Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you do when you hate your travel team, but you still have March-June left to play with them?

These contracts suck.

Do YOU hate it, or does your kid hate it? If the latter, then let him/her take a break from travel in the spring and either work with a trainer and/or join a rec team with his/her school friends. Exit gracefully and let the coach know that you're concerned for your kid's well-being and love for the game. If you hate it because you think the coaching is sub-par, or that your kid belongs on the top team and has been overlooked, or because the team manager is disorganized, or because your son or daughter isn't getting the playing time in games that he/she deserves,or because the fellow parents are a nightmare, then power through the final season and spend your time researching other clubs prior to tryouts. Remind yourself that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that as long as your kid is staying active and having fun, then it's not the end of the world if these other factors are out of whack for a few months. Don't project your own adult-level concerns onto your kid and ruin his/her experience over things that make you unhappy but aren't necessarily bothering your kid.

We've had kids leave and join our club mid-year so it's not unheard of to make a change. It's not ideal, and you'll probably forfeit your money, but if your kid is miserable or you're so miserable you can't bear to take your kid there, then make a change. But I think that should only be done in extreme circumstances. I don't recommend burning bridges in travel soccer. That coach you burn now may reappear somewhere else in the future (at ODP, or in your new club, etc.) - it's a small community where coaches/trainers are constantly moving around.

Part of this is teaching your kid that sometimes he/she will find himself in circumstances that aren't ideal (like a college class or a job or internship that sucks) and you gut through them, do the legwork to change those circumstances, but you fulfill your commitment and remain 'professional' through the process.

Good luck - I know it sucks to spend all this time and money on a situation that is wrong for your kid or family. But, at the end of the day, 4 months is not that much time in the scope of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, U8 rec players born in 07 will be trying out for U10 travel teams against nearly full teams of players who already played 1 year (2 seasons) of travel at U9. U9 rec players born in 06 will tryout with U9 and U10 players born in 06 for U11. That seems a little sad.

They will be trying out with kids at age. The teams will not be "full" as they will likely have 06's that must move up. It would not be uncommon for rising U9's to be trying out against kids who had played up the year before.

Spend your spring getting some extra clinics or get a couple of parents to go in on some private training sessions to work on some things that your kids will likely experience at a tryout. Don't do these to make them better players necessarily, but to get them familiar with how a tryout is run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, U8 rec players born in 07 will be trying out for U10 travel teams against nearly full teams of players who already played 1 year (2 seasons) of travel at U9. U9 rec players born in 06 will tryout with U9 and U10 players born in 06 for U11. That seems a little sad.

They will be trying out with kids at age. The teams will not be "full" as they will likely have 06's that must move up. It would not be uncommon for rising U9's to be trying out against kids who had played up the year before.

Spend your spring getting some extra clinics or get a couple of parents to go in on some private training sessions to work on some things that your kids will likely experience at a tryout. Don't do these to make them better players necessarily, but to get them familiar with how a tryout is run.

And, good coaches can differentiate between a kid who looks good because he's played a year already, and one who is new to travel but has good raw materials (athleticism, awareness, coachability, etc) to be developed into a good player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, U8 rec players born in 07 will be trying out for U10 travel teams against nearly full teams of players who already played 1 year (2 seasons) of travel at U9. U9 rec players born in 06 will tryout with U9 and U10 players born in 06 for U11. That seems a little sad.

They will be trying out with kids at age. The teams will not be "full" as they will likely have 06's that must move up. It would not be uncommon for rising U9's to be trying out against kids who had played up the year before.

Spend your spring getting some extra clinics or get a couple of parents to go in on some private training sessions to work on some things that your kids will likely experience at a tryout. Don't do these to make them better players necessarily, but to get them familiar with how a tryout is run.

And, good coaches can differentiate between a kid who looks good because he's played a year already, and one who is new to travel but has good raw materials (athleticism, awareness, coachability, etc) to be developed into a good player.

That hasn't been our experience .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do when you hate your travel team, but you still have March-June left to play with them?

These contracts suck.

Do YOU hate it, or does your kid hate it? If the latter, then let him/her take a break from travel in the spring and either work with a trainer and/or join a rec team with his/her school friends. Exit gracefully and let the coach know that you're concerned for your kid's well-being and love for the game. If you hate it because you think the coaching is sub-par, or that your kid belongs on the top team and has been overlooked, or because the team manager is disorganized, or because your son or daughter isn't getting the playing time in games that he/she deserves,or because the fellow parents are a nightmare, then power through the final season and spend your time researching other clubs prior to tryouts. Remind yourself that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that as long as your kid is staying active and having fun, then it's not the end of the world if these other factors are out of whack for a few months. Don't project your own adult-level concerns onto your kid and ruin his/her experience over things that make you unhappy but aren't necessarily bothering your kid.

We've had kids leave and join our club mid-year so it's not unheard of to make a change. It's not ideal, and you'll probably forfeit your money, but if your kid is miserable or you're so miserable you can't bear to take your kid there, then make a change. But I think that should only be done in extreme circumstances. I don't recommend burning bridges in travel soccer. That coach you burn now may reappear somewhere else in the future (at ODP, or in your new club, etc.) - it's a small community where coaches/trainers are constantly moving around.

Part of this is teaching your kid that sometimes he/she will find himself in circumstances that aren't ideal (like a college class or a job or internship that sucks) and you gut through them, do the legwork to change those circumstances, but you fulfill your commitment and remain 'professional' through the process.

Good luck - I know it sucks to spend all this time and money on a situation that is wrong for your kid or family. But, at the end of the day, 4 months is not that much time in the scope of life.

This is really great advice, PP.

The only thing I would add is this: a lot of parents get frustrated with aspects of their child's team, training, etc., and move the child to another club without talking to the current coach or others in the club leadership to see if they can get their concerns resolved. There is generally no harm, and the potential for something to be gained, in asking to meet with the coach to see if he or she can address or at least better explain the issues that are making the parents unhappy. If the issue is with the coach, then at a half-way decent club there will be an age-group coordinator or technical director to talk to. If you have these conversations in a civil, fact-oriented way, you won't burn bridges and may get changes that will make you happy to stay. At a minimum, you'll know you tried and can feel more confident in a decision to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, U8 rec players born in 07 will be trying out for U10 travel teams against nearly full teams of players who already played 1 year (2 seasons) of travel at U9. U9 rec players born in 06 will tryout with U9 and U10 players born in 06 for U11. That seems a little sad.

They will be trying out with kids at age. The teams will not be "full" as they will likely have 06's that must move up. It would not be uncommon for rising U9's to be trying out against kids who had played up the year before.

Spend your spring getting some extra clinics or get a couple of parents to go in on some private training sessions to work on some things that your kids will likely experience at a tryout. Don't do these to make them better players necessarily, but to get them familiar with how a tryout is run.

And, good coaches can differentiate between a kid who looks good because he's played a year already, and one who is new to travel but has good raw materials (athleticism, awareness, coachability, etc) to be developed into a good player.

I cringe whenever I hear about 'developing' a kid just because he's athletic. There are so many more things that go into the equation. Yes, raw speed and quickness, are part of it...but I've seen our club developing a group of 10-12 players for three years now and they look worse then when they started. Other kids catch up physically and surpass with skill. Our club also focuses on ditching the ball and passing back as soon as it touches a player's feet versus developing any creativity, ball skill or personality. Before the technical ball skill is learned, that's a big mistake. The prime years for getting the foundation for those skills is 6-12. If you never get a chance young to test them out while you are young and think for yourself on the field during a game, you'll be mediocre at best by middle school. What I see happen, is the group they "developed" and put all of their resources in really start dropping off at 12-13 years old. They don't have the skill to carry them farther. Then, the clubs claim credit for the kids they overlooked in the first place. Most of these other kids knew they weren't getting any attention at their own club so they had outside trained elsewhere and practiced on their own and that's how they developed.

[Anonymous]

I recommend you guys contacting your Technical Director/ Director of Coaching for more information. The Director should know more about the changes and how the club will proceed for next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend you guys contacting your Technical Director/ Director of Coaching for more information. The Director should know more about the changes and how the club will proceed for next year.

It's February, the clubs/TD should have been relaying this information by now. We still have no idea who the age group coaches will be for the coming year. That is one of the biggest concerns of ours and if we stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do when you hate your travel team, but you still have March-June left to play with them?

These contracts suck.

Do YOU hate it, or does your kid hate it? If the latter, then let him/her take a break from travel in the spring and either work with a trainer and/or join a rec team with his/her school friends. Exit gracefully and let the coach know that you're concerned for your kid's well-being and love for the game. If you hate it because you think the coaching is sub-par, or that your kid belongs on the top team and has been overlooked, or because the team manager is disorganized, or because your son or daughter isn't getting the playing time in games that he/she deserves,or because the fellow parents are a nightmare, then power through the final season and spend your time researching other clubs prior to tryouts. Remind yourself that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that as long as your kid is staying active and having fun, then it's not the end of the world if these other factors are out of whack for a few months. Don't project your own adult-level concerns onto your kid and ruin his/her experience over things that make you unhappy but aren't necessarily bothering your kid.

We've had kids leave and join our club mid-year so it's not unheard of to make a change. It's not ideal, and you'll probably forfeit your money, but if your kid is miserable or you're so miserable you can't bear to take your kid there, then make a change. But I think that should only be done in extreme circumstances. I don't recommend burning bridges in travel soccer. That coach you burn now may reappear somewhere else in the future (at ODP, or in your new club, etc.) - it's a small community where coaches/trainers are constantly moving around.

Part of this is teaching your kid that sometimes he/she will find himself in circumstances that aren't ideal (like a college class or a job or internship that sucks) and you gut through them, do the legwork to change those circumstances, but you fulfill your commitment and remain 'professional' through the process.

Good luck - I know it sucks to spend all this time and money on a situation that is wrong for your kid or family. But, at the end of the day, 4 months is not that much time in the scope of life.

This is really great advice, PP.

The only thing I would add is this: a lot of parents get frustrated with aspects of their child's team, training, etc., and move the child to another club without talking to the current coach or others in the club leadership to see if they can get their concerns resolved. There is generally no harm, and the potential for something to be gained, in asking to meet with the coach to see if he or she can address or at least better explain the issues that are making the parents unhappy. If the issue is with the coach, then at a half-way decent club there will be an age-group coordinator or technical director to talk to. If you have these conversations in a civil, fact-oriented way, you won't burn bridges and may get changes that will make you happy to stay. At a minimum, you'll know you tried and can feel more confident in a decision to leave.

This is all very good advice. I would add that the grass is not always greener at every other club you might move to. I moved my son to a new club a few years ago and most of the fields he ended up playing on were not good. The last game he played with that team the coach kept my son playing after he took a hard hit to the head. He started throwing up in the car on the way home from the concussion. I don't know if keeping him in the game made it worse but I was pretty upset he was forced to keep playing and got no medical attention until my wife took him to the ER. We ended up going back to the original club once he was cleared to play again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding?! What other club in the DMV is a crazy sh*t show!

Most of them.

It is a 3 ring circus and I heard rumor that one of their main clowns (field coordinator) was just let go dt shortage of funds. That should have happened a long time ago. She definitely was a negative contribution to the cancer that has taken over that club.

No. I'll miss her.

To answer the person who asked if it'll be dumped on a volunteer -- no. They just hired someone away from the Washington Spirit to do operations.

VYS has some issues, but yeesh -- the garbage-to-truth ratio on this thread is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding?! What other club in the DMV is a crazy sh*t show!

Most of them.

It is a 3 ring circus and I heard rumor that one of their main clowns (field coordinator) was just let go dt shortage of funds. That should have happened a long time ago. She definitely was a negative contribution to the cancer that has taken over that club.

No. I'll miss her.

To answer the person who asked if it'll be dumped on a volunteer -- no. They just hired someone away from the Washington Spirit to do operations.

VYS has some issues, but yeesh -- the garbage-to-truth ratio on this thread is ridiculous.

Please create a VYS thread to air your stupid dirty laundry, your club isn't that important to monopolize a general interest travel soccer thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding?! What other club in the DMV is a crazy sh*t show!

Most of them.

It is a 3 ring circus and I heard rumor that one of their main clowns (field coordinator) was just let go dt shortage of funds. That should have happened a long time ago. She definitely was a negative contribution to the cancer that has taken over that club.

No. I'll miss her.

To answer the person who asked if it'll be dumped on a volunteer -- no. They just hired someone away from the Washington Spirit to do operations.

VYS has some issues, but yeesh -- the garbage-to-truth ratio on this thread is ridiculous.

Please create a VYS thread to air your stupid dirty laundry, your club isn't that important to monopolize a general interest travel soccer thread.

And stop whining that whoever took away Friday pick up soccer at wherever. If you cared that much about it, you would email your kid's teammates, friends, whoever and say...let's meet at [insert park, parking lot, basketball court, tennis court, etc] and let the kids play pick up. You really need all the hand holding?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone's club provided real information on how it/the leagues/VYSA plan to approach the age group change? We have heard nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone's club provided real information on how it/the leagues/VYSA plan to approach the age group change? We have heard nothing.

Nothing really. I really want them to announce the coaches for each age group.

[Anonymous]

Well! You should contact your club Technical Director or Director of Coaching for more information.