PAY to try out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PWSI has always charged a $10 tryout fee for which you get a 'tryout shirt" with the number corresponding to you.

This is going away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:How sad. Poor kids don’t even have the ability to try out for a team.

If they could try out for free, they still couldn't afford thousands of dollars to be on the team.

+1. It isn’t about the best players. It is about the ones who can afford to play.

Clubs offer aid and scholarships. Why not apply? Tryout fees do seem silly though.

The biggest issue is all the silly travel. As expensive as the fees and also requiring a huge time budget. Not aware of clubs that cover travel costs outside of the boys MLS academy teams.

Soccer is not a good activity choice for any family without a very comfortable income.

With all the good clubs in this “hotbed” of soccer, why does anyone feel the need to join a league that plays games in North Carolina and asks for commitments to tournaments in the Midwest?

PP is right: Youth soccer in America is only for wealthy suburbanites who can afford it, a model used nowhere else in the world.

What highly competitive organized sport or activity is inexpensive?

Not sure what point is? Assuming this is true (which may be the case), the question is whether they should be expensive and effectively exclude many kids from participating at all.

Because some things cost money. There are other lower cost options but "Elite" soccer is not a birthright.

No it is not. But understand that the"elite" part refers as much to bank account as it does to talent. Folks confuse the two. If yo go watch some of this so call "elite" soccer you will see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How sad. Poor kids don’t even have the ability to try out for a team.

If they could try out for free, they still couldn't afford thousands of dollars to be on the team.

+1. It isn’t about the best players. It is about the ones who can afford to play.

Clubs offer aid and scholarships. Why not apply? Tryout fees do seem silly though.

The biggest issue is all the silly travel. As expensive as the fees and also requiring a huge time budget. Not aware of clubs that cover travel costs outside of the boys MLS academy teams.

Soccer is not a good activity choice for any family without a very comfortable income.

With all the good clubs in this “hotbed” of soccer, why does anyone feel the need to join a league that plays games in North Carolina and asks for commitments to tournaments in the Midwest?

PP is right: Youth soccer in America is only for wealthy suburbanites who can afford it, a model used nowhere else in the world.

What highly competitive organized sport or activity is inexpensive?

Not sure what point is? Assuming this is true (which may be the case), the question is whether they should be expensive and effectively exclude many kids from participating at all.

Because some things cost money. There are other lower cost options but "Elite" soccer is not a birthright.

No it is not. But understand that the"elite" part refers as much to bank account as it does to talent. Folks confuse the two. If yo go watch some of this so call "elite" soccer you will see.

I put "Elite" in quotations for a reason. But if your take on elite and checkbook are conflated then there is no reason to begrudge the cost of ECNL or DA as you can get a similar game day experience for much less. So, I guess I don't quite understand what it is you believe you or others might be missing out on to even care what a fool and his money does.

[Anonymous]

Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

Since it isn't as special as many think it is don't spend your money on it and don't worry about others doing so.

Thanks for the PSA and consumer advice though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What highly competitive organized sport or activity is inexpensive?

Around me, HS track or cross country and HS basketball to some extent. They obviously cost money from the school budget but anyone is the school community can participate, regardless of income and many of the kids are not spending a fortune on private teams and training to make these teams.

They may be the last ones standing as best I can tell. Others are mostly for affluent kids now and probably going forward. Only other exception is boys soccer for boys with access to a funded MLS academy. In some parts of the world, soccer is very cheap for youth players and the money comes from transfer fees paid for the elite talent developed by the youth clubs. But not here. Here it is for well off kids with a few exceptions.

Are you sure about those sports? I'm not sure why we would be discussing typically publicly funded sports like in HS. but I thought basketball was pretty big at private schools, so someone's paying for it. People I've spoken with have described AAU as not cheap. Between private schools and AAU are you sure it's not pay to play? With the tuition or travel costs.

As far as highly competitive track, not HS, are those very competitive runners not running outside of HS going to meets all over the country? The ones I know are going all over the place and for long weekends, just like soccer. How are they getting there? Who is footing the bill for the outside HS training sessions which I would guess they are utilizing.

I think you are talking apples and oranges with you examples. I'm not sure people are going to HP elite just so that they can make their HS team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

Since it isn't as special as many think it is don't spend your money on it and don't worry about others doing so.

Thanks for the PSA and consumer advice though!

I spend money on what I want and complain about it like any good soccer parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

Since it isn't as special as many think it is don't spend your money on it and don't worry about others doing so.

Thanks for the PSA and consumer advice though!

I spend money on what I want and complain about it like any good soccer parent.

Oh, I get it, ECNL, DA or wherever your kid plays isn’t special but your kid is.

Got it.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda charges for two reasons:

First, it ensures that people are serious and not just signing up, especially kids w/o the knowledge of their parents.

Second, as long as there are enough status-seeking morons in and around MoCo who want to brag to their neighbors that their kid is plays for Bethesda's D team, there will be a market willing to pay $25 to tryout.

[Anonymous]

My kid's soccer club is set up as a nonprofit. I think this is pretty unique? Aside from the fact that they don't turn anyone away for $ reasons, the club raised money to buy a van, which helps with transporting kids around the DMV. Not only does driving long distances cost money, but not everyone actually even owns a car, and lots of folks have to work weekends, too. I just love that there is at least one club attempting to make the sport accessible to all players regardless of ability to pay and transport players.

A couple of the club's star players have apparently been recruited by Bethesda but chose to stay put, mostly because even with scholarships, the travel and schedule were just unworkable for their families.

Clubs looking to recruit the best talent out there might be well-served by considering how to support families like these. Just a thought. But of course it goes beyond any individual club and speaks to the whole model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

Since it isn't as special as many think it is don't spend your money on it and don't worry about others doing so.

Thanks for the PSA and consumer advice though!

I spend money on what I want and complain about it like any good soccer parent.

Oh, I get it, ECNL, DA or wherever your kid plays isn’t special but your kid is.

Got it.

oh brother. get this. the leagues are fine but not that special and getting more diluted with every passing season. mine is good (only folks with good players would ever bother to be in this forum) but not going pro. yours is very likely good but not going pro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid's soccer club is set up as a nonprofit. I think this is pretty unique? Aside from the fact that they don't turn anyone away for $ reasons, the club raised money to buy a van, which helps with transporting kids around the DMV. Not only does driving long distances cost money, but not everyone actually even owns a car, and lots of folks have to work weekends, too. I just love that there is at least one club attempting to make the sport accessible to all players regardless of ability to pay and transport players.

A couple of the club's star players have apparently been recruited by Bethesda but chose to stay put, mostly because even with scholarships, the travel and schedule were just unworkable for their families.

Clubs looking to recruit the best talent out there might be well-served by considering how to support families like these. Just a thought. But of course it goes beyond any individual club and speaks to the whole model.

Can I ask which club this is??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid's soccer club is set up as a nonprofit. I think this is pretty unique? Aside from the fact that they don't turn anyone away for $ reasons, the club raised money to buy a van, which helps with transporting kids around the DMV. Not only does driving long distances cost money, but not everyone actually even owns a car, and lots of folks have to work weekends, too. I just love that there is at least one club attempting to make the sport accessible to all players regardless of ability to pay and transport players.

A couple of the club's star players have apparently been recruited by Bethesda but chose to stay put, mostly because even with scholarships, the travel and schedule were just unworkable for their families.

Clubs looking to recruit the best talent out there might be well-served by considering how to support families like these. Just a thought. But of course it goes beyond any individual club and speaks to the whole model.

Can I ask which club this is??

This one: http://www.esyda.org/about

Folks on this forum probably wouldn't have heard of them - SAM league. I hope they're able to grow and compete at higher levels in the future though. I know that's the plan.

This could be the end of all that, however -- though I certainly hope not.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/youth-soccer-coach-facing-deportation-gets-one-month-reprieve/2019/03/29/6328e536-522a-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html?utm_term=.abb7c18f7909

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only issue is when the fool misunderstand that affording to have the offspring in a fancy"elite" league does not mean the player has elite soccer talent. We have all seen this. Some do and some do not. Some that do are not in the so called "elite" league in spite of the leagues endlessly trotting out the "scholarship" argument that low income talent supposedly has access to these leagues via scholarships. Anyway. It is shiny expensive soccer for kids. harmless and above average but nearly as special as it claims.

Since it isn't as special as many think it is don't spend your money on it and don't worry about others doing so.

Thanks for the PSA and consumer advice though!

I spend money on what I want and complain about it like any good soccer parent.

Oh, I get it, ECNL, DA or wherever your kid plays isn’t special but your kid is.

Got it.

oh brother. get this. the leagues are fine but not that special and getting more diluted with every passing season. mine is good (only folks with good players would ever bother to be in this forum) but not going pro. yours is very likely good but not going pro.

Brother, nothing you are saying is new or novel and has been said by someone just like you since ODP. It is a old and very, very, tired trope.

Blah, blah, soccer is expensive...blah blah... Kids aren't going pro....blah....blah.....

Thanks for your concern though.

[Anonymous]

Potomac = Formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization in 1982
Bethesda = The Club is organized as a nonprofit corporation under the general corporation laws of the State of Maryland to operate exclusively for charitable and educational purposes without regard to race, creed, color, sex or national or ethnic origin.