Bait and switch with team assignments in travel

[Anonymous]

My child played from elementary age all the way up to sophomore in one of the most prominent clubs in the area. Went to ECNL and things went very much downhill with the club, for no reason really. Maybe perhaps a bad fit with the coach, imo there was political stuff and certain kids favored, which is typical. At that club, my child was told they'd be put on the next team down because there was no room on the roster with the ECNL team. My child was used to being a 90 min starter and that all of a sudden stopped after moving up. So we switched clubs, as my child had aspirations to play in college and needed to actually see the field. Fast forward, we moved to another club last year. Everything was going pretty well. There were murmurings that two teams were being considered for the age group the next year. This was never finalized or made public and we received an offer to stay on the same team my child was on the previous two seasons. So we accepted.

Once the season started, an email went out that there were going to be two "rosters" and it could change periodically. It has not changed with the exception of 1-2 players. So at this point my child has played on this team that at times has other kids on it that are two age groups down. They finished in 3rd in league play, but the two players that were kind of back and forth look to have moved up to a pretty permanent spot on the other team. But the level of play on the secondary is extremely lackluster. The two teams practice completely together, never separated by the two rosters. Also, most of these kids are not coming to practice. There are 35+ between the two rosters and average attendance is 12-16. One of the players who plays with my child (and never comes to practice) mentioned not being happy on the secondary team to coach and was told they would see if there was room on the other team more permanently. Fortunately, my child has verbally committed to a school and is done with the recruitment process. However, it is extremely frustrating to attend tournaments and games with a team that is not what we signed up to be a part of. At this point we are considering only attending practices and getting game play from high school games. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation?

[Anonymous]

Talk to ur coach… or better yet have ur sone do it

[Anonymous]

We are considering it, but at this point I'm not sure if it will make any difference. It feels like the coach has their mind made up about my child and even if they were to get time on the other team, it would likely be greatly reduced. Right now my child is playing 90 min every match. So I'm trying to weigh if it is worth it to even mention. As parents, we just feel very cheated and frustrated that our child is even in this position and that we feel a bit powerless to make any changes. As I said, my child is verbally committed already, so at this point getting in as many reps as possible is the most important thing, but games and tournaments are just demoralizing.

[Anonymous]

Then switch clubs, it's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

My child is a senior in the last of their travel career. Does it really make the most sense to pick up and leave with 2-3 months left???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is a senior in the last of their travel career. Does it really make the most sense to pick up and leave with 2-3 months left???

If your kid is a senior, forget about club. If in VA - and so inclined - go play HS. If not, go look up USL2 and UPSL teams and contact them to see if he can try out or at least train with them. Most of the local USL2/UPSL team’s training environments will blow away what he has seen in ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a senior in the last of their travel career. Does it really make the most sense to pick up and leave with 2-3 months left???

If your kid is a senior, forget about club. If in VA - and so inclined - go play HS. If not, go look up USL2 and UPSL teams and contact them to see if he can try out or at least train with them. Most of the local USL2/UPSL team’s training environments will blow away what he has seen in ECNL.

Thanks, this is helpful and something I can look into. Appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry this happened to your son. Maybe it was unfair treatment or maybe a bad coach or maybe something your son did or didn’t do. Point is he’ll never know if he doesn’t talk to the coach. He shouldn’t talk to him expecting change. He should talk to him to try to get an understanding. Maybe it will help the coach to see his perspective and change something, maybe your son will learn what he needs to do to get more time. Point is this is a life learning experience and your son should learn to advocate for himself, work through difficult circumstances by trying for change, even if it doesn’t always happen, rather than give up and not make an effort. This won’t be the last time he’s in this situation in soccer or life. Maybe a new team is the answer but it’s something he’ll need to figure out

[Anonymous]

If you think that's crappy, wait till his college coach decides to leave just before he joins!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child played from elementary age all the way up to sophomore in one of the most prominent clubs in the area. Went to ECNL and things went very much downhill with the club, for no reason really. Maybe perhaps a bad fit with the coach, imo there was political stuff and certain kids favored, which is typical. At that club, my child was told they'd be put on the next team down because there was no room on the roster with the ECNL team. My child was used to being a 90 min starter and that all of a sudden stopped after moving up. So we switched clubs, as my child had aspirations to play in college and needed to actually see the field. Fast forward, we moved to another club last year. Everything was going pretty well. There were murmurings that two teams were being considered for the age group the next year. This was never finalized or made public and we received an offer to stay on the same team my child was on the previous two seasons. So we accepted.

Once the season started, an email went out that there were going to be two "rosters" and it could change periodically. It has not changed with the exception of 1-2 players. So at this point my child has played on this team that at times has other kids on it that are two age groups down. They finished in 3rd in league play, but the two players that were kind of back and forth look to have moved up to a pretty permanent spot on the other team. But the level of play on the secondary is extremely lackluster. The two teams practice completely together, never separated by the two rosters. Also, most of these kids are not coming to practice. There are 35+ between the two rosters and average attendance is 12-16. One of the players who plays with my child (and never comes to practice) mentioned not being happy on the secondary team to coach and was told they would see if there was room on the other team more permanently. Fortunately, my child has verbally committed to a school and is done with the recruitment process. However, it is extremely frustrating to attend tournaments and games with a team that is not what we signed up to be a part of. At this point we are considering only attending practices and getting game play from high school games. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation?

Let me guess -- VA Union girls U18/19?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry this happened to your son. Maybe it was unfair treatment or maybe a bad coach or maybe something your son did or didn’t do. Point is he’ll never know if he doesn’t talk to the coach. He shouldn’t talk to him expecting change. He should talk to him to try to get an understanding. Maybe it will help the coach to see his perspective and change something, maybe your son will learn what he needs to do to get more time. Point is this is a life learning experience and your son should learn to advocate for himself, work through difficult circumstances by trying for change, even if it doesn’t always happen, rather than give up and not make an effort. This won’t be the last time he’s in this situation in soccer or life. Maybe a new team is the answer but it’s something he’ll need to figure out

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child played from elementary age all the way up to sophomore in one of the most prominent clubs in the area. Went to ECNL and things went very much downhill with the club, for no reason really. Maybe perhaps a bad fit with the coach, imo there was political stuff and certain kids favored, which is typical. At that club, my child was told they'd be put on the next team down because there was no room on the roster with the ECNL team. My child was used to being a 90 min starter and that all of a sudden stopped after moving up. So we switched clubs, as my child had aspirations to play in college and needed to actually see the field. Fast forward, we moved to another club last year. Everything was going pretty well. There were murmurings that two teams were being considered for the age group the next year. This was never finalized or made public and we received an offer to stay on the same team my child was on the previous two seasons. So we accepted.

Once the season started, an email went out that there were going to be two "rosters" and it could change periodically. It has not changed with the exception of 1-2 players. So at this point my child has played on this team that at times has other kids on it that are two age groups down. They finished in 3rd in league play, but the two players that were kind of back and forth look to have moved up to a pretty permanent spot on the other team. But the level of play on the secondary is extremely lackluster. The two teams practice completely together, never separated by the two rosters. Also, most of these kids are not coming to practice. There are 35+ between the two rosters and average attendance is 12-16. One of the players who plays with my child (and never comes to practice) mentioned not being happy on the secondary team to coach and was told they would see if there was room on the other team more permanently. Fortunately, my child has verbally committed to a school and is done with the recruitment process. However, it is extremely frustrating to attend tournaments and games with a team that is not what we signed up to be a part of. At this point we are considering only attending practices and getting game play from high school games. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation?

Let me guess -- VA Union girls U18/19?

No, but that's an actual shame if there is another coach out there who did the same thing to the kids on that team. Such a crappy way to treat the kids, especially as they are finishing their time in travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry this happened to your son. Maybe it was unfair treatment or maybe a bad coach or maybe something your son did or didn’t do. Point is he’ll never know if he doesn’t talk to the coach. He shouldn’t talk to him expecting change. He should talk to him to try to get an understanding. Maybe it will help the coach to see his perspective and change something, maybe your son will learn what he needs to do to get more time. Point is this is a life learning experience and your son should learn to advocate for himself, work through difficult circumstances by trying for change, even if it doesn’t always happen, rather than give up and not make an effort. This won’t be the last time he’s in this situation in soccer or life. Maybe a new team is the answer but it’s something he’ll need to figure out

Thanks

NVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry this happened to your son. Maybe it was unfair treatment or maybe a bad coach or maybe something your son did or didn’t do. Point is he’ll never know if he doesn’t talk to the coach. He shouldn’t talk to him expecting change. He should talk to him to try to get an understanding. Maybe it will help the coach to see his perspective and change something, maybe your son will learn what he needs to do to get more time. Point is this is a life learning experience and your son should learn to advocate for himself, work through difficult circumstances by trying for change, even if it doesn’t always happen, rather than give up and not make an effort. This won’t be the last time he’s in this situation in soccer or life. Maybe a new team is the answer but it’s something he’ll need to figure out

Thanks

NVA

I think you are close, but sounds similar to what a few of my DS friends have said they are dealing with at NVU. How laughable that OP’s son is a college commit and they have him on their B team??? The Welshes wouldn’t know good futbol if it smacked them in the head.