Reasons why you are changing travel teams

[Anonymous]

1. Club doubled their fees this year
2. Assistant coaches coach the games
3. Too many kids

[Anonymous]

The club leadership’s lack of communication and transparency caused us to no longer be happy with the product they were selling. We also didn’t trust that the product wasn’t going to change after we signed up. Not interested in spending $2350 for E licensed coaches. I spend $2500 for A licensed coaches for a different child at a different club/league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The club leadership’s lack of communication and transparency caused us to no longer be happy with the product they were selling. We also didn’t trust that the product wasn’t going to change after we signed up. Not interested in spending $2350 for E licensed coaches. I spend $2500 for A licensed coaches for a different child at a different club/league.

Having a similar issue - paying the big fees 2000+ but they can't tell us who the coach will be and except it will be an assistant coach at the games. How common is this? Is it wrong to expect an A licensed coach when paying that much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Is this CW or someone else?

I bet $10 its Jahon.

My bet is someone else (I won't name). Jaon was always fair to our former MYS player. [/

Nobody at Mclean would agree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^Is this CW or someone else?

I bet $10 its Jahon.

My bet is someone else (I won't name). Jaon was always fair to our former MYS player. [/

Nobody at Mclean would agree with you.

Meaning most likely Jaon.

[Anonymous]

Wow on the fees. That sucks. Our small club (certainly can't compete with the big ones) dropped fees this year by several hundred dollars. I thought that was pretty sweet.
I was wondering about that - not telling you who the coach will be, not knowing who is returning for players... and then being expected to shell out over $2000. Kind of crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there any clubs without toxic parents? These descriptions make me shudder. I have only been around a few of these parents. They pretend they are welcoming and encouraging to everyone and meanwhile they scheme and gossip and talk to the coach about how this child is not very good and should be transferred and this child doesn't create the "right" environment.
How can I avoid these people! In Potomac. Please don't tell me to move. I have thought of this but can't for a few years at least.

I'm not in Potomac and I thought I had found a pretty decent, non-drama Club. Then this week I found out our team manager (a parent) discusses with the Coach which players on our team should be moved up. I have heard parents I used to like publicly dissect every kid on the team and their likelihood for being moved up (or down). And, the criteria they use for their assessment is what one uses who knows absolutely nothing about the game and player development---physical size, kid runs around frantically (which means good), kid can do moves (even though kid dribbles into the ground all of the time and has absolutely zero field awareness), kids that don't pass.

I then had the opportunity to have a 3 minute evaluation with the head coach--haphazardly at the end of practice. This is our 'yearly' evaluation. It's like he forgot which kid he was talking about. Sure my kid has areas to work on like any kid his age--but the two things he suggested were the things that every other trainer and Coach has raved about and see as strengths. The Club also touts a certain philosophy, but then chooses players completely against that 'philosophy'.

So, yea, this is why we are changing to something else entirely.

[Anonymous]

I had a parent tell the Coach that we are thinking of leaving the Club. Parent constantly is asking about our plans and I try to be as vague as possible because really as my kids' preschool teacher used to tell other children "it's not your business".

I guess parent took my aloofness to mean we were out of there and told the Coach. But, seriously, WTF?!?!!! Rats. Travel soccer is full of rats. Maybe if they worried about how their kid played and spent that much time training them, they wouldn't have to scheme to get other kids thrown off a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a parent tell the Coach that we are thinking of leaving the Club. Parent constantly is asking about our plans and I try to be as vague as possible because really as my kids' preschool teacher used to tell other children "it's not your business".

I guess parent took my aloofness to mean we were out of there and told the Coach. But, seriously, WTF?!?!!! Rats. Travel soccer is full of rats. Maybe if they worried about how their kid played and spent that much time training them, they wouldn't have to scheme to get other kids thrown off a team.

Its brutal for sure. Tryout week(s), you really see how parents are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a parent tell the Coach that we are thinking of leaving the Club. Parent constantly is asking about our plans and I try to be as vague as possible because really as my kids' preschool teacher used to tell other children "it's not your business".

I guess parent took my aloofness to mean we were out of there and told the Coach. But, seriously, WTF?!?!!! Rats. Travel soccer is full of rats. Maybe if they worried about how their kid played and spent that much time training them, they wouldn't have to scheme to get other kids thrown off a team.

Its brutal for sure. Tryout week(s), you really see how parents are.

That is my absolute biggest pet peeve. I don't care if parents feel they need to move their kid from club to club to club. But leave the rest of us out of it. Stop trying to get other kids to follow you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a parent tell the Coach that we are thinking of leaving the Club. Parent constantly is asking about our plans and I try to be as vague as possible because really as my kids' preschool teacher used to tell other children "it's not your business".

I guess parent took my aloofness to mean we were out of there and told the Coach. But, seriously, WTF?!?!!! Rats. Travel soccer is full of rats. Maybe if they worried about how their kid played and spent that much time training them, they wouldn't have to scheme to get other kids thrown off a team.

Its brutal for sure. Tryout week(s), you really see how parents are.

That is my absolute biggest pet peeve. I don't care if parents feel they need to move their kid from club to club to club. But leave the rest of us out of it. Stop trying to get other kids to follow you.

Ha! I didn’t want anyone at our former Club to follow us. I really don’t care what any other kid does or where they play. I only look out for my own two kids and realize the same place isn’t always the best fit for both of them.

But the thread you are talking about is not a parent trying to take kids with them. It’s a parent keeping their plans to themselves and another parent pushing them to find out details and then ratting them out.

[Anonymous]

At our (now former) club, the parent politics, coupled with a toxic coach/age group lead, have driven a number of families from the program. Parent volunteers get preferential team placement, playing time, etc. for their kids. The coaches and parents have also displayed awful behavior in front of the children - getting kicked out of tournaments and games, berating their children (and teammates) etc.

It sucks that our generation of sports parents is screwing up so badly, because sports can be so amazing for kids if handled properly. It's no wonder that childhood anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, and for what? How many of these kids are going to be professional soccer players, or even get a D1/3 scholarship? I will never understand what motivates adults to berate children. It destroys a child's motivation and love for the sport, and damages how a child feels about him/herself.

Keeping fingers crossed that the new team/club is better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our (now former) club, the parent politics, coupled with a toxic coach/age group lead, have driven a number of families from the program. Parent volunteers get preferential team placement, playing time, etc. for their kids. The coaches and parents have also displayed awful behavior in front of the children - getting kicked out of tournaments and games, berating their children (and teammates) etc.

It sucks that our generation of sports parents is screwing up so badly, because sports can be so amazing for kids if handled properly. It's no wonder that childhood anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, and for what? How many of these kids are going to be professional soccer players, or even get a D1/3 scholarship? I will never understand what motivates adults to berate children. It destroys a child's motivation and love for the sport, and damages how a child feels about him/herself.

[/b]Keeping fingers crossed that the new team/club is better![b]

Take it from a 30-year veteran, the unicorn doesn't exist. It will take a little while, but you will see their true colors soon enough. Better the devil you know and all that...

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our (now former) club, the parent politics, coupled with a toxic coach/age group lead, have driven a number of families from the program. Parent volunteers get preferential team placement, playing time, etc. for their kids. The coaches and parents have also displayed awful behavior in front of the children - getting kicked out of tournaments and games, berating their children (and teammates) etc.

It sucks that our generation of sports parents is screwing up so badly, because sports can be so amazing for kids if handled properly. It's no wonder that childhood anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, and for what? How many of these kids are going to be professional soccer players, or even get a D1/3 scholarship? I will never understand what motivates adults to berate children. It destroys a child's motivation and love for the sport, and damages how a child feels about him/herself.

[/b]Keeping fingers crossed that the new team/club is better![b]

Take it from a 30-year veteran, the unicorn doesn't exist. It will take a little while, but you will see their true colors soon enough. Better the devil you know and all that...

Good luck.

I have found, at least at our club, the toxic parents are the exception, not the rule. Their true nature comes out eventually. They tend to be the club hoppers so they eventually just go away on their own. Also, I've never seen the parents who volunteer to be the 'bad guys.' Nope, it's usually the parent who never volunteers, never picks up their kid on time, sticks to themselves at games, rarely engages...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our (now former) club, the parent politics, coupled with a toxic coach/age group lead, have driven a number of families from the program. Parent volunteers get preferential team placement, playing time, etc. for their kids. The coaches and parents have also displayed awful behavior in front of the children - getting kicked out of tournaments and games, berating their children (and teammates) etc.

It sucks that our generation of sports parents is screwing up so badly, because sports can be so amazing for kids if handled properly. It's no wonder that childhood anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, and for what? How many of these kids are going to be professional soccer players, or even get a D1/3 scholarship? I will never understand what motivates adults to berate children. It destroys a child's motivation and love for the sport, and damages how a child feels about him/herself.

[/b]Keeping fingers crossed that the new team/club is better![b]

Take it from a 30-year veteran, the unicorn doesn't exist. It will take a little while, but you will see their true colors soon enough. Better the devil you know and all that...

Good luck.

I have found, at least at our club, the toxic parents are the exception, not the rule. Their true nature comes out eventually. They tend to be the club hoppers so they eventually just go away on their own. Also, I've never seen the parents who volunteer to be the 'bad guys.' Nope, it's usually the parent who never volunteers, never picks up their kid on time, sticks to themselves at games, rarely engages...

Then you have had a very different experience than me. The manager is almost always the one whispering in the Coach's ear and his head up the TD's ass. A lot of the people that stick to themselves on the sidelines are the ones that have been burned by the toxicity in the past and can't bear to hear parents criticizing kids who aren't their own or yelling directions to the players on the field.

Yep---sometimes even need to watch from the car if you get a good viewing spot because of the crap.