Travel soccer question
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Anonymous
| Parent of a 7 year old boy who has been playing rec soccer for a few years now (minus spring and fall 2020 due to Covid). He really likes it and always scores multiple goals during the “game” portion of practice. He is not big but he’s very tall and a faster runner than most kids his age. But I really don’t know if he’s actually decent or if the other kids on his team are just not that good/interested. Do the truly promising kids get recruited to pre-travel by now, or do parents initiate that process by having their kids try out? I don’t want him to do travel anytime soon — too much of a time commitment with other stuff right now — but just wondering if it’s something we are supposed to pursue eventually if he wants to do it or if someone will approach us if he’s really good enough for it. Can you tell I didn’t do sports like this as a kid? I was good at “racing” sports so the “ball” sports are like a mystery to me. I’m realizing I know how to position my son well for sports similar to what I did but I don’t want him to miss out on opportunities with soccer if it’s something he really enjoys. What should we be doing in the next couple of years if he continues to really like soccer? |
Anonymous
| No one will approach you. |
Anonymous
| You can either continue with the Rec league or have him try out for a travel team. I don't think there are other choices. |
Anonymous
| You can always have your child try out and see what kind of offers they get. At least in our club, the pre-academy program is not any higher time commitment than rec is. The main difference is they get club coaches instead of parent volunteers. DS did get asked to move up to academy midway through the season, but there was no obligation to accept the invite. |
Anonymous
Thank you. I don’t know why I thought parents for contacted and encouraged to try out for pre-travel/travel. Maybe because I overheard a min who made it sound like her kid was invited to do it, and other parents of older kids we know who have done travel sports have made it sound like coaches really wanted their kids to do it. I guess making kids feel wanted is part of getting their money? I’m all about rec for as long as possible other than the fact that it’s parents coaching. It’s fine when the kids are 5-6 but last year my kid’s coaches didn’t seem to know much about soccer at all. I’d rather he learn from someone who actually knows the sport, but I guess we would need to be paying a lot more money for that. The other sport he’s doing this year with actual coaches is way, way more expensive. On the other hand my rule is no single activity more than twice a week before age 10, to avoid burnout. We’ll see if I can stick to it. |
Anonymous
| Just keep in mind that every kids makes the academy and every kids makes a travel team. |
Anonymous
| My son got invited to try out, because the numbers are way down this year. Normally, no one from the club will contact. However, there are certain clubs that keep an eye out and will invite travel players. I saw it happening at a rec league this summer. |
Anonymous
| Scoring multiple goals during practice isn't necessarily travel level. Does this league have matches against other teams? |
Anonymous
| At age 7, please let him continue playing with friends. Too many rush their kids to travel, and then they burn out. The type of programs don't care, it's their business model, churn and burn |
Anonymous
| Travel not type |
Anonymous
|
If my son were good, i woud bring him by u9.
Unfortunately by u10 coming from rec, they are already far behind their peers and have to take a couple years to catch up. This is what happened with my ds. Great raw talent but did not have the coaching. In just 1 year he has caught up with team 2 teammates. If yoi stay in rec longer, have him play up a year, this will help him be competitive with team 1 and 2. Or, consider small group training on the side with a real coach while in rec when you can. |
Anonymous
Good question and there are no correct answers because everyone is in a different situation. There are pros and cons for staying in rec just as there are for moving towards travel, and you will have to gauge his ability, interest level, and mesh that in with your family dynamics. I would not rely on a club or coach to "recruit", although that does happen. The only thing you have to be aware of is that as he ages, it gets competitive quickly, and so deciding late to move to travel may put him at a disadvantage. Skill development in soccer depends to some degree on how much the player is challenged by peers, so to progress quickly, he will need to be surrounded by better players and better coaching. There is no harm in trying travel, you can always drop back if it doesn't work out. |
Anonymous
| You have plenty of time, so do what works for you. If your son is good, and his rec coach is decent, you have until U11/U12 or so before a move to travel will be a bit difficult (not impossible, just a bigger learning curve). |
Anonymous
Just adding, though, this comes from the perspective of a parent whose kid was on a rec team with fairly good players. YMMV. My son moved over to travel at U9, his friend on the same team waited until U13. They are pretty equivalent, but my son is currently on a better travel team because it is a bit harder to break in as you get older. |
Anonymous
This is BS Many many kids particularly boys grow a ton in MS and HS. Many kids make HS teams and travel teams who did not play as 3 - 12 year olds LOL As for Division 1 soccer, my kid never played until 9th grade. Recruited in 10th. |