| Are there any team still holding tryouts, holding supplemental tryouts or teams that usually have summer tryouts to fill gaps on teams? My 2014 DD got an from the current club which was fine by us for another year. We didn't have the best experience this past year, this tryout/offer season was chaos, and some of her friends are going elsewhere. Still deciding on the offer, but want to be aware of options if we decide to look elsewhere and get in through the backdoor. |
| You can always call around and teams will usually be willing to have a player come to a practice or two. |
| Not sure during the summer but there are definitely opportunities now. |
BUYER BEWARE with that 2014 offer. Don't ignore the obvious red flags. Red flags, rarely if ever, turn out to be false alarms. |
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Yes tons of opportunities!!!
Potomac is having supplemental tryouts too be sure to check it out. Don’t get held up by any dates just reach out. Top rank and Rosa have a lot of movement, check them out, there might be space. Juventus is a good program and they are having supplemental tryouts!!! Liverpool 2013 boys have a coach leaving with the whole team so they need a whole new slate of players for that age and the 2012 group is really low. They are needing players!! New coaches coming in look good and the existing coaches are excellent. Great club. Girls side is really good too!!!! DS has been there for years and attends their summer camps. We also love MSI at the top level, come see them team by team they can be good. |
Can you say which team it is that you are thinking of leaving? That would give better perspective on what is available still from the current location of your team. 2014 is an odd year for girls soccer... most all teams are struggling with retention and recruitment. Is there any 2014G team(s) in the area that are not in some sort of flux. If your DD is happy and developing be careful about potential slick salesmen trying to court you over. |
I think 2014 is an odd year for both girls and boys. Many of them have been playing travel soccer long enough to know if they want to stay where they are, try another club, or quit entirely. We’ve had one kid from the first team and at least two from the second team who quit midseason. I heard parents at a tryout saying their kid is going to go try other sports if they don’t get a higher offer for next year. Clubs are losing kid from both ends. |
| The need to make mlsn, ecnl, ga teams are contributing to the high numbers of kids quitting this sport. Not every kid will make it to those top teams and that’s fine. Parents are likely not willing to pay for lower tier teams |
Parent also in another sport with a 2014 and we are seeing this in both sports. We have older kids but have never seen it break like this at this age. |
| At our club, its 2011 boys and girls (maybe something to do with covid timing?) and 2014 girls that have been really low numbers for several years. |
| Which club is your offer for now? We can tell you whats nearby and decent for 2014 girls. All clubs will let a player come to a few practices especially on the girls side. |
is it their top 2013 team, do they leave with the current coach or the previous? |
| PAC is always looking for players through the summer |
There is an increasing amount of pressure on these kids starting at younger and younger ages. The ones who are really good early get a lot of expectations placed on them. Then if other kids start catching up they’re getting a message of “what happened to you?” even if coaches or parents aren’t saying that outright. And if they aren’t as good, they are feeling that more acutely because of the overly competitive environment that has been set up. Kids are feeling like their fate in a sport has been decided before 6th grade. My child’s coach has all but written off some kids on the team. Adults — parents and coaches/directors — need to look in the mirror and ask what they have done to create this. Instagram accounts for 8 and 9 year old highlights. Every kind of “elite” training program under the sun. Getting caught up in the FOMO. All the money they can rake in off insecure parents. |
| There is still a lot of movement. Probably have about another month to attend a practice tryout for a number of clubs, which might be better for your DD to showcase her skills and for you to evaluate the team. But most teams will wrap for the season by early-to-mid June, so would reach out now. |