Harsh Reality for your Beloved Soccer Player

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

I think it is a misnomer that academic scholarships are handed out so much easier than athletic ones. The end goal is for the kid to have a full experience in life. To get an academic scholarship I imagine that the kid will be spending a lot of time alone studying instead of being a member of a team playing soccer for a common cause. Does studying alone with make the kid better than a kid that balances a sport with academics? Do you want to work with a loner who made all A’s and does not know how to work on a team?

Personally I will take the soccer kid over straight A scholarship kid every day.

I’ll have the straight A scholarship kid operate on me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the assessment for goalies? At what age do you see Division I potential?

As soon as they hit their growth spurt.

So if they never spurt but keep growing steadily?

Height matters for keepers for keepers it is that simple.

What height does a keeper girl need to be for D1 consideration?

No less than 5'9'

5'10"-6'1" is the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the assessment for goalies? At what age do you see Division I potential?

As soon as they hit their growth spurt.

So if they never spurt but keep growing steadily?

Height matters for keepers for keepers it is that simple.

What height does a keeper girl need to be for D1 consideration?

No less than 5'9'

5'10"-6'1" is the norm.

How many girl keepers at any age in this area will be that tall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the assessment for goalies? At what age do you see Division I potential?

As soon as they hit their growth spurt.

So if they never spurt but keep growing steadily?

Height matters for keepers for keepers it is that simple.

What height does a keeper girl need to be for D1 consideration?

No less than 5'9'

5'10"-6'1" is the norm.

How many girl keepers at any age in this area will be that tall?

Not many?

[Anonymous]

That play at a D1 level? Maybe 5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

I think it is a misnomer that academic scholarships are handed out so much easier than athletic ones. The end goal is for the kid to have a full experience in life. To get an academic scholarship I imagine that the kid will be spending a lot of time alone studying instead of being a member of a team playing soccer for a common cause. Does studying alone with make the kid better than a kid that balances a sport with academics? Do you want to work with a loner who made all A’s and does not know how to work on a team?

Personally I will take the soccer kid over straight A scholarship kid every day.

First, it is not “misnomer.” That is something that has not been correctly named or identified - in this case, “misnomer” is a misnomer for what you are describing. You actually I mean it is a misconception. And second, no it is not. There are far more academic scholarships than athletic scholarships. Third, you are presenting false choices. There are a handful of jocks with straight As playing top level soccer, and many more jocks with straight As not playing DA or ECNL soccer. And there are plenty of people doing many things beyond and other than travel sports. They are not loners. Their social skills may become better developed because they are dealing with more and different people on a regular basis than kids who spend all their world outside travel soccer is much, much more competitive than most people on these threads either know or acknowledge. But I agree generally that kids who play team sports tend to have very good skills for most work environments. Most top candidates have top grades and team skills. If you are making tradeoffs between academic work and team sports, don’t unless you are going to be a pro. All the time and effort count over the long haul. But by all means do both so long as academic work is not compromised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

I think it is a misnomer that academic scholarships are handed out so much easier than athletic ones. The end goal is for the kid to have a full experience in life. To get an academic scholarship I imagine that the kid will be spending a lot of time alone studying instead of being a member of a team playing soccer for a common cause. Does studying alone with make the kid better than a kid that balances a sport with academics? Do you want to work with a loner who made all A’s and does not know how to work on a team?

Personally I will take the soccer kid over straight A scholarship kid every day.

First, it is not “misnomer.” That is something that has not been correctly named or identified - in this case, “misnomer” is a misnomer for what you are describing. You actually I mean it is a misconception. And second, no it is not. There are far more academic scholarships than athletic scholarships. Third, you are presenting false choices. There are a handful of jocks with straight As playing top level soccer, and many more jocks with straight As not playing DA or ECNL soccer. And there are plenty of people doing many things beyond and other than travel sports. They are not loners. Their social skills may become better developed because they are dealing with more and different people on a regular basis than kids who spend all their world outside travel soccer is much, much more competitive than most people on these threads either know or acknowledge. But I agree generally that kids who play team sports tend to have very good skills for most work environments. Most top candidates have top grades and team skills. If you are making tradeoffs between academic work and team sports, don’t unless you are going to be a pro. All the time and effort count over the long haul. But by all means do both so long as academic work is not compromised.

Righ because life is not meant to be enjoyed. When will kids really get another chance in their lives to truly compete in sport? Your attitude could be the same as what is the point of going to med school if it isn't Harvard?

[Anonymous]

When will the concussion lawsuits start?

[Anonymous]

Anyone who thinks a person’s fate in soccer is decided at 11 has no clue what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks a person’s fate in soccer is decided at 11 has no clue what they are talking about.

An experienced coach can typically tell at that age which players have no chance of playing in college or beyond, but that’s about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks a person’s fate in soccer is decided at 11 has no clue what they are talking about.

An experienced coach can typically tell at that age which players have no chance of playing in college or beyond, but that’s about it.

No they can’t. They think they can, and end up missing out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks a person’s fate in soccer is decided at 11 has no clue what they are talking about.

An experienced coach can typically tell at that age which players have no chance of playing in college or beyond, but that’s about it.

No they can’t. They think they can, and end up missing out.

I think they can tell if a player has the potential for high level D1 at an early age. And they can probably tell with a level of confidence what kids are capable of playing at a collegiate level. There will be some kids who develop and prove them wrong and that is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks a person’s fate in soccer is decided at 11 has no clue what they are talking about.

An experienced coach can typically tell at that age which players have no chance of playing in college or beyond, but that’s about it.

Right, like the coach who said Andi Sullivan wasn’t anything special at 12. Wasn’t Alex Morgan still playing rec at 11?

This thread is something else

[Anonymous]

Hindsight is 20/20

</thread>

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to love this feed. If a parent doesn't know that D1 is a long shot for most soccer players is just ridiculous. While I understand scholarships are what many are looking for academic ones are given more often without the worry of injury. Also, many boys grow a ton after age 12 and their abilities change good or not so. Most of the soccer and field hockey and lax clubs are money makers period. They are not going to definitely get your kid into D1. Does your kid enjoy playing, does your family enjoy spending the money and using up every weekend then awesome go for it.

I think it is a misnomer that academic scholarships are handed out so much easier than athletic ones. The end goal is for the kid to have a full experience in life. To get an academic scholarship I imagine that the kid will be spending a lot of time alone studying instead of being a member of a team playing soccer for a common cause. Does studying alone with make the kid better than a kid that balances a sport with academics? Do you want to work with a loner who made all A’s and does not know how to work on a team?

Personally I will take the soccer kid over straight A scholarship kid every day.

First, it is not “misnomer.” That is something that has not been correctly named or identified - in this case, “misnomer” is a misnomer for what you are describing. You actually I mean it is a misconception. And second, no it is not. There are far more academic scholarships than athletic scholarships. Third, you are presenting false choices. There are a handful of jocks with straight As playing top level soccer, and many more jocks with straight As not playing DA or ECNL soccer. And there are plenty of people doing many things beyond and other than travel sports. They are not loners. Their social skills may become better developed because they are dealing with more and different people on a regular basis than kids who spend all their world outside travel soccer is much, much more competitive than most people on these threads either know or acknowledge. But I agree generally that kids who play team sports tend to have very good skills for most work environments. Most top candidates have top grades and team skills. If you are making tradeoffs between academic work and team sports, don’t unless you are going to be a pro. All the time and effort count over the long haul. But by all means do both so long as academic work is not compromised.

+100
Having just gone through this with my DD (prior ECNL player) all of the above is very true. Strong academics pays off in merit aid and for life. Period. My DD is playing in college but the "pay off" is not what she/we thought it'd be.