U9 (2016) Girls PPA or DC Soccer

[Anonymous]

Our 8-year-old has been invited to play PPA Blue (second) team. She has tryouts Friday for DC Soccer. We are new to travel soccer, so we have a lot of questions and only 48 hours to make a decision on the PPA team.

Is the level of coaching at the U9 level for girls worth it at either PPA or DC Soccer? She has a pretty good parent coach for her rec team, but my kid gets annoyed that a lot of her teammates don't take practice seriously and only half pay attention during the games. The main reason we are considering travel (which honestly seems like an expensive way to ruin my weekends) is so she gets the technical development she wants and can have teammates who also want to improve their skills individually and as a team.

I appreciate any feedback on PPA and DC Soccer for the younger girls teams. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our 8-year-old has been invited to play PPA Blue (second) team. She has tryouts Friday for DC Soccer. We are new to travel soccer, so we have a lot of questions and only 48 hours to make a decision on the PPA team.

Is the level of coaching at the U9 level for girls worth it at either PPA or DC Soccer? She has a pretty good parent coach for her rec team, but my kid gets annoyed that a lot of her teammates don't take practice seriously and only half pay attention during the games. The main reason we are considering travel (which honestly seems like an expensive way to ruin my weekends) is so she gets the technical development she wants and can have teammates who also want to improve their skills individually and as a team.

I appreciate any feedback on PPA and DC Soccer for the younger girls teams. Thanks!

That's why my kids shifted to travel and I think it's totally valid. At that age, go with the club that has convenient practices

[Anonymous]

I can’t speak to DC Soccer, but we’ve been with PPA for a few years now (started around that age). Honestly, our experience was that most kids on the team at that age still aren’t very focused. It’s not a travel versus rec issue as much as it’s the age. I wish we had waited a bit longer to switch to travel.

[Anonymous]

At this age, I’d honestly choose the club that will be most convenient. Though in our experience its been much better than rec, there’s still a lot of goofing around happening in U9 travel, so I’d pick the team that practices closest to you, etc.

[Anonymous]

PPA will likely give you extra time to decide, just ask.

[Anonymous]

Oh, also don’t be afraid to ask all your questions before committing.