans , daughter is 2009 she will turn 11 in fall
I like that there is one at Blendon Woods which is a 5 minute drive from my house. I'll have to look into Soccer First's offerings.
Up here early soccer stuff is at the Y. Tal starts this spring because she turns four three days before the cutoff date for Green Grasshoppers. I really like Grasshoppers because Green is big about the kids just moving and getting touches on the ball. Fun is the objective. I really enjoyed coaching Grasshoppers, but I won’t be doing it this season for obvious reasons. Tim volunteered to be her head coach, which I appreciate.
Agreed. We will be spending Saturday and Sunday mornings in April/May at soccer fields within a five-minute drive. Makes those obligations a lot more manageable.
Just an FYI, if anyone here is itching to help coach some yoots sawker, Gahanna Soccer Association sent an email looking for coaches. I can't swing it with my schedule right now, but thought I'd help them spread the word since my daughter is in the U-10 program. Don't know if they'd balk at people w/o kids in the program or not, but I'm sure most of you could prove you're not just a pedo.
Yea that's a common request for the city rec leagues. It's definitely a worthwhile endeavor and can be a lot of fun to see the progression of the kids...you really don't have to be that good of a coach either as the kids will pick up a lot on their own just being on the field and playing consistently (in rec leagues). Having a kid on the team is not usually a requirement and often looked at as a plus since you don't have to deal with "coach's kid" bias from the other parents. Highly encourage folks to try it out if they ever thought about it.
That's it. Heard good things, but no direct experience. Olimpia USA also has a good number of latinos (run by a bilingual husband/wife team, husband is Honduran). Edit: Just saw you said 2009. Olimpia doesn't have a girls team for that age as of yet and if she's new to soccer, she's probably not ready to play with club boys yet.
I'm tangentially related to the couple that runs Olimpia. The wife is my sister's sister-in-law. They're good people that are putting a lot into their club. They've only been around for 3 or 4 years but they have grown quite a bit in that time.
Both of mine (7 and 4) have gone through Locker Soccer in Gahanna at that age, and it was a great intro to the game for them. My 7 year old moved on to rec pretty seamlessly.