Does a market exist for a "travel-lite" club? (I'll describe my idea in this post)

[Anonymous]

Central NJ does this, it is called "inter county soccer". Basically a bunch of towns realized that after U11 the really do not have enough kids to have a rec program so all of the towns got together and made a giant rec program that spans a nice section of central NJ. There ends up being enough teams on the boys side to have 4 or more "levels" of teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BRYC has something like this - the BRYC "bridge" teams. They are separate from BRYC Elite and play in NCSL. They usually are parent coached/run.

I thought they got rid of these

They are still around. They are parent coached and about 1/2 the price of travel. It’s been a great option for our child.

[Anonymous]

My two multi-activity kids (one multi sport, one soccer and theater) both did MSI Classic throughout MS and HS. Both with parent coached teams, and it was very inexpensive ($235ish each season, not including kit which they would wear for 4 seasons/2 years). 2 practices/week, games in Montgomery County (mostly on turf), and one of their teams did a couple of tournaments each year, some local and one involving travel/hotels.

My spouse and I called it travel-lite, because it was competitive, engaging, with their friends, and they continued to learn. Maybe we lucked out, as both of their long-term parent coaches were excellent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two multi-activity kids (one multi sport, one soccer and theater) both did MSI Classic throughout MS and HS. Both with parent coached teams, and it was very inexpensive ($235ish each season, not including kit which they would wear for 4 seasons/2 years). 2 practices/week, games in Montgomery County (mostly on turf), and one of their teams did a couple of tournaments each year, some local and one involving travel/hotels.

My spouse and I called it travel-lite, because it was competitive, engaging, with their friends, and they continued to learn. Maybe we lucked out, as both of their long-term parent coaches were excellent

Yup - you got lucky

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Central NJ does this, it is called "inter county soccer". Basically a bunch of towns realized that after U11 the really do not have enough kids to have a rec program so all of the towns got together and made a giant rec program that spans a nice section of central NJ. There ends up being enough teams on the boys side to have 4 or more "levels" of teams.

Sounds a bit like "town soccer" in Massachusetts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what your plan is missing is multiple practices per week. That is what my child wanted that caused her to move to travel from rec. She wanted 2-3 practices per week and travel offered that. ADP also has 2 practices per week, one parent led and one pro coach led. And then the parent coach does the weekly games.

The ADP program is being updated for the upcoming year and changes will be implemented, including that both the pool and team practices will be overseen by pro coaches. And a pro coach will be present at every game, supporting the parent coach.

Info here: https://arlingtonsoccer.com/programs/adp

What is the impact of these changes on the cost of ADP? How much per season? I can find the rates on the ASA website.

$1,200 per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know about the professional coaches + less than $1k.

In Md, SAM Select and MSI Classic seem to be sort of the model you are looking for… more competitive than rec and the players are more dedicated, but the games are close by and it’s less pressure. We have experience with both.

Two practices a week, one game per week in moco, and a couple of tournaments each season. Many kids play other sports or have other big interests and this allows them to play competitively, train consistently, and still have a life. Both kids a practice or a fame here and there and it’s 100% NBD.

Volunteer coach team is about $1k a year plus kit. Paid coach and bigger club is more like $2k per year.

Classic or SAM Select with a volunteer coach should not cost anywhere close to 1k unless the team is hiring a coach or trainer part time or paying to rent space over the winter, for example.

OP here. Doing closer math, the $1k/year estimate includes two seasons, four tournaments, winter training, and kit. There is zero nickel and diming, it’s all included, which I appreciate, and the team has been a great experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know about the professional coaches + less than $1k.

In Md, SAM Select and MSI Classic seem to be sort of the model you are looking for… more competitive than rec and the players are more dedicated, but the games are close by and it’s less pressure. We have experience with both.

Two practices a week, one game per week in moco, and a couple of tournaments each season. Many kids play other sports or have other big interests and this allows them to play competitively, train consistently, and still have a life. Both kids a practice or a fame here and there and it’s 100% NBD.

Volunteer coach team is about $1k a year plus kit. Paid coach and bigger club is more like $2k per year.

Classic or SAM Select with a volunteer coach should not cost anywhere close to 1k unless the team is hiring a coach or trainer part time or paying to rent space over the winter, for example.

OP here. Doing closer math, the $1k/year estimate includes two seasons, four tournaments, winter training, and kit. There is zero nickel and diming, it’s all included, which I appreciate, and the team has been a great experience.

I hear the sarcasm (and you aren't the OP). The fact that Arlington is going to modify its ADP program to include pro coaches at both team and pool sessions, and at games, for $1200 (fall + spring seasons), suggests that it isn't a pipe dream to aim for a $1000 price point for a program that includes one pro coaching session per week, plus another practice or scrimmage that would involve a volunteer coach.

[Anonymous]

Similar to some of the programs mentioned, Loudoun has their Challenge program that goes from 3rd grade to 6th I think. Basically, the volunteer coaches get a bit more support through the grass roots program and they travel locally in the county to play other challenge teams. The teams are better than rec teams and some can compete with low level travel teams. It cost about $300 a season and jerseys are provided. Perfect for a multisport athlete or a player that just wants a bit more then rec. Like travel, many of these teams stick together through multiple years so they do get to build that team unity.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to revive this post because are doing something like this...

The primary premise is a bunch of Rec kids who could have made a variety of levels of Travel, but didn't want to for a variety of reasons (cost, commitment, etc.). Maybe two 1st team kids, two lower team kids and everyone else in the middle somewhere based on what we've seen and offers made.

We got the blessing of our club to basically create a Rec tourney team (just kids from 3 of 10 teams in total), practice 1x/week and attend a few tournaments. The tourneys have all been great and allowed us to enter in the lowest division.

The cost has been at a non-profit level with simple kits at $40/set and actual cost of each event. Overall cost should be under $300 per player (3 tourneys/kit) plus travel but only one may require and overnight stay.

Parents are coaches but all licensed and growing with the kids and all are improving and having fun.

No idea where this will go but YES, there is a market. I too am a big believer in NOT playing one sport year-round (although I do admit that it is prevalent in many sports).

Soccer is a very different world than many other sports...

[Anonymous]

So you dont play regular rec seasons? Are they carded like travel players?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Over the years, I've seen many kids with good soccer skills drop out of travel soccer because they lack time, or because the parents lack the financial resources. Rec soccer remains an option for these kids, but some of them don't pursue rec soccer because they don't find it challenging. So, soccer stops being a part of their lives.

This leads me to my idea for a new soccer "product". Actually, I think Arlington's ADP program already captures this idea, but it has a max age of 11, so that leaves the kids who are 12+ out in the cold. Here is the idea:

1. Aim for a price of $1000 per year
2. One two-hour practice per week, coached by a pro
3. One scrimmage per week. To save money, there is no coach (just a parent or team manager to supervise).
4. Competes in a lower level of the NCSL (but some teams might be able to aim higher)

Does a market exist for this "product"?

Perhaps this isn't possible in dense, urban suburbs like Arlington due to constraints on field space, but further out it seems like it might be feasible.

Something to bear in mind- NCSL requires players and coaches to be carded through their state association.

Both Virginia and Maryland require at least one coach to be on the roster who also have to upload their current coaching license.

Now can a parent go through US Soccers Coaching Courses? Sure. But it can’t just be a parent. Someone actually has to be licensed.

I am not sure about Virginia but in Maryland MSYSA also requires additional information about your team/club and there are the fees associated with that and processing the carding information. It isn’t cheap.

[Anonymous]

Would this be like AAU basketball for soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to revive this post because are doing something like this...

The primary premise is a bunch of Rec kids who could have made a variety of levels of Travel, but didn't want to for a variety of reasons (cost, commitment, etc.). Maybe two 1st team kids, two lower team kids and everyone else in the middle somewhere based on what we've seen and offers made.

We got the blessing of our club to basically create a Rec tourney team (just kids from 3 of 10 teams in total), practice 1x/week and attend a few tournaments. The tourneys have all been great and allowed us to enter in the lowest division.

The cost has been at a non-profit level with simple kits at $40/set and actual cost of each event. Overall cost should be under $300 per player (3 tourneys/kit) plus travel but only one may require and overnight stay.

Parents are coaches but all licensed and growing with the kids and all are improving and having fun.

No idea where this will go but YES, there is a market. I too am a big believer in NOT playing one sport year-round (although I do admit that it is prevalent in many sports).

Soccer is a very different world than many other sports...

I like this idea and I wish you guys luck! I played rec growing up (we didn't have travel back then) and we did something similar, the1st place rec team got to go play in a big tournament and we could bring in 4 guest players from the other rec teams. It worked very well and we were super motivated to do well and get picked for the end of season tournament.

I wish you guys luck! Like the cool low cost uniform idea too! PS Don't use Capelli lol

[Anonymous]

we're at loudoun and for three years running have had very polite "professional" coaches who are also new college grads with no experience that leave the club after one year