Classic / Select / Not-travel-and-not-rec options in MD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But how does one go about finding a "good" classic team? I mean, for parents who don't know soccer, or aren't able to, say, attend a bunch of games and practices and try to observe and discern whether the kids at a given age level are playing competitive soccer or just kickball --

Wouldn't playing on, say, a C team at a big club be a way of ensuring that even if the kids aren't top level, at least they're being professionally coached and given the best opportunities available for someone at their level of play? Even if these kids are never destined for anyone's A team. Maybe they're really paying for the brand: At least there is some quality control, and it's not just a crapshoot.

I hear a lot of people saying, play Select, play Classic, but for the average parent, where do they go? Most people don't have the time or resources to thoroughly research their 5th grader's potential soccer teams.

Simple.
If you have the time and money, I see no issue with going to a lower team of a reputable club. If you'd like something less intense, pick a Sam Select team with practices nearby. The level of competition can be better that NCSL or other travel leagues and certainly better than Classic. In 5th, Classic games rarely look like soccer.

What does this even mean?

In the games I've seen there's little passing. It is kids kicking in random directions and running to get the ball and then kicking again hoping it goes in the right direction. The difference between Classic and rec is that in Classic they do connect with the ball. In Rec they might miss. Every game isn't like this but a surprising number are like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.esyda.org/teams/elite/u16

Have been consistently winning SAM select for a few seasons now. Could be a good fit for someone who doesn't want the $ and commitment of travel but wants to play with talented players.

I’d bear in mind that winning SAM Select doesn’t necessarily mean the players are talented in terms of technical skill and possession-based play. Many teams at the younger ages play the direct kick and run method which wins games but doesn’t work out too well when the kids get older. These are teams where the coaches mainly just want to win partially to appease the parents. You may want to observe a game or two and/or a practice before committing.

Familiar with this club. You're right about the technical skill, but the kids are good enough that they've dominated at older ages anyway. Lots of talent, athleticism, technically very rough around the edges. If it weren't for pay-to-play, these players would be snapped up by the big name clubs, but I suppose this is where the pay-to-play model fails: I've seen the coach bring extra cleats to games for kids to share, they trade off when a kid gets subbed out...!