Rec soccer in different school district?

[Anonymous]

There is a soccer organization that’s closer to is I.e. 3 mins but it’s more expensive and practice is at an earlier time. For almost the same price of 1 child I can sign up my 8 and 4 year old. Games will be 10 min drive away and all games are Saturdays. On son does another activity on Sundays so it’s would be better if he doesn’t have games on Sunday. His activity is a religious/ cultural activity that’s only once a week and he also gets to socialize in Arabic which is important to us. He doesn’t have any Arab speaking friends at school right now. Am I overthinking this? He won’t be playing against the closer soccer club . It looks like they are in a different league. We are also very new to the area and don’t understand all of the neighborhoods, soccer leagues etc. he has been in soccer before but really wants to try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a soccer organization that’s closer to is I.e. 3 mins but it’s more expensive and practice is at an earlier time. For almost the same price of 1 child I can sign up my 8 and 4 year old. Games will be 10 min drive away and all games are Saturdays. On son does another activity on Sundays so it’s would be better if he doesn’t have games on Sunday. His activity is a religious/ cultural activity that’s only once a week and he also gets to socialize in Arabic which is important to us. He doesn’t have any Arab speaking friends at school right now. Am I overthinking this? He won’t be playing against the closer soccer club . It looks like they are in a different league. We are also very new to the area and don’t understand all of the neighborhoods, soccer leagues etc. he has been in soccer before but really wants to try it.

Op here. He hasn’t been in soccer before. In our school district there aren’t any sports until middle school. Everything is private.

[Anonymous]

As long as they don't have geographic restrictions on who can play, it should be fine. It should say what their rules are on their web site.

One I could think of is that he may have more friends on the team for his in bounds district. But if he has plenty of friends at school, that shouldn't be an issue.

If it's a friendly club soccer league where everyone gets to play, it should be fine. However, I have a family member who had their kid invited to play in a very competitive "travel" league in another school district and they got quite a bit of resentment and snarky comments from the Moms who felt like their kids weren't getting enough playing time. Even though they were asked to join, they're going back to their in district league next year.

One other consideration that isn't a big deal at this age, but could matter later, is that often the coaches for the district HS teams keep an eye on the local rec league teams for talent. If your kid turns out to be good, you will probably want to get him back in the "right" league later on.

[Anonymous]

You are overthinking. Sign up for whatever sports are most convenient for you and your family. It really doesn’t matter and they will change friends 10000 times before high school anyway. My teen now plays on a league far away from her school because that is the best fit for her athletically. She still has friends in her local school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they don't have geographic restrictions on who can play, it should be fine. It should say what their rules are on their web site.

One I could think of is that he may have more friends on the team for his in bounds district. But if he has plenty of friends at school, that shouldn't be an issue.

If it's a friendly club soccer league where everyone gets to play, it should be fine. However, I have a family member who had their kid invited to play in a very competitive "travel" league in another school district and they got quite a bit of resentment and snarky comments from the Moms who felt like their kids weren't getting enough playing time. Even though they were asked to join, they're going back to their in district league next year.

One other consideration that isn't a big deal at this age, but could matter later, is that often the coaches for the district HS teams keep an eye on the local rec league teams for talent. If your kid turns out to be good, you will probably want to get him back in the "right" league later on.

Op here. It looks like the soccer club closer to us has two different school districts that can take part. The field where the games are just happens to be super close to our house. They only play within this soccer club. Practices are held at several different fields.

The other soccer club plays against other teams that aren’t in the soccer club. This one looks like it’s set up by neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as they don't have geographic restrictions on who can play, it should be fine. It should say what their rules are on their web site.

One I could think of is that he may have more friends on the team for his in bounds district. But if he has plenty of friends at school, that shouldn't be an issue.

If it's a friendly club soccer league where everyone gets to play, it should be fine. However, I have a family member who had their kid invited to play in a very competitive "travel" league in another school district and they got quite a bit of resentment and snarky comments from the Moms who felt like their kids weren't getting enough playing time. Even though they were asked to join, they're going back to their in district league next year.

One other consideration that isn't a big deal at this age, but could matter later, is that often the coaches for the district HS teams keep an eye on the local rec league teams for talent. If your kid turns out to be good, you will probably want to get him back in the "right" league later on.

I’m the PP and no HS coaches look at rec teams. The players all come from travel and kids drive all over for travel teams. There are more travel players than HS spots. OP doesn’t need to worry about HS or travel with an 8 and 4 year old anyway. It should be all about fun at those ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they don't have geographic restrictions on who can play, it should be fine. It should say what their rules are on their web site.

One I could think of is that he may have more friends on the team for his in bounds district. But if he has plenty of friends at school, that shouldn't be an issue.

If it's a friendly club soccer league where everyone gets to play, it should be fine. However, I have a family member who had their kid invited to play in a very competitive "travel" league in another school district and they got quite a bit of resentment and snarky comments from the Moms who felt like their kids weren't getting enough playing time. Even though they were asked to join, they're going back to their in district league next year.

One other consideration that isn't a big deal at this age, but could matter later, is that often the coaches for the district HS teams keep an eye on the local rec league teams for talent. If your kid turns out to be good, you will probably want to get him back in the "right" league later on.

I’m the PP and no HS coaches look at rec teams. The players all come from travel and kids drive all over for travel teams. There are more travel players than HS spots. OP doesn’t need to worry about HS or travel with an 8 and 4 year old anyway. It should be all about fun at those ages.

Op here. Actually the soccer club closer to us has travel starting at 5! My kid will definitely not make the soccer team in middle school since he’s starting so late. We are fine with that, buts it’s unfortunate the rich families who can afford travel end up being the majority of the team. I wish they had soccer through the school district at an earlier age. Some districts will bus the kids home after practice in elementary school. We moved from a district like that which was out of state.

[Anonymous]

Mate, you're overthinking. It is rec soccer. Sign up for what works for you logistically. If you're good with a bit of a longer drive cause that is what works...do that. Main goal is to have fun, learn and love the game. They will make friends everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Also 8 is not too late for middle school soccer. If he/she has the drive to work hard and do well...there is no stopping him/her.

Coaching is important but one of the joys of soccer is...you don't need that much to improve. Plenty of drills on YouTube and working with a wall and a ball can do wonders.

[Anonymous]

Yes as long as there are not boundary rules, you can sign up to play for any rec group. Also, 8 is definitely not too late for middle school soccer.