Travel Soccer teams around NOVA let's discuss

[Anonymous]

My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New Yorkers are really bad too. The first time my kid played against a NY team 7 yrs ago at U9, it struck me how loud and obnoxious they were. And they don't adhere to the "sit on the half of the field opposite your own team" so they were mixed in with our parents. Every time since then I've had to move away from NY parents sitting in the "wrong" half of the field.

What is up with that???

You are supposed to sit directly across from your home team's bench!! Do not sit pass the mid-line Parents still don't do this in the DMV. Don't get me started on behind the goal spectators.

Some host Bethesda parents in the Bethesda tournament stayed across from our bench the entire game and it just creates tension having to hear the other parents say sh*t about your team/players. I was ready to lose my mind.

Yep. We got this from the DMV parents. Spread out from the halfway point in both directions.

Or the ones that switch halves at halftime so they can be in the half that their player is in. I guess they need to be close enough that the player can hear them shouting commands/encouragement?? That is extreme helicoptering if you can't just watch an entire game from one position and keep your mouth shut.

I only saw the switching from goalkeeper parents, and give them the benefit of the doubt that it had to do with anxiety about strong winds and light goals. But my kid is still young, so it may be different in older ages.

This wasn't specific to this weekend, this is over years of games... It's the super-star forward's parents or the defender's parents, in addition to the keeper's parents. It is crazy to me to think that you need to be as.close.to.where.your.kid.will.touch.the.ball.as.possible in order for you to feel like you can watch a game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

land the helicopter and just watch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

Really?

I enjoy watching the games with the other parents from our team. We get along well, and it's a combination of socializing and game watching. Sitting among the other team's parents would make me feel like I skipped a party I was invited to and instead crashed someone else's.

But, I also am not one to critique my child's performance after the game, so maybe it's a difference in how we view the games and our role in them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

Really?

I enjoy watching the games with the other parents from our team. We get along well, and it's a combination of socializing and game watching. Sitting among the other team's parents would make me feel like I skipped a party I was invited to and instead crashed someone else's.

But, I also am not one to critique my child's performance after the game, so maybe it's a difference in how we view the games and our role in them.

THIS!! Parents have no "role" in the game other than transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

Really?

I enjoy watching the games with the other parents from our team. We get along well, and it's a combination of socializing and game watching. Sitting among the other team's parents would make me feel like I skipped a party I was invited to and instead crashed someone else's.

But, I also am not one to critique my child's performance after the game, so maybe it's a difference in how we view the games and our role in them.

THIS!! Parents have no "role" in the game other than transportation.

Transportation and role model for good sportsmanship, which includes coping with disappointment, offering support and encouragement, and treating coaches, refs, and opponents with respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

Really?

I enjoy watching the games with the other parents from our team. We get along well, and it's a combination of socializing and game watching. Sitting among the other team's parents would make me feel like I skipped a party I was invited to and instead crashed someone else's.

But, I also am not one to critique my child's performance after the game, so maybe it's a difference in how we view the games and our role in them.

THIS!! Parents have no "role" in the game other than transportation.

Transportation and role model for good sportsmanship, which includes coping with disappointment, offering support and encouragement, and treating coaches, refs, and opponents with respect.

And telling them that you love to watch them play I suppose. Forgot that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

Really?

I enjoy watching the games with the other parents from our team. We get along well, and it's a combination of socializing and game watching. Sitting among the other team's parents would make me feel like I skipped a party I was invited to and instead crashed someone else's.

But, I also am not one to critique my child's performance after the game, so maybe it's a difference in how we view the games and our role in them.

THIS!! Parents have no "role" in the game other than transportation.

Transportation and role model for good sportsmanship, which includes coping with disappointment, offering support and encouragement, and treating coaches, refs, and opponents with respect.

and treat your player with respect by letting them play without you shouting out commands from the nearest vantage point

[Anonymous]

You all sound like you are following the PC positive sports parenting script to a T. What happens if one of your team parents slips up and says something spontaneous like "Come on ref!" after an egregious call? Is the person shunned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all sound like you are following the PC positive sports parenting script to a T. What happens if one of your team parents slips up and says something spontaneous like "Come on ref!" after an egregious call? Is the person shunned?

Depends... does he slip up once or does he have a spontaneous outburst after each call?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all sound like you are following the PC positive sports parenting script to a T. What happens if one of your team parents slips up and says something spontaneous like "Come on ref!" after an egregious call? Is the person shunned?

Maybe you should try it sometime. We had an entire team of parents who were positive and encouraging 99% of time, shouted no commands (leaving that to the coaches), and who, on the rare occasions they got frustrated with a ref, apologized. It was rather remarkable to see that team develop. There was no in-fighting, no ball hogs, no dirty players. By their second year together, they were winning every game and at least in the finals in their tournaments.

Sadly, the birth year change split the team up (club didn't allow playing up). But the experience made me a believer in the positive parenting. The kids took more chances, played with more enthusiasm, and couldn't wait to get to practice, couldn't be dragged away at the end. 1.5 hour practice turned into 3 hours because everyone showed up early, and stayed late, scrimmaging or shooting or kicking around without adult involvement. And I think the pure joy they had in the game outweighed any constructive criticism we could've given them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is winter soccer training valuable or are your kids playing a different sport instead?

winter soccer training and basketball. It has proven valuable if done as a team for when the spring season starts as everyone is on the same page and likely ahead of where they left off in the Fall. Individually I have seen where those that put in the work are better off then those that took it easy. Same in summer.

It depends on your child's level of play I think and where he or she wants to be in the future. If he doesn't touch a ball for 2 months, yeah, there will be a drop off in play.

Any "drop-off" regardless of level, would simply be rust and perhaps conditioning. Nobody is going to be left behind because you hung up the cleats for two months.

And nobody is going to become Messi during those two months either. It is a process that is long, slow and has many stages.

Winter training can help improve kids quickly if they are lower on skill. The extra work can have a greater relative impact. For older, or more experienced kids, winter might be a good time to focus more on some weaknesses among them could be fatigue which would require simple rest and recovery.

Every kid is different. It would be a good idea to ask the coach what things they should work on, if anything, over the break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all sound like you are following the PC positive sports parenting script to a T. What happens if one of your team parents slips up and says something spontaneous like "Come on ref!" after an egregious call? Is the person shunned?

Maybe you should try it sometime. We had an entire team of parents who were positive and encouraging 99% of time, shouted no commands (leaving that to the coaches), and who, on the rare occasions they got frustrated with a ref, apologized. It was rather remarkable to see that team develop. There was no in-fighting, no ball hogs, no dirty players. By their second year together, they were winning every game and at least in the finals in their tournaments.

Sadly, the birth year change split the team up (club didn't allow playing up). But the experience made me a believer in the positive parenting. The kids took more chances, played with more enthusiasm, and couldn't wait to get to practice, couldn't be dragged away at the end. 1.5 hour practice turned into 3 hours because everyone showed up early, and stayed late, scrimmaging or shooting or kicking around without adult involvement. And I think the pure joy they had in the game outweighed any constructive criticism we could've given them.

Come on. I think you guys give your self too much credit for their development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all sound like you are following the PC positive sports parenting script to a T. What happens if one of your team parents slips up and says something spontaneous like "Come on ref!" after an egregious call? Is the person shunned?

Maybe you should try it sometime. We had an entire team of parents who were positive and encouraging 99% of time, shouted no commands (leaving that to the coaches), and who, on the rare occasions they got frustrated with a ref, apologized. It was rather remarkable to see that team develop. There was no in-fighting, no ball hogs, no dirty players. By their second year together, they were winning every game and at least in the finals in their tournaments.

Sadly, the birth year change split the team up (club didn't allow playing up). But the experience made me a believer in the positive parenting. The kids took more chances, played with more enthusiasm, and couldn't wait to get to practice, couldn't be dragged away at the end. 1.5 hour practice turned into 3 hours because everyone showed up early, and stayed late, scrimmaging or shooting or kicking around without adult involvement. And I think the pure joy they had in the game outweighed any constructive criticism we could've given them.

Come on. I think you guys give your self too much credit for their development.

Then you're misunderstanding my point.

I give the coaches and players all the credit for their development. The point is, by backing off them and letting the coaches coach and the kids have fun and play, we stopped interfering with their development, which is what I keep seeing from the over-coaching parents. Kids whose love of soccer keeps declining year after year of listening to overinvolved parents critique their performance, or kids whose response to the critiquing is to start becoming the critic of all their teammates, and then half the team has to be cajoled into showing up for practice, because as much as they love going to the games and winning, they barely like their teammates or their teammates' parents and after awhile, the sight of a soccer ball brings pressure instead of joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son plays forward and mid. When he plays mid I sit in the middle of the field, sideline of course. When he plays forward I switch sides as he does to watch his play. I don't scream from the sideline. I do it for conversation after the game about positives and negatives. I also sit mixed in with the other teams parents. It doesn't bother me. I don't scream or even talk. It also entertains me to hear the crap talking about my son and his team because they usually do well.

I am this poster and I forgot to add my son plays at the oldest age group this year. Like many great club teams at older age his team is compiled of kids from 6 high schools. The parents don't have many "parties" and we stopped looking for hotels with pools about 3 years ago. I used to sit with all the team parents and we would talk about whatever while watching. But it's different now. We don't seclude ourselves from each other but we don't talk about wine or sleepovers for the boys either