At what age to make the move from Classic/ Select/ Rec to Travel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What age is she now? Is she on a casual, parent-coached rec or classic team?
If she's on a professionally coached select team I don't really understand your comment about how she's never really been taught good technique.

U11. professional not parent coach, they work on passing and shooting but not really on individual ball skills at all, so far as I can tell. That said, she's scrappy and manages to make things happen on the field, in a "not pretty but gets the job done" kind of way. She also practices casually with a rec team sometimes, too, because we live next door to the practice field and the weather has been so nice

So she likes her current team, and I'm not dying to pay more or drive more -- but I can also see that this is all becoming important to her, and I'm worried that she'll miss the boat if we don't switch soon. It's not that she's a better player than everyone else, to be honest -- better than average, but not the star player -- but she really wants to improve, and has asked about playing travel.

I'm not imagining her as an elite player, just a kid who loves playing as much as possible, and will be really thrilled to see herself improve. Ok to wait? Or might she really benefit from the extra practice and coaching at this stage?

This sounds like MSI Classic or maybe PPA dev.
If you're okay with traveling, Bethesda, Potomac, Stoddert, Achilles all good options.
If you want to stay more local try a team that plays Sam Select. You may find similarly good coaching but you'll spend less time on the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is MSI academy substantively different / better from other Moco travel options?
Or were you just recommending it because they draw from the classic league?

I’m recommending cause I know that Coach AJ is looking to add to his roster. He’s a good seasoned coach, very calm and never yells at any of his players. He draws players from various different clubs including Classic. There are a few former BSC players on his team as well. Also, he’s completely against parents yelling directions to the players during the game.

And if your DD is joining travel soccer for the first time, NCLS League that MSI Academy U12 plays in is most appropriate. Limited travel within DC area, home games at SoccerPlex.

But, please don’t take my word on it. Email him to get your DD to participate in a few practices so your DD can get a better feel how she fits/likes the coach and the other players. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

[Anonymous]

Does Achilles have girls teams?

How about Bordeaux COE? Though I have no idea how the competition is for spots at these ages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Achilles have girls teams?

How about Bordeaux COE? Though I have no idea how the competition is for spots at these ages

I’m the PP about MSI Academy.

Bordeaux is very good. I choose not to go with them due to the location of their practices (Germantown SoccerPlex and Stone Ridge) three times a week. It’s too hard to get there on time during the evening rush hour.

[Anonymous]

I would do 5-7 private lessons and see how your Dd adjusts and implements the techniques.

That will be a good indicator during this season for what level she may qualify for.

[Anonymous]

Agree with Bordeaux COE. It's not cheap but excellent training with individual skills at the younger ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Achilles have girls teams?

How about Bordeaux COE? Though I have no idea how the competition is for spots at these ages

Achilles does not have a girl’s team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is MSI academy substantively different / better from other Moco travel options?
Or were you just recommending it because they draw from the classic league?

I’m recommending cause I know that Coach AJ is looking to add to his roster. He’s a good seasoned coach, very calm and never yells at any of his players. He draws players from various different clubs including Classic. There are a few former BSC players on his team as well. Also, he’s completely against parents yelling directions to the players during the game.

And if your DD is joining travel soccer for the first time, NCLS League that MSI Academy U12 plays in is most appropriate. Limited travel within DC area, home games at SoccerPlex.

But, please don’t take my word on it. Email him to get your DD to participate in a few practices so your DD can get a better feel how she fits/likes the coach and the other players. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Tryouts this month: https://www.msisoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=902827

P.S. The tryouts are not cattle calls, just regular training sessions with a few extra kids. Seems highly sane, all things considered.

[Anonymous]

So it’s like this. If your kid is a great athlete- faster vs anyone on her team, faster vs a lot of girls a year up, bigger and stronger vs other kids, you can wait. If your kid is average or above average athlete, you should move earlier.

By u12 its hard to break into a top team on a big club. The girls are good and the speed of play is fast. They are also fast. A few have pretty good technique.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it’s like this. If your kid is a great athlete- faster vs anyone on her team, faster vs a lot of girls a year up, bigger and stronger vs other kids, you can wait. If your kid is average or above average athlete, you should move earlier.

By u12 its hard to break into a top team on a big club. The girls are good and the speed of play is fast. They are also fast. A few have pretty good technique.

Totally agree. Soccer is a combination of athleticism and techniques. and techniques take long time to develop for almost everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U13/U14 is usually considered a kind of cut off. Some say it's the optimal time to switch while others might say it's kind of like her last chance to switch to higher levels without being too behind.

I agree with this.

Anyone saying U10 is the latest is out of their mind or dont know what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Also a huge factor is when the parents are ready for the commitment- in regards to $$$$, time, travel, etc. Increase in practice nights per week, expectations for practices/indoor play all winter long, double the amount of tournaments, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it’s like this. If your kid is a great athlete- faster vs anyone on her team, faster vs a lot of girls a year up, bigger and stronger vs other kids, you can wait. If your kid is average or above average athlete, you should move earlier.

By u12 its hard to break into a top team on a big club. The girls are good and the speed of play is fast. They are also fast. A few have pretty good technique.

so

wait <—————— — travel——-——————-————> move
great athleticism above average average


Ive seen too many disappointing straight line great athletes with zero touch and IQ. We hope they can learn both, easier said than done though.

Suggestions for transition should not be so generic though, top team u13 coaches and above will probably take those players expecting to reap the extreme athletic benefit though. It will be extremely frustrating as everyone waits for it to bear fruit, if ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U13/U14 is usually considered a kind of cut off. Some say it's the optimal time to switch while others might say it's kind of like her last chance to switch to higher levels without being too behind.

I agree with this.

Anyone saying U10 is the latest is out of their mind or dont know what they are talking about.

Depends on what you want to do. You can make a travel team at u13/u14 but you will not make a DA or ECNL team. At u12 and u13 on the girls side there is a huge migration to DA and ECNL. The competition is pretty intense. If you have been sitting in rec or select club, the speed of play, physical play and ball movement can be overwhelming. By u13 and definitely by u14 the rosters are set and you have to be clearly better vs the other top (2-4) girls on a team.

My DD went to a big club at u10. I saw a lot of rec and select girls tryout at practice. By u11 the girls coming in were just overwhelmed unless they were coming from another travel program. By U12 the club/coaches were only looking for super technical players or super athletes. It’s just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also a huge factor is when the parents are ready for the commitment- in regards to $$$$, time, travel, etc. Increase in practice nights per week, expectations for practices/indoor play all winter long, double the amount of tournaments, etc etc.

This is a great point. Sadly I was never able to fully support DS's short-lived travel career as a single mom. I just couldn't make late-night practices and long-distance driving work with two younger siblings at home (or in the car.) If I had known to find a high-level classic or even rec team, he'd probably still be playing.

Totally different deal with the youngest, whose older siblings are independent and are totally content to fend for themselves (i.e. have mom off their backs) while I drive their sister around the DMV.