Soccer Newbie here with a 2017 boy
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Anonymous
| Forgive my total ignorance on this subject-- this forum is a sea of acronyms and I have no idea where to start. i have a 2017 first grade boy who likes soccer and is decent, although not exceptional. We live in Bethesda very close to DC and are considering having him try out for a travel team for fall of 2024. Is this reasonable? Which travel teams are solid places to start but not overly competetive? Does that exist? Location-wise, we would like to practice in NWDC, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase, and I believe DC Soccer Club, PPA, or possibly Bethesda Soccer could be close? Any others? Do these leagues have different reputations about which I should be aware? Our goal is to continue to support him in a challenging but not grueling environment. We would also be open to waiting until Fall of 2025 to try out for travel soccer, but I am not sure if the consensus is to get in early or wait longer. Thank you for any advice or insight! |
Anonymous
Bethesda practice won't be close. Stick with PPA or DC Soccer. |
Anonymous
| I'm in VA, so can't speak to those clubs other than having had kids play against them. But as long as your kid has been happy with what he's been doing, I'd hold off another year (or two) on switching to travel. |
Anonymous
|
Starting early really depends on the kid. Both of my sons started playing at least one year early (one of my kids started travel halfway through 1st grade) and it was fine for them. But, they also are physically above average in height/weight/strength and they were already practicing with older kids' rec teams (parent coach had older kids who they coached, so invited my kids to practice with them). I wouldn't have had them move to travel if they were average in comparison to their age group, though.
I don't know much about the clubs you're asking about, but the only way to know is to ask to attend a practice to see if your kid likes it and can keep up. |
Anonymous
Soccer on the Hill (SOTH) is also an option. |
Anonymous
| DCYFC might be another option. |
Anonymous
| Do any of the travel clubs near you offer some sort of pre-travel Academy? If so, that could be a good happy medium for next year. At our club that is a supplement to rec soccer. My son did it in second grade so that we could figure out whether he really liked having an additional day of soccer practice before paying all that money for travel soccer. He loved it and is now in his second year on a travel team. He is on the top team and a couple of his teammates did start playing travel in second grade. As PP noted, these kids are bigger/stronger than most their age and could hold their own with older kids. My son would not have done so well with that as he needed more time to build up his confidence. If your child is skilled but small, I would be careful putting them on a travel team with older kids. The style of play will be more physical and it could lead to him disliking soccer if he’s just getting knocked down over and over. |
Anonymous
This is not true. We live in Bethesda and Bethesda practices for u8 -u10 were perfect, much closer than ppa and dc soccer. As they get older it may branch out further. Op, Bethesda is grueling and for kids who are serious about soccer. It's not worth the money to be on a lower team. Try it for fall, if your kid isn't middle to upper table of his age group, transfer to ppa. |
Anonymous
| Thanks, all, for the advice. I think we will wait one more year before trying out for travel soccer, which I am very happy to do. I am still happy to collect opinions on the local leagues, though! |
Anonymous
+100 Please look into this. Most younger aged travel players are just academy kids anyways and they'll only add your kid to the bottom team if they need to fill spots to make another full team at u-8 and u-9. |
Anonymous
A lot of clubs have ADP or Futures programs, which many can start as early as kindergarten or 1st grade and they’re typically coached by the club’s staff. It’s generally a good introduction to what will come in travel in 3rd grade (when most kids start travel - U9) and I found it to be a great experience for all 4 of my kids who participated in such programs before travel. If your kid isn’t finding rec challenging, these programs if available at clubs in your area could be a good fit. |
Anonymous
| play futsal |
Anonymous
| I would recommend starting a year early if possible. Just go out to the free spring tryouts to see. But if you wait another year, you are at risk of getting put on a the B team or the C team, believe it or not, it could be years before you climb up to the A team. You might not mind that now, but after a few years of it, it might get old. If you decide to wait another year now (and do not go out to the spring try outs), but have second thought over the summer, then just come out to practice and ask to start right away in the fall time. |
Anonymous
| If your club offers a U8 development program in addition to rec, you might want to join that. Lots of clubs do it to more or less "prepare" the kids for a travel team at U9. They concentrate on technical skills and are run by travel coaches from the club for the most part. If he really likes the sport, that is a good way to help his development and keep challenging him. Out club always has a few U8s playing on lower U9 teams and occasionally on the top teams, but its perfectly logical to hold off until next spring. |
Anonymous
Just to counterbalance, I'm the PP who suggested holding off, and this was not our experience. Kids switched to travel at 8 and 10 and made top teams. Plenty of their teammates were also new to travel at those ages. |