Soccer in Montgomery County

[Anonymous]

An additional advantage of MSI is that the by school grouping makes it more enjoyable since they are playing with classmates. For parents, logistics can be easier with car pools etc.
I agree that if your child has a high degree of interest; they will need to move to club at some point and you don’t want to wait too long. For us it was middle of 3rd grade. Summer camps and clinics are always a good idea from the beginning. Also I suggest from the beginning you play with your child (e.g. kick goals (left and right foot) and get touches on the ball – it’s a great way to spend time with your kids, save you money, and the extra touches will make a BIG difference in their relative ability on Rec. Further maybe a ½ year ahead of moving to a club, consider some private training (keeping up the parent to child play) so that your kids places on a higher level club team (higher the level the easier to stay on that level and usually better coaching) We haven’t seen a lot of “D” team kids claw their way up to the A side.

PS the puzzling thing about rec ( esp in MoCo) is that you have high achieving kids ( music, academics etc.) where they take their classes or lesson and then must practice/ do homework a certain amount of time per week in addition. Many rec parents seem to think that team practice 1 or 2x a week is enough, but they would never take that approach with piano or violin, and there’s a lot more soccer kids than violinists…

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Is a 5 year-old in PK (who didn't play in the fall) able to play in MSI's kindergarten program for the spring, or do they actually have to be in a kindergarten class at school?

If the answer is no, what are the best options in Montgomery County in the Bethesda/Rockville/Gaithersburg area? SAM/Kickers at the Soccerplex?