Route to playing for a HS team

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
I could use some advice. My rising U11 dd would like to eventually play for her high school (MCPS) varsity team (JV freshman year, varsity by senior year I guess). She's not aiming for college play (or maybe it's better to stay that her father an I do not aspire for her to play in college). She loves soccer and will happily play it whenever time allows but we have kept her on a professionally-coached Classic team, partly for cost and partly because we don't want family weekends to become dominated by soccer..

I'm wondering whether MCPS high school teams are so competitive that she really needs to move to/make a club A team to be competitive for spots, or if we can continue on at a mellower pace for a while.

TIA!

[Anonymous]

While HS is not terribly competitive soccer compared to high level Travel soccer a HS player needs to play at a fairly competitive travel level to make a HS team.

Classic soccer likely won't get it done if she isn't dominate at that level. There is no real rush to move her out but she does need to be in a travel environment. It doesn't need to be super high level but at least a NCSL level league wise.

[Anonymous]

Which high school? Is she one of the best on her team? If she is an athletic and aggressive player, I'd wait and see if she makes MS team. If she makes MS team, then you can assess based on that talent pool whether she needs to move into travel. Your MSI trainer might have some thoughts as well.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm not sure if she's best on the team, but definitely strong. She is athletic and aggressive. Other (weaker) players she knows have made A teams at some clubs (but B team at BSC).

High school will be Churchill. I have an older dd whose friends play on the MS team and it's a joke--no real coaching, and I think the travel kids just skipped it. So that won't be much of a test. But I've heard that Churchill is dominated by travel players-- I just don't know if they are A team travel players or something lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not sure if she's best on the team, but definitely strong. She is athletic and aggressive. Other (weaker) players she knows have made A teams at some clubs (but B team at BSC).

High school will be Churchill. I have an older dd whose friends play on the MS team and it's a joke--no real coaching, and I think the travel kids just skipped it. So that won't be much of a test. But I've heard that Churchill is dominated by travel players-- I just don't know if they are A team travel players or something lower.

HS teams are composed of kids from A and B travel teams. A player who can play at a NCSL, low division EDP on up level should be able to make a HS team. If a player is a ODSL level player then it is unlikely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not sure if she's best on the team, but definitely strong. She is athletic and aggressive. Other (weaker) players she knows have made A teams at some clubs (but B team at BSC).

High school will be Churchill. I have an older dd whose friends play on the MS team and it's a joke--no real coaching, and I think the travel kids just skipped it. So that won't be much of a test. But I've heard that Churchill is dominated by travel players-- I just don't know if they are A team travel players or something lower.

The girls who make Churchill varsity--certainly the starters--are typically pretty high level travel players. Most years the majority of the starters play on ECNL teams, and many go on to play in college. That being said, I've known a handful of girls who made the varsity team who were not soccer standouts, though they tended to be outstanding athletes. There is definitely a chance for an athletically gifted player to make JV from MSI, though most of the JV team will come from higher level travel teams. The Churchill varsity coach cares a lot about fitness and speed.

[Anonymous]

The Churchill varsity coach also coaches at Bethesda. The varsity team is mostly BSC players (ECNL and B team) and a few other club A team players. I know two from Potomac A team had trouble getting on varsity. The coach likes aggressive play so get her on a BSC team and she should make the team.

[Anonymous]

Its easier to make a HS team than it is to make an ECNL or DA team. Actually its easier to make than most A-team travel teams. Not saying HS doesn't matter. But to serious player HS is just an extra team secondary to the club team.

[Anonymous]

This is true. It is possible to make a hs team but your child would be a bench player. Keep in mind that if your dd is
serious about soccer, you are holding her back by not allowing a travel team. Worrying about your weekend is a bit self involved. If your dd loves soccer then allowing the travel experience is a wonderful thing. My child has loved her travel trips and has made friendships with a wide
Variety of kids. She has also learned about working your bit off. There is lots of practice but the pay off is great. You may want to reconsider travel.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice! Very specific and helpful!

[Anonymous]

Usually it is travel players that make the HS team. Of course there are always unicorns out there, but don’t bank on your kid being a unicorn.

[Anonymous]

Churchill is a very strong girls program and I think has won state championships or at least is in the running for them each season.

Classic is not a high level league. You should consider trying out for MSI's travel teams (called "premier") to get exposure to better players, better coaching, higher bar for skill level and speed of play.

HS is far away, but if a player is not used to the level of the game, even if they are an OK player, it's very evident in 1 tryout session that they aren't on the same tier. The earlier you get on a more serious / committed team, the better.

If you don't want to make the time sacrifice, then you can't expect to make a very competitive team like Churchill.

If she went to a private school in MoCo, she could definitely make the team though (not one of the huge schools like good counsel though)

[Anonymous]

If you join a travel team, it only means about three or four weekends a year are going to have tournaments. That's not exactly going to take away all of your free time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you join a travel team, it only means about three or four weekends a year are going to have tournaments. That's not exactly going to take away all of your free time.

My experience has been 3 tournaments a season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you join a travel team, it only means about three or four weekends a year are going to have tournaments. That's not exactly going to take away all of your free time.

But be honest to OP, many of the other weekends are spent traveling to games and it takes the significant part of the day and affects the schedule of the entire family. It’s perfectly fine to be honest and not want to make that type of commitment. Our experience was 2 tournaments per season and they sometimes fell on holiday weekends. This was on a low level travel team.