Talk to me like I just arrived from another planet.

[Anonymous]

What is your goal for your kid?

I mean, seriously. What is the end game here? Do they love this sport and want to make it their one true calling? Does this kid have the genetic disposition to play college-level sports? Were you a college-level athlete? Just what is your goal is with soccer?

I ask because this will determine so much of the answer. If you are seeking to take this to a high level, than by say 12 years old you are talking a minimum 3 or probably 4 practice sessions per week, one game per week, and probably one day of fitness or private coaching, along with a Summer camp. By 14 this will be their only sport.

[Anonymous]

I'm not the most knowledgeable, but I'll try, as a similarly clueless mom.
For MSI :
-- If you do rec, no try-outs. You just register and they place you on a team but if there's a specific team you want, you can request it and you will get it if there is space.

-- For classic, MSI is the league. Some teams participate in the classic league just as teams. But there are also clubs, like Fusion or Arrington, that sponsor teams that use the MSI league. The club provides the coaches, and you pay the club directly - -the club then pays the league the participation fees. There's usually a volunteer parent that manages and coordinates stuff. The club also arranges for the practice permits and decides how often to practice. (Ours is 2x a week). I think the cost varies a lot depending on what they pay their coaches and where they practice (e.g., do they have an indoor practice facility). Embarassingly, I don't know how much ours cost but it is several times more than the rec fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your goal for your kid?

I mean, seriously. What is the end game here? Do they love this sport and want to make it their one true calling? Does this kid have the genetic disposition to play college-level sports? Were you a college-level athlete? Just what is your goal is with soccer?

I ask because this will determine so much of the answer. If you are seeking to take this to a high level, than by say 12 years old you are talking a minimum 3 or probably 4 practice sessions per week, one game per week, and probably one day of fitness or private coaching, along with a Summer camp. By 14 this will be their only sport.

I’d like to echo this poster’s thoughts. I would probably jump in and do a low level travel for the first year — just to get his feet wet. After you’ll need to decide how to best approach it. My DS is 13 and wants to play pro. We know he probably won’t. Statistically it’s stacked against him. But we are able to afford giving him an academy style experience and I like spending the time with him in the car and while traveling so we do it!

But ultimately if he wants to get very serious , he will do a minimum of 3 session a week with club and one game. Then you need to add a private trainer. It’s very very important because club training won’t be enough for him to develop technically. I wouldn’t do athletic training until 14, but you’ll also want to get him closer to a Club Champions League/ ECNL-RL team and then an ECNL or MLS next team. You can look these up. He will need to make a conscious decision to get really good — quick. But just make sure he is having fun. It’s all about the fun for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your goal for your kid?

I mean, seriously. What is the end game here? Do they love this sport and want to make it their one true calling? Does this kid have the genetic disposition to play college-level sports? Were you a college-level athlete? Just what is your goal is with soccer?

I ask because this will determine so much of the answer. If you are seeking to take this to a high level, than by say 12 years old you are talking a minimum 3 or probably 4 practice sessions per week, one game per week, and probably one day of fitness or private coaching, along with a Summer camp. By 14 this will be their only sport.

This person is right, I think. My kid was naturally talented at soccer, and his dad was a college athlete. He has an athletic build and natural "smarts" at the game. But he really likes to hang out with friends, read books, etc. He is just not a kid that wants to go to a structured practice 5 days a week and be placed on a team based on skill level rather than friendship. He plays Classic, which is probably the right result for him. (Rec starts to fall apart starting in around 5th grade, as the better players move up and then it gets hard to field a consistent team or one with a decent quality of play.) I know lots of kids that have dropped out of all other sports to train daily in soccer by 6th grade. At least some of them end up with knee braces by 8th grade and knee surgery in HS. I think the current trend towards really competitive athletics is a real grind for little kids. But I also know that some kids REALLY want that -- they are focused enough to want to do their chosen sport every day in a competitive, structured way. I feel bad for their parents, because I think they have tough decisions about when to tell their kids that they need to scale back for health or balance reasons, versus when to support them in their passion. Kids like mine, that like to play but aren't particularly driven, are a lot easier, although they won't get any sports scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There are lots of prices in this forum. Just search name + cost. True travel 2k-3k. Someone mentioned ppa about 200/ month. When we did a lower level it was 400 for the season. I don't know about msi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your goal for your kid?

I mean, seriously. What is the end game here? Do they love this sport and want to make it their one true calling? Does this kid have the genetic disposition to play college-level sports? Were you a college-level athlete? Just what is your goal is with soccer?

I ask because this will determine so much of the answer. If you are seeking to take this to a high level, than by say 12 years old you are talking a minimum 3 or probably 4 practice sessions per week, one game per week, and probably one day of fitness or private coaching, along with a Summer camp. By 14 this will be their only sport.

My kid's 10. And that fact that that's my initial reaction might mean that we shouldn't be looking at travel, and should choose a classic team. I'm fine with that.

I have a kid who is happiest when he is getting a lot of intense exercise, and a lot of social time. He also likes to play, and he likes to be challenged. Seeking out a level with more intensity, practice time, and challenge than rec seems like it would make him happy.

Does he have the genetic disposition to play college? I think he probably does. My husband had the athletic skills to play in college, but chose something else. I don't have any athletic skills whatsoever, but my kids seem to have Dad's athletic genes.

Does that mean my kid will choose to play in college, or that if he does soccer will be the sport he chooses? I have no idea. He's 10. But I also have another kid who was really into a sport in 6th grade, and is looking like he's going to choose something completely different in high school, so I know kids change their minds.

I get that at 14 he'll probably need to choose a specific sport, but if he plays intense soccer for a year or two and then decides he wants to go back to playing multiple rec sports or try something else at a higher level, I'd be fine with that. I'm not attached to soccer.

[Anonymous]

1. stop thinking about college anything

2. classic is probably fine. the season has probably started by now so might as well stick with your current team this spring and start inquiring about classic teams for the fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. stop thinking about college anything

2. classic is probably fine. the season has probably started by now so might as well stick with your current team this spring and start inquiring about classic teams for the fall

Yeah I am looking for fall.

I only brought up college because someone asked.

[Anonymous]

Go back. We are destroying our own happiness.

[Anonymous]

“Hello. Take me to your leader.”

[Anonymous]

Nanu nanu!

[Anonymous]

"Is that a horn on your three-eyed head or are you just happy to see me?"

[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.

Good info but msi is not run by the Moco government/county.