youth soccer participation down 23.5% in key 6-12 year age group...

[Anonymous]

^^^ And when I asked what he meant about soccer being for little kids, he said that you do soccer when you are in preshool through around first grade so it is a sport that is more for little kids.

[Anonymous]

My kids left soccer because it was soooo boring. I jumped up and down with joy (not in front of them) when I didn't have to watch that sport any longer. Much prefer the hockey they are now playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids left soccer because it was soooo boring. I jumped up and down with joy (not in front of them) when I didn't have to watch that sport any longer. Much prefer the hockey they are now playing.

+1

My kids play tennis and golf because they are lifetime sports. They practice 7.5 hours of tennis on weekdays and 8 hours of golf on weekend. In the winter break, they go to Florida tennis academy. During spring break, they go to golf academy in Arizona. Private coaching during school years.

I am so happy that they don't like soccer. Most people stop playing soccer after turning college graduation. People continue with Tennis and golf until they die or can no longer play them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked my sixth grader (who plays baseball) how many boys in his grade play soccer. He said three. There are about 100 kids in his grade so 50-ish boys.

I asked why more kids don't play and he said that most of the jock kids want to do contact sports like lacrosse or football instead of soccer because those are tougher where soccer is for little kids.

I asked him why there are so many more kids playing baseball compared to soccer and he said that it is because in baseball you get an off season between spring ball and fall ball, even if you are good or playing travel. He said in soccer if you want to be on a good team you have to play all the time with no break and every single weekend for almost the entire year. He said if baseball was like that he wouldn't want to play anymore because even though he loves baseball he likes having an off season to just relax.

He said more girls play soccer because it is less for little kids for them, but more of them like lacrosse, softball and gymnastics than soccer.

He said everyone loves playing soccer at recess though, just not on teams anymore.

My kid said most boys that play baseball aren’t very fit. Many are chubby. The best athletes in the school play a combination of soccer, lacrosse, basketball and flag football. Often two. Mine play soccer and basketball and ha e always win every fitness test/competition in PE.

[Anonymous]

^^sadly we find this to be true. The full-time baseball players that come out for our team have zero stamina. We have to pull them out of the game after 5 minutes because they are sucking air, bright red and have little coordination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked my sixth grader (who plays baseball) how many boys in his grade play soccer. He said three. There are about 100 kids in his grade so 50-ish boys.

I asked why more kids don't play and he said that most of the jock kids want to do contact sports like lacrosse or football instead of soccer because those are tougher where soccer is for little kids.

I asked him why there are so many more kids playing baseball compared to soccer and he said that it is because in baseball you get an off season between spring ball and fall ball, even if you are good or playing travel. He said in soccer if you want to be on a good team you have to play all the time with no break and every single weekend for almost the entire year. He said if baseball was like that he wouldn't want to play anymore because even though he loves baseball he likes having an off season to just relax.

He said more girls play soccer because it is less for little kids for them, but more of them like lacrosse, softball and gymnastics than soccer.

He said everyone loves playing soccer at recess though, just not on teams anymore.

Where the hell do you live? At our schools it’s: who doesn’t play soccer? And why there are 200 kids at every age group tryout all the way through middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids left soccer because it was soooo boring. I jumped up and down with joy (not in front of them) when I didn't have to watch that sport any longer. Much prefer the hockey they are now playing.

+1

My kids play tennis and golf because they are lifetime sports. They practice 7.5 hours of tennis on weekdays and 8 hours of golf on weekend. In the winter break, they go to Florida tennis academy. During spring break, they go to golf academy in Arizona. Private coaching during school years.

I am so happy that they don't like soccer. Most people stop playing soccer after turning college graduation. People continue with Tennis and golf until they die or can no longer play them.

Please no one play tennis or golf. Both are not even considered sports. Its for the rich kids who are not athletic.

[Anonymous]

The recent posts demonstrate that soccer people do not really care to hear legit reasons why kids do not want to play soccer anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fun is gone too young. Too many parents ruining it for the kids and over-training them younger and younger. Clubs out to make $ and requiring too much structure and too much $$ at an age-inappropriate time.

The organized 90-minute travel practices 3+ times a week almost year round for SECOND graders is ridiculous...add in multiple tournaments each season and long drives and a culture that gives up on 90% of kids in an age group.

This is the issue.

They are burned out before third grad.

Oh stop with throwing “burned out” around. At that age most kids who “quit” simply prefer something else. Isn’t the whole point to simply expose kids to a variety of things and see what sticks? Preferring something else is not burnout. Some of you people are so dramatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids left soccer because it was soooo boring. I jumped up and down with joy (not in front of them) when I didn't have to watch that sport any longer. Much prefer the hockey they are now playing.

+1

My kids play tennis and golf because they are lifetime sports. They practice 7.5 hours of tennis on weekdays and 8 hours of golf on weekend. In the winter break, they go to Florida tennis academy. During spring break, they go to golf academy in Arizona. Private coaching during school years.

I am so happy that they don't like soccer. Most people stop playing soccer after turning college graduation. People continue with Tennis and golf until they die or can no longer play them.

Please no one play tennis or golf. Both are not even considered sports. Its for the rich kids who are not athletic.

If you are this stupid please tell me that you are not raising children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked my sixth grader (who plays baseball) how many boys in his grade play soccer. He said three. There are about 100 kids in his grade so 50-ish boys.

I asked why more kids don't play and he said that most of the jock kids want to do contact sports like lacrosse or football instead of soccer because those are tougher where soccer is for little kids.

I asked him why there are so many more kids playing baseball compared to soccer and he said that it is because in baseball you get an off season between spring ball and fall ball, even if you are good or playing travel. He said in soccer if you want to be on a good team you have to play all the time with no break and every single weekend for almost the entire year. He said if baseball was like that he wouldn't want to play anymore because even though he loves baseball he likes having an off season to just relax.

He said more girls play soccer because it is less for little kids for them, but more of them like lacrosse, softball and gymnastics than soccer.

He said everyone loves playing soccer at recess though, just not on teams anymore.

Where the hell do you live? At our schools it’s: who doesn’t play soccer? And why there are 200 kids at every age group tryout all the way through middle school.

Then your school isn't what OP is taliing ahout.

OP posted wondering why youth soccer numbers are dropping at a significantly higher pace than all the other main youth sports combined.

If your kid's school has hundreds of kids trying out for every team, then you are not the demographic or situation that OP is talking about.

When I read OPs post, I got to thinking and realized I only knew one kid in my sons (FC) 6th grade who played soccer. So I asked him and he said there were three boys, and this is where the discussion led.

I do not have a bone in this fight. Like I said, my boys play baseball. They did soccer for a couple of years because I did soccer, then switched to baseball because they liked it better.

You might not like what he said. He was not slamming soccer and we never said baseball is better, so the immediate defensive attack on baseball and kids who play baseball is stupid and childish (and false as most of the little league kids I know do swim team and a sport like basketball on their off seasons.)

Most of the kids he knows who used to play soccer but dropped switched to lacrosse or football. All of the boys he knows who play baseball still also played soccer when they were little but switched to baseball, some because the off season allows them to try different sports in summer and winter, otyers because they just love baseball.

The kids love playing soccer at recess, it just is not a popular structured sport anymore.

I think it is because of the push for too much too soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids left soccer because it was soooo boring. I jumped up and down with joy (not in front of them) when I didn't have to watch that sport any longer. Much prefer the hockey they are now playing.

+1

My kids play tennis and golf because they are lifetime sports. They practice 7.5 hours of tennis on weekdays and 8 hours of golf on weekend. In the winter break, they go to Florida tennis academy. During spring break, they go to golf academy in Arizona. Private coaching during school years.

I am so happy that they don't like soccer. Most people stop playing soccer after turning college graduation. People continue with Tennis and golf until they die or can no longer play them.

Tennis and golf are great, so is swimming. Most families can't afford the kind of travel or coaching described above, even the price of travel soccer is a real issue for too many Americans. But another issues is camaraderie and learning to play on a team. Golf and tennis aren't team sports- a lot of early year soccer kids probably aren't built for team sports, so they should find their passion. Likewise, many kids don't have the need to run- so baseball's great. My generalizations are that hockey is for people with NE roots and extra money, while Football is for those who haven't yet considered the concussion risk, love the game so much they can't stop, or love the game and expect kids to stop at flag. Soccer is a little kids' sport because it's simple and accessible (on many levels , especially at young ages, and in many communities and countries). But soccer is also an adults' sport because it takes a lifetime to get good and throughout that lifetime is a great avenue for being a part of teams and forming friendships.

One aspect that people haven't touched on is how international and inclusive soccer can be. It's true that travel and rec have different core kids, and different income brackets approach the game differntly, but the game translates and those same kids can play together at any time they happen to converge on a space.

If your kid doesn't like it, don't force them. But if (s)he does, I consider you lucky and you're at a good time because the sport is still growing in this country in popularity (if not participation according to this study).

[Anonymous]

Never thought of tennis as a rich sport...public courts are free...you only need to find one person to join you...rackets can be purchased for $20...tennis ball cost is negligible...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fun is gone too young. Too many parents ruining it for the kids and over-training them younger and younger. Clubs out to make $ and requiring too much structure and too much $$ at an age-inappropriate time.

The organized 90-minute travel practices 3+ times a week almost year round for SECOND graders is ridiculous...add in multiple tournaments each season and long drives and a culture that gives up on 90% of kids in an age group.

This is the issue.

They are burned out before third grad.

Oh stop with throwing “burned out” around. At that age most kids who “quit” simply prefer something else. Isn’t the whole point to simply expose kids to a variety of things and see what sticks? Preferring something else is not burnout. Some of you people are so dramatic.

This is first and second graders. This is way too much and kids are burned out. Third grade wasn't a tipping point for a large amount of kids leaving travel soccer. In fact, the more serious stuff used to start closer to 4th grade.

I see little kids refusing to go to practice or saying 'it'ssss boorrrring' when the professional coaches that have no idea how to interact with younger children try to treat them like 16-year olds. And the parents are usually pushy as hell---over-bearing to the kids so they can show the other parents just how much better their child is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fun is gone too young. Too many parents ruining it for the kids and over-training them younger and younger. Clubs out to make $ and requiring too much structure and too much $$ at an age-inappropriate time.

The organized 90-minute travel practices 3+ times a week almost year round for SECOND graders is ridiculous...add in multiple tournaments each season and long drives and a culture that gives up on 90% of kids in an age group.

This is the issue.

They are burned out before third grad.

Oh stop with throwing “burned out” around. At that age most kids who “quit” simply prefer something else. Isn’t the whole point to simply expose kids to a variety of things and see what sticks? Preferring something else is not burnout. Some of you people are so dramatic.

This is first and second graders. This is way too much and kids are burned out. Third grade wasn't a tipping point for a large amount of kids leaving travel soccer. In fact, the more serious stuff used to start closer to 4th grade.

I see little kids refusing to go to practice or saying 'it'ssss boorrrring' when the professional coaches that have no idea how to interact with younger children try to treat them like 16-year olds. And the parents are usually pushy as hell---over-bearing to the kids so they can show the other parents just how much better their child is.

3 organized 90-minute practices per week and multiple games a weekend a lot of months,, and regular season games with 50minute + drives is not age-appropriate for 2nd/3rd graders. That is why there is burnout. You don't need this to develop players and since in this country it is shitty training anyways...they are better off starting formally later if they have a parent or friend that can help with basics.