Talk to me like I just arrived from another planet.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I have a million more questions:

When people say that he should or shouldn't specialize what do you mean?

My understanding is that coach told him that he can play one complete half in the goal (because none of the other players like it), and that in the other half he plays some other position, and gets rotated in and out the same as the other kids. When he plays soccer with family or in the neighborhood it looks like he's in the goal a lot but not always. Do you consider that specializing?

Are there goalie specific camps or classes? Would you consider that specializing?

Or do you mean specializing in soccer? At this point he plays a lot of different things, although with covid it's a little different.

This is his fifth season of rec soccer. So, he's not a total beginner, he knows the rules. But before covid, he played a lot of ice hockey. After a year off the ice, we're thinking of making a change for the fall.

Also, how does he find teams to try out for?

Can he try out for both classic and travel, and then choose after?

And, how much does a classic or travel team cost? I don't want to let him try out if I'm going to have to say no in the long term.

Finally, how far and often do "travel" teams travel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda can be frustrating because if you join then you see how many teams are above you and all of the Superstar players who have literally been doing nothing but playing soccer since they could walk. It's kind of frustrating when you are still in catch up mood and the players are so much better. But anyway your son needs to figure out where he is in the big scheme of things and find a team that's on his level and a starting point for his soccer journey.

I strongly disagree with this. At this age, the top kids are not so far ahead that an athletic and determined kid willing to practise on his own can't catch up fairly quickly. The best kid on my DS' U12 DA team was still playing rec at U10. Yes - most kids don't achieve this - but that's not because it's impossible - it's just because they don't put in the time. This particular kid apparently worked for several hours a day with the ball on his own. Most kids don't do this - even the ones on the top team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP why do you think rec coach is biased?

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

The coach is someone he and I are both close to, outside of soccer. So, the fact that the coach is calling me to tell me "he's great, he has so much potential, you should have seen his save in the second half!" doesn't carry as much weight in my mind, as it would if it was a new coach calling me after one game to tell me my kid is really good.

There is also PPA and Potomac Soccer. Go to a few spring practices at the various clubs and see what you like. Think about how serious of an environment you want your kid to play in. Going to one club may burn him out for various reasons. Find a club and coach that supports the environment you want you dc to be in.

I thought Montgomery County was limiting spectators to one per kid. How would he go to practices at various clubs?

How would I know how serious an environment is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda can be frustrating because if you join then you see how many teams are above you and all of the Superstar players who have literally been doing nothing but playing soccer since they could walk. It's kind of frustrating when you are still in catch up mood and the players are so much better. But anyway your son needs to figure out where he is in the big scheme of things and find a team that's on his level and a starting point for his soccer journey.

I strongly disagree with this. At this age, the top kids are not so far ahead that an athletic and determined kid willing to practise on his own can't catch up fairly quickly. The best kid on my DS' U12 DA team was still playing rec at U10. Yes - most kids don't achieve this - but that's not because it's impossible - it's just because they don't put in the time. This particular kid apparently worked for several hours a day with the ball on his own. Most kids don't do this - even the ones on the top team.

On his own is an exaggeration. He's had a small circle of kids that we've let him see during the pandemic, including a sibling an cousin he sees a lot, and soccer and basketball are the two things they all do, that work in a pandemic (e.g. he can't play ice hockey, or go swimming, or hit a baseball in our backyard). So, he's spending 2 - 4 hours a day running around in the backyard, and I'd guess that 1/3 to 1/2 of that is soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're probably better off with msi, it's the soccer league that is run by Montgomery county. There are three levels, recreational, classic, and premier.

Recreational is very low-key and mostly for fun and exercise and typically a volunteer parent coach. Players commit to the program for one season at a time. The two seasons during the year are the fall and the spring. One or two practices a week during the season. Recreational is open to anyone whose parents sign them up. You can have absolutely no skill, no athleticism, no motivation whatsoever, and you can be on a team. You won't find too many kids like that but this is a participation league where everyone gets a medal.

Classic is run pretty much the same way as recreational, except coaches are typically paid and have some experience developing players and have a better idea of what they're doing compared to the average recreational coach. Typically the coach has more soccer playing experience themselves, a coaching license, and actually knows what they're doing other than looking of drills online. This is for more committed players who want to improve and who may spend time outside of practice trying to get better, do some summer camps or play on their own outside of practice. This is for the more competitive player looking for a greater challenge. Two practices a week during the season, probably some form of off-season skills clinics or skills training, and encouraging players to go to a soccer camp over the summer or just keep getting better on their own. For these teams you have to attend to try out and find a team that is looking to pick up new players. If I were you I would start with classic if you're not really sure yet about your son's commitment level to the sport and you don't really know where he stands in terms of ability level. This is a good way to feel that out.



Recreational and classic both play in leagues that are run within Montgomery county. They do not travel outside of the county to play games and they do not play against teams from other soccer clubs, only other MSI teams.

Premier is the "travel" part of msi. Travel means that these teams play against other teams from other clubs around the DC Metro area. Some MSI teams play in League called national capital soccer league, which is basically based around the beltway. So your home games would be in Montgomery county and you're away games could be in nearby parts of Maryland or Northern Virginia. These are competitive teams where the players have been selected through a tryout process, and many of them have been training at least starting from the age of 8 with professional coaches if not earlier. You also find talented players who may not have had much coaching but who are highly skilled and play as much soccer as they can with their families or with other kids in their neighborhoods, commonly children who come from families with ethnic backgrounds or from other countries where soccer is the only sport that they follow. These kids have been playing soccer basically since they could walk and they are in love with the sport.

Playing time on a premier team is based on ability level, the coach will set expectations with you based on your player's position and ability level and factoring in the age group. When you commit to a premier team in other words a travel team, you commit from the end of the spring season for a full year until the end of the next year spring season. So it is a 12-month commitment. The fees are much higher than recreational and classic because you're paying for a professional coach, tournaments, and other fees necessary to run what is essentially a travel team. It is expected that players on this team are constantly striving to get better, or training on the road, attending clinics, or have a way to keep improving skill level in one way or another through their own means. This is a big commitment and is really only for players who know that soccer is their number one choice of sports or number one choice of extracurricular activities.

Keep in mind that the classic league is pretty sizable and there are some fairly good players in it who still don't quite have what it takes to play on one of the premier teams. MSI has a very large pool of players to select from so you have to be pretty darn good to make a premier team, especially going into the u12 year which your son is doing right now.

I would say that the premier level for MSI would be something aspirational, you are probably better off going with a classic team and testing the waters first.

Your other alternative is to try out Bethesda soccer club, instead of being a league in itself, Bethesda has numerous teams in each age group, and they put you on a team with players of similar ability. The higher level teams are some of the best in the area, your son would probably start off on a lower team and if he decides he wants to get better and commit to the sport and get a lot of training, he might be able to move up by one team level in a year if he really commits to the sport.

So again, two of your options are MSI classic and a lower Bethesda team. Bethesda can be frustrating because if you join then you see how many teams are above you and all of the Superstar players who have literally been doing nothing but playing soccer since they could walk. It's kind of frustrating when you are still in catch up mood and the players are so much better. But anyway your son needs to figure out where he is in the big scheme of things and find a team that's on his level and a starting point for his soccer journey.

You’re mostly correct except the following:

- MSI is a non-profit organization/club. They are not a Montgomery County government organization. Don’t confuse the Montgomery in the Montgomery Soccer, Inc. (MSI)

- MSI got rid of the Premier name. MSI’s Travel Soccer program is call MSI Academy. MSI has 3 levels of soccer: Recreational, Classic (select soccer) and Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP why do you think rec coach is biased?

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

The coach is someone he and I are both close to, outside of soccer. So, the fact that the coach is calling me to tell me "he's great, he has so much potential, you should have seen his save in the second half!" doesn't carry as much weight in my mind, as it would if it was a new coach calling me after one game to tell me my kid is really good.

There is also PPA and Potomac Soccer. Go to a few spring practices at the various clubs and see what you like. Think about how serious of an environment you want your kid to play in. Going to one club may burn him out for various reasons. Find a club and coach that supports the environment you want you dc to be in.

I thought Montgomery County was limiting spectators to one per kid. How would he go to practices at various clubs?

How would I know how serious an environment is?

You have to contact the club/team to request to practice with a team to see if its a good fit. And you can ask them how mean teams they have and what number team you're working with so you'll know if its A team ot C team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP why do you think rec coach is biased?

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

The coach is someone he and I are both close to, outside of soccer. So, the fact that the coach is calling me to tell me "he's great, he has so much potential, you should have seen his save in the second half!" doesn't carry as much weight in my mind, as it would if it was a new coach calling me after one game to tell me my kid is really good.

There is also PPA and Potomac Soccer. Go to a few spring practices at the various clubs and see what you like. Think about how serious of an environment you want your kid to play in. Going to one club may burn him out for various reasons. Find a club and coach that supports the environment you want you dc to be in.

I thought Montgomery County was limiting spectators to one per kid. How would he go to practices at various clubs?

How would I know how serious an environment is?

You have to contact the club/team to request to practice with a team to see if its a good fit. And you can ask them how mean teams they have and what number team you're working with so you'll know if its A team ot C team

And then, is that the try out? Or does he also go to try outs? If he goes to a practice will the coach say "Don't try out" if it's way over his head? Or does he need to try out for multiple levels for each club?

Sorry, I know I seem really clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I have a million more questions:

When people say that he should or shouldn't specialize what do you mean?

My understanding is that coach told him that he can play one complete half in the goal (because none of the other players like it), and that in the other half he plays some other position, and gets rotated in and out the same as the other kids. When he plays soccer with family or in the neighborhood it looks like he's in the goal a lot but not always. Do you consider that specializing?

Are there goalie specific camps or classes? Would you consider that specializing?

Or do you mean specializing in soccer? At this point he plays a lot of different things, although with covid it's a little different.

This is his fifth season of rec soccer. So, he's not a total beginner, he knows the rules. But before covid, he played a lot of ice hockey. After a year off the ice, we're thinking of making a change for the fall.

Also, how does he find teams to try out for?

Can he try out for both classic and travel, and then choose after?

And, how much does a classic or travel team cost? I don't want to let him try out if I'm going to have to say no in the long term.

Finally, how far and often do "travel" teams travel?

Great question about specialization. Guaranteed no one will give you a specific answer because noone knows. It's a buzzword that parents that don't know shit use to sound like they know what they are talking about and to put kids down who love soccer and want to play it all the time to justify their kid sucking. At least 9 out 10 times this is the case. But generally speaking...specializing could mean...only playing one sport year year or only playing one position whenever you play that sport. So it's both based on your comment. It sounds like your son plays GK half time at most. Wgich is OK. Game understanding and ability to play with your you feet is very important for GKs so the needs just as much field time or more than GK. So maybe even do halftime GK every 3rd game. When it comes to specializing in a sport... generally, people are talking about overuse injuries. Mostly in baseball because of the constant throwing motion of only one arm and basically just running straight. Think about how soccer players move. How does playing baseball help them? So I don't want to give too many of my personal biases here but, even if your kid is just absolutely bonkers for playing soccer all day every day, there is a lot of value of playing individual sports...such as tennis. Kids learn to depend on themselves and only themselves. Great agility and movement in tennis for example as well. Basketball...especially for a GK, rebounding is such a great skill that transfers to GKs. Smaller space. Lots of decisions. Learning time and space. Etc etc. But talk to a trusted performance trainer about specialization and the pros and cons. Us parents will argue all day about this. But I think you'd be fine to play soccer year round with a break in the summer (swim, play tennis, play pick up soccer at the park, shoot on dad or vice versa, etc) In the winter. add basketball and maybe in the summer too. Play pick up basketball all year round with friends. In the winter play a little futsal when you can. Futsal is becoming more and more popular so look for futsal in the summer too. Just let your kid lead the way and you'll be in good shape. Oh and of course ice hockey is great whenever.

There are plenty of GK trainers out there and that would be great for your kid if you can afford it. Just as there are pitching coaches, shooting coaches, etc.

As to how far you travel....There are several different leagues and most clubs have teams that play in different leagues depending on their commitments. For example, some clubs play ECNL. Their top team is required to play in ECNL league, their 2nd team might play in EDP, their 3rd in NCSL. Maybe top team plays CCL and 3rd teams play NCSL...so this is hard to explain to you but.....The basic geographic area is Baltimore, to Frederick, DC down through Fredericks burg out to Falquier County. Some leagues include VA Beach, Roanoke, Richmond, etc. Some leagues include teams from PA and the Carolinas. All depends on which leagues the team plays in.

[Anonymous]

NOT Bethesda. Try MD Fusion - they have a great 2010 team that needs a goalie! Coached by former Argentina pros.

[Anonymous]

I'm not in MD and can't help very much with specifics, but it's great to hear that your son enjoys playing the goal-keeper position, and I don't think you should be concerned about him "specializing" in that role. If he played half of every game as goalkeeper, and then played some other position for the other half (or for some part of the other half) that would seem like a pretty good balance to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NOT Bethesda. Try MD Fusion - they have a great 2010 team that needs a goalie! Coached by former Argentina pros.

Not a bad idea. Even though they play in MSI Classic, I frequently hear good things about this club, the coaches and some of the players.
I’ve seen the 08/09s play and they can play.

Another idea would be:
Start goalie training/clinics this spring and summer.
Then join a smaller club that plays in msi classic or Sam select for a year (with additional outside of club goalie training and clinics)
He’s gonna be a U12 and if he’s just been playing in the backyard, there’s plenty of rules and strategies that he will need to learn. Do this at a cheaper club (and if he can, he could play up a year to start getting comfortable with 11v11).
Then the year after, have him try out at a larger more competitive club as they migrate to 11v11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As to how far you travel....There are several different leagues and most clubs have teams that play in different leagues depending on their commitments. For example, some clubs play ECNL. Their top team is required to play in ECNL league, their 2nd team might play in EDP, their 3rd in NCSL. Maybe top team plays CCL and 3rd teams play NCSL...so this is hard to explain to you but.....The basic geographic area is Baltimore, to Frederick, DC down through Fredericks burg out to Falquier County. Some leagues include VA Beach, Roanoke, Richmond, etc. Some leagues include teams from PA and the Carolinas. All depends on which leagues the team plays in.

Are they traveling to these places every week? Or just for tournaments?

If, at some point down the road, my kid makes the top team, and that team travels further than I am comfortable with, can I just ask for him to be put on a lower team?

I guess I'm really confused by how the kid ends up on a specific team, and how much choice we have. Can we say we need a team that doesn't do Tuesdays, if he has a commitment, or that I am only willing to go places that require overnight travel twice a season?

[Anonymous]

My observations (DD played in the field thru U10, 1/2 as GK, 1/2 in the field for U11 and U12 and is now FT GK)

Learning to play the field and having the skills to use his feet is critical as he gets older. Assuming he is serious about playing GK at U10, he should be splitting his time in goal and on the field. Footskills are important, but also learning GK technique at an early age will accelerate his improvement (duh) but also learn proper technique that will help prevent injury.

I assume the comment earlier about not specializing was meant as don't limit him to only GK. At this age, I agree. But I also 100% agree that he should be playing other sports (not just soccer). There are a million reasons why, but preventing burnout, developing other skills (I love the above comparison to basketball) and just having fun playing a secondary sport come top of mind.

When you are looking at clubs, ask about GK training within the club's training program (especially since you seem to be cost-conscious). TBH, I would not look at a club that doesn't have a specific program (part of the team fee) with a GK coach. DD's previous club only offered occasional GK training -- 3 or 4 sessions in the fall and 3-4 in the spring). New club offers GK-specific training twice a week throughout the spring and fall. Goalies then participate in regular team trainings when they don't conflict. Private GK training and clinics get expensive quickly.

Sorry, not in MoCo, so can't offer any specific suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

LMAO! You don't have a choice of teams. They choose A or D and you accept or go elsewhere.

When you join travel you should be ready in go in 100%. It's really not fair to your teammates or people who wanted your spot. It may be 1 hr games or practice changes on any day.

If you cannot make it a priority, you should consider MSI / ppa or a group that is less serious.

Sorry, this is one of my pet peeves.

Anonymous wrote:

As to how far you travel....There are several different leagues and most clubs have teams that play in different leagues depending on their commitments. For example, some clubs play ECNL. Their top team is required to play in ECNL league, their 2nd team might play in EDP, their 3rd in NCSL. Maybe top team plays CCL and 3rd teams play NCSL...so this is hard to explain to you but.....The basic geographic area is Baltimore, to Frederick, DC down through Fredericks burg out to Falquier County. Some leagues include VA Beach, Roanoke, Richmond, etc. Some leagues include teams from PA and the Carolinas. All depends on which leagues the team plays in.

Are they traveling to these places every week? Or just for tournaments?

If, at some point down the road, my kid makes the top team, and that team travels further than I am comfortable with, can I just ask for him to be put on a lower team?

I guess I'm really confused by how the kid ends up on a specific team, and how much choice we have. Can we say we need a team that doesn't do Tuesdays, if he has a commitment, or that I am only willing to go places that require overnight travel twice a season?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

LMAO! You don't have a choice of teams. They choose A or D and you accept or go elsewhere.

When you join travel you should be ready in go in 100%. It's really not fair to your teammates or people who wanted your spot. It may be 1 hr games or practice changes on any day.

If you cannot make it a priority, you should consider MSI / ppa or a group that is less serious.

Sorry, this is one of my pet peeves.

I guess I am just getting more confused. I hear people using the word "club" and I don't know what that means. Like is MSI a club? But then how does MD Fusion play "in MSI"? Do you try out for a club and they tell you -- this is the team you got (that's how hockey works), or do we have to talk to each team in the club? If so, can he get multiple offers and choose, or if the A team wants him, then the B team can't have him, even if we decide that the A team won't work?

Do people really not have limits or information before they pick a club or a team? Again, in hockey, I knew going in that my kid would be playing against teams in this radius. I knew that they'd practice at A or B rink. I knew that practice would be X number of times a week, and I could use all that info to decide whether I wanted him to play here or there.

I still don't even know if this is something I can afford. None of the programs have prices on their websites.