New Arlington Travel Soccer Family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A kid who just turned 8 would be a U9 right now. An 8 year old who is going to turn 9 before the end of the calendar year would be a U10.

Is 4x a week too much? Depends on the kid. For kids who really love it and have a wish to play at a high level, it is not nearly enough. Kids around the world at that age are playing every single day. 4x a week (3 practices plus a game) with their club , for a 10 month season. They'll also play before school, at recess, after school with their friends, before and after practice. Every day. Many top clubs around the world will only have 2 organized practices a week at that age, but only because they know the kids are playing every day on their own anyway. In the US that's less likely to happen, so we try to compensate.

I have known loads of kids in this area who played every single day at your kids age. Most are still playing today into their teenage years and their love for the game has only grown - in part because they got really really good at it. Some have burned out and dropped out of the sport altogether. Others have stepped back to a level they still enjoy, but can also do other things.

The ones who burned out were the ones being pushed by their parents. They didn't really want to play every day, but their parents saw other kids doing it and didn't want them to fall behind. So they pushed them, and put way too much pressure on them at an early age, and took all the fun out of it.

Listen to your kid.

I agree this is the most important thing. Don't push your kid. Nobody made the National team because their parent's pushed them. Just be a cheerleader for them, their biggest fans and celebrate their journey with them. That's what they want from the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do all clubs require 4x a week for travel? I thought others like Alexandria were less.

Yeah, I haven't heard of 4x a week for U10 travel either. OP, do you mean that the kid practices 3x a week and has one game on the weekend? If so, that's normal for a top team that age, and many kids enjoy it. Like a PP said, serious kids who love soccer will play way more often than that, though much of it will be unstructured soccer at home, with neighborhood friends, or at recess.

4x a week of formal practice does seem excessive, especially for a kid who has a lot of other interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do all clubs require 4x a week for travel? I thought others like Alexandria were less.

Yeah, I haven't heard of 4x a week for U10 travel either. OP, do you mean that the kid practices 3x a week and has one game on the weekend? If so, that's normal for a top team that age, and many kids enjoy it. Like a PP said, serious kids who love soccer will play way more often than that, though much of it will be unstructured soccer at home, with neighborhood friends, or at recess.

4x a week of formal practice does seem excessive, especially for a kid who has a lot of other interests.

OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do all clubs require 4x a week for travel? I thought others like Alexandria were less.

Yeah, I haven't heard of 4x a week for U10 travel either. OP, do you mean that the kid practices 3x a week and has one game on the weekend? If so, that's normal for a top team that age, and many kids enjoy it. Like a PP said, serious kids who love soccer will play way more often than that, though much of it will be unstructured soccer at home, with neighborhood friends, or at recess.

4x a week of formal practice does seem excessive, especially for a kid who has a lot of other interests.

OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

Sorry meant to say Not OP. But chiming in that some kids do 4x per week...

[Anonymous]

Most clubs are 3x times a week. DA is more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think 4x week soccer for U10 (my kid just turned 8) is too much? I have a friend who coaches high school and played pro and he says that’s not good for them to play that much at such a young age.

Its kind of odd that your kid just turned 8 and is playing u10. That would suggest your kid is playing up a year, no? that would suggest you understand the commitment to travel training 3 training and a game.

maybe its a learning lesson, ask the commitment before you put down $2k and be ready to find another club that has the right fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

If you child has goalkeeper training separate from the team training, I would talk to the coach about your kid missing 1 of the team training sessions. That would keep the training to 3 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

If you child has goalkeeper training separate from the team training, I would talk to the coach about your kid missing 1 of the team training sessions. That would keep the training to 3 days a week.

Or make it optional for you child to decide if they want to go to the additional session.

[Anonymous]

Please clarify that your Arlington kid on a travel team is only practicing 3x per week, and the 4th is a game. Only Development Academy does 4 practices a week.

My kids love travel soccer, maybe not so much when it is this hot outside. They get dressed and look forward to practice. Maybe it will be self-selecting over time for kids who might be good, but want additional experiences.

[Anonymous]

My kid is U10, born October 2009, so he is still 8. That is not unusual. Practices 3 times a week - 1 academy day and 2 team practices, plus game on weekend. That seems pretty standard.
I let him miss academy days if he is burned out - esp because that is on Mondays so sometimes he is tired. I try to listen to what he wants to do. It is an intense 10 months schedule. IMO kids can miss if they need a break. I want him to still like the sport in 5 years. He is a kid that will burn out if I don't limit the formal training. He plays constantly on his own in our basement - ball always at his feet. So I'm not concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do all clubs require 4x a week for travel? I thought others like Alexandria were less.

Yeah, I haven't heard of 4x a week for U10 travel either. OP, do you mean that the kid practices 3x a week and has one game on the weekend? If so, that's normal for a top team that age, and many kids enjoy it. Like a PP said, serious kids who love soccer will play way more often than that, though much of it will be unstructured soccer at home, with neighborhood friends, or at recess.

4x a week of formal practice does seem excessive, especially for a kid who has a lot of other interests.

OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

U10 should not be specializing in positions. We have a girl and it’s 2 practices(usually speed of play drills mostly) and one skills training(agility and ball skill). No specialized goalies, but I see the older goalies training during the skills training on a separate field. At other clubs, it’s two practices but the sessions are longer(it ends up being about the same amount of time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is U10, born October 2009, so he is still 8. That is not unusual. Practices 3 times a week - 1 academy day and 2 team practices, plus game on weekend. That seems pretty standard.
I let him miss academy days if he is burned out - esp because that is on Mondays so sometimes he is tired. I try to listen to what he wants to do. It is an intense 10 months schedule. IMO kids can miss if they need a break. I want him to still like the sport in 5 years. He is a kid that will burn out if I don't limit the formal training. He plays constantly on his own in our basement - ball always at his feet. So I'm not concerned.

Yes, normal to be 8 at U10 but OP said their kid kust turned 8. Anyone who turned 8 after Jan 1, 2018 would be born in 2010, so should be playing U9 now.

IMO way too young to be worried about an extra day of GK training.

[Anonymous]

OPs facts, lack of awareness, disbelief of 4x a week, and to top it off an “expert” witness lead me to believe this may be a troll.

You’d know exactly what was going on if your kid were playing up a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - our kid is a GK so 3x week practice plus 1x week for GK training. That is the club training.

If you child has goalkeeper training separate from the team training, I would talk to the coach about your kid missing 1 of the team training sessions. That would keep the training to 3 days a week.

Or make it optional for you child to decide if they want to go to the additional session.

I would do the same--4x a week is too much if you are not signing up for DA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know a U9 kid who is playing travel now and he was one of the weaker players on my sons Rec team. But Dad was a coach and also played college soccer and pro, and it was so clear how desperately he wanted his kid to be a star, when everyone else could so clearly see it wasn’t in the cards. The kid was like doing cartwheels on the field as the ball rolled by.... True story.

I don't know any of the people involved but I have watched youth sports long enough to know that if the father was a professional soccer player there is a good chance the son will someday be a pretty good soccer player too. Many of the stars at U9 wont be playing or will be playing on the lowest team by U13.