Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:One thing I learned, having a high schooler and a middle schooler now- that your kid doesnt have to be on the top team at u9, u10, u11, etc. There are a LOT of years for youth soccer.
You could have a team of u10 boys that crush the competition, and then 2 years later youll see only a few of them at a skill level for a top team, and then 2 years later it will be swapped.
U12/U13/U14 is when theyll start to all fall into place, and then at U15/16/17 is when it really gets going.
So dont feel like you have to absolutely make the right decision at U9/U10 or youll be screwed. Far from it.
So true---but only at certain Clubs.
Some Clubs will hang on to the same team and offer no chance for advancement.
Our kid was never moved up. Kid could score 30 goals a season, anytime he was absent for a game they would lose. He was continually told he would move up. Anytime they played him up levels he would perform the same way, even better since he had better teammates around him.
It took taking him elsewhere for things to start coming together. He was behind a bit for playing many years below his level---but within in a 3 month period of time--speed of play was up and he advanced all the way up to the top at new Club.
But, yes, this insane emphasis on sorting U9/U10/U11 kids and banishing some to lower teams and not investing any time in the them, when so many kids on top teams peak at 9-11. Development system in the US is broken. Our timetable is off. Europe they don't even get serious about a kid's potential until 16/17--but then an American kid is finished.
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