Vent post: HS soccer

[Anonymous]

DS attends HS in Virginia. School is big, but really only does well in baseball in recent years. I hear the HS soccer coach has been around for over 12-15 years and has 1 playoff win over that time. There was talent on the teams over the last couple of years, with several D1 commits, but the coach consistently would play a 3-4-3 formation throughout the season and have players playing out of their normal positions. The team would get destroyed many games. Players would be unhappy and hate playing for the coach since he didn't seem to know a thing about the game of soccer. The only reason he kept the position was because he was a good friend of the principal. There were a couple of parents, who were licensed travel team coaches and willing to coach for free, that were turned down because the coach/teacher didn't want to give up control of the team. It was sad to watch a group of players that had such potential and who wanted to have great memories around the game and playing with their friends, and to have it wasted by a coach/teacher who just wanted to collect a check for coaching the team.

Lucky me I have another year of watching this coach ruin the kid's experiences, but I'll go out a support my kid and hope the coach decides this is the year he quits coaching.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it depends on the school. Our school is not competitive/all friends/social. It is really obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No.She isn’t happy, she isn’t a social kid… she is there to play soccer, which just isn’t clicking for some reason. But thanks for asking and responding. You never know what you might get on this board.

If she's there to compete and not socialize, HS isn't for her. Sad to say, it's a mix of rec and travel kids that like to have fun but won't take a loss or win too seriously.

[Anonymous]

And yet, everyone wants to play high school soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS attends HS in Virginia. School is big, but really only does well in baseball in recent years. I hear the HS soccer coach has been around for over 12-15 years and has 1 playoff win over that time. There was talent on the teams over the last couple of years, with several D1 commits, but the coach consistently would play a 3-4-3 formation throughout the season and have players playing out of their normal positions. The team would get destroyed many games. Players would be unhappy and hate playing for the coach since he didn't seem to know a thing about the game of soccer. The only reason he kept the position was because he was a good friend of the principal. There were a couple of parents, who were licensed travel team coaches and willing to coach for free, that were turned down because the coach/teacher didn't want to give up control of the team. It was sad to watch a group of players that had such potential and who wanted to have great memories around the game and playing with their friends, and to have it wasted by a coach/teacher who just wanted to collect a check for coaching the team.

Lucky me I have another year of watching this coach ruin the kid's experiences, but I'll go out a support my kid and hope the coach decides this is the year he quits coaching.

A lot of college programs are the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS attends HS in Virginia. School is big, but really only does well in baseball in recent years. I hear the HS soccer coach has been around for over 12-15 years and has 1 playoff win over that time. There was talent on the teams over the last couple of years, with several D1 commits, but the coach consistently would play a 3-4-3 formation throughout the season and have players playing out of their normal positions. The team would get destroyed many games. Players would be unhappy and hate playing for the coach since he didn't seem to know a thing about the game of soccer. The only reason he kept the position was because he was a good friend of the principal. There were a couple of parents, who were licensed travel team coaches and willing to coach for free, that were turned down because the coach/teacher didn't want to give up control of the team. It was sad to watch a group of players that had such potential and who wanted to have great memories around the game and playing with their friends, and to have it wasted by a coach/teacher who just wanted to collect a check for coaching the team.

Lucky me I have another year of watching this coach ruin the kid's experiences, but I'll go out a support my kid and hope the coach decides this is the year he quits coaching.

This has to be Marshall HS.

[Anonymous]

My kid is playing HA for first time too. All the kids are club except maybe a couple. They are all good - but the ball hogs are allowed to do as they please without comment and also only pass to friends even when others are wide open. There are kids who announce I don’t play x position when told to do so and no ramifications. I figure those kids will learn later in life that’s not how it works, but it’d be nice if the kids who dutifully play positions they don’t ordinarily play get positive feedback for doing so.

[Anonymous]

My kid plays high school soccer. I am actually surprised at the wide range of talent for the club players on the HS team. Some of them are excellent and a few college committee. But many don’t start or get any playing time. We’ve done travel for years so I know all the bs politics in it. Some of the kids still on the red team or whatever bc they signed up at 7. But I am surprised at this point people are still putting in the hours for club soccer when the kid is just not that good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No.She isn’t happy, she isn’t a social kid… she is there to play soccer, which just isn’t clicking for some reason. But thanks for asking and responding. You never know what you might get on this board.

My DS is in pretty much the same situation. His HS team is a mix of 7 club kids and the remaining ~30 being a mix of AYSO/rec/never played organized soccer until MS. It's a small school so there are no cuts either. My observations:

1) Freshman rarely play.

2) If you thing the trend for certain clubs/travel coaches selecting big, physical kids over technical skills is annoying, then keep in mind that HS is even worse. If a player is big, athletic and willing to run around like a maniac, they will be picked virtually every time over a smaller, technically skilled player.

3) Unless you get lucky and find a HS coach that also coaches club ball, the type of play will be lots of long direct passes. Eventually the game will devolve into a track meet up and down the field.

4) Many teams will play more like a Rugby team with a soccer problem, than an actual soccer team.

5) Managing your DS/DD's mental health can be a challenge, especially if they are on the smaller side and getting dumped onto the JV team with rec players. Frustration and potentially poor body language can easily creep in.

6) The parents in the stands are often worse than the sidelines at club games.

7) If you play in a state that uses a 3-person ref system that rotates each ref through the middle spot in 1/3rd portions of the game, then be prepared for, essentially, three vastly different games.

[Anonymous]

lol!! Perfect post. I am OP and you nailed it.
Girls HS soccer is more like Greco-Roman wrestling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yet, everyone wants to play high school soccer.

Shhhh ... That's just an argument for switching from BY to SY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid plays high school soccer. I am actually surprised at the wide range of talent for the club players on the HS team. Some of them are excellent and a few college committee. But many don’t start or get any playing time. We’ve done travel for years so I know all the bs politics in it. Some of the kids still on the red team or whatever bc they signed up at 7. But I am surprised at this point people are still putting in the hours for club soccer when the kid is just not that good.

Since when did putting hours into something only happen for things we’re good at? I put many hours and spend lots of money on golf every year. I’m not very good but I enjoy it. That’s club soccer.

[Anonymous]

My kid is good. Trains like crazy and in soccer obsessed. Started the year on HS strong but is now a bench player with limited minutes for no clear reason. She comes early to practice, works intensely, and does everything she is asked. There is no feedback for her, either. She doesn’t like to make waves but honestly I can’t stand to watch her get sidelined for kids who don’t have soccer as their first sport and aren’t better players. It’s not right. And she is not a freshman. For coaches out there, we parents just don’t get it…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is good. Trains like crazy and in soccer obsessed. Started the year on HS strong but is now a bench player with limited minutes for no clear reason. She comes early to practice, works intensely, and does everything she is asked. There is no feedback for her, either. She doesn’t like to make waves but honestly I can’t stand to watch her get sidelined for kids who don’t have soccer as their first sport and aren’t better players. It’s not right. And she is not a freshman. For coaches out there, we parents just don’t get it…

Sorry parent. Has your daughter asked for feedback? This is the USA. And it’s HS soccer. What exactly are you expecting? Is her coach a real coach or the chemistry teacher because they school needed a body?

[Anonymous]

Yes she has. And I know. My expectations should be low. It’s just so hard to watch. Yes it’s a professional coach, not a teacher.