Please help a travel soccer newbie - 7 yo boy

[Anonymous]

Hi all - just looking for some bare-bones info. I have a just turned 7 year old (April 2011) who currently plays MSI. He's clearly one of the 2-3 best players on the team and is getting frustrated with the kids who have no inclination or interest. A quick Google shows that Bethesda / Potomac U8 tryouts are basically.... today. I know there are a lot of options with varied pros and cons.

Any advice on how to proceed? We are in Potomac, if it matters.

[Anonymous]

Our son was in the exact same boat two years ago. We chose Potomac and have been mostly happy. But it was a big adjustment for our son going from the strongest player to sitting on the bench a lot. I would just make sure your son understands that the level of play will be quite different and most coaches will not give even playing time. .

You need to register online before showing up for tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP. Do you think he'd have been 'behind' had he started a year or two later? I'm just not sure he needs to move and he may be frustrated with the benching. Hard to decide what to do!

[Anonymous]

You won't know if that's an option for him if you don't let him try out. Take him to the try-out and see how he does and what kind of feedback he gets from the coach. If you have concerns about playing time or where he falls in the line-up, talk them over with the coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, PP. Do you think he'd have been 'behind' had he started a year or two later? I'm just not sure he needs to move and he may be frustrated with the benching. Hard to decide what to do!

It’s hard to say. I definitely think the training is superior to his rec experience so I’m glad he started when he did. However, there’s a boy who recently joined his team from rec and he gets lots of playing time. It’s really hard to predict future ability when they are 7 or 8 or even 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, PP. Do you think he'd have been 'behind' had he started a year or two later? I'm just not sure he needs to move and he may be frustrated with the benching. Hard to decide what to do!

It’s hard to say. I definitely think the training is superior to his rec experience so I’m glad he started when he did. However, there’s a boy who recently joined his team from rec and he gets lots of playing time. It’s really hard to predict future ability when they are 7 or 8 or even 9.

So when you say from rec, you mean MSI? Any experience with this program? Though he may be too young..

http://www.brit-am.com/soccer-tryouts/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won't know if that's an option for him if you don't let him try out. Take him to the try-out and see how he does and what kind of feedback he gets from the coach. If you have concerns about playing time or where he falls in the line-up, talk them over with the coach.

Which tryout would you suggest if he's never done this kind of thing before, and is young and small (but quick and tries really hard)?

[Anonymous]

Bethesda's tryouts for U8 boys were postponed due to the expected storms tonight. I have a U9 son at Bethesda, and we've been very happy with the program. They don't expect kids to come in with skills at that age, though many do because their older siblings play. They give pretty equal playing time to everyone at U8 and U9 in our experience, and don't care about size at all. Quick is a bonus.

We've had kids play at Potomac as well, and it's also a good place to start for a kid this age. A lot of my son's friends have done PPA as sort of a mid-level between MSI and Bethesda. Their kids haven't really developed that quickly skill-wise, but they've all enjoyed the program. Seems expensive for what you get to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, PP. Do you think he'd have been 'behind' had he started a year or two later? I'm just not sure he needs to move and he may be frustrated with the benching. Hard to decide what to do!

It’s hard to say. I definitely think the training is superior to his rec experience so I’m glad he started when he did. However, there’s a boy who recently joined his team from rec and he gets lots of playing time. It’s really hard to predict future ability when they are 7 or 8 or even 9.

So when you say from rec, you mean MSI? Any experience with this program? Though he may be too young..

http://www.brit-am.com/soccer-tryouts/

Yes, MSI. I’ve heard good things about Brit-Am. Interestingly the new technical director at Potomac owns it.

[Anonymous]

So here's a really dumb newbie question: Are coaches annoyed when random parents approach them for feedback or is that expected?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda's tryouts for U8 boys were postponed due to the expected storms tonight. I have a U9 son at Bethesda, and we've been very happy with the program. They don't expect kids to come in with skills at that age, though many do because their older siblings play. They give pretty equal playing time to everyone at U8 and U9 in our experience, and don't care about size at all. Quick is a bonus.

I second this. I have kids at BSC and the top teams have plenty of small players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here's a really dumb newbie question: Are coaches annoyed when random parents approach them for feedback or is that expected?

What do you mean by "random parent?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here's a really dumb newbie question: Are coaches annoyed when random parents approach them for feedback or is that expected?

Some coaches and some are not. Some coaches hate parent interaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son was in the exact same boat two years ago. We chose Potomac and have been mostly happy. But it was a big adjustment for our son going from the strongest player to sitting on the bench a lot. I would just make sure your son understands that the level of play will be quite different and most coaches will not give even playing time. .

You need to register online before showing up for tryouts.

At that age all kids should be getting mostly the same amount of playing time. Are they rotating positions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our son was in the exact same boat two years ago. We chose Potomac and have been mostly happy. But it was a big adjustment for our son going from the strongest player to sitting on the bench a lot. I would just make sure your son understands that the level of play will be quite different and most coaches will not give even playing time. .

You need to register online before showing up for tryouts.

At that age all kids should be getting mostly the same amount of playing time. Are they rotating positions?

This is nice in theory, but in practice, especially with the better teams, that all goes out the window at tournament times.