Spring 2017 soccer club tryouts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone noticed that the last two posts say the following?

1. Youth soccer is a joke. At tryouts, they only look at the people who are already with the club, not any of the new people.

2. Youth soccer is a joke. At tryouts, they bring in a bunch of new people and bump out the people who have been with the club.

But we can all agree youth soccer is a joke, right?

You mad? If your kid is good, he/she will be spotted. Coaches always have 10-20% of the roster on the bubble or vacant to give room to a potential new add on. I'm blunt to most parents on the sidelines, "if your kid is top team material we will all see it."

I think the point sailed over your head. Read 1 and 2 again and compare.

In our case the Coach did see it as well as every parent on the team. First year, low team. Within weeks coach was telling age group head (total dolt who later was demoted) to move him up, repeatedly. Deaf ears. Coach left Club in spring. Nothing ever happened.

So even if coach is your advocate, in some Clubs it doesn't mean shit. We had a similar thing with our other child at first tryout. Dummies that didn't see the kids all year making the roster decisions on dubious terms. That's when we realized it is always this way at this Club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Arlington Soccer post tryout results online? So instead of a caring phone call from a coach role model, young boys and girls find out online that their coach moved them down 1 or 2 teams, and then the family just goes the whole summer with no courtesy call from the coach and starts up in the Fall with the new team/coach??? Wondering how it works from those who have already been through this. I know players moving up get LOTS of contact and feedback pre-tryouts about their potential movement, but do the Arlington coaches really blow off the players moved down and never even five the player feedback or explanation?

Or maybe it is just the bad coaches? Or maybe feedback is only for the players and families that bother to follow up and ask for an explamation , although I imagine most aren't apt to bother doing that for obvious reasons. TIA.

Some have been give no indication they will. E cut. Evaluations don't include any helpful info. In fact, seen praise and then the following week demotion. It's fucking weird.

That's unbelievable to me. You have a coach for an entire year, they say nothing before tryouts, move you down on some Internet public posting, say nothing after tryouts and nothing all summer. Am I missing another point of view here? How is this not outrageous? I would think coaches care about players. There has to be some reason . . .

From my experience in travel soccer, you would be wrong.

My son tried out for travel for the first time this year and they separated the kids into those who were on travel now and those who were new. The ones who were new barely got a look. Why have everyone try out again if you aren't going to give consideration to all the players? It felt like such a farce. I know my kid is pretty good as he has made other teams but ASA is the most convenient for us and the whole thing was just a big fake show.

It isn't the only fake show around. I am realizing it happens pretty much everywhere. My kid was on the lower end of a A team mainly due to lack of speed and aggressiveness at U9. His touch and technique are leaps above many on his team but he wasn't even paired with his own teammates at tryouts while new kids from a different club get new looks and their parents are offering themselves as a packaged deal bump off boys that don't help the team win the U-Little World Cup. American Youth Soccer is a shit show all around. Clubs say it's all for development at this age but their nature is to develop the winning team even at the lowest of ages. The coaches might not even realize what they are doing.

Yup. Same for the girls too.

DD just got demoted down a team in Arlington.

No heads up, explanation, or call from head coach

just the Internet list. Next will be the generic email asking for acceptance and payment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Arlington Soccer post tryout results online? So instead of a caring phone call from a coach role model, young boys and girls find out online that their coach moved them down 1 or 2 teams, and then the family just goes the whole summer with no courtesy call from the coach and starts up in the Fall with the new team/coach??? Wondering how it works from those who have already been through this. I know players moving up get LOTS of contact and feedback pre-tryouts about their potential movement, but do the Arlington coaches really blow off the players moved down and never even five the player feedback or explanation?

Or maybe it is just the bad coaches? Or maybe feedback is only for the players and families that bother to follow up and ask for an explamation , although I imagine most aren't apt to bother doing that for obvious reasons. TIA.

Some have been give no indication they will. E cut. Evaluations don't include any helpful info. In fact, seen praise and then the following week demotion. It's fucking weird.

That's unbelievable to me. You have a coach for an entire year, they say nothing before tryouts, move you down on some Internet public posting, say nothing after tryouts and nothing all summer. Am I missing another point of view here? How is this not outrageous? I would think coaches care about players. There has to be some reason . . .

From my experience in travel soccer, you would be wrong.

My son tried out for travel for the first time this year and they separated the kids into those who were on travel now and those who were new. The ones who were new barely got a look. Why have everyone try out again if you aren't going to give consideration to all the players? It felt like such a farce. I know my kid is pretty good as he has made other teams but ASA is the most convenient for us and the whole thing was just a big fake show.

It isn't the only fake show around. I am realizing it happens pretty much everywhere. My kid was on the lower end of a A team mainly due to lack of speed and aggressiveness at U9. His touch and technique are leaps above many on his team but he wasn't even paired with his own teammates at tryouts while new kids from a different club get new looks and their parents are offering themselves as a packaged deal bump off boys that don't help the team win the U-Little World Cup. American Youth Soccer is a shit show all around. Clubs say it's all for development at this age but their nature is to develop the winning team even at the lowest of ages. The coaches might not even realize what they are doing.

Yup. Same for the girls too.

DD just got demoted down a team in Arlington.

No heads up, explanation, or call from head coach

just the Internet list. Next will be the generic email asking for acceptance and payment.

That sucks. Things like this atleast warrants a 2 sentence email. Treating parents/players like cattle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

I know right. If the kid is clearly better and was already one of the strongest on the team then the coach will want him on the team. If they were previously on the team and he was a good player, the coach knows that and also knows that a try-out playing 4v4 or 5v5 doesn't always translate to a good showing. If they kid was OK on team but someone at try-outs is clearly better, they are likely to take a chance with the better player. That's just how it works. They are not going to turn away a talented player that could make the team and those around them better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

I think we could all do without the politics and ass-kissers.

My policy is to never talk assignments. I sure have seen a lot of horseshit in a few short years. The other two are fine.

[Anonymous]

At what age does team placement/level really matter? I thought they weren't really supposed to be tiered until U12?
And is there an age at which it sort of stabilizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

I think we could all do without the politics and ass-kissers.

My policy is to never talk assignments. I sure have seen a lot of horseshit in a few short years. The other two are fine.

Years ago when we lived on the west coast, the club we were at would rotate the coaches to build teams during tryouts. Basically, a coach that was not assigned to the previous year's team would do a full assessment on every player that tried out. They would roster the teams without any knowledge of the previous year's performance or status. In fact, he/she would only know them by number. This could be a coach from another age group or on the other gender's side. Once the roster was built, the assigned coach would take over to train and of course had the ability to reshuffle (but it was pretty spot on in terms of skills so we didn't really see much movement). The tryouts were longer and it wasn't spread across weeks, this was like a 3-4 day tryout in a row. I think they did this up to U12/U13. Their message to the parents was pretty simple, "it is not a perfect solution, but the kids know that they have to earn it every time."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

I think we could all do without the politics and ass-kissers.

My policy is to never talk assignments. I sure have seen a lot of horseshit in a few short years. The other two are fine.

Years ago when we lived on the west coast, the club we were at would rotate the coaches to build teams during tryouts. Basically, a coach that was not assigned to the previous year's team would do a full assessment on every player that tried out. They would roster the teams without any knowledge of the previous year's performance or status. In fact, he/she would only know them by number. This could be a coach from another age group or on the other gender's side. Once the roster was built, the assigned coach would take over to train and of course had the ability to reshuffle (but it was pretty spot on in terms of skills so we didn't really see much movement). The tryouts were longer and it wasn't spread across weeks, this was like a 3-4 day tryout in a row. I think they did this up to U12/U13. Their message to the parents was pretty simple, "it is not a perfect solution, but the kids know that they have to earn it every time."

That is great. However, I could see our slimy Club telling the parents they are doing that and not having current coaches at tryouts---but then still have TD and others set the team as they want. It's known (and coaches have indicated this privately) that TD moves players where they want them even if it goes against evaluators/coaches. Often--these are the political moves.

It only works if you are at an honest place. Frankly, it would be to Club's advantage to advertise it is completely blind. The coaches also wouldn't need to feel bad about seeing families of players demoted since they had no input.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what age does team placement/level really matter? I thought they weren't really supposed to be tiered until U12?
And is there an age at which it sort of stabilizes?

They are tiered from Day 1. No stabilization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do kids who are slow at ages 10-11 speed up later?

I can't answer in general but my older son was chubby and slow at 10-11 and then between 7th/8th grade grew 8 inches, slimmed out and now is markedly faster. He made the team he didn't make the year before when he was chubby and slow. We didn't bother to try out again for the one that told him he would never be a travel soccer player at U9. These kids can change so much when they hit puberty, for better or worse. Puberty happened to be kind to my son.

Yep. My kid was an enormous chubby baby/toddler and a husky (but fast) first/2nd grader.

Theyboegged him as slow his first year of tryouts---mainly by first sight. He excelled greatly and his. Is h kept telling RD and those above they made a placement mistake but to deaf ears.

He is now 11.5 and one of the younger U12s and now dwarfed by the middle schoolers on his team. Now as one of the smaller kids on his current team--he plays whole game and is a clutch player.

The first club left such a sore taste in my mouth. Ironically, all of the kids they praised and said were unbelievable at 8--none of them are on the Ateam 3 years later. Many are in the lowest team going into U13 and their parents are pissed.

We are experiencing the great irony as well. The smug parents that walked around at U9/U10 saying anyone that complained about placement was delusional and their kid was no good. Now at U13, every single one of those players was dropped down, some as far as the bottom team. Guess which parents are running around crying now? Our kids have now moved up and they are crying it's so unfair to their children. It can only be an error if it's their child.

The funny thing about youth soccer, is that kids develop at different paces. A star at U9 isn't necessarily a star at U13, and a dud at U12 can be a star by U16, hence the whole "demotion/promotion" thing. They are placed where they belong according to their development. I know that is not a popular mindset, but it is just how it is, delusions of grandeur notwithstanding.

Except in the instances that the kid was a standout on the team and at tryouts at U9 and placed very poorly. Then, is still a standout down the road and moved up (and Club takes credit for the miraculous development ). No, you f*ckfaces, he was the same younger and you just about destroyed all confidence completely when you kept repeatedly overlooking the kid--even when coaches tried to tell you this and the results were tangible.

Ah yes, the coach is out to get lil johnny. MOVE CLUBS if you aren't happy, there are a million clubs in the area and bitching about it here does nothing. Maybe he was overlooked because he just wasn't a good fit, just because a kid can do a step over does not mean he should be on the team. Wish parents would stop bitching. Skills, fit, and politics are all a part of travel soccer....accept it.

I know right. If the kid is clearly better and was already one of the strongest on the team then the coach will want him on the team. If they were previously on the team and he was a good player, the coach knows that and also knows that a try-out playing 4v4 or 5v5 doesn't always translate to a good showing. If they kid was OK on team but someone at try-outs is clearly better, they are likely to take a chance with the better player. That's just how it works. They are not going to turn away a talented player that could make the team and those around them better.

You all are completely missing the point. Scenario: Coaches from lower teams repeatedly telling upper team coaches and TD a player needs to be moved up. TD and age group head never bothering to even look at the player or take lower coaches recommendations.

Kid being the strongest on mixed indoor futsal league team with upper team players and still not getting moved.

[Anonymous]

I am debating whether it makes sense to spend another year (U12) at the bottom level travel team? My kid is going on 11 and loves the game, but has never been a top performer. Anyone been here? What have you done?