Is top team always better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a good question and as with anything depends on the situation. Is DC getting good minutes on the current top team? Is the coaching good? Are the families good? Does your DC want to challenge himself/herself and take a crack at achieving more? If he/she is developing well then maybe ok to stay.

With that being said, breaking into top teams at bigger clubs is hard and seems to get harder as the years go by. People always say if they are good they will get noticed. But it's not always easy to get noticed at the big tryouts unless you are super fast or super strong.

It might help to go be on the second or third team at a bigger club so that the coaches there are aware of your DC. It's not guaranteed he/she will get moved up but a better pathway than attending a large tryout later? Maybe you can talk to parents and see if that bigger club has a history of promoting from within.

Personally, if your kid is one that needs to be challenged I think a new environment always helps them learn something. In my opinion, you can probably always go back to the smaller club if you leave on good terms...

Actually, I'd disagree with this. Once you get "slotted" at a bigger club, you have very little chance of moving up, in our experience. We've been at a bigger club on the 2nd team for 5 years and haven't seen a single kid moved up to the top team. If you like your coach and think the kid is improving, I'd stay until U14/U15 and then look for a top team at a bigger club. Cynically, it seems like they're always looking for "new money".

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the coach. Our second team has an amazing coach that shows up for the kids and provides great practice sessions while our top team have a coach that doesn't want to be there. My kid is on the top team and i wish we had the other coach.

[Anonymous]

Same sentiment. We’ve had practices cancelled on us. He shows up late to practices and games. His training is so minimal that half the kids are training outside the club.

Meanwhile, the second team and third team coach in our age is always there for the players.

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the coach. Our second team has an amazing coach that shows up for the kids and provides great practice sessions while our top team have a coach that doesn't want to be there. My kid is on the top team and i wish we had the other coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same sentiment. We’ve had practices cancelled on us. He shows up late to practices and games. His training is so minimal that half the kids are training outside the club.

Meanwhile, the second team and third team coach in our age is always there for the players.

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the coach. Our second team has an amazing coach that shows up for the kids and provides great practice sessions while our top team have a coach that doesn't want to be there. My kid is on the top team and i wish we had the other coach.

+1. Most coaches are in it for the side gig money. Nearly ALL need a basic introductory child psychology course. On boys side. 8th year of madness.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you all. These responses are helpful. DC currently gets a lot of playing time and always starts in the games. They help fill a particular need (not goalkeeping) on the current team. The coach is not moving up with the team next year, so there is the unknown of whether the new coach will view DC the same way as the current coach. And of course there's the possibility of new players coming in and displacing DC.

It sounds like it would only be worth moving to a bigger club if DC could make their second team, but not for a third team offer. The bigger club's tryouts are before the current club's, so hopefully it works out that we know where DC stands with the bigger club before making a decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same sentiment. We’ve had practices cancelled on us. He shows up late to practices and games. His training is so minimal that half the kids are training outside the club.

Meanwhile, the second team and third team coach in our age is always there for the players.

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the coach. Our second team has an amazing coach that shows up for the kids and provides great practice sessions while our top team have a coach that doesn't want to be there. My kid is on the top team and i wish we had the other coach.

+1. Most coaches are in it for the side gig money. Nearly ALL need a basic introductory child psychology course. On boys side. 8th year of madness.

I agree, some basic level of knowing how to teach to kids would be helpful. Our current coach (on our 2nd team) does not adjust the practice drills, even when they are failing miserably and usually blames the players. And the players are 10...let's just say they don't get that much out of practices.

[Anonymous]

I'd say the best coaching staff and teammates is best. The top team doesn't always have the best coaches or great teammates.

[Anonymous]

Teammate and coach = winning combo but also very hard to find.

[Anonymous]

I would look for some combination of:

Skill level around kid’s level
Training taken seriously but not high pressure
Kids mostly have fun
Kids are getting better
Coaches, parents, kids pleasant and respectful
Practice and games relatively close to house
Price fair given value for money

Different clubs for different people within this rubric

[Anonymous]

Listen to your 10 year old. Is he (or she) is happy, stay where you're at. This is about the child enjoying sport. If he's competitive and the current environment isn't challenging enough, he'll let you know he wants more.

If he likes the coach and likes his teammates, you can probably tell. So stay if your kid is happy. Look for other options if he's not. If you want to provide opportunities for your boy to play MLS Next or girl to play ECNL, your child needs to enjoy the game. And the club name/letter league stuff can wait until U13/U14.

If your kid isn't doing extra kicking against the wall or juggling on his own, don't worry about it. This is recreation. Let the child guide the way instead of the parent pushing the child down the "right" path.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone come across a situation where you decline and later on (next season) decides you want to join that team and the coach harbor ill feelings?