Reply to How good does a kid have to be to make travel

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Agreed, which means you shouldn't rule either out. My only point is that classic/select has been a worthwhile alternative for many parents in the u10-12 range.[/quote]

Yes, I believe everyone agrees on this point. The only point that playing a couple of years of Select/Classic was poo poo'd was when it was also described as viable pathway to ECNL/DA.

A kid can certainly play u9 through u12/u13 in select/classic and [b]consistently[/b][/i] make a travel soccer team. This is not an outrageous notion. It is a stretch to say that a kid can play select/classic through u12/u13 and [b]consistently[/b][i] make a DA/ECNL team. Making travel is not that hard considering the number of B/C/D/E teams out there. But going from Classic/Select soccer for 3 years to becoming one of the top 140 players in the region? Sorry, but select/classic is not a recommended pathway.

The reality is, most kids who play select/classic have there reasons ranging from just not ready talent wise for travel, multi-sport athletes who simply prefer another sport but are still great athletes, family/time constraints that keep otherwise talented players from being able to commit to the time demands of travel soccer, the financial barrier of travel soccer and many more.

Can we move on now?[/quote]

Yes, let's move on but let's agree that the argument is not about going from classic/select to ECNL/DA. The argument is about the believe that you HAVE  to do travel soccer at u9/u10. The argument is the gap between rec (u9/u10) and elite soccer (u14/15) and whether a parent has to enroll their kid in travel soccer @u9 to make it to ECNL by U14/u15. I believe that it is unnecessary and that a kid can [b]do classic @ u10 thru u12/u13 and still make it to ECNL/DA by U14/U15.[/b] I have watched kids go from classic to travel to elite travel (DA/ECNL). I have also seen talented kids burn out after leaving rec for travel @ u9.

My biggest concern is the folks on this board who have bought into the industrial travel soccer complex. You don't have to enter travel soccer at u9 to become an elite player and play at the highest level and you don't have to be in ECNL/DA at u13 to play in ECNL/DA by u15. The reality is that ECNL does not really matter until you are doing showcases.

At the end of the day, it all depends in your kid but I push back against any suggestion that you need to pay $3,000/year and travel all over the DMV at U10 thru u12 to make it to elite soccer. The clubs want you to believe that but that is not the case. Do your homework. Ask around. My experience with kids who have gone through travel soccer and after speaking to friends who played college soccer and elite youth coaches and college coaches is that the benefits of travel really begin at u12/u13. Hell, the top kids on the top team at a top club @ u10 were not even playing soccer by HS.

[/quote]

How many kids do you actually know that played classic at U13, then made an ECNL/DA team at U14? .  [/quote]

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