Nova2Euro wrote:Please don't think that your son can't be on a "good" team. There are good teams at PAC, good teams at Alexandria, etc. To repeat what others have said, this is what's important:
1) to like the coach;
2) to like his teammates;
3) to enjoy going to training and matches.

I've been doing the soccer parent thing a long time and the intensity of my emotions has sometimes shocked me. The best thing you can do for your kid is dial back or hide those intense emotions and just let them be a kid playing soccer. If they want to improve, help them set goals for juggling/keep-ups and find some youtube videos on how to kick a ball against a wall. IF they want to.

Thank you! He loves soccer and this is all him asking if he can join a travel team for next year. We encouraged him to do the tryouts and then pick the team where he liked the coach and kids. He had a lot of fun at Villarreal, and I thought the coaches and kids/parents were really nice and the play/direction was appropriate for this age group. ADP sounds like good training as well. I'm trying to navigate this as a parent who is totally in the dark and doesn't want her kid to "miss out" on opportunities due to my ignorance of how the system works. Sounds like that may happen anyway, which is fine.

BunchlineDC wrote:

soccermom316 wrote:OP. This was super depressing to read! Lol. So my 8 year old is already out of luck for a "good" team? That is insane. I did ask Arlington if they would do any other tryout dates (only offered one date), and they said no more for this year and encouraged us to do the ADP tryout. DS is legitimately a good player with a lot of drive and is easy to coach because he wants to get better, but he's also...8.

It depends what you consider to be a "good" team. If you are trying to get him to MLS Next, then ADP probably isn't your best bet. But if your goal is to have him learn skills, play with friends, and have a great experience, then it doesn't matter. As you said, he's only 8. Have him do ADP and see how he likes it - it sounds like the right fit. There are a million great soccer programs around here-- but on these threads, you tend to get people saying anything other than ECNL/MLS is rec. ( )

This was very helpful. Thank you! I think his only "goal" (again, as a 3rd grader who is 8 years old and whose main goal each day is extra screen time and more dessert) is to play on our public HS's soccer team 5 years from now. He practices for hours alone in our yard, and I'd love for him to get more experience since he loves the game. ADP sounds perfect for this level and age! Really appreciate the gut check and sane advice.

OP. This was super depressing to read! Lol. So my 8 year old is already out of luck for a "good" team? That is insane. I did ask Arlington if they would do any other tryout dates (only offered one date), and they said no more for this year and encouraged us to do the ADP tryout. DS is legitimately a good player with a lot of drive and is easy to coach because he wants to get better, but he's also...8.

I have a 2014 boy who loves soccer and is ready to move on from Rec, but we unfortunately missed the tryouts for several teams due to extenuating circumstances.

He has offers from PAC and Villarreal and is signed up for ADP tryouts. We're in the Falls Church area and have two working parents, so commuting to practices is a large consideration in where we've looked for teams. He said he had a better time at Villarreal tryouts than PAC, but they both felt really disorganized for his age group.

Should we just do ADP and tryout for Arlington next year? I'm loathe to spend $2K a year on travel if it's more of a money-grab at this level. If he does ADP, can he still do Arlington Rec with his current team?

Thanks for any advice!