Travel sports and riding the bench

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

It does not have to be a fact of life in youth sports. We aren't talking about national or professional teams. Keeping a hard-working kid on the bench or yanking them as soon as they make a mistake prevents them from learning to exploit skills other than raw athleticism. Kids aren't necessarily playing to become pros, so honoring only natural athleticism with playing time just drives kids away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

It does not have to be a fact of life in youth sports. We aren't talking about national or professional teams. Keeping a hard-working kid on the bench or yanking them as soon as they make a mistake prevents them from learning to exploit skills other than raw athleticism. Kids aren't necessarily playing to become pros, so honoring only natural athleticism with playing time just drives kids away.

If they suck and are playing just for fun, there's always in-house league. Tons of fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

It does not have to be a fact of life in youth sports. We aren't talking about national or professional teams. Keeping a hard-working kid on the bench or yanking them as soon as they make a mistake prevents them from learning to exploit skills other than raw athleticism. Kids aren't necessarily playing to become pros, so honoring only natural athleticism with playing time just drives kids away.

If they suck and are playing just for fun, there's always in-house league. Tons of fun!

If they suck, the coach should not have picked them for the team. That's a coaching failure, not a kid failure. If they were picked, they deserve the opportunity to develop by playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

It does not have to be a fact of life in youth sports. We aren't talking about national or professional teams. Keeping a hard-working kid on the bench or yanking them as soon as they make a mistake prevents them from learning to exploit skills other than raw athleticism. Kids aren't necessarily playing to become pros, so honoring only natural athleticism with playing time just drives kids away.

If they suck and are playing just for fun, there's always in-house league. Tons of fun!

If they suck, the coach should not have picked them for the team. That's a coaching failure, not a kid failure. If they were picked, they deserve the opportunity to develop by playing.

+1

Agree 100% at the youth level. The problem tends to be, they need extra kids to fill up the roster (in the event a player is missing etc) yet the starters are expecting to play full time- cut their playing time much to get bench players in and the starters will move to a different team! Usually the bottom few kids on the roster turn over every season- new sacrificial lambs each season. I think coaches figure it is easier to replace a few kids at the bottom of the roster every season (and have just a few angry parents) and keep starters and their parents happy.

Anyway, if this is your kid OP, finish out the season and then move to another team. The situation is highly unlikely to improve.

[Anonymous]

I am very sympathetic to this as it pertains to younger kids. If you are a 14 or 15 year old that really isn't performing, I am less sympathetic to it. My kids have only been on lower level travel teams, but when teammates just don't seem to want to be there, and it is late middle or early high school, its not fair to everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

Totally disagree. The so called “athletic” kids are usually the hardest working, most engaged kids who started playing young. Our oldest played with a kid who now plays in the MLS and an ignorant parent like the one above might say he was just a “natural athlete” but the truth is, he practiced like 5 hours a day starting at age 2. Literally. His dad was a soccer coach and all they did was play abs watch soccer all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

Totally disagree. The so called “athletic” kids are usually the hardest working, most engaged kids who started playing young. Our oldest played with a kid who now plays in the MLS and an ignorant parent like the one above might say he was just a “natural athlete” but the truth is, he practiced like 5 hours a day starting at age 2. Literally. His dad was a soccer coach and all they did was play abs watch soccer all the time.

+1 the elite athletes are talented AND work their butts off

[Anonymous]

No, it isn’t normal op. My kids have played travel or club soccer, field hockey, baseball and both girls and boys lacrosse. Some players get significantly less playing time but they still play for at least a quarter or third of the time. If that isn’t the case on your team, I would find another. Improvement usually comes from time spent by the player working on individual skills outside practice, especially once you get to middle schools years and beyond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it typical for a team to have say 15 players, but 5 ride the bench the whole time?

Yes it is about winning. If these teams do not win players leave, less kids come out to the club, the club makes less money and coaches eventually will have to move on to higher paying clubs. There is little to no development for the non starters. The coach concentrates on the top 2-4 top players during practice and games. Kids who do not start have no confidence and when they get their limited minutes they are playing to not make a mistake and lose playing time. This is not true for the starters. As they get older the non starters will be pushed down teams.

Every day at practice and games they and all their teammates know they are not the coaches first choice but the last choice. It does not matter how hard they work or whatever. You can not become more athletic or faster from hard work. They also will not be given a chance to try corner kick, shoot a technical foul, etc. The coach sees them as the bottom of the roster. These will be the first kids to get cut when another shiny prospect shows up. Many time they get bullied by the starters or are just used as “scout team”/ bodies so the starters can practice. Remember you are paying for this. Find another team where your kid will start even if it is on a lower team.

Do not buy in to the college hype. Colleges are only interested in the top 2-4 players on a ten top teams. The non starter will not play in college. So find a team where he or she can start and have fun playing the sport.

I don't agree with this sentiment that you can't improve from hard work. You can definitely become more skilled through hard work, and you can also become more athletic and faster. The top 5 players no our team all work together with a trainer a couple hours a week outside of team practice. They are better because they work harder.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

No it does not. I do not care how hard you work you could never play in the NBA, NFL, EPL, etc. In middle school through high school(travel sports or high school teams) the difference is athleticism. A great athlete will dominate. He or she can be out of shape, do little work, have bad technical skills and still be the best player on the field. This is because the athletic difference from the top players to middle or bottom players is huge. Even college the athletic difference is large. In the pros it’s maybe 2-4% difference from top to bottom.

When you get to a level where your athleticism is average hard work may keep you on the team. In high school I was the fast on of my team/club. In college I was average. Now the coach will alway take potential over maxed out hard work. It’s just a fact of life.

Totally disagree. The so called “athletic” kids are usually the hardest working, most engaged kids who started playing young. Our oldest played with a kid who now plays in the MLS and an ignorant parent like the one above might say he was just a “natural athlete” but the truth is, he practiced like 5 hours a day starting at age 2. Literally. His dad was a soccer coach and all they did was play abs watch soccer all the time.

+1 the elite athletes are talented AND work their butts off

I think a kid would have to have some talent and athleticism to put in 5 hours a day of soccer. Kids are motivated by being good at something and interest in the sport; I can't imagine my non-athletic kid (uncoordinated and clutzy) putting 5 hours a day into a sport that early. However, I have another kid who is talented and athletic and who has also been playing soccer since 2. We did not practice with him but he played a lot with his brother in the backyard and on his own. He is on track to be an MLS Next player assuming soccer holds his interest. So I will say that 5hr/day kid was also, at minimum, more athletic than the average boy.

[Anonymous]

Have fun when those overuse injuries start to set in.

[Anonymous]

By age 13 the team should primarily play the best kids but all kids should play something like 25% of the time.

This is how i've seen it work on many teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have fun when those overuse injuries start to set in.

Have fun when those infected bed sores start appearing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have fun when those overuse injuries start to set in.

Have fun when those infected bed sores start appearing.

#lameFTW
We all know that many times you have stared at a cup of juice because it said concentrate.

[Anonymous]

I’ve seen kids ride the pine for an entire season on the volleyball circuit, and I believe it is damaging. It’s always coaches who don’t have kids, so oblivious to the mental impact on young minds,