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[quote=asksoccernova]To the U8 parent - I know Maryland well and if you are in Anne Arundel county, the cause of having to drive for travel soccer 50% because its travel soccer, and 50% because you live in Anne Arundel County.

If you lived on the Eastern Shore of MD, you would have to drive 30 - 60 minutes just to get to a mall, unless you live in Salisbury. On the eastern shore, a lot of competitive sports go across MD and DE boundaries, and all the way up and down the Delmarva peninsula.

Just to compete against better teams in tournaments, they have to "cross the bridge" or go up to Dover / Philly. You are lucky enough to already live "over the bridge" - so you have it  better than a lot of people, trust me.

This is what I tell people -

If your son/daughter is actually good enough to be part of a travel team (and they are enthusiastic), sign on for 1 year. Worst case scenario, they don't like it and you can leave after the year is up. If they still want to play without all of the commitment, you can find a weekly skills clinic locally or if the rec league offers some type of supplementary training during the season, plus there are summer soccer camps everywhere these days. Being part of a more committed team is a big deal for the kids and it helps their social development, confidence, and many other things if the program is run well.

Hey, if they go back to the rec league after 1 year of training, they should be one of the better players, or at least contribute to their team more, which will be a confidence booster.

After 1 year, if your child really didn't like the experience, then at least you know for certain instead of not signing up based on preconceived notions about over-the-top parents and coaches.

The purpose of U9 soccer is developmental. The purpose of U10, U11, and U12 is still developmental, even though it gets a little more competitive each year.

Once U13 hits, it starts to be a more competitive environment (even though its actually supposed to be developmental, because a 12 year old is not a finished product).

If a child is capable of learning in a school setting, then they should be capable of learning to play a sport.

Why do we send kids to pre-school? b/c it preps them for kindergarten. Why kindergarten? preps for elementary.... preps for middle school.... preps for HS... preps for college... preps for the real world

We could argue that pre-school or kindergarten is unnecessary and a waste of time to drive them to and from school every day, because the kids are too young to do anything academic. But, it's obvious that they learn and develop during those years. Same with the mini-kicks soccer programs, U8, or whatever - except parents don't really know what improvement looks like because they may not have any experience with the sport. This is why asking questions on a board like this is a good thing and what coaches are here for - to answer your questions.

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